Chapter 96: The Republican-Era Young Lady Stops Making a Fuss 7 : You Taught Me Not to Accept My Fate

Song Xuange slowly pulled down the hand covering her eyes and brought it to her lips, pressing a light kiss into the palm of that large hand.

The whole time, she kept looking at He Dusheng.

That large hand jerked back as if it had been burned.

Something unreadable welled up in He Dusheng’s eyes.

Song Xuange sat up on her knees and leaned closer.

She stopped when only a few inches remained between them.

He Dusheng looked as if he’d been struck over the head. He drew his head back.

Behind him was the headboard. He had nowhere to retreat and was trapped by Song Xuange within that tiny space.

Song Xuange looked into those deep, complicated eyes.

Slowly but firmly, she said, “You’re my husband. As for our feelings, I want you not to accept your fate. You’re in my eyes, and I want to be in yours too, always me.”

“He Dusheng, don’t let go of me. Not in this lifetime.” Her right hand came to rest on the hand He Dusheng had braced against the pillow.

All at once, He Dusheng’s breathing turned heavy and uneven.

His gaze locked onto Song Xuange and did not leave her. He didn’t even blink.

Little by little, red veins spread through his eyes.

His whole eyes had turned red.

He said, “My lady, is this some new trick of yours to toy with a pitiful man like me?”

The warmth of his breath spilled across her face as he spoke.

Seeing him like this made Song Xuange’s eyes sting.

“What if I said it isn’t?” she asked, meeting his probing, searching gaze.

“Then I’d go mad.” The bloodshot red in his eyes grew heavier, and his breathing roughened further.

Song Xuange touched his face with aching tenderness.

“I treated you badly before. I was wrong.”

“You weren’t wrong. And I don’t need you to treat me well. A pitiful man like me only hopes that my lady can stay by my side forever and give me a chance to treat you well.”

“Then… do you accept your fate?” Song Xuange asked softly.

“I don’t. I don’t want to!”

He Dusheng reached out. His powerful arm wrapped around her slender waist and pulled her fully down against him, their lips nearly brushing.

“Then don’t accept it. Hold on to me tightly.” Song Xuange breathed the words at him, and as soon as she finished speaking, she bit directly onto the lips offered right before her.

His lips were very soft, not full, and perfectly suited to her small mouth. They were especially nice to kiss.

Almost at once, the man with red-rimmed eyes closed them.

He turned the tables, tormenting her lips and tongue.

As if venting, and also as if confirming something.

Song Xuange did her best to keep up with him, responding to him.

In her daze, she felt one of the man’s hands hesitating at her waist. She caught it at once and guided it upward, pulling that lingering, wavering hand to the place it had long desired.

The next moment, Song Xuange, who had let the wolf into the house, could not help letting out a soft whimper.

It was like the sounding of a horn, completely releasing the starving beast from its cage.

Their clothes fell away, and just as things were at the point of no return, He Dusheng pushed himself up. “No. Doctor Wu said we still have to wait a while longer.”

Song Xuange’s mind was already too muddled to think clearly. She tried hard to remember. Had Doctor Wu really said that too? When had he said it?

She couldn’t remember. She could only instinctively twist her body in discomfort.

He Dusheng looked at her, his gaze dark.

The man withdrew, then lowered himself.

Song Xuange was so startled that all she could do was clutch his hair.

A long while later, with not a shred of strength left, Song Xuange lay draped over the edge of the bed.

Behind her, He Dusheng was changing the bedsheets.

Hearing the rustling sounds he made, Song Xuange did not dare turn around.

Halfway through his work, the man easily picked her up and placed her from the bed’s edge onto the side where the fresh sheet had already been spread. Then he went on straightening the unfinished half.

Song Xuange simply watched him work in silence.

His movements were fast and practiced. In no time at all, he had dealt with this chaotic battlefield.

After smoothing out the very last wrinkle in the sheet, He Dusheng suddenly lifted his head.

His eyes met hers directly.

The redness in his eyes had not yet faded, but the look around them had softened countless times over.

He smiled at her.

Song Xuange’s gaze drifted involuntarily to his lips.

Soft, vivid, and still faintly gleaming with moisture.

Like flower petals in the morning before the dew had fully dispersed.

Song Xuange’s face grew hot.

Too weak to turn over, she simply closed her eyes.

After a while, she felt herself being gathered into an embrace.

When she opened her eyes, she was already reclining against the man’s chest. The soft cushion behind her had been propped against the headboard, and that English book was back in his hands.

Song Xuange: “…”

Wasn’t he a little too devoted to studying?

He Dusheng laughed lightly. “No matter what, neither of us is going to fall asleep anytime soon.”

Song Xuange said, “Why do you always read this book?”

“I want to improve the machines at the factory. I have some ideas, and I want to see if foreign books have any better methods.”

Song Xuange leaned over to take a look. Realizing he had only gotten through a few pages after so many days, she gained a concrete understanding of what he meant by “having a hard time reading it.”

In truth, her English was fairly decent.

It was just that this book was filled mostly with technical terms. She could roughly tell it was about machinery, but as for what exactly it was saying, she couldn’t understand it.

The two of them read together for a while. When Song Xuange felt some of her strength return, she took He Dusheng’s hand and, under his puzzled gaze, placed it over her lower belly.

Looking at the man, she said pitifully, “The baby is hungry.”

He Dusheng laughed. “If the baby’s hungry, then are you hungry too?”

“I can hold out a little longer, but the baby’s making a fuss. You’re the father, so you should think of a way to soothe it.”

He Dusheng closed the book and got out of bed.

“All right, I’ll think of something.”

After what had just happened, Song Xuange did not want to be apart from him for even a moment.

“I want to come too.”

He Dusheng had no choice but to find some clothes and help her put them on one by one, as if he were taking care of a child.

He held out his hand to her. “Want me to carry you downstairs?”

Song Xuange slapped his hand away, finding it rather novel. It had only been half a night, yet this man’s change was so huge.

Wasn’t he embarrassed at all?

Even after having his hand smacked away, He Dusheng did not get annoyed. Smiling, he crouched down again to put her shoes on for her.

Only then did he take her hand and slowly lead her to the kitchen.

It was already eleven at night, and Song Xuange discovered that the kitchen was still lit.

The fire in the stove had not gone out, either.

One of the kitchen helpers, Sister-in-law Liu, was leaning against the wall, dozing.

He Dusheng softly explained to Song Xuange, “I was worried that you… that the baby in your belly might get hungry at night, so I had the kitchen keep a night shift to watch the fire. That way, if you want something to eat, it can be made quickly.”

Then he added, “Everyone on night duty is getting extra pay.”

They had barely stepped into the kitchen when Sister-in-law Liu woke up.

She stood up, looking a little flustered.

He Dusheng raised a hand. “No need to panic. If there’s no work to do, it’s fine to nap for a while.”

Sister-in-law Liu still didn’t look much better.

He Dusheng asked, “What can be made right now, quickly?”

Sister-in-law Liu immediately washed her hands, dried them with a white cotton towel, and hurriedly replied, “There are already rolled noodles, and we just fried shallot oil and meat sauce tonight. There’s ham broth simmering in the pot, and all kinds of vegetables have already been washed too.”

He Dusheng looked at Song Xuange.

Her mouth was already watering, and she said to Sister-in-law Liu, “Then make a bowl of noodles with shallot oil and meat sauce, and blanch a mixed vegetable bowl in ham broth.”

Sister-in-law Liu agreed at once.

Only then did Song Xuange realize she’d been thinking only of herself, and she asked the man beside her, “Do you want to eat a little too?”

“Sure, I’ll eat a bit with you,” He Dusheng said. “Sister-in-law Liu, make me a portion too, the same as madam’s.”

“Right away.”

–

After repeated urging, Song Pingzhang, who had so much fun in Suzhou that he forgot all about home, finally agreed to return to Shanghai.

In her previous life, Song Xuange had also gone a very long time without seeing her younger brother, so naturally she missed him terribly too.

He Dusheng could tell, and after calculating the date, he brought her to the dock to meet him.

The dock was crowded. Travelers with heavy luggage and miserable looks on their faces, shirtless laborers hauling cargo, merchants hurrying back and forth doing business, and beggars with thinning hair and skin stretched over bone…

Worried that Song Xuange might get jostled, He Dusheng reserved seats on the second floor of a restaurant not far from the dock.

It was quiet there, and it didn’t hinder their view of the passenger ships coming and going.

The ship from Suzhou was later than expected.

It had originally been scheduled to arrive at nine in the morning. The couple had come at dawn, but even after noon the ship still had not arrived.

Sitting in her seat, Song Xuange stretched her arms and waist.

Seeing this from across the table, He Dusheng got up and sat beside her, then reached out to slowly massage her lower back. “Feel any better?”

It really did feel much better, but…

Curious, Song Xuange asked, “This time you didn’t even ask me first. You just came over and started doing it.”

He Dusheng lowered his head. “You taught me that. Don’t resign yourself, and don’t let go. In that case, taking care of my wife and child is only natural. I imagine I don’t need to ask permission for every little thing.”

Song Xuange smiled.

“Yes, you’re right.”

The corners of He Dusheng’s lips lifted.

From the noisy crowd below, someone shouted, “Look, another ship’s coming in!”

Song Xuange looked up, and sure enough, she saw a large ship slowly approaching from the distance.

A-Xiang ran upstairs from below. “Sir, Madam, it’s the ship from Suzhou.”

He Dusheng said, “Take some men and wait there. Bring Pingzhang up…”

But Song Xuange had already stood up. She couldn’t wait a moment longer. She wanted to go receive her brother herself.

He Dusheng could only instruct A-Xiang, “Clear the way in front.”

“Yes, sir.”

By the time Song Xuange reached the dock, people had already started disembarking.

Held within He Dusheng’s arms, she rose onto her toes and craned her head past the human wall formed by A-Xiang and the others, searching the flow of people for Pingzhang.

Before long, Pingzhang, protected in the middle by servants, appeared in the crowd. It was the servants on his side who spotted A-Xiang first, and they waved in this direction.

Only then did the two groups meet up.

Her younger brother was healthy, still boyish, and full of high spirits.

Unable to help herself, Song Xuange threw her arms around him.

The little rascal was already nearly as tall as she was, and he didn’t like being hugged by her. “Sis, we’ve only been apart for half a month. There are people watching everywhere.”

Song Pingzhang twisted and struggled in her arms.

He Dusheng quickly spoke up. “Pingzhang, Xuange is pregnant. Be gentler. Don’t hurt your sister.”

“Huh?”

Song Pingzhang froze in surprise and really did stop moving. When Song Xuange finally let go of him, he stared blankly and said, “I-I-I’m going to be an uncle?”

Song Xuange grabbed his hand and refused to let go. “It’s still early.”

But that did nothing to stop Song Pingzhang from becoming visibly excited.

The few servants who had come back with him also started congratulating the couple one after another.

He Dusheng accepted all their congratulations, then said, “When the child is safely born, everyone will receive an extra year’s wages.”

Naturally, everyone was delighted.

While they were still catching up here, nearly everyone on the ship had gotten off.

At that moment, a woman coming down from the ship made Song Xuange look at her a few extra times.

She wasn’t very old, only around twenty, and she carried a small wicker suitcase. At first glance, she was no different from the other passengers.

What drew Song Xuange’s attention was that there was something vaguely off about her.

She was wearing an old-style Qing qipao, blue-black in color, with wide turned-back sleeves and wide pant legs. Song Xuange had only ever seen that kind of outfit when returning to her hometown.

Normally, clothes like that were worn with the hair pinned up, and if it was a young woman, there would also be a thick fringe over the forehead.

But this young woman was different. Her hair was very long, yet she had only tied it into a ponytail at the crown of her head.

She carried her suitcase off the ship, her gaze roaming everywhere, yet unlike everyone else, she showed no amazement at Great Shanghai. Instead, her eyes were filled only with curiosity, as if this flourishing eastern metropolis was nothing all that special to her.