The 1970s: Married First, Fell in Love Later-Chapter 76 - 75: Are You Dreaming?

He Lang had a rare chance to sleep in, waking up only at noon the next day.

He opened his eyes to see Xue Yue sitting at the low table, writing something.

"What are you doing?"

He Lang had just woken up, and his voice was a little hoarse.

"You’re awake. You really slept in. You probably didn’t get much rest on your trip, did you? Your line of work is exhausting."

Xue Yue looked at He Lang with a pang of sympathy.

He Lang sat up.

"Ah, there’s blood on your gauze! Did your wound reopen?"

Xue Yue moved closer, looking at He Lang’s arm.

"You must have rolled over and put pressure on it in your sleep. What should we do?"

He Lang glanced over at it. "It’s nothing. Just a little blood. I’ll go back to the hospital in a few days to get the gauze changed."

Xue Yue was still worried. "Why don’t we go today?"

"No need. I just had the dressing changed yesterday."

Xue Yue just watched as He Lang got dressed.

"So what is this you’re writing?" He Lang picked up what Xue Yue had been working on.

"Are you writing stories?" He Lang asked.

Xue Yue nodded. "You brought me back some newspapers, right? They had a lot of short stories in them, so I just tried my hand at writing a few. But my brother said they were pretty good and told me to submit them to a publisher."

He Lang looked at Xue Yue in disbelief. "Does this mean the stories my wife wrote might get published in the newspaper?"

Xue Yue said shyly, "Oh, not yet. I only submitted them. There’s no telling if they’ll be accepted."

He Lang glanced again at Xue Yue’s writing in his hand. "Anything my wife writes will definitely get accepted. If it doesn’t, it just means they have no taste."

Xue Yue looked at him with a smile. "You sweet-talker. You must be hungry, right? Get up and eat. Lunch is ready."

In the afternoon, the two of them didn’t go out. He Lang felt that ever since he started working, his schedule had been very tight. It was rare to have a moment like this. He and Xue Yue moved two chairs into the courtyard to enjoy the breeze, feeling completely at ease.

The moment Xue Xingzhou arrived at the police station today, he told his mentor about He Lang’s dangerous encounter on the road.

"Master, this incident may not be in our jurisdiction, but they’re cracking down on crime everywhere right now. These people are too audacious. If we report this, and the local police catch them, we’ll get some of the credit."

Zhang Hongjie thought for a moment. He didn’t agree right away, but instead said to Xue Xingzhou, "I’ll go mention it to the Vice Director and see if he wants to report it up the chain. After all, it’s outside our jurisdiction."

"Okay."

The Vice Director, Fan Wei, was Wang Hai’s maternal uncle. He was the one who had specially saved a spot for Xue Xingzhou when he signed up.

And Xue Xingzhou was indeed exceptionally capable. Fan Wei felt he was a promising talent and paid special attention to him.

So when Zhang Hongjie mentioned it was Xue Xingzhou’s suggestion, he agreed without hesitation. He immediately made a call to report it and contact the local public security bureau.

It was a good thing for a young man to be proactive, and besides, the higher-ups had already been wanting to address such matters. So, he was simply giving things a helpful push in the right direction.

Because of this, Vice Director Fan even praised Xue Xingzhou to Zhang Hongjie, encouraging the young man’s proactive and positive attitude.

When Zhang Hongjie returned, he found Xue Xingzhou and heaped another round of praise on him.

That evening, Xue Xingzhou had just gotten home from work. Before he could even take a sip of water, he heard a series of urgent knocks at the door.

He opened the door to see Liu Hongxing and Xue Changlin.

Liu Hongxing saw Xue Xingzhou in his police uniform and froze for a moment, not daring to speak.

Xue Xingzhou looked at them. "Dad, is something wrong?"

Xue Changlin’s gaze on Xue Xingzhou was complicated. After a moment, he nodded. "There’s something I need to talk to you about."

Xue Xingzhou opened the door wider. "Then come in and talk."

Liu Hongxing and Xue Changlin followed Xue Xingzhou into the house.

After they sat down, Xue Changlin asked, "How did you suddenly become a police officer? Did you buy your way in?"

Xue Xingzhou took off his uniform jacket and set it aside. "No. The Public Security Bureau just happened to be recruiting."

Xue Changlin nodded. "That’s good. Very good." Then he fell silent.

It was then that Liu Hongxing remembered the purpose of their visit. She cleared her throat and put on a slight smile.

"Xingzhou, we came to tell you that we were too hasty when we separated the family. I mean, you’re not even married yet, so how could we split up? People have been gossiping about us behind our backs. Besides, look at you, coming home now with no hot meal to eat. Your father and I think it’s best if we don’t separate the family after all. Let’s live together again. We’ll find you a wife before the New Year. Don’t you worry, we’ve already picked out a candidate for you—my niece from my side of the family. She’s very capable! Next year, she can give you a healthy baby boy, and your life is sure to be prosperous."

Xue Xingzhou only stared blankly for a moment after Liu Hongxing finished, and then he couldn’t help but laugh.

"Dad, is that what you think too? You want to live together again?"

Xue Changlin looked up, met Xue Xingzhou’s gaze, then quickly averted his eyes and looked down again.

"It’s true we were a bit hasty splitting up the family. But your mother is right. You’re not married yet, so we’ll get you a wife this year."

Liu Hongxing chimed in from the side, "Exactly! Xingzhou, we’re only doing this for your own good. My niece might be average-looking, but she’s an absolute expert at housework. She’ll definitely keep your little home neat and tidy."

Xue Xingzhou sat on the stool, tilting his head and resting his forehead on one hand, as if deep in thought.

Liu Hongxing glanced at Xue Xingzhou. "So, what do you think?"

Xue Xingzhou sneered. "The sun hasn’t even set, and you’re already dreaming? We wrote up an agreement and stamped it. It’s too late for regrets now."

Liu Hongxing said angrily, "So what if we wrote an agreement? We’re your elders! You should listen to whatever we say."

Xue Xingzhou snorted. "After all this talk, isn’t it just because you think I have a job and make money now, and you want it? Why make it so complicated?"

Liu Hongxing insisted, "We’re not just after your bit of money! It’s your duty to be filial to your elders. If you’re unfilial, I’ll go to your workplace and cause a scene. Let’s see how you’ll face anyone then! You might even lose your job."

Xue Xingzhou replied, "Have you forgotten what my job is now? I have proof of the family separation. Go ahead and make a scene."

Seeing that Xue Xingzhou wouldn’t agree, Liu Hongxing settled for the next best thing. "Fine, we don’t have to live together. But you have to marry my niece. Then we’ll call it even. Otherwise, I’ll go make a scene at the Public Security Bureau."

Xue Xingzhou looked at the couple—one who appeared honest but was involved in every scheme, and the other a scoundrel whose selfish calculations were practically audible, treating everyone else like an idiot. ’They were a perfect match indeed.’

Xue Xingzhou thought of the woman from his memories. ’How could she have married a man like this?’

Xue Xingzhou looked at Xue Changlin, his biological father, and asked casually, "Dad, do you still remember my mother? Do you think people have souls after they die?"

Liu Hongxing’s eyes shot wide open as she stared at Xue Changlin.

Xue Changlin looked up at Xue Xingzhou, meeting his mocking gaze. He clenched his fists, then shot up from his seat and fled in a panic.

When Liu Hongxing saw Xue Changlin run off, she didn’t have time to say anything more and furiously hurried after him.

Before long, the sounds of arguing erupted from next door, punctuated by Xue Xingjun’s crying.

Liu Hongxing looked at the man squatting in the corner, holding his head and saying nothing. She cursed, "You still have that dead woman in your heart, don’t you? I’ve known you for over a decade and been married to you for eight or nine years! I even gave you a child, and you still can’t forget her! Hmph! If you really liked her so much, then why did you come on to me back then? Wasn’t it because you thought that sickly weakling couldn’t satisfy you? And now you’re here, pretending to be so devoted!"