The moment Dou Dou saw the tall, imposing man, it turned and tried to run. But after scampering a few steps, it suddenly realized its view was getting higher and higher.

And so Zhang Yaning was greeted by the sight of Shen Nansheng, still steaming from his bath, carrying the puppy by the scruff of its neck.

The little pup whimpered pitifully, its chubby front paws paddling frantically through the air as though it were walking on invisible ground.

“Wife, look what I caught—a little thief.”

Trying not to laugh, Zhang Yaning quickly rescued the puppy from his hand.

“Stop talking nonsense. Its name is Dou Dou. I picked it up by the roadside.”

“Look at it. Isn’t it adorable?”

She squeezed the puppy’s pudgy little paw and waved it toward Shen Nansheng.

“And thanks to it, if a real thief ever broke in, I’d know right away.”

She shot him a pointed look, clearly referring to the certain someone who had climbed over the wall to get home.

Shen Nansheng, thick-skinned as ever, casually sat on the edge of the bed and swept his eyes around the room.

Immediately, he spotted a dog bed made from his old clothes tucked into the corner—and if he wasn’t mistaken, the food bowl on the floor was his old metal washbasin.

Tsk tsk.

He’d only been gone a few days, and now there was already a newcomer competing with him for affection.

“Hmph. Raising another little dog behind my back? I don’t approve,” Shen Nansheng accused dramatically.

Under his gaze, Zhang Yaning suddenly felt a little guilty. It was true—she had decided to keep the dog without asking him first.

“Let’s just keep it.”

She scooted over and nudged his shoulder with hers.

“It’s really obedient and well-behaved.”

Shen Nansheng lifted one foot to show her his cloth slipper. The upper was covered in bite marks, and a chunk of fabric had been ripped clean off. Barely wearable.

At first, he’d thought mice had gotten into the house.

Now he finally knew the culprit.

“This is your idea of obedient?”

“Oh, I’ll make you another pair. It’s still little.”

“It’ll behave once it grows up,” Zhang Yaning insisted, enthusiastically listing the puppy’s advantages. “When it’s older, it can guard the house. If you train it properly, you could even take it into the mountains to catch wild rabbits.”

Mentioning rabbits brought back an even older memory.

When her grandfather was still alive, their family had owned a dog—a majestic black wolfdog.

In her memories, that dog had been incredibly intelligent. It watched over the children for the adults, and when she was little, it had looked after her too.

No matter what she was playing, whenever she turned around, she could always see it lying somewhere nearby, quietly keeping watch over her.

What made all the village children jealous was that every time her grandfather returned from the mountains, the wolfdog would come back carrying a wild rabbit or pheasant in its mouth.

Unfortunately, famine came later. Families everywhere starved to death.

In the end, with no other choice, her grandfather tearfully killed the dog.

She had still been very young back then. After learning the dog was gone, she cried herself sick.

And when she woke from that illness, her mind had suddenly been filled with many strange memories.

Noticing his wife’s mood darkening by the second, Shen Nansheng hadn’t even had time to ask what was wrong before she suddenly pouted, kicked off her slippers, and climbed into the innermost side of the bed while hugging Dou Dou.

“Hmph. If you won’t agree, then I’ll sleep with the puppy. You can sleep on the floor.”

The sudden wave of old memories had left her chest aching with regret and sadness.

Shen Nansheng: “…”

This was the first time he’d seen a woman change moods faster than flipping a page.

Without hesitation, he reached over, took the puppy from her arms, and tossed it gently back into its little bed.

After all, if he made his wife angry, then he had to coax her himself.

“I never said I disagreed. I was just teasing you. Why are you upset already?”

“Look at you. You’ve barely gotten a new favorite and you already don’t want the old one anymore. Of course I wouldn’t be happy about you raising it.”

Pulling Zhang Yaning into his arms, he leaned close and whispered a few things softly into her ear.

The sadness she’d been feeling instantly vanished.

Her face flushed as she pinched the flesh at his waist.

“You’re so shameless.”

Chuckling happily, Shen Nansheng turned off the light and wrapped his arms around his soothed wife. After days of nonstop work, he finally got a peaceful night’s sleep.

The next morning, Shen Nansheng rare for once slept in.

Hearing movement from the kitchen, he felt all the exhaustion leave his body.

Quickly pulling on his military uniform, he grabbed the puppy’s bed and food bowl before leaving the bedroom and moved both outside into the courtyard.

When Zhang Yaning came out carrying a plate of fried eggs and saw what he’d done, she shot him a speechless glare.

Thinking back to what he’d whispered in her ear last night—

something about how the puppy being in the room would “affect his performance”—

she couldn’t help cursing inwardly.

Seriously. So improper.

“Hurry and wash up. Breakfast is ready.”

She returned to the kitchen and brought out the noodles she’d cooked.

After eating together, Shen Nansheng headed back to the military office to report on the mission.

As for Zhang Yaning, after over a month of taking it easy, she decided it was time to resume her money-making career.

Though she didn’t have an official job, back in the countryside she had actually supported herself entirely through writing royalties. Even her younger brother’s university tuition had been paid by her.

Pulling out her paper and pen, she sat by the window. After organizing her thoughts in her head for a moment, she lowered her head and began writing rapidly across the page.

Meanwhile, Chu Qing looked around the house that was different from the one she’d lived in during her previous life, and felt much more at ease.

This time, she had arrived a year earlier to join the military family housing. She wasn’t living in the cramped apartment building anymore.

Which meant she definitely wouldn’t run into that hateful village woman again.

“This time, I’m staying as far away from her as possible,” Chu Qing silently encouraged herself.

Sneaking a glance at Lu Heng—who looked disciplined and rigid even while eating—she gave a small cough.

“Don’t forget. Tomorrow you’re going to the hospital with me for a checkup.”

Luckily, she had arrived at a good time. Tomorrow happened to be Sunday, Lu Heng’s day off.

Using “preparing for pregnancy” as an excuse, she insisted that they both get full medical examinations together.

More importantly, she needed to check the condition inside his head.

In her previous life, the tumor had only been discovered too late, missing the chance for surgery.

The last image she had of Lu Heng was of him gaunt and skeletal, lying silently in a hospital bed, never waking again.

“This time Grandma gave strict orders. If you don’t go, she’ll come here personally.”

That last sentence was a lie.

Grandma was already over seventy. Even if she wanted to come, the family would never allow such a long and exhausting trip.

Lu Heng merely hummed in acknowledgment.

Then silence fell over the room once again.

Chu Qing bit her chopsticks in annoyance, glaring at him with her beautiful eyes.

It was always like this.

She did all the talking, while he only listened. Occasionally he would grant her a short reply. Most of the time, whenever he spoke more than usual, it was only to lecture her.

And once again, the question she’d never managed to ask before dying in her previous life surfaced in her mind.

Lu Heng… what exactly am I to you?

A younger sister?

A wife?

Or someone you truly love?

Discouraged, Chu Qing set down her chopsticks.

“I’m full.”

She stood and returned to the bedroom.

After finishing his last bite, Lu Heng cleaned up the dishes. He glanced at the closed bedroom door and hesitated briefly.

But in the end, he still didn’t open it.

Putting on his military cap, he left the house.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Chu Qing listened to the sounds outside. Through the window, she watched Lu Heng’s figure walk out of the courtyard.

Finally, unable to hold it in anymore, she grabbed the cup on the bedside table and smashed it to the floor.

Crash.

The glass shattered into pieces—just like her life in the previous life.

Covering her eyes, she realized that even after being reborn, she still couldn’t let go of that question.

She had told herself that as long as Lu Heng could live well this time, nothing else mattered.

But she simply couldn’t do it.

Thinking of Lu Heng’s cold and distant personality, she gritted her teeth.

No matter what, this lifetime she was going to cure him of it somehow.