His skin was already rough enough, yet he insisted on keeping a dark stubble, which only added to his fierce appearance.
Su Lang looked at him with exasperation. "Look at my wife, and then look at yourself. Commander Li, you need to groom yourself a little."
Li Jiang was left dizzy by his barrage of words.
After a moment of stunned silence, he asked, "Commander Su, so what should I do?"
Su Lang replied, "First, shave off that beard. Later, I'll get some whitening cream from my wife for you to apply.
Even as a grown man, you need to be flexible. If your wife likes a good-looking man, you should dress up more."
It would be best if he could captivate Wang Rou so she would stop clinging to his wife.
Hearing this, Li Jiang thought it was the absolute truth!
"Commander Su, I understand. I'll go back and shave right away. As for that cream, I'll leave it to you and Dr. Lin."
After washing up that night, Lin Zhilan sat under the lamp writing a report letter.
Wang Rou was on the bed, playing with Linlin.
By the time the letter was finished, Linlin had fallen asleep.
Wang Rou lay beside Lin Zhilan and asked softly, "Sister, let me tell you about my past."
Lin Zhilan's heart tightened, then relaxed. She had held back from asking, waiting for Wang Rou to open up about her inner struggles herself.
She hadn't expected that Song Fang's commotion would actually help Wang Rou release whatever was holding her back.
Lin Zhilan gave a gentle "Mhm" and said warmly, "Go ahead, I'm listening."
"Actually... when I was in school, I had a boyfriend..."
Once she started, Wang Rou felt that these things weren't as hard to talk about as she had thought.
The Wang family was wealthy, and she was their only daughter.
From a young age, she had received the best education and living conditions.
That man was her classmate, and his family was also composed of wealthy merchants. Before the liberation, his entire family secretly took a boat and fled to Hong Kong.
When Father Wang found out, he quickly donated all their family assets and married her off to Li Jiang, who was only a company commander at the time.
Wang Rou had just turned eighteen back then; she was still an innocent, carefree young girl.
Suddenly, her boyfriend disappeared, her family's businesses were all donated, and she was forced by her father to marry a stranger she barely knew.
For a while, Wang Rou simply couldn't accept it.
She cried, threw tantrums, and even went on a hunger strike.
But Father Wang, who had always doted on her, remained unmoved, dead set on making her marry.
Because her father threatened her with his own life, Wang Rou eventually compromised.
After they married, Li Jiang treated her very well and respected her deeply.
At one point, she thought about just living a good life with him.
However, many problems arose.
She didn't know how to do chores. Li Jiang didn't blame her, but the neighboring aunts and sisters-in-law were always lecturing her. Even when she returned to her maiden home, her father would only urge her to have a child for Li Jiang as soon as possible.
Feeling guilty for hiding the truth about her ex-boyfriend from Li Jiang, and having nowhere to vent her frustration over trivial matters or friends to listen to her, Wang Rou became increasingly silent and withdrawn.
After she gave birth to Li Xuan, Father Wang seemed relieved of a heavy burden and passed away not long after.
Wang Rou's feelings toward Li Xuan were very complex.
Father Wang used to say that with Li Xuan around, no matter what happened in the future, Li Jiang would never abandon her.
Wang Rou wanted to ask, 'What about me? What about who I am?'
Is my only value being Li Xuan's mother?
Later, when Father Wang passed away, Wang Rou thought: Fine, if my value is just giving the Li family a child, then I will raise this child well. I'll consider it a debt I owe the Li family, thanking them for sheltering me.
By the time she reached this part, Wang Rou was already sobbing uncontrollably.
Lin Zhilan had long known that she was a sensitive and overthinking person, but she hadn't expected her to be harboring so much inside.
Lin Zhilan took out a handkerchief and gently wiped away her tears. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
Wang Rou shook her head.
Just having someone to listen to her say all this was enough to satisfy her.
Lin Zhilan asked softly, "Do you want to change, then?"
"Huh?" Wang Rou looked at her with red eyes, her voice still thick with emotion.
Lin Zhilan said, "When you feel uncomfortable, you should make a change."
Wang Rou froze; she had never thought about this before.
She asked blankly, "How do I change?"
"Start with what makes you the most uncomfortable," Lin Zhilan told her.
"The most uncomfortable?"
Wang Rou pondered for a moment. What made her the most uncomfortable was her guilt toward Li Jiang.
She had hidden the matter of her boyfriend from him.
Her family background was bad, which would affect Li Jiang's career.
She couldn't wash clothes and cook for her husband like other wives.
After giving birth to Li Xuan, she rarely even let Li Jiang touch her.
...
This sense of guilt left her incapable of loving Li Jiang.
How could a person fall in love with their "creditor"?
Wang Rou gripped Lin Zhilan's hand tightly, so hard that it hurt, but Lin Zhilan didn't make a sound, quietly listening as she continued.
"Sister, can I confess to Li Jiang?"
Lin Zhilan answered without hesitation, "You can."
She tapped Wang Rou's nose and smiled, "Don't worry, I've got your back. If worse comes to worst, you can help out at the traditional Chinese medicine department, and I'll provide for you."
Lin Zhilan whispered, "Director Liu told me that next year I'll be able to earn a Level 8 technical salary or higher. Do you know how much that is?"
Wang Rou looked at her with starry eyes. "I don't know."
"One hundred and fifteen. If you add the technical staff salary from the pharmaceutical factory, I make more than both Su Lang and Li Jiang.
I could easily support two more people just like you."
Wang Rou hugged her arm and laughed, "It's enough for you to support just one sister. I'm afraid you'll get too tired."
"You little rascal," Lin Zhilan flicked her nose affectionately and tucked her in. "Go to sleep now. Tomorrow I'll fry some dough sticks for you."
"Mhm."
...
Lin Zhilan never lied to the kids. If she said she was going to fry dough sticks, she meant it.
The next morning, Lin Zhilan was in the kitchen frying dough sticks, while Wang Rou was outside helping the children wash up, looking just like a happy family.
Su Lang's vacation was over, and he had to go back to work early this morning.
Taking advantage of the fact that no one was looking, he slipped into the kitchen and kissed his wife until she was breathless before letting her go. "Zhilan, make Wang Rou go back to her own house to sleep tonight."
Lin Zhilan really wanted to hit him with the fried dough stick in her hand. She glared at Su Lang playfully and shoved the dough stick into his hand. "Train hard today and try to vent all that extra energy."
Su Lang planted another kiss on her cheek and whispered, "Don't worry, I'll definitely save enough energy to serve you."
This man was crazy!
Lin Zhilan's ears instantly turned bright red as she forcefully pushed him out.
Su Lang put on his hat and headed out, bumping into Wang Rou, who was leading the children inside.
When "love rivals" met, they both found the other displeasing to the eye.
Su Lang patted his daughter's head and shouted toward the kitchen, "Zhilan, it's been a while since we had garlic oysters. Can we have some tonight?"
"Of course."
Su Lang's lips curled up into a smug smile. "Then wait for me to come back and help you open the oyster shells."
"Got it. Why haven't you left yet? You're going to be late!"
"Leaving right now."
Su Lang adjusted his military cap and strode out.
Wang Rou scoffed inwardly. It was just garlic oysters—what was the big deal?
Her sister had even said last night that she could provide for her.
