The next day.
Early in the morning.
Dong Xuebin woke up at seven. Having spent the previous days staying up late and getting up early to work, he had developed the habit. So even though he had made love with his wife, reunited after a brief separation, until past midnight, he still woke up early. Looking at Xie Huilan sleeping soundly beside him, Dong Xuebin pinched up the thin blanket beneath her bare shoulder and tucked it over her. Then he carefully climbed out of bed, put on his shoes, and silently left the bedroom for the downstairs kitchen to make Xie Huilan breakfast.
He cooked porridge.
He fried eggs.
Even though Dong Xuebin handled all the housework himself, he felt fulfilled rather than tired, even happy. Living an ordinary life with his wife every day like this was pretty nice. Once he secured that deputy department-level post, perhaps he really should take a break and enjoy life for a while. A wife, children, and a warm bed—he found himself longing for that kind of life more and more.
A while later.
"Hui Lan! Hui Lan!" Dong Xuebin shouted upstairs.
After dawdling for quite some time, Xie Huilan finally came downstairs, bleary-eyed. Covering her mouth as she yawned, she said, "Breakfast's ready already? Whew, and I said I'd sleep a little longer."
Dong Xuebin said, "Go wash up."
Xie Huilan gave a quiet mm and went to the first-floor bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face.
Just then, Dong Xuebin's phone rang. He grabbed it and saw that it was his mother-in-law, Han Jing. He quickly put the phone to his ear. "Mom."
Han Jing said, "You up?"
"Yeah, we're just about to have breakfast," Dong Xuebin said.
Han Jing gave an mm. "Hui Lan told you, right?"