Chapter 4: Big Sis Will Get You Some Meat

Qiao Ran was tossing and turning too.

It wasn’t the unfamiliar surroundings keeping her awake. At military school, she’d grown used to sleeping outdoors in far harsher conditions.

No, the reason she couldn’t sleep was the fair, handsome young man on the other side of the curtain.

Unlike the delicate Xia Xiaoqi, Qiao Ran came from a military family and was easygoing, something of a tomboy. She liked younger men, preferably long-legged and narrow-waisted, with fair skin, handsome features, and deep eyes. A frail, delicate look would make them even more appealing.

Lu Xiangnan’s face and figure were exactly to her taste. He looked perfectly healthy rather than frail, but his glasses and refined manner were attractive too.

She longed to roll over to his side of the curtain and pounce on him.

Though at her current size, she might knock the poor man over. She could even crush him to death.

Tap, tap, tap. Three knocks sounded on the window.

Qiao Ran sat up and looked out. Xiaoqi stood alone outside the courtyard, looking miserable.

With her red eyes and that pitiful, almost-tearful expression, the girl was impossible not to dote on. She’d been using that look to get everyone to spoil and comfort her since childhood.

Qiao Ran was no exception. The sight of her distressed best friend melted her heart. Handsome young man or not, Xiaoqi needed her first.

She grabbed her pillow and quilt and “ran away from home” without a backward glance.

Next door, Lu Xiangnan heard the door open and assumed she was going to the toilet. But a long time passed, and she didn’t come back.

There was no affection between him and his wife; in more than half a year of marriage, they hadn’t even consummated it. Still, he came home only once a week, and every time she had thoughtfully brought him water to wash his face and feet. Today not only had she done none of that, she’d even left him alone in their room.

The kang was hard against Qiao Ran’s back. She’d been so busy thinking about the handsome young man that she hadn’t noticed before. Now she kept turning over to ease the pressure.

“Are you cooking a pancake?” Xiaoqi asked. “One side, then the other.”

“Have a heart. I came here to keep you company.” Qiao Ran was puzzled. “Doesn’t it hurt your back? You’re so delicate, it should bother you.”

“I put down plenty of padding.”

Qiao Ran felt the bedding beneath Xiaoqi. Sure enough, it was several layers thicker than her own.

“You padded your side and not mine?” she demanded. “What happened to trust? What happened to our friendship?”

Xiaoqi promptly moved over. “Come here.”

The two squeezed under one quilt, whispering in the dark, as close as they’d always been.

“Sweetie, do you think we can ever go back?” Xiaoqi’s voice sounded thick with tears.

Qiao Ran gently patted her back. “Don’t think too much about it. Like you said, since we’re here, we’ll make the best of it. We’re lucky just to be alive.”

“Sweetie, I can’t stand the toilet here. It’s disgusting. The smell actually made me throw up.”

“Bear with it a little longer. I’ll buy you a big villa someday.”

“And the clothes in that cabinet are hideous. There’s nothing I can wear.”

“Make do for now. I’ll replace them later, with anything you like.”

“The food is awful too. I want milk tea and cake, barbecue and seafood.”

“Don’t worry. Sooner or later, I’ll make sure my little foodie gets her fill.”

Xiaoqi was quiet for a moment. “Sweetie, don’t wake me for breakfast tomorrow.”

“Why?”

“I’m full from all the imaginary feasts you’ve promised me.”

Qiao Ran had no answer.

They talked late into the night before yawning and drifting off. They hadn’t slept long, however, when a rooster’s crow woke them.

Xiaoqi glanced outside. It was still dark. She covered her ears and tried to go back to sleep, but the damned bird wouldn’t stop.

“Ah!” She sat bolt upright. “I might as well die.”

Qiao Ran sat up too, gazing helplessly out at the deep darkness.

After they’d sat there a while, she asked, “Princess, want some roast chicken?”

Xiaoqi swallowed. “Yes.”

“Come on. Big sis will get you some meat.”

They dressed and stole through the darkness to the chicken coop.

At dawn, the sky began to pale in the east.

Lu Xiangnan put on a faded white Qingdao shirt, blue trousers, and green rubber shoes. Neatly dressed, he lifted the curtain and went out.

He expected Qiao Ran to be making his breakfast. Whenever he came home, no matter how early he left, she would have a meal ready so he could eat his fill before going.

But when he opened the door, the kitchen was empty, the stove and pots cold.

He stood there for a few seconds, then shook his head and left.

He cycled along a narrow path, poplars rustling on either side in the autumn wind. The corn leaves in the fields had turned yellow. It was harvest time.

In the distance, he spotted his wife Qiao Ni jogging toward him, followed by his sister-in-law Xia Xiaofang, who was gnawing on a chicken leg.

Xiangnan rang his bell and put down one long leg to stop the bicycle.

Oh! Her handsome young man.

Qiao Ran’s eyes lit up. She quickened her pace and ran over to him.

“Going to work?” she asked. “When will you be back next?”

He pressed his thin lips together and fixed his deep gaze on his wife, saying nothing.

Qiao Ran knew he was suspicious. Not just him: everyone in the Lu family suspected something was behind the sudden changes in her and Xiaoqi. She had no wish to conceal herself deliberately, much less pretend to be the body’s original owner. She was herself. Her name was Qiao Ran, not Qiao Ni.

“Where have you been?” Xiangnan asked.

Not only did he have a good figure and a handsome face, his voice was lovely too. It wasn’t deep and sexy, but warm and refined, like a gently flowing river that put a person at ease.

“Running.” Qiao Ran wiped the sweat from her forehead. “I’m losing weight.”

He fell silent again, studying her fleshy face.

Xiaoqi caught up and held her chicken leg to Qiao Ran’s mouth. “Have a bite.”

Qiao Ran pushed it away. “Don’t tempt me.”

The puzzlement in Xiangnan’s eyes deepened. On previous visits, he’d always heard his sister-in-law insulting Qiao Ni, openly or indirectly. Sometimes even he’d been angry enough to tell Qiao Ni to stand up for herself. But Qiao Ni would only smile foolishly and say the younger woman was just a girl, so she wouldn’t hold it against her.

But now…

He looked at Xiaoqi suspiciously. “Do you two get along now? You don’t fight anymore?”

Gnawing on the chicken leg, Xiaoqi said, “Marshal Zhang said the world isn’t all about fighting and killing.”

Qiao Ran imitated the actor Zhang Xuejian’s raspy voice. “Right. It’s about knowing how to deal with people.”

“Zhang Zuolin?” Xiangnan’s frown deepened. “Where did you hear that? I remember neither of you went to school.”

“On a TV drama,” Xiaoqi blurted.

“Would it kill you to keep quiet?” Qiao Ran demanded.

“I’d go crazy.”