Chapter 92 - 90: A Love Poem?
The next morning, Li Xiu woke up early as usual. He tidied the room, did the laundry, and made breakfast. By the time Zhou Lian got up, the sun was already high in the sky.
Propping herself up with a hand on her lower back, Zhou Lian gritted her teeth in resentment. ’That damned man... It was like he hadn’t seen a woman in eight lifetimes.’
After breakfast, Zhou Lian was half-lying on the kang bed, resting. When she took the "love letter" from Li Xiu’s mouth, she had a smile at the corners of her eyes. But as she read it, her face quickly turned red, then pale, then dark. Zhou Lian was furious. ’What kind of person was this, using their intimate bedroom affairs to write a "love poem" and tease his own wife?’
This wasn’t a love poem at all; it was a hooligan’s verse! ’When did this shameless man become so out of line? Who uses their private moments to write poems teasing their own wife?!’
Li Xiu didn’t know what his wife was thinking. If he did, he would have surely said, ’My wife gets endless joy out of setting me up day after day, so why can’t her husband tease her back a little?’
"Bao’er, I have plenty more poems. Want me to read them to you?" Seeing his wife’s charming and lovely appearance, Li Xiu felt an unbearable itch in his heart and continued to push his luck.
"Oh, plenty more, you say? Then by all means, read them to me," Zhou Lian said, so angry she started to laugh. ’Does this damned man think he can ascend to the heavens?!’
...
A pillow flew directly at Li Xiu’s face. ’What kind of books has this bastard been reading? What book would have this kind of thing written in it? Where did he even get it? Weren’t books like this supposed to have been destroyed long ago? Where did this bastard find it?!’
Seeing his wife’s flushed cheeks and her glistening eyes staring at him with feigned anger, he couldn’t hold back the stirring in his heart. He tossed the pillow onto the kang bed and pounced like a starving tiger, pulling Zhou Lian fiercely into his embrace. Their single, precious union surpassed a thousand mortal pleasures.
When their passion subsided, seeing his wife hiding under the covers and refusing to come out, Li Xiu couldn’t help but laugh unrestrainedly. He leaned close to her ear and said with a roguish tone, "Bao’er, do you remember how many times you’ve set your husband up? Didn’t I tell you back then to just you wait?"
Zhou Lian threw back the covers and glared at him, her cheeks puffed out. She had understood what he meant at the time, but how could she have possibly known that his so-called "just you wait" was waiting for her *here*!
"Oh, Bao’er, don’t you look at me like that. Otherwise, I’m afraid I won’t be able to hold back." Li Xiu was delighted by his darling’s expression. Though his body was still stirring, his wife had only just finished her postpartum confinement and couldn’t handle his tormenting. Still, satisfying himself with words and teasing his wife wasn’t a bad alternative.
Zhou Lian stared at him, a little dazed. ’Is this man before me really my husband?’ Not just in this life, but even in her past life, after living with him for over a decade, she had never seen this side of him. After their daughter and son got married, he would often just trail after her, but she had never seen this brazen and roguish side.
"Bao’er, stop staring. Even if you stare until flowers bloom, I’ll still be your husband." Seeing his wife’s dazed look, Li Xiu knew she was thinking about their past and present lives again.
"Bao’er, tell me, why do we live? Why do we struggle so hard to live?" Li Xiu asked with a serious expression.
"For what? To be filial to our parents and raise our children well?" Zhou Lian was a little puzzled by his question. ’For what? Yes, why do people struggle so hard to live?’
"Look, if you end up with good parents, that’s one thing. But with parents like mine, how could anyone be genuinely filial? And our children, when they’re young, we dote on them and protect them. But when they grow up and start their own families, they won’t need us anymore. What about us then? We’ll only have each other."
In order to make his wife accept his now wild and unrestrained side, Li Xiu began spouting utter nonsense with a straight face. "Bao’er, you have to understand, we don’t live for our parents, and we don’t live for our children. We have to live for each other. You and I, we are the ones who will accompany each other into old age, who will be together forever. We are the most important person to one another."
Listening to him, Zhou Lian felt he had a point, but something about it still felt off.
Seeing Zhou Lian’s confused expression, Li Xiu lowered his eyes, concealing the wild madness within them. He continued to coax her, "Bao’er, you need to understand that parents grow old, and they have other children to think about. Our children will also grow up, leave, and start their own families. Then, the people in their new homes will become the most important people to them. But we will only have each other. You are my only woman, the person I love most, the most important person to me. And for you, I am your only man, and I will be the person you love most, the most important person to you."
Thinking carefully about his words, Zhou Lian had to admit they made sense. However, they came with a prerequisite: whether man or woman, one had to never abandon or betray the other, under any circumstances. But people’s hearts are fickle. Who could guarantee that they, or their partner, could do so for a lifetime? The words were sweet and easy to say, but whether they could be put into practice was another matter entirely. As for whether anyone would believe them, that really was a matter of opinion.
Hearing his wife’s sigh, Li Xiu concealed the emotion in his eyes and asked with a light chuckle, "Bao’er, what are you thinking about? You seem so emotional."
"Li Xiu, I understand what you mean. It’s just a pity that people’s hearts are fickle. Who can guarantee they won’t change over a lifetime? Your words are easy to say and nice to hear, but they are incredibly difficult to live up to." Sighing, Zhou Lian looked up at the well-defined face above her, at his sharp brows and starlike eyes, and spoke softly. ’When did this man change so much? He’s so much more handsome now than when we were courting. It’s like he’s been completely reborn.’
"What’s so difficult about it? A husband and wife should go through thick and thin together. Lovers should depend on each other in life and death. Family should never abandon one another. You and I are husband and wife, we are deeply in love, and we share a bloodline. We’re closer than kin. How hard can it be to spend a lifetime together, never abandoning each other, sharing weal and woe, devoted until death? It’s as natural as eating and drinking. A person can’t survive without food and water. What do you think would happen to me without you? It’s like asking how long I could live without eating or drinking!"
Having also experienced the future world, Li Xiu scoffed at the "fast-food" marriages and "fast-food" love of that era. He saw them as nothing but irresponsible excuses. The difference between humans and animals is that humans have self-control. They can restrain their behavior and constantly strive to conform to a proper moral compass. Animals, on the other hand, merely follow their instincts to mate and eat.
"Can it really be done? There aren’t that many earth-shattering love stories in this world. In ancient times, men could openly take three wives and four concubines. Do you think a man like that could give up an entire garden for a single flower for his whole life? Now, monogamy is the rule, but never mind that—just look at our own village. How many secret affairs are going on? How many men are seducing unmarried girls, young wives, or even widows? You think you can make them stay faithful to one woman for a lifetime? Who could possibly do that!" As she spoke, Zhou Lian pursed her lips. ’Men. Not a single one of them is any good.’
"Bao’er, you’re being too cynical. Of course there are love stories that move heaven and earth. How about I give you an example?" Li Xiu said dismissively. ’In their last life, even when their relationship was on the verge of collapsing, he couldn’t let go. How could he possibly do so now?’
"Oh yeah? How come I’ve never heard of any? Are you trying to trick me again?" Zhou Lian said, disgruntled.
"To move heaven, you have Niu Lang and Zhi Nü, separated by the Milky Way, with magpies forming a bridge for them to meet. To move the earth, you have Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai. Though they could not share a bed in life, they would share a grave in death," Li Xiu said bluntly. In truth, he despised both of those men. ’One didn’t use his head and ended up separated from his love by a celestial river. The other used his head too much, missed his perfect opportunity, and died of regret, dragging the woman down with him to die for his sake.’