Chapter 69: Husband and Wife
The soldiers outside were fighting the same war, yet most of them ate much simpler meals. Wouldn’t it seem unfair if the two of them ate this well every day?
"I can’t eat the same food they eat here," Rong Shuyan said casually as he picked up his chopsticks. "It would upset my stomach, and my health might get worse. If that happens, I won’t be able to help much around the camp."
[Oh, no, that would be terrible!] Lin Xueyi thought. [If he gets sick, this border will definitely collapse!]
After all, Rong Shuyan was the one directing almost everything that happened here. He was also the person who knew the most about the Southern Wolf Tribe.
Because of that, everything could fall apart if Rong Shuyan suddenly became sick or, even worse, was gone.
After thinking about it, Lin Xueyi picked up her chopsticks. She took several large pieces of braised meat and placed them into Rong Shuyan’s bowl.
"You have to eat plenty of meat, Your Highness," Lin Xueyi said with a smile. "Don’t get sick."
Rong Shuyan stared at his bowl for a few moments before shifting his gaze toward Lin Xueyi. "You’ve only just recovered too, so you should eat more meat as well."
As he spoke, Rong Shuyan picked up a large piece of braised meat and placed it into Lin Xueyi’s bowl.
Lin Xueyi looked down at it, then she looked at Rong Shuyan’s bowl.
Without saying anything, she picked up another piece of meat and put it into his bowl.
Rong Shuyan: "..."
He calmly picked up another piece and returned it to hers. Lin Xueyi immediately frowned. [Is he trying to fight me?!]
She picked up two pieces this time and placed both of them into Rong Shuyan’s bowl. "Your Highness needs to eat more."
Rong Shuyan looked at the two pieces of meat before looking back at her. "You need to eat more as well."
Before Lin Xueyi could take another piece of meat, Rong Shuyan had already said, "Xueyi, let’s eat before the food gets cold."
Lin Xueyi’s chopsticks stopped in midair, and she quickly lowered her head in embarrassment. "Yes, yes. You’re right, Your Highness. We should eat before the food gets cold."
After that, neither of them spoke again. They ate quietly, only occasionally reaching for a dish and placing some food into each other’s bowls.
Lin Xueyi pressed her lips into a thin line, trying her best to hold back the smile slowly forming on her face.
She couldn’t help but feel happy because it had been a long time since she had shared a meal with someone like this, and there was something strangely comforting about it.
Back when she was still working at the company, she would sometimes have dinner with her colleagues. But most of the time, those dinners felt like nothing more than something she had to do to socialize and maintain a good relationship with everyone.
Instead of making her feel relaxed, they usually left her exhausted.
The last time she had eaten with family was with her father, but even that had been tiring.
Her father could suddenly become abusive and angry, especially when there was no alcohol on the table.
But tonight felt different.
There was no need for her to think about what she should say next or whether she needed to keep the conversation going. She didn’t have to smile just to be polite or laugh at something she didn’t find funny, even the silence between them didn’t feel uncomfortable.
Lin Xueyi lowered her gaze to her bowl. [So this is what it feels like to eat with someone without feeling tired.]
It was actually a little strange. Lin Xueyi used to be so afraid of Rong Shuyan that she always tried her best to be as friendly and polite as possible around him.
But right now, at this very moment, she wasn’t even trying that hard to be polite anymore. And strangely enough, Rong Shuyan didn’t seem to mind at all.
"Husband, do you think we should go somewhere nice after we return to the capital?" Lin Xueyi asked softly.
On the other side of the table, Rong Shuyan immediately stiffened. Even his chopsticks stopped moving.
Did he hear that correctly? Did Lin Xueyi really just call him ’husband’? Or had he simply imagined it?
"Husband?" Lin Xueyi called him again when Rong Shuyan still didn’t respond.
This time, Rong Shuyan clenched his hand so tightly that he accidentally snapped his chopsticks in two.
Lin Xueyi’s eyes widened. "Your Highness, what’s wrong?"
[He looks angry...] Lin Xueyi swallowed nervously, suddenly regretting what she had said. [Does he not like me calling him that? I knew it! I shouldn’t have crossed the line like that. I’ll never call him husband agai—]
"It’s fine," Rong Shuyan quickly cut off her thoughts. "My hands are just a little numb. I’m sorry."
Lin Xueyi hurriedly took the broken chopsticks from his hand and placed them on the table.
"You don’t have to apologize, Your Highness. It’s just a pair of chopsticks," she said.
She looked at his hand with a worried expression. If his fingers were really numb, then holding chopsticks would probably be uncomfortable.
Lin Xueyi asked at last, "Does your hand still feel numb?"
Rong Shuyan looked down at his hand before slowly rubbing his fingers together. "A little."
In truth, they weren’t nearly as numb as he claimed. He had simply been so caught off guard by the word husband that he had used too much strength without realizing it.
Of course, he couldn’t possibly tell her that.
Lin Xueyi watched him rub his hands together and became even more worried. [His hands must be uncomfortable.]
She looked at the remaining food on the table before suddenly picking up her own chopsticks. "Then should I feed you?"
Rong Shuyan froze again, meanwhile Lin Xueyi had already reached toward one of the dishes when he quickly stopped her. "There’s no need."
"But your hands—"
"They’re fine now."
Lin Xueyi stared at him suspiciously. [That was fast.]
Rong Shuyan calmly moved his fingers a few times as if to prove it. "See?"
Lin Xueyi looked at his hand for another moment before finally giving up. "Alright."
Since he said he was fine, she decided not to force him. Instead, her eyes fell on the medicine that had been brought in together with their dinner.
"Oh, right. You still need to take your medicine."
Lin Xueyi immediately turned her attention to it.
She carefully poured the medicine into a smaller bowl before adding a little warm water, making sure it wasn’t too hot for him to drink.
"Your Highness, here." Lin Xueyi carefully lifted the bowl of medicine with both hands.
Before she could hand it to him, Rong Shuyan suddenly spoke. "We can."
Lin Xueyi blinked. "Hm?"
"When we return to the capital," Rong Shuyan continued, "we can go somewhere nice."
Lin Xueyi stared at him for a moment before remembering what she had asked earlier.
Her face immediately brightened. "Really?"
"Yes." Rong Shuyan nodded slightly.
"Where should we go?" she asked.
Rong Shuyan fell silent. He had spent most of his life in the capital, yet he suddenly realized he had no idea what place would be considered nice for the two of them to visit together.
A restaurant? A temple? Perhaps somewhere outside the capital?
"I’ll think about it," he finally said.
Lin Xueyi smiled. "Alright."
[It doesn’t really matter where we go.]
[As long as we actually make it back.]
The happiness in her thoughts made Rong Shuyan’s chest feel strangely warm.
He looked at her for a few seconds and once again realized that she had called him husband so naturally, so perhaps he could do the same.
His lips parted, but no words came out at first.
Lin Xueyi tilted her head. "Your Highness?"
Rong Shuyan looked away slightly. "I’ll think of somewhere you’ll like..." He paused. "...Wife."
Lin Xueyi froze and the bowl of medicine nearly slipped straight out of her hands.
Rong Shuyan quickly caught it before it could fall, but some of the medicine spilled over the edge and onto their fingers.
"Be careful," Rong Shuyan said as he steadied the bowl.
Lin Xueyi stared at him with wide eyes. Her mind, however, was anything but quiet. [WIFE?!]
[HE CALLED ME WIFE!]
[AHHHHHHH!]
[Why did he suddenly call me that?!]
[No, wait! I called him husband first! Of course he can call me wife!]
[But—but he actually said it!]
[He really called me wife!]
Her face grew hotter with every passing second.
Rong Shuyan could hear every single scream inside her mind, so he frowned slightly. His expression remained calm, but the tips of his ears slowly turned red.
Lin Xueyi finally noticed that they were still holding the medicine bowl together. Their fingers were touching, and some of the spilled medicine had gotten onto both of their hands.
That only made things worse.
[Our hands are touching!]
[Why am I getting embarrassed over this?! We’ve held hands before!]
[But he just called me wife! It’s different now!]
[Ahhh! Stop thinking about it!]