My Taoist nun girlfriend is from the Republic of China era, 1942.

Chapter 162 Lu Yuan's Request

Chen Xiaomiao parked her car in the garage and hummed a tune as she returned home.

Lu Yuan was leaning back on the sofa fiddling with his phone when he heard the noise and looked up.

"came back?"

"OK."

Chen Xiaomiao changed into her slippers, leaned over and gave the man a quick kiss on the cheek, then plopped down next to him and leaned her head against him.

"Did you say something to Tang Wen? I feel like she's acting strange."

"I told her to come over and hang out with you for the last two days of her vacation."

"and then."

"I don't know, she didn't say whether she agreed or not..."

Lu Yuan's proposal was both a gesture of goodwill and a test, albeit not insignificant.

If Tang Wen agrees, Chen Xiaomiao will have one more "lackey" by her side in the future.

If Tang Wen refuses, we can still be friends.

Chen Xiaomiao's thoughts didn't linger on Tang Wen for long. She turned her head to glance at the nursery and asked softly, "Is Yangyang asleep?"

"Yes, Sister Zhang just finished breastfeeding and is sleeping soundly."

"Have you fed him/her?"

Chen Xiaomiao frowned slightly, looking a little depressed.

"What's wrong?"

Chen Xiaomiao didn't say anything, crossed her arms over her chest, and shifted uncomfortably.

After giving birth, her body became much rounder and fuller than before. The clothes that used to look too big now fit her perfectly, outlining her attractive curves.

Her cheeks flushed, and she mumbled a soft complaint: "I...I feel so bloated."

Lu Yuan was taken aback at first, then realized what she meant and looked at her with amusement.

It's been almost two months since I gave birth to my son, nearly the time the doctor advised...

Chen Xiaomiao felt embarrassed by Lu Yuan's stare and lowered her head, muttering softly like a mosquito.

"My son won't eat... so... how about you, as his father, try it for him?"

……

The next morning, Chen Xiaomiao was still awakened by a feeling of fullness.

She opened her eyes groggily, her whole body feeling as if it had been run over by a wheel, weak and sore, yet also exuding a long-lost sense of comfort and clarity.

Turning to look around, Lu Yuan was no longer there.

You could tell that the man had been holding back for over a year since she got pregnant, and he really went all out last night.

Chen Xiaomiao lingered in bed for a while before slowly getting up, taking a shower, and changing into her pajamas.

When she finally made it to the living room, Lu Yuan was sitting at the table eating breakfast.

Millet porridge, steamed dumplings, and a few refreshing side dishes.

The nanny, Sister Zhang, was carrying Lu Yang around the living room. The little guy had just woken up and was full of energy, his big, dark eyes looking around curiously.

"Yangyang, come here, let Mommy hug you."

Chen Xiaomiao took her son from Sister Zhang and pinched his chubby little face.

Little Lu Yang immediately grinned, revealing his toothless little mouth, and made an "ah-woo" sound as a response.

While sipping her porridge, Chen Xiaomiao teased her son in her arms and casually asked, "Sister Zhang, was Yangyang well-behaved last night? How many times did he wake up?"

"She woke up twice," Aunt Zhang said with a professional smile. "But she didn't cry much and went back to sleep after being fed."

"Thank you so much, Sister Zhang." Chen Xiaomiao expressed her heartfelt gratitude.

"Miss Chen, you're too kind. I have to live up to the salary you pay me."

Aunt Zhang responded, but her eyes darted around, and she rubbed her hands on her apron, looking as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

Lu Yuan, seeing this, put down his chopsticks and asked, "Sister Zhang, just say what you want to say."

Seeing that Lu Yuan had spoken, Aunt Zhang made up her mind, and a troubled expression appeared on her face.

"Mr. Lu, Ms. Chen, it's like this... something happened at home, and I'd like to... ask you for leave to go home."

"What's wrong? Is it serious?"

“My husband… fell off a scaffold while working a couple of days ago and is in the hospital. I want to go back and visit him.”

Before Lu Yuan could even speak, Chen Xiaomiao had already put down her spoon.

"Oh dear, you should hurry back! Your family is in danger!" Without thinking, she said with concern, "Should I give you an advance on this month's wages? The hospital has many expenses."

Looking at his wife's simple and honest face, Lu Yuan sighed inwardly and had no choice but to go along with her.

"Aunt Zhang, you should go back and take care of your family first. I'll have Aunt Wang pay you your full salary later."

He thought for a moment and added, "If you encounter any difficulties at the hospital that you can't resolve, you can call Lü Xin, and he will try his best to help you."

Mrs. Zhang was surprised that the two young men were so easy to talk to, and she was so grateful that she kept bowing.

"Thank you, Mr. Lu! Thank you, Ms. Chen! You are both such kind people!"

After she finished speaking, she turned around and went back to her room to pack her things. A short while later, she hurriedly left with a small suitcase.

Holding her son, Chen Xiaomiao watched Zhang Sao's hurried departure, still a little worried, muttering, "She left in such a hurry, I wonder how serious her husband's condition is..."

After breakfast, Chen Xiaomiao carried Lu Yang back to the room to breastfeed.

In the living room, Aunt Wang was clearing away the dishes when she leaned over to Lu Yuan and suddenly exclaimed, "Sister Zhang and her husband have such a good relationship. They divorced half a year ago, but she's still willing to go back to take care of him."

Lu Yuan's hand, holding the water glass, froze in mid-air.

His face was expressionless, with only a faint smile.

"Even if a couple in their forties is divorced, they may still have feelings for each other, so it's normal for them to lend a hand and help each other out."

Seeing that Lu Yuan didn't mind, Aunt Wang wisely shut her mouth and didn't say anything more, then turned and went into the kitchen.

The living room returned to silence.

Lu Yuan leaned back on the sofa, his gaze falling on the half-open bedroom door. He could faintly hear Chen Xiaomiao humming a little tune to soothe the child inside.

He breathed a long sigh of relief.

My own wife is still too trusting of others.

We need to find someone to stay by her side and keep a close eye on her.

……

The National Day holiday has flown by, and university campuses have returned to their usual bustling state.

For Chen Xiaomiao, life seemed no different; it was still just a routine between home and school.

However, some things seem to have quietly changed.

For example, Tang Wen.

Unlike at the beginning of the semester, she no longer maintained a somewhat scrutinizing and distant attitude towards Chen Xiaomiao, but instead genuinely became close to her.

"Xiao Miao, can I borrow your notes from yesterday? The teacher went through the lesson too fast yesterday, and I missed a part."

"Yes."

Chen Xiaomiao took out her notebook from her bag.

Tang Wen took it and casually handed her a carton of yogurt.

"Here, this is the new peach and oat flavor. I wanted you to try it out."

"You bought the wrong thing..."

"Hehe!" Tang Wen unpacked the straw and inserted it into Chen Xiaomiao's strawberry drink. She then took out a box of strawberry-flavored strawberries for herself, took a sip, and complained indistinctly, "Hey, why is this holiday so short? I feel like I just got started with my part-time job and it's already over."

Li Tong, who was standing next to her, chimed in, "Didn't you go again the next two days? Did you get paid?"

"It's settled, not a penny less." Tang Wen waved her hand and smiled sheepishly, "Luckily, the manager is generous and didn't hold a grudge against a kid like me."

Zhang Yufei also leaned over and turned the topic to Chen Xiaomiao.

"Xiao Miao, did you go out for fun during the National Day holiday?"

"No, my husband is back. I'm at home with him and Yangyang."

Chen Xiaomiao slurped her yogurt and answered honestly.

Li Tong and Zhang Yufei looked puzzled upon hearing this.

Yangyang?

It sounds like a nickname. Is it Chen Xiaomiao's pet?

Tang Wen reacted quickly, slapping Li Tong on the back and changing the subject: "Why ask so many questions? Are you checking my household registration? Hurry up, the class bell has rung, the professor will be here soon."

……

The last class in the afternoon was a general education class. More than two hundred people were crammed into a large lecture hall, making it as noisy as a vegetable market.

Chen Xiaomiao sat in the middle, watching the old professor spitting as he spoke on the stage, her eyelids starting to droop.

Aunt Zhang hasn't come back yet. Lu Yang made a ruckus three or four times in the middle of the night, and she didn't get a good rest either.

I had just dozed off when my phone screen lit up. It was a message from Lu Yuan.

[Lu Yuan]: get out of class is over? I'm outside the west gate of your school.

Chen Xiaomiao jolted awake, her drowsiness vanishing instantly.

She quickly replied, "Almost there, almost there," and then kept glancing at the wall clock.

After finally enduring the bell ringing, Chen Xiaomiao grabbed her schoolbag and rushed out like a gust of wind as soon as the teacher announced "get out of class dismissed."

"Hey, Xiao Miao, why are you running so fast?" Li Tong called out from behind.

"I...I have something to do!"

The sound still lingered in the classroom, but the person had vanished.

Under the tall camphor trees outside the school, Lu Yuan was looking down at his phone.

"Why are you here?"

Chen Xiaomiao, running wildly, couldn't stop in time and fell directly into Lu Yuan's arms.

"You should at least come and see my wife's school," Lu Yuan said, gently patting the girl's back. "There are so many people watching, she's a college student."

Only then did Chen Xiaomiao belatedly realize her embarrassment, let go of his hand, and instead put her arm around Lu Yuan's arm.

"Going home?"

"No rush. Since we're already here, why don't you show me around your school?"

"What's there to see..."

Chen Xiaomiao muttered something, but her feet honestly followed Lu Yuan's steps, walking deeper into the campus.

The two of them were just like any ordinary young couple on campus, strolling leisurely along the tree-lined path.

"Why did you suddenly think of looking for me? Where's Yangyang?"

A mother can never truly be at ease with her son.

"Sister Zhang is back, and her son is doing well, eating and sleeping well." Lu Yuan squeezed her soft palm and teased, "I was just killing time anyway, so I came to you to make up for my regrets."

"Pity?"

"I didn't have a proper campus romance during my four years of college. Isn't that a waste?"

Chen Xiaomiao paused, becoming extremely vigilant.

"What do you mean? Back when you were in college...did you have feelings for other girls?"

That little expression, like a silly fool guarding his food, was incredibly cute.

Lu Yuan didn't hide anything from her and nodded frankly: "There really was such a time when I first started university."

Chen Xiaomiao's heart clenched suddenly, feeling a tingling, numb sensation.

She pouted and pressed, "And then?"

"That's all." Lu Yuan shrugged, looking innocent. "The senior didn't like me."

"Huh?" Chen Xiaomiao looked incredulous. "How is that possible? You...you're so handsome, and so capable..."

In her heart, her man was the best in the world, so how could any girl look down on him?
Lu Yuan took out his phone from his pocket, swiped a few times, and found an old photo, which he then handed to her.

"Take a look."

The photo shows a boy who looks about eighteen or nineteen years old, standing at the gate of a university. He is much thinner than he is now, wearing a faded T-shirt, with the choppy hair that was popular back then, and smiling shyly at the camera. He does look quite immature.

“My parents had just passed away not long ago…” Lu Yuan’s voice was very soft: “When you’re alone, you feel empty inside, and you always think about finding something to fill the void.”

Looking back now, it was all because I was young and naive.

After hearing this, Chen Xiaomiao felt even more sorry for her man. She reached out her other hand and placed it on the back of Lu Yuan's hand, gently stroking it.

"And now?"

"Now, now we have you and Yangyang, don't we?"

The two were cuddling when a suppressed chuckle suddenly came from not far away.

Chen Xiaomiao looked in the direction of the sound and saw Tang Wen and the other two hiding behind her, peeking in this direction.

Upon being discovered, the three of them didn't hide, but walked out laughing and joking.

Lu Yuan wasn't uncomfortable at all; instead, he greeted them in a very generous manner.

"Hello, my name is Lu Yuan."

"Wow--"

Li Tong exclaimed exaggeratedly, circled around Chen Xiaomiao, and teased with winks and eyes: "Xiaomiao, is this what you meant by 'something'? This is quite a big deal!"

Chen Xiaomiao was embarrassed by what she said, her cheeks flushed, and she chuckled foolishly.

Lu Yuan calmly replied, "It's lunchtime anyway, let's have a meal together, it's on me."

"Really?" Zhang Yufei's eyes lit up: "Then we won't hold back, we'll definitely make you pay big!"

What freshmen call a "big meal" is nothing more than a hot pot meal costing a little over 100 yuan per person.

Before long, the dinner party ended, and Li Tong and Zhang Yufei returned to their dormitory in a noisy manner.

Lu Yuan told Chen Xiaomiao to wait for him in the car, and then called out to Tang Wen, who was about to leave.

"Tang Wen, want to chat for a bit?"

Under the streetlights, Lu Yuan's expression was gentle, but Tang Wen inexplicably felt a sense of pressure.

Lu Yuan spoke politely, and Tang Wen could hear the politeness in his words.

But this politeness was completely different from the easygoing feeling she had experienced at Lu Yuan's house a few days ago.

"Brother Lu, is something the matter?"

Lu Yuan smiled and casually asked, "Why didn't I see you come to see Xiao Miao in the two days after National Day?"

Tang Wen scratched her head sheepishly: "I... I thought about it and decided to go back to my part-time job. The pay is higher for the last two days, two hundred a day. It would be a shame not to go."

"pretty good."

Lu Yuan was silent for two seconds, then smiled sincerely.

"From now on at school, please take good care of Xiao Miao..."

(End of this chapter)