Axolotl Translations

The following morning, Wei Jiajia was roused from sleep by a gnawing hunger.

As the harsh sunlight streamed through the curtains, she grabbed the watch from her bedside table and glanced at it. Wonderful—it was already past ten…

Another day of struggling to get out of bed, clutching her aching waist for support.

Meanwhile, the culprit behind her current state had wrapped up his vacation and, after an entire night of exertion, still had the energy to get up at dawn and head out for training, looking as fresh as a daisy.

Now, there was no trace of him in sight. Even if she wanted to give him a piece of her mind, she wouldn’t be able to find his shadow.

Thinking back to last night… She had actually passed out from exhaustion at one point.

How humiliating…

It was as if coming here had completely unleashed him. Not once did he stop to consider whether she could even keep up with his pace.

Muttering under her breath, Wei Jiajia slowly forced herself to get dressed.

Seeing the red marks scattered across her body, she gritted her teeth and rummaged through the wardrobe for a long-sleeved shirt.

If she let him get anywhere near her tonight, she might as well call herself a fool.

Even when she made her way to the kitchen and saw that Qiao Haoyu had left her breakfast warming in the pot, it still wasn’t enough to quell the urge to wring his neck.

Originally, Wei Jiajia had planned to visit Sister Cui today—the woman she had met yesterday—to ask if she knew of any carpenters who could make furniture. This place was going to be her home from now on, and she wanted to furnish it as soon as possible to make it more comfortable. If she had to wait for Qiao Haoyu’s next leave to take her, who knew how long that would take?

However, her plans were dashed before they even began. Not only did Qiao Haoyu firmly veto the idea, but her body wasn’t in any condition to move much today anyway. Just the slightest movement sent waves of pain through her limbs.

After finishing her breakfast, Wei Jiajia, still feeling sore, crawled back into bed for a mid-morning nap.

Qiao Haoyu knew he had gotten carried away the previous night. His wife was bound to struggle to get out of bed today, so he decided to head to the mess hall at lunchtime and bring food back for her instead.

As he walked briskly, lunchbox in hand, a familiar voice called out from behind him.

“Qiao Haoyu! What’s the rush? The food’s not going anywhere.”

Hearing the familiar shout, Qiao Haoyu sighed and stopped in his tracks.

Approaching him were Regiment Commander Qin, the two other regiment leaders, the political commissar, and several battalion officers from their unit.

They had just finished a meeting and had planned to head to the mess hall together, only to realize that Qiao Haoyu had vanished in the blink of an eye.

Now, seeing him in such a hurry, someone teased, “Captain Qiao, are you afraid there won’t be any food left if you go with us? Running off on your own like that?”

“No need to rush,” another officer chimed in, taking the joke seriously. “The cooks didn’t make anything special today—it’s just the usual fare.”

Regiment Commander Qin also looked at his trusted officer and asked, “Are you saying we’re too slow for you?”

Only Zheng Kaixuan, who had already guessed the truth, smirked knowingly. “I’d say he’s just in a hurry to get home and see his wife.”

“No way. Is that true? Your wife came to live on base with you?” one of the officers, unaware of the news, asked in surprise.

“Of course it’s true! Captain Qiao’s leave this time was for his wedding. Didn’t you notice how he’s practically glowing today? He even went easy on the recruits during training this morning! Clearly, his wife has quite the influence on him!”

“Oh, shut up,” Qiao Haoyu shot back at the soldier who was teasing him, though he made no effort to deny Zheng Kaixuan’s words.

Seeing his reaction, everyone immediately understood—he really was rushing home to see his wife!

Some of them, noticing how much Qiao Haoyu had changed since getting married, grew even more curious about Wei Jiajia. Just what kind of woman could melt the heart of their military district’s famously cold and unapproachable officer?

The distance from the barracks to the residential compound wasn’t exactly short. Judging by his haste, he was probably bringing lunch back home for her. That was… something else.

“Captain Qiao, you’ve got to introduce us to your wife one of these days! Otherwise, what if we run into her and don’t even recognize her?”

“Yeah, exactly! We didn’t get to attend your wedding, so don’t you think you owe us a proper celebration now that you’re back?”

“Right, right, we definitely need to make up for that!”

Everyone started chiming in with demands, and in the end, Qiao Haoyu had no choice but to agree.

“My wife just arrived and is still getting used to everything, so there’s no need for a belated wedding celebration. But once we finish setting up the house, I’ll invite everyone over for a meal—consider it a housewarming.”

“Great, great! It’s a deal.”

Hearing this, the group nodded in agreement, clearly pleased with the arrangement.

Regiment Commander Qin and the other officers stood off to the side, watching with amused smiles as the younger soldiers teased Qiao Haoyu. Only then did Regiment Commander Qin finally speak up.

“Alright, let’s not give Qiao Haoyu too much of a hard time. Tomorrow after work, all of you bring your families to my place. I’ll have my wife cook a few good dishes, and we’ll enjoy a proper meal together.”

At this, one of the unmarried soldiers let out a sigh. “If I go, I’ll be surrounded by happy couples… Won’t that just make me feel even more alone?”

The political commissar scoffed and said with a laugh, “You brat! It’s too late for regrets now. What have you been doing all this time? If you don’t find someone by the end of this year, the organization will arrange it for you. And that goes for the rest of you too—every last one of you. Settle down already so we can focus on our duties with peace of mind.”

The soldier who had spoken up earlier immediately shook his head and swore that he’d find someone as soon as he went home on leave. The other two, who had been unintentionally dragged into the conversation, also nodded in resignation, looking utterly dejected.

When they arrived at the cafeteria, Qiao Haoyu quickly collected his meal and turned right around to head home. The soldiers behind him burst into laughter, teasing him for being completely incapable of leaving his wife’s side—even for a moment!

After Qiao Haoyu left, the conversation quickly shifted to him and Wei Jiajia. The group turned to Zheng Kaixuan—the only one among them who had actually met her—to satisfy their curiosity.

“Is she really as breathtaking as the rumors say? What kind of woman could possibly make Qiao Haoyu change this much?”

Even after enduring relentless teasing, he had remained utterly unfazed, his expression unwavering.

No one would have dared to tease him like this before. He used to radiate an icy aura that could freeze anyone within a meter of him.

Zheng Kaixuan simply gave them a cryptic smile and said, “You’ll see for yourselves soon enough.” He had no intention of satisfying their curiosity too early.

This only made the others even more eager to find out.

Gossip isn’t just for women, after all.

Men have their own love for a good bit of gossip—they just hide it better.

And now, thanks to Qiao Haoyu, their curiosity had been fully awakened.

Meanwhile, Qiao Haoyu had no idea that his marriage had become the hottest topic of discussion among his comrades. And even if he did, he wouldn’t have cared.

Hurrying back home, he found the house quiet. That was enough for him to guess that his wife was still asleep.

Stepping into the bedroom quietly, he saw that he was right…

Seeing the dark circles under his wife’s eyes, Qiao Haoyu felt a pang of guilt. He quietly closed the door behind him and tiptoed toward the kitchen.

Noticing that the breakfast he had left had been touched, he finally let out a sigh of relief. At least she had eaten something—he had been worried she might have slept through the day on an empty stomach.

Qiao Haoyu placed the two meal boxes he had brought on the table. He ate one himself and set the other aside, reheating it in the pot so it would be warm when Wei Jiajia woke up.

After finishing his meal, he glanced at his watch and saw that it was still early. Not wanting to disturb her rest, he leaned back in a chair in the living room, dozing off for a bit before heading back to the base.

By the time Wei Jiajia woke up again, it was already past two in the afternoon.

At last, she had caught up on all the sleep she had missed the night before. Feeling refreshed, she made her way to the kitchen in search of food.

Noticing the fresh meal left in the kitchen, she immediately realized that her husband had come home for lunch.

She raised an eyebrow, amused. Trying to make it up to me?

Does he really think I’m that easy to win over?

Yet the slight upward curve of her lips betrayed the truth of her thoughts.

After finishing her late lunch, Wei Jiajia found herself with nothing to do in the afternoon.

After some thought, she realized that their most urgent concern was resolving the household’s food situation—an absolute priority. Stepping into the backyard, she gazed at the empty plot of land, lost in contemplation.

The immediate priority was to plant some cabbage, potatoes, and other storable vegetables before the final harvest of the season, ensuring they would have supplies to last through the winter.

In this era, fresh vegetables were nearly impossible to find in Northeast China during winter. Once the cold set in, they would have to rely on these supplies until the arrival of spring next year.

The stock of vegetables in her spatial supermarket wasn’t abundant anymore. Over the past few years, she had gradually taken out quite a lot, and besides, there were many items in there that she simply couldn’t explain the origin of.

This wasn’t like back in Shencheng, where she could use a well-connected friend as an excuse. In the end, she decided not to take the risk—if her husband started to suspect something, it would be troublesome. She had no intention of telling Qiao Haoyu about her space.

There was no way she could explain where it came from—doing so would inevitably involve revealing her reincarnation.

It was best to keep it a secret forever…

In her past life, although Wei Jiajia had been an orphan, she had never lived in a rural area and had no experience with farming.

Back in Shencheng, whenever there was digging to be done, Uncle Zhuzi would usually take care of it after work. She had never really needed to do such physical labor herself.

After thinking it over, she decided to wait until her husband returned and borrowed some tools before making any further plans.

Turning back into the house, she found some stationery, sat at the desk, and began writing letters to her family one by one.

In her letter to the Qiao family, she gave a detailed description of their new home, the friendly neighbors, and the environment of the military compound. She reassured Qiao’s parents that there was no need to worry about them, urging them to take care of themselves, as she and Haoyu were happily settling into their new life together.

The letter to the Wei family was similar to the one she had written to the Qiao family. She described the environment and the relationships with their neighbors, hoping to reassure her great-aunt and the others that she was doing well no matter where she was. Besides, she had Qiao Haoyu taking care of her.

Her main focus, however, was on her younger siblings. She urged them to behave, listen well, and study hard. She also promised to come back for them during the holidays, making sure they knew that their older sister had not abandoned them.

Afterward, she wrote letters to each of her former roommates, mainly to share her new address so they could stay in touch.

The letter to Yang Sisi was particularly long. In it, she provided a detailed account of Qiao Haoyu’s cousin and asked whether Yang Sisi had received the letter she had sent before leaving. She also wanted to know her thoughts on Zhang Wenbin.

She made it clear to Yang Sisi that she should follow her heart and not worry about putting her in a difficult position. After all, this was a lifelong decision—not something to be taken lightly.

What Wei Jiajia didn’t know was that, at that very moment, something troubling was happening on Yang Sisi’s side…

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