Axolotl Translations

“Jiajia, why don’t you stay here instead of going back? The journey is long, the ride bumpy, and it would be much easier for you to stay at my house for now. Once Haoyu gets a little better, you can head home. Besides, your Third uncle should be back in a few days. He regretted not being able to attend your wedding for so long,” Third aunt suggested, looking at Wei Jiajia.

“Auntie, we can recover just as well at home. The hospital there is close to our house, and besides, you still have work to do. If we stay here, it’ll just be boring for us, and we’d rather be home where Huimin and Comrade Zeng can visit us often. As for Uncle, once Haoyu has recovered, we’ll come back to see him when we have time,” Wei Jiajia smiled, wrapping her arm around her aunt’s, politely declining.

Third aunt thought it over and realized she had a point. Everyone in the household either worked or went to school during the day, leaving the place empty. If the young couple stayed, they’d probably feel out of place. Seeing this, she didn’t press further and simply helped them pack.

The reason Third aunt had only just learned about their hospitalization went back to the previous day when Zhang Huimin and Zeng Guoqiang visited the hospital.

That morning, the couple had stopped by to check on them before heading to the department store. Since they had a ride that day, they wanted to take the opportunity to buy everything they needed—back home, even if they wanted to shop, there wouldn’t be anywhere to do so.

By chance, they ran into Third aunt at the store. She had brought her two children along to buy supplies.

Seeing them there surprised her. A few days earlier, her mother had fallen ill, so she had taken leave to visit her family home with the children. She had only just returned and was out shopping for her kids.

She initially assumed Zhang Huimin had brought her new husband to visit her third uncle, but when she asked about it, she found out there was no one at home. That was when she learned that Qiao Haoyu had been injured and was in the hospital.

Upon hearing this, she immediately insisted on going to see him. It was one thing if she hadn’t known, but now that she did, there was no way she could ignore it. If her husband came back and found out she hadn’t gone to visit his injured nephew, he’d have her head! If she had been home at the time, she would have gone to help them right away.

From that day on, Third aunt would visit every few days, always bringing nutritious soups she had simmered at home. Wei Jiajia told her there was no need to go through so much trouble—she could cook for herself and would never let her husband go without—but her aunt wouldn’t hear of it. Eventually, Jiajia stopped refusing and instead found ways to give back in other ways.

Resources were scarce, and even though both Third uncle and his wife were government employees with stable salaries and good benefits, they still had two growing boys at home. Feeding teenagers was no easy task—they could eat a household into poverty! It was hard to imagine how they managed to set aside food for her and Haoyu each time.

Today was also the day Qiao Haoyu was finally discharged. After more than a week in the hospital, he was practically suffocating. Every day, his wife kept a close eye on him, restricting what he could and couldn’t do. So the moment Dr. Shao said he was fit to leave, he immediately had Xiao Shi call Zheng Kaixuan to come pick him up. By now, Zheng Kaixuan was already waiting downstairs.

“You’re going home to recover anyway, so why not stay in the hospital a few more days? At least until you’re a bit better? Dr. Shao is an excellent surgeon—if you stay here, he can keep an eye on you,” Zheng Kaixuan said, glancing at Haoyu in the back seat. What was the rush? His wound had only just been stitched up, and the sutures hadn’t even been removed yet.

Qiao Haoyu shot him a sidelong glance and replied coolly, “If I stay any longer, my wife will have to keep running back and forth, buying groceries and cooking every day. If I go home, at least it’ll be easier on her. Besides, my wound will only heal with time, and recovery at home is just the same. It’s not like our base hospital doesn’t have doctors—if something happens, I can go there.”

He had been watching Jiajia exhaust herself every day, running errands and barely getting any rest, and his heart ached for her. Of course, he wouldn’t be reckless with his own health either. The most important thing now was his recovery, and whether he healed at home or in the hospital made little difference.

“Alright, alright, you just can’t stand to see your wife suffer. I get it!” Zheng Kaixuan said, shaking his head with a look of exasperation as he turned his eyes back to the road. If he said anything more, he’d probably get an earful.

Qiao Haoyu ignored him. What did an old bachelor know about married life?

Soon after, Wei Jiajia and Third aunt came downstairs carrying bags of supplies, loading them into the car. After saying their goodbyes, Xiao Shi took the wheel, Zheng Kaixuan rode in the front passenger seat, while Haoyu and Jiajia sat in the back. Together, they set off for the base.

By the time they arrived home, Zhang Huimin had already cleaned the entire house in advance, just waiting for their return.

“Slow down, slow down! Don’t move so much, or you might pull on your wound,” Wei Jiajia called out anxiously as she watched her husband take a big step out of the car.

Qiao Haoyu had no choice but to stop in place and wait for her to come over and help him inside. His injury was on his chest, not his legs—as long as he was careful with his upper body, he was fine. But no matter how many times he told his wife that, she wouldn’t listen. She always acted as if he were too weak to walk on his own, like he could barely manage the simplest movements. What else could he do but let her fuss over him?

Wei Jiajia carefully helped Haoyu inside and settled him onto the bed to rest before heading back out to help Xiao Shi and Instructor Zheng carry the bags into the house.

“Sister-in-law, I’ll be heading back now. I’ll drop by another day to check on Haoyu,” Zheng Kaixuan said after unloading the supplies. He had to return to the base—this day off had been specially approved by Commander Qin because he was picking up Haoyu.

“Alright, thank you for all your trouble today, making such a long trip. Once Haoyu is feeling better, I’ll cook up a proper meal and have you over for dinner,” Wei Jiajia replied, knowing he was busy and not trying to hold him up.

“Sounds great! I’ll be looking forward to it!” Zheng Kaixuan grinned.

“Sister-in-law, I’ll be heading back too,” Xiao Shi chimed in. Now that they were home, and with Jiajia and the neighbor’s wife around, he figured his help wouldn’t be needed.

Seeing them about to leave, Wei Jiajia quickly asked them to wait a moment. She went inside, pulled out some beef jerky she had prepared earlier and stored away, and gave them each two jars to take home as a side dish.

After sending them off, she returned to the house and began unpacking the large bags of supplies, finally breathing a sigh of relief once everything was neatly put away. There really was nothing like home—just stepping inside made her feel completely at ease.

Checking the time, she headed to the kitchen to prepare a nourishing broth for her husband, setting it to simmer. Then, she stepped out to the backyard to check on the vegetables she had planted. Once she was satisfied with their progress, she returned to the bedroom, lay down beside Haoyu, and prepared to nap with him before getting up to cook dinner.

After the long journey, Qiao Haoyu was uncharacteristically exhausted. The moment he lay down, he drifted into a deep sleep—so deep that he didn’t even stir when Wei Jiajia lay down beside him.

She had known he was pushing himself too hard. It had been less than two weeks since his major surgery—how could his body possibly withstand such exertion? Even she, after just a few hours of activity, felt completely drained. But no, he had to be stubborn and refuse to listen.

Wei Jiajia raised her fist and waved it in the air toward him in a silent gesture of mock-threat before finally lying down beside him and dozing off.

That evening, after she finished preparing dinner, Zeng Guoqiang and Zhang Huimin returned from work. The couple came over to check on Qiao Haoyu, and seeing his improved condition, they were genuinely happy for him.

“You need to eat more meat. Just eating vegetables won’t do,” Qiao Haoyu said, noticing that his wife was only picking at the stir-fried cabbage in front of her without touching any of the meat. He even wondered if she had run out of ration coupons from eating too much meat lately.

Across the table, Zeng Guoqiang, not to be outdone, promptly picked up some vegetables and placed them into his wife’s bowl. If his buddy was pampering his wife, he couldn’t fall behind in the husband department either.

Watching her husband’s antics, Zhang Huimin could hardly stand it. With a discreet nudge of her foot, she kicked him under the table, signaling him to behave. Seriously, how old was he? Could he be any more childish?

Wei Jiajia frowned slightly at the piece of meat in her bowl, then picked it up and placed it right back into her husband’s dish.

“You eat it. I don’t feel like having meat today. I don’t know if it’s because I didn’t rest well, but I’ve been feeling a bit queasy,” she said. Even earlier, while she was cooking, she had felt a little off. Maybe it was just that now, being back home, she was finally allowing herself to relax, and fatigue was catching up to her.

“How could you not want meat? Are you feeling unwell?” Qiao Haoyu turned to his wife, studying her closely.

“It’s nothing serious, I just don’t feel like smelling meat. My appetite isn’t great, but I’ll be fine after a good sleep. Don’t worry,” she said with a reassuring smile.

Qiao Haoyu studied his wife carefully but didn’t see anything obviously wrong. Accepting her explanation, he decided that if she still felt this way tomorrow, he would take her to the hospital for a checkup.

Zhang Huimin also glanced at her friend, concluding that Jiajia was probably just exhausted from taking care of her cousin for so long. She didn’t think much of it otherwise. In fact, she was already considering taking a few days off to help take care of the couple if Jiajia really wasn’t feeling well. After all, she didn’t have any upcoming performances, just rehearsals, and as a singer, missing a few days wouldn’t make much of a difference.

That night, when Wei Jiajia was about to help her husband clean up like she always did, Qiao Haoyu finally spoke up.

“Jiajia, why don’t I do it myself? You should go take a bath instead.”

Every night at this time, he had to endure the sweet scent of his wife as her soft hands moved across his body, yet he was powerless to do anything. He could only grit his teeth and silently chant a mantra to keep his desires in check. It was absolute torture.

Wei Jiajia shot him a knowing look. Did he really think she didn’t see right through him? He was completely worn out, yet he still had the energy to be thinking about that? As if she hadn’t noticed his reactions, no matter how much he tried to hide them.

Given his current condition, if he tried to wash himself, wouldn’t his wound split open? Did he have no sense of priorities?

Ignoring him, she grabbed a damp towel and began wiping him down, choosing to turn a blind eye to his obvious frustration.

Seeing that his resistance was futile, Qiao Haoyu resigned himself to his fate. After all, at this point, there was nothing left for him to be shy about—his wife had seen it all before. If there was embarrassment to be felt, he had long since lost the right to it.

So, he lay back on the bed in complete submission, looking so utterly defeated that Jiajia almost burst out laughing—he was like a captured noblewoman about to be ravaged by a villain.

Once his wife left the room with the washbasin, Qiao Haoyu finally let out a long sigh. He glanced down at himself, feeling utterly helpless. How much longer is this going to last? This was getting unbearable…

After taking a shower, Wei Jiajia walked back into the room, drying her hair with a towel. Suddenly, something crossed her mind, making her stop abruptly in her tracks.

When was the last time I had my period? Was it at the beginning of last month? Or… was it the month before that?

She put the towel down and strode quickly to the table, grabbing the calendar.

As she mentally calculated the days, she realized her period was almost a month late. Thinking back to how she had reacted at dinner earlier, a sudden possibility dawned on her—Could I be pregnant?

Qiao Haoyu, noticing her strange behavior after entering the room, raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

“What’s wrong, Jiajia? Why are you looking at the calendar? Did you forget something?”

“Oh, nothing,” she replied, forcing a casual tone. “I just suddenly remembered that your birthday is coming up. I was thinking about what gift to get you.”

He smirked. “By next month, I should be fully recovered. You don’t need to get me anything—just give yourself to me.” His tone carried an obvious suggestion.

Jiajia shot him an amused glare—This guy never gives up, does he?

She decided that first thing in the morning, she’d go to the convenience store and get a pregnancy test. They say the most accurate time to test is in the morning before eating, right? If the test was positive, she’d go to the hospital for confirmation.

Only after she was sure would she tell her husband he was going to be a father. And technically, she wasn’t lying—his birthday was indeed next month. If she really was pregnant, this would be an early birthday gift. And honestly, could there be a present he’d want more?

Gently, she placed a hand over her belly, silently hoping that this gift for her husband would come true.

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