Chapter 227: Green-Eyed Monster

Su Zhaozhao was still a little worried about her grandparents.

After all, the others, being young and strong, would be fine. But it would be a disaster if her two elderly grandparents encountered any danger.

So, Su Zhaozhao pulled Xu Ziyang aside and reminded him to look after Xu Yingmin and Li Chunhong.

Thankfully, they all lived nearby, so it would be convenient to look after them.

Xu Ziyang patted his chest. "Zhaozhao, don’t you worry one bit. My family and my younger uncle’s family will absolutely protect Grandpa and Grandma."

Hearing his words, Su Zhaozhao could finally relax.

The next two days passed uneventfully, and soon, Su Zhaozhao and Xie Huaizheng were on their way back to West State.

Before they left, Li Chunhong packed a huge pile of things for Su Zhaozhao—all sorts of food and daily necessities.

She wiped away her tears. "Oh, Zhaozhao... After so many years, you finally came to see your grandpa and me just this once. And you’ve only been here for a short while, but now you’re leaving again so soon. I really can’t bear to see you go."

Su Zhaozhao quickly hugged them. "It’s alright. We’ll have plenty of chances to see each other in the future. I’ll come back to visit you, and you can also come visit West State. It might not be as bustling as Jiang City, but the scenery is completely different."

It was true. Jiang City was a Jiangnan Water Village, whereas West State was a dry, loess plateau.

Actually, both were quite nice.

"Alright. We’ll come visit when we get the chance."

As she was about to board the train, Su Zhaozhao looked at Xu Yingmin and Li Chunhong, and her eyes reddened again.

’They were her grandparents, exactly the same as in her real world. They doted on her just as much, and even the way they spoke and smiled was identical.’

’She had no idea why the people in this book were the same as those in her real world.’

’But in the end, she couldn’t bear to leave them.’

’The next time they met would probably be after the New Year.’

’Transportation was inconvenient in this era, and the accident rate for airplanes was still relatively high, so she didn’t dare to fly.’

’Seeing each other even once was truly difficult.’

Finally, after hugging her grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins, Su Zhaozhao reluctantly boarded the train.

Meanwhile, Xie Huaizheng was off to the side, getting a few stern words from Xu Zhenguo before being allowed to leave.

As soon as Xie Huaizheng boarded the train, Su Zhaozhao immediately asked, "What did Uncle just say to you?"

"He told me to treat you well," Xie Huaizheng said while stowing their luggage. "And if I don’t, he’ll bring people to beat me up."

At this, Xie Huaizheng sighed deeply. "Haven’t I been on my best behavior these past few days? They actually think I would bully you!"

Hearing this, Su Zhaozhao started laughing too. "They don’t need to do that. If you’re not good to me, I’ll just run off myself."

Unexpectedly, however, that sentence seemed to trigger something in Xie Huaizheng.

The man, who had just been smiling faintly, suddenly wore a serious expression.

He stared intently at Su Zhaozhao, put down the luggage, and leaned in to hug her. "Zhaozhao, don’t leave me. If I do anything wrong, just tell me. I’ll change. But please, don’t leave me, okay?"

The man’s voice was filled with pleading, as if he was terrified she would vanish the very next second.

Xie Huaizheng’s reaction startled Su Zhaozhao.

"I... I was just joking. Don’t worry."

’For some reason, she really felt that Xie Huaizheng was deeply insecure right now.’

’The psychological explanation was that he cared about her—cared so much that he was becoming anxious about losing her.’

’On the other hand, it might also be that she had missed some detail, something that had made Xie Huaizheng feel insecure.’

’Su Zhaozhao had never been in a relationship before, but it wasn’t like she and Xie Huaizheng had been fighting. In fact, they got along quite harmoniously.’

’So why was Xie Huaizheng reacting like this now?’

’Su Zhaozhao didn’t quite understand.’

Seeing the worried look in Su Zhaozhao’s eyes, Xie Huaizheng managed to calm himself down a bit.

’That’s right, he shouldn’t be so worried. But lately, he was always like this, unable to control himself, constantly anxious...’

’He didn’t want to be this way, either. It would only make Su Zhaozhao worry about him.’

The three-day, three-night train ride was draining. Even though they had bought soft sleeper tickets, by the time they arrived back in West State, Su Zhaozhao still felt utterly lethargic.

They still had a car ride back to the military compound, and by the time they finally got home, Su Zhaozhao was so exhausted she collapsed onto the sofa.

Seeing Su Zhaozhao’s lethargic state, Xie Huaizheng smiled and ruffled her hair. "I’ll go heat some water so you can take a bath."

Su Zhaozhao nodded.

’A bath was definitely in order.’

’She hadn’t been able to properly wash up after so many days on the train.’

’She had only managed a quick rinse with water from her space, but she felt it wasn’t thorough enough.’

Once Xie Huaizheng had heated the water, Su Zhaozhao went to take her bath.

Meanwhile, Xie Huaizheng organized all the clothes and food they had brought back.

When he saw the gift Xu Jiaming had given to Su Zhaozhao, his eyes darkened.

It was a set of expensive skincare products.

The kind that was most popular with girls at the time, imported from overseas.

He wasn’t an expert, but he had done some research when he was thinking about what to get for Su Zhaozhao before.

Clearly, Xu Jiaming was willing to spare no expense.

’Xie Huaizheng suddenly realized that he didn’t seem to have ever given Su Zhaozhao anything.’

’It’s just... he didn’t want Su Zhaozhao to use these skincare products.’

’A man’s jealousy can be quite obvious at times.’

’Xie Huaizheng felt that was exactly how he was right now; he was practically going mad with jealousy.’

When Su Zhaozhao came out from her bath, she saw Xie Huaizheng holding a box of skincare products, observing it.

She recognized it as a very high-end, imported skincare brand from that era.

It was something you couldn’t even be sure of finding in a department store. She only remembered it because Xu Jiaxin had mentioned it to her once.

Su Zhaozhao couldn’t help but ask, "Is this a gift from you to me?"

Her words instantly lifted Xie Huaizheng’s spirits.

’It seemed Su Zhaozhao really didn’t care about Xu Jiaming. She hadn’t even opened the gift he’d given her.’

"This is from Xu Jiaming," Xie Huaizheng told her.

Su Zhaozhao froze for a second, then met Xie Huaizheng’s meaningful gaze.

’She immediately understood. So, Xie Huaizheng was jealous!’

Su Zhaozhao couldn’t help but laugh. "Why don’t we give it to Aunt Yun? Or Tian Tian!"

’She knew she definitely couldn’t use it. Besides, she didn’t feel the need to.’

’Her space contained all sorts of big-name skincare and cosmetic products.’

’The spiritual spring water alone was more than enough to keep her skin moisturized.’

Hearing Su Zhaozhao’s suggestion, the corners of Xie Huaizheng’s lips lifted, finally breaking into a satisfied smile. "Alright."

Su Zhaozhao decided to simply split the gift, giving half to Zhou Xiaoyun and half to Li Tiantian.

’The skincare set was too luxurious. If she gave it all to one person, she felt they might feel overly indebted.’

’She didn’t want them to feel like they owed her a favor.’