She seemed to have prepared for this, giving him no chance to resist.
The move caught him by surprise, leaving him at a bit of a loss.
With quick eyes and nimble hands, she slid her hand right under the hem of his shirt, touching his firm muscles.
"You..."
Fei Jin grabbed her mischievous hand, a strange sense of irritation washing over him. His voice grew husky.
"What are you doing?"
He had never been in a situation like this before and had no idea how to react.
The chirping of cicadas drifted in from outside.
Perhaps it was because she had recovered from her illness.
Free from the trouble of her sickness, Song Qingya's heart bloomed with joy.
Her mood had become light and cheerful.
She slowly drew circles on his chest.
"Isn't it obvious what I'm doing? I'm just curious to know if you're really as ungentle as Xiu Xiu says you are."
A vein throbbed in Fei Jin's temple.
He saw her hand was even starting to move lower.
Fei Jin still managed to restrain himself.
"That's enough."
He seized her hand, stopping it from exploring further. "Is your fever really gone? Are you completely better?" he asked.
He was concerned about her physical condition, not the intimate atmosphere of the moment.
Song Qingya pouted.
"Don't change the subject," she said coquettishly.
"Fei Jin, we're husband and wife now. Why won't you even let me touch you?"
Her words carried a hint of dissatisfaction, mixed with a touch of playful complaint.
She didn't understand why he was always so cold to her.
Fei Jin remained silent.
Song Qingya thought he was just shy.
But as it turned out, Fei Jin had completely missed the point.
His focus wasn't on whether he was gentle or not.
It was on the phrase "we're husband and wife now."
He mulled this phrase over and over in his mind, trying to find its true meaning.
Song Qingya had no idea that her one sentence would cause such a huge misunderstanding.
To Fei Jin, her "we're husband and wife now" sounded like she was implying that by next week, they would no longer be.
'So she's still thinking about divorce after all.'
A flicker of disappointment crossed Fei Jin's eyes.
He gently pulled Song Qingya's hand away, carefully smoothed out the wrinkles on his military uniform, and said softly, "I have to be on duty tonight. You should get some rest."
"Huh? You're not staying the night with me?" Song Qingya asked in surprise.
"No."
Fei Jin had taken time out of his busy schedule to come back.
He had really just wanted to check on Song Qingya's condition.
Seeing that her spirits were good, he felt much more relieved.
A few days ago, the incident of Song Qingya jumping into the river had caused a huge scandal.
Fei Jin had to handle military affairs while also coming home to care for the sick Song Qingya.
At the same time, his aunts and uncles were constantly pestering him to help with their sons' affairs.
Although Fei Jin was a man who could handle pressure, others had taken notice of all these things.
His superior had called him in for talks several times, mentioning that he'd lost a lot of weight and dropping multiple hints.
The superior told him he had a limitless future; he was both educated and accomplished, a prime candidate for grooming by the higher-ups.
But his wife was always dragging him down, constantly causing trouble.
The river-jumping incident, in particular, had a terrible impact.
Patting Fei Jin on the shoulder, his superior warned, "You need to know what's important and what to let go of. Don't let your emotions weigh you down."
Faced with this admonition, Fei Jin could only give a wry smile and promise that he wouldn't cause trouble for the military and would do his best not to let family matters affect his work.
His superior was furious upon hearing this and smashed a tea caddy against the wall.
"Go on and spoil that useless wife of yours! Sooner or later, you'll regret it!" the superior roared in anger.
Fei Jin didn't regret his decision yet.
After all, he felt that his choice was the right one.
But he didn't know if Song Qingya would regret hers.
After all, she looked a little disappointed.
Song Qingya reluctantly pulled her hand back.
She wasn't as fast as Fei Jin, so she couldn't launch a surprise attack. All she could do was watch, unable to touch, which left her feeling incredibly frustrated.
'The muscles I just felt were amazing. That solid feeling was so much better than any of those gym buffs!'
'Too bad I didn't get to touch them for long before the male lead stopped me. What a cheapskate!'
Fei Jin pressed the back of his hand to her forehead one more time. After confirming her temperature was normal, he left with his mind at ease.
Song Qingya watched Fei Jin's tall, straight figure recede into the distance.
In her heart, she couldn't help but sigh helplessly.
'It feels like the distance between me and Fei Jin is only growing wider.'
Fei Jin was indeed a good man, but his good qualities were more about his strong character and sense of responsibility than any special feelings he might have for her.
Besides, Song Qingya couldn't figure it out. This face was identical to her own; logically, it should be able to charm anyone.
So why did Fei Jin seem completely unmoved by her?
'Could it be...'
'Could it be that the male lead... can't perform in that department?'
Song Qingya was startled by the thought.
She tossed and turned in bed, her brow furrowed.
For the first time since she'd transmigrated, she experienced the agony of insomnia.
In the dead of night, her thoughts were a tangled mess.
For the next four or five days, Fei Jin didn't come home.
He only had the young man who drove them last time deliver a message, saying that he was preparing for a military exercise. Since his training schedule had been delayed by other matters, he would have to stay on base and be on duty for the next few days.
Song Qingya mulled it over with a worried expression for a long time, concluding that it must have been because she had been so handsy with him last time.
'For a traditional man like Fei Jin,' she thought, 'what I did last time was probably his limit.'
But the matter of their divorce was still unresolved.
Song Qingya felt like their marriage was just hanging in the balance.
To avoid any future regrets, she had to do something to repair the relationship with her husband.
After thinking for a long time, she decided to make him a "lovingly prepared" lunch.
After all, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.
She excitedly went to find the ingredients.
She pulled fresh vegetables, meat, and various seasonings from the refrigerator, then gathered the cooking utensils she would need.
She laid out each ingredient one by one on the cutting board.
At that moment, Song Qingya hadn't yet noticed the line of text that had quietly appeared above her head.
[Cooking Skill Buff Trial in Progress.]
The kitchen had an old-fashioned earthen stove made of bricks.
Song Qingya was no stranger to it.
She had learned how to light a wood-burning stove from a proprietor during a trip to a countryside resort.
However, she rarely had the chance to do it herself, usually just watching from the side.
But now, facing the stove alone, Song Qingya was filled with anticipation.
She looked at the matches, straw, and kindling beside her and tried lighting it. To her surprise, it actually caught fire.
The faint flicker quickly spread, the flames growing larger and larger with no sign of dying out.
Song Qingya was astonished.
'Do I really have a talent for this?'
'I can't believe it. In my modern life, I was so clumsy I often couldn't even cook a simple meal properly.'
'And now that I'm in this body, I've become this skilled?'
'Is it because of the original owner's memories?'
Song Qingya decided to strike while the iron was hot, recalling a few simple recipes from her memory and getting to work.
Shredded pork with green peppers, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and spicy eggplant...
She didn't have much confidence in her own skills.
After all, back in her modern life, she had often messed things up.