The 60s Island: The Daily Life of a Capitalist Young Lady with the Army - Chapter 65: Shouldn't You Give Me a Hand?

Chapter 65: Shouldn’t You Give Me a Hand?

Xu Xiangsi accepted the gratitude with unusual frankness this time: “Sister-in-law, you’re too polite. Anyone who witnessed such a situation wouldn’t stand by and do nothing.”

She paused, then added a blunt truth: “Actually, don’t just thank me. You should be grateful that I happen to know how to swim. Otherwise, I’d just be anxiously watching from the shore, unable to help at all.”

Suddenly remembering something, her face clouded with genuine regret and heartache: “It’s just a pity about the seafood I spent half the day gathering…”

In her frantic rush to save the child, she’d accidentally kicked over her bucket. Most of the hard-won crabs, moon snails, and other catches had escaped, leaving only half a bucket of shells and a few unfortunate razor clams.

She glanced up at the sky already tinted with orange-red hues and sighed: “It’s getting late too. No time to gather more now.”

Sister-in-law Yan slapped her forehead emphatically: “Good heavens! That’s easily solved!”

“Comrade Xu, wait! I caught plenty today – a full bucket! I’ll go fetch it for you right now!”

Her enthusiasm brooked no argument: “Take it home, add some clean oil and salt to the water, let them purge the sand overnight. When you stir-fry them tomorrow, I guarantee they’ll be divinely delicious!”

Turning to leave, she suddenly remembered something and doubled back, accurately seizing her still-sniffling son Song Xiaojun by the ear.

“You little rascal! Why are you still dawdling? Come with me to get the things for your lifesaver!”

Song Xiaojun yelped in pain: “Mom! That hurts! Be gentler!”

“Serves you right! Let’s see if you dare go into the sea alone again!” Grumbling all the while, Sister-in Yan marched off briskly toward the other end of the beach, still dragging her son by the ear.

The previously chaotic scene instantly quieted.

As the noise and commotion faded, the sea breeze carrying a faint salty brush swept through, leaving the world containing only the two of them and the impossibly gentle orange sunset.

As if suddenly remembering something, Xu Xiangsi’s sparkling eyes shifted with a hint of mischief as she smiled at Long Peiye: “Hey, I was wondering…”

She deliberately drew out her words: “Why were you so nervous earlier? Holding onto me and wouldn’t let go.”

Long Peiye’s face, perpetually sun-tanned to a bronze hue, flushed crimson in an instant.

The redness spread visibly from his cheeks all the way to the tips of his ears.

His tall frame seemed to stiffen momentarily.

His Adam’s apple bobbed uncontrollably, his gaze becoming evasive, unable to meet Xu Xiangsi’s seemingly all-knowing eyes.

“I-I was just worried you might get hurt.”

His voice, lacking the steadiness from when he’d scolded the mischievous child earlier, carried a barely detectable note of embarrassment.

Xu Xiangsi tilted her head, a strand of long hair lifted by the sea breeze brushing across her fair cheek.

“Is that all?”

The smile in her eyes deepened.

She purposefully prolonged her tone, like a feather lightly teasing the depths of Long Peiye’s heart.

“Then… if it were someone else in the sea today, would you have been this frightened too?”

Boom!

Long Peiye felt as though his cheeks were being roasted over an open fire.

The heat was so intense it startled even himself.

Now even his neck had flushed crimson, resembling a thoroughly boiled crab—so thoroughly cooked it couldn’t be more done.

He suddenly realized he had underestimated this little wife of his in the past.

What innocence? What naivety?

This girl was clearly a little fox! Teasing him with such finesse—subtle yet lethally effective!

Long Peiye forcibly suppressed the excitement and exhilaration threatening to burst forth from his heart, taking a deep breath.

He turned around, for the first time gazing into Xu Xiangsi’s eyes with such seriousness and solemnity.

“With others, I might feel nervous.”

His voice was low and hoarse, carrying an undeniable earnestness.

“After all, it’s a human life. But you’re different because… you’re my wife. I…”

He faltered mid-sentence.

A flicker of struggle and hesitation passed through his deep, dark eyes.

How should he phrase the rest?

Should he bluntly tell her that from the moment he first saw her at the state-run restaurant, witnessing her vibrant vitality like a blooming flower, his heart had already been stirred?

Should he confess that when he saw her rushing into the sea, his heart nearly stopped beating?

But they… had initially agreed to a marriage of convenience.

Would saying this startle her? Would it make her see him as a despicable liar and grow resentful?

Long Peiye’s solemn utterance of the word “wife” also stunned Xu Xiangsi, who had been teasing him just moments before.

The smile on her face froze slightly.

She carefully pondered the weight of those two words.

He wasn’t joking or merely putting on a front.

The gravity in his tone made her suddenly realize that Long Peiye… might take this marriage far more seriously than she had ever imagined.

She muttered to herself in rapid succession.

Good heavens.

Could it be that this guy never even considered the idea of a “marriage of convenience” from the very beginning?

Was his plan all along to trick her into marriage first and then gradually win her over—love after marriage?!

But on second thought, that didn’t make sense.

After all, she was the one who had offered herself up.

Before this, he and the original host hadn’t seen each other for over a decade and had no emotional foundation.

Unless…

Did he fall in love with her at first sight?

Xu Xiangsi looked at the tall man before her—clearly so nervous he didn’t know where to put his hands, yet stubbornly maintaining his composure. The longer she looked, the more she couldn’t hold back a soft, clear laugh.

The sound of her laughter, crisp and melodious, instantly shattered the heavy, ambiguous atmosphere of the dusk.

Her eyes curved like crescent moons: “Alright, I understand.”

She blinked at him, her tone light and soothing.

“I know you treat your ‘wife’ exceptionally well.”

Her airy remark, “I know you treat your ‘wife’ exceptionally well,” was like a small stone precisely tossed into the rippling waters of Long Peiye’s heart, sending wave after wave spreading outward.

The man remained frozen in place, the blush on his ears not receding but instead intensifying.

Seeing him so innocent and flustered, the little fox in Xu Xiangsi’s heart wagged its tail even more gleefully.

Her eyes sparkled mischievously as a new idea sprang to mind.

The next second, she suddenly let out an exaggerated “Oh my!” and swayed unsteadily as if about to collapse at any moment.

Immediately after, a pale, slender hand stretched directly toward Long Peiye.

“I can’t go on, I just can’t,” Xu Xiangsi’s tone carried a pitiful, coquettish whine, much like a frightened little kitten.

“Just now when I rescued someone in the sea, it terrified me so much that my legs are still weak—I can’t even stand steadily.”

She batted her shimmering peach-blossom eyes, gazing intently at him.

“So… Battalion Commander Long, my husband in name only, shouldn’t you offer me your arm?”