Back to the ‘70s: My Life as the Trouble-Maker's Bride

Stuart quickly sat back upright, his ears blushing again, his voice tightening slightly as he spoke, "The place where those people appeared was suspicious."

Annette, seeing his ears turn red once more, smiled slyly like a little fox. Afraid of scaring him with too much enthusiasm, she settled down and started a serious conversation: "So, why were they there?"

Stuart wasn't a man of many words, but facing Annette's constant questions, he found himself talking more than usual: "First, kidnapping Laura wasn't random—they knew I was acquainted with her and wouldn't just stand by."

"They were carrying explosives to force me to shoot, to rescue Laura. Without approval from higher-ups, firing a gun on my own is against regulations. My current unit especially forbids such actions."

Annette was curious: "What kind of strange rule is that? These kidnappers were armed with explosives and vicious. Why can't you shoot to kill?"

Stuart shook his head, "We're not the police. We don't have that authority."

They didn't want to kill him—they wanted to ruin him, to destroy his future.

Annette thought back to how close they'd been to danger if not for Sean and Stuart's cooperation. She couldn't help but speculate: "Could it be someone jealous of your promotion, trying to sabotage you behind the scenes?"

Stuart was surprised, "How do you know about that?"

Annette smirked, "Sister-in-law Martha told me. She said if our relationship is bad, it could affect your promotion."

Stuart was silent for a moment, then said, "It doesn't matter."

Annette glared. This man was such a blockhead. Saying "it doesn't matter" sounded like he accepted the idea of divorce. If it didn't matter, he must want to divorce, and he agreed?

But she wasn't the type to silently bottle up anger. If there was a problem, she wanted to talk it out and fix it before it got worse: "Stuart, why did you marry me in the first place?"

Stuart answered honestly, "Old Chief Cheng asked me to."

Annette knew "Old Chief Cheng" was the original owner's grandfather and Stuart's former superior. She pursed her lips, "Marriage is for a lifetime—you just married because he asked?"

She paused, then added, "Did you think if marriage didn't work out, you could just divorce?"

Stuart frowned and denied, "I never thought about divorce."

Annette was satisfied. Good. This blockhead had no clue about love or feelings, thinking marriage was just two people living together.

And he was the kind of man who would never suggest breaking up.

Stuart didn't understand why Annette suddenly smiled with a sly, calculating expression.

Dropping the topic of divorce, Annette switched to something that made Stuart blush even more: "Have you thought about how many kids you want? Boys or girls?"

She wasn't sure if they were officially planning for kids—there were no family planning posters around anyway.

As expected, Stuart's ears reddened again, and he turned to look out the window, ignoring Annette.

Annette found Stuart's pure innocence adorable and felt like a little rogue teasing a good wife.

She covered her mouth to laugh quietly, but Stuart suddenly spoke, "A grown woman shouldn't talk like that."

Annette laughed, leaning against the car door. Such an old-fashioned guy!

Just as Stuart's ears were about to smoke, Sean appeared carrying Little Zhu and Third Uncle.

Annette hurriedly opened the door and ran out to meet them. "How did it go? What did the doctor say?"

Third Uncle looked worried and confused, as if he didn't understand the doctor.

Sean explained, "The doctor said Little Zhu has a lump in his throat, not sure if it's affecting his speech."

Just like Annette thought, she asked, "What now? Does he need surgery?"

Sean shook his head, "There's no equipment here. They recommended going to the city hospital to see if it's a tumor or something."

After all, the county hospital didn't even have a decent ultrasound machine.

Stuart came over, seeing Third Uncle's reddened eyes, and comforted him, "It's alright. We'll go to the city hospital, and they'll definitely help."

Annette immediately disagreed, "It's not a tumor. It's been two or three years, and Little Zhu hasn't been affected at all. It's probably just a small growth on his vocal cords. It can be removed easily."

Sean agreed, "Right, probably not a tumor. We'll know more once we check in the city."

Third Uncle was so overwhelmed he couldn't speak. This hospital was where he'd last seen his son and daughter-in-law alive and where he'd come to identify his grandson's body.

Now, back here again, getting bad news about his great-grandson—it sounded like a death sentence.

The old man felt like the sky was falling, his back bent under the weight of grief.

Annette moved closer, supporting his arm, "Third Uncle, don't worry. Trust me, this is a very simple procedure—like cutting off a mole on your finger. It's painless and harmless, just unsightly."

Third Uncle's eyes lit with hope, "Really that simple?"

Annette almost patted her chest and nodded hard, "Yes. City doctors are skilled. This surgery is like slicing a cucumber to them. I guarantee Little Zhu will be able to speak within five or six days after surgery."

Sean added, "We'll head to the city hospital right away."

Watching Annette's earnest persuasion, Stuart felt a warm glow inside, "Third Uncle, we'll stay in the county tonight. Tomorrow morning we'll tell Third Aunt, then go to the city."

Though still worried about money, Third Uncle looked at Little Zhu's innocent face and choked up, "Longshuo, I'm counting on you this time. I'll repay you eventually—if I can't, I'll make sure Little Zhu does when he grows up."

Stuart held Third Uncle's arm, "No need to be so formal. Changdong helped me a lot before. Taking care of Little Zhu is the least I can do."

Third Uncle wiped away tears but his heart wasn't yet at ease.

They booked two rooms at a guesthouse—one triple room for Stuart, Sean, and Third Uncle, and one single for Annette and Little Zhu.

Annette held Little Zhu's hand, "You'll sleep with me, okay?"

Little Zhu's eyes shone brightly as he nodded vigorously.

Without a mother, he didn't know what one was like but liked his auntie. She smelled nice and soft—just like a mom must be.

After settling in, Stuart took them out to eat at Li's Milk Egg Rice Wine Shop.

Annette immediately smelled the strong scent of rice wine as she entered.

Could it be that the milk egg rice wine she had the other day was bought from here? It was quite far from the hospital.

After sitting down, Annette took Little Zhu outside to wash his hands.

She looked up and saw Carl flashing by on the opposite side of the street!