“I just got back not long ago.” As soon as I returned, I came straight here.
Ding Ximei nodded and then introduced, “This is my daughter’s partner.”
“Hello.” Zhou Yinghuai followed Ding Ximei’s words and greeted politely.
The aunt responded with a brief acknowledgment, but a hint of awkwardness flashed across her face. Just moments ago, she had said that no one would come to drink at this hour, and yet, someone had shown up immediately—this slap in the face was truly unprecedented. Moreover…
Her gaze instinctively swept up and down the young man standing before her. He was tall, with strikingly handsome features, dressed in a white shirt and black trousers, his posture straight, exuding an air of refinement. He looked entirely out of place in this simple countryside setting.
As she kept looking, she subconsciously compared him to her own son. Hmm, no comparison was necessary.
Luckily, she hadn’t spoken up to try and play matchmaker—otherwise, she would have utterly humiliated herself.
She had noticed that Cheng Fangqiu was a pretty young girl, poised and confident as she spoke and acted beside the bride. Since she was a relative of the bride’s side, the idea of strengthening ties through marriage had occurred to her. But she hadn’t expected that the girl already had a partner—and not just any partner, but one who appeared to be a very dignified and well-mannered young man.
Sure enough, a good flower has already been plucked by someone.
“You guys chat, I won’t disturb you.” After saying that, she quickly pulled along the person who was still pretending to wipe the table and left in a hurry.
After they were gone, Zhou Yinghuai pulled up a chair and sat down again, this time right next to Cheng Fangqiu. His eyes were bright as he stared at her without blinking, as if no matter how much he looked, it still wouldn’t be enough.
Ding Ximei couldn’t bear to watch. Having been through it herself, she understood that for young lovers, a single day apart felt like three years. Instead of being a third wheel, she might as well be considerate and leave them some private time.
“Comrade Zhou, you haven’t eaten yet, have you? I’ll go to the kitchen and see if there’s any hot food left. I’ll bring you both some.”
The table was filled with leftover dishes and cold food. Most of the good dishes had already been eaten, so the only place with hot food was likely the kitchen.
How could Zhou Yinghuai let his future mother-in-law personally serve him food? He immediately stood up. “Auntie, I’ll do it myself.”
“In that case, I’ll go find Fangqiu’s father. I haven’t seen him all afternoon—I don’t even know where he’s run off to.” Ding Ximei saw that Zhou Yinghuai was insistent, so she didn’t push further. She smiled kindly and got up to leave.
Now, only Zhou Yinghuai and Cheng Fangqiu were left at the table.
“Are you hungry? Let’s go get something to eat first.” Cheng Fangqiu had seen Zhou Yinghuai’s generosity earlier. Forget one meal—he could afford to eat ten.
“Okay.” He actually wasn’t very hungry, but seeing Cheng Fangqiu caring for him made him inexplicably happy. He obediently followed behind her, watching as she busied herself for him. Soon, the two of them returned to their seats with a large bowl filled with food.
“How do you write my name?” Cheng Fangqiu had already eaten her fill and was now resting her chin on her hand, watching him eat.
Zhou Yinghuai swallowed his food before replying, “The same way as mine.”
That answer made Cheng Fangqiu blink in slight embarrassment. She pursed her lips and teased, “How is it the same? We’re not even married yet. If you write my name, people will think I’m already yours.”
His hand, which was picking out food, paused for a moment. A hint of amusement flashed through his eyes, and he replied with a meaningful tone, “So, is Fangqiu blaming me for not marrying you yet?”
Hearing that, Cheng Fangqiu was stunned for two seconds. Then, flustered and annoyed, she kicked his calf hard under the table. “I never said that! Don’t twist my words.”
Just as she was about to withdraw her foot after kicking him, a large hand suddenly grasped her ankle. She was so startled that she nearly cried out. She quickly glanced around and tried to pull her foot back, but when that failed, she turned and glared at the culprit.
“Zhou Yinghuai, are you crazy?”
It was broad daylight, and there were still other people in the courtyard!
“I only wish you really thought that way.” Zhou Yinghuai’s gaze burned with intensity. As he finished speaking, he finally let go, but before withdrawing his hand, his fingertips lightly brushed against her ankle twice, sending tingling sensations up her leg. But even that wasn’t as shocking as what he said next.
“Fangqiu, let’s go get our marriage certificate next week.”
Cheng Fangqiu’s movement to retract her leg froze for a moment. She looked at Zhou Yinghuai in disbelief. Next week? Wasn’t that too fast? She swallowed nervously and unconsciously sat up straighter.
He really must be crazy.
Because she heard herself saying, “Okay.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, she turned her head to look at Zhou Yinghuai and saw his eyebrows relax, his eyes lighting up with a bright, star-like smile. He looked genuinely happy.
Cheng Fangqiu smiled too. She was truly happy as well, because this meant her plan was about to be successfully completed. Yet, deep inside, a voice whispered that this wasn’t the real reason for her joy.
If the groom were someone else, would she still be this happy?
Cheng Fangqiu couldn’t answer that question.
“But even if I agreed, my parents haven’t said whether they agree or not.” Cheng Fangqiu’s beautiful, almond-shaped eyes seemed to sparkle as she gazed at him, filled with deep emotion.
Zhou Yinghuai willingly sank into her gaze. Suppressing the urge to pinch her cheeks, he slowly said, “I’m already prepared. Tomorrow, I’ll visit Uncle and Auntie to formally ask for their consent.”
Although his expression was calm, there was still a hint of nervousness in his words.
Seeing that he seemed to have a plan in place, Cheng Fangqiu’s uneasy heart gradually settled. She changed the topic and asked, “Did you come back because you’ve finished handling everything?”
She hadn’t forgotten how urgent his departure had been. He had even dared to let someone else pass on such an embarrassing message for him.
“Mm. There were two reasons I left in such a hurry. First, the report I submitted earlier finally had a result, so I gave my dad a call.”
Hearing him mention his father, Cheng Fangqiu felt a wave of nervousness. The book had clearly stated that his father was at the pinnacle of Beijing’s elite—someone who sat in the front row and gave speeches at major conferences!
“What was the result? What did you two talk about?” Cheng Fangqiu clenched her hands tightly. She truly couldn’t guess what kind of opinion the Zhou family would have of her. After all, in the original storyline, the previous owner of this body had forced her way into the marriage. The Zhou family had treated her with indifference and disdain.
But now, things were different from the book. She and Zhou Yinghuai could be considered a couple in love? The Zhou family would surely evaluate her from all angles…
She couldn’t help but imagine all sorts of dramatic wealthy-family scenarios where lovers were cruelly torn apart.
Before her thoughts could spiral further, Zhou Yinghuai interrupted her daydreams. As if seeing through her anxiety, he set down his chopsticks and quickly reached under the table, grasping her hand that rested on her lap. His warm palm carried a steady strength, inexplicably soothing her worries.
“Fangqiu, I had to pass for us to get the marriage certificate.”
The helplessness and indulgence in his tone made Cheng Fangqiu blush. Oh, right. How had she not thought of that? She had just embarrassed herself in front of him—she wished she could crawl into a hole and hide.
Fortunately, Zhou Yinghuai didn’t dwell on it and continued speaking.
“My family respects my choices. There wasn’t much to discuss between my dad and me—two grown men. But later, I talked to my mom for a long time. She was very happy and asked a lot about you. She even told us to remember to take more pictures together and send them to them.”
That was it?
Cheng Fangqiu belatedly realized she had overthought things and couldn’t help but press a hand to her forehead with a light laugh. The reason she had worried so much was because, in her past life, she had seen too many young models dating wealthy second-generation heirs, only to be paid off and dismissed by their families.
She had overlooked the fact that truly prominent families were usually polite and well-mannered. Even if they disapproved of a woman, they wouldn’t resort to lowering their own status by acting disrespectfully.
And as for family status, some people cared about it, while others didn’t.
Clearly, the Zhou family was the kind that didn’t. Compared to status, they valued their child’s happiness more.
“If they have time, they’ll come to the wedding banquet.”
The implication was that if they didn’t have time, they simply wouldn’t come. Cheng Fangqiu understood completely. People of that caliber were incredibly busy, and Beijing was far from here—it wasn’t easy to make a trip back and forth.
“I also have a younger brother. His school is on break, and he’s got nothing to do. When he heard I was getting married, he insisted on coming early to help out.”
When Zhou Yinghuai mentioned his younger brother, his expression shifted for a moment—he looked somewhat troubled.
Cheng Fangqiu’s eyes instantly widened. If he hadn’t brought it up, she might have forgotten about the book’s male protagonist—Zhou Yingchen, Zhou Yinghuai’s younger brother.
From what Zhou Yinghuai was saying, Zhou Yingchen was coming to help with their wedding?
“What’s wrong?” Seeing that Cheng Fangqiu hadn’t spoken for a long time, Zhou Yinghuai keenly sensed that something was off.
Hearing his question, Cheng Fangqiu snapped out of her thoughts and quickly smiled, shaking her head. “I just didn’t know you had a younger brother. I was a little surprised. How old is he?”
As for Zhou Yingchen, she neither liked nor disliked him. She just wanted to stay far away from him! She knew she wasn’t perfect at handling people. Who knew if, as a mere supporting character, she might accidentally offend him and end up in a miserable situation?
But now, she had become Zhou Yingchen’s sister-in-law. Avoiding him entirely was impossible, so she could only try to maintain a good relationship.
Luckily, she and Zhou Yinghuai would be staying in Mingnan Province for the foreseeable future—far away from Beijing. Other than this wedding, she probably wouldn’t have to see Zhou Yingchen for a long time.
Thinking of this, Cheng Fangqiu felt a little more at ease.
“Nineteen.”
Zhou Yinghuai didn’t doubt her reaction and answered casually. Then, he suddenly realized that he hadn’t told her much about his family, so he added, “My parents have a lot of relatives. I’ll introduce you to them when we go back for a family visit at the end of the year.”
“Mm. I have a bit of social anxiety, so you have to protect me then.”
Just thinking about the Zhou family’s background made Cheng Fangqiu’s heart tremble. All their relatives were probably influential figures. Although she had been born into a wealthy family in her past life, compared to a powerful political family, she simply didn’t measure up.
So, hugging onto her future husband’s thigh was undoubtedly the best choice.
Zhou Yinghuai didn’t understand what “social anxiety” meant, but he understood the second half of her sentence.
Feeling her reliance and trust in him, he was quite pleased. His handsome features became even more dazzling as he reassured her, “Don’t worry, they’re all easy to get along with.”
That was something he dared to say, but she didn’t dare to believe it. She would only know for sure after meeting them.
Cheng Fangqiu snapped out of her thoughts and suddenly realized that Zhou Yinghuai’s hand was still holding hers.
His long fingers completely enveloped hers, resting on his thigh—a far more sensitive spot than elsewhere. Earlier, she had been too focused on his words to notice, but now that she was more relaxed, she felt an inexplicable unease. It was as if an electric current coursed through her body from the point of contact, disrupting the rhythm of her heartbeat.