After leaving the photo studio, Cheng Fangqiu and Zhou Yinghuai headed to the department store. Having had the chance to closely examine that camera and even take pictures with it, she was in an exceptionally good mood, humming a tune from time to time.
As she hummed, a thought suddenly struck her. She quickly reached out and poked Zhou Yinghuai.
“Hey, you promised to sing for me alone. When are you going to fulfill that promise?”
With his impeccable memory, Zhou Yinghuai must have remembered it, but he had deliberately never brought it up in front of her. How devious! If she hadn’t thought of it today, he probably would have just let it slide without ever mentioning it again!
At this thought, Cheng Fangqiu pouted, and her poking grew more forceful. “You’re not trying to wriggle out of it, are you?”
The two were already standing close, and with this movement, she ended up leaning even closer. The light fragrance from her body drifted directly into his nose. Zhou Yinghuai’s breath hitched, his Adam’s apple bobbing a few times as he struggled to suppress the restless heat rising within him. Tilting his head slightly to look at her, he denied, “I’m not.”
His voice was slightly hoarse when he spoke. Realizing this, he abruptly fell silent, the tips of his ears turning faintly red.
Yet she remained completely oblivious. Hidden from view, her hands continued to pinch and tease his waist and abdomen, stirring up trouble.
“When we get home, you’ll sing for me, okay?” She cast him a coquettish glance, clearly unconvinced, which only made her cling to him even more pitifully.
Zhou Yinghuai rubbed his fingertips against his palm twice. Just as he was about to nod, she, noticing his silence, blinked her large, watery eyes at him and asked again, “Okay?”
Her drawn-out, pleading tone seemed to have hooks in it, completely throwing his heart into disarray.
“Okay.”
Right after speaking, he grabbed her mischievous hand and held it firmly in his palm, giving it a gentle squeeze. His voice dropped a notch, tinged with helplessness. “We’re outside.”
Outside? So what?
Cheng Fangqiu blinked in confusion. But the moment she met his deep, dark eyes tinged with an indistinct redness, realization suddenly dawned on her. Her face flushed crimson, and she quickly withdrew her hand. “I—I didn’t do it on purpose.”
She had only wanted to act spoiled and get him to agree to her request, not deliberately tease him in public.
After saying that, she felt her explanation lacked credibility. Flustered, she pressed her lips together and decided to flee instead, striding quickly toward the clothing counter.
Watching her awkwardly walk away with mismatched steps, Zhou Yinghuai’s gaze flickered with amusement. He wasted no time in chasing after her.
“Mm, I know.” After a two-second pause, he turned his head to stare into her eyes and said seriously, “It’s just that I can’t resist when it comes to you.”
With just a little teasing from her, he would crumble completely.
Hearing this, Cheng Fangqiu’s breath caught. The sunlight filtering through the department store’s glass windows bathed him in a golden glow, accentuating his tall and upright posture. His husky voice drifted into her ears along with the breeze, and for some reason, her heartbeat inexplicably began to race. A fiery, indescribable emotion spread from the tip of her heart, slowly engulfing her.
During the afternoon shopping trip, Cheng Fangqiu found herself somewhat distracted. However, she could still distinguish between beautiful and ugly clothing. Unfortunately, not a single ready-made garment in the entire department store caught her eye as a suitable wedding outfit. Instead, she picked out two sets of casual homewear—this way, she wouldn’t have to keep wearing Zhou Yinghuai’s oversized clothes while running around the house.
Romance was one thing, but she still had her dignity! What if someone accidentally saw her? That would be utterly embarrassing!
As for their wedding attire, she decided to buy fabric and have a tailor custom-make them. There were some truly skilled tailors in this era, whose craftsmanship was on par with, if not better than, the outrageously expensive ready-made clothes sold in department stores. With her own design, the final result would surely be a masterpiece.
Since this was her first wedding, she didn’t want to wear something that felt too perfunctory.
When Zhou Yinghuai heard that she planned to design their wedding outfits herself, he wholeheartedly agreed. The usually cold and reserved man had a smile so wide it was nearly reaching the sky. Cheng Fangqiu found it unbearable to watch.
After finalizing the fabric, they also bought a few pink roses and white gardenias, then stopped by a bookstore to get some elegant stationery to handwrite their wedding invitations.
By the time they finished all this, it was already late. Carrying large and small bags, the two hurried home. In the corridor, they ran into Yang Liqun, who was on her way downstairs.
To be fair, they had only interacted with this family twice, and neither time had been pleasant. Cheng Fangqiu was not the type to suppress her feelings for the sake of courtesy, nor did she have any intention of maintaining a friendly relationship with them. She figured the other party likely felt the same. So, she simply chose to ignore her.
But unexpectedly, Yang Liqun acted as if nothing had happened, even greeting them with a bright smile. “Comrade Zhou, Comrade Cheng, you’re just getting back from outside?”
Hearing this, Cheng Fangqiu raised her head in surprise. Still, holding onto the principle that one shouldn’t slap a smiling face, she responded with a neutral tone, “Mm.”
Perhaps noticing her indifference, Yang Liqun didn’t push further and simply stepped aside to clear the way.
Cheng Fangqiu and Zhou Yinghuai thanked her before quickly heading upstairs.
“What’s up with that?” Cheng Fangqiu couldn’t make sense of Yang Liqun’s sudden friendliness.
Zhou Yinghuai also frowned. He had no prior relationship with Yang Liqun’s family and had no idea what her intentions were. After a brief hesitation, he said, “Maybe she just wants to maintain good relations with the neighbors.”
Cheng Fangqiu nodded but quickly dismissed the matter from her mind. The moment she stepped inside, she eagerly carried the flowers to the balcony. But upon realizing how messy the task might be, she hesitated at the doorframe, then turned to Zhou Yinghuai, who had just put down their bags, and blinked at him pitifully.
“Brother Huai, I don’t know how to do this. Can you do it for me?”
Hearing her words, Zhou Yinghuai looked up and saw the vast expanse of sunset clouds drifting across the sky. The warm, golden-orange glow of the setting sun spilled over the balcony, illuminating her face. She gazed at him expectantly, as if he was the center of her entire world.
In his mind, a firework silently bloomed. He pressed his lips together, then stepped toward her.
As his tall frame approached, he suddenly reached out, wrapped an arm around her waist, and pressed her against the doorframe. The soft fringe of his short hair slightly obscured the emotions in his eyes, but it couldn’t hide the heat radiating from his breath.
Cheng Fangqiu’s face involuntarily began to heat up, turning a shade as dazzling as the sunset itself.
“If you give me a kiss, I’ll—”
Before he could even finish his sentence, he felt a soft warmth press against his lips. The hand resting on her waist instinctively tightened its grip.
“Was one kiss enough?” Cheng Fangqiu teased, watching as his noble and reserved face was slowly overtaken by a rare flustered and helpless expression. Then, like a mischievous sprite, she leaned in again—her lips hovering just a breath away from his, close enough to tempt, but never quite touching.
Hmph, if she couldn’t tease him outside, was she not allowed to do so at home either?
Besides, with the setting sun casting its golden glow, wasn’t this the perfect moment for a kiss?
But in the next second, Cheng Fangqiu bolted, slipping away through the gap between them without the slightest hesitation.
Because Zhou Yinghuai had just asked, “Is there still hot water in the thermos?”
The meaning behind those words was self-explanatory.
She had only intended to throw out a small tease, yet he had gone straight for the big move—not fair!
“Broad daylight, and you don’t even feel embarrassed,” Cheng Fangqiu grumbled as she plopped onto the new chair on the balcony. Feeling like her entire body was overheating, she used her hand as a fan, desperately waving air at herself.
Zhou Yinghuai made no comment, only staring at her intently, his sharp gaze unwavering. Then, he raised an eyebrow slightly, as if silently accusing her of playing innocent after stirring up trouble.
She huffed, ignoring his silent protest, and directed him to take out the soil and flower pots first, fill the new, beautifully designed pots with dirt, then carefully plant the flowers inside, press the soil firmly, and finally sprinkle some water over them before placing them in the corner of the balcony to let them grow freely.
With these fresh splashes of greenery, the balcony looked much more pleasant.
“I’m hungry. Go cook,” Cheng Fangqiu nudged Zhou Yinghuai’s calf with her foot. He was squatting in front of the flowers, adjusting their placement, and when she nudged him, he instinctively turned around.
The pink roses swayed gently in the breeze, but even they weren’t as eye-catching as him.
Lounging lazily in the chair, she admired the handsome man before her and suddenly chuckled. “Husband, you’re so handsome.”
Zhou Yinghuai froze mid-motion as he was about to stand up. He looked down at her and enunciated each word clearly: “Cheng Fangqiu, I told you I can’t handle teasing.”
“Hmm?” Cheng Fangqiu snapped back to reality instantly. She scrambled up from the chair, ready to flee into the house, find a room, lock the door, and only come out when he had calmed down.
But before she could take a single step, he caught her right in his arms.
She was lifted effortlessly, held horizontally in his embrace. With her long legs flailing in the air, she had nowhere to place them and could only kick around in panic.
“Ahhh!” She screamed uncontrollably—only to have her cries swiftly muffled by his kiss.
By the time he let her go, she was already panting heavily, completely out of breath, and had no energy left to yell. Zhou Yinghuai raised an eyebrow leisurely and warned, “Keep shouting, and the entire apartment complex will know.”
Her reflex was to bite her lip, suppressing the urge to yell. But her flushed cheeks were filled with deep indignation.
“Zhou Yinghuai, you’re such a scoundrel! All you think about every day is that kind of thing. I’m still sore, you know!”
As she spoke, she unconsciously pressed her legs tightly together.
Hearing that, Zhou Yinghuai frowned slightly. “Let me see?”
Before he could move, he reached out as if to lift her skirt.
Cheng Fangqiu, utterly exasperated, swatted his hand away. Then, from the corner of her eye, she caught sight of several glaring smudges of dirt on her brand-new skirt. Her expression collapsed instantly.
“You got dirt all over me! This was brand new!” she shrieked in distress.
“I’ll wash it for you,” Zhou Yinghuai responded nonchalantly. But when he noticed how her face turned even redder from anger, he reluctantly softened his stance and added, “Or we’ll just buy a new one. Don’t be mad, okay?”
“Hmph, that’s more like it.” The corners of her lips twitched upward for a split second before she quickly straightened her face again, pretending to still be upset. “I’m hungry. Go cook.”
Zhou Yinghuai remained in place, making a move to lean down and steal another kiss.
But Cheng Fangqiu refused to let him get his way no matter what.
The two remained locked in a silent standoff, neither willing to back down. In the end, it was Zhou Yinghuai who sighed in compromise and gently set her down on a small table by the window. His hands braced against the surface on either side of her hips, trapping her in place. Then, instead of pressing forward, he bent down and rubbed his forehead lightly against the top of her head, messing up her neatly arranged hair.
The golden hues of the sunset bathed them both, weaving them into an inseparable embrace.
Just when Cheng Fangqiu thought he was finally about to go to the kitchen and start cooking, he suddenly fell silent for a couple of seconds. Then, lifting his eyes—his gaze tinged with a faint, almost pitiful red at the corners—he whispered hoarsely, “Wife, I feel awful.”
Perhaps even he knew that what he was about to say next was difficult to voice out loud. Lowering his lashes slightly, he leaned in close to her ear and murmured in a hushed, pleading tone—
“Help me touch it, okay?”