Xu Qiqi spoke with such familiarity that it was clear she knew the process inside out. Curious, Cheng Fangqiu couldn’t help but ask, “How do you know so much about this?”
“Well, this is my first time getting married, so of course, I took care of everything myself. Unlike someone, who has already been married once and didn’t care at all—just handed everything off and played the hands-off boss,” Xu Qiqi huffed, a trace of grievance in her voice.
Chang Yan’an, who was drinking water, paused mid-action. He seemed like he wanted to say something, but after glancing at the two other people in the room, he held back. Instead, he simply put his cup down and said in a deep voice, “You guys chat, I’ll go make dinner.”
The atmosphere in the living room became slightly tense.
A hint of awkwardness flashed across Cheng Fangqiu’s face. She regretted prying and reflexively glanced at Chang Yan’an’s retreating figure. If she wasn’t mistaken, he had wanted to say something just now.
Xu Qiqi pursed her lips in irritation but quickly returned to her usual nonchalant demeanor. “Ignore him. Hmph, he hates being criticized.”
Cheng Fangqiu chuckled dryly, realizing that this was how the couple normally interacted. She blinked thoughtfully and then sneaked a glance at Zhou Yinghuai. He, on the other hand, seemed completely unaffected by the tension in the air. He was still flipping through the invitation list at a leisurely pace, occasionally jotting things down in a notebook he had brought with him.
As if sensing her gaze, Zhou Yinghuai slowly lifted his head and met her eyes with precision. Then, he curled his lips into a small smile and murmured softly, “Qiuqiu, this is my first time getting married. I’m not playing the hands-off boss, and I’ll never give you attitude.”
Not only was this his first marriage, but it was also his first time in a relationship.
Not only was he not slacking off, but he was even more invested in it than she was.
Not only would he never show her a bad attitude, but even when she gave him one, he would come over and coax her.
A warmth spread in Cheng Fangqiu’s chest. She hadn’t thought much of it before, but now that she had something to compare it to, she realized just how good Zhou Yinghuai was.
Still, was it really okay for him to so blatantly take advantage of the situation to “show off” in front of her? The other couple had just argued about this, yet he was using it as an opportunity to highlight how great he was. If someone overheard, wouldn’t he get beaten up?
Thankfully, he had lowered his voice so that Xu Qiqi didn’t catch it. Otherwise, Cheng Fangqiu would have wanted to crawl into a hole out of embarrassment.
With that thought, she glanced toward the kitchen, then at Xu Qiqi, who seemed a little absent-minded. After a brief hesitation, she took the initiative and said, “Zhou Yinghuai is a pretty good cook. Why don’t we have him help in the kitchen?”
Saying this, she nudged Zhou Yinghuai’s foot with the tip of her shoe. The moment he heard her words, he immediately closed the booklet. “I’ll go help.”
“No need! How can we make a guest cook?” Xu Qiqi quickly tried to stop him, but Zhou Yinghuai was already heading toward the kitchen.
Cheng Fangqiu tugged at Xu Qiqi with a smile. “It’s fine. If he doesn’t get to cook for a day, he gets uncomfortable.”
Zhou Yinghuai, who had just reached the dining table, turned his head back slowly: “?”
Cheng Fangqiu quickly shot him a reassuring look before successfully ushering him into the kitchen.
Now, only Cheng Fangqiu and Xu Qiqi remained in the living room. Taking the opportunity, Cheng Fangqiu scooted closer and asked softly, “Are you okay?”
“Letting you all witness a joke,” Xu Qiqi forced a smile. “Honestly, I know that bringing up his ex-wife all the time is pointless. It even damages my relationship with him. But I just can’t help myself.”
“I understand.”
Because of love. Because she cared.
That was why she kept comparing herself to his ex-wife, trying to prove her own importance.
Xu Qiqi bit her lower lip, but still couldn’t resist glancing toward the kitchen, huffing angrily, “But look at Chang Yan’an’s terrible temper! He just walked away without saying a word.”
Couldn’t he comfort her, even just a little?
Hearing this, Cheng Fangqiu suddenly recalled the way Chang Yan’an hesitated earlier, as if he wanted to say something but held back. Her gaze swept over Xu Qiqi’s furious yet clearly hurt expression, and a thought popped into her mind—had these two never had a proper heart-to-heart?
She didn’t want to meddle in their relationship issues. But then she remembered how, just not long ago, Xu Qiqi had been so worried that Zhou Yinghuai was restricting her social life. The way she had looked at her, as if the moment she nodded, Xu Qiqi would storm downstairs to fight for her freedom…
Thinking about that, Cheng Fangqiu softened a little.
Before she could voice her observation, she heard Xu Qiqi murmur in disappointment, “He just doesn’t like me. That’s why he doesn’t care how he treats me. After all, I’m the one who likes him, and he knows I’ll be the one to back down first.”
Cheng Fangqiu was stunned, blurting out instinctively, “Huh? He doesn’t like you?”
“Mm. His heart is still with his ex-wife.” Xu Qiqi slumped into the sofa. Feeling that saying this made her seem pathetic, she quickly added, “But whatever. We’re already married, so I don’t care about that.”
Not care? She probably cared a lot.
Cheng Fangqiu sighed inwardly, staring at the ceiling. She was someone who preferred to be straightforward, so she had never understood why people like Xu Qiqi and Chang Yan’an kept everything bottled up. Wasn’t it exhausting to interact this way?
The reality proved that it was indeed exhausting.
Exhausting enough to be buried under countless misunderstandings and missed opportunities.
Cheng Fangqiu took a deep breath and smiled faintly. “I actually think he likes you a lot.”
Xu Qiqi froze for a moment before muttering, “Impossible. He’s never said he likes me.”
“Liking someone doesn’t necessarily have to be expressed in words. Some men say ‘I love you’ all the time, yet still cheat, don’t they?”
Perhaps Cheng Fangqiu’s words struck at Xu Qiqi’s existing beliefs too hard, because she hesitated for a moment before continuing, “But he only married me because his family pressured him…”
“Pressured him? But didn’t you say earlier that your father got into trouble a while ago?”
If that was the case, how could Chang Yan’an’s family have forced their outstanding son to marry her? They’d probably try to avoid her instead.
Xu Qiqi hesitated, feeling like that made some sense, but still argued, “Chang Yan’an stayed single for years after his divorce. His parents wanted him to remarry. They wanted a grandchild.”
“He could’ve had a child with someone else. It’s not like there’s a shortage of women who want to marry Deputy Director Chang, right? If not a crowd, there should at least be a few?”
Seeing Xu Qiqi spiraling into self-doubt, Cheng Fangqiu decided to cut straight to the point. “If you want to know why he married you and whether he likes you, why don’t you just ask him yourself?”
“How can I ask that? What if he really doesn’t like me? That’d be so humiliating.” Xu Qiqi couldn’t bring herself to do it.
“Embarrassment is better than spending the rest of your life stuck in uncertainty, isn’t it?” Cheng Fangqiu shrugged. “There are plenty of men out there. If you’re not happy, just find another one.”
After saying that, she realized this advice didn’t really suit Xu Qiqi and Chang Yan’an’s situation. After all, strictly speaking, Chang Yan’an wasn’t just Xu Qiqi’s husband—he was also the Xu family’s benefactor.
Sure enough, once too many things got involved, everything became more complicated.
Thinking along these lines, Cheng Fangqiu suddenly wondered—if one day, she and Zhou Yinghuai were no longer happy together, would she be able to walk away freely?
She found that she couldn’t answer the question.
It was all Zhou Yinghuai’s fault for treating her too well.
He was messing with her ‘Dao Heart’!
“Speak of the devil, and the devil appears.” Just as Cheng Fangqiu was thinking about Zhou Yinghuai, he walked out of the kitchen carrying a freshly stir-fried plate of greens. Seeing her, he casually asked, “What were you two talking about?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing.”
Cheng Fangqiu and Xu Qiqi answered in unison. The moment the words left their mouths, they exchanged glances and both swallowed nervously.
Zhou Yinghuai narrowed his eyes in suspicion. His instincts told him that their conversation likely had something to do with him, but without evidence, he chose to let it slide. He simply turned around and went back into the kitchen.
The moment he left, both of them exhaled heavily in relief.
“Anyway, I just think that if you two don’t plan on getting a divorce, it’s better to be honest with each other. Keeping things bottled up only makes things worse. A little more openness between husband and wife can smooth over a lot of problems.”
With Zhou Yinghuai’s sudden appearance, Cheng Fangqiu didn’t dare continue discussing topics like “leaving one’s husband and children,” lest he overheard. She quickly wrapped up the conversation and smoothly transitioned the topic elsewhere.
Xu Qiqi nodded thoughtfully. “Now that I think about it, every time we argue, we just brush past the issue without ever really talking things through.”
She turned to Cheng Fangqiu and gave her a sincere look. “Qiuqiu, thank you.”
They hadn’t even known each other for that long, yet Cheng Fangqiu had managed to pinpoint the issue between her and Chang Yan’an so accurately. It was almost scary how perceptive she was.
Cheng Fangqiu wouldn’t tell her that in her past life, she had spent countless hours listening to her friends vent about relationship problems. After years of experience, she had honed a pair of fire-seeing eyes—able to spot emotional turmoil in an instant.
“Don’t mention it.”
They didn’t continue dwelling on the topic. Instead, they shifted their discussion to the wedding banquet, going over various small details to keep in mind. However, Xu Qiqi was clearly distracted—her gaze kept flitting toward the kitchen, and she fidgeted restlessly. She would lift herself halfway off the sofa before sitting back down, repeating the action multiple times, until finally, she couldn’t take it anymore.
“I’m going to check on the kitchen.” She stood up, unable to resist the urge to find out what Chang Yan’an had been about to say earlier.
“Perfect timing. Call Zhou Yinghuai over for me—I want to ask him about this.” Cheng Fangqiu, understanding the situation, casually picked up Zhou Yinghuai’s notebook and pointed to a random spot.
Xu Qiqi nodded in agreement and dashed toward the kitchen, her fiery red dress swaying behind her like a blooming flower.
A short while later, Zhou Yinghuai emerged from the kitchen. Seeing his damp hands, Cheng Fangqiu took out a handkerchief and handed it to him. Noticing that the living room was now empty, he refused to wipe them himself and instead insisted she do it for him.
Cheng Fangqiu rolled her eyes at him but still obediently took the cloth and carefully dried his hands. His fingers, long and clean, were spread out before her, each one seemingly sculpted with divine precision.
“Qiuqiu, what were you two talking about earlier?”
Seeing that he was still fixated on the topic, Cheng Fangqiu couldn’t help but chuckle. She playfully tossed the handkerchief onto his palm and teased, “Since when did you become so nosy?”
“Just curious.” Zhou Yinghuai smoothly caught the cloth and took the opportunity to wrap an arm around her waist. His fingers traced lazy circles against her dress as he murmured softly, “If you don’t want to tell me, I won’t ask.”
His hands, chilled from the kitchen’s cold water, sent a shiver straight through her thin clothing, the cold seeping into her skin. Caught off guard, she trembled slightly, her throat suddenly feeling inexplicably dry. When she spoke again, her voice carried a faint, syrupy sweetness.
“Fine, I’ll tell you. Now let go of me.” She huffed and grabbed his misbehaving hand, glaring at him. “We’re in someone else’s house. What do you think you’re doing?”
The corners of Zhou Yinghuai’s lips quirked upward, but he obediently released her. His lips, however, didn’t hold back, teasing in a slow drawl—
“So, does that mean I can do this at home?”