“My mom said she didn’t know what style young people like, so she took my cousin along to pick it out. Sister-in-law, if you don’t like it, I can take it back and exchange it for a new one for you later.”
“No need, I really like it.” Cheng Fangqiu smiled, her eyes curving into crescents, and a faint blush appeared on her cheeks.
“Then try it on to see if it fits.”
Cheng Fangqiu nodded, carefully placing the passbook and the watch box on the table beside her. Then she put on the watch, and surprisingly, the size fit perfectly, as if it were tailor-made for her.
“Cousin has such a good eye.”
“She loves buying these kinds of things.” When mentioning this cousin, Zhou Yingchen’s expression stiffened for a moment before he added, “I think you two would get along really well.”
“Oh?” Cheng Fangqiu blinked, showing curiosity, but Zhou Yingchen didn’t elaborate further. He only said, “You’ll find out when you meet her at the end of the year.”
Cheng Fangqiu didn’t dwell on it, as her attention was completely captured by the things Zhou Yingchen had brought.
A variety of Beijing specialties were spread across the entire table, leaving her dazzled. Many of these were things she hadn’t even tried in her later years, likely belonging to the childhood memories of a certain generation.
“Originally, I wanted to bring a Beijing roast duck for you to try, but the weather is too hot, and it would definitely spoil on the way. When you visit Beijing, Sister-in-law, you must try it.”
“My mom also prepared the vouchers for the big items you’ll need for the wedding. They’re all in here.”
“Sister-in-law, do you want me to help you tidy up?”
Cheng Fangqiu quickly waved her hand, politely declining Zhou Yingchen’s enthusiasm.
“No, no, you go ahead and freshen up. I can handle it myself.”
After getting a bit more familiar, Cheng Fangqiu noticed that Zhou Yingchen was quite talkative. After all, he was still young, a college student, and it was perfectly normal for someone his age to have such a personality.
Zhou Yingchen nodded in agreement, first putting his luggage in his room before heading to the bathroom.
The living room was suddenly left with only Cheng Fangqiu. As she tidied up the diverse and comprehensive array of Beijing specialties, she couldn’t help but feel that Zhou Yinghuai’s family was even better than she had imagined.
Zhou Yingchen, the male lead from the book, also treated her with great respect.
Cheng Fangqiu smiled softly, deciding that she would give Zhou Yinghuai a big, affectionate kiss when he returned.
Her in-laws were so kind to her, so when Zhou Yingchen returned to Beijing, she would prepare some local specialties from Rongzhou for him to take back. Although their value might not match what they had given her, it would still be a gesture of her gratitude.
When life got better in the future, she could always repay them more generously.
The more she thought about it, the more she felt that choosing Zhou Yinghuai had been the right decision.
There were a lot of items, but fortunately, there was plenty of storage space at home. After sorting and organizing everything, she picked out the specialty gifts she wanted to give to Xu Qiqi and then took a book to the balcony.
The whole process had been tiring and mentally draining, and the weather was hot. Thankfully, the fan kept her from sweating too much.
By now, the balcony was free of sunlight. She half-lay on the rocking chair, feeling a bit lazy, and the words in the book began to blur. Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep.
—
As evening approached and it was time to get off work, countless bicycles rode out from the parking shed, moving in an orderly line along the path. Everyone’s face showed varying degrees of fatigue from a day’s work, but there was also the joy of finally being off duty.
Zhou Yinghuai rode his bicycle, his mind preoccupied with the day’s events. He rode faster than usual, but as he entered the residential compound, he slowed down. After locking his bike, he was about to head upstairs when someone stopped him at the corner.
Recognizing the person, Zhou Yinghuai’s brows immediately furrowed.
“Comrade Zhou.” The person had clearly been waiting for him, as they approached him as soon as they saw him. Their wrinkled face bore a smile that Zhou Yinghuai found irritating.
“What is it?” Zhou Yinghuai’s gaze instinctively shifted upward toward the building, wondering if Qiuqiu had successfully met Zhou Yingchen.
Ma Shugen naturally sensed Zhou Yinghuai’s impatience. Though he didn’t show it on his face, he cursed inwardly—was this any way to treat an elder?
No matter. Soon, Zhou Yinghuai would be thanking him.
“Comrade Zhou, there are some things I don’t know if I should say or not,” Ma Shugen feigned hesitation and sighed.
Zhou Yinghuai had no time to listen to him beat around the bush. He shot him a sidelong glance and walked straight past him toward the stairs. Seeing this, Ma Shugen hurriedly caught up, “Hey, hey, Comrade Zhou, don’t be in such a hurry! It’s not that I don’t want to say it, but it’s just that something like a man being cuckolded is really hard to bring up…”
At these words, Zhou Yinghuai’s footsteps paused for a moment, and his frown deepened.
Seeing Zhou Yinghuai’s cold glance, Ma Shugen clasped his hands and muttered mysteriously, “Women, you really shouldn’t marry ones that are too pretty. They’re all reincarnated vixens, born with a restless nature. They itch all over at the sight of a man.”
“You’ve only been married for a few days, and Comrade Cheng is already bold enough to bring another man home. They’ve been inside for hours and still haven’t come out. Such nerve, tsk tsk.”
As he spoke, Ma Shugen spat a mouthful of saliva onto the ground. He had thought Cheng Fangqiu was a pure, virtuous fairy, but it turned out she was just a shameless woman who couldn’t stand being alone.
At noon, he had brought so many nice things to her door, but she didn’t even open it. Fine, but then in the afternoon, he saw her brazenly bring a man into her home, and they made such a racket that he could hear it from the stairwell!
Was it just because she thought he was too old and not as good as a younger man?
That shameless woman needed to be taught a lesson.
He couldn’t swallow this anger, so he waited downstairs, planning to inform Zhou Yinghuai as soon as possible and follow him upstairs to catch them in the act.
He had originally thought about going to the technical department to let everyone see how this loose woman was cheating, but then he reconsidered. His son had told the family to stay on good terms with Comrade Zhou and not to ruin the relationship. If he made this humiliating scandal public, and Zhou Yinghuai ended up taking his anger out on them, wouldn’t that be counterproductive?
So he dismissed the idea.
In the meantime, fearing that the adulterer might escape, he had Zhang Guixiang keep watch. If the man tried to leave, they wouldn’t care about the consequences—they’d make a scene. No matter what, he wouldn’t let Cheng Fangqiu, that loose woman, get away with it!
No man could tolerate being cuckolded, and someone like Zhou Yinghuai, a man of exceptional talent, would care even more than the average man. Ma Shugen was certain there would be a good show later, and he couldn’t help but feel excited, his old face flushing red.
But the next second, a fierce punch landed on his stomach. In an instant, a sharp pain spread through his body, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. Before he could catch his breath, another kick followed, landing squarely on his knee.
Ma Shugen let out a painful howl and collapsed to his knees. The pain in his knees was excruciating, and as he trembled and looked up, he met a pair of cold, ruthless eyes.
“Why… why?”
Ma Shugen couldn’t understand at all. He had kindly informed Zhou Yinghuai that his wife was cheating, so why was Zhou Yinghuai repaying his kindness with violence?
His old bones felt like they were falling apart after just these two blows. He was gasping for breath, each inhale accompanied by unbearable pain, and his vision blurred.
He wanted to call for help, but he couldn’t even manage to shout.
Zhou Yinghuai looked down at Ma Shugen with disdain, treating him no differently than a dog. As he wiped his hands on his work clothes in disgust, he continued walking upstairs.
Though he hadn’t said a word, Ma Shugen was still trembling with fear. He tried to support himself against the wall to stand up, but the next second, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted.
Zhou Yinghuai heard the sound of something heavy hitting the ground behind him but didn’t stop. As he approached his door, he glanced sharply to the side and caught sight of a figure hiding behind a crack in the door, peeking out furtively. The person was so startled that their hand shook, and the door slammed shut.
Zhou Yinghuai acted as if he hadn’t seen anything, taking his keys out of his pocket to unlock the door.
The room was quiet. He saw the pair of shoes she often wore in the shoe cabinet, as well as a pair of unfamiliar men’s leather shoes. Guessing that they were probably resting, he moved quietly. He went to the bathroom first to wash his hands, scrubbing each finger thoroughly with soap before rinsing off the foam.
“Brother?”
As he stepped out of the bathroom, he ran straight into Zhou Yingchen, who had just come out of his room. Clearly, he had woken up upon hearing Zhou Yinghuai return.
Zhou Yinghuai instinctively gave Zhou Yingchen a once-over. It had been a while since they last met, and his once rebellious younger brother seemed to have matured a bit, with a touch of steadiness in his expression, though his youthful energy was still evident.
“Where’s your sister-in-law?”
Hearing this, Zhou Yingchen was momentarily stunned. He had thought his brother would, as usual, lecture him first before talking about anything else. He hadn’t expected the first thing he’d ask about was his sister-in-law. Was this the transformation his mom had mentioned, the change that comes after getting a wife?
“She’s asleep on the balcony.”
The two of them instinctively lowered their voices.
Zhou Yinghuai followed his words and glanced toward the balcony, catching sight of a dazzling red skirt hem.
—
Cheng Fangqiu opened her eyes again when she was awakened by a familiar voice.
“Qiuqiu?” The man’s tender, affectionate voice was close at hand, like a gentle breeze slipping into her ears. Subconsciously, as she often did, she reached out to hook her arms around his neck, murmuring softly, “I’m so sleepy.”
She pressed closer to his body, her slightly disheveled, fluffy head nuzzling against his collarbone. Her long, thick eyelashes fluttered, but she couldn’t bring herself to open her eyes.
“Hubby, hug me.”
After a moment, instead of the usual embrace she expected, she heard a slightly awkward cough. Finally, she drowsily and somewhat puzzledly opened her eyes.
Her vision shifted from blurry to clear, and she met Zhou Yinghuai’s inscrutable gaze. Just as she was about to ask, her peripheral vision caught a tall figure quickly disappearing into the living room.
Her foggy brain instantly cleared, and she abruptly withdrew her hands. Her fair face flushed with a faint pink, and her red lips opened and closed, but not a single word came out.
Was there a crack in the ground? She really wanted to crawl into it!
How could she have forgotten that her brother-in-law was still in the house while she was sleeping?
“Qiuqiu, let’s go eat?” Zhou Yinghuai naturally noticed Cheng Fangqiu’s embarrassment and tactfully changed the subject, not mentioning what had just happened at all.
Seeing Zhou Yinghuai’s calm expression, as if nothing had happened, Cheng Fangqiu felt slightly less awkward. She took his outstretched hand and used it to help herself up, whispering, “When did you get back?”
“Just now,” Zhou Yinghuai replied, helping her smooth out her slightly messy long hair.