The afternoon sunlight was neither too strong nor too weak, spreading evenly and falling warmly on the body.
Zhou Yinghuai held a damp cloth and wiped the railing inch by inch until it was spotless. Only after ensuring not a single speck of dust remained did he hang the freshly washed bed sheets and duvet cover to dry. He was strong, and most of the water had been wrung out, so there was no exaggerated dripping.
“Thank you for your hard work.” Cheng Fangqiu wrapped her arms around his waist just in time and planted a sweet, fragrant kiss on him.
Zhou Yinghuai was not polite about it either. He pressed down on her nape and took the lead, deepening the kiss again and again until both of them were panting slightly before stopping.
“Change your clothes, we’re going out.” He reluctantly let go of her, his fingertip rubbing her earlobe, which was red as if it could bleed.
He was touching her most sensitive spot, making her entire body feel like jelly, as if she had no bones. Her arms draped over his neck, and she let out a soft, coquettish hum. “Can’t we go out tomorrow?”
Last night had been too indulgent, and even now, she still felt light-headed.
“No.” Zhou Yinghuai took a deep breath, suppressing the heat rising in his body as he gazed at her flushed, alluring face. “We need to buy a bed. Otherwise, tonight…”
Almost as soon as he finished speaking, Cheng Fangqiu immediately thought of that bed that creaked with the slightest movement. She quickly straightened up. “I’ll go change.”
Rather than lazing around at home, it was better to resolve this major hidden hazard. Otherwise, if something were to happen in the middle of the act next time and the bed suddenly collapsed, that would truly be a disaster!
Forget just ruining the mood—her social reputation would be destroyed for sure!
These residential buildings were so close together that even the slightest disturbance would spread throughout the entire neighborhood in less than a day.
She hadn’t even officially moved in yet and had no intention of becoming infamous right from the start.
Zhou Yinghuai must have had the same thought as her; otherwise, he wouldn’t have remained so determined to handle this matter first, even when she was acting all soft and clingy. After all, she had just clearly felt that he was far from being as calm as he appeared.
Thinking of this, Cheng Fangqiu half-lowered her eyelashes, concealing the fleeting smile in her eyes.
She didn’t dawdle and quickly changed into a collared white blouse with pink floral patterns and a pair of black straight-leg trousers. Her black hair was braided into a plait that draped over her chest, and she clipped a small flower-shaped hairpin onto it, making her look both fresh and charming.
“It’s all your fault. Wearing this is so hot!”
As soon as she stepped out of the bedroom, she pouted and shot Zhou Yinghuai a dissatisfied glare. If it weren’t for him leaving all those unsightly marks on her like a rabid dog, she definitely wouldn’t have wrapped herself up like a zongzi.
Wearing a collared outfit in the middle of summer was unbearable—it only got stickier and more uncomfortable when she started sweating.
Zhou Yinghuai looked at her lips, which were pursed so much they could hang a soy sauce bottle, and found it amusing. He reached out and gently tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear before obediently lowering his head in apology. “I’ll be more careful next time.”
The words “next time” were spoken with a bit of extra emphasis, as if they carried a deeper meaning. But his expression remained perfectly composed, leaving Cheng Fangqiu with no excuse to make a fuss. She could only let out a small huff and move on.
The two of them flirted as they walked out. However, just as Zhou Yinghuai pushed open the door, they heard a crisp shattering sound, like something breaking.
They exchanged glances, and this time, Zhou Yinghuai opened the door more carefully. Once they stepped outside and looked down, they saw that the broken item was a soda bottle.
The corridor, which was already cluttered with various items, now had even more miscellaneous junk piled up. There were even a few cardboard boxes placed right in front of their door. One of the boxes was filled to the brim with empty soda bottles, stacked so high that they were nearly overflowing.
The broken soda bottle must have fallen out when they opened the door and bumped into the box, scattering glass shards all over the floor, some even landing on the stairs below.
“This is way too much! Do they think this is their personal storage room?”
Cheng Fangqiu hadn’t expected that, despite knowing full well that someone lived here, the other party would still haphazardly dump their belongings around. The way the cardboard boxes were placed, they would inevitably get hit every time the door was opened. She couldn’t tell whether it was intentional or just careless negligence.
Luckily, what shattered was just a worthless soda bottle. But if it had been something valuable, how would they even begin to argue about it? Who would be responsible?
Did they think they could bully them just because they were a young couple?
Zhou Yinghuai’s gaze darkened. “We’ll deal with this when we get back. I’ll have a word with them…”
Before he could finish speaking, the neighboring door creaked open from the inside. A thin and petite elderly woman poked her head out. Seeing them standing outside, she sized them up with a glance before speaking.
“Oh, it’s Comrade Zhou. Why aren’t you at work at this hour?”
After saying that, as if recalling something, a peculiar smirk appeared on her wrinkled face. “Oh, look at my memory! You two just got your marriage certificate yesterday. Must’ve had a tiring night, huh? No wonder you didn’t go to work.”
Her Mandarin was rough, thickly accented with her local dialect. Combined with her snide, sarcastic tone, both Zhou Yinghuai and Cheng Fangqiu immediately stiffened, their expressions turning cold as their brows knitted tightly together.
Zhou Yinghuai had no patience to bicker with an impolite stranger. Ignoring her words entirely, he got straight to the point.
“Since someone from your family is here, I’ll speak directly.”
He swept his gaze around the cluttered corridor before saying, “Auntie, look at how much stuff you’ve piled up in the hallway. It’s already obstructing our way in and out. You should clean it up as soon as possible.”
Zhang Guixiang followed his gaze toward the mess in the corridor. She pursed her lips indifferently—those things had been there for days, and nobody had complained before. Why couldn’t they stay?
And besides, just because he told her to clean it up, she had to? Who did he think he was?
She was about to brush him off as usual and shut the door, but her eyes suddenly landed on the shattered soda bottle. Her expression changed in an instant as she dramatically wailed,
“Oh no! I spent so much time collecting that! How could it break? That bottle was worth several cents!”
Then, she turned to Zhou Yinghuai and Cheng Fangqiu. “Comrade Zhou, you and your wife wouldn’t have broken this, would you? I don’t care—you must compensate me for it!”
“A few cents? Do you take us for fools?”
A brand-new soda bottle wouldn’t cost more than five cents. And this old lady wanted to scam them for several cents with just an empty bottle? Dream on!
Hearing Cheng Fangqiu speak, Zhang Guixiang finally shifted her gaze away from Zhou Yinghuai and looked at her properly.
That one glance nearly made her soul leave her body.
My goodness! Where did this celestial beauty come from?!
Her eyes were bright and expressive, her nose delicate, her lips perfectly shaped. Her figure was curvaceous in all the right places. Zhang Guixiang had never seen such a stunning young woman before.
And she didn’t look like she was short on money, either. Then why was she being so stingy? Was she really haggling over a few measly cents?
Zhang Guixiang akimboed her hands and shamelessly shouted, “You broke my things, so you have to pay! If not, I’ll report you to the mediator and tell them you bullied an old woman like me!”
Cheng Fangqiu was so exasperated that she laughed. She directly pushed Zhou Yinghuai behind her, stepping forward herself. Mimicking Zhang Guixiang, she placed her hands on her hips and raised her voice.
“Oh, so it’s a contest of who can yell louder, huh? Well, I’m young and full of energy—let’s see who’s afraid of who!”
If there was one thing Cheng Fangqiu wasn’t afraid of, it was shameless people. Hmph! Competing in brazenness?
She was beautiful, so even if she was shameless, she had the looks to back it up. But other people weren’t so lucky—if they were ugly and shameless, that would just make them unbearable to look at!
Her loud retort immediately drew a crowd.
Neighbors from upstairs and downstairs—mostly factory workers’ families—quickly gathered around. They had a “why miss out on free entertainment” mentality, and one by one, they came over. The narrow hallway became crowded in no time.
Of course, most of them had actually come for Cheng Fangqiu.
Ever since yesterday, they’d been incredibly curious about her but hadn’t had a chance to approach. Now that she was involved in this little dispute, they didn’t care how busy they were—they were determined to watch this unfold first!
With more people, a small issue could easily become a big one.
But Cheng Fangqiu wasn’t nervous in the slightest. She looked at Zhang Guixiang, who was starting to waver, and sneered, “You said you wanted to call the mediator? Fine, go ahead. These things are piled up right outside my door. If you hadn’t said anything, I would’ve thought someone was deliberately trying to harm me and my man.”
She was already tall, and now, facing the petite Zhang Guixiang, she completely dominated her in presence.
Hearing her say “my man,” Zhou Yinghuai’s lips curled up slightly.
Seeing that she was holding her own, he didn’t intervene. Instead, he obediently stood behind her. His towering height of 1.88 meters acted as a natural shield.
“What do you mean, ‘harm’? It’s just some old cardboard boxes and soda bottles. How could they possibly harm you?” Zhang Guixiang wasn’t happy with that accusation. Wasn’t this making her out to be some kind of villain?
“Oh? So you do admit that they’re just some old junk.” Cheng Fangqiu raised an eyebrow. “I opened my door, and the bottle shattered on its own. Look how the shards are scattered everywhere. If someone accidentally stepped on them and fell down the stairs, breaking their spine, who would I go to for justice?”
She paused for a moment, then smirked, her red lips curving into a half-smile.
“But now that you’ve admitted these things belong to you, I don’t know if anything will happen in the future… but at least now, I know exactly who to go to.”
Standing behind her, Zhou Yinghuai heard those words and instinctively glanced at the shattered glass pieces. He hadn’t thought about it that way before, but now that she had pointed it out, a horrifying scenario flashed through his mind.
Just the mere thought of it made his breath hitch, and a deep, unbearable pain spread through his chest.
“I’m going to find the mediator right now.”
His face was already dark as could be. As soon as he spoke, he turned to leave—but Cheng Fangqiu grabbed his arm, stopping him.
He looked at her in confusion, only to see her subtly winking at him. He hesitated for two seconds before ultimately deciding to stay put.
“It’s not as serious as you’re making it out to be.”
Zhang Guixiang’s bravado was already wavering. Deep down, she was actually a little scared. After all, if something really did happen the way Cheng Fangqiu described, her family would definitely be held responsible.
If that happened, they wouldn’t have a single peaceful day left. Just paying the compensation alone would be enough to bankrupt them.
“It’s not serious now, sure. But if something does happen…”
Cheng Fangqiu let out a cold chuckle, deliberately leaving her sentence unfinished, letting the suspense linger.
Then, she first pointed at the clutter near the stairs before turning her finger toward the group of women watching from above.
“And look up there—this building is full of lovely young ladies. If one of them were to trip on your junk and fall down the stairs, even just scraping their face a little, could you afford to compensate them?”