Chapter 30

“Is it because of Chen Erzhuang and his gang?” Xiao Zhou guessed, his eyes darkening slightly. “I’ll find someone to teach them another lesson.”

Bai Jiaojiao didn’t respond, just pulled the blanket over her and turned away. But she didn’t forget to remind him:

“Xiao Zhou, don’t forget, you have a very good temper in front of others.”

Xiao Zhou looked at the back of her head and pressed his lips together. “I have a good temper in private too.”

Bai Jiaojiao stayed silent.

Xiao Zhou felt a little wronged. Had he not done enough today?

Just now, his wife clearly seemed to like him more—she even touched him first.

Xiao Zhou had never encountered such a tricky situation. At this point, he still didn’t understand what people meant when they said “a woman’s heart is like a needle in the sea.”

“Jiaojiao, are you very sleepy?”

Bai Jiaojiao didn’t answer. Pretending to be asleep seemed like the better option.

But Xiao Zhou wasn’t dumb. He could tell she was deliberately avoiding him.

“Jiaojiao, can you start calling me Ah Zhou from now on?” Xiao Zhou asked carefully.

“……”

“If you don’t say anything, I’ll take it as a yes. If you call me the wrong name, I’ll kiss you—no matter if someone’s watching or not.” he added.

Bai Jiaojiao sighed in exasperation. “Xiao Zhou, you can’t do this.”

“Jiaojiao, can you look at me when you talk?” the man’s husky voice carried a faint hint of grievance.

Today, Bai Jiaojiao hardened her heart.

“No. Just like this.”

Suddenly, the blanket was gently lifted, and a hot body slid under it, pressing up against her from behind like a human heater. Her cold body instantly warmed up, and she even felt tempted to turn around and snuggle closer.

Bai Jiaojiao: “!”

Just as she was about to say something, her lips were covered by a warm, large hand. The man whispered in her ear, “Keep your voice down. Mom and Dad are asleep.”

After that, he slowly moved his hand away.

Xiao Zhou: Happy! His wife touched him again today and even kissed his hand!

Bai Jiaojiao ground her teeth. She’d nearly cried out just now. She lowered her voice, “…Let me go!”

“Nope. My wife’s all cold and cuddly—feels good to hug.”

Bai Jiaojiao rolled her eyes. How could something cold feel good to hug in the middle of winter?

And also…

“Stop calling me ‘wife’!”

“If my wife calls me Ah Zhou, I’ll stop calling you ‘wife’.”

The man was ridiculously shameless, completely unreasonable, only wanting to draw the two of them closer. Bai Jiaojiao was stunned by his thick-skinned behavior.

She struggled hard, but he was much stronger than her. And… she felt a certain change in him, and didn’t dare move at all.

“Xiao Zhou!”

“Call me Ah Zhou.”

He was unusually fixated on how she addressed him tonight.

His voice grew huskier, a rough and gritty tone like fine sand brushing against her ear, burrowing in and sending tingles down her spine.

Just listening to that voice made Bai Jiaojiao’s body go soft, her cheeks burning red.

“A-Ah Zhou…”

“Again.”

“Ah Zhou.”

“Good girl.”

He turned her around and pressed his lips to hers without hesitation.

In the dim light, his flawlessly handsome features were strikingly clear.

Just meeting his deep, black eyes—filled with emotion—was enough to melt any resistance.

Bai Jiaojiao’s gaze slowly lost focus. For a moment, she almost completely surrendered to the world he was weaving.

“Jiaojiao, is it okay?” Xiao Zhou’s low voice was hot against her ear, heavy with barely restrained desire.

Bai Jiaojiao’s reddened eyes trembled slightly. Her pale hand weakly grasped his shoulder, clutching his muscle, though it didn’t hurt him at all.

“Do you still remember what you promised me?” she asked.

Xiao Zhou’s hopeful eyes instantly dimmed, and he slowly leaned back beside her.

“I haven’t forgotten. I’ll wait.”

Bai Jiaojiao breathed a sigh of relief. She had almost fallen for his seduction.

Fortunately, he didn’t push her.

She quietly adjusted her messy clothes and thought to herself: She might not know whether this body is seductive, but he definitely is.

No wonder he’s the most charming character in any romance novel.

Xiao Zhou couldn’t sleep at all. His body grew hotter and hotter, like he was poisoned.

And the woman beside him was his antidote.

So close, yet so far.

Xiao Zhou could feel Bai Jiaojiao resisting him, just like in the past when he’d first lost his memory and she wanted nothing to do with him.

He only blamed himself for mistreating her before. That must be why she was pushing him away now.

And yet… he knew his wife was falling for him.

He raised his hand and gave himself a heavy slap.

“PA!”

Useless!
Can’t even win over his own wife—what a loser!

The woman next to him stirred at the sound, nearly waking up. He held back the fever in his body and gently patted her, coaxing her back to sleep.

The next morning, Bai Jiaojiao saw the obvious handprint on Xiao Zhou’s face and was stunned.

“Did I hit you?”

Xiao Zhou: “…No.” He hit himself.

“Sorry,” she said, genuinely thinking she’d done it and simply forgotten.

Fortunately, Bai Jiaojiao had bought some concealer. She applied it to him, comparing the handprint with her own—it did look a bit bigger, maybe it smudged on impact?

Xiao Zhou lowered his thick lashes, his lips pursed. Looking closely, his skin was incredibly nice, his features bold and manly, but now he looked so obedient.

Staring at him too long made her want to kiss him.

Bai Jiaojiao quickly finished applying makeup and couldn’t resist secretly pinching his cheek twice before pulling her hand away as if nothing happened.

“All done.”

Xiao Zhou looked up, a faint smile flickering in his dark eyes. “Feels nice to pinch, huh?”

Bai Jiaojiao: “I was just testing how well the makeup holds.”

Xiao Zhou pinched her cheek in return—it was lightly made up too—then looked at his own clean fingers.

“Yeah, it holds up pretty well.”

Bai Jiaojiao’s face turned red. But she told herself it was because she’d just been complimented.

“Of course! I’m a beauty expert, a top-tier makeup artist!”

“Mhm, Jiaojiao’s the best,” he agreed obediently.

“…That sounded so perfunctory!” Bai Jiaojiao huffed and put on her padded jacket with flair, strutting out of the room.

After breakfast, Xiao Zhou’s father took his wife to visit the head of the Xiao clan—didn’t want others getting the wrong idea.

Xiao Zhou was about to go out too. Seeing Bai Jiaojiao playing in the dirt with his little sister, he reminded her, “Stay here and don’t run off. I’ll be back soon.”

Bai Jiaojiao gave him an OK sign.

Still worried, he locked the door before he left.

Bai Jiaojiao was used to it. When she’d been home alone before, the door was always locked.

It looked like rain again—scattered drops started to fall.

Bai Jiaojiao figured her in-laws were together and safe, so she relaxed.

Since it was too cold to stay outside, she brought Xiao Yueyue back inside. After washing both of their hands, she passed the time by telling stories to the little girl, who listened with great interest.

In the ’70s, entertainment options were scarce. Telling stories actually felt kind of fun, especially with such an attentive listener.

Suddenly, there was a noise at the front door.

Bai Jiaojiao frowned. It didn’t sound like someone unlocking the door—but rather someone picking it.

Creak.

The door opened.

Bai Jiaojiao looked out the window and caught a glimpse of a sneaky figure. Her expression changed as she quickly picked up Xiao Yueyue and made for the back door.

Just before leaving, she stopped in her tracks and grabbed the nearby axe. She cautiously opened the back door.

Someone had already entered the front.

And at the back door stood none other than Chen Erzhuang, whom she had just seen not long ago.