CHAPTER 4 

◎ You’re Not Going to Care About My Life or Death? ◎

It was now July, the height of summer. Ye Rou tossed and turned on the bed while the fan nearby creaked as it spun.

Having been used to air conditioning, Ye Rou wanted to turn it on. But since there was none, she could only endure it.

Ye Rou muttered, “Calm heart, naturally cool… calm heart, naturally cool… Zhou Huai, you dog of a man, why aren’t you back yet!”

She hadn’t even given birth yet, and things were already like this? So uncomfortable, really unbearable.

Being so hot made her long even more for a silk four-piece bedding set.

Bored, Ye Rou thought to herself—she couldn’t get online now, so she could only lie at home. But lying down wasn’t comfortable either.

When she heard the door open, Ye Rou saw Zhou Huai come in. For the first time, she found him somewhat pleasing to the eye.

Ye Rou stroked her belly. “Baby, your Daddy is amazing. He went to learn how to take care of a pregnant woman, and now he’s back all trained up. Aren’t you happy?”

Zhou Huai tugged at the corner of his lips. As he looked at Ye Rou, it felt as though he was seeing her for the first time. Oh, no—that wasn’t it. The truth was, he and Ye Rou had never really been close to begin with.

Zhou Huai said, “You’re not going to care about my life or death at all?”

Ye Rou gave him an apologetic look. “What do you think?”

It was so hot outside. Zhou Huai poured himself a glass of cooled boiled water, downed it, and then sat down, staring blankly at Ye Rou’s belly.

Ever since he found out Ye Rou was pregnant, Zhou Huai often stared at her stomach. Of course, it wasn’t out of excitement. To Ye Rou, it seemed more like he was questioning his life, asking himself if he really had no choice but to be this child’s father.

After all, at first, he thought he’d only gotten himself into a marriage that neither of them cared about. Who could’ve guessed he’d now have to shoulder this kind of responsibility?

It wasn’t that Zhou Huai was irresponsible. The truth was, they had both been set up. From the start, Zhou Huai had never planned to marry the supporting female, not even the tiniest bit.

Ye Rou asked, “Did you remember everything?”

Sitting on the sofa, Zhou Huai let out a dry laugh. “You want to test me?”

Ye Rou: “I wouldn’t even know what to test you on.” Then she immediately stroked her belly. “Baby, your Daddy is amazing.”

Zhou Huai: “……..”

No need to overdo it.

Ye Rou looked at Zhou Huai, her eyes brimming with fake tenderness. “Don’t worry. In the future, our son will definitely love you the most. You’ll be the best, the very best Daddy in the world.”

Zhou Huai: “So you’re already set on having a son?”

Ye Rou actually didn’t want a son. She preferred soft, fragrant little daughters. But the plot said the baby she carried was a boy.

Zhou Huai: “I’ll do good deeds and pray this is a daughter.”

Ye Rou: “You like soft, fragrant little girls too?”

Zhou Huai didn’t reply, but his thoughts were clear. If it were a son who took after him, the boy would surely be hard to handle. He knew himself too well. But if it were a daughter… Zhou Huai looked at Ye Rou, and his look of disdain said it all.

He disliked her. She disliked him. At least they were fair and square about it!

Ye Rou: “Zhou Huai.”

He ignored her.

Ye Rou called again: “Zhou Huai!”

Zhou Huai slowly turned his head. “What?”

Ye Rou: “I heard that sleeping on silk sheets makes it easier to have a daughter.”

Zhou Huai asked, “Did you say what color?”

“Solid colors,” Ye Rou replied. “I think gray, or maybe dusty pink, or green would all work.”

Zhou Huai tapped his own head. “You think this is filled with water, Ye Rou?!”

“I just want silk bedding,” Ye Rou said, sounding more and more aggrieved. “This one isn’t comfortable, and if I’m not comfortable, I can’t sleep. What did I do wrong? I just want a silk set—no, two sets! I need one to change and wash. Wuwuwuwu…”

Zhou Huai didn’t know if his brain was really “full of water” in Ye Rou’s eyes, but right now, all he knew was that she was noisy.

“Fine! Buy, buy, buy!” Zhou Huai snapped.

“When?” Ye Rou pressed.

If he said tomorrow or the day after, she’d definitely start fussing again. Gritting his teeth, Zhou Huai stood up. “Now. Immediately. Right this second. Satisfied?”

Ye Rou finally brightened. “Good. Hurry, then. We still need to wash them, dry them, before I can use them.”

The thought dampened her mood again. She wouldn’t get to sleep in silk tonight—she’d still have to wait.

After downing a glass of water, Zhou Huai was about to leave when Ye Rou called out, “Wait a sec.”

“What, you finally grew a conscience?” he muttered.

“No,” Ye Rou said seriously. “Remember to bring back dinner too. Man can’t live without food, you know—skip one meal and you’ll be starving.”

Zhou Huai sighed weakly. “Got it.”

“Wait!”

He turned, exasperated. “What now?”

“I’m so bored sitting at home. Let’s go together.” She hesitated, glanced at the blazing sun outside, then flopped back on the sofa. “Forget it, it’s too hot. You go by yourself.”

Lying around at home might be boring, but it was still better than being roasted outside, right?

Zhou Huai looked at Ye Rou and realized… wow, his temper was actually pretty good.

Silk bedding wasn’t easy to find right now, but Zhou Huai had his connections. He tracked down someone who’d just brought a batch in from Yangcheng.

He stared at the bedding laid out before him, trying hard to remember what colors Ye Rou had asked for. Nothing came to mind. And even if he did remember, it wasn’t like there were many choices here anyway.

The seller grinned. “Brother Zhou, this is all top quality. I only brought in a few sets, since the price is steep. Just three in total.”

It was 1987—business had only just been allowed. Plenty of people were still hesitating, though others had already jumped in. Most were unemployed, just trying to make a living.

“I’ll take them all,” Zhou Huai said.

“Sure thing, Brother Zhou! Since it’s you, I’ll let you have them at cost.”

“No need. Whatever the price is, that’s what I’ll pay.”

It wasn’t like the guy had traveled all the way to Yangcheng for free. Travel, lodging, meals—and watching over the goods the whole way—it all added up.

After buying the silk sets, Zhou Huai went to get food. As he waited at the restaurant, it hit him—this was ridiculous. He was acting way too much like Ye Rou’s nanny.

Just then, Zhang Ji and Zhang Liu came in. Both lit up when they saw him.

Zhou Huai, carrying the takeout, greeted them and left.

Zhang Ji frowned. “Weird. Since yesterday he’s been busy with who knows what. He hasn’t even gone to check on the siheyuan.”

Zhang Liu glanced around and said quietly, “I think he’s handling Ye Rou’s matters.”

Zhang Ji still couldn’t figure it out.

Meanwhile, Ye Rou was already being picky. The colors weren’t right, the silk didn’t feel like what she had in mind, there was no way it was pure 100%, and one set even had a pattern she didn’t like.

Zhou Huai looked at her with a half-smile. Ye Rou immediately shut her mouth, muttering under her breath, “So stingy. I just said a few words.”

He unpacked the takeout. Ye Rou quickly grabbed plates from the kitchen. She had to plate the food—only then did it feel right, making the meal more enjoyable.

But of course, even the plates weren’t to her liking.

Yesterday, right after she transmigrated, Ye Rou hadn’t been in the mood to fuss. But now? She had to at least live with some sense of refinement.

Zhou Huai stood watching. “Who’s washing the dishes?”

Ye Rou froze. She wanted to say “the maid,” but she didn’t have one here. She wanted to say “the dishwasher,” but that didn’t exist yet either.

Right. It wasn’t just the pregnancy and transmigration—her quality of life had really dropped. Drastically. This was decades ago, after all.

Under Zhou Huai’s gaze, Ye Rou silently put the plates back.

Dinner was tomato scrambled eggs, leftover shrimp from lunch, and stir-fried eggplant. Ye Rou loved them all, especially the tomato eggs with white rice—absolutely delicious.

Zhou Huai liked tomato eggs too. That dish disappeared the fastest.

When both their chopsticks reached for the last piece of egg, they looked at each other in sync.

Ye Rou lifted her chin at him. Zhou Huai withdrew his chopsticks.

Watching her smugly pop it into her mouth, eating with even more relish, he let out a soft laugh. “Tell me, do I owe you something?”

Ye Rou nodded. “Yes. I think you do owe me.”

For some reason, that last bite of tomato egg tasted even better.

Zhou Huai had money, so even now, the household had a washing machine. Otherwise, if it came to doing laundry, Ye Rou definitely wouldn’t do it. As for Zhou Huai… even if he did, she’d doubt he could wash clothes properly.

That night, close to bedtime, Ye Rou wasn’t the least bit sleepy. She kept wandering in and out of the room.

Out on the balcony, her silk bedding was hanging to dry. The summer heat made things dry quickly, but the silk still felt like it was caught in between—sort of dry, sort of not.

But if Ye Rou had to sleep on those damp-feeling four-piece bed sets, she definitely wouldn’t agree. Even if they were real silk, it was still a no.

In the end, Ye Rou had no choice but to compromise, just make do for one night. Anyway, things were already much better than yesterday. After all, having something to look forward to helps, right?

Zhou Huai looked at Ye Rou, who seemed as wilted as an eggplant hit by frost, and chuckled. “Do you know what day it is tomorrow?”

Ye Rou: “What day… Monday, I think.”

Zhou Huai: “It is Monday. Your workday.”

Only then did Ye Rou remember—the supporting female had a job. She worked at a garment factory, in the logistics department office. The factory director was Zhou Huai’s father.

But Ye Rou herself had never worked before. She was spoiled and pampered, always waiting for her parents and grandparents to give her money. Where had she ever gone to work?

No, wait—she had gone for a few days. But that was basically just “inspecting” her own family’s company.

Zhou Huai didn’t bother hiding his good mood. With Ye Rou going to work, he could finally relax a bit too.