Chapter 19.2

After washing their hands, everyone gathered around the table to eat.

Zhou Yao took out the prepared glass sodas and opened one for everyone. As he placed Wen Yue’s beside her, he casually said, “Everyone in the city likes to drink this soda. Try it and see if it tastes good. If you like it, I’ll buy more next time.”

“Sister-in-law, can you guess how much this soda costs per bottle?” Ren Yeliang chimed in.

Wen Yue looked up curiously. “How much?”

Ren Yeliang held up two fingers. “Twenty cents a bottle!”

Wen Yue was at a loss.

Twenty cents… is that expensive or cheap?

In her past life, a can of soda would cost four to five yuan.

“What? Twenty cents a bottle? That’s too expensive!” Grandma Fang exclaimed, her cloudy eyes widening as she turned to look at the soda she had already sipped twice. She frowned and said, “Can we return it? That’s too much. Twenty cents could buy a pound of flour!”

After hearing Grandma Fang’s words, Wen Yue realized that this price was indeed high, and she played along, exclaiming, “Yeah, that’s really expensive! I think the taste isn’t that special either. It’s better not to buy it.”

She herself didn’t like drinking soft drinks.

Well… she liked milk tea, but unfortunately, it seemed there wasn’t any at the moment.

Ren Yeliang laughed. “Sister-in-law, don’t hold back. My brother is rich and just made a fortune!”

Wen Yue turned her head curiously to look at the man beside her.

Zhou Yao, nearly 1.9 meters tall, was sitting on the stool, towering over her by a head. He exuded a strong sense of pressure. After finishing his drink, he noticed her gaze and raised an eyebrow silently, asking:

Is there something you want?

Wen Yue didn’t say anything and picked up her bowl to scoop rice and vegetables.

She was actually quite curious about why Zhou Yao had been going to the city every day for the past few days.

But when she had tentatively asked before, Zhou Yao hadn’t replied, and Wen Yue felt too shy to press further. She just felt a bit uncomfortable, as if Zhou Yao still regarded her as an outsider, unwilling to share anything with her.

Wen Yue lowered her gaze and ate several spoonfuls of rice.

“Don’t just eat the rice, make sure to eat some vegetables too.” Zhou Yao’s deep voice rang in her ear as he picked up a piece of the tenderest fish meat and placed it in her bowl.

The table was actually a bit small, barely accommodating six people.

Wen Yue was seated very close to Zhou Yao.

His thigh brushed against hers, the warmth transmitting through the thin fabric. His arm occasionally brushed against her own, allowing her to clearly feel the solid muscles of his biceps.

Wen Yue looked at the fish meat in her bowl, lifted her eyes to meet Zhou Yao’s dark gaze, her heart racing, and quickly and awkwardly turned her gaze away, muttering, “Got it, I’ll eat it.”

Zhou Yao didn’t notice anything wrong and added two more pieces of beef to Wen Yue’s bowl before turning to chat with Ren Yeliang and Fang Shitao.

Wen Yue’s face flushed slightly as she remained silent, taking small bites of the beef in her bowl.

They ate and chatted happily. The two families nearby couldn’t help but steal glances at the table, their expressions difficult to read.

Lin Fang was throwing things around in the kitchen.

Zhou Jianghai came in to stop her. “What are you doing? If you break the dishes, what will you use to eat later?”

Lin Fang was upset. “Just look at how well Zhou Yao is eating—beef and ribs! Our Yaozu has never eaten this well! He’d rather feed those outsiders than invite us to eat!”

Zhou Jianghai found it hard to respond. “No matter how bad our relationship is with him, do you really expect him to invite you to dinner? What kind of brain do you have?”

“Still, I’m not comfortable with it. Why should he eat so well when we can barely have meat more than a few times in half a month?” Lin Fang grumbled non-stop.

Zhou Jianghai was worn out by her complaints. “We aren’t so poor that we can’t afford to eat meat. If you want to eat, just buy some. It’s not a big deal!”

Lin Fang rolled her eyes, thinking he didn’t understand anything.

How could they eat meat every day? That would be wasteful! They had to save money to marry off their two sons!

Lin Fang paced back and forth between the kitchen and the room, glancing over at Zhou Yao every time she stepped outside, making all sorts of strange noises and rolling her eyes dramatically.

Zhou Yao ignored her.

But Wen Yue noticed that Grandma Fang seemed a bit reserved. She poked Zhou Yao in the side, and after poking him twice, he grasped her wrist.

Zhou Yao looked down at her, slightly furrowing his brow. “What are you doing?”

Wen Yue gestured for him to lean in closer, then whispered in his ear, “Tell your second aunt not to keep wandering around. Can’t you see Grandma Fang doesn’t even dare to eat?”

The warm breath that escaped her lips tickled his ear.

Zhou Yao paused for a few seconds to process what she said, just as Lin Fang came out of the kitchen again, rolling her eyes at them.

He turned his head, his cold, piercing gaze landing on Lin Fang, and sneered, “Second Aunt, it seems like there’s something wrong with your eyes. Do you want me to help you take a look?” With that, he pretended to get up.

Lin Fang shivered and quickly ran back to her room, slamming the door shut and not daring to come out. The wooden door of their room had recently been fitted with several conspicuous wooden boards.

“Eat more, don’t pay attention to her,” Zhou Yao said, pushing the braised beef towards Grandma Fang, his tone noticeably softer.

Ren Yeliang also reacted quickly, hurriedly adding dishes to Grandma Fang’s bowl. “Yes, yes! Grandma, you should eat more.”

Wen Yue thought that next time, she needed to prepare a pair of serving chopsticks, as it wasn’t very hygienic to keep passing them around.

After finishing the meal, Ren Yeliang and Fang Shitao rushed to do the dishes. Under Zhou Yao’s direction, they washed everything with hot water back and forth, cleaning the kitchen thoroughly before helping Grandma Fang carry Fang Lulu and leave the Zhou family.

The sky darkened, and the moon hung above the treetops.

Zhou Yao moved all the stools back into the room, coming out and wiping the sweat from his face with his shirt, his movements rough and unconstrained, the muscles in his arms bulging with strength.

His honey-colored abs flashed before her eyes, and the alluring lines of his V-shaped torso disappeared into the slightly loose waistband of his pants.

Wen Yue paused, thinking that this scene was hard to get used to no matter how many times she saw it. She tried to remain calm and said, “I’ll go take a shower now.”

Zhou Yao replied with a grunt, raising his eyes to look at her. “Go ahead.”

…

…

For the past few days, Zhou Yao had been leaving home before dawn, so Wen Yue had become accustomed to waking up and finding herself alone in the house.

So when she woke up one morning and opened the door to see Zhou Yao diligently washing clothes in the yard, she was a bit surprised.

“You’re not going to the city today?”

Zhou Yao glanced back when he heard the noise.

Perhaps it was because she had just woken up, but Wen Yue’s expression looked a bit dazed, her eyes not as lively as usual and having a more innocent appearance, giving her a silly look.

He stared at her for two seconds before he couldn’t help but smile.

Wen Yue raised an eyebrow. “What?”

She instinctively touched her face, not realizing anything was wrong. Furrowing her brow slightly, she asked, “Why are you smiling? Is there something on my face?”

“Nothing.” Zhou Yao said this, but the smile on his face only widened as he turned back to continue washing clothes. “I’m done with this. I don’t need to go to the city anymore. There are two eggs heating in the kitchen.”

“Oh.” Wen Yue was still a bit dazed, yawning as she walked toward the kitchen.

A few seconds later, she came out of the kitchen with a toothbrush in her mouth, standing on the steps and brushing her teeth while glancing at Zhou Yao. After hesitating for two seconds, Wen Yue mumbled, “Did you use soap?”

Zhou Yao didn’t hear her clearly.

Wen Yue rinsed out the foam in her mouth and asked again.

“I did.” Zhou Yao said with a click of his tongue, just finishing washing the clothes and preparing to wring them out to hang on the clothesline. He waved to Wen Yue, casually saying, “Why don’t you come over and check?”

Wen Yue’s eyes curved into a smile. “No need, I trust you.”

Zhou Yao shook the clothes in his hand and chuckled softly.

After washing up, Wen Yue had a boiled egg, then took the bedding from her room and draped it over another empty clothesline to dry.

With nothing to do, she watched Zhou Yao busy himself.

The water in the kitchen’s water tank was running low, and there weren’t many bundles of firewood left. He needed to go fetch some water and chop more firewood on the mountain.

Recently, the weather had become increasingly hot, and Zhou Yao had taken off his outer jacket, wearing only a tank top. His bulging, strong muscles exuded a wild sense of power. The outline of his chest muscles was faintly visible, and his long legs were wrapped in slightly loose black pants, radiating an abundance of hormones.

He casually picked up the firewood chopping knife and tossed it into the backpack, carrying the bag with one hand as he headed outside. “I’m going to chop firewood.”

“Okay~”

Wen Yue replied, watching Zhou Yao leave with his long strides. She then took out the shirt that had been crammed in the wardrobe and quickly got to sewing.

Almost done!

Wen Yue was full of motivation.

For lunch, the two of them had the leftover dishes from the night before. Wen Yue mixed everything together to fry, and the delicious aroma wafted through the air, which Zhou Yao devoured completely.

In the afternoon, Zhou Yao was inside hammering away with a mallet. Some parts of the stool and table legs were a bit loose, so he needed to fix them to prevent them from falling apart one day.

Wen Yue sat on a small stool, cradling her face in her hands, smiling brightly as she watched Zhou Yao work.

As he swung the small hammer with force, the muscles in his arms tensed and bulged, causing the tank top to roll up slightly and reveal his toned waist. His deep wheat-colored skin glistened with sweat under the light.

Zhou Yao felt uneasy under her gaze and glanced over several times. “…Why don’t you take a nap?”

Wen Yue blinked, her smile unwavering as she replied, “I’m not sleepy! I’ll read a bit. You just focus on your work, don’t mind me.”

Zhou Yao: “…”

He wanted to say she should go read already, as something about her gaze felt off, but he didn’t voice it in the end.

Zhou Yao pressed his lips into a straight line, thinking that if she wanted to watch, let her; after all, he wasn’t hard to look at anyway.

After a while, Wen Yue got up to go inside and fetch a book, immersing herself in the sea of knowledge while listening to the rhythmic sounds of hammering.

“Brother Yao!” Ren Yeliang appeared at the courtyard gate.

Zhou Yao brushed his hair back and glanced at him before lowering his head to continue hammering the table leg. “What’s up?”

“Uncle Chen is here,” Ren Yeliang said, cautiously observing Zhou Yao’s expression. “Are you going over now?”

Zhou Yao’s brows furrowed, his expression darkening as he impatiently clicked his tongue. “Later; can’t you see I’m busy?”

Ren Yeliang nodded. “Alright, alright. Will you bring Sister-in-law along?”

Zhou Yao thought for two seconds. “Don’t bring her. You go ahead. I’ll come over later; I don’t want to chat for too long.”

Ren Yeliang responded, “Okay, I’ll head back then. Brother, you should come over early!”

Zhou Yao nodded.

After moving the table back into the room and firmly hammering the remaining stools, Zhou Yao put down the hammer, washed his hands, and approached Wen Yue.

A large shadow fell, blocking the sunlight.

Wen Yue looked up, puzzled.

Zhou Yao shook the water off his hands. “I’m going to Shitao’s place for a bit. I’ll be back later.”

“Oh, alright!” Wen Yue replied cheerfully. “How about we have dumplings for dinner? I can make pork and cabbage filling and chive and egg filling. Which one do you like? I’ll make extra!”

“Both are fine. I’m not picky.” Zhou Yao raised an eyebrow. “I’ll head out now.”

Wen Yue nodded enthusiastically. “Mhm, go ahead!”