Chapter 19.3

When Zhou Yao arrived at the Fang family house, Chen Wuming was already drinking with Ren Yeliang and Fang Shitao. The main room was filled with the smell of alcohol, with two plates of peanuts and cold dishes on the table.

“Xiaoyao, you’re here!” Chen Wuming spotted Zhou Yao at once, stood up, and waved with a smile. “Come on over and have a drink with Uncle! By the way, where’s your wife? Why didn’t you bring her along?”

Zhou Yao, sensing the strong smell of alcohol, frowned slightly but kept his voice steady. “She hurt her foot. It’s inconvenient for her to go out. Let’s meet next time.”

He kicked the empty stool next to Ren Yeliang with his foot and sat down.

“Next time? Who knows when that will be?” Chen Wuming poured a cup of liquor and pushed it toward Zhou Yao, sighing. “I plan to take my family with me to Shencheng this time, so I probably won’t be back for a while. Come on, let’s have a drink.”

Zhou Yao raised his cup and clinked it with Chen Wuming’s.

“Shencheng has developed rapidly these past two years, and the government is providing strong support. Life there is much better than here,” Chen Wuming continued, taking a few more sips of wine. “I heard that you guys recently got someone to bring clothes back from Shencheng to sell? How’s it going?”

Zhou Yao shot Ren Yeliang a glance, and the latter immediately took over the conversation. “It’s selling well. After all, it’s clothes brought back from Shencheng—a big city. We brought back a dozen large bags, and they were all sold out in just a few days.”

Chen Wuming laughed a few times. “Of course! The stuff from there is something else. What’s the word I’m looking for… fashionable! Yes, fashionable! When I came back, they were still popularizing some new mirror styles in Shencheng, and they looked quite good.”

“Xiaoyao, why don’t you go to Shencheng with me this time.” Chen Wuming grabbed a few peanuts and threw them into his mouth, speaking with his tongue. “Your dad knew a lot of people in Shencheng back then. If you go with me, they’ll definitely help you out because of your dad. It’s much better than staying in this small city.”

“Your dad knew a lot of people in Shencheng back then, and several of them are doing quite well now. Your dad helped them a lot. Now that he’s gone, as his only son, they’ll surely lend you a hand.”

Ren Yeliang’s hand trembled at these words, and he dropped a peanut on the floor, cautiously stealing a glance at Zhou Yao’s expression.

Oh no! His face was indeed dark!

Zhou Yao took a few large gulps of wine, forcing a smile but saying nothing.

Chen Wuming didn’t seem to mind. His gaze wandered off as he reminisced, “Back in the day, I went to Shencheng with your dad. I was so nervous, feeling like a country bumpkin who had never seen the world. I went to several factories looking for work, but when they heard I was from out of town, they wouldn’t hire me.”

“I was at my wit’s end, thinking about just going back to farming. But your dad was amazing; after a couple of days, he suddenly told me he found a job and brought me into a factory. After just a couple of months, he became a team leader, earning twice as much as I did!”

“I really couldn’t tell before. Your dad usually seemed quiet, but he was so capable! After a couple of months, he switched jobs again, and before long, he was in management! If your dad hadn’t had such bad luck and fallen ill suddenly, you guys would probably be living in Shencheng by now!”

Chen Wuming smacked his lips, his expression filled with admiration and longing for Zhou Yao’s father. With the peanuts and cold dishes almost finished, he glanced outside at the darkening sky. “Let’s cook a couple of dishes. Who knows when I’ll be back this time? We need to drink more today!”

Hearing this, Ren Yeliang stood up and pulled Fang Shitao along as they headed outside. “Alright, I’ll whip up a couple of dishes. Uncle Chen, I’m not that good at cooking, so don’t mind it. By the way, do share more about Shencheng; we’d love to hear about that.”

“No problem!” Chen Wuming replied readily, burping and wiping his mouth casually as he turned to look at Zhou Yao.

Having had a bit too much to drink, he didn’t notice Zhou Yao’s slightly darkened and impatient expression and continued, “Haha, you’re just like your dad, quiet and reserved. I knew him for two or three years before I found out he was married and had a son! I thought he was single. He looked quite young, haha! Back then, quite a few girls were pursuing your dad.”

With Ren Yeliang and Fang Shitao gone, only Zhou Yao and Chen Wuming remained in the main room, creating a suddenly heavy and tense atmosphere.

Zhou Yao had barely spoken throughout the evening, and especially when Chen Wuming mentioned his deceased father, his expression soured further. His lips were tightly pressed into a straight line, and his usually cold brows were now even more intimidating.

He silently drank, his eyes filled with indifference.

“Your dad really seldom talked about family matters and rarely called home. At first, everyone thought there might be some issue, but later we learned you were already grown up. However, your dad still cared about you. He saved all his money to bring back for you…”

Zhou Yao scoffed, his tone dripping with sarcasm. “Yeah, he brought it all back for me.”

Unaware of Zhou Yao’s mood, Chen Wuming nodded vigorously. “You don’t know how frugal your dad was! He only ate the cheapest boxed lunches every day and hardly bought any new clothes throughout the year, not to mention other miscellaneous expenses. We were puzzled at first, but later found out he was saving everything for you!”

“Your dad truly cared for you.”

Ren Yeliang, entering with dishes, paused at these words, silently criticizing Uncle Chen for hitting Zhou Yao’s sore spot with every sentence—he was quite something!

“The food is here!” he said with a smile, cheerfully interrupting Chen Wuming. “Uncle Chen, tell us about Shencheng! What’s it like over there? I heard the buildings are really tall!”

Chen Wuming patted the table. “Oh, it’s nothing much! The buildings over there are about ten stories high! And they have elevators! Do you guys know what elevators are?”

Ren Yeliang and Fang Shitao feigned ignorance, shaking their heads. “No, what’s that?”

Chen Wuming grinned smugly. “Let me tell you…”

Having drunk too much, Chen Wuming was now completely out of it and could only stay at the Fang family for the night, waiting for the hangover to wear off before going back the next day.

Zhou Yao had also drunk quite a bit, and with little food in his stomach, the alcohol hit him hard. His face was slightly flushed, but his expression remained cold and gloomy as he contemplated some of Chen Wuming’s words, his throat tightening as a cold smile escaped his lips.

Walking down the path, the night wind blew against him, clearing his head just a little.

Zhou Yao felt like he had forgotten something important, but with the alcohol muddling his thoughts, he couldn’t recall what it was.

As he reached the courtyard gate, he caught sight of a small figure sitting by the kitchen door, and suddenly remembered that he had said he would come back for dinner.

But now, it was already quite late.

Zhou Yao paused for a moment.

“Zhou Yao!” Wen Yue’s voice was laced with clear anger as she looked up at him, her expression tight with frustration. “Why did you come back so late? Do you have any idea how long I waited for you? I almost starved to death!”

“Where have you been? If you were going to be this late, why didn’t you tell me earlier? I wouldn’t have had to wait for you for so long…” Wen Yue was genuinely angry.

She had waited for quite a while, and when it got dark and Zhou Yao still hadn’t returned, she finally couldn’t take it anymore and had boiled some dumplings for herself.

Zhou Yao said nothing, his brow furrowed as he took a few steps forward, speaking in a low voice, “I had something come up. You could have just eaten without me.”

He hadn’t expected to drink this late, mainly because Chen Wuming kept insisting he stay.

The smell of alcohol wafting from him made Wen Yue wrinkle her nose in distaste, stepping back a little. “You went drinking? You went to Grandma Fang’s house just to drink? If you were going to drink out, why didn’t you tell me? If you had, I wouldn’t have had to wait so long! You never tell me anything…”

Wen Yue’s complaints began to frustrate Zhou Yao.

“I didn’t ask you to wait for me,” he said heavily, clearly irritated, rubbing his temples as he tried to walk past her, but Wen Yue blocked his way.

Wen Yue glared up at him. “What do you mean by that?”

Zhou Yao’s mind echoed with Chen Wuming’s words.

‘Your dad really cares about you.’

‘Your dad saved all his money for you.’

‘Your dad truly loved you.’

“What I do and when I come back has nothing to do with you!” Zhou Yao replied coldly, “Can you stop bothering me? You want to know when I wash my hands, when I eat, where I go? I’ve never been monitored like this in my life.”

His irritation and coldness felt like sharp knives piercing Wen Yue’s heart.

Her pupils widened slightly, and tears quickly welled up in her eyes.

“Zhou Yao, what do you mean?”

Seeing the tears in her eyes, Zhou Yao felt his headache worsening, and he hissed, “Can you stop crying? Where did all these tears come from?”

Wen Yue took a deep breath, trying hard not to let the tears fall.

Yet, with just a gentle blink, tears streamed down her cheeks, landing on her clothes and the ground.

“I didn’t provoke you; why are you taking it out on me?” Wen Yue’s nose turned red as she raised her hand to wipe her face, smearing her tears. She took another deep breath and choked out, “Fine, fine, I won’t care anymore. Do whatever you want from now on; I won’t ask you anything.”

She turned and went back inside, slamming the door shut.

Fine. Alright. No problem.

Since Zhou Yao had said not to bother, then it would be pathetic for her to insist. Why should she keep chasing after him? She didn’t have the habit of sticking her warm face against someone else’s cold butt.

Wen Yue exhaled slowly, wiping the tears from her face, turning off the lights, and pulling the blanket over her stomach as she got into bed.

In the pitch-dark room, she opened her tearful eyes wide, recalling Zhou Yao’s words, and the more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

She had originally thought that her relationship with Zhou Yao had improved significantly during this time, but now she realized it was just her illusion—her one-sided wishful thinking. He didn’t regard her at all and found her bothersome.

Wen Yue, you’re just a clown!

Unable to hold back her emotions, Wen Yue buried her head in the blanket and cried sadly.

Zhou Yao was the first person she had seen when she opened her eyes in this era; he was her nominal husband. Although he sometimes had a bad temper and poor habits, he had also helped her a lot, so Wen Yue had developed some dependency on him and hoped to get along well with him. If they could develop real feelings, that would be best.

But now, he found her annoying; how could they possibly develop anything?

Wen Yue closed her eyes tightly, sniffling as she poked her reddened little face out from under the blanket, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly.

…

Zhou Yao trudged into the kitchen with a heavy step, rubbing his aching, foggy head. He splashed cold water on his face, feeling a bit better.

Tilting his head, he let the droplets run down his cheeks, faint images of the previous scene flickering in his mind, but they were too fragmented to connect. All he could remember was Wen Yue looking up at him, speaking to him, but he couldn’t recall what she had said.

Damn it. I need to drink less next time.

Zhou Yao doesn’t drink often.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he steadied himself and went to get water from the wooden bucket to wash up. He casually put on a pair of shorts and swayed back to his room.

Upon turning on the light, he immediately spotted the neatly folded white shirt on the bed. He froze for a moment, instinctively stepping forward to take a look. Noticing his hands were still wet, he wiped them on his pant legs.

Once they were dry, he picked up the shirt.

It was a white shirt with a few bamboo and bamboo leaf designs embroidered in black on the chest pocket—quite elegant, with a good fit, not worse than the clothes he got from Shencheng.

This was the first time someone had made him clothes, the first piece specifically tailored for him.

Though his grandmother was good to him and favored him, due to Lin Fang’s temper and the other two sons, she couldn’t overly favor him. Plus, she was often busy with work and didn’t have time to make clothes.

Zhou Yao cherished the shirt, touching it a couple of times before setting it aside to try on tomorrow after the alcohol scent wore off.

Even after washing up, the smell of alcohol lingered, and he didn’t want it to get on the shirt.

He folded the shirt back neatly, placing it carefully on a nearby chair, turned off the light, and lay down for a bit, but his head started hurting again.

Thoughts of some unpleasant childhood memories filled his mind.

Zhou Yao furrowed his brow tightly, tossing and turning, not sleeping well. When he finally woke up the next morning, he felt groggy, with a pounding headache and a scratchy throat.

He sat up, rubbing his temples, and glanced around.