Chapter 20.1

“I have a friend who did something wrong and made his wife angry. No matter how he tries to appease her, it doesn’t work. Apologizing is useless. What can I do to make her calm down?”

Li Mingjin looked at Zhou Yao meaningfully. “A friend? Which friend of yours?”

“You don’t know him.” Zhou Yao spoke vaguely. “Just tell me if there’s a way.”

Li Mingjin had a knowing expression. “Got any cigarettes? Give me one.”

“I don’t smoke that stuff.” Zhou Yao had no interest in cigarettes. “If you want to smoke, I can buy you a couple of packs another day.”

“Forget it then, I just wanted to sneak a smoke. Your sister-in-law is four months pregnant and can’t stand the smell of smoke. I haven’t touched a cigarette in over a month… cough, let me tell you, women are easy to coax. Buy her something she likes, and she’ll definitely feel better!”

“Last time I made your sister-in-law angry, I went to the county market the next day and bought her two boxes of snowflake cream, and I even splurged on a pair of little leather shoes! She was so happy that she was sweet and obedient to me for half a month.”

Li Mingjin clearly loved to show off how good he was to his wife. Once he started talking, he couldn’t stop, going from last month’s events to when he first got married.

Zhou Yao felt a bit annoyed, patting the other man’s shoulder and saying, “Alright, thanks. I’ll bring you two packs of cigarettes another day.”

Li Mingjin winced. “I already said my wife won’t let me smoke… Just give them to me secretly when the time comes, don’t let her find out! Alright then, I won’t hold you two lovebirds up any longer. I’m heading home now.”

“Yue girl, I’m going back now.”

“Okay, be careful on the road, cousin.” Wen Yue responded with a light smile.

After Li Mingjin left, Wen Yue continued walking forward, and Zhou Yao still followed behind her. They walked to the village entrance, took a stroll along the river downstream, and then returned the same way.

It was just the time for workers to finish up for the day, and they encountered many villagers carrying farming tools on their way back. Wen Yue recognized people using the memories of the original owner, and she greeted almost everyone with a smile.

Zhou Yao also called out to people with a blank expression, mimicking how Wen Yue called them.

“Aunt Hua, hello.”

“Uncle Li, hello.”

“Sister Zhang, hello.”

“…”

The villagers were all surprised: “…?”

Is the sun rising from the west? Zhou Yao is greeting people today? Usually, when they encounter Zhou Yao on the road, he wouldn’t even glance at them, no matter who they were or what their relationship was.

Although Zhou Yao’s expression was very cold when he greeted people, as if someone was holding a knife to his throat, he actually greeted them!

It wasn’t until Wen Yue and Zhou Yao’s figures disappeared from view that the villagers were still somewhat in disbelief.

“Just now, that kid Zhou Yao was greeting me, right? He called me Uncle Li? Why did he call me Uncle Li… oh, he’s married to Wen Yue girl.”

“This is the first time I’ve heard Zhou Yao call me ‘brother.’ Is this a dream? It feels so unreal.”

“I used to see him acting like he didn’t care about anyone. Today he’s actually following his wife around to greet people? Wow, it seems men really do change after getting married. That’s why men should settle down early…”

“I think Wen Yue is pretty clever. Zhou Yao is notoriously a troublemaker, he even hit his own uncle. Now he’s so obedient and follows her to greet people. Tsk tsk tsk, that’s impressive!”

The villagers, having nothing else to do besides working, spread the news about the recent events rapidly, discussing it repeatedly.

When Wen Yue returned home, she went straight to the kitchen to prepare lunch.

Zhou Yao was very eager to help. “I’ll help you wash the vegetables.”

Wen Yue glanced at him and replied, “Thank you.”

She turned to rinse the rice and put it on to cook, then looked back to see Zhou Yao chopping vegetables and preparing to light the stove.

“I’ll light the fire later,” Zhou Yao said in a low voice.

Wen Yue smiled and replied, “It’s fine, I can light it now.” After saying that, she picked up some matches and lit the hays on the stove. Holding the fire tongs, she stirred it a couple of times, and the orange flames leaped out with a warm glow.

Zhou Yao: “…”

He was really unhappy, truly unhappy.

He couldn’t quite describe what he felt inside. He frowned and hastened his chopping, then hung the knife on the wall. “It’s done, I’ll light the fire.”

“Okay,” Wen Yue said as she stood up to stir-fry.

She casually prepared a dish of cucumber stir-fried with meat and braised eggplant, making sure to divide the dishes into two plates, one larger and one smaller.

Zhou Yao caught a glimpse and his expression froze. A bad premonition surged in his heart. “Why are there two plates?”

Wen Yue didn’t look up. “You eat the larger one. We’ll eat separately. Didn’t you say last night that I was too controlling? I thought about it, and you’re somewhat right. I shouldn’t impose my habits on you. Eating separately makes you comfortable, and I’ll feel good too.”

“As long as the mindset doesn’t slide downhill, there are always more ways than difficulties.”

Wen Yue smiled at Zhou Yao. When she smiled, her eyes turned crescent-shaped, and two small dimples appeared at the corners of her mouth uncontrollably.

In the past, when Zhou Yao saw her smile, his mood would lift as well. Now, he just wanted to pinch her cheeks to stop her from smiling.

How could she hold such a grudge? She didn’t take his kindness to heart at all, only remembering his faults. Even an apology didn’t work! How could she be so stubborn? With such a stubborn temper, how can she still be bullied by her uncle’s family like that? Or was it just him she was angry at?

Thinking about the latter possibility, Zhou Yao’s frustration suddenly lessened, and the corners of his mouth even curved slightly.

Realizing he was feeling happy, Zhou Yao’s expression stiffened, and he raised his hand to press down on the corners of his mouth, squeezing them tightly.

No, what was he happy about? Was he sick?

Zhou Yao clicked his tongue. “Wen Yue, let me say it again. I was out of my mind last night when I said those things. Don’t take it to heart. Just treat it like I was talking nonsense, okay? I didn’t mind you being too controlling, I really didn’t! I actually enjoy washing my hands, really, I love washing my hands before meals.”

He emphasized this very seriously.

Wen Yue almost couldn’t hold back her laughter, but she managed to control herself, pursing her lips tightly and calmly replying, “Okay, I understand. Let’s eat.”

She still didn’t put the food back into one plate. Instead, she served herself rice and carried the dish out of the room without looking back.

Zhou Yao’s expression darkened, and he stood up, striding after her with his bowl.

The atmosphere at the dining table was silent and heavy.

Wen Yue finished eating first and started to clean up the bowls and chopsticks, planning to wash them.

“Leave them. I’ll wash them later.” Zhou Yao reached out to grasp Wen Yue’s wrist, pulling her back down onto the stool. His tone became more serious. “I’ll wash them with hot water, three times.”

Wen Yue let out a small “ah,” glancing down at his large hand that was gripping her wrist. She stood up again, pursed her lips, and smiled lightly. “No need, I can wash them myself.”

After being rejected since morning, Zhou Yao could no longer contain his anger. His voice dropped, sounding low and heavy: “Wen Yue, I’ve already apologized to you and said there won’t be a next time. What else do you want? Just tell me directly what I need to do to make you feel better!”

He was truly impatient now. He had never apologized or admitted his mistakes to anyone in his life, and the one time he did, the other person had completely ignored him.

Zhou Yao laughed in frustration, sitting on the stool and lifting his gaze. His dark, piercing eyes fixed intently on Wen Yue. Even while sitting, the pressure radiating from him hadn’t diminished at all. Instead, it made him look even more fierce.

Wen Yue pursed her lips, the dimples fading. She answered slowly, “I’ve already said several times that I’ve forgiven you for last night.”

She didn’t want to say what really made her angry. Her emotions were twisted and awkward. She thought to herself that she couldn’t show her displeasure again after having endured it once. What if she spoke up, and Zhou Yao thought she was overreacting?

“What do you mean by that now? Eating separately, washing dishes separately—what’s next? Are you planning to move out?” Zhou Yao asked in a low voice, gripping his chopsticks tightly, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.

He spoke without thinking: “We haven’t even registered our marriage. You could find another man if you wanted. Better to find someone from the city. City guys love cleanliness, you would definitely prefer that…”

“Zhou Yao,” she interrupted him gently, “if you keep talking like this, I’ll move out immediately.”

Zhou Yao immediately shut his mouth, his face darkening.

Wen Yue turned around, carrying the bowls and chopsticks as she left the room.