Chapter 75.1

Remembering what had happened last night, Ruan Mingfu felt her cheeks burn.

She shot him an angry glare but didn’t dare say anything further, quickly lowering her head to eat. Imagining the sweet potato in her hand as the dog man’s flesh, she found herself biting into it with a fierce intensity.

What a jerk!

Once her parents had left, she would sleep in a different room from this dog man.

Really… becoming more and more rogue.

“Where are Mom and Dad?”

Ruan Mingfu suddenly realized it was quiet in the house, as if only she and Xie Yanzhao remained, with Mrs. Ruan and the lively Gu Yilin nowhere to be found.

“They had things to do today and went out.”

“Oh,” Ruan Mingfu replied absently.

Then a realization hit her. Did that mean it was just her and the dog man at home today?

She couldn’t provoke that jerk!

If he got angry, no one would come to her rescue.

The weather was nice today, so Ruan Mingfu moved a chair outside and sat there basking in the sun. Perhaps because winter was approaching, the sun wasn’t too hot, casting a warm glow instead.

Xie Yanzhao brought out a shawl and draped it over her.

“It’s windy today. Be careful not to catch a chill.”

He didn’t go inside, opting instead to sit on a nearby chair.

Ruan Mingfu tucked the wind-blown strands of hair behind her ear and adjusted the shawl around her shoulders. “It should start snowing in a little over a month, right?”

“At most, in twenty days.”

“Why so soon?”

Ruan Mingfu glanced at the sky and then at the cabbage planted in the yard.

She knew winters came early here, but hadn’t expected it to be this early!

“Oh no,” she said, sitting up abruptly and looking anxiously at Xie Yanzhao. “Sister-in-law said last time that she would chop firewood for the winter. I wonder if it’s too late now?”

Without firewood in winter, she would freeze to death!

“Don’t worry,” Xie Yanzhao said, looking at her with exasperation. “I’ve already made arrangements.”

“Really?”

Xie Yanzhao raised an eyebrow.

“Then I can relax,” Ruan Mingfu said, lying back down before suddenly bouncing back up again. “I still have so much to do.”

Blankets, warm clothes… darn it! She had thought there was plenty of time to prepare, but it turned out to be so urgent.

She could hardly sit still, but just as she stood up, Xie Yanzhao caught her arm.

“It’s all taken care of,” he said when he saw the doubt in her eyes. “Just take it easy today and don’t think about anything else.”

Ruan Mingfu let out a sigh of relief.

“You scared me.”

She lifted her hand and noticed that the small injury she had was already gone.

Last night, in her dazed state, the dog man seemed to have applied medicine to her hands… As she stared at her own hands, her thoughts drifted.

So it hadn’t been her imagination.

Although Xie Yanzhao could be irritating at times, he was mostly quite thoughtful!

Ruan Mingfu felt a surge of pride.

At that moment, the round little Wangcai came running over, barking cutely at Ruan Mingfu. Her face lit up with joy as she reached out to scratch its chin.

“Wangcai, show me your belly?”

Wangcai obediently rolled over on the grass, exposing its soft belly.

Seizing the opportunity, she reached out to pet it.

It cooperated perfectly, sticking out its tongue. Even lying on its back, it didn’t stop its little tail from wagging vigorously behind it.

Wangcai has been around for two months now.

This tiny pup was already knee-high to Ruan Mingfu. Its yellow fur-covered face hinted at the handsome dog it would become.

Wangcai wagged its tongue and nudged Ruan Mingfu’s hand with its nose.

She laughed even more.

“Xie Yanzhao, should we bring Wangcai inside when it gets cold?”

What if such a cute little dog froze to death?

She heard that it could get as cold as minus twenty or thirty degrees here.

Seeing her joyful expression, Xie Yanzhao narrowed his eyes slightly.

He hadn’t forgotten what she had said last night.

She doesn’t want money or people, she just wants to take Wangcai away…

He ground his teeth, and his gaze turned slightly menacing as he looked at Ruan Mingfu. Just then, Lin Xiao walked in through the door.

Wangcai suddenly became alert, barking threateningly at him.

The newcomer was dressed impeccably, with a pen clipped to his chest, clearly someone of distinction.

Ruan Mingfu looked at him in confusion. “Who are you?”

“Uncle,” Xie Yanzhao stood up and lowered his voice to explain to her, “He is my mother’s cousin.”

Ruan Mingfu quickly understood.

“Uncle,” she hurriedly invited him to sit down, “Let me brew some tea.”

Lin Xiao nodded.

“My Aunt told me you got married, but I couldn’t believe it,” he said, sitting next to Xie Yanzhao and shooting him a disapproving glance. “Such a big event, and you didn’t think to inform us?”

Lin Xiao had a good relationship with Bai Qingzhu, and naturally, he was fond of Xie Yanzhao too.

During their youth, Lin Xiao had spent the most time with him.

“I plan to bring her to see you during the New Year.”

Both sides of their family, from Grandpa Bai and Aunt Lin, were quite busy, scattered across different regions. They only gathered during the New Year’s reunion, making it nearly impossible to see each other otherwise. Fortunately, Lin Xiao had been lucky enough to be transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Now, he was permanently based in the capital.

“Didn’t she say she was a girl from an ordinary family? Why…?”

Xie Yanzhao didn’t elaborate, simply responding, “It was a twist of fate.”

Ruan Mingfu brought over a cup and handed it to him. “Uncle, have some tea.”

“This is top-quality Maojian,” Lin Xiao recognized the tea immediately. “I saw your performance at the trade fair. I’m quite ashamed of myself.”

He took out a newspaper from his bag and handed it to her.

Ruan Mingfu curiously accepted it.

There on the front page was a photo of her with a high-ranking official, accompanied by an article detailing her impressive performance at the expo—so detailed that she almost thought she had written it herself.

“Uncle, you actually have this newspaper?”

The newspaper office had sent her a copy, along with a retouched photo. But she had no idea where the newspaper had gone.

She had searched for days without success.

“I had to keep an eye on someone talented who emerged from the trade,” Lin Xiao said with a smile. He resembled Lin Shu somewhat, exuding a scholarly air. “I never expected this person to be my nephew’s wife.”

“I heard the high-ranking official invited you to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but you turned it down?”

This was the first time Xie Yanzhao had heard about this.

He straightened up, looking at Ruan Mingfu.

Ruan Mingfu said nothing, just smiled. “It wasn’t convenient.”

Lin Xiao understood her implication and shot a sly glance at his nephew.

“This is a gift for you.”

He pulled out a velvet box and handed it to Ruan Mingfu. Unsure whether to accept it, she glanced at Xie Yanzhao.

“Just take it. It’s my uncle’s goodwill.”

Since the dog man had said so, Ruan Mingfu had no reason to refuse.

“Thank you, Uncle,” she said sincerely. “Since it’s your first visit, you must stay longer. Please stay for lunch today.”

“Okay.”

Seeing that Lin Xiao’s cup was nearly empty, Ruan Mingfu poured him more tea.

“Seeing you like this puts me at ease,” Lin Xiao sighed. “Nephew’s wife, you have no idea, when this kid first arrived, he was like a hedgehog, completely unfriendly to everyone. Once he got a bit older, he became a real troublemaker.”

“Uncle.”

Xie Yanzhao called him helplessly.

When he was brought back by his grandparents, Lin Xiao was there for his studies. Back then, he was nothing like the serious person he was today and loved to play pranks on Xie Yanzhao.

He would always provoke him until he got angry, and then he would stop.

“A troublemaker?”

No way would she believe that about the dog man.

“Exactly,” Lin Xiao smiled as he continued, “You don’t know. There was a little chubby kid living nearby who bullied everyone because of his size. And that little brat—he was half the chubby kid’s size but charged right in and fought.”

“When he couldn’t win, he would bite, holding on tightly and drawing the kid’s parents over.”

What else could happen? They both ended up getting scolded.

But that stubborn kid wouldn’t back down. One night, he snuck up and tried to put a sack over the chubby kid…

Xie Yanzhao: “…That’s all in the past.”

Ruan Mingfu widened her beautiful almond-shaped eyes in surprise.

Who knew the dog man had such a side to him?

“He was quite mischievous. Aunt and Uncle couldn’t handle him, but they couldn’t ignore him either, so they sent him to the army,” Lin Xiao said with a chuckle. “To rebel, he escaped from the army one night, running over twenty miles through the mountains…”

Of course, he was ultimately caught by Commander Li and brought back.

They hung him up in a tree and gave him a good thrashing to teach him a lesson.

Ruan Mingfu’s eyes widened even more.

Twenty miles?

She understood now. The dog man was not just a troublemaker but also stubborn!

“…Next door, there was a dog that looked impressive. For some reason, he thought that dog was unpleasant, so he cut all its fur. It was winter, and it was snowing outside…”

“Don’t be fooled by his current serious demeanor, nephew’s wife…”

Lin Xiao kept rambling on while Xie Yanzhao’s expression darkened.

“Uncle.”

“Uh-oh, he’s getting mad,” Lin Xiao ignored the threat, raising an eyebrow at him. “Next time, I’ll tell you more stories.”

There are more stories?

“Uncle!”

Lin Xiao shrugged and finally shut up.

Ruan Mingfu’s eyes sparkled with delight as she looked at the dog man.

He always appeared so serious. It was hard to believe he was quite the troublemaker as a child!

“Uncle, ignore him. Enjoy your tea.”

“Alright,” Lin Xiao shot Xie Yanzhao a glare, “Your wife is the best.”

Xie Yanzhao: “…”

Despite the occasional dark expression on the dog man’s face, Ruan Mingfu got along quite well with Lin Xiao. He was humorous and adept at finding conversation topics, captivating Ruan Mingfu with his eloquence.

As he prepared to leave, Ruan Mingfu felt a tinge of reluctance. Knowing Lin Xiao loved tea, she packed some fine tea leaves for him.

However, as soon as he stepped out of the courtyard, his expression darkened, and he headed straight to where Commander Xie was staying.

After squatting for a long time, as soon as the bastard surnamed Xie appeared, Lin Xiao punched him in the face. Guard Xiao Zhou was startled and was about to draw his gun, but was held down by Commander Xie.

Lin Xiao wiped the blood from his mouth. “I knew you’d come looking for me.”

“You deserve to die, Old Xie!”

Lin Xiao glared at Commander Xie, his eyes filled with hatred. His chest heaved with rage as he charged forward and landed another powerful punch.

“Commander!”

Xiao Zhou watched in horror.

“I told you not to come where I am,” Lin Xiao grabbed Commander Xie’s collar. “Did you take my words lightly? How dare you let those two filthy scum trouble Yanzhao?”