Chapter 10 – He Told His Wife Everything

“Wife, I’m done!” Fu Shiyuan came out from inside and reached out to hold her hand. But before he could, Qiao Yanyan pointed at him and asked: “Did you wash your hands?”

“I washed them, I washed inside.” Fu Shiyuan replied. “I know I should wash my hands after using the bathroom. Wife, smell them—I used hand soap. It smells really good!” He raised both hands up to her nose.

Qiao Yanyan looked at her silly husband and said: “Why are you so cute!”

Fu Shiyuan chuckled with a few “hehehe” sounds and took her hand, which she let him hold.

After returning to the private room, everyone had already finished eating and the dishes had been cleared. Seeing the two come back, Fu Shixu said: “Big Brother, I’ll drive you home.”

Mo Chenglin said: “It’s only just past eight. Why go home so early? It’s been a long time since we brothers got together. Why don’t we stay and play some cards?”

Fu Shixu replied: “It’ll be nine by the time we get home. My big brother needs to sleep.”

“Nine isn’t that late! Back then we used to pull all-nighters. Besides, tomorrow’s a holiday. Even if we stay up tonight, we can catch up on sleep tomorrow.”

Fu Shixu thought Mo Chenglin had a point. Work had been exhausting these past ten days, so maybe relaxing a little wasn’t a bad idea. He turned and asked Fu Shiyuan: “Big Brother, do you want to go home or stay and play a bit?”

Fu Shiyuan then asked Qiao Yanyan beside him: “Wife, do you want to go home or stay and play?”

Qiao Yanyan figured they’d just sleep at home anyway, so it might be good to take the chance to get to know Fu Shiyuan’s friends better.

“Why don’t we stay and play a bit?”

Fu Shiyuan nodded. “Shixu, my wife says to play, so I’ll play too.”

Soon, a waiter brought over a mahjong table. Fu Shixu, Mo Chenglin, and Qu Qinghua each took a seat. Mo Chenglin said: “Looks like we’re one short. Shiyuan, can you play?”

Fu Shiyuan shook his head. “I can’t, but my wife definitely can!”

Everyone turned to Qiao Yanyan. She humbly said: “I only know a little.”

In truth, she had spent her days either studying or working. When would she have had time to play mahjong? She really only knew a little.

Mo Chenglin thought she was being modest and quickly pointed to the empty seat. “If you know how, sit down and join us.”

“How much are you betting per round?” Qiao Yanyan asked. “I don’t have money.” She thought to herself, These are all rich second-gens—won’t one round cost tens of thousands?

Fu Shixu thought: No money? The Fu Family gave so much bride price, and you say you have no money?

Fu Shiyuan said to Qiao Yanyan: “Wife, I have money. I have lots of money, all for you.”

Qiao Yanyan smiled at Fu Shiyuan. “Thank you.”

“No need to thank me. What’s mine is my wife’s.”

Su An’an had been sitting in the corner, but Fu Shixu waved her over with a smile. “An An, come sit here.”

Su An’an stood up and took the seat next to Fu Shixu.

The mahjong game began.

In the first round, the three men played quickly. When it was Qiao Yanyan’s turn, she said: “This one—this is a set. This is also a set. Now it’s my turn. I’ll discard the One Bamboo.”

Mo Chenglin teased: “Eldest Sister-in-law, you said you only knew a little. You really do only know a little. Not modest at all.”

Qiao Yanyan ignored him and focused on arranging her tiles.

Three turns later, it was Qiao Yanyan’s move again. Unsure what to discard, she turned to Fu Shiyuan in a moment of desperation and asked: “Shiyuan, what should I play?”

Fu Shiyuan glanced at her hand and smiled. “Two Characters.”

She followed his advice and played the Two Characters. That was when she realized—she was ready to win. She needed a One, Three, Four, Six, Seven, or Nine of Characters. Qiao Yanyan was certain she had this in the bag.

Mo Chenglin discarded the One of Characters. Qiao Yanyan was just about to declare victory when Fu Shiyuan stopped her hand and whispered in her ear: “Wife, don’t win yet. There’s a high chance you can self-draw. Self-draw pays double.”

Qiao Yanyan nodded. A self-draw among these rich guys would surely bring in a lot of money!

Qu Qinghua played the Nine of Characters. Qiao Yanyan could only watch, unable to win. Then it came to her draw—Four of Characters.

Fu Shiyuan cheered: “Wife, you won! Self-draw, all three pay!”

Qiao Yanyan revealed her tiles and, smiling, asked the rich second-gens: “Excuse me, how much is this round worth?”

“Self-draw pays double, 20 yuan each.” Mo Chenglin replied.

“What?! Only 20? Even people in the countryside bet more than 20 now! You mean twenty thousand, right?” Qiao Yanyan asked the three.

The three men just picked up their phones and began transferring money. Then Qu Qinghua said: “We’re sending it to Shiyuan. Eldest Sister-in-law, you receive it from him.”

Fu Shiyuan’s phone really did chime. He opened the group chat of the four and saw three red envelopes. He opened them—sure enough, 20 yuan each.

Qiao Yanyan was speechless. These rich second-gens, and they’re playing for just a few bucks? Seriously!

Every time Qiao Yanyan didn’t know what tile to play, she would ask Fu Shiyuan. Fu Shiyuan always told her what to play, and as a result, she won more often than she lost. Qiao Yanyan thought, Even if Shiyuan had lost his mind a little, some of his abilities clearly remained.

The service staff brought in snacks and a fruit platter. Fu Shiyuan began feeding Qiao Yanyan.

“Wife, have a piece of watermelon.” he said.

Qiao Yanyan felt embarrassed. “No need. If I want some, I’ll take it myself.”

“Come on, just eat, okay? Eat.”

“Aiyo, really can’t say no to you.” Qiao Yanyan opened her mouth slightly.

Fu Shixu, Mo Chenglin, and Qu Qinghua exchanged glances with one another.

Fu Shiyuan leaned in close to Qiao Yanyan and asked: “Wife, is it sweet?”

“It’s sweet. You have some too.”

“Mm.” After eating it, Fu Shiyuan said: “It’s so sweet.”

Su An’an also had some watermelon and said: “It’s really sweet.”

Qu Qinghua tried some too. “Very sweet.”

The mahjong game continued.

Fu Shiyuan cracked open some sunflower seeds, and after cracking a few, he looked at Qiao Yanyan and said: “Wife, I peeled these for you. Open up!”

Qiao Yanyan laughed, opened her mouth, and ate the seed calmly.

The others: “……”

Dog food was being served silently and relentlessly.

No one knew how many rounds they had played. Su An’an had started nodding off, and Qiao Yanyan was also feeling drowsy. Fu Shiyuan couldn’t sit still anymore either. When they checked the time, it was already 3 a.m.

Fu Shixu pushed the mahjong table away and said: “It’s getting late. Let’s call it a night!”

Qiao Yanyan stood up, and Fu Shiyuan stood with her. Suddenly, he hugged Qiao Yanyan, wrapping her tightly in his arms.

“Wife, I’m so sleepy.”

Qiao Yanyan instantly sobered up. It was the first time Fu Shiyuan had embraced her so intimately and seamlessly. She, being so small, seemed delicate in his embrace.

Mo Chenglin joked: “You know, the four of us have been eating your dog food all night!”

Qiao Yanyan blushed and quickly pushed Fu Shiyuan away. “Aren’t we going home now? Stand up straight!”

Fu Shiyuan obediently said: “Okay.”

Seeing this, Fu Shixu turned to Mo Chenglin and said: “Chenglin, you send my big brother home. I’ll take Miss Su back.”

Mo Chenglin looked at the beautiful and charming Su An’an and nodded with understanding. “Don’t worry, I’ll safely get your big brother and Eldest Sister-in-law home.”

And so, Mo Chenglin drove Fu Shiyuan and Qiao Yanyan, while Fu Shixu sent Su An’an home. Qu Qinghua went back on his own.

In the backseat of Mo Chenglin’s car, Fu Shiyuan rested his head on Qiao Yanyan’s shoulder and fell asleep. Mo Chenglin glanced at Qiao Yanyan, who had her eyes closed. He had a lot he wanted to ask. Why had Shiyuan changed so much?

The last few times he saw them, Qiao Yanyan’s dislike for Shiyuan was obvious. But tonight…

“Hey, Qiao Yanyan!” Mo Chenglin couldn’t hold it in anymore. For the sake of his brother, he had to get to the bottom of it.

Qiao Yanyan opened her eyes. “What?”

“You… you were very different today.”

“How so?”

Of course she was different. Though the body was still the same, the soul, the essence inside—it was her own now.

“Your attitude toward Shiyuan… and a lot of other things. I mean, I don’t know you that well, but today you’re clearly not the same as before.”

Qiao Yanyan didn’t want to answer that question. Instead, she said coldly: “Mo Chenglin, from now on, don’t talk nonsense in front of Fu Shiyuan.”

Mo Chenglin looked puzzled. “W-What… what do you mean?”

“For example, like what you said to Shiyuan last night, claiming I was giving him a green hat!”

Mo Chenglin instantly felt guilty. He had just been joking. Who would’ve thought Shiyuan would turn around and tell Qiao Yanyan? So much for brotherhood—clearly the wife held more weight!