Chapter 35

Seeing Jiang Suihan come out with wet hair, Xu Zhao frowned slightly. “Why did you wash your hair?”

It would likely be quite late by the time she dried her hair and went to bed.

Jiang Suihan used a towel to dry her hair. “I was sweating today, and my hair was greasy and uncomfortable.”

Being from the south, she was used to washing her hair every day in hot weather. If she had to sleep with oily and dirty hair, she wouldn’t be able to sleep well.

Xu Zhao took the towel from her and stood behind her, starting to dry her hair gently.

Jiang Suihan felt a bit uncomfortable and was about to turn around.

Xu Zhao softly said, “Don’t move.”

Alright, she decided to stay still.

His touch was very gentle, and Jiang Suihan didn’t feel any pain from the hair strands being pulled.

The atmosphere between them grew a bit awkward.

Jiang Suihan looked at her long hair and suddenly said, “It’s getting long again. Do you think I should cut it shorter, just below the ears?”

Short hair would be much more convenient, reducing the time needed for washing and drying, and she wouldn’t have to comb and braid it every morning. The more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea and planned to find a barber in the county next time to get it cut.

Xu Zhao touched the long hair in his hands and felt it was a pity to cut such beautiful hair. “Short hair is harder to manage. You have to trim it every so often, which isn’t necessarily more convenient than long hair.”

Jiang Suihan suddenly thought, could it be that he likes girls with long hair?

She thought about this and asked casually.

“Hmm.” Xu Zhao’s hands paused imperceptibly.

“What does ‘hmm’ mean?” Jiang Suihan, unable to see his expression, couldn’t help but ask.

Xu Zhao nonchalantly replied, “Guess for yourself.”

Jiang Suihan shot him a glare. He was so annoying, always making her guess. Couldn’t he just say directly if he liked her?

So she straightforwardly asked, “Do you like me?”

Xu Zhao was taken aback. Seeing her stare at him directly, he blinked.

He couldn’t help but cough, his face turning red instantly. He tried to maintain his composure and said, “Alright, your hair is dry. I’m going to take a shower.”

He quickly stuffed the towel into Jiang Suihan’s hand and fled, almost tripping over the door frame.

Jiang Suihan watched him escape in such a hurry, her mouth twitching slightly. She sighed and muttered to herself, “Did I say something that frightened him? Did I scare him so much?”

It was just asking if he liked her. Was it really that scary? It felt like she had seen a ghost.

She started to doubt her own charm.

It shouldn’t be the case. After spending these days together, she felt he had feelings for her. Could it be that he was just shy?

Jiang Suihan, feeling helpless, rubbed her forehead. She, a girl, wasn’t shy, but he, a grown man, seemed more bashful than her. It made her look like the thick-skinned one.

Xu Zhao leaned against the wall, exhaling slowly, his heart racing uncontrollably.

He had nearly embarrassed himself earlier but managed to stay composed.

He had always been on the receiving end of confessions. In his twenty-four years, it was the first time a girl had asked him if he liked her.

He liked her, and Xu Zhao couldn’t deny it. Her question had only confirmed his feelings.

With such a beautiful girl around him every day, sharing a bed with him at night, and being his nominal wife—legally and legitimately—any normal man would fall for her.

He had never liked anyone before. Jiang Suihan was the first person he had liked in his life. He didn’t know how other couples interacted, but he liked seeing his reflection in her clear, bright eyes, liked her crescent-shaped smile, and even enjoyed her constant chatter.

Realizing this, Xu Zhao felt frustrated and slapped his forehead, annoyed with how he had acted. She had been so brave, yet he had cowardly run away.

Would she think he didn’t like her and be secretly heartbroken?

Maybe she was even crying under the covers right now, with swollen eyes from tears.

The more he thought, the more anxious he became, picturing a sad girl hiding under the blankets, quietly sobbing.

Jiang Suihan lay on the bed, reading a book and drying her hair.

Frustrated and unable to focus on her book, she tossed it aside and stared blankly at the pillow.

She was angry with Xu Zhao, feeling that he was too proud to admit his feelings, and thought he would get what he deserved in the future.

When Xu Zhao returned to the room after his shower, he glanced at Jiang Suihan. “It’s dark. Don’t strain your eyes.”

Jiang Suihan lifted her chin and snorted at him, placed the book aside, lifted the blanket, and lay down in one smooth motion.

Was she angry?

Xu Zhao realized belatedly that he had annoyed her.

“Are you angry?”

“No.”

That stiff tone clearly indicated she was upset.

Xu Zhao began to comfort her. “It’s my fault. I was wrong.”

Although he wasn’t very skilled at comforting others, he had a good attitude and took the initiative to admit his mistake.

Jiang Suihan turned her back to him. “What did you do wrong?”

Xu Zhao had a particularly good attitude when admitting mistakes. “Everything was wrong.”

First, he needed to make her happy.

Jiang Suihan sat up, her face expressionless. “Alright, here’s another chance. Go on, say it.”

She looked at him as if waiting to see what he would come up with.

Xu Zhao, feeling a headache coming on and under the pressure of Jiang Suihan’s gaze, said, “I, I…”

He struggled to finish his sentence.

Jiang Suihan tried to hold back her laughter, feigning anger. “What ‘I’? You’re stuttering?”

Xu Zhao closed his eyes, braced himself, and said, “I like you.”

Jiang Suihan’s mouth dropped open in surprise, staring at him blankly. She instinctively responded, “Huh?”

Xu Zhao’s face turned even redder as he turned away, not daring to look at Jiang Suihan.

He hadn’t expected that asking a casual question would lead to such a predictable answer.

Jiang Suihan instinctively pressed her lips together, smiling with her eyes squinted, her expression bright and starry, tilting her head to look at Xu Zhao. “I didn’t hear you clearly. Could you say it again?”

Xu Zhao’s face grew even redder under her gaze, feeling as if he were burning up. “Forget it if you didn’t hear clearly.”

He wasn’t going to repeat it, at least not tonight.

Jiang Suihan wasn’t going to let Xu Zhao off so easily. She grabbed his hand, shaking it back and forth while fluttering her eyes. “Just say it one more time. I want to hear it, okay?”

Her tone was slightly rising, sweet and charming, her eyes glimmering as if to entice him.

Xu Zhao’s face was burning with embarrassment, and he stiffened, shaking his head.

Seeing that he stubbornly refused to speak a second time, Jiang Suihan wrinkled her nose and huffed.

If he said it once, he could say it again, and even countless times; she was confident about that.

Xu Zhao, while relieved, also felt a bit unwilling, having been outwitted by this little girl.

He reached out and pinched Jiang Suihan’s left cheek. “Why are you so mischievous? Are you enjoying watching me make a fool of myself?”

Jiang Suihan tried to swat his hand away. “Of course I’m happy.”

Having gotten the answer she wanted, she felt her mood lift.

She smiled brightly. “Of course I’m happy that someone likes me!”

The warmth that had left Xu Zhao’s face instantly returned, feeling embarrassed once more.

He secretly scolded himself for being so weak, defeated by his own wife. It was frustrating that his pride wasn’t thick enough.

He put on a stern face and tried to appear calm, lightly tapping her forehead. “Time for bed.”

He wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her close, afraid that she might say something to make him blush again.

Jiang Suihan buried her face in Xu Zhao’s embrace, unable to help but chuckle softly. She knew she shouldn’t push it too far or he would become uncomfortable.

The next morning, when she woke up, the spot next to her was already empty. The bed was cool, indicating that he had likely been up early.

Jiang Suihan glanced at her watch, noting it was around the same time she had woken up yesterday, just past nine.

Stretching lazily, she got up to brush her teeth and wash her face. She opened the jar of moisturizer, scooping out a little to rub on her face and neck.

After lightly patting her face in the mirror, she admired her clear, rosy complexion. Youth truly was the best skincare, and she felt that her youthful radiance was unbeatable.

Singing a tune, Jiang Suihan went downstairs. The house was quiet, and as she left the living room, she saw Jiang Leyun squatting in the yard, poking at an ant hole with a stick.

Hearing her footsteps, Jiang Leyun threw down the stick and complained, “Sister, you’re finally up. I thought you were going to skip breakfast and go straight to lunch.”

He thought his sister slept too much. He had never seen a new bride sleep until almost ten in the morning and then get up slowly. He remembered the old lady next door, Mrs. Zhou, who would scold her daughter-in-law every morning for sleeping in and being lazy, making the old lady work all day long without rest.

Jiang Leyun, being sharp and perceptive, began to lecture his sister. “Sister, you need to be more mindful. You just got married, and you’re already showing your true colors. Don’t scare your husband away. When you get to the capital, if your mother-in-law finds out how lazy you are, she’ll have issues with you. Sleeping until ten every day, with your husband buying breakfast, washing clothes, sweeping the floors, and pulling weeds in the yard. What use is a wife like this?”

He was genuinely concerned about his sister and her married life, believing that the family needed him to manage.

Jiang Suihan couldn’t stop laughing and gave her brother a playful smack on the head. “When you get married, you’ll understand what a wife is for. Besides, if your brother-in-law is happy, then I’m happy too. You’re just a kid, stop worrying about these things all the time. Aren’t you going to see your friends today?”

She realized that Xu Zhao had done quite a lot in the morning. Yesterday’s clothes were washed by him, and the water tank was full. She didn’t know what time he had gotten up, but he had been busy doing so many things.

Jiang Suihan felt a mix of sweetness and sorrow in her heart. Having moved from a city she had lived in for nearly twenty years to an unfamiliar place, she wasn’t as calm as she appeared. She had her fears and worries, uncertain if she could adapt to this new life or fulfill the role of a wife. However, Xu Zhao’s attitude and actions over the past few days had given her a lot of confidence.

She wasn’t alone in working for their home; he was putting in effort too. She remembered how he had promised on the day they registered their marriage that he wouldn’t let her suffer, and he was indeed doing everything he could to make sure she didn’t.

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