Wen Yi woke up once at 4 a.m. and reached out, touching something hard. It took her two minutes to fully wake up, and she finally realized there was a man lying next to her. After that, she couldn’t fall back asleep.

That night at the hotel, she had left in the middle of the night, so she didn’t have the chance to sleep next to him. Wen Yi originally thought it wouldn’t be a big deal to have a man sleeping beside her, especially since the bed was two meters wide. She figured she could roll around a couple of times without even touching him.

But the reality was that even if she didn’t touch him, Qin Nanshan’s presence was so strong that she couldn’t ignore it. Recently, she had been learning about pregnancy, and she read that during the second trimester, due to hormonal changes, a woman’s desires can far exceed the norm.

She thought it might be better to sleep separately after all. Having such a “spring drug” lying next to her, even a saint wouldn’t be able to resist.

It wasn’t until after 6 a.m., when Qin Nanshan woke up and left, that she finally drifted back to sleep. She slept until the sun was high in the sky, and when she woke up, she was already planning to bring up the idea of sleeping in separate beds later.

The master bedroom didn’t have a bathroom, so after getting ready, she went out to wash up. Afterward, she put the clothes from last night into the washing machine.

Coming from the balcony into the living room, she was surprised to find the entire place transformed. All the little stickers and lanterns she had bought yesterday were hung up, and the whole room was glowing red, giving it a bit of a New Year’s feel.

There was breakfast on the dining table: a bowl of porridge and a basket of steamed buns. Wen Yi touched them and found they were still warm.

She glanced at the closed door of the second bedroom before sitting down to eat.

Qiao En messaged her, asking how married life was going. Wen Yi replied: “A complete mess.” She then mainly described Summer’s presence.

Qiao En replied: “That poor dog! Such a huge destruction expert reduced to being cooped up in a tiny bedroom.”

Wen Yi, having no experience with pets, froze for a moment, and her guilt increased by twofold.

After eating the basket of steamed buns without really tasting them, Wen Yi went to knock on the door. A dog barked inside, and she heard a voice reply, “What’s wrong?”

Wen Yi, gathering her courage, pushed the door open.

This was her first time seeing the layout of the second bedroom. It was much smaller than the master bedroom. One entire wall was taken up by a bookshelf, there was a tatami mat by the window, and a desk, leaving almost no extra space to move around.

Summer’s little bed was under the desk. At the moment, it was looking at her alongside its stuffed friend. Maybe because it knew this new friend didn’t like it, it didn’t bark and stayed quiet.

Wen Yi’s gaze fell on the leash tied to the leg of the desk around its neck, and guilt surged through her.

It felt like she had taken away a dog’s freedom. This was just too much.

She raised her eyes to look at the man sitting upright. “Um, I’ve finished breakfast. Thank you.”

“No problem. You should rest a bit more. Later, pack two sets of clothes. We’ll head over to the eastern suburbs.”

“Oh.” Wen Yi’s gaze dropped again, meeting Summer’s big, twinkling eyes, filled with expectation.

She bit her lip and pushed through her inner fear. “Is… Summer coming with us?”

Qin Nanshan was startled for a moment. “You…”

Wen Yi averted her gaze, pretending not to care. “We’re probably staying for a few days. It would be cruel to leave it alone.”

He was silent for a while before ultimately not refusing the suggestion.

They set off around noon, first heading to Changle Alley to deliver some small lanterns to Wen Hongyu. Qin Nanshan mentioned buying some New Year’s goods on the way, and Wen Yi silently praised him for knowing how to play his cards right. At this rate, her status as his wife might soon be at risk.

Wen Yi sat in the passenger seat while Summer sat in the back. She sat upright, trying not to look behind her.

The dog, clearly familiar with car rides, sat quietly in the middle of the back seat, panting happily with its mouth open.

Qin Nanshan glanced at the woman beside him, who was staring straight ahead, and then reached back to pet Summer, speaking softly, “Be good.”

Summer nuzzled him, then curiously nudged Wen Yi’s shoulder. Wen Yi instinctively pulled away, a scream almost escaping her lips before she swallowed it down.

Qin Nanshan’s lips curved up as he started the car. Once they were smoothly on the main road, he called her, “Wen Yi.”

She crossed her arms defensively. “What?”

“Do you want to hear Summer’s story?”

“Go ahead.”

Qin Nanshan paused for a few seconds, then asked, “What year did we graduate from high school?”

“2013?”

“Yeah, Summer was born in 2013.” He tightened his grip on the steering wheel, reminiscing. “Summer’s mom used to live with us too. Her name was Mao Mao. Qin Xi named her that because she thought Mao Mao looked like a little caterpillar. Back then, we lived in another house, much bigger than this one, so Mao Mao had plenty of space to move around. She grew up healthy, and if she were still here today, she’d be thirteen years old.”

“In 2013, right after the college entrance exams, Mao Mao was pregnant and ready to give birth. That day, my parents and aunt and uncle were celebrating my top score at a dinner party, so we didn’t notice anything unusual about her. When we got home at eleven, we found her struggling by the door, unable to give birth. We rushed her to the vet, but out of the three puppies and Mao Mao, only Summer survived.”

Wen Yi’s heart clenched. She clasped her hands in her lap and said softly, “So that’s why he’s called Summer.”

“Yeah.”

After that, Qin Nanshan didn’t say anything more, focusing on driving. Wen Yi looked at him. His face was calm, showing no trace of sadness.

After a moment, Wen Yi warned, “When I’m in labor, you’d better be by my side!”

Qin Nanshan turned to her and chuckled, “Of course I’ll be with you.”

“Do you want to pet him?”

“I don’t want to.” Wen Yi was wide awake now. “Don’t think telling me a sad story will move me. I’m just allowing him more freedom, but don’t push your luck.”

As expected, he didn’t say anything more, though the corners of his lips lifted slightly.

After a while, Wen Yi remembered to ask, “How’s the guy who was your groomsman on the wedding day?”

“Which one?”

“The tallest one.”

“Zhuang Yue? Why?”

“Qiao En asked.”

Qiao En never asks about things without a reason. She wasn’t really concerned about Wen Yi’s married life; she clearly had her eye on something.

The groomsman from that day was quite good-looking, and tall too. With Qiao En being a single, successful city woman, it wasn’t surprising if the two caught each other’s eye.

Qin Nanshan said, “We were undergrad classmates, but Zhuang Yue is now a teacher in administration, working in an office.”

Wen Yi raised an eyebrow. “Aiming for a leadership role?”

“Probably. Zhuang Yue is very capable and articulate. The higher-ups trust him a lot. If nothing goes wrong, he’ll likely be promoted to office director in a year or two.”

Wen Yi clicked her tongue twice, “You even know this kind of gossip?”

Qin Nanshan glanced over, “Wen Yi, I’m not sixteen or seventeen anymore. I work in an office every day; whether I want to or not, I hear things.”

“Yes, yes, but you can’t blame me. You naturally give off that impression.”

“What impression?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know.”

Qin Nanshan chuckled, not too bothered, “So what impression do you have of me now?”

“Handsome, wealthy, and a neat freak.”

“…” Qin Nanshan ignored the half-hearted answer and made a right turn toward Changle Alley.