Chapter 25: All the Money She Earns is for Her

As the New Year approached, Xu An hung a sign on her stall early, announcing that she wouldn’t be open during the New Year. This led to a surge in business these past few days, and she often heard customers complaining.

Many customers loved her braised meats. They had planned to include it as a dish for the New Year, but Xu An, the boss, was a little lazy and was taking a break when she should be making the most money.

Every time she was asked, Xu An responded with a warm smile, saying that she would reopen as soon as possible after the New Year.

She had been busy for several days, working late every night, selling much more than before. With the New Year just around the corner, and only a few days left to buy New Year’s goods, Xu An let out a sigh of relief. She told Wen Yaowu and Su Xiaoyang to hang the closed sign at their stall.

“Alright, we’ve finished for the year. Pack up your things and go home to rest quickly.”

All three of them had relieved smiles on their faces. They pushed their cart back to the Zhou family’s courtyard.

Xu An didn’t let the two of them continue working. She told them to leave, then lazily lay down on the chair, relaxing.

She rested for a while before slowly getting up to take a shower. Then she went straight back to bed and snuggled in.

She had been mentally tense these past few days, and Xu An was exhausted. Now that she could finally rest and relax, she snuggled into bed and fell asleep quickly.

In the middle of the night, she heard rustling sounds. Xu An, half-awake, struggled to open her eyelids. She hummed and turned over.

She heard the man’s hoarse whisper.

“Awake?”

Xu An’s breathing quickened. She didn’t open her eyes, still drowsy. She said in a sticky voice.

“Zhou Yu.”

She asked softly, “You’re back.”

“Yeah.”

Hearing the woman’s voice, still clearly filled with sleepiness, Zhou Yu placed the things in his hand by the bed and said calmly, “Go back to sleep.”

Xu An rubbed her head against the pillow and opened her eyes slightly. “Why did you come back so late?”

“Are you busy tomorrow?”

“No.”

Seeing Xu An awake, Zhou Yu turned around and turned on the bedroom light. The shadow fell on Xu An, preventing it from being too harsh.

She blinked, looking at the unusually tall man with his back to the light source.

“Aren’t you going to sleep?”

Zhou Yu limped to the edge of the bed. His shadow fell on the bed. He reached out and handed Xu An the small wooden box that was by the bed. His throat rolled.

“Hide it well.”

Xu An stared at the wooden box being handed to her. She propped herself up on the bed with one hand and took it. She glanced at the man in front of her, then lowered her gaze again, opening the box in front of Zhou Yu.

She stared at the money and tickets inside, which were more than before. Xu An’s eyes widened. Her gaze shifted back and forth between the box and Zhou Yu.

She swallowed lightly. “Zhou Yu, what is this?”

Zhou Yu’s expression was indifferent. His gaze lingered on the woman’s delighted face. He said casually, as if it didn’t matter.

“All the money from selling that batch of goods. This time’s earnings.”

It was all put in her little box. He even gave it to her nicely.

Xu An pursed her lips lightly. “If it’s all for me, will we be okay next time?”

Zhou Yu crossed his arms. “Don’t worry. We won’t be out of money.”

Hearing him say that, Xu An felt reassured. A smile spread across her face, unhidden. Her drowsiness dissipated a little, and her eyes shone brightly as she stared at the extra money in the box. She said happily,

“Then I’ll put my own earnings in here too. Next time, if you need to buy more goods and don’t have enough, you can take it from me.”

Zhou Yu stared at the woman’s fair face and her smiling beauty, and he responded in a hoarse voice.

Xu An happily closed the box and handed it to Zhou Yu, who was by the bed.

“Zhou Yu, can you put it in the cabinet for me? Hide it first. I’ll count it tomorrow.”

She didn’t want to leave the warm comfort of her bed, so she’d let Zhou Yu do it.

Zhou Yu raised an eyebrow, took the box, and put it in the cabinet as Xu An requested. Then he turned back to the woman who had already laid back down, let out a low “tsk,” turned off the light, walked to the edge of the bed, and turned over to lie down.

Xu An yawned loudly, turned slightly to face Zhou Yu beside her, and whispered to him.

“I’m planning to stop setting up my stall tomorrow. We’ll talk about it next year.”

“Tomorrow, we’ll go buy New Year’s goods together. It’s almost the New Year, and we need to clean the house inside and out.”

As Xu An spoke, she thought of something. She stared at the man’s slightly rising chest in front of her and whispered.

“For the New Year, we won’t be celebrating with the Zhou family?”

She didn’t know what Zhou Yu was thinking. Although they had moved out, they were still in the same courtyard. She didn’t know if they would eat New Year’s Eve dinner with the Zhou family.

Zhou Yu propped his hand on the back of his head. The scent of the woman on him lingered in his nostrils. His breathing slowed slightly. He said in a deep voice.

“We’ll celebrate by ourselves.”

Then he turned his head slightly, his gaze falling on the woman’s hair that fell over her eyes. He said calmly,

“Do you feel lonely?”

Xu An shook her head. “No.”

“It’ll be easier for just the two of us. You can take me to Yaowu’s place and Xiaoyang’s place to see them. We’ll come back to eat New Year’s Eve dinner.”

It’s nice to be relaxed and carefree.

Zhou Yu responded with a “hmm.”

Xu An yawned and slowly closed her eyes. Her voice was nasal.

“I’m sleepy. Good night.”

After saying that, she buried her head slightly, her head gently resting against Zhou Yu’s arm. She was about to fall asleep.

Zhou Yu sighed softly and closed his eyes.

The next morning, the couple had a simple breakfast. Xu An put a large backpack on Zhou Yu’s back. She locked the door behind her, and they went out together.

As soon as they stepped out, they could feel the atmosphere of the alley.

Xu An and Zhou Yu walked side by side down the alley. Xu An found everything around her new and exciting.

In the future, as she grew up, the New Year’s atmosphere became fainter and fainter. After people grow up, their desires become difficult to satisfy. But now, it felt like she was back to a slower pace of life.

Xu An walked beside Zhou Yu, her steps lighter.

Zhou Yu glanced at the woman beside him, catching her obvious smile. The corner of his lips twitched.

Because they needed to buy things quickly, the couple indulged themselves and took a taxi to the mall.

But as soon as they got out of the car, they were shocked by the crowds of people buying New Year’s goods.

Xu An, who had been so enthusiastic just moments ago, was now a little intimidated by the scene before her. She tentatively asked the man beside her.

“Zhou Yu, you wait here for me. You go buy couplets, window decorations, new clothes, and food, okay?”

Xu An tilted her head to look at the man beside her, her voice tinged with a hint of flattery. She was worried about whether she could make it out of this crowd unscathed.

Zhou Yu glanced at the woman’s retreating expression, his lips curled mischievously. He stared at Xu An in front of him, snorted, and directly reached out to grab her wrist, half-lifting her and pushing her into the crowd.

Xu An took a deep breath and could only compromise, following behind Zhou Yu. Her gaze fell on the tall and strong man in front of her. Xu An felt a little relieved. Thankfully, Zhou Yu was big, and even though he was missing a leg, he was still a tall figure in the crowd. They squeezed into the crowd smoothly.

Xu An tried to raise her head as high as possible. Zhou Yu held her wrist in his hand. She reached out with her other hand and grabbed his wrist, following the crowd.

There were even more people waiting in line inside the mall. The noisy sounds made her ears ache.

Zhou Yu pushed through the crowd, taking Xu An to buy everything they needed. Then he grabbed her and squeezed out of the mall. After leaving the crowded mall, Xu An took a deep breath. The air felt fresher.

Zhou Yu released his grip on the woman’s wrist and stood aside, lazily staring at Xu An, watching her calm down.

Xu An rested for a while before turning to look at Zhou Yu. She sighed softly and whispered.

“Next year, we should prepare in advance. We should get a refrigerator at home. We won’t have to squeeze in with them.”

Zhou Yu’s expression dimmed slightly. He responded in a low voice.

Xu An rested for a while before straightening up. Zhou Yu walked over, and they walked side by side to the street corner, hailed a taxi, and returned to the alley.

Zhou Yu carried a large backpack full of things, walking towards the alley. Xu An followed him, her face no longer as relaxed as it had been when they first left. She sighed softly, even shopping felt tiring.

When they got home, Xu An boiled some hot water first and yawned at Zhou Yu.

“I’m going to take a nap. I haven’t had much to do these past two days. It’s a good time to rest.”

She only told Zhou Yu that, then washed up and quickly climbed into bed. She fell asleep soon after lying down.

Xu An didn’t ask Zhou Yu to wake her up, and Zhou Yu fell asleep too. When she woke up again, she looked out the window at the darkening moon through the crack in the window. Her voice was hazy as she called out to the outside.

“Zhou Yu, it’s already dark. Why didn’t you wake me up?”

She yawned as she spoke, propped herself up on the bed, and casually grabbed a jacket to put on. She got out of bed and put on her slippers to go outside.

She was just complaining to Zhou Yu that she had slept too long. She didn’t expect him to answer her.

In the outer room, Zhou Yu was stir-frying two dishes and had put the teapot on the stove.

Xu An poured hot water to wash her face, and she felt much more awake.

After washing her face, she sat down on a chair. Zhou Yu served her dinner.

Xu An obediently took it. Zhou Yu said calmly.

“It’s no use calling. There’s no peace at home.”

Xu An coughed lightly. At this moment, she also heard the sound of clanging and banging at the door. The Zhou family was bustling with activity, cleaning the house.

It seemed like the whole family was planning to celebrate the New Year together this year.

Xu An looked up at the man in front of her and said softly.

“They should be celebrating the New Year together. I don’t want to be with them. Is that okay?”

She didn’t ask if Zhou Yu would feel uncomfortable, but she really didn’t want to celebrate with the whole family. She felt like they could cause trouble every second, making it impossible to have peace.

“Whatever you want.”

Zhou Yu responded casually, taking a large bite of his food.

Xu An ate slowly.

“Bang, bang, bang!”

A loud, irregular knocking sound came from outside the courtyard. It was so loud that Xu An and Zhou Yu could hear it in the east room.

Xu An was slightly stunned. She stopped eating and looked up at Zhou Yu.

“Do you have any other enemies in your family?”

Zhou Yu stared at the woman in front of him, his lips curled into a smile. He said calmly.

“Plenty.”

Xu An had lost her appetite. She stared at Zhou Yu blankly.

Staring at the woman’s silly expression, Zhou Yu’s black eyes flashed with a smile. He twitched the corner of his lips.

“Silly.”

Xu An realized that he was just messing with her. She glared at him accusingly.

Her ears unconsciously perked up, listening to the sounds outside the courtyard.

The knocking continued for a while before she heard the Zhou family open the door.

Soon, she heard someone being called inside, followed by voices in conversation.

Hearing a strange yet familiar male voice in the courtyard, Xu An suddenly looked up, her heart skipped a beat, and she wanted to escape.

Zhou Yu stared at the woman who suddenly averted her gaze. He could hear the voices talking outside the courtyard. He frowned slightly.

Until he heard someone calling Xu An’s name at the entrance of the courtyard. It was someone looking for her. Xu An swallowed, feeling like she had nowhere to hide.

How did they find her so quickly? She hadn’t figured out how to deal with this at all.

Xu An looked up at Zhou Yu in front of her. Hearing the increasingly urgent voice at the door, she took a deep breath, put down her chopsticks, stared at Zhou Yu in front of her, and gathered some courage. She stood up, grabbed Zhou Yu’s wrist, and resolutely rushed out.