Chapter 19.4

It was bright outside, probably around eight or nine in the morning—much later than usual. Zhou Yao exhaled the stale air, frowning as he put on his shoes and clothes. As he reached for the casually tossed shirt on the bedside, he suddenly remembered something and looked over.

Not far from the bed, the white shirt was quietly resting on the chair.

Not a dream. It was real.

Unable to help himself, Zhou Yao smiled, his mood lifting as he put on the shirt and went outside, not caring about the headache anymore.

Opening the door, he saw Wen Yue hanging clothes.

He cleared his throat and, for once, spoke gently, “Morning. What did you have for breakfast? Is there any left?”

Wen Yue shook the clothes in her hands and shot him a cold glance without saying a word. Once she finished hanging the clothes, she picked up the bucket to return it to the kitchen. As she passed by Zhou Yao, she said lightly, “No, if you want to eat, make it yourself.”

Zhou Yao was confused. “Huh?”

Why the sudden coldness?

Zhou Yao called out, grabbing Wen Yue’s delicate wrist, raising an eyebrow. “What’s wrong? You don’t look too happy. Did someone upset you, or is someone bothering you again?”

Wen Yue looked into Zhou Yao’s bewildered eyes and smiled as she pulled away his grip with her other hand. “You don’t remember what happened last night?”

Last night?

Zhou Yao furrowed his brow and tried to piece together the fragmented memories in his mind. Oh, he remembered! He had told Wen Yue before leaving that he would come back for dinner, but he ended up drinking too much with Chen Wuming.

This was indeed his fault.

As Zhou Yao thought about it, he also recalled what had happened after he got home—how impatiently he had criticized Wen Yue for being too controlling, and how he had complained about her always crying…

Zhou Yao: “?”

Zhou Yao: “…”

Wen Yue smiled. “I still remember what you said.”

Her petite face still wore a smile, but Zhou Yao keenly sensed the distance and indifference beneath it. He felt inexplicably uncomfortable and softly explained, “I drank too much last night; my mind wasn’t quite right. Don’t take it to heart.”

“You don’t need to explain; I understand.”

As the saying goes, drunk words are sober thoughts. She did indeed want to help Zhou Yao change his bad habits, especially since she had planned to live well with him. But Wen Yue didn’t expect his resentment to be so strong; she couldn’t bring herself to keep forcing it when he clearly didn’t want it.

Since that was the case, she decided to reposition their relationship as that of cohabiting roommates. Fortunately, she hadn’t touched the betrothal money Zhou Yao had given her, and she planned to leave it untouched for when he needed it again.

Once she fully adapted to this era, she would find a good opportunity to separate from Zhou Yao. They were married in name only. Anyway, they didn’t get a marriage certificate. If they go to a place where no one knows them, no one will know that they are married.

Wen Yue had thought about all this until the early hours of the morning, and only managed to sleep after coming to a decision. She woke up too early that morning, and after crying, her eyes were still a bit uncomfortable.

After saying that, she went back into her room and closed the door, planning to take a nap, ignoring Zhou Yao’s expression.

She had said what she needed to last night; why should she pay attention to him now?

Standing outside the door, Zhou Yao found himself at a loss for words: “…”

He felt a hint of regret in his expression as he rubbed his throbbing temples, thinking that drinking last night had really been quite frustrating.

Zhou Yao had never had to coax anyone before, and now, facing the closed wooden door, he felt a bit at a loss, standing there with a blank face for a while before turning to the kitchen to brush his teeth and wash up.

While brushing his teeth, his expression was particularly grim, as if he might raise his fist and start fighting at any moment. This feeling of irritation peaked when he saw Ren Yeliang grinning at the door.

“Brother, Uncle Chen has already left. He asked me to bring you a couple of messages.” It was only Zhou Yao in the courtyard, while Ren Yeliang and Fang Shitao pushed open the half-closed gate and walked in.

Seeing Zhou Yao’s fierce expression, Ren Yeliang exclaimed, “What’s wrong with you, brother? Why do you look so grim? Are you upset by what Uncle Chen said last night? Come on, it’s not about you and Uncle Zhou, just treat it like the wind passing by. Don’t take it to heart.”

“It’s not because of that.” Zhou Yao wasn’t that petty. He was indeed a little uncomfortable with what he heard last night, but it was not to the point of remembering it now. He first said, “Don’t drink like this in the future.”

Then his gaze drifted toward Wen Yue’s room.

Ren Yeliang immediately caught on and lowered his voice to ask, “Brother, is it because you came home late last night, and your sister-in-law is angry?”

Zhou Yao was silent for a moment. There was a little difference, but it was almost the same. So he nodded affirmatively: “Well, I promised your sister-in-law that I would come back for dinner. She has been waiting for me at home for a long time.”

“Brother, that’s where you went wrong.” Ren Yeliang thought back to what time Zhou Yao returned last night, realizing why his sister-in-law would be upset; who wouldn’t be angry in her shoes?

He earnestly advised, “At this point, brother, you shouldn’t hold onto that bad temper of yours. Just apologize to your sister-in-law, explain things a bit, and admit your mistake.”

Zhou Yao pressed his lips together.

He had just explained, but Wen Yue didn’t want to listen at all.

The image of Wen Yue’s slightly cold and distant little face flashed in his mind, igniting a nameless anger within him, causing an indescribable irritation. He clicked his tongue impatiently, stubbornly complaining, “What’s there to be angry about just because I came back a little late—”

“Creak.”

The tightly closed wooden door opened, and Wen Yue happened to hear that sentence, looking calmly into Zhou Yao’s eyes.

Zhou Yao was stunned: “…”

What the hell?

The timing was just so precise; she came out right when he said that?

“Sister-in-law!” Ren Yeliang quickly called out, his gaze flicking between the two faces, laughing to ease the tension, “I was just chatting with Brother Yao about something else. A friend of ours got upset because we went to find him too late. It’s not about you, right, Brother Yao?”

Zhou Yao pursed his lips, his face stiff as he agreed, “Right.”

Fang Shitao, standing nearby, didn’t dare to speak. He knew better than to say anything, so he quietly stood there like a background character, turning to look outside at the courtyard, pretending to admire the scenery.

“Sister-in-law, don’t blame Brother Yao for last night’s incident.” Seeing his brother’s cold and rigid expression, Ren Yeliang sighed in frustration and smiled to explain, “What happened is that an elder came to find us to drink, and he wouldn’t let Zhou Yao leave…”

Wen Yue interrupted Ren Yeliang with a bright smile, “It’s fine, no need to explain that to me. You all carry on with your business; I’m going out for a walk.”

Having spent so long at home, she hadn’t properly explored the village since coming here. Since she was going to live here, Wen Yue thought it was essential to get familiar with the area.

After saying this, she didn’t wait for Zhou Yao or the others to respond and walked straight out of the courtyard.

Ren Yeliang sucked in a breath, muttering, “Brother, why do I feel like Sister-in-law is particularly angry? What did you do yesterday?”

Zhou Yao: “…”

Should he say that he was possessed by a ghost last night?

“Just leave this matter to me.” Zhou Yao didn’t want to discuss his and Wen Yue’s conflicts in front of others. He coldly replied, “If there’s nothing else, just say it and scram. Don’t bother me.”

Ren Yeliang: “…Alright.”

At this moment, since his brother was in a bad mood, he didn’t want to be scolded. After briefly conveying what Chen Wuming had said, he dragged Fang Shitao out of the courtyard in a hurry, afraid that if they took too long, they would end up getting scolded for no reason.

“Adults argue, and the kids bear the brunt.” Ren Yeliang shook his head, “It’s really scary; for Zhou Yao to marry a wife, he must have built up a lot of virtue in his past life.”

Fang Shitao took a moment to process this and turned to look at him, “Didn’t you say that any girl who could marry Zhou Yao must have accumulated a lot of virtue?”

Ren Yeliang thought for two seconds and asked, “Then who do you think has accumulated virtue, Sister-in-law or Zhou Yao?”

Wasn’t that a tricky question for a simple guy?

Fang Shitao hesitated for two seconds but still answered honestly, “Zhou Yao.”

“That settles it then.” Ren Yeliang laughed and nudged Fang Shitao’s shoulder, whispering, “I’m a bit curious about how Zhou Yao would coax Sister-in-law. He’s never coaxed anyone before. Do you remember that girl who liked to follow us around? What was her name? Xiao Wei? Zhou Yao said something that made her cry.”

Fang Shitao nodded, his tone sincere, “I remember; that Xiao Wei had short hair and a rough voice, like a boy. Zhou Yao told her to get lost and cried, saying that a boy shouldn’t cry like that.”

Ren Yeliang burst out laughing.

The little girl was already sad, and hearing Zhou Yao’s words made her tears flow even more as she helplessly said, “I’m a girl!”

Zhou Yao’s expression at that time?

Ren Yeliang recalled for two seconds.

Oh, Zhou Yao had coldly added, “Girls are the same; crying is annoying. Go cry somewhere else.”

So for Zhou Yao to marry a wife was truly remarkable; he better not scare off such a good sister-in-law!