Chapter 41.1

They slept until noon before Wen Yue and Zhou Yao woke up.

Lunch was prepared by Li Nianqiu, her sister, and Grandma Fang together. It was a simple homemade meal. After Zhou Yao and his friends returned, the house was noticeably livelier. They chatted while eating and discussed plans to do a thorough cleaning in the afternoon.

Wen Yue said, “You guys just got back. Rest for a couple of days before we do a big clean-up. There’s no rush. By the way, how about we have hot pot for dinner tonight?”

“Sure!” Ren Yeliang raised both hands in agreement. “Sister-in-law, you don’t know this, but there are hot pot restaurants in Shencheng too. But their hot pot doesn’t taste as good as yours! And the people there can’t handle spicy food. I’ve been craving something spicy.”

Wen Yue’s eyes curved into a smile. “Shall I make it extra spicy tonight?”

“Spicy, spicy, as spicy as possible!” Ren Yeliang responded loudly.

Zhou Yao shot a glance at Ren Yeliang and turned to Wen Yue, saying, “Don’t mind him. If he wants spicy food, just put a lot of chili in his bowl and lock the bathroom door.”

Ren Yeliang pulled a sad face. “Brother, you’re so heartless~!”

Zhou Yao ignored him.

After lunch, though they didn’t clean, they did put up couplets and paper cutouts beside each door. When Ren Yeliang and Fang Shitao went out to buy groceries, they also bought two big red lanterns to hang outside the courtyard gate.

The snow hadn’t stopped and continued to fall, accumulating on the ground. Zhou Yao took a broom and cleared the snow from the courtyard and outside the gate.

In the evening, everyone gathered around the coal stove to eat hot pot. The door was slightly ajar, and the dim light inside reflected their silhouettes on the glass window. Outside, snowflakes were still drifting, and occasional gusts of wind were drowned out by Ren Yeliang’s loud voice and laughter from inside the room.

“Nianqiu, bring Xiangdong to the county town for the New Year. We can all celebrate together; the more, the merrier.” Wen Yue invited Li Nianqiu to spend the New Year with them.

Li Nianqiu nodded in agreement. “Sure.”

After eating and cleaning up, Li Nianqiu took her sister to sleep in the rented room next door.

Having slept so much during the day, Wen Yue was wide awake at night and pulled Zhou Yao to ask about their time in Shencheng.

Knowing he couldn’t avoid it, Zhou Yao selectively shared some positive details. “These past few months, I’ve been learning with a construction team run by one of my dad’s old friends. After learning the ropes, I took Old Fang and Yeliang to start working independently.”

“The government over there is strongly supportive, offering discounts on land purchases. We can’t miss this opportunity.”

Wen Yue blinks. Zhou Yao was planning to venture into real estate? His vision was indeed sharp, and he was bold… Although the novel didn’t describe Zhou Yao’s ending, Wen Yue felt that with his abilities, he would definitely not do poorly.

“What are you thinking about?” Zhou Yao asked with raised eyebrows, noticing Wen Yue’s dazed expression.

Wen Yue quickly snapped back to reality, smiling with her eyes as she replied, “I was just thinking that you guys will definitely make a lot of money.”

Zhou Yao chuckled softly, “Alright, when we make money, it’ll all go to you.”

Wen Yue’s eyes widened, reflecting Zhou Yao’s figure in their clear, bright depths. “All to me?”

“Yes, all to you,” Zhou Yao nodded. He didn’t have much need for money; making money was just a hobby for him. “I won’t keep a cent. It’ll all be yours.”

The girl liked money, and he liked making money. They really were a match made in heaven!

Zhou Yao thought happily, his smile uncontrollable.

Wen Yue couldn’t guess what Zhou Yao was thinking. She only thought his smile looked a bit mischievous. She raised her hand and pinched his cheek. “You said it yourself. If you lie to me, hmm.”

She squinted her eyes and let out a cold snort. Her delicate, palm-sized face looked especially cute to Zhou Yao, causing his heart to beat faster and his gaze to deepen.

Zhou Yao leaned in close to Wen Yue, restraining himself as he kissed her forehead.

Feeling the cool, moist touch on her forehead, Wen Yue froze for two seconds, then her face flushed bright red.

She touched the spot he kissed and stammered, “… You rogue.”

“How is it rogue to kiss my own wife?” Zhou Yao raised an eyebrow and smirked, his grin looking very smug to Wen Yue.

In her previous life, Wen Yue had been a homebody with social anxiety. Apart from work, she rarely interacted with others and had little experience with relationships. However, she was born in an era of information explosion.

Even if she hadn’t eaten pork, she had seen pigs run, right?

How could she lose to an old fossil from the 80s?

Wen Yue’s competitive spirit was sparked by Zhou Yao’s smug smile. She narrowed her eyes slightly, cupped his face in her hands, and leaned in to kiss his lips.

The soft touch lasted only a moment.

After kissing him, Wen Yue quickly rolled away, burying herself under the covers and muffling her voice. “I’m going to sleep.”

Zhou Yao: “…”

Zhou Yao: “……”

It took Zhou Yao two minutes to react, his ears turning red and slowly spreading to his face. However, his dark skin and the dim lighting in the room made it hard to notice.

“Yueyue,” he finally responded, his voice hoarse, “what were you doing just now?”

Wen Yue remained buried under the covers, stubbornly saying, “Kissing you, is that not allowed?”

Zhou Yao’s deeply set eyes melted on the spot. Holding back his laughter, he patted the part of the blanket that was bulging up and gently coaxed, “Kiss me again?”

“No, I’m sleepy. Going to sleep,” Wen Yue said curtly.

Zhou Yao knew not to push it. He stopped talking, turned off the light, and got into bed after taking off his coat and sweater. He gently pulled out the girl who was tightly wrapped in the blanket and held her in his arms, placing his large hand on her small belly.

Wen Yue, facing away from him, remained still.

Zhou Yao rested his chin on the back of her neck, chuckled twice, and said in a low voice, “Sleep.”

The two were very close, and Zhou Yao’s body radiated warmth like a furnace. Previously, Wen Yue had to lie in bed for two hours before gradually warming up. Now, with Zhou Yao, her always cold hands and feet were exceptionally warm.

Feeling warm made her sleepy. Before long, Wen Yue’s eyelids grew heavy, and she drifted off, snuggling into Zhou Yao’s embrace, finding a comfortable position to sleep peacefully.

Zhou Yao, content with her in his arms, tightened his hold and closed his eyes in satisfaction.