Chapter 8.1

There were bags of various sizes on the table in the room.

Wen Yue, curious, began to open them. A fresh, tender shade of goose yellow caught her eye. She paused for a moment, then took out a goose-yellow V-neck short-sleeve dress with a beige belt at the waist. Even by future standards, the dress was quite lovely.

The other two bags contained a pair of denim bell-bottom pants, a pure white loose-fitting shirt, a denim jacket, a dark red shirt with white polka dots, and a black A-line skirt.

These kinds of clothes are called retro fashion in later times and are quite popular.

The remaining items included shower gel, shampoo, snow cream, and some groceries like pork and tofu.

It seemed most of these were bought for her.

Wen Yue was touched, thinking that despite Zhou Yao’s harsh words, he was quite kind.

Her eyes sparkled as she grabbed the shower gel and shampoo and headed to the kitchen.

Zhou Yao had finished his noodles and was bending over to wash the pot. His shirt had rolled up with the movement, revealing a sun-tanned, slim waist. He held a bamboo brush for washing the pot, with veins on the back of his hand standing out.

“These things are all for me?” Wen Yue’s eyes were as bright as the bulb overhead.

Zhou Yao lazily glanced at her. “Otherwise? Are they for me?”

Wen Yue’s eyes curved into a smile. “Thank you, I really like them! Your taste is great, the clothes you bought are all so nice. Did you spend a lot of money?”

“Not much,” Zhou Yao answered nonchalantly. The shower gel, shampoo, and snow cream only cost around ten yuan. As for the clothes, rounding off, it was almost like getting them for free.

“The water is boiling. Do you want to take a shower?”

Wen Yue nodded. “Sure.”

She went back to the room to fetch a change of clothes.

“Aren’t you going to wear the new clothes?” Zhou Yao raised an eyebrow, his gaze probing.

Wen Yue explained, “I’ll wash them first before wearing them.”

Zhou Yao was satisfied with this answer. “Alright.”

So Wen Yue, holding the clothes, was about to enter the small cubicle when she suddenly remembered something she had wanted to say. She paused and turned, tentatively asking, “Zhou Yao, do you have time tomorrow?”

Zhou Yao looked puzzled. “?”

He coldly responded with two words, “Something wrong?”

“I have a small favor to ask,” Wen Yue blinked, her round almond-shaped eyes looking innocent and harmless. “My grandmother left her land to me before she passed away. I have my own land, but now it’s in the hands of my uncle. Can you come with me to the Wen family tomorrow?”

Zhou Yao replied with an “Oh,” as if understanding, and then, directly to the point, said, “You’re scared, right?”

Wen Yue pouted and said softly, “My aunt is a bit fierce…”

“Alright.” This wasn’t a difficult task for him, so he agreed readily, his tone a mix of a smile and sarcasm. “I’ll come with you to give you some courage.”

“Thank you!” Wen Yue’s eyes lit up with satisfaction, her voice sweet. “With you around, I really feel very safe~”

With his build, even if he didn’t fight, just being around would be reassuring.

Zhou Yao’s expression remained emotionless as he stared at her. “Speak properly. Don’t make those strange noises.”

Wen Yue: “……” Hmph, you uncaring lump of wood.

She gave him a disdainful look and hummed softly as she entered the cubicle with her clothes. With shower gel in hand, her pace in the shower slowed down considerably. Although she was still worried about spiders or mice, it was important to get herself clean!

After her shower, Wen Yue smiled and said goodnight to Zhou Yao before heading back to her room to sleep.

The next morning.

Wen Yue woke up to the rooster’s crow, lazily got out of bed, and sat on the edge of the bed for a while, waiting for her drowsiness to clear before dressing and leaving.

As dawn broke, she stretched at the door, yawning, and caught Zhou Yao’s gaze as he brushed his teeth outside the kitchen.

He seemed a bit sleepy, his double eyelids had become single lids, and when he glanced at her, his tired eyes looked unfriendly, making Wen Yue swallow her yawn in fear.

After a moment’s thought, she decided to avoid disturbing Zhou Yao, who was clearly grumpy, and went around him to brush her teeth in the kitchen.

Zhou Yao looked noticeably more awake after brushing his teeth, though still a bit lazy. He scooped water from the basin with a wooden ladle, splashing his face without bothering with a towel, letting the water drip down his chin and onto his clothes.

The water droplets clung to his dense, dark eyebrows and lashes, making his handsome features look somewhat softer.

“Want to have breakfast?” he asked, yawning.

Wen Yue put away her toothbrush and yawned, tears welling up in her eyes. She said incoherently, “Do you want to eat?”

Zhou Yao replied, “I’m too lazy to eat. Just take two pieces of walnut cake, finish up quickly and come back.”

Wen Yue gave an “OK” sign. “I’ll wash my face.”

After getting ready, the two of them left Zhou’s house one after another.

After Zhou Yao left, the other two households finally dared to speak.

The axe marks on the door of Zhou Jianghai and Lin Fang’s room were quite visible, directly splitting through the wood. If not repaired, they would let in the winter wind. The couple looked terrible, with dark circles under their eyes from staying up late arguing and almost not getting up this morning.

“Second Brother, are you and Sister-in-law alright?” Zhou Qingshan glanced at Zhou Jianghai’s face, which had scratch marks, and said with a pretense of concern, “Zhou Yao is really going too far. We are his elders. How could he use an axe on us?” He made no mention of Lin Fang’s actions.

Zhou Jianghai didn’t say anything, but the resentment in his eyes was very obvious.

Zhou Qingshan, with a sympathetic expression, patted Zhou Jianghai on the shoulder and sighed deeply. “Sigh, I don’t know when this kind of life will end.” With that, he left.

Zhou Jianghai clenched his fists, finished the porridge in his bowl in two gulps, and silently carried his farming tools to the field.