Chapter 8

The next morning, Zhan Tingxu once again got up early and made breakfast.

After he called Meng Yingying and the others to get up, only the three children came out.

He couldn’t help but ask, “Where’s your mom?”

Tingting replied, “Mom’s still sleeping.”

Zhan Tingxu went into the room and saw that Meng Yingying was indeed still sound asleep, looking especially peaceful.

He couldn’t resist tiptoeing over, crouching by the bed, and lightly kissing her cheek.

At this time, Meng Yingying still hadn’t woken up.

He gently lifted her chin and gave it a light squeeze, causing her rosy lips to part slightly.

Zhan Tingxu lowered his head and pressed his cool, thin lips against hers.

Meng Yingying had a dream— in it, Zhan Tingxu kissed her, just like on their wedding night.

The moment she opened her eyes, she saw Zhan Tingxu’s stern, deep-set face. Startled, she quickly backed away, staring at him wide-eyed.

“You—you actually stole a kiss from me?!”

Zhan Tingxu remained calm and righteous. “You’re my wife. What’s wrong with me kissing you?”

Hearing this, Meng Yingying blushed with both shame and anger. She grabbed the pillow on the bed and hurled it at his head.

Zhan Tingxu caught the pillow easily and put it back on the bed, speaking softly to soothe her. “Alright, let’s go eat breakfast.”

Only then did Meng Yingying get out of bed to eat.

At the breakfast table, Meng Yingying was still fuming, giving Zhan Tingxu no pleasant looks at all.

Tingting asked worriedly, “Mom, why are you mad? Did Uncle make you angry?”

Zhan Tingxu said patiently, “Call me Dad.”

But Tingting pouted. “No way!”

As long as Mom didn’t admit Zhan Tingxu was Dad, she wasn’t going to call him that either!

Hearing this, Zhan Tingxu could only feel helpless. It looked like he’d have to win the children over first.

A-Liang spoke up loyally, “If Uncle bullies Mom, we won’t let him get away with it!”

Zhan Tingxu frowned. “I would never bully your mom.”

At that moment, Zhan Tingxu suddenly thought about sleeping with Meng Yingying at night, so he said to the kids, “I’m planning to set up another room for you. How about you don’t sleep with your mom tonight?”

Upon hearing this, the three little ones protested immediately.

“No way! We want to sleep with Mom!”

Tingting got so angry she shouted, “Uncle is bad! He just came here and already wants to steal Mom away!”

A-Liang threw his arms around Meng Yingying’s legs and wailed, “I’m not sleeping apart from Mom!”

A-Ming hugged Meng Yingying tightly and declared firmly, “We’re not giving up Mom to anyone!”

Meng Yingying sighed helplessly, patting their heads to comfort them. “Alright, Mom won’t sleep apart from you. Stop crying.”

The children finally relaxed and glared at Zhan Tingxu in unison before continuing their meal.

Zhan Tingxu: “???”

He just wanted to sleep in the same bed as his wife—how was that a crime?

By the looks of it, sharing a bed with Meng Yingying wasn’t going to be so easy to arrange.

After thinking a moment, Zhan Tingxu tried again. “Then how about Dad sleeps with you too?”

A-Liang looked reluctant. “But Uncle is so big and tall—won’t you crush us flat?”

Zhan Tingxu couldn’t help but laugh in exasperation.

After breakfast, Zhan Tingxu cleared the dishes.

While washing them at the well, he ran into Li Yanhong again. He didn’t even glance at her, just focused on cleaning the bowls.

Li Yanhong, munching on an apricot, muttered that this place was far too poor. She wanted to leave as soon as possible and try her luck in a big city.

But she had no money and no looks—before that, she needed to figure out a way to get both.

If only she could take over Meng Yingying’s body, then she would have everything.

Thinking this, she spotted Zhan Tingxu and hurried over with a fawning smile. “Brother Zhan, why are you out here washing dishes?”

“The dishes are dirty, so of course they need washing,” Zhan Tingxu replied without lifting an eyelid.

“I mean, isn’t this something your wife should do?” Li Yanhong deliberately tried to sow discord. “Otherwise, what’s the point of marrying a wife?”

Hearing this, Zhan Tingxu frowned and said coldly, “Shut your mouth.”

But Li Yanhong went on, “I heard she even wants to divorce you? That’s really ungrateful. Where else could she find such a good man as Brother Zhan?”

“Don’t you dare speak badly of her!” Zhan Tingxu’s anger flared, as though he was about to strike her at any moment.

Li Yanhong immediately shrank back in fear.

Still unwilling to give up, she asked, “Brother Zhan, I heard you met Meng Yingying through a blind date and got married right away. Do you like her face, or her soul?”

Zhan Tingxu frowned. “What nonsense are you talking about?”

Li Yanhong pressed further, “If her soul were replaced by someone else, but the body stayed the same, would you still like her?”

Zhan Tingxu answered without hesitation, “No!”

He never married Meng Yingying just for her looks. It was also her personality, her words and actions, every expression and every smile…

So that explained why, in the last world-hopping story, Zhan Tingxu treated her coldly.

Still clinging to a shred of hope, Li Yanhong asked, “Would you consider someone else instead?”

At this moment, Ye Li also came to wash dishes. Hearing Li Yanhong, she chimed in to egg Zhan Tingxu on.

“Exactly! If you’re not interested in Yanhong, I have a niece you could consider!”

This made Li Yanhong angry. She tossed her apricot pit aside. “What are you talking about! I never said I wanted to date Brother Zhan!”

Ye Li gave her a side-eye. “You’re stirring up trouble just because you want to marry Old Fourth.”

“Watch your mouth!”

Seeing the two of them start to argue, Zhan Tingxu picked up the cleaned dishes and went home.

Meanwhile, Meng Yingying had started cutting sweet potatoes, radishes, and cucumbers to pickle or dry.

Seeing this, Zhan Tingxu set the dishes down and hurried over to help. “You don’t need to do this—let me handle it.”

Meng Yingying had no choice but to hand it over.

As Zhan Tingxu sliced radishes, he asked, “What are you planning to do with these?”

“Make dried radish.”

Zhan Tingxu cut them into suitable shapes and sizes.

With nothing to do, Meng Yingying went to chop firewood.

“Stop working—let me do it all,” Zhan Tingxu said, quickly taking the axe from her.

Meng Yingying was at a loss. “Then what should I do?”

“Just go play with the kids,” Zhan Tingxu replied while chopping.

Meng Yingying muttered, “I used to do all these chores by myself. Just because you’re back now doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten how.”

Hearing this, Zhan Tingxu’s heart ached. “From now on, I’ll do everything. You just enjoy life.”

Hearing that, Meng Yingying couldn’t help feeling a little moved.

If he really meant it, maybe staying married to him wouldn’t be so bad after all.