Chapter 15

Pei Songbai’s utterly matter-of-fact expression completely stumped Xia Wenhua.

Who could understand this? This man’s temper was just too good!

Although she had never been married before, she’d had quite a few boyfriends in the era of the information explosion. She had accumulated an arsenal of strategies for “husband-taming,” but here, they were utterly useless.

Pei Songbai was like a loyal, big guard dog—whatever she said, he never once argued back, and Xia Wenhua almost felt bad for bullying him.

It was true that the original Xia Wenhua didn’t do chores at the Pei household. But in fact, both the original and the current Xia Wenhua could cook.

After all, the Xia family were clever people. Since they had thought to change the original’s identity and send her to the countryside, it made sense that they also taught her basic life skills.

If not for the unexpected marriage with Pei Songbai, the original Xia Wenhua would have done quite well in the village.

Unfortunately, one accident tied the original Xia Wenhua to Pei Songbai, putting together two people with pride but no tolerance for the other’s flaws, and the result was mutual torment—eventually leading the original down a dark path.

Xia Wenhua merely reflected on this briefly, then naturally picked up the vegetables Pei Songbai had washed, took a knife from the side, and began cutting.

With every swift stroke, the vegetables were neatly sliced—the kind of knife skills that only came from real kitchen experience.

Pei Songbai’s hands, busy kneading dough, gradually slowed.
“You… know how to cook?” he asked.

Xia Wenhua nodded and smiled gently.
“Yes, I do. Are you still planning to knead that dough?”

Animal instinct seemed to kick in, snapping Pei Songbai to attention. He nodded automatically:
“Yes. As long as I’m here, I’ll do all the work.”

Finding out Xia Wenhua could cook was a pleasant surprise. That way, even if he went on missions, he didn’t have to worry about his wife and kids going hungry. Pei Songbai couldn’t help but feel relieved.

As for letting her do all the housework, that was out of the question.

Since she was capable but used to not doing chores, that clearly meant she didn’t like doing them.

He wasn’t like some men who believed women must be dutiful and good at household tasks.
Before his accident, he had never even considered marriage, so he had no fixed expectations of what a wife should be like.

Then came the accident, then Xia Wenhua, then the unexpected child. At that point, he told himself: Xia Wenhua was much younger than him, and through a twist of fate they ended up together—he had to treat her well.

Even when Xia Wenhua used to be cold toward him, he still treated her well. And now that she was smiling at him and genuinely wanted to live together, Pei Songbai felt like his wife was a goddess.
As long as she stayed by his side, nothing else mattered.

His answer clearly pleased Xia Wenhua, and without dampening his enthusiasm, she simply gave him a few pointers. In the end, Pei Songbai finished the meal himself.

When the two children came out to eat, Xia Wenhua even lavished praise on Pei Songbai in front of them, which made him a little embarrassed.

But hearing his wife and children sing his praises, Pei Songbai only became more determined that as long as there were no special circumstances, he would do more chores at home.

A real man should be able to handle things outside the home and manage things inside as well!

Thus, their first day in their new home passed in a flurry of activity. They hadn’t done much unpacking—they would slowly get things in order the next day.

That night, before bed, Xia Wenhua went to the children’s room first to tell bedtime stories, while Pei Songbai slowly finished tidying up, his eyes never leaving the kids’ room.

He hadn’t unpacked everything else in the courtyard, but the beds had been prepared long ago.

The house had a small front courtyard. The main house inside had three bedrooms. Two of them were connected—one was for the children, the other was empty. The master bedroom was slightly farther across, and the double bedding had been laid out.

Earlier that day, when he brought Xia Wenhua into the house, he introduced it as “their” bedroom. He even sneaked a glance at her reaction and saw that she looked normal, so he assumed she agreed to sleep together.

But now it was time for bed, and she had gone off with the kids?

Pei Songbai was cleaning while keeping an eye on her movements, scratching his head in anxiety, his emotions like a rollercoaster.

Based on how they’d gotten along on the train, having a normal married life should have come naturally.

But the psychological scars from the past still lingered. For years, every time Xia Wenhua saw him, it was as if she were looking at something disgusting. Even when they shared a room, he was always the one sleeping on the floor.

Pei Songbai was torn—hoping she’d sleep with him, but also afraid to assume too much.

That night, the two kids, having napped on the train, were full of energy.
Xia Wenhua tried to put them to sleep for a long time, but they just wouldn’t settle.

By the time Pei Songbai finished his chores, he could still hear voices coming from the kids’ room.

Taking a deep breath, he finally couldn’t resist. He walked in and said:
“Why don’t you go tidy up our room first? I’ll stay with the kids until they fall asleep.”

He intentionally emphasized the words our room. When Xia Wenhua didn’t object and simply nodded and walked out, Pei Songbai broke into a smile.

From outside came the sound of her moving around—a joyful life was right before his eyes, and his mind began to drift.

Since the kids were still full of energy, Pei Songbai gave up on bedtime and instead tricked them into doing push-ups with him.

Two little boys couldn’t stand being challenged and absolutely refused to let their shameless father be better than them. They were determined to crush Pei Songbai’s arrogant attitude.

It wasn’t that they weren’t good—it was just that the enemy was too strong.

The nearly 30-year age gap in physical strength couldn’t be overcome by sheer willpower. In the end, Pei Xiangchen and Pei Xiangguang were no match for their father and, completely exhausted by push-ups, fell soundly asleep.

When Pei Songbai left the kids’ room, Xia Wenhua had already finished tidying up and gone into the master bedroom.

From afar, seeing her silhouette inside the room, a warm surge of emotion filled his chest, and he eagerly walked in.

Xia Wenhua had long decided to embrace this new identity and live her life well. Now, with neither the male lead nor the children at risk of turning evil, and with a new life dropped into her lap, what more could she want?

Pei Songbai was handsome and had a great personality—even if she slept with him, she wouldn’t be losing out.

But all that applied only until Pei Songbai entered the room.

As he came in cheerfully, having just put the kids to sleep, Xia Wenhua smelled a sour, sweaty odor in the air—and her expression instantly changed.

Just as he was about to climb into bed, she reached out to stop him:

“Wait—don’t get on the bed.”

Almost the moment she spoke, the excited big puppy immediately drooped his ears.
Pei Songbai’s happiness visibly drained away.