Chapter 9: You Two Go Get Some Soy Sauce

When Rong Jingchen came out after getting dressed, he saw Ye Muqi talking to the air.

She didn’t even seem to notice that he had just gone back to the room and was still obediently standing there with her back to him—looking a bit dazed.

“I’m done,” he said.

Ye Muqi turned around upon hearing him. That handsome set of abs and defined V-line were now hidden under his clothes.

“A guy still needs to protect himself at home,” she commented. If he ran into another woman like the original host who was overly bold, she might just pounce on him.

Rong Jingchen: “?”

He didn’t quite understand what the girl meant. With his build, who would dare to pounce on him?

Well… maybe Ye Muqi would.

“I went for a morning workout and took a shower after I got back,” he explained. He wasn’t the type to walk around shirtless at home for no reason.

As he spoke, he poured her a glass of water.

“Oh,” Ye Muqi nodded, quietly impressed by the discipline of a soldier.

Since she arrived in this time period, she’d been sleeping in every day and hadn’t once woken up early.

Handsome, fit, disciplined, and now even seemed to have a decent personality—she had to admit, the original host had great taste. No wonder she’d gone to such lengths to trap him into being her husband.

“I came by to bring tea,” Ye Muqi said, pointing at the tea she’d set on the table. “My dad said it’s good tea.”

“……”

Rong Jingchen glanced at the tea on the table, then at the glass of water he’d just poured for her—and suddenly realized, should he have put some tea in that water?

But Ye Muqi had already taken a sip, so it seemed a bit late to take it back.

Just then, Yin Lan came in after watering the plants and saw the two of them—one drinking water nonstop, the other standing there with a blank expression.

Yin Lan: “……”

Speechless. She suddenly felt a bit disappointed in her son. He’d been in the military all these years and still didn’t know how to interact with women at all?

That’s his wife, for goodness’ sake. He came back this time to take her with him for a proper life together, so why was he acting like this?

Still, both Ye Muqi and Rong Jingchen were good-looking. Just standing there together made for a pretty picture. At least in terms of appearance, they looked quite compatible.

“Muqi, stay for lunch, okay?” Yin Lan walked over and said with a smile.

“Sure,” Ye Muqi replied, still holding her cup, not bothering to be polite.

Yin Lan washed her hands and looked out the kitchen door to see the two of them falling silent again. She sighed.

She figured Rong Jingchen must be a block of wood. If Ye Muqi went with him to the army, would the two of them just stay quiet all day? Wouldn’t that drive a person crazy?

“Oh no, we’re out of soy sauce. Why don’t you two go buy some?” she said from the kitchen doorway.

“Soy sauce? I’ll go,” Rong Jingchen said, ready to head out.

“I said, you two!” Yin Lan’s expression twitched as she smacked the doorframe and put on a stern face.

Rong Jingchen: “……”

Mom, what are you doing?

Ye Muqi: “!”

Mother-in-law is kinda scary!

“Got it… I-I’ll go,” Ye Muqi mumbled.

Yin Lan immediately smiled, “Then hurry up.”

After watching the young couple head out, Yin Lan glanced at the kitchen, where soy sauce bottles were still full. She quietly stashed them in the cupboard before walking out.

…

Bada Town wasn’t big, but it was decently developed thanks to a few big factories nearby.

Ye Muqi and Rong Jingchen walked to the market, drawing quite a bit of attention along the way. Many people looked surprised.

They recognized Commander Rong. After all, it was already impressive that someone from their small town had made it to that rank.

What surprised them was that Commander Rong was out with Ye Muqi—together?

Weren’t they supposed to be… talking about getting divorced?

Ye Muqi ignored the stares. This was her first time strolling a market in this era. Here, soy sauce wasn’t pre-packaged, nor was it synthetically made with high-tech shortcuts—it was traditionally brewed.

Seeing all the soy sauce jars on display piqued her interest. Good seasoning was key to good food, and soy sauce was used in nearly every dish.

“Can I look at all of these?” she asked the shopkeeper, pointing to the jars.

“Hey, of course! I’m selling soy sauce, you’re here to buy soy sauce—of course you can look!” the friendly shopkeeper replied with a smile.

“Thank you.”

Ye Muqi smiled back and carefully observed the soy sauces—checking their color, smelling their aroma, and even asking to taste some.

“This one. This has the best flavor,” she finally said, pointing to a jar and calling over to Rong Jingchen.

Soy sauce has different flavors?

Rong Jingchen didn’t quite get it, but obediently went to fill some from the jar she pointed at.

“Boss, give me some of that one too, and also that one over there,” Ye Muqi said, pointing to two more jars.

As a chef, she couldn’t miss out on good seasoning. These three soy sauces each had their own unique traits—she could definitely make use of them.

“Got it!” the shopkeeper cheerfully agreed.

When it came time to pay, Ye Muqi had just pulled out some money when Rong Jingchen beat her to it and paid for all the soy sauce.

“I have money,” Ye Muqi tried to hand him her cash. “You’ve been sending money to our family this whole year, and I haven’t even used it.”

The original host had genuinely liked Rong Jingchen—not for his money or status.

She was just a sucker for good looks.

Plus, Ye Zhengfeng and Xia Ying could support her just fine. So, she had carefully saved all the money Rong Jingchen sent.

“You’re my wife,” Rong Jingchen said with a slight frown.

How could he let his wife pay?

What would people think of him?

“……” Ye Muqi paused.

This guy definitely had some old-fashioned macho pride.

Fine, whatever. If you want to pay, go ahead.

She tucked the money back in her pocket without making a fuss.

They went to pick out some vegetables too. Rong Jingchen watched her carefully select them, occasionally stealing glances at her.

Whether it was choosing soy sauce or picking veggies, Ye Muqi looked like a total professional—like a seasoned chef.

But his mom had told him that the first time Ye Muqi cooked at their house, she burned down the kitchen. It had only been six months—how had she become such a skilled cook?

Or maybe…
She had worked this hard on her cooking justforhim?

Rong Jingchen watched her seriously compare two tomatoes and thought—this version of Ye Muqi, wasn’t she actually kind of great?

…

Not far away, someone suddenly stopped in their tracks, angrily staring at Ye Muqi.

Ye Huihui hadn’t expected to run into her on the way home. She wasn’t feeling well today—her period had come and the cramps were killing her—so she had taken leave to rest.

“Ye Muqi? Buying groceries?” she sneered.

She was about to leave when she saw Rong Jingchen pay and take the veggies from Ye Muqi. The soy sauce and vegetables in his hand suggested they’d been shopping for quite a while.

“……”

Watching the pair looking like a newlywed couple, Ye Huihui clutched her stomach.

It suddenly hurt even more.