After saying this, she pressed her lips together, hesitated a moment, then closed her eyes and snuggled closer into Su Cheng’s embrace. A moment later, she reached out and wrapped her arms around his waist.

Her sudden closeness made Su Cheng’s waist and abdomen tense instinctively. But soon, his gaze softened with a gentle warmth, there was no doubt he liked her approaching him like this.

He slowly relaxed, held her even tighter, then lowered his head to kiss the top of her head. “Sleep.”

His kiss on her hair was light.

But Ji Meng could feel it. She didn’t mind this delicate intimacy, instead, it conveyed his care for her. She couldn’t help a small smile, softly responding, “Mm.”

As she gradually adjusted to his embrace, the excitement in her mind began to settle down, and before long, with her eyes closed, she drifted off to sleep.

Su Cheng listened to her steady breathing, his lips lifting in a faint smile. After a moment, he closed his eyes and joined her in slumber.

Their first night sharing a bed, wrapped in each other’s arms, was filled with peaceful dreams.

At dawn, as soft light began to seep into the room, Su Cheng woke at his usual time.

His arm, which had been supporting her all night, was numb, but he didn’t move. He opened his eyes, looking down at the person nestled in his arms, her hand around his waist, and a gentle warmth filled his gaze.

He had never realized that waking up with the person he loved in his arms could feel so fulfilling.

At this moment, he truly felt like his life had been worthwhile.

On this rare day, Su Cheng felt a hint of laziness, he didn’t want to get up so early.

And he acted on it. His gaze lingered on the delicate figure in his arms, his body completely still.

She was sound asleep, her hair nestled against his arm, her face smooth and fair as jade. He’d indeed been a bit too intense last night, lacking restraint—her lips were still slightly swollen, with a faint red flush spreading around them. Far from looking unsightly, it made her lips appear all the more vibrant.

Unable to resist, Su Cheng gently brushed his finger over that reddened area. His touch was light, but with calluses on his fingers, she flinched slightly and turned her head away, her brow faintly furrowing. Seeing this, Su Cheng froze, afraid to disturb her.

Reluctantly, he withdrew his hand, simply watching her sleep, her face serene and peaceful.

It felt as if he could never look at her enough.

This must be what it’s like for a man who’s finally fallen in love—brimming with energy, unable to restrain his feelings and impulses.

All he wanted was to savor this beautiful moment.

He had no idea how long he stayed like this, until he heard Ji Qinghe clearing his throat outside. Realizing he had to get up, Su Cheng reluctantly loosened his hold, moving carefully as he got out of bed.

Still unwilling to part, he dressed swiftly, then leaned down once more to gently kiss her forehead as she continued to dream. Taking a moment to steady his breathing, he finally managed to suppress the lingering attachment in his heart and quietly left the room.

At six o’clock in the morning, Ji Meng’s alarm seemed to have malfunctioned and didn’t ring. But outside, Qiuqiu was chattering with Qingyu, and the noise stirred Ji Meng awake. Slowly, she opened her eyes and then sat up in bed.

“Did Qiuqiu and the others wake you up?”

Su Cheng came in, noticing that Ji Meng had indeed been woken up by the two chattering outside. He frowned slightly as he walked to her bedside.

“Want to sleep a bit longer?”

“Qingyu just got back, and Dad’s worried she won’t adjust well, so he asked Qiuqiu to take the day off to keep her company. No rush.”

“What time is it?” Ji Meng, still dizzy, heard Su Cheng ask and thought about sleeping a bit more. She asked absently, realizing it was already past six.

“My alarm didn’t ring?”

Ji Meng muttered in confusion. Since Ji Qinghe and Su Cheng went to pick up Qingyu, she had been short on time in the mornings, so she’d set her alarm half an hour earlier. Today, though, it hadn’t gone off—she would’ve thought it was still early if Su Cheng hadn’t come in.

“I turned it off for you. Qiuqiu mentioned that while we were away, you’d been getting up early, and every night in class you were exhausted. I figured I’d let you sleep a little longer.”

“You should rest a bit more, getting up at seven still gives you time for work,” Su Cheng suggested, handing her the warm water he’d poured.

“No need, seven’s a bit tight. Since I’m awake, I’ll just get up. My body clock has almost adjusted, and I’m not feeling as tired these days.”

Ji Meng took the enamel cup from Su Cheng, sipped the water, and noticed it tasted sweet.

“Why is it sweet? Did you add something?”

“Yeah, I mixed in a bit of honey. Jiang Jianbang’s wife is from Liuba, and their family keeps bees. I asked him to bring me two jars when I came back.”

Every morning, Ji Meng had a ritual of drinking a glass of warm water, never missing a day. Normally, she’d go out and pour it herself, but today, Su Cheng had already prepared it, even adding honey.

Maybe this was a small change after a bit of intimacy?

The thought brought a smile to her lips, and she took another sip, finding the water even sweeter.

“You brought back quite a few local treats from your friends this time. Should we send something in return?” After finishing her water, Ji Meng thought about the honey and the big bag of wild mushrooms and black fungus from yesterday and asked Su Cheng.

“No need. These are just a thank-you gift for helping him out. If we send something back, he’d feel awkward. I’ll send him a little something around the New Year,” Su Cheng replied casually, setting the empty cup aside.

“Oh, alright.”

Ji Meng nodded, figuring that Su Cheng knew how to handle things with his friends, so she’d just go along with it.

“Are you getting up now? What do you want to wear today? I can grab it for you.” Su Cheng saw that Ji Meng don’t have intention to sleep more and, since breakfast was ready and would be better eaten warm, asked her about her clothes.

What a treatment.

Ji Meng felt a stir in her heart as she glanced up at Su Cheng.

Today, he was dressed simply in a casual, loose military shirt paired with baggy military trousers. The shirt wasn’t buttoned up to the top as usual, leaving his long neck exposed, with a hint of collarbone visible. His sleeves weren’t meticulously smoothed out either, they were casually rolled up, revealing a toned and elegant forearm that looked like a finely carved piece of jade.

Ordinary as his outfit was, lacking any strict formality, it did nothing to diminish his striking appearance.

Maybe the saying “^[1]“Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder” means that beauty is subjective; what one person finds beautiful may not be seen the same way by another. This saying suggests that perceptions … Continue readingbeauty lies in the eyes of the beholder” applies to women too, because she felt Su Cheng looked even more handsome and spirited today.

“I might need to go out to do some store surveys today, so let’s go with a blouse and trousers. That light green blouse in the wardrobe and any pair of pants will do,” Ji Meng came to her senses and told Su Cheng.

No doubt, she was quite pleased with Su Cheng’s attentiveness.

She couldn’t help but look forward to the coming days, where she’d be treated like a princess, a queen, maybe even an empress dowager.

Meng Ling hadn’t sold over a hundred defective pieces, they’d each divided them up. The ones that could be altered for everyday wear had been taken to a tailor, while the more flawed pieces became loungewear or sleepwear, so now Ji Meng’s wardrobe was filled with a variety of outfits.

Usually, it took her ages to pick one out, but Su Cheng, with his calm expression, had already opened the wardrobe and quickly handed her the clothes she asked for.

This man is incredibly useful. He can handle both the living room and the kitchen, doing household chores without a hint of complaint, and he even takes the initiative.

Ji Meng was extremely satisfied. After getting dressed and fixing her hair, she opened the door and stepped out with a smile on her face.

After their intimate contact, many things had changed.

Ji Meng could feel it clearly.

At night, she couldn’t help but cling to him, as if suffering from a lack of physical affection, and the two of them just couldn’t resist being close.

In just two short days, they had gone from awkward kisses to a point where they were no longer satisfied with just passionate kisses.

They had tried almost everything except the final step.

Now, Ji Meng didn’t even wear underwear at night.

The man noticed something but didn’t say anything, instead, he became even more uninhibited.

This kind of intimacy made their feelings for each other heat up rapidly.

He was treating her better and better, practically ^[2]“Holding her in the palm of his hand” means that he is treating her with a lot of care, love, and attention, as if she is very precious to him. It suggests that he’s doing everything he … Continue readingholding her in the palm of his hand.

Almost every morning, when Ji Meng opened her eyes, she could see him waiting by the bedside.

When he noticed she was awake, it was like kissing a sleeping beauty, he would immediately lean down to kiss the top of her head or her forehead, then hand her a cup of honey water that she needed to drink every morning.

While she drank, he had already found the outfit she was going to wear today and handed it to her, being considerate and attentive, while their daughter, Qiuqiu, was waiting behind her.

Ji Meng loved this feeling of being treated like a queen, and she even started to consider breaking through her final barrier to take the last step with the man.

The couple’s relationship had undergone a tremendous change that anyone with eyes could easily see.

Ji Qinghe was the first to notice.

Because the son-in-law, who used to wake up even earlier than him, suddenly learned how to “sleep in” and often wouldn’t come out of his room until after Ji Qinghe had been up for a while.

He couldn’t stay busy for long, when it was time for his granddaughter to get up, he would go back to his room and then dawdle for a while before coming out.

Now, he hardly cared about his granddaughter at all, after calling her to get up, she would dress herself, and he would only help her comb her hair at most.

During meals, he no longer seemed completely focused on his granddaughter, instead, he became attentive to his daughter, who was already in her twenties.

He would hand her a glass of water one moment and serve her a piece of food the next, being all sticky and sweet.

When the couple exchanged glances, Ji Qinghe felt that he and his granddaughter were unnecessary, that they shouldn’t even be at the table.

However, he was happy to see his daughter and son-in-law getting along well, so he pretended not to notice.

This was what a normal loving couple should look like, the overly polite demeanor they had before was just ridiculous.

While Ji Qinghe pretended not to know, his clever little daughter Qiuqiu was different. After observing for two days, she noticed that her parents were indeed acting strangely, only caring about their own love and ignoring her.

So, on the way to school on the third day, the clever little girl turned her head to glance at her mother’s hand wrapped around her father’s waist, and suddenly asked her dad, “Dad, you and Mom are in love now, right?”

Su Cheng was so surprised that he almost swerved the bike into a wall.

Ji Meng, sitting in the back, was also extremely embarrassed, rare as it was, she didn’t want to talk to her daughter.

“Sit tight, or you’ll fall off.”

As his daughter became more chatty and increasingly indiscreet, Su Cheng gradually learned to be serious in front of her. He reached out to steady her and said in a slightly deeper voice.

His stern expression was quite intimidating, Qiuqiu didn’t dare to provoke him, so she could only pout and obediently sit still.

She felt somewhat unwilling.

She thought that her parents’ affection was all thanks to her giving up her bed, but her dad was so cold-hearted that not only did he not treat her better, he had even become stricter with her.

But she was just a little girl, and having grievances didn’t help, she could only mumble reluctantly:

“What a bad Dad! If it weren’t for Qiuqiu, he and Mom wouldn’t even be in love. If he’s mean to Qiuqiu, then Qiuqiu will just take Mom away from him, so he won’t have a chance to be close to her anymore.”

The little girl thought her voice was not loud, but she didn’t realize that the two adults behind her heard everything clearly.

Su Cheng’s face darkened instantly, while Ji Meng couldn’t help but laugh and poked him in the waist, teasing, “What are you going to do? ^[3]“cotton-padded jacket is losing its warmth” comes from a Chinese expression often used to describe daughters, comparing them to “贴心小棉袄” (tiē xīn xiǎo mián ǎo), which … Continue readingYour little cotton-padded jacket is losing its warmth.”

Su Cheng’s body tensed slightly, he reached out and grabbed the hands that were causing trouble at his waist but didn’t say a word.

What could he do? He just had to endure it and not care.

After all, right now, no one could stop a man that is in love.

In this big world, love is the greatest, and the daughter had to ^[4]“Take a back seat” means to become less important or to allow someone or something else to take priority. When someone “takes a back seat,” they step aside from being the … Continue readingtake a back seat.