The house Zhou Lie’s family lived in was self-built and had five floors in all.
The living room, kitchen, and dining room were on the first floor, along with his parents’ bedroom.
The second floor belonged to Zhou Lie. He was the second son, and he was the only one who lived on that floor.
The third floor belonged to the third son, Zhou Ye. He was a firefighter and usually lived at the fire station, coming home only when he was on leave.
The fourth floor belonged to the fourth son, Zhou Lin. He was seventeen this year and in his final year of high school. He usually stayed at school and came home only on weekends.
The fifth floor had been set aside for Zhou Lie’s older sister, Zhou Qian. But Zhou Qian had cut ties with the family over a man who preyed on wealthy women, and she hadn’t been home in four years.
Lu Ning’s biological mother, Wu Lizhen, had told her all of this.
Only when she started down the stairs did Lu Ning feel the consequences of their night of abandon.
With every step, her legs took another brutal hit from the deep ache in her muscles. It was like walking on knife points.
Zhou Lie had waited downstairs for a long time. When Lu Ning still hadn’t appeared, he decided to go up and check on her.
He was afraid she might have fainted from hunger in the bathroom.
At the foot of the stairs, he saw Lu Ning inching down with a pained expression, and couldn’t help laughing.
Thinking of how her small frame had been put through the wringer by him all night, he felt both guilty and sorry for her.
He hadn’t expected to lose control during their first time together, either. He was usually quite good at restraining himself.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have waited until this age to have sex.
After a moment’s thought, he strode over and promptly scooped her up in his arms.
Lu Ning jumped in fright.
They could do whatever they wanted behind closed doors, but once they were out of the bedroom—especially since they lived with his parents—they had to be mindful of appearances.
“Put me down. It wouldn’t look good if Mom and Dad saw us.”
She raised her fist and thumped Zhou Lie once.
But it felt as if she were hitting a rock with a lump of tofu, and the atmosphere only grew more intimate.
“My parents aren’t old-fashioned,” Zhou Lie said dismissively. “And don’t get the wrong idea. I’m just afraid the food will be cold by the time you make it to the dining room.”
Lu Ning sheepishly fell silent. At a time like this, she might as well stop being coy.
But just as they reached the landing at the bottom of the stairs, they ran into his mother, pushing his father in his wheelchair. They seemed to be heading to the dining room too.
Lu Ning’s face flamed red. She hurriedly greeted them. “Dad, Mom.”
She pinched Zhou Lie. “Put me down. I can walk by myself now.”
But Li Ying, her mother-in-law, only smiled. “It’s fine, Ningning. Let Zhou Lie carry you. You had a hard night.”
Thinking of how petite her daughter-in-law was and how big her son was, Li Ying felt sorry for Lu Ning.
She thought she’d have to make sure her daughter-in-law got plenty of nourishment afterward.
She gave her husband a pointed look.
“Exactly. Let him carry you. What’s wrong with a grown man carrying his own wife?” Zhou Lishu said, wearing a rare smile that had been absent for a long time.
Zhou Lie was taken aback. Ever since his father had been hit by a truck and left paralyzed three years ago, he hadn’t smiled once.
That was why his mother had insisted he get married, hoping the wedding would bring good fortune to the family.
Lu Ning blushed all the way to her neck, like a cooked shrimp.
Zhou Lie carried her straight to the dining room and set her in a chair. Then he turned and went to help push his father over.
Lu Ning glanced at the food on the table. There were seven dishes and a soup, a generous spread of meat and vegetables.
But it looked as though no one had touched it.
When she saw four place settings, Lu Ning felt embarrassed.
“Dad, Mom, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have slept in and kept you from having lunch.”
Back at the Lu family home, no one had ever waited to eat with her. Most of the time, she ate alone.
“It’s all right. Sleep as late as you like. We don’t have so many rules in this house. Just do whatever makes you comfortable. We weren’t waiting for you on purpose; we ate breakfast late, so we weren’t hungry yet,” her mother-in-law Li Ying replied with a smile.
Her words brought tears to Lu Ning’s eyes.
The Lu family had so many rules: she couldn’t do this, couldn’t do that, and was never allowed to relax.
When Li Ying saw Lu Ning’s eyes redden, she grew anxious. “What’s wrong, Ningning? Did I say something I shouldn’t have? I’m sorry, I’m not good with words. If I said something wrong, tell me. I’ll make sure to change.”
“I told you to watch what you say. You talk too much,” Zhou Lishu scolded his wife.
He felt that even though Lu Ning had been switched at the hospital, she had still grown up as a young lady in a wealthy family.
Marrying into an ordinary family like theirs must have been a real hardship for her.
Zhou Lie frowned as he looked at Lu Ning, unable to understand why she had suddenly started crying.
There had been nothing wrong with what his mother had said.
Could she be homesick?
But which home could she miss?
The Lu family had already made it clear: the children had been switched back, the marriage arrangements had been switched too, and from now on they should have no further contact.
As for the Xia family, they were Lu Ning’s biological parents, but she’d only been reunited with them a few days ago. She couldn’t be that close to them yet.
Having ruled out homesickness, Zhou Lie thought there could only be one reason.
“Is it because you don’t like the food?” he asked Lu Ning. “If there’s something you’d like to eat, just say so.”
Whatever her reason for agreeing to marry him, now that she was his wife, he would do his best to meet her needs.
Only then did Lu Ning realize they had misunderstood.
Did they think she was a spoiled rich girl?
She sniffed and answered Zhou Lie, “When I was a war correspondent in Country Y, I often went hungry. How could I possibly complain about the food? I’m crying because I’m touched. You’re all so good to me.”
Zhou Lie had forgotten that Lu Ning had spent a year as a war correspondent in Country Y.
Looking at her petite frame, he could hardly imagine her reporting from a battlefield under relentless bombardment.
Lu Ning could tell what Zhou Lie was thinking.
She lifted her chin. “Don’t underestimate me. I really was a war correspondent. You can check with my newspaper.”
“I’m not underestimating you. I think you’re amazing.” Zhou Lie placed the bowl of soup he’d ladled out in front of Lu Ning.
Then he added, “You’re already my wife, part of this family, so it’s only right that we treat you well.”
Li Ying chimed in, “That’s right, Ningning. We’re family now. I’m a bit blunt, so please bear with me from now on.”
“Mom, I’m blunt too. I hope you and Dad will bear with me as well.”
Li Ying liked her daughter-in-law more and more.
And from the way her son was acting, he clearly liked Lu Ning too.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have slept with her last night, then gotten up early to wash his wife’s underwear and nightdress.
The four of them finished lunch together, laughing and chatting. Zhou Lie told Lu Ning to sit with his parents in the living room while he cleared the table himself.
After tidying up the dining room, he went upstairs to change the sheets and duvet cover.
When he saw the spot of red on the sheet, he hesitated, then folded the sheet neatly, found a bag for it, and put it away in a drawer in the wardrobe.
It was something worth commemorating, and he wanted to keep it.
In the living room downstairs, Lu Ning rested her chin in her hands, listening intently as her mother-in-law told her stories about Zhou Lie’s childhood.
She was thoroughly engrossed when the doorbell suddenly rang.
“Who could that be at lunchtime?” Li Ying muttered as she got up to answer the door.
As soon as she opened it, a loud voice rang out.
“I told you they wouldn’t be taking an afternoon nap, didn’t I? Auntie, Xiaoyun made some cookies herself. She was thinking of you, so she packed some up and insisted I bring them over with her.”
After saying that, Wang Qiuping thrust the bag into Li Ying’s hands and squeezed her way inside.
As she walked in, she asked, “Zhou Lie’s home, right?”
Her daughter, Luo Xiaoyun, followed right behind her and squeezed inside too.
When they saw a beautiful young woman sitting on the living-room sofa, both Wang Qiuping and her daughter looked surprised.
“Well, Old Zhou, do you have a guest?” Wang Qiuping asked Zhou Lishu.