“Wait.”
Since they had already opened their hearts to each other, he decided they might as well clear everything up completely.
“When you were talking to Sister Cao today, you originally wanted to get married tomorrow, didn’t you? Why did you suddenly change your mind?”
“Was it because you still haven’t let go of that pretty-boy?”
Pretty-boy?
Shen Ruanruan looked confused.
“You mean Su Jingming?”
Lu Mingye stepped closer and bent down to look directly into her eyes.
“Is it because you still haven’t let him go?”
“Of course not.”
Could he be asking this because he was jealous?
Shen Ruanruan stared at him for quite a while, to the point that the man himself started feeling embarrassed.
But she couldn’t exactly tell him the real reason.
There was no way she could say she was worried the bed wouldn’t survive after they got married, right?
Her eyes darted around before she crooked a finger at him.
The man obediently leaned closer.
Smack!
Lu Mingye’s eyes widened.
Suppressing her embarrassment, Shen Ruanruan turned and ran back into her room.
He stood frozen in place, one hand covering his cheek.
S-she kissed him?
Lu Mingye’s entire mind and heart were filled with that one fact. The pretty-boy had already been thrown eight hundred miles out of his thoughts.
No one knew how long he stood there.
Under the bright moonlight, one could clearly see a man sitting on a tiny stool in the courtyard, grinning foolishly while gently scrubbing a little floral-patterned piece of clothing in his hands…
Over the next few days, maybe because she had cried once, or maybe because of that kiss that completely stunned him—
Lu Mingye seemed to become a different person.
He went from cold and fierce to noticeably gentler and softer.
At least when facing her, he was.
These past two days he hadn’t rested either. He brought back all the large wardrobes and furniture custom-made from the village and arranged everything into place.
There was a lot of stuff, and once again the family compound wives gave them plenty of attention.
As for the washroom, Lu Mingye quickly found someone to build it. When they were smoothing cement over the sink area, he even specifically asked Shen Ruanruan for her opinion.
She hadn’t expected him to think of details like that, and her heart warmed even more.
At the same time, there was the most important thing: the heated brick bed.
Lu Mingye grew up in the countryside, so he knew how to build one himself, and Wen Yan came to help too.
Shen Ruanruan curiously followed along to watch for a bit.
Basically, they mixed clay with wheat straw and water into mud bricks, dried them until half-hardened, then built the kang in either a “hui” pattern or “chuan” pattern, leaving space for smoke channels and chimney connections.
Finally, they spread cement over the top, and once it dried, it was more or less finished.
The two men worked efficiently.
She couldn’t really help much aside from occasionally bringing water.
Even so, Lu Mingye still praised her for being hardworking.
Shen Ruanruan: “……”
There was really no need to exaggerate that much.
Meanwhile, Wen Yan looked like he’d seen a ghost these past few days.
Taking advantage of a break, he sidled up to Shen Ruanruan with a mischievous expression.
“Sister-in-law, what kind of spell did you cast on this guy? It’s only been a few days and he’s completely changed. Teach me your methods?”
How was she supposed to explain that?
She couldn’t exactly say that after crying once, things became like this, right?
She shook her head.
“I didn’t do anything. A’Ye… is actually pretty gentle.”
“Gentle?”
Wen Yan stared at her in shock.
“Do you really think that word fits him? Or is this one of those ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ situations?”
Being teased like that instantly made Shen Ruanruan blush.
What “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”?
That sounded way too intimate.
Lu Mingye glanced at the two of them, set down what he was working on, and walked over before kicking Wen Yan lightly.
“Stop teasing her.”
“How am I teasing sister-in-law? We’re just having a normal conversation. Don’t tell me you’re jealous too?”
Wen Yan slung an arm over his shoulder.
“You’re seriously too petty.”
Lu Mingye glanced at him and tossed him a hoe.
“Fix up the vegetable patch for me. I’m going to cook.”
Just as he was about to head to the kitchen, Shen Ruanruan grabbed him.
“You’ve both been too tired these past few days. Don’t cook tonight. How about I go to the cafeteria and bring food back for you guys?”
She might not know how to cook, but she had money.
And if money could solve something, then it wasn’t a problem.
“No way.”
The moment Wen Yan heard he might not get to eat Lu Mingye’s cooking, he panicked.
“Sister-in-law, compared to our normal training, this amount of work is nothing. It’s basically rest. Cooking won’t tire him out, right Old Lu?”
Lu Mingye also liked cooking for Shen Ruanruan.
Every time he cooked, she always ate a little more than usual.
So he nodded.
“I’m not tired. If you feel bad about it, come help me in the kitchen?”
Even though Shen Ruanruan had no idea what she could actually help with, she still obediently followed him inside.
Watching this, Wen Yan practically wore an auntie-like smile.
“The old saying really is true. Everyone has their natural weakness!”
As he spoke, he started swinging the hoe and got back to work.
…
He said he wanted Shen Ruanruan to help, but in reality all she did was tie his apron and taste dishes to see if they were salty enough.
Other than that, Lu Mingye wouldn’t let her touch anything.
It really matched what she had said before—
Her role was just companionship.
After dinner, it was getting late, so Wen Yan headed home first.
Before leaving, he shot Lu Mingye a meaningful look, which the latter immediately understood.
“Ruanruan, go wash up first. Leave the dishes there, don’t touch them. I’ll wash them after I come back. I’m walking him out.”
“Okay.”
Shen Ruanruan nodded obediently.
After Lu Mingye walked out with Wen Yan, the latter raised a brow.
“What’s this? Not keeping up your cold and aloof image anymore? Weren’t you worried before that she’d discover your little feelings?”
“There’s no point.”
In front of her tears, all his little schemes suddenly felt completely insignificant.
Of course, he wouldn’t say such private things aloud.
Wen Yan didn’t pry either.
“Anyway, you two can figure things out yourselves. About that pretty-boy named Su Jingming you asked me to investigate…”
“I had someone look into it. After sister-in-law’s family got into trouble, people overheard that pretty-boy’s family talking about wanting to break off the engagement.”
“But later, they probably didn’t expect sister-in-law to beat them to it and cancel the engagement herself.”
So had she learned from someone else that the pretty-boy wanted to break off the engagement, and that was why she gave up first?
Lu Mingye didn’t think things were that simple.
He patted Wen Yan on the shoulder.
“Thanks. I understand.”
Then he turned to leave.
Wen Yan stopped him.
“Wait. There’s one more thing. That pretty-boy seems to have bought a train ticket to come here. Don’t know if he’s coming for sister-in-law or for something else…”
“Either way, be careful.”
Lu Mingye’s fists tightened.
If the guy wasn’t here to harass his Ruanruan, then fine.
But if he was…
The man’s eyes turned cold.
When he returned home, however, he showed no sign anything was wrong.
As usual, he gathered up the dishes and prepared to wash them.
Shen Ruanruan came out after washing up, glowing pale and luminous even in the dim night.
“A’Ye, the house is basically finished now. Let’s go get our marriage certificate tomorrow, okay? As for inviting people over for dinner, think about who needs to be informed and let them know tomorrow to come eat at our place the day after.”
Lu Mingye’s breathing halted.
He nearly dropped the bowls in his hands.
“T-tomorrow?”
“Yeah. Didn’t we already agree that once the house was done, we’d get the certificate? Why are you so surprised?”
Shen Ruanruan looked at him strangely.
Of course Lu Mingye remembered saying that.
It was just that he thought…
After being angry with him these past couple of days, she would want to wait a little longer.