During breakfast, she pretended to focus on eating and didn’t look at him even once.
She said nothing about last night when she hugged him in her sleep.
If she didn’t mention it, it didn’t exist.
Yes, that was it.
Just pretend it never happened.
And coincidentally, Chen Shangzhou was equally considerate and didn’t bring it up either.
After breakfast, Chen Shangzhou took the dishes to wash.
Xihe went to wash their dirty clothes, then started sweeping and mopping the floor.
Chen Shangzhou came out of the kitchen, glanced at the busy woman, and pressed his lips together.
The mop ended up at his feet.
He didn’t move.
Xihe straightened up, slightly out of breath.
“Move, I need to mop.”
Chen Shangzhou stared at her for a while, then took the mop and started cleaning.
“……”
She didn’t argue with him.
Instead, she went to wipe the furniture with a cloth.
Her phone rang at that moment.
She walked over and saw it was Zhang Junhua calling, and her head immediately hurt.
She glanced at Chen Shangzhou and simply hung up.
Zhang Junhua didn’t give up and sent voice messages again.
Xihe still didn’t dare open them.
Chen Shangzhou’s eyes darkened slightly. He took the mop and went to rinse it in the bathroom.
Today was Saturday.
Neither of them had to go to work.
After cleaning the house, Chen Shangzhou sat on the sofa and sent messages on his phone.
Xihe boiled a pot of apple and red date tea and brought it out.
The sofa was occupied by him, so she sat at the dining table instead.
Just as she poured herself a cup, her phone rang.
It was Sun Shasha.
【Did you manage to pin down your boyfriend last night?】
Xihe glanced at the tall figure on the sofa and felt her face heat up.
She replied: 【No.】
Sun Shasha: 【Are you planning to marry him?】
Xihe thought: We’re already married, okay.
She replied: 【Mm.】
Sun Shasha: 【If you’re planning to marry, sooner or later you’ll sleep together anyway. And I’m telling you, it’s better to try before marriage, or you’ll regret it if you find out he’s not good after.】
Xihe choked and coughed violently, her face turning red.
She looked up and met Chen Shangzhou’s probing gaze.
She awkwardly said, “I just choked.”
Chen Shangzhou said nothing and continued typing on his phone.
Xihe wiped her mouth with a tissue.
Sun Shasha sent another message:
【You must listen. A lot of men look good but are useless in bed. If you don’t try, how would you know if he’s 2m or 2h?】
Xihe actually understood.
Her gaze drifted unconsciously toward Chen Shangzhou.
Prominent Adam’s apple, tall and strong build, well-developed leg muscles.
Mm… probably 2h.
In romance novels, the male lead is usually very strong in that aspect anyway.
One night, seven times, from day to night, making the heroine pass out, even sending her to the hospital.
As the male lead in a “winning back his wife” story, he definitely wouldn’t be bad.
Mm. Appraisal complete. No need to try.
“What are you looking at?”
Chen Shangzhou suddenly looked over.
Xihe froze and met his dark, deep eyes, feeling guilty.
“Nothing.”
“Nothing? Then what are you looking at?”
“I’m not looking at you.”
That was clearly a guilty denial. She quickly picked up her cup and drank tea to cover it up.
Chen Shangzhou looked at her deeply, then stood up, put on his black down jacket, and walked to the door.
“You’re going out?”
He put on his coat.
“Fu Tang asked me for something. I’m going out.”
“Are you coming back for lunch?”
He paused and looked at her.
“Not sure. If I don’t, I’ll call you.”
“Okay.”
She watched him leave.
After he left, she drank a few more sips of tea.
Home was boring.
She changed clothes and prepared to go out and buy groceries.
But just as she opened the door, she ran into the short, chubby man next door again.
He was still wearing only underwear, and he whistled at her with a lewd smile.
Xihe clenched her fists in anger.
Suddenly, a loud bang came from behind her.
She turned around.
The chubby man had fallen to the ground.
Chen Shangzhou stood beside him, cold and imposing.
Xihe froze.
Why was he back?
He grabbed the man by the collar and punched him.
“You dare hit me, I’ll call the police… ugh… stop hitting me, I didn’t do anything, really, I did nothing!”
The man cried out in pain.
Chen Shangzhou’s face was dark as he punched him in the abdomen again.
The noise alerted neighbors on the floor; several doors opened and people peeked out.
Xihe hurried over to stop him.
Before she could reach him, Chen Shangzhou shouted coldly:
“Go inside!”
She swallowed nervously.
He was really fierce right now.
She stopped.
“Chen Shangzhou, don’t hit him anymore…”
He dragged the man into the next room and slammed the door shut.
Inside, there was a series of crashing sounds.
Ten minutes later, he came out and pulled Xihe back into their apartment.
The door slammed shut again.
Once inside, he released her wrist.
His eyes were dark.
“How many times?”
“Counting today… three times.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It wasn’t a big deal, I…”
“What counts as a big deal to you? Only when he touches you?”
She fell silent.
She had always handled things on her own, not used to asking for help.
And she always avoided trouble if possible.
That man next door clearly didn’t have the guts to do anything serious.
If it got worse, she would just call the police.
She never thought to ask him for help.
Chen Shangzhou’s expression was cold, veins faintly visible on his hand.
“Xihe, do you think I’m unreliable?”
She quickly denied it.
“No, why would you think that?”
“Then why didn’t you tell me first?”
Only then did she realize how much he cared about this.
He was possessive.
She sighed helplessly.
“I’m not used to it yet. I’ll tell you first next time.”
His expression softened slightly.
“Were you scared?”