Fang Xihe turned off the heat and scrolled on her phone while waiting for Shang Chen Zhou to come back.
Zhang Junhua’s phone call came in.
Fang Xihe hung up.
Zhang Junhua switched to voice messages and sent a long string of them.
With the lesson from last time, Fang Xihe converted the voice messages into text.
【You little brat, what are you doing? I call you and you don’t answer, I text you and you don’t reply.】
【Yesterday I ran into Aunt Zhang again. She said the man is quite satisfied with you and still wants to meet you again.】
【Just go meet him. I saw his photo—he looks okay, not that old.】
Fang Xihe replied: 【Mom, those photos are edited. He’s 38—how can he not look old? I’m never marrying an old man. You can’t force me.】
After a while, Zhang Junhua replied: 【Alright, if you really don’t want to, then forget it.】
Zhang Junhua also thought the age gap was too much. She only agreed before because of neighbor relations.
Just as Fang Xihe breathed a sigh of relief, another message came in.
【Has the matchmaking website arranged any blind dates for you?】
She casually lied: 【Yes, I’ve met several.】
【How were they?】
【None of them were good.】
【These matchmaking sites aren’t reliable at all.】
The sound of the door lock entering the password rang out.
Fang Xihe quickly exited the chat and opened a short video app.
Shang Chen Zhou came in carrying a pack of beer.
She ran over and took it from him.
He wanted to say it was heavy, but she had already carried it to the dining area.
He took off his coat, hung it up, washed his hands, then returned.
She opened two cans and placed one in front of him.
“Shang… husband, cheers.”
She clinked cans with him and took a big sip.
If she wanted to become a little rich woman, she had to rely on shameless persistence.
“Husband…” She had never called any man that before.
Shang Chen Zhou looked at her for a moment and also took a sip.
“Husband, eat some meat.”
“Husband, eat spinach.”
“Come on, husband, drink.”
Each “husband” made Shang Chen Zhou feel strangely warm and slightly numb inside.
The girl’s alcohol tolerance was poor. After two cans, her cheeks were red and her eyes were hazy.
But she was already reaching for a third can.
Shang Chen Zhou took it away.
“Stop drinking.”
Fang Xihe was already a little dizzy.
She didn’t expect this body to have such a low tolerance.
Only two cans of beer and she was drunk.
“Fine, I won’t drink. I’ll eat watermelon.”
Shang Chen Zhou smiled faintly.
She’s quite obedient.
He placed the watermelon plate in front of her.
She hugged it and started eating.
“So sweet.”
Later, she became too dizzy and stood up, swaying as she tried to walk to the bed.
Just as she stood, she tilted and fell sideways.
A pair of strong hands caught her.
A clean, fresh scent—comforting and safe.
Fang Xihe looked up at the face above her.
Sharp jawline, deep eyes, straight nose, full and attractive lips.
She couldn’t help reaching out to touch him.
Shang Chen Zhou’s eyes darkened as he locked onto her.
She looked like a little cat, dazed and soft.
Her fingers traced his features and finally pressed against his lips.
“Shang Chen Zhou… you’re so handsome…”
He raised an eyebrow. “Want to kiss?”
She paused and shook her head.
She had forgotten her “love-brained” persona while drunk.
A flash of disappointment passed through his eyes.
He carried her to the bed and covered her.
“Sleep.”
She quickly fell asleep.
Shang Chen Zhou cleaned up the table and washed the dishes.
In the middle of the night, Fang Xihe woke up feeling hot.
The air conditioner was on, but she was wearing thick fuzzy home clothes.
Shang Chen Zhou was woken by movement and turned to look.
She sat up and started taking off her clothes.
He: “……”
She threw her top aside—it landed on his face.
He pulled it away.
She then took off her pants and casually threw them on the floor.
In the dim light, her figure was faintly visible.
Shang Chen Zhou’s throat tightened. He froze, unable to look away.
She lay back down after cooling off and pulled the blanket over herself.
He was about to sleep when she rolled over and hugged him tightly, legs draping over him like before.
Her skin brushed against his arm.
He breathed heavily in the dark.
He tried several times to push her away to get her clothes, but failed.
In the end, he gave up.
The rest of the night was torture for him—he barely slept.
The person in his arms slept peacefully, even snoring lightly.
The next morning.
Fang Xihe woke up and found herself clinging to him like an octopus. She immediately wanted to hit a wall.
Then she looked down.
Oh my god—she wasn’t wearing clothes!
Only underwear, pressed so tightly against him.
She felt like she wanted to disappear.
Her first thought: he must have taken them off.
She angrily pushed him off the bed.
He fell to the floor.
After a moment, he stood up, dark circles under his eyes.
“You took my clothes off?”
He was speechless for two seconds. “You took them off yourself.”
“Impossible.”
“You were hot at night. You took them off yourself.”
She frowned.
Fragments of memory surfaced.
It… really seemed like she did.
“…Remember now?”
She buried her head in shame.
He smirked slightly and went to the bathroom.
When he came out and saw she was still frozen in embarrassment, he placed her clothes beside her.
“I’ll make breakfast.”
She stayed silent.
He cooked porridge, fried eggs, and side dishes.
She ate quietly without a word.
His phone rang.
He answered and said, “Okay, I’ll come later.”
After hanging up, she immediately said, “Go do your work. I’ll wash the dishes.”
He looked at her deeply.
“What do you want for lunch? I’ll bring it back.”