The mother and daughter had been living off that compensation money.
Her mom was very lazy—she didn’t work and spent her days playing mahjong until late at night.
She would never wake up in the morning to make breakfast for her. Fang Xihe had to get up before dawn, cook for herself, eat, then carry her schoolbag and walk to school.
Now, just getting up and having food already prepared for her felt so blissful.
Fang Xihe couldn’t help but curl her lips into a smile.
After breakfast, she washed the dishes and cleaned up.
There were dirty clothes in the washing machine—hers and Shang Chenzhou’s from last night.
She took her own clothes out, planning to wash them separately.
Squatting there, she thought for a moment, then felt it was too pretentious and stuffed them back in.
She added detergent and pressed the power button.
It would take over fifty minutes to finish washing.
Fang Xihe changed her clothes and went downstairs for a walk.
As soon as she stepped out, the door next door opened too.
A short, chubby man walked out.
The moment Fang Xihe saw his lower half, she immediately ran back inside and slammed the door shut.
Damn it!
That man was only wearing underwear!
It seemed like he had come out to pick up food delivery.
Even for that, couldn’t he at least put on some pants? It wasn’t that hard.
Fang Xihe fumed for a while. Only after hearing the neighbor’s door close did she go out again.
She walked around the area and found a nearby market.
She bought some vegetables, fruits, and a pound of regular pork leg.
Regular pork was much cheaper than free-range pork.
Both she and Shang Chenzhou were poor right now, so they could only afford this.
Last night, Shang Chenzhou had cooked several dishes—fish and meat included.
It must have cost quite a bit.
This man really didn’t know how to manage money—already in debt, yet still spending so freely.
If she didn’t know he would succeed in the future and was actually the lost heir of a top wealthy family,
as his wife, she’d probably be too worried to sleep.
Carrying two bags, she walked back while thinking about whether she should go to the capital and find that wealthy family to reveal Shang Chenzhou’s identity.
But the novel mentioned that his return to the family wasn’t easy—he faced three assassination attempts.
If she rashly approached them, she might end up harming him.
Forget it. This couldn’t be rushed.
Back at the apartment, she hung up the washed clothes.
For lunch, she simply cooked a bowl of shredded pork and vegetable noodles.
After eating, she took a nap.
She was woken up by her phone ringing.
Without checking the caller ID, she answered, “Hello.”
“What time is it already and you’re still sleeping? If you don’t fix that habit, your in-laws will look down on you when you marry into a wealthy family!”
Hearing the voice, Fang Xihe instantly lost all sleepiness. She pulled the phone away to check.
As expected, it was the original owner’s mother.
Zhang Junhua: “Did you fill out the information on the matchmaking website I told you about?”
Fang Xihe sat up, cleared her throat, and replied, “I did.”
Zhang Junhua: “Any matches?”
Fang Xihe lied, “No.”
In reality, the original owner had already gone on several blind dates.
With her looks and youth, she had a strong advantage.
As soon as her profile was submitted, many men rushed to meet her.
Among them were rich second-generation heirs and company executives.
The original owner had a sharp eye—she picked out the abusive man at a glance, simply because he was the most handsome among them and pursued her the most aggressively, sending flowers to her company every few days.
Women were vain.
Faced with such passionate pursuit, the original owner quickly fell for it.
She had even planned to break up with Shang Chenzhou and throw herself into that abusive man’s arms.
If Fang Xihe hadn’t transmigrated, the original owner would already be with him by now.
Speak of the devil—he had just messaged her, asking her out for dinner and a movie tonight.
Fang Xihe ignored it.
On the other end, Zhang Junhua sighed. “How come there’s no news? Why don’t you sign up on a few more sites and cast a wider net?”
Fang Xihe perfunctorily replied, “Okay, I will.”
Zhang Junhua: “You need to hurry. A woman’s youth only lasts a few years—miss it and your value drops.”
Fang Xihe continued brushing her off, “Got it, got it.”
“I’m hanging up.”
Without waiting for more, she ended the call.
After going to the bathroom, her phone rang again.
This time it was Wang Yuan.
Only then did Fang Xihe remember she hadn’t told Wang Yuan and Zhan Feifei that she had moved out.
She answered the call.
Wang Yuan’s voice came through: “Xihe, did you move out?”
Everyone usually stayed in their own spaces. Wang Yuan and Zhan Feifei worked at the same company and had a dinner gathering last night, coming back late. They thought Fang Xihe was asleep.
This morning, when she hadn’t come out, they knocked on her door. No response. When they pushed it open, the room was empty.
Fang Xihe had just transmigrated and wasn’t used to these roommates yet, so she forgot to inform them.
“I moved to Shang Chenzhou’s place. I forgot to tell you guys.”
Wang Yuan exclaimed, “You’re living together with Shang Chenzhou?”
“Sort of.”
They were already legally married, after all.
She instinctively hid that fact.
Wang Yuan: “That’s so sudden. You never mentioned it before.”
Fang Xihe: “I didn’t expect it either. It was decided just yesterday. Sorry, I forgot to tell you.”
Wang Yuan couldn’t really say anything.
But since Fang Xihe had moved out, she and Zhan Feifei would have to quickly find another roommate. Otherwise, the rent would be too much for just the two of them.
Fang Xihe thought of that too.
“I’ve still got one month left on the rent for my room. You can use that time to find someone. I’ll also ask my coworkers if anyone wants to share.”
Wang Yuan: “Alright, that’s the only option.”
“But Xihe, weren’t you planning to break up with Shang Chenzhou? Why suddenly not only stay with him but even move in together?”
Fang Xihe knew her change was too drastic.
The original owner had never hidden her thoughts in front of Wang Yuan and Zhan Feifei—often showing disdain for Shang Chenzhou and saying she was just playing around with him.
She had even told them beforehand about breaking up.
Now things had turned out like this—Wang Yuan’s confusion was normal.
She couldn’t exactly say she wasn’t the original Fang Xihe.
So she just smiled. “I didn’t realize how good he was before. Now I do, so I don’t want to break up.”
Wang Yuan: “He’s handsome, sure, but his family is poor, and he has a sickly mother. Don’t you mind?”
Fang Xihe frowned slightly, feeling Wang Yuan was paying too much attention to her relationship.
She had already explained, yet Wang Yuan kept pressing.
It made her a bit impatient.
“I don’t mind. Shang Chenzhou is capable. I believe he’ll succeed one day.”
Wang Yuan let out an awkward laugh.
“Xihe, you’ve changed. You weren’t like this before—you used to look down on him.”
Fang Xihe replied, “Like you said, that was before. Now I think highly of him.”
Wang Yuan still wanted to say something, but Fang Xihe cut her off.
“Shang Chenzhou will be back soon. I need to cook for him. Let’s talk another day.”
Wang Yuan could only respond, “…Alright.”
After hanging up, Wang Yuan frowned deeply.
If she heard correctly, Fang Xihe said she was going to cook for Shang Chenzhou.
How was that possible?
Fang Xihe? Cooking? She probably didn’t even know how to use a gas stove.
Who knew what she was up to.
…
Fang Xihe checked the time—it was already 4 PM.
She sent Shang Chenzhou a message:
【What time will you be back?】