Qiu Chengyue: “……”
Which room are we sleeping in?
Qiu Chengyue was clearly speechless.
This woman really had some nerve.
The moment she opened her mouth, she was talking about sleeping together. Didn’t she know she should show a little modesty?
“I’m not sleeping.”
He put down the electric fan and went into the bedroom.
He even locked the bedroom door behind him.
Shen Shuyue: “……”
Hmph…
Pretending to be so proper.
……
Because she was too lazy to wash clothes, Shen Shuyue went into the city again.
She planned to find a small washing machine.
After practically searching the entire city of Wanzhou, she finally found a very compact washing machine.
It was only big enough to wash two or three sets of clothes at a time, which was perfect for her since she lived alone.
After wandering around the city for a while, it was almost dark.
The journey from the city back to the residential compound was somewhat far.
Shen Shuyue hadn’t eaten dinner yet.
Thinking about having to cook for herself when she got home, she turned her vehicle around and looked for somewhere to eat instead.
The moment she entered a restaurant, it started raining outside.
It was pouring heavily, accompanied by flashes of lightning.
Shen Shuyue wasn’t in a hurry to go home.
She was actually quite afraid of lightning.
After all, she wasn’t exactly a good person, so she was always worried about getting punished for her misdeeds.
What if she got struck by lightning?
She might end up transmigrating again.
She was living a pretty good life now and didn’t want to end up transmigrating into someone else’s body again.
After eating her fill, it was only seven in the evening.
Normally, it would still be quite bright at this hour, but because of the rain, it was already completely dark.
Lightning flashed repeatedly, looking rather frightening.
Fortunately, the restaurant owner didn’t rush customers out, so Shen Shuyue stayed there until eight o’clock. By then, the thunder and lightning outside had finally weakened somewhat.
At the same time…
Qiu Chengyue was sitting on the sofa, glancing at his watch from time to time.
The storm was raging outside, and it was already this late, yet Shen Shuyue still hadn’t come home.
Usually, Shen Shuyue would definitely be home before dark.
But today, with the heavy rain, she still hadn’t returned.
Could something have happened to her?
Qiu Chengyue stood up as if he were about to go out, but then sat back down on the sofa.
Shen Shuyue’s clothes were still unwashed in the bathroom.
Thinking of her clothes, Qiu Chengyue went to the bathroom and washed them for her.
Her underwear and panties were in there too, but this time, while washing her clothes, he didn’t have a single improper thought.
After washing everything clean, he took the clothes to the balcony and hung them up to dry.
Once he finished, he glanced at the time again.
7:45 p.m.
Shen Shuyue still hadn’t come back.
Qiu Chengyue had been waiting since 5:30 in the afternoon.
At last, he couldn’t sit still any longer.
He grabbed an umbrella and headed outside.
Their neighbor, Aunt Zhang, heard him open the door and poked her head out of her own house.
“Captain Qiu, where are you going?”
Qiu Chengyue originally had no intention of answering.
He had already walked several steps when he stopped and asked, “Did you see Shen Shuyue today?”
Aunt Zhang paused, and her expression became somewhat stiff.
“No, I didn’t.”
“It’s pouring outside, and she still hasn’t come back?”
“Oh my, it’s so late. A woman being out alone is dangerous.”
“Who knows what she’s always running around outside for.”
Qiu Chengyue didn’t bother listening to anything else Aunt Zhang had to say.
He grabbed his car keys and went downstairs.
The rain was still pouring outside.
Qiu Chengyue went to the military unit to get a car, then drove toward the city.
The road was dark, with flashes of lightning occasionally illuminating the sky.
Qiu Chengyue drove all the way into the city, but there wasn’t a single pedestrian on the road.
There weren’t any other cars either.
The longer he drove, the worse Qiu Chengyue’s expression became.
Where on earth had that woman gone so late at night?
After entering the city, Qiu Chengyue had absolutely no idea where Shen Shuyue might be.
He could only search street by street.
Every time he saw a car, he would stop and check its license plate.
……
Shen Shuyue returned home at around nine o’clock that evening.
Because of the rain, there was no one in the residential compound.
She drove to the designated parking spot, then carried the new washing machine upstairs.
The door was locked, and the lights inside were off.
Qiu Chengyue wasn’t home.
As Shen Shuyue took out her key to unlock the door, she felt puzzled.
Where had Qiu Chengyue gone so late at night?
The moment she opened the door, the neighboring door opened as well.
Aunt Zhang came out and rolled her eyes when she saw Shen Shuyue.
“You’re finally back?”
“A woman coming home in the middle of the night? What kind of behavior is that?”
“Captain Qiu even had to go out looking for you. I really don’t know how your parents raised you. How did they manage to raise a daughter like you?”
“If I had a daughter like you, I would’ve broken her legs long ago.”
Shen Shuyue looked at Aunt Zhang’s face.
She put the washing machine down, planted her hands on her hips, and immediately fired back.
“How my parents raised me has nothing to do with you!”
“Whether I come home in the middle of the night has nothing to do with you either!”
“Put your mind at ease. You’ll never have a daughter as beautiful as me in this lifetime.”
“And I wouldn’t choose a woman like you as my mother either. My parents aren’t like you—completely incapable, yet always sticking their noses into other people’s business.”
After saying that, Shen Shuyue didn’t wait for Aunt Zhang to retaliate.
She picked up her washing machine, went inside, and slammed the door shut behind her.
Outside, Aunt Zhang’s face turned green with anger.
She actually did have a daughter.
And her daughter really wasn’t as pretty as Shen Shuyue.
“Oh, Aunt Zhang! Why are you arguing with her so late at night?”
“Why are you meddling in someone else’s business?”
The surrounding neighbors came out to call out to her.
It was already late at night, and some of the children had gone to sleep.
Making such a racket would wake them up.
Aunt Zhang said, “I’m only doing this because I feel sorry for Captain Qiu. He married a woman like that who can’t do anything around the house.”
A neighbor nearby replied, “You’re just worrying over nothing. Her father has plenty of money.”
“Even if she doesn’t do anything at all, she could hire two people to wait on her around the clock, and she could easily afford it.”
With that, the neighbors went back inside.
Aunt Zhang stood there alone, so angry she felt like she was about to explode.
Money, money, money!
So what if Shen Shuyue had a little money?
……
After entering the house, Shen Shuyue immediately started installing the washing machine, planning to wash her own clothes.
Once the washing machine was installed, however, she couldn’t find her clothes.
They weren’t in the basin.
They weren’t in the bucket either.
Where had they gone?
She hurried to the balcony and finally discovered that all her clothes had already been washed and hung out to dry.
Could this have been… Qiu Chengyue washing them for her?
He had even washed her underwear and panties?
Shen Shuyue stared at the freshly washed clothes in surprise.
Hadn’t he refused to help her wash clothes?
So how come he had… washed them for her again?
Then she remembered what Aunt Zhang had said about Qiu Chengyue going out to look for her.
Qiu Chengyue wasn’t home.
Had he really gone out to look for her?
Since when had he cared so much about her?
Hadn’t he always treated her like an outsider?
Shen Shuyue’s nose suddenly felt a little sore, but she quickly rubbed the feeling away.
She walked over to the balcony railing and looked outside.
It was still raining.
Everything was pitch-black as far as she could see.
It was already so late, and Qiu Chengyue had gone out looking for her.
And he still hadn’t come back…