“Why, why do you want to earn money?”
Wen Huan blinked, momentarily confused by Pei Jingyi’s train of thought: “Isn’t earning money a good thing? It can improve our lives and let us buy lots and lots of things.”
Pei Jingyi didn’t answer immediately.
Because Wen Huan didn’t know that Yu Mixue had gone to his company again that afternoon.
But compared to their last meeting, Yu Mixue looked noticeably disheveled and distressed. When she saw Pei Jingyi, she inexplicably said things like “She and Wen Huan would definitely earn money to redeem themselves and work hard to get divorced.”
Pei Jingyi showed no reaction in front of Yu Mixue, simply telling her to “get lost” once more.
But in truth, his heart tightened painfully.
Even if he tried not to care, he couldn’t control his restless anxiety.
He told himself that Wen Huan didn’t like going to work, didn’t like having a job—she just enjoyed leisure. It was impossible for her to strive to earn money.
But now, Wen Huan had actually said she wanted to earn money?
Pei Jingyi watched Wen Huan quietly, his dark eyes seeming to hold a brewing storm.
Wen Huan felt her scalp tingle under his gaze, but after fidgeting with her fingers, she seemed to understand something: “Husband, are you worried that I’ll earn more than you later and hurt your male pride?”
“If that’s the case, you really don’t need to worry.”
Wen Huan spoke softly: “Because no matter how much or how little we each earn, we’re both working hard for our wonderful family. Besides, you’re my husband—you’re the main breadwinner at home. I could never compare to you~”
After all, the money Wen Huan earned was her own, while the money Pei Jingyi earned was for household expenses.
Pei Jingyi still didn’t answer, but as he looked at Wen Huan’s innocent little face nestled softly against his shoulder…
Gradually, the storm in his eyes slowly dissipated, leaving only Wen Huan’s reflection.
Forget it, Yu Mixue’s words might not be true.
Whether Wen Huan wanted to earn money or not, as long as she was happy, that was enough.
After all, she was by his side now, hadn’t left, right?
Pei Jingyi cupped Wen Huan’s cheek: “Wife.”
“Hmm?” Wen Huan responded, her voice unconsciously softening because Pei Jingyi rarely called her that.
Pei Jingyi said word by word: “From now on, kiss me every day.”
“Huh?” Wen Huan’s voice returned to normal, surprised by this unexpected turn in the conversation: “Every day?”
“What, won’t you be by my side every day?”
“…Of course not.” Wen Huan thought that in a year, Pei Jingyi would divorce her for the female lead, so how could she possibly go to him to kiss him then?
But Pei Jingyi wouldn’t understand if she said that now, so clearing her throat, Wen Huan spoke sweetly, as if in a dream: “Husband, actually you don’t need to ask me—I want to kiss you every day too.”
“Because if I don’t kiss you for a day, I feel completely weak.”
After saying this, Wen Huan also puckered her lips and gave Pei Jingyi an air kiss, just going through the motions.
After all, they were still in the hallway of the rental apartment, and Wen Huan had some dignity to maintain.
But unexpectedly, Pei Jingyi looked down at her, and the next moment, he leaned down and kissed her lips directly. His breath was scorching, instantly making Wen Huan lose her strength.
To make matters worse, Pei Jingyi pushed his luck, kissing her endlessly.
Once he touched her, he became like a starving wolf. The height difference made kissing inconvenient, so he simply lifted Wen Huan with one hand, leaving her feet unable to touch the ground, forcing her to cling to his chest.
His lips pressed against hers, unwilling to part for even a second, his muffled words directly reaching the tip of Wen Huan’s tongue: “You said it yourself.”
Whether it was coaxing her or deceiving her, since Wen Huan had promised every day, missing even one would drive him to chase her to the ends of the earth.
Wen Huan found herself speechless, her mind filled with only one thought: We’re still in the hallway, for goodness’ sake!
As luck would have it, just then, the chatter of a group of gossiping aunts drifted up from downstairs—they were clearly heading home to cook.
“Made a thousand yuan—that’s enough to buy meat for a long time!”
“Yeah, this is the first time in my life I’ve earned money so easily, though I did have to put up with that Wen Huan’s attitude! My daughter-in-law doesn’t get along with me and won’t let me see my grandson—what business is it of hers to gossip?”
“I bet a vicious, sharp-tongued woman like her is definitely unpopular with the elders. Look how long she’s lived here, and Pei Jingyi’s family hasn’t come to see her even once!”
“Ah, a marriage without the elders’ blessing is doomed to fail. Besides, Pei Jingyi clearly doesn’t like her, doesn’t like her…”
The voices abruptly stopped.
As they climbed the stairs, they happened to see Wen Huan in Pei Jingyi’s arms.
The two weren’t doing anything too outrageous at the moment, but in the evening light, everyone could vaguely see Wen Huan’s pretty little face flushed red, her petal-like lips slightly swollen.
As experienced women, they could easily guess what had just happened.
Pei Jingyi didn’t even glance at them, his eyes fixed solely on Wen Huan. Noticing her legs were too weak to walk properly, he simply scooped her up with one arm and carried her upstairs.
The entire time, the stairwell remained eerily quiet.
The gossiping aunts stood frozen in place. No one had been slapped, yet they all inexplicably felt their faces stinging…
…
Meanwhile, after Pei Jingyi carried Wen Huan back to the rented apartment, she went straight to take a shower.
As for the gossip in the stairwell earlier, Wen Huan had been too flustered by Pei Jingyi’s kisses to hear clearly, though she did catch a sentence or two.
For instance, that Pei Jingyi’s family elders didn’t like her.
And that was true.
Before Wen Huan and Pei Jingyi married, Old Master Pei had introduced Pei Jingyi to nothing but socialites from the capital, even foreign princesses.
But Wen Huan, the daughter of a housekeeper, had dragged Pei Jingyi—that lofty, unattainable flower—down into the dust.
In contrast, after Wen Huan married Pei Jingyi, he ensured Mother Wen no longer worked as a housekeeper and Father Wen no longer labored on construction sites. Not only did he give them plenty of money to treat the injuries they’d accumulated from years of physical work, but he also built them a self-constructed villa in the countryside, allowing them to retire comfortably.
He even generously gave Wen Huan a bride price of 1.88 million yuan.
He didn’t require her to bring it back to the Pei family, allowing her to spend it all on herself without any excuses to reclaim it.
So, to anyone looking in, Wen Huan was clearly the one benefiting from this relationship.
Thus, the Pei family elders spoke harshly: “Oh my, one person’s success lifts the whole family! Wen Huan, you’ve climbed the social ladder by seducing a man, but you’ve dragged our entire Pei family down with you!”
Wen Huan felt angry upon hearing this, but she couldn’t stay angry for too long.
It was true that the elders of the Pei family said she was trying to seduce a man, but the one she initially intended to seduce was not Pei Jingyi.
At the time, Wen Huan had just graduated, unable to find a decent job in her field, and her parents were both in poor health due to years of overwork.
So, considering the Pei family’s affluent background, after much deliberation, she decided to use her beauty to secure the greatest advantage for herself. Back then, after weighing all factors, she had chosen Pei Jingyi’s cheerful and lively nephew, Pei Jiaping, as her target.
As for why she ended up with Pei Jingyi after drinking? That was genuinely Wen Huan simply trying to help!
Who would have thought that just as she was about to leave after delivering the hangover soup, Pei Jingyi suddenly kissed her.
After that, Wen Huan couldn’t push him away, and Pei Jingyi, whether drunk or rambling, even said, “Since she wants money, if Pei Jiaping is an option, so am I.”
Wen Huan’s resolve was never firm to begin with, and with the alcohol fumes making her dizzy, she was coaxed into changing her target.
So after that drunken incident, Pei Jingyi tricked her into his room several times, often sending her mother away, and even boldly came to her room.
Each time, he pushed Wen Huan to the point of flustered embarrassment, too afraid to even raise her voice.
Later, she thought life would quietly continue like this, but to her utter surprise, Pei Jingyi’s foolproof safety measures failed.
Wen Huan was pregnant, and by the time she found out, she was almost three months along.
Pei Jingyi showed her numerous news articles about young girls dying unexpectedly from abortions, terrifying Wen Huan so much that she didn’t dare secretly undergo the procedure. Instead, she fearfully carried the child, watching her belly grow day by day.
With a child on the way, could Wen Huan still endure the humiliation in silence and not demand recognition for herself?
“So there’s nothing wrong with me marrying Pei Jingyi.”
“If the elders of the Pei family don’t like me, it doesn’t matter—I don’t like them either!”
Wiping the steam off the mirror, Wen Huan looked at her reflection with righteous confidence as she spoke.
After getting dressed, she walked out of the bathroom.
By then, Pei Jingyi had already prepared dinner, and Pei Chen was sitting at the table, idly playing with a Rubik’s Cube while waiting for his mother.
When Wen Huan opened the door, her half-dried hair still carried a faint dampness.
Falling loosely over her chest, it accentuated her delicate features, her eyes glistening with a soft, captivating charm.
Pei Jingyi’s gaze fixed on Wen Huan, his Adam’s apple bobbing slightly with a dangerous intensity—