Li Zhanye was a regiment commander, and the house he was temporarily staying in was located on the west side of the village. The entire house was enclosed by a bamboo fence that Li Zhanye had put up. He was a man with a strong sense of territory—even when staying temporarily, he had to mark his turf and wouldn’t easily let outsiders in.
As soon as he entered the small courtyard, Li Zhanye set her down. The walk over had tormented him plenty with Zhou Wanning’s soft chest pressing against him, and without even a word of greeting, he rushed to the well, splashing cold water over himself repeatedly to suppress the heat stirring inside him.
Zhou Wanning was just about to bend down and pick up the box on the ground when a child suddenly wrapped his arms around her leg.
The child’s eyes sparkled as he looked up at her. “Wow~”
“You have a child?”
“Yeah.”
Li Zhanye stripped off his outer shirt, revealing a simple white tank top underneath. “My family has a throne to pass down. You were in Shanghai without a word, and I was afraid I’d die without an heir, so I found someone to have one.”
Just then, a girl of about fifteen or sixteen poked her head out from inside the house. With a bewildered look, she said, “Brother Li, isn’t he your little brother? Who is this sister? She’s so pretty—like a fairy.”
“Her?”
Li Zhanye said without missing a beat: “She’s Nan Nan’s mother.”
Er Ya’s eyes went wide. She looked back and forth between Zhou Wanning and Li Zhanye. This fairy-like sister looked younger than Li Zhanye—how could she possibly have given birth to Li Zhanye and Li Zhannan? Everyone said city folks knew how to take care of themselves, but no one said they could take care of themselves that well.
No wonder everyone was scrambling to get into the city.
At this point, Zhou Wanning understood everything perfectly well. Li Zhanye was nothing but a dog.
After Er Ya finished cooking for them, she went home. The house was too small, so Li Zhanye moved the table out into the courtyard. The moon was big that night—even without lighting the kerosene lamp, everything was clearly visible.
The summer cicadas chirped incessantly, which at least broke the awkward silence of the three of them eating under the old locust tree.
Li Zhannan was only four years old, a tiny little thing. Although he knew how to use chopsticks, he could barely reach the dishes on the table. Whenever he wanted something, he would point at the dish, and Li Zhanye would pick it up for him. He was quiet and endearing.
Noticing that Zhou Wanning’s gaze kept falling on Li Zhannan, Li Zhanye spoke up: “My little brother has autism.”
“Oh.”
Seeing that Zhou Wanning’s expression was perfectly normal, Li Zhanye asked again: “Don’t you think he’s some kind of freak or something?”
While Li Zhanye was busy talking, Li Zhannan tugged at Zhou Wanning’s sleeve. Naturally, she picked up the dish he pointed at and put it in his bowl. “He just doesn’t like to talk much. It’s not like he’s disabled or anything. What’s so strange about that?”
Hearing this, Li Zhanye felt a pang in his chest. This was the first time someone hadn’t looked at Li Zhannan with strange eyes, the first time someone didn’t think Li Zhannan was a freak.
“If you want to marry me, you have to accept that I’m bringing my little brother along. I can’t trust him with anyone else.”
Zhou Wanning looked a bit confused: “Aren’t you already bringing your little brother along right now?”
Why did he need to tell her that again?
Damn…
Looking at Zhou Wanning’s innocent, matter-of-fact expression, Li Zhanye’s whole body went stiff. Why did this woman keep teasing him like this?
“I’m no saint. Keep teasing me, and I’ll take care of you tonight—believe it or not.”
Zhou Wanning’s eyes went wide. Good heavens above—she was just eating a meal. How was she teasing him?
If she weren’t truly at her wit’s end, she would have left right now. Really, a person and a dog could never live together!
Li Zhanye at least had some conscience—when evening came, he gave her the largest east room to stay in, while he and Li Zhannan took the west room.
Drawing on the original owner’s memories, Zhou Wanning fumbled around for a while and finally managed to undo the clasps of her bra and change into her nightgown.
The moment the clasps came undone, Zhou Wanning felt her whole body relax. This little undergarment was too tight and suffocating; she was much more accustomed to a bellyband. Once she got familiar with everything around here, she’d buy some fabric and make herself one.
Although she’d walked dozens of li of mountain roads, thankfully her feet hadn’t blistered—they were just swollen and aching. Her hands were too weak, and after rubbing for a long while, there was no effect. She didn’t want to suffer through the pain while trying to sleep, so Zhou Wanning bit her lip. Anyway, he’d already said he wanted to marry her—it shouldn’t be a big deal to let him touch her little feet a bit early.
Zhou Wanning brainwashed herself: Mm, this is the later generation. The later generation doesn’t have so many rules.
In the courtyard, Li Zhanye was wearing a simple white tank top on his upper body and dark green military pants on his lower half. He was leaning against the old locust tree in the yard, a cigarette dangling from his lips as he blew smoke rings.
He was feeling conflicted right now—this was a critical moment for his promotion. His stepmother had sent this troublesome girl to his side, and her intentions were obvious. Logically, he shouldn’t care about that damn childhood betrothal, but…
“Li Zhanye.”
Before Li Zhanye could figure things out, he heard Zhou Wanning call his name.
He looked up and saw Zhou Wanning leaning against the doorframe in her nightgown, her round, watery eyes fixed on him. “Come here for a second.”
But… but what was it again?
Damn. Forget it.
Li Zhanye stubbed out his cigarette, turned to wash his hands, and said, “Wait.”
Respect for women was a principle carved into his bones.
The moment he stepped through the door of the east room, Li Zhanye was blindfolded by Zhou Wanning with a strip of red silk.
But unfortunately, he was too tall—she couldn’t even reach the back of his head.
With one hand pressing the red silk over Li Zhanye’s eyes, she poked his waist with the other: “You’re too tall. Bend down.”
Li Zhanye felt the spot she poked burn like fire, consuming his rationality.
He bent down with a teasing grin: “What? Is my fiancée getting impatient, wanting to play some games with me?”
Knowing she really did need his help, Zhou Wanning took a deep breath and silently recited several times in her heart: Don’t fight with a dog. A good person doesn’t stoop to a dog’s level.
She pulled him over to the edge of the kang and sat down herself, then commanded Li Zhanye: “Squat down.”
Li Zhanye squatted down at her words.
Zhou Wanning rested her foot on his knee. “My feet hurt. Help me rub them.”
“Do you think I’m a dog? Ordering me around left and right, and now you want me to rub your feet—who do you think you are, the Queen Mother of Heaven?”
Li Zhanye grabbed Zhou Wanning’s foot and was about to toss it aside when he heard her sharp intake of breath.
“It hurts…”
There was a hint of a sob in her voice.
“…”
Li Zhanye carefully propped Zhou Wanning’s foot up on his leg. “I really owe you something. So damn delicate.”
He said the words with disdain, but his hands carefully massaged her foot.
Li Zhanye’s strength wasn’t exactly light—not that he meant it to be, but he had to apply real pressure to work out the swelling in her foot, or it would hurt even more tomorrow.
Zhou Wanning endured it obediently, only letting out a soft whimper when the pain became truly unbearable.
The red silk tied over Li Zhanye’s eyes wasn’t completely opaque—he could vaguely make out Zhou Wanning’s appearance as she groaned and sweated from the pain. Seductive without even realizing it—that was exactly what she was.
Only after he had finally finished massaging both of her feet did Li Zhanye lose all restraint. Without even removing the red silk, he rose directly and pinned her down onto the bed. In an instant, their positions shifted from subordinate to dominant: “Did I serve you well enough to satisfy you?”