Zhou Wanning had only made three dishes—braised pork, chives scrambled with eggs, and vinegar-glazed cabbage.
Li Zhanye was stunned by the very first bite. He had eaten braised pork at plenty of state-run restaurants, and it was either too sweet or just a greasy mess—terrible.
But what Zhou Wanning made was genuinely sweet, tender, and not the slightest bit oily. Paired with the tangy, slightly spicy vinegar cabbage, it was even more appetizing than pickled vegetables on a summer day.
Li Zhanye and Li Zhannan’s chopsticks were practically a blur. Er Ya didn’t dare eat at first, but after Zhou Wanning picked up a bite for her, her eyes lit up.
In all her life, she had never tasted food this good.
Everyone finished the meal still wanting more. Even Li Zhannan, who usually only ate half a bowl of rice, polished off a full bowl this time.
He wouldn’t have stopped if Zhou Wanning hadn’t felt his belly sticking out and refused to let him eat more.
Seeing everyone done, Er Ya, quick on the uptake, stood up to clear the dishes. She had been bought as a servant, after all—lying around doing nothing made her anxious.
“Leave those. Li Zhanye will wash them. Focus on healing first.”
“You’re really spoiling me, ordering me around more and more smoothly.”
That’s what he said, but Li Zhanye still got up and gathered the dishes himself. “If you really want to do something, just keep an eye on Li Zhannan tonight. Until you’re healed, you don’t need to do anything here.”
Er Ya looked at Zhou Wanning, who gave her a slight nod. “Heal up first. There’ll be plenty of work for you later.”
“That’s right.”
Li Zhanye walked past her with the dishes in his arms. “We don’t hold back when we put people to work.”
Though Zhou Wanning and Li Zhanye’s words were a bit cold, Er Ya could clearly feel the kindness they were offering.
Holding Li Zhannan’s hand, she looked at Zhou Wanning with red-rimmed eyes. “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of Xiaonan.”
Zhou Wanning felt that the nights here were even duller than those in Great Zhou. It was only seven or eight in the evening, and the outside was already silent—only a few households still had their lights on, with the occasional dog bark drifting by.
She couldn’t help but miss her old days. Though she had been unmarried and rarely allowed out of the manor, her mother would always find leaf cards or something to keep her entertained at night, so she never felt bored.
Now, in the quiet, in this unfamiliar place, facing unfamiliar people, she felt not only helpless but also a touch of loneliness.
But that loneliness didn’t last long before Li Zhanye barged in and disrupted it.
This time, he came with a pillow.
“Men and women have their differences. Er Ya’s in that room now, so it’s not convenient for me to sleep there.”
Zhou Wanning blinked her big eyes at him. Li Zhanye grinned. “We’re different—we’re betrothed and about to get married.”
“Then call Er Ya over here, and you go sleep with Li Zhannan.”
Li Zhanye climbed onto the kang and pulled Zhou Wanning into a full embrace. “Er Ya’s still injured. Why bother her?”
Seeing Zhou Wanning’s big eyes darting around, he pressed her down beneath him, his rogue nature on full display. “You couldn’t stop me when Er Ya wasn’t here—what makes you think you can now that she is? What are you thinking?”
He planted a fierce kiss on Zhou Wanning, as if he could never get enough of her. “I know your rules, I’ll just kiss. Good wife, just let me have my fill.”
His words were earnest, but his hands were anything but well-behaved. “I’m crazy about you, wife.”
Zhou Wanning: “…”
Having long witnessed Li Zhanye’s rogue behavior, she couldn’t be bothered to struggle anymore. As long as he didn’t cross the line, she’d let him do as he pleased. Just as he said, they’d eventually get married anyway, and since she was living under his roof, she didn’t have much of a choice.
Even when training a dog, you had to give it meat occasionally—let alone a person.
Sensing Zhou Wanning’s softening attitude, Li Zhanye only grew more restless. “Damn!”
He sucked hard on Zhou Wanning’s lips. “You’re really going to kill me.”
Zhou Wanning was so angry she wanted to kick him. She’d never met anyone so good at turning the tables and blaming others.
But with Li Zhanye’s meddling and mischief, she found herself missing home less and feeling less bored—because her mind was now full of how to deal with this rogue!
After breakfast at home, Li Zhanye went to the regimental headquarters as usual. He dialed Division Commander Gao’s private line and got straight to the point: “Approve my marriage report.”
Division Commander Gao’s head throbbed. “Do you know that after this training mission, your promotion to deputy division commander is practically guaranteed? If you marry her, even with Old Li’s connections, you won’t see a promotion for at least two years.”
“Don’t mention him to me.”
At the mention of “Old Li,” the murderous look in Li Zhanye’s eyes couldn’t be suppressed. “I don’t need him.”
“You two… ah~”
Knowing Li Zhanye’s stubborn temper, Division Commander Gao didn’t bring up Li Shang again. Who knew what was going on with that father-son pair—they acted like sworn enemies.
“Anyway, think about the marriage some more. She’s really not right for you. Jumping into a pit you know is a pit—that’s not like you, Li Zhanye.”
Li Zhanye tapped the table idly with his fingers, his voice unusually resolute: “It’s her.”
With his abilities, climbing the ranks was only a matter of time, but Zhou Wanning was one of a kind. Even knowing she might have been sent by his dear stepmother to mess with him on purpose, he still didn’t want to let her go.
Division Commander Gao paused for a long moment on the other end of the line. “You’re serious?”
“Yeah.”
“Ah~ fine.”
After a long standoff, Division Commander Gao sighed. “When you finish your mission and come back, come get the marriage report yourself, and bring her along for me to see.”
He wanted to see just what kind of person had so thoroughly bewitched his most promising subordinate.
After asking about Li Zhannan’s situation last night, Zhou Wanning still felt that even though he didn’t attend school, he should at least learn the basics.
She found a notebook and pen from inside the house and wrote Li Zhannan’s name in it. This was her first time using a fountain pen, and she still held it with the grip she used for a brush pen. Fortunately, the writing wasn’t too ugly—good enough to teach Li Zhannan.
“Today we’re going to write your name.”
Zhou Wanning held Li Zhannan’s hand with hers, just like how her father had held her hand when she was learning to write as a child. But the characters came out crooked and messy, which puzzled Zhou Wanning greatly.
“Let’s try again.”
But the entire page was filled, and the characters were still crooked and uneven.
Just as she was about to write it again, her hand was grasped from behind by someone else—a broad palm that could easily envelop both her hand and Li Zhannan’s.
She turned back and saw that Li Zhanye had somehow already stood behind the two of them.
“That’s the grip for a brush pen. This is how you hold a fountain pen.”