“That girl is getting shy,” Lu Yuechun teased.
Ying Sisi became even more embarrassed and ran back into the kitchen to hide from everyone.
When the rice finished steaming, she mixed it with eggs and made a large plate of egg fried rice.
Just as she finished serving it, there was a bang—and then she saw Qin Mu leave Qin Yanci’s room with a look of anger and resentment.
Did she argue with Qin Yanci and get kicked out?
Did Qin Yanci even slam the door?
If she went over now, would she get dragged into their anger?
But leaving directly would be impolite, right?
After hesitating for a moment, she carried the bowl forward and gently pushed the door open.
It opened at once.
Qin Yanci was sitting on the edge of the bed. He had been looking down at the floor, but now he turned his head. His wheat-colored face looked slightly pale, the corners of his eyes faintly red, his expression carrying a hidden sharpness and hostility. After a second, he said coldly:
“You can leave now.”
Ying Sisi, afraid of being used as a punching bag for his anger, held her breath and carefully placed the food down.
“Okay… the food is here. Remember to eat.”
As she turned to leave, nervousness made her trip over his foot.
Her body tilted—and she fell straight onto him. Her lips brushed against his face.
Their eyes met.
The tense atmosphere instantly shifted into something ambiguous.
Ying Sisi lowered her gaze, her ears burning red.
“I… I didn’t mean it,” she said softly, flustered.
Her voice was light and soft, carrying a hint of panic.
Her slender, fair hands rested on his shoulders. The warmth of her breath spread across his face, ticklish and strangely intoxicating.
The hatred and anger that had been filling Qin Yanci’s chest seemed to vanish in an instant.
What replaced it was a violent, thunderous heartbeat.
He stared at her, unconsciously lifting his hand toward her waist.
Ying Sisi reacted faster—she scrambled up and quickly stood, flustered and awkward.
“The food… should be eaten while it’s hot.”
Qin Yanci paused, then sat back at the table. The tabletop gave a soft sound as another object was placed down: a steaming cup of water.
He looked at her, then at the cup.
Warmth spread through his chest, and his mind became unusually calm.
In a gentle tone, he said:
“My mother said our wedding date is set for the fifteenth of the first lunar month. After the New Year, we’ll be busy preparing for the wedding, and there aren’t many days left. This afternoon I plan to go to the street office to get the identity certificate, and tomorrow I’ll find someone to help us register for the marriage certificate. What do you think?”
Ying Sisi immediately sounded the alarm in her head.
Register marriage?
Was he asking for her opinion—or informing her?
The educated youth had said that in the city, once you registered your marriage, you were officially husband and wife.
She still didn’t fully understand him.
Could she really marry him?
It seemed like she didn’t have a reason to refuse.
“I’ll go home and prepare a bit first,” Ying Sisi said, intending to leave immediately.
Because from their first meeting she had already gone along with him warming the bed, and just now she had unintentionally provoked him—his gaze toward her had changed.
Like a wolf eyeing its prey.
If she stayed any longer, he would definitely do something else.
Even if they registered tomorrow, today they were still only an engaged couple.
Too much intimacy would be improper.
Without waiting for him to respond, she walked toward the main room, intending to greet the other members of the Qin family before leaving.
Just as she reached the door, she faintly heard Lu Yuechun’s anxious voice from inside:
“Mom, I’m not saying I’m stingy about your money, I just think it’s more lively if we all live together and can look after each other.
If we move out separately, we probably won’t even see each other once a week. Yanci has been away from home for ten years—you don’t want to see him more often? Qin Jin, don’t you think I’m right?”
Qin Jin was Qin Yanci’s older brother and nodded in agreement.
“If we live separately, the neighbors will definitely gossip.”
“Ah… he says he won’t buy a new house, so is he not going to marry anymore?”
“Do you believe that? I don’t. Sisi is the acknowledged beauty everyone talks about—what man wouldn’t want her? Yanci is also in his prime—how could he not be tempted? Maybe while we weren’t even paying attention, they’ve already become intimate. Once you’ve got something, you treasure it. I bet he won’t last until the New Year before he asks you to arrange the wedding.”