You Sanmei stood on her tiptoes, cupping her hands around her mouth, and spoke in a soft, coquettish tone: “Can’t you just not go? … I was so happy when you carried that huge sack of apples all the way here for me today.”
“I really want to thank you properly, is that okay?”
Chen Jinsheng felt his ears burn and tingle all over, but he quickly lowered his voice to correct her: “Wha—what do you mean ‘for you’! Those were forced on me! I couldn’t turn them down, alright?!”
“Mhm, mhm,” You Sanmei nodded repeatedly. “I know that… but you ended up giving them to me anyway, didn’t you?”
“I just want to thank you~ Please? Just the two of us… in the room…”
“Thank you, okay?”
The two of us?! Thank you… in the room?! How exactly is she planning to thank me?!
Chen Jinsheng couldn’t take it anymore—his mind was flooded with all sorts of improper thoughts!
He immediately covered his ears and took a step back. “What—what on earth are you saying?!”
“…” You Sanmei’s eyelids twitched.
No way… is he really that upright? Can he really turn down such… “temptation”?
Ma Zi and Gan Zi, who were watching, couldn’t help but ask curiously: “What—what’s wrong, Brother Sheng? What did my sister-in-law say?”
Chen Jinsheng’s face burned hot. He glared at You Sanmei, looking utterly scandalized. “Shameless! How could you say you can’t sleep without me? Ugh!”
You Sanmei: “…”
Guess I really was overthinking things.
: “…”
Damn Ma Zi it! Why did I have to ask?!
Chen Jinsheng sighed loudly, pretending to be very troubled, smacking his lips a few times before reluctantly taking You Sanmei’s small hand.
“Fine, fine! Ugh… what can I do? I’m stuck with a timid little wife like you.”
“Nothing I can do! Nothing at all!”
With that, he turned to head home, sighing dramatically. “Looks like we won’t be gathering tonight. My wife’s not well—she can’t sleep properly, and that’s serious.”
“Maybe tomorrow! Yeah, tomorrow!”
“I’m off now! Enjoy your meal—don’t let my absence spoil your fun!”
“…”
“…”
As the Chen family’s front door clicked shut in the dark, followed by the crisp sound of the lock turning, Ma Zi’s mouth twitched. “Gan Zi… do you really think he didn’t want to go?”
Gan Zi shook his head. “Didn’t see any reluctance… if anything, he looked like he was enjoying it.”
“Can’t blame him though—if I had a wife as pretty and fair as hers, clinging to me to sleep with her… I’d never leave her side either!”
“Wouldn’t you?” Gan Zi asked earnestly.
Ma Zi squeezed his eyes shut in agony. “Stop twisting the knife, will you?”
“C’mon… let’s just order fewer skewers then. Just enough to get a taste.”
“Most importantly—lots of liquor! If I don’t get wasted tonight, I swear I won’t be able to sleep either!”
Chen Jinsheng pulled You Sanmei all the way back to their room. The rest of the house was already dark—everyone else had gone to bed.
They hadn’t come back after dinner, and no lamp was lit here either. The room was pitch black, save for a sliver of cool moonlight spilling through the window onto the floor.
Neither of them felt the chill—instead, their hearts raced and felt heavy with heat.
Then You Sanmei truly began to struggle for breath.
“Jinsheng…” She pressed a hand to her chest, voice trembling. “I… I feel so stifled.”
“—What?!”
All those improper thoughts vanished from Chen Jinsheng’s mind in an instant. Panicked, he hurried her over. “Quick—sit on the bed! Where’s the fan…?”
“Ugh, you really are something! It’s so stuffy tonight—why did you have to go out after eating? I’ll fan you, just stay still!”
He grabbed the tattered palm fan hanging on the wall, but didn’t dare sit too close—afraid he’d block the air and make it worse.
“Just catch your breath. I’ll fan you for a bit, then open the window wider. The electric fan’s in the kids’ room… but the doctor said your immune system is weak—you’ll catch a cold way easier than anyone else…”
By then, You Sanmei had already recovered a little. She glanced at him, her eyes glistening with discomfort. “How… how do you remember all that so clearly?”
“What else did the doctor say?”
“He also said—”
Chen Jinsheng suddenly snapped out of it, turning his face away sharply. “I don’t remember!”
“I only heard that part by accident! I wasn’t listening on purpose!”
“And now… are you only looking after me by accident too?” You Sanmei chuckled softly.
Chen Jinsheng fell silent.
You Sanmei reached out shakily, wrapping her fingers around his knuckly wrist, feigning surprise. “Oh Jinsheng… your heart is beating so fast—”
“YOU—SAN—MEI!”
Chen Jinsheng gritted his teeth hard, lowering the fan as heat and embarrassment washed over him. He glared at her. “What has gotten into you tonight?!”
“What exactly are you trying to do… teasing me like this?!”
“Am I teasing you?” You Sanmei let go of his hand, blinking innocently. “I’m just… being affectionate with my husband, aren’t I? Isn’t that what married couples do?”
“Just now—you were telling them ‘my wife’ over and over again, weren’t you?”
“I’m your wife. Isn’t this… how it’s supposed to be?”
But you never used to be affectionate with me! Chen Jinsheng’s heart ached with hurt he couldn’t bring himself to say out loud.
How humiliating would that sound? Like I’m begging for her affection!
But the feeling was too much to bear. He licked his dry lips, hesitated for a moment, then mumbled: “…You said you’d thank me in the room… just us… how exactly?”
You Sanmei gripped the bedding beneath her hand tightly. “Oh… well…”
Chen Jinsheng watched her, his throat bobbing dryly. “Go on.”
Slowly, You Sanmei reached toward her collar—
“—?!”
Chen Jinsheng’s eyes went wide. He jumped to his feet and spun around instantly. “What—what are you doing?!”
You Sanmei clutched the bedding even harder. “I… I…”
“We can’t—we can’t do this!” Chen Jinsheng clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white, forcing himself to say it. “This is ridiculous! You can barely walk a few steps without gasping for air—and you’re thinking about… sharing a bed? Absolutely not!”
“Remember what happened on our wedding night?!”
“HAHAHAHA—!”
“HAHAHAHAHAHA!”
You Sanmei couldn’t hold it in any longer—she fell back onto the bed laughing, then quickly pulled out the big apple from her pocket.
“Ugh—why did you have to go and misunderstand me like that?”
“Second Sister-in-law gave me this apple today, told me to eat it. But I’m already so full from dinner… I can only manage one.”
“But… to thank you for carrying all those apples back… I wanted to eat the one you gave me first~”
“So… what do you say?”
Chen Jinsheng froze, slowly turning back around with a completely blank look on his face. “The… what?!”