As soon as he said that, even the wind in the courtyard seemed to quiet down for a few seconds.
Zhou Zuizui froze for a moment. She stared into Shen Nan’s calm, unwavering eyes for several seconds, then sat back down on the small wooden stool without a word.
Shen Nan didn’t push her. He looked down at her for a few seconds, then shifted his gaze away. He found a spot to sit, pulled a lighter and a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, and was just about to light one when he glanced at Zhou Zuizui.
“I don’t mind.”
Shen Nan lowered his eyes, then pinched the cigarette between his fingers, lit it, and put it in his mouth.
He didn’t have many habits, but when he was so exhausted he could barely hold on, he’d crave a smoke to stay alert. After wrapping up the mission a few days ago, Shen Nan had gone back with the team to report, handled pretty much everything, handed it all over to the police, then checked in at the unit. He got locked up for one night before they let him out.
He hadn’t even gone home after that—just got a phone call and rushed straight here.
He held the cigarette between his fingers, white smoke curling around him, drifting from left to right. Zhou Zuizui breathed in the secondhand smoke, her eyes flickering slightly, but she stayed quiet.
The two sat in the courtyard, not too far apart, doing nothing, saying nothing. But somehow the air felt tense—like swords drawn, this weird pressure building up.
Qiuqiu and Ai Zeyang were peeking from the doorway, trying to eavesdrop.
“Are they gonna fight?” Qiuqiu whispered, a little worried.
This was the first time—no, one of the rare times—she’d seen her sis look so upset. Cold vibes rolling off her whole body, like nobody should get close.
Ai Zeyang watched from the side, frowning: “Don’t worry. It’ll be fine.”
He was about to say more when the two in the courtyard suddenly turned their heads at the same time and looked right at them.
Ai Zeyang coughed, rubbed his nose, grabbed Qiuqiu by the collar, and dragged her away.
Once they left, Zhou Zuizui finally held out her hand to Shen Nan.
“What?” Shen Nan raised an eyebrow, taking the cigarette away from his mouth to avoid her.
“Give me one.”
Shen Nan: “…”
He looked down at the hand in front of him—small, delicate, and fair. Looked like someone who didn’t do much work. But that wasn’t true. Zhou Zuizui worked hard; she just loved looking good and took her skincare more seriously than anyone.
“You sure?”
Zhou Zuizui shot him a glare. Without waiting for him to answer, she reached straight into the pocket by his thigh… Her soft hand brushed against his hard, firm leg. Shen Nan’s body went stiff. Before he could say anything, Zhou Zuizui pulled back like she was grossed out, frowning: “Can you cooperate a little?”
Shen Nan almost laughed. She was the one reaching in to grab it, and now he wasn’t cooperating?
He paused, then played along and shifted his leg to the side. Zhou Zuizui smoothly slipped her hand in, pulled out the pack and lighter, held them in her palm, took out a cigarette, put it in her mouth, flipped the lighter perfectly in a circle, and lit it.
Her smoking posture and style were even more practiced than Shen Nan’s.
Shen Nan watched her, subconsciously frowning.
The two of them just sat close together in silence, smoking. Zhou Zuizui tilted her head back to look at the open sky above the little courtyard—blue skies and white clouds every single day. It was always sunny here.
She blew out a smoke ring, and only then did she feel her heart ease up just a tiny bit. Sitting next to Shen Nan, she asked in a low voice: “Do you think the weather here is nice?”
“Pretty nice.”
“What about the scenery?”
Shen Nan lifted his eyelids to look at her: “What are you trying to say?”
“Where exactly do you want me to go back to?”
Shen Nan glanced sideways at her and asked softly: “You don’t even know where you’re going back to, and you’re still smoking?”
There were only one or two things that could annoy Zhou Zuizui enough to make her light up a cigarette. He didn’t know everything about his little wife, but he wasn’t completely clueless either.
Zhou Zuizui tugged at the corner of her lip, letting out a mocking smile—pretty much admitting it.
They finished their cigarettes in silence. Shen Nan turned his head toward her, paused, and said: “She’s in the hospital.”
Zhou Zuizui’s eyes flickered. She looked at him and asked sharply: “So you came to take me back for the funeral?”
Shen Nan choked a bit on her words, rubbing his forehead helplessly: “No.”
He stared at her cold face for a while, shoved his hands in his pockets, and stood up: “Think about it. Tomorrow—do you want to come back with me or not?” Get faster updates on g.com.
With that, he turned and walked out. At the little gate, he stopped, looked back at the person sitting there quietly without a word, and for once said gently: “When you go back, I’ll still be there.”
After he left, the courtyard felt even quieter.
The moment Shen Nan stepped out, he ran into Ai Zeyang.
“Bro, got time for a drink?” Ai Zeyang slung an arm over Shen Nan’s shoulder.
Shen Nan shot him a cold sideways glare. Ai Zeyang’s hand dropped on its own, and he laughed awkwardly: “Why are you just like Chuichui? So cold—how do you two even stay married?”
Chuichui was Zhou Zuizui’s childhood nickname, but she usually didn’t let anyone call her that. Ai Zeyang only dared to use it behind her back.
Hearing that, Shen Nan raised an eyebrow, face still icy: “None of your business.”
Ai Zeyang: “…”
He felt pretty hurt.
How come this couple was both so cold? He had no idea how they even got along day to day.
He looked at Shen Nan: “One drink?”
Only then did Shen Nan seriously size up the guy in front of him: “You two pretty close?”
Ai Zeyang scoffed, raising an eyebrow full of confidence: “For real—if you hadn’t shown up out of nowhere and stolen her from me, Chuichui would’ve been mine a long time ago!”
Shen Nan listened, looked Ai Zeyang up and down for a second, and let out a cold scoff: “Even without me, she still wouldn’t be yours.”
Ai Zeyang: “…”
Damn, that was straight-up brutal! These past few days he’d taken enough hits from Zhou Zuizui, and now her husband was piling on too. Just thinking about it made his heart ache.
He clutched his chest dramatically and looked at Shen Nan: “A drink with my love rival?”
Shen Nan let out a soft laugh. Looking at Ai Zeyang—who had a completely different personality from Zhou Zuizui—he actually felt a tiny bit interested.
“Sure.”
And just like that, the two grown men sat in Zhou Zuizui’s small tavern, drinking the wine she’d brewed herself, chatting and laughing casually. They didn’t look like love rivals at all.
Qiuqiu sat at the front counter watching them, lost in thought.
“Qiuqiu, what are you spacing out about?”
Qiuqiu pointed at the two not far away and looked at Lin Mu: “Are those two really love rivals?”
Lin Mu glanced over, gave a faint smile, and said: “Not all love rivals glare at each other when they meet. Brother Ze probably has something he wants to ask brother-in-law about.” Then Lin Mu turned to Qiuqiu: “Where’s sis?”
“Isn’t she in the courtyard?”
“No, I just came from the back.”
Qiuqiu let out an “oh,” thought for a second, and said: “Then she probably went back to her room.”
She knew that when her sis was in a bad mood, she usually hid in her room.
And sure enough, Zhou Zuizui really was in her room.
It was still broad daylight, with sunlight pouring in through the window.
Zhou Zuizui lay on the bed trying to sleep, wanting to forget what just happened. But as soon as she closed her eyes, she couldn’t fall asleep.
She stared at the sunlight streaming in from outside, blinking a few times, her emotions starting to show a little.
Shen Nan coming back like this and saying he was here to take her home—it kinda shattered her calm, fun life here.
This marriage between Zhou Zuizui and Shen Nan was perfect for some people, but for the two of them, it wasn’t like that. At least in the beginning, it definitely wasn’t for her.
She’d met Shen Nan just one year after graduating from university.
From childhood all the way up, Zhou Zuizui’s life had been planned out perfectly—what school to go to, which class to be in, even who to be friends with and what time to come home. Everything was decided for her. She’d never had any say in her own life.
But deep down, she had a soul that craved freedom. She wanted to live freely, do whatever she felt like doing.
At first, Zhou Zuizui pretended really well at home—because she wanted to fight for her freedom, to earn a free life after graduation.
But she underestimated some people’s control and obsession, plus their ruthless, anything-goes ways to get what they wanted. And she overestimated her own strength.
After graduating university, Zhou Zuizui wanted to come to this old town, to live with her grandma and keep her company. But they stopped her. Even her job was all arranged perfectly by those same people. Find the original chapter at novelping . com.
She’d thought, surely there’d be a chance to get away eventually.
Until they started setting her up on blind dates, one after another. No matter what threats or tricks Zhou Zuizui tried, nothing worked. They never listened to her opinions or ideas—they just did whatever they wanted.
Then, by some twist of fate, she met Shen Nan. Even so, Zhou Zuizui still didn’t want to stay in the big city.
Back then, she’d only met Shen Nan a few times, eaten a few meals together—and all of those were arranged by their parents.
Zhou Zuizui could tell Shen Nan wasn’t interested in her, and she felt the same about him—nothing there. She preferred being single anyway, and she really wanted to go back to the old town.
So after those few meals, Zhou Zuizui decided she was heading back to the old town. The idea got shot down by the whole family. Her controlling father was dead against it—he even locked her up to stop her from going back.
Later, they threatened her with the one thing she absolutely couldn’t bear.
In the end… the reason she agreed to marry Shen Nan was because he said if she married him, he’d help her.
After that, the two of them got their marriage certificate in a total blur. Shen Nan convinced both her parents and his own relatives, sent Zhou Zuizui back to the old town, then got called up for a mission on the border. He didn’t come back for two whole years. And luckily for her, Zhou Zuizui got to live that peaceful, carefree life in the old town all by herself.
No need to deal with relatives or friends, no need to face all that messy drama, and definitely no need to be trapped in a cage where every single part of her life was planned out for her.
Shen Nan really kept his pre-marriage promise too—he let her do whatever she wanted, go wherever she felt like.
Thinking about it, Zhou Zuizui couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh.
Back then, the main reason she’d agreed to marry him was probably this. Because she knew—if she didn’t marry Shen Nan, she’d never get these two quiet, free years.
And when Shen Nan showed up in the old town, part of why she was willing to help him was to pay back that favor.
Just as she was lost in thought, someone knocked on the door from outside.
Zhou Zuizui snapped out of it, sounding kinda listless: “Door’s not locked.”
Shen Nan pushed it open and walked in. The room looked pretty much the same as when he’d left last time. As soon as he stepped in, Zhou Zuizui smelled alcohol on him.
She frowned, looking at him: “You drunk?”
“No.” Shen Nan lifted his eyes to her, gaze landing on her face. He paused, then walked closer and leaned down: “What are you thinking about?”
“Thinking about why you didn’t come back five or ten years later.”
Shen Nan looked at her in surprise.
Zhou Zuizui raised an eyebrow, all smug: “That way, I might’ve even forgotten what my husband looks like.”
She was really being cheeky—and she wasn’t scared of Shen Nan at all.
Shen Nan stared at her for two seconds, thinking quietly. After a bit, he asked: “They called you?”
“They did before, but I didn’t pick up any.” She’d even blocked all their numbers.
Hearing that, Shen Nan couldn’t hold back a smile. His sharp features softened a little as he nodded: “Yeah, sounds like you.”
Rebellious and stubborn—once she decided something, ten oxen couldn’t pull her back. Just like all those bold things she’d done back in the day.
Zhou Zuizui took it as a compliment, shrugging: “Of course.”
Those people who only saw her as a tool? She didn’t want to bother with a single one of them.
The room went quiet for a while. Shen Nan casually sat down on the sofa to the side, legs spread open as he looked at Zhou Zuizui. He didn’t push her, didn’t make any other moves.
Zhou Zuizui sat up on the bed, lifted her eyes to him: “Shen Nan, does what you said back then still count?”
“Hm?” Shen Nan raised an eyebrow, his dark eyes fixed on her, deep and intense.
Zhou Zuizui looked down, a sly glint flashing in her eyes. Then she tilted her head up to meet his gaze and asked softly: “That thing about marrying you and you’d protect me for life—does that still count?”
Author’s note:
Captain Shen: My wife is definitely scheming something wild again.
Zhou Zuizui: Otherwise why would I suddenly bring up that line you used to trick me into marrying you!
Captain Shen: What can I do? Gotta spoil my own wife.