The meal passed harmoniously. Father Qin and Mother Qin truly didn’t ask Shi Yuanxing anything about his work or family assets.
But Father Qin did ask about his education.
Shi Yuanxing said he had gone abroad to study at the age of fifteen.
“What did you major in?” Father Qin asked.
“Financial management.”
“Not bad.”
Father Qin nodded, thinking to himself: If he can’t find a job out there, then I’ll arrange a position for him at our family company.
Keeping him close—first, it would allow him to properly observe the man’s character, and second, it would let him keep an eye on him for his daughter’s sake.
“Which school did you attend?” He asked another question.
Shi Yuanxing named a school, and both Father Qin and Mother Qin looked at him in surprise.
Even Qin Shuzhi hadn’t expected that he had graduated from the world’s top-ranked institution.
“No wonder the friends around you are all so capable,” Mother Qin said, gaining another measure of satisfaction with her son-in-law. “Yuanxing, keep working hard in the future—you’re bound to achieve great things.”
Shi Yuanxing said, “I will, Mom.”
Father Qin, who had originally planned to arrange a job for him, also dropped that idea.
Since the man was clearly capable, letting him carve his own path first was fine too.
After dinner, they sat for a while longer before calling a designated driver to take them back from the Qin residence.
On the way, Shi Yuanxing asked, “Are Mom and Dad satisfied with me?”
He had noticed that after dinner, Mother Qin had pulled Qin Shuzhi aside upstairs—probably to say something to her.
“They’re both very satisfied with you.”
Qin Shuzhi smiled at the man beside her, recalling what Mother Qin had told her upstairs: Satisfied for now, but still under observation—we’ll see how he performs in the future.
“By the way, when are we going to your place? Tell me about your grandmother, your father, and your sister’s hobbies, so I can prepare gifts in advance.”
He put so much thought into her family—she ought to reciprocate with sincerity.
“My grandmother likes to spend her time at home growing flowers and plants. As for my father and my sister…”
Shi Yuanxing gave a faint smile. “They’re both workaholics. They don’t really have any hobbies.”
He paused for a moment, then added, “But there’s no rush. My father isn’t in Jiangcheng these two days. Once he’s back, we’ll go.”
“Alright.”
Qin Shuzhi nodded, but her mind had already started turning.
The car arrived at the building. Qin Shuzhi said to him, “I’ll head up first, then.”
“Mm.”
Shi Yuanxing glanced at her left hand, which was fully covered by her sleeve. “You have an injury on your hand, so don’t go moving things around. I’ll have someone come by tomorrow morning to help you pack.”
“No need,” Qin Shuzhi said. “I’ll just pack some everyday clothes and bring them over first. I can move the rest gradually later.”
Shi Yuanxing nodded. “That works too. Anyway, if there’s anything we’re missing, we’ll just buy new ones.”
“Alright, I’m off then. See you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow.”
He watched her get out of the car and enter the residential complex before leaving.
The next day.
Shi Yuanxing didn’t arrive at Qin Shuzhi’s place to pick her up until noon.
She had indeed traveled light—a single suitcase held everything she needed to bring.
The two went out for lunch together first, then headed back to Yushui Bay.
The moment she stepped inside, Qin Shuzhi was stunned by the completely transformed scene.
Unlike the emptiness of yesterday, the home was now fully furnished with all the necessary furniture and fixtures.
The decor was simple and elegant, remarkably similar in style to her own place.
She actually quite liked it.
“Let me take you to see the room first.”
Shi Yuanxing pulled her luggage along and led her toward the master bedroom.
At the word “room,” Qin Shuzhi’s steps faltered slightly, her gaze landing on the tall man ahead of her.
From now on, they would be living together. Would he tonight…
Since they were married, having a conjugal life was inevitable. Qin Shuzhi didn’t resist it, nor would she refuse it, but…
Thinking about having intimate contact with him, she still felt somewhat nervous inside.
Shi Yuanxing opened the door to the master bedroom and brought his suitcase inside. Turning around, he saw the woman hanging her head, walking in slowly.
Watching the blush on her face, he let out a soft chuckle. “Hey.”
“Hmm?”
Qin Shuzhi snapped back to attention and quickly looked up at him.
“My room is in the second bedroom.”
Qin Shuzhi’s eyes flickered with surprise as she looked at him. “You mean…”
Shi Yuanxing gave a gentlemanly smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll give you time to adjust.”
Hearing this, Qin Shuzhi felt a warmth in her heart and said softly, “Thank you.”
Shi Yuanxing took in the look of relief she was secretly exhaling, adding a silent note to himself: But time has its limits.
“Get familiar with your room first.” He set the suitcase beside the walk-in closet. “We’ll head to the supermarket in a bit.”
“The supermarket?”
“Yeah.” Shi Yuanxing said. “To buy some daily necessities.”
Qin Shuzhi nodded. “Okay.”
The two of them left the house at half past four.
There was a large supermarket right next to the residential complex. They went in, and Shi Yuanxing pushed a shopping cart.
Since it was a new move-in, there were quite a lot of daily necessities to purchase.
Walking up to a shelf, Shi Yuanxing suddenly stopped and turned his head to ask her, “Shouldn’t we buy two cups?”
Qin Shuzhi looked at where he had stopped—the shelf was full of… couple cups?
Seeing her look over, Shi Yuanxing reminded her, “We’re husband and wife.”
Right, they were husband and wife.
They needed to get used to things coming in pairs.
Qin Shuzhi nodded. “Do you have a pattern you like?”
She walked over to look as she asked.
Hearing this, Shi Yuanxing actually stepped up, leaning down slightly until their heads were almost together as he seriously browsed the selection.
“How about this pair? What do you think?”
Qin Shuzhi followed the direction of his finger—it was a pair of cups with cat designs.
One blue, one pink.
The pink one featured an adorable cat with a cute bow sitting on a sofa, nibbling on melon seeds.
The blue one featured a handsome cat king design, holding a broom and sweeping up the melon seed shells.
The two images combined weren’t exactly romantic, but they inexplicably carried a warm and loving vibe.
Qin Shuzhi said, “That’s actually pretty interesting.”
Shi Yuanxing watched the smile that showed in her eyes and brows. “Then we’ll go with this pair?”
“Sure.”
So Shi Yuanxing placed the cups into the shopping cart.
From then on, the two of them fell into a rhythm.
Toothbrush cups, toothbrushes… anything that came in pairs, they chose the couple’s version.
For daily personal items like body wash, shampoo, and toothpaste, they picked the same brand—even the same scent.
Since they were married, Qin Shuzhi felt it was nice to gradually blend into and get used to each other through these small everyday matters.
There was a gentle, enduring warmth to it.
After they’d mostly finished picking out the daily necessities, Shi Yuanxing asked, “What do you want for dinner? I’ll cook for you.”
Qin Shuzhi was surprised. “You know how to cook?”
“When I was abroad, I cooked for myself a lot of the time.” Shi Yuanxing looked at her. “What would you like to eat?”
Qin Shuzhi thought for a moment. “How about… just make the two dishes you’re best at?”
Shi Yuanxing raised an eyebrow. “I have quite a few signature dishes, you know.”
Qin Shuzhi’s beautiful eyes sparkled as she smiled. “Then won’t I be in for a treat from now on?”
Shi Yuanxing gazed at her with a smile. “Mm, marry me, and of course I’ll make sure you enjoy life.”
Even though it was clearly just a joke, Qin Shuzhi’s heart couldn’t help but race a couple of beats.
“How about sweet and sour fish and pineapple beef cubes for tonight?”
Qin Shuzhi’s eyes lit up. “Oh, so you’re fond of sweet and sour flavors too?”
Shi Yuanxing smiled without saying a word.
Last night at the Qin family’s dinner, he noticed that most of the dishes on the table leaned sweet or sweet-and-sour, and she ate quite a lot of them.
So he guessed that she probably liked this flavor.