That might have been what she thought, but Gu Ye clearly didn’t see it that way.
“Many things need to have your attitude made clear from the very beginning.” His expression softened slightly, but his tone remained steady.
He assumed she was being soft-hearted, even sounding a little instructive.
“Let others know your bottom line. That way they won’t think you’re easy to bully.”
That was also why, when he learned that Lin Wan had chosen to fight back, he immediately stood on the same side as her.
Because deep down, they were the same kind of people.
Looking at her, he delivered the final word: “I’ll handle this matter.”
The implication was obvious—her choice didn’t really matter. He wouldn’t go easy on it either.
So that’s how it is…
“Alright then.”
Lin Wan had no objections.
She had only rarely tried to think about things for his sake anyway. Since he didn’t want that and insisted on standing up for her, she wouldn’t foolishly refuse.
After all, she was the one benefiting from it.
Blinking, Lin Wan took advantage of the moment when he wasn’t paying attention and quickly unwrapped another milk candy, stuffing it precisely into his mouth.
Gu Ye was caught off guard by the sneak attack. His tongue was instantly enveloped by the rich sweetness of milk.
Seeing the sly smile on her face—like a little fox that had successfully pulled off a trick—he suddenly realized something.
Whenever she was in a good mood, her whole person seemed sweet, even sweeter than the candy in his mouth.
Gu Ye suddenly… understood his former self a little better.
His taste had indeed been quite good.
But he soon discovered that his understanding had still been far too shallow.
“This empty patch of land needs to be cleared to plant vegetables—tomatoes, scallions… hmm, maybe some chili peppers too!”
“The window needs proper fixing. It’s drafty.”
Standing in the courtyard, looking at the small space in front of him, Gu Ye felt a headache coming on.
Beside him, Lin Wan’s crisp voice continued as she laid out her plans with great confidence:
“The gate also needs to be reinforced so that any random cats and dogs can’t just barge in.”
Her small hand pointed toward a corner. “And over there—we should put up a shed. We’ll cook there from now on.”
Building a proper kitchen would cost too much time and money. They wouldn’t be staying long anyway. Once people from the army came looking for him, they’d slip away. A simple temporary setup would be enough.
Gu Ye caught the key point and looked at her in surprise.
“You’re willing to cook?”
Subconsciously, he assumed she meant she would take on that responsibility.
Lin Wan answered straightforwardly, “Of course I am.”
Gu Ye felt that didn’t quite sound like her—until she suddenly added, completely justified:
“But I don’t know how to cook.”
Gu Ye: “……”
Yes. This familiar feeling—this was the real flavor.
He couldn’t help asking, “You grew up in the countryside. How could you never have cooked?”
Not just in the countryside—even some miners’ children here were raised to be capable of everything from a young age.
Lin Wan lifted her eyelids and retorted quickly, “What’s wrong with the countryside? Does living in the countryside automatically mean you know how to cook?”
Her tone was calm, like she was commenting on the weather.
“My mother was afraid I’d steal food while cooking, so she never let me into the kitchen.”
It was a light remark without the slightest hint of complaint, yet it pricked Gu Ye like a tiny thorn, instantly making him regret bringing it up.
He awkwardly changed the subject.
“…Then why build the kitchen?”
Lin Wan looked at him as if the answer were obvious.
“You’ll cook.”
Gu Ye was shocked and pointed at himself. “Me?!”
Me? Really me?
Lin Wan’s eyes widened immediately, filled with scrutiny and suspicion.
“You’re not about to tell me you can’t cook either, are you? Didn’t you swear before that you learned how to cook specially for me? Don’t tell me you still haven’t learned?”
“You wouldn’t just be saying nice things to trick me into dating you, planning to go back on your word, would you?!”
This string of accusations and “old accounts” instantly cornered Gu Ye.
Almost reflexively, he denied it, his tone rising in urgency.
“I learned! Of course I learned! I… I just hurt my head and forgot again!”
Lin Wan waved her hand.
“Then learn again.”
Gu Ye opened his mouth, feeling like something wasn’t quite right.
But seeing her perfectly natural expression, he couldn’t find any words to refute her.
Lin Wan turned around, her back to him. Her shoulders trembled almost imperceptibly as she desperately tried to suppress the laughter threatening to spill out.
Why did scolding him feel so much like training a dog?
Yet she didn’t forget to keep giving orders.
“And this wall—it’s too low. It needs to be raised! What if someone climbs over while you’re not home? It’d be dangerous for me to be here alone.”
That struck directly at Gu Ye’s nerves. His expression grew serious and he immediately agreed.
“This definitely needs to be done.”
“And we also need to build a toilet,” Lin Wan wrinkled her nose. “I can’t stand sharing one with so many people.”
Her modern soul simply couldn’t adapt to the local public sanitation conditions.
Nor would she force herself to suffer just to blend in. Especially after learning Gu Ye’s limits—she would absolutely create a more favorable living environment for herself.
Gu Ye had never thought there was anything wrong with it before. Everyone in the mining area lived like that.
But now that it involved Lin Wan, he almost immediately found the idea unbearable.
Especially when he thought about how the communal toilet was some distance from the house. At night, in total darkness, a girl walking there alone…
There had been unpleasant incidents in the mine before—only they had all been suppressed.
The more he thought about it, the more urgent it felt.
“Alright,” he nodded. “I’ll find people to arrange it this afternoon.”
As long as there were enough workers and the materials were ready, a toilet could be built in a day. After letting it dry for a few days, it would be usable.
And he happened to have time tomorrow.
Lin Wan looked around the courtyard with satisfaction.
“That’s about it for the yard.”
Her gaze then shifted inside the house, her tone becoming even more matter-of-fact.
“As for the inside, the most urgent thing is fixing the bed!”
“It’s hard and bumpy. My back and waist were sore from sleeping on it last night. And what if in the future… when two people sleep on it, it collapses—”
“Mmph!”
Before she could finish, Gu Ye’s face turned bright red. He quickly covered her mouth with one hand.
His eyes darted around nervously as he lowered his voice, sounding both embarrassed and annoyed.
“How can you say things like that so casually?!”
“What if someone hears you? Do you still want your reputation or not…”
With her mouth covered, only Lin Wan’s smiling crescent-shaped eyes were visible. They blinked mischievously as she mumbled indistinctly,
“What’s wrong? Are you shy?”
The place he lived in was so remote—who would even pass by?
Gu Ye didn’t even know what to say anymore.
When his hand loosened slightly, she immediately continued.
“I was just saying. We’re going to get married sooner or later anyway. I’m a girl and I’m not afraid—what are you afraid of?”
She leaned closer, lowering her voice with a hint of playful mischief.
“Besides, you’ve done even worse things before… it’s not like you haven’t~”
After saying that, she fluttered past the stiff, frozen Gu Ye like a light butterfly, heading into the house in a very good mood.
Leaving Gu Ye standing there alone, the tips of his ears red enough to drip blood.
What did she mean by that?
Overwhelmed by the enormous amount of information in her final sentence, he started questioning his entire life.
Only one thought kept spinning wildly in his mind:
Wait—what exactly had he been like before?
How had he apparently done everything already?!