The glow of the computer screen washed over her face, and the corners of Su Qiu's mouth kept curving upward.
She always smiled softly, without making a sound, seeming to have a weak presence—but anyone who happened to catch her smile would unconsciously find their own lips lifting too.
She had the kind of face that made people feel comfortable at first glance, carrying a natural warmth and approachability.
When inspiration struck, Su Qiu was like a rabbit that had finally been petted into contentment, both ears drooping down in comfort.
The plot points she'd previously marked as unsatisfactory, the ones she'd wanted to revise but couldn't find a way to approach, were all perfected in that moment.
Su Qiu sent the revised passage to Qiao Zhi.
Teacher Qiao: [Not bad, not bad. That hits the right note.]
Teacher Qiao: [Good work. Your head must have been congested for quite a while this time.]
Qiao Zhi assumed Su Qiu had used her metaphysical acrobatics again. Su Qiu replied with a smiley face.
She didn't deny that this time had indeed borrowed a bit of metaphysical luck—just without the handstand.
Rather, it was her very auspicious husband who had come back.
Su Qiu took a sip of water and continued revising the script, completely immersed in her work.
Time jumped from nine in the evening to ten, then slid past eleven at night.
Tonight, Su Qiu had deliberately switched to a silent transparent keyboard. Even when her fingers flew across the keys, it only produced a faint tapping sound, hard to hear unless you got close.
In the living room, Zhou Jingqian sat on the sofa, turning his head toward the study door for the third time.
A sliver of light leaked through the crack in the door, quiet and still.
He knew Su Qiu was in there, but he didn't know what she was doing. It was so late, and she still hadn't come out.
Surely she wasn't planning to spend the night in the study.
After replying to the last work message, Zhou Jingqian gripped his phone and stood up, walking into the master bedroom. He turned off the main light, leaving only a wall sconce glowing with dim, amber light.
A faint fragrance lingered in the air, reminding him that someone had slept in this room, on this bed.
Zhou Jingqian lay his head on the pillow, hands resting on his abdomen, eyes closed, breathing slowed to a gentle rhythm.
After typing the final character, Su Qiu stretched with a satisfied expression.
Glancing down at the bottom right corner of the screen, she saw it was already nearly three in the morning.
It had been a long time since she'd written this late. She shut down the computer and got up, walking out of the study.
Catching sight of the master bedroom door left ajar, she suddenly remembered—tonight, she wasn't sleeping alone anymore.
On the bed inside lay her husband.
A newlywed one, the kind that weren't quite familiar yet.
Su Qiu's hand tightened on the doorknob, then loosened, and finally she swallowed silently.
From the very beginning, they had agreed to live like an ordinary married couple.
They both held the good attitude of taking responsibility for this marriage.
But attitude was attitude—actually putting it into practice was another matter entirely.
Su Qiu stood at the door, hesitating. But she didn't waver for too long, and eventually pushed the door open.
The room was very dark, with only a bit of light from the wall sconce casting onto the wall. Su Qiu didn't turn on the main light, her gaze sweeping briefly over the bed.
Zhou Jingqian lay flat on his back, eyes closed.
He seemed to be fast asleep.
Well, it was three in the morning—he'd probably already gone through several rounds of dreams by now.
Su Qiu envied people who could sleep early and enjoy the sleep of a baby, since she was a night owl by profession.
Su Qiu tiptoed, half-feeling her way through the dark into the bathroom, washed her face, and walked back to the bedside.
She sat on the edge of the bed for a moment, then quietly reached out and tugged her pillow a little closer to her side.
She turned off the wall sconce and lifted the thin blanket.
She imagined herself as light as a feather.
After lying down, she imagined herself as still as a wooden post.
In the darkness, she stared at the ceiling with wide, dark eyes—three parts alert, three parts sleepy, and the remaining four parts were the bewildering experience of sharing a bed with the opposite sex for the first time.
The central air conditioning blew out a comfortable temperature.
Su Qiu let out a small yawn. Then two. Then three.
Finally, drowsiness overpowered her alertness and bewilderment.
She was very sleepy. Extremely sleepy.
She'd originally thought she'd be doomed to insomnia tonight.
After all, this was her first time sharing a bed with a man—let alone one whose entire body radiated strength.
Su Qiu even suspected that Zhou Jingqian could lift her up with one hand like she was a little chick.
With that height and build, he naturally carried an imposing presence.
Su Qiu thought she'd toss and turn all night, but the reality was that within the span of three yawns, her eyelids grew heavy, and she was fast asleep.
When inspiration exploded and she wrote until three in the morning, it also meant she'd overused her brain and eyes, pushing her body to exhaustion—how could she not fall asleep the moment her head hit the pillow?
On the other side of the bed, Zhou Jingqian hadn't moved at all.
Only when he heard the breathing beside him become even and steady did he slowly open his eyes, his deep gaze clear and wide awake.
He turned over and picked up his phone to check the time.
Three in the morning.
Zhou Jingqian turned his head, staring at the small curled-up silhouette in the darkness with a complicated expression.
She'd forced herself to stay up until three, waiting until he'd fallen asleep before daring to come in.
She was still just a young girl at heart. No matter how composed she appeared on the surface, her instincts still held a wariness toward him.
He could understand that.
But she'd stayed up until three today—was she planning to do the same tomorrow?
At six in the morning, Zhou Jingqian woke up.
They had only slept a few hours in total, yet not a trace of fatigue could be seen on the man's handsome face.
In the middle of the night, a small, furry thing rolled toward his arm three or four times.
It probably sensed the resistance, and after pressing close for a while, it rolled back again. At first, he thought he was dreaming.
Now, Zhou Jingqian sat up and looked at the person curled up beside him, half her face buried in the blanket, sleeping in a completely haphazard posture.
He had his answer.
That little thing rolling around chaotically—it was her.
When awake, she didn't dare come to bed, but once asleep, she certainly knew how to claim territory.
Zhou Jingqian tugged at the corner of his mouth and smiled silently.
He got out of bed, intending to go to the bathroom to wash up, but glanced at the person still sleeping on the bed.
She hadn't dared to come to bed until three in the morning, and still hadn't slept even a few hours by now—better not disturb her.
Zhou Jingqian went to the second bedroom to freshen up, spent half an hour in the gym, and left before eight.
When Su Qiu woke up, it was 11:58.
She was lying crookedly on the right side of the bed, her head not on the pillow.
Just waking up, she was still a bit dazed, her eyes only opened to a slit.
Wait, the right side…
Her slit eyes snapped wide open.
This didn't seem to be her spot—it was Zhou Jingqian's half of the bed.
Hugging the blanket, Su Qiu rolled back to her own side as if following the natural flow.
Only after sleeping on a big bed did she appreciate its goodness.
Now she only had half the territory left—it really was unfamiliar.
With that thought, Su Qiu stretched.
Unfamiliar as it was, she had slept quite well last night.
There were messages from Zhou Jingqian on her phone, two in total.
[Tonight I'll go home with you for dinner, and I'll bring the rabbit over while we're at it.]
[Yang Ming has already found a cooking auntie. Contact him directly about when you want to try the dishes.]
Su Qiu saw that the first message was sent at 7:50 in the morning.
So even bosses couldn't escape the early morning grind.
She thought only students were that unfortunate.
If Su Qiu had to get up that early, she'd probably keel over on the spot.
At 12:30, Yang Ming brought the cooking auntie over. Since Su Qiu was eating alone, she only asked for two dishes and a soup to be made simply.
After tasting the food, she kept the woman on.
"Auntie Wu, from now on, when I need you to come cook, I'll send you a message in advance," she added. "Your salary will be paid monthly, don't worry."
Auntie Wu smiled and agreed, then looked around the place and suddenly asked, "Ma'am, where do we keep the rabbit at home?"
"It hasn't been brought over yet." Su Qiu blinked. "How did you know I was going to raise a rabbit?"
"Mr. Yang told me," Auntie Wu said with a smile. "Mr. Yang said besides knowing how to cook both Chinese and Western food, I also needed to know how to take care of a rabbit. Coincidentally, my daughter used to raise rabbits too."
That must have been something Zhou Jingqian mentioned to Yang Ming.
He'd even thought of something like that—Su Qiu unconsciously curved her lips.
In the afternoon, Su Qiu read two books at home.
At four o'clock, when the sun wasn't so harsh, she went out alone, strolled around the nearby shopping district, and bought some fruit she liked.
Sitting for long periods easily leads to all kinds of occupational ailments, so whenever she had a chance to move around, she got up and walked.
Compared to Zhou Jingqian's time-saving method of making one phone call to have things delivered and the fridge stuffed full, Su Qiu preferred to walk around and browse herself.
At checkout, she remembered that during dinner at the Zhou family home last night, Zhou Jingqian had eaten a few grapes.
"Two bunches of grapes as well?"
"Yes."
"That comes to 530 total. Scan the code here."
Adding the two bunches of grapes doubled the total price.
Once again, Su Qiu personally experienced the small changes of going from single to married life.
Her husband was a bit expensive—no matter.
She happened to be from a wealthy family.
At six in the evening, a call came in.
Looking at the caller ID that read "A-Husband," Su Qiu paused for two seconds before answering.
"Are you home?"
"Yes."
"I'll be home in half an hour to pick you up."
"Okay, I'll wait for you in the underground garage."
Their conversation was as concise as sending telegrams.
After hanging up, Su Qiu changed her clothes, grabbed her bag, and prepared to wait in the garage at the twenty-seventh minute.
Unexpectedly, just as the elevator doors opened, she saw the black sedan slowly pulling up.
Both of them had, without prior agreement, left a few minutes of leeway for the other.
"What are these?" After getting in the car, Su Qiu spotted two elegantly packaged boxes.
Zhou Jingqian opened the lids to show her—one was a cake of 1950s Red Seal raw pu'er tea, and the other was a South Sea white pearl necklace from Australia.
"For my dad and my grandmother?"
"Yeah." Zhou Jingqian smiled lightly at her. "They're my dad and my grandmother now too."
Su Qiu was momentarily speechless, a smile unconsciously forming at the corners of her lips. She asked curiously, "How did you know they'd like these?"
"Dad likes tea just like I do."
The car drove out of the garage, and a wisp of golden-orange sunset streamed through the window, landing on the man's profile, softening his originally somewhat cold jawline.
"Grandmother wore a pearl necklace at both family dinners."
Su Qiu was a little impressed—Zhou Jingqian was very observant.
Grandmother's three greatest treasures in life were, first, her; second, gold; and third, pearls.
Some people considered gold vulgar and pearls elegant, and few liked both at the same time.
But Grandmother simply loved them, saying this was what it meant to "appeal to both refined and popular tastes": "Even adults don't make choices anymore, so why should an old woman like me? I'll take both."
As for her biological father, he enjoyed both fine liquor and fine tea, but since he was getting on in years, tea was naturally the more health-conscious choice.
Because of his thoughtful preparations, at the dinner table, Su Qiu personally ladled out a full bowl of slow-cooked soup for Zhou Jingqian.
A rich broth that had been simmered for three hours.
A thin layer of oil floated on the surface, mingled with a faint scent of medicinal herbs.
Zhou Jingqian lowered his gaze, staring at the bowl of soup.
After a moment, he took a sip. The barely perceptible furrow between his brows suddenly relaxed.
He took another sip.
Su Qiu sat with Grandmother, eating and chatting. A moment later, she turned her head and saw that Zhou Jingqian's soup bowl was already empty.
"Good, isn't it? Want more?"
Perhaps because she was back in her familiar home, the young wife's smile was noticeably brighter, her eyes curving like the moon tonight.
Zhou Jingqian: "Mm, half a bowl more."
He didn't let Su Qiu serve him—he picked up the ladle himself. Seeing that her bowl had only a little left, he added a spoonful for her.
The old lady watched the young couple with a beaming smile.
In fact, she had been observing them since the moment they walked in.
The two gift boxes had been carried in by the grandson-in-law, and the couple's footsteps had remained perfectly in sync the entire time—neither ahead nor behind.
When her granddaughter spoke in a soft voice that was hard to hear clearly, the grandson-in-law would lean in slightly to listen.
After dinner, Zhou Jingqian played Chinese chess with Father Xiang in the study.
Su Qiu sat with Grandmother in the living room. As they were talking, the old lady suddenly brought out a brocade box: "This is my return gift for Jingqian. Take a look."
It was a gold car ornament shaped like a Bagua compass, dazzlingly bright. Su Qiu weighed it in her hand—it was heavy, substantial.
Su Qiu thought that Zhou Jingqian's style leaned toward the minimalist and cool-toned, and he might not necessarily like this kind of gold piece.
A few rounds of chess were played, ending in a tie between father-in-law and son-in-law.
Zhou Jingqian accepted the Bagua compass, running his fingers over the intricate, delicate patterns. It was clearly well-made, like a custom piece.
"Coincidentally, my new car doesn't have an ornament yet. Grandmother, your gift came at just the right time."
Grandmother was delighted: "Really? That's wonderful!"
Su Qiu curved her lips as well. Even if Zhou Jingqian later tucked the ornament away in a drawer and never used it, she was grateful for his cooperation in this moment.
This time, Su Qiu had come back not only to pick up her two beloved pets, but also to take a few books to read at the new house.
She rose from the sofa, walked halfway, then turned back to ask Zhou Jingqian: "There are quite a few books. Can you help me carry them?"
Zhou Jingqian: "Sure."
Su Qiu's boudoir was a classic dreamy princess style—pinkish-white walls, a cream-colored side cabinet.
The cabinet surface was covered in strawberry stickers, their edges worn and fuzzy, clearly pasted on many years ago.
A picture formed in Zhou Jingqian's mind: a scaled-down version of his young wife, standing on tiptoe to reach the cabinet that was about as tall as she was, carefully pressing strawberry stickers onto it one by one.
His gaze shifted, and Zhou Jingqian spotted a tomato-shaped wooden fish pillow on the sofa. He fell silent for a moment.
The bookshelf in Su Qiu's room was built of brick, floor-to-ceiling. The books she needed were on the upper shelves, requiring a ladder.
Before she could even push the ladder over, Zhou Jingqian was already standing in front of the bookshelf: "I'll get them. Which ones?"
At nearly 1.9 meters tall, Zhou Jingqian could reach them easily without any trouble.
Su Qiu pointed out the locations, and he took them down one by one, holding them directly in his hands—no need for her to "help."
When all the books were retrieved, Zhou Jingqian noticed a photo frame on the middle shelf.
In the photo, Su Qiu wore a middle school uniform, her face round with a bit of baby fat, hair tied in twin ponytails.
Beside her stood a boy about her height, grinning widely with his teeth showing, one arm slung around Su Qiu's shoulder, the other hand flashing a peace sign at the camera in what he clearly thought was a cool pose.
The boy held her close in a protective stance, and Su Qiu leaned into him with a smile, not a trace of reluctance on her face.
Zhou Jingqian suddenly remembered last night—she hadn't dared to come to bed until three in the morning.
Childhood sweethearts, growing up together.
Indeed, that was something he could never compete with.
Su Qiu noticed his lingering gaze and followed it. "That's my cousin."
Zhou Jingqian paused for two seconds. "Your cousin is very handsome."