“What’s wrong?” Zhou Ye asked, confused.
Su Xiaoqi slid off her bicycle and squatted by the roadside.
“My stomach hurts a little. I’ll squat here for a bit.”
“Are you trying to take a dump? Find somewhere where no one can see you.”
Su Xiaoqi shot him a glare.
“Be civilized. I just have a stomachache. Ten minutes will do.”
Zhou Ye wasn’t annoyed at being scolded. He also squatted down beside her.
“Xiaoqi, are you really okay?”
“Mm.”
On the surface, Su Xiaoqi checked her consciousness space. On the screen inside, a progress bar was flashing.
A line of text appeared:
“Robbery in progress… 40% complete. Do not leave…”
Zhou Ye looked at her and didn’t think she looked like she was in pain at all.
Instead, she had that unmistakable expression of someone who had just done something mischievous—barely hiding her smile.
She looked extremely sneaky.
About ten minutes later, the progress bar reached 99%.
Su Xiaoqi’s legs were completely numb from squatting.
She communicated with “Sangbiao” in her mind.
“Hey, stupid Sangbiao, it’s been ten minutes… you might as well rename yourself Turtle.”
“Host, in just ten minutes you’ve earned so many treasures. Even if you worked like a mule your whole past life, you couldn’t earn this much.”
That actually made sense.
Su Xiaoqi had no comeback.
“You, as a system, should have more ambition.”
“I’m working on it. Don’t rush…”
Zhou Ye watched her expressions constantly change, thinking she truly had a stomachache.
“Xiaoqi.”
She glanced at the space—operation complete.
She held out her hand.
“My legs are numb.”
Zhou Ye quickly helped her up.
“Slow down.”
They got back on the bicycle and left.
Inside a nearby courtyard, a thin woman kept peeking at them.
“Old man, what do you think they were doing squatting by the roadside?”
“How would I know? I’m not a fortune teller.”
“Zhou Ye went to the back mountain again.”
The old man with only a few white hairs scratched his head.
“That old woman won’t let us into her house. If Zhou Ye brings something over, we still can’t see it anyway.”
“Hmph. Tell Yang Huaihua to go snatch it back.”
The old man lit a cigarette.
“You old woman, you want me to go gossip for you?”
“I’ll go.”
“Then why are you still sitting here waiting to eat meat?”
The woman muttered and left toward Yang Huaihua’s house.
Ninth Granny lived at the foot of the western mountain slope, in two lonely brick rooms.
Next to it was a thatched shed.
As they arrived, a big calico cat ran over.
Its name was Fuguì.
It circled in front of the bicycle, running back and forth excitedly. The usually proud cat clearly knew Zhou Ye’s arrival meant good food.
Ninth Granny was neatly dressed.
Her thin body looked like it could be blown over by the mountain wind at any moment.
“Ninth Granny!” Su Xiaoqi called out loudly from afar.
Zhou Ye smiled faintly.
“Ninth Granny, I brought my wife to see you.”
Ninth Granny was no ordinary old woman.
Before their wedding, Zhou Ye had come here and gotten drunk.
Back then, he had said: Ninth Granny, I’m going to get married. But I don’t want to be tied down by someone trying to control me.
Ninth Granny hadn’t said a word then. She only held him like when he was a child.
She had also heard about Su Xiaoqi.
After their marriage, she once went to see Su Xiaoqi—but Su Xiaoqi, hearing she came from a “capitalist background,” had mocked her coldly, saying the old woman’s mind was more twisted than a hornet’s nest.
Ninth Granny was still recovering from that remark when Su Xiaoqi already stood in front of her.
“Ninth Granny! I brought you egg cakes and fruit candies. Oh, and sesame cakes and fried dough sticks—they’re really good!”
The cat, Fuguì, and Ninth Granny shared the same weakness—food.
She tried to maintain her dignity, but her eyes kept drifting toward the food.
Su Xiaoqi handed her a sesame cake.
“Try it, Ninth Granny. Is it good?”
Her dignity collapsed instantly.
She took a bite, and the aroma of oil and sweetness made her eat faster and faster.
“Ninth Granny, we’re eating lunch here today,” Zhou Ye said.
“I’ll cook then,” she smiled.
“No need. Today Xiaoqi and I will cook.”
They carried down flour, rice, seasonings, pork ribs, and meat.
Su Xiaoqi also placed candies and rice cakes inside the house, and even took out two packets of pastries from her space, placing them on the table.
Ninth Granny followed her inside.
“You don’t need to give me so much.”
“Lock it up. If someone steals it, you won’t have anything left.”
“Xiaoqi, you…”
Su Xiaoqi already remembered from the original body’s memory that the old woman had once tried to help her.
Unfortunately, she hadn’t accepted it back then.
“Ninth Granny, I just didn’t have the strength before.”
Ninth Granny laughed.
“Now I can see—you’re unpredictable. When strong, you become stronger.”
“Haha! I’m undefeated in the Xu family now.”
Su Xiaoqi went out happily.
“I’ll help cook.”
She volunteered to start the fire, squatting at the stove.
She blew until her cheeks went numb, her face blackened with ash.
The fire in the stove behaved like a shy young girl getting off a bridal sedan chair.
“Zhou Ye!” she called lazily.
Zhou Ye turned around, shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter. He quickly set down the knife and pulled her out.
“Come, little cat, let me wash your face.”
Su Xiaoqi looked at his restrained smile and leaned closer.
Not a single flaw on his face.
Then she suddenly hugged his neck, stood on tiptoe, and rubbed her face against his.
When she let go, she burst into laughter.
“Haha… now you’re a big black cat too!”
Zhou Ye had never met a woman like her before. He could only smile helplessly.
“Come here, I’ll wipe your face first.”
“Then you’re not allowed to laugh at me anymore.”
“I won’t.”
He cleaned her face, then washed his own, hanging the towel to dry in the courtyard.
“Xiaoqi, I’ll teach you how to light the stove.”
“Okay.”
They sat side by side, heads almost touching.
The firelight warmed their faces, and in the accidental closeness, something seemed to soften between them.
Zhou Ye turned slightly, and his lips brushed against her cheek.
He inhaled softly.
A faint fragrance.
“Smells nice.”
Su Xiaoqi tapped his throat lightly, teasing.
“Zhou Ye, this isn’t the place to tempt me.”
Zhou Ye froze, then quickly stood up.
“I’ll cook.”
Su Xiaoqi smiled.
“I want sweet and sour pork ribs and braised pork with tiger eggs.”
“Anything else?”
“Cucumber egg soup.”
“Anything more?”
“I’m not picky. Whatever you cook is fine.”
Zhou Ye first prepared the ribs, even giving her a taste.
One bite was enough.
The flavor of local pork and his skilled cooking completely won her over.
If a man wanted to win a woman’s heart, the first step was to win her stomach—no lie there.
“Delicious,” she said sincerely.
Zhou Ye went to wash rice and started preparing the pot.
He measured the water.
“Want rice soup?”
“Yes.”
Su Xiaoqi watched him move efficiently, feeling very satisfied.
A man who could operate a battleship and cook in the kitchen—how could he not be attractive?