Fresh!
So fresh!
Fresh enough to make your eyebrows leap up!
She nodded with satisfaction.
The first version of the “Su Family Secret XO Sauce” was complete.
With this, she felt confident—never mind making a ten-thousand-yuan household, even a hundred-thousand-yuan household was within reach!
Outside, the wind and rain raged harder.
Yet Su Ci felt no fear at all.
She even thought the howling wind and pounding rain were like a stirring symphony—energizing and exciting.
This must be the sense of security that comes from a roof over one’s head and a granary full of food.
How wonderful.
…
At the same time.
The dock.
A tall, upright figure leapt from a violently rocking landing craft, like a steel tower in the night.
It was Lu Ye.
He had just returned from an urgent mission in the open sea.
His entire body was drenched in seawater and rain.
His combat uniform clung tightly, outlining muscles that were sleek and explosive, like a cheetah ready to strike.
His chiseled, ruggedly handsome face showed no expression.
Only his eyes, sharp as a hawk’s in the darkness, carried both bone-deep cold and heavy exhaustion.
“Commander! The rain’s too heavy! You should rest on the boat first!”
A guard shouted from behind.
Lu Ye didn’t look back, only waved his hand.
His hands, capable of steadying a sniper rifle with absolute precision, were now clenched tightly.
Three months.
Three long months away from home.
During those months, he had wrestled daily with death itself.
Yet when the night was quiet, it wasn’t the heart-stopping missions he thought about.
It was that dilapidated home.
Those three little siblings, like wolf cubs, who may or may not have eaten enough or stayed warm.
And…
That woman who, according to arrangements, had married into his family on the second day he was away—a woman he had never met.
Just thinking of her made his brows knot.
The political commissar had mentioned her briefly.
From the city, pampered, fragile, weak health.
Such a woman could barely take care of herself, let alone three half-grown children.
The house must already be in chaos.
The thought of the coming upheaval made him restless.
He quickened his pace.
His tall frame pressed forward through wind and rain, unwaveringly heading toward the family compound, swaying in the storm.
The path grew familiar.
The most dilapidated house in the entire compound came into view.
His heart sank bit by bit.
He even braced himself to push the door open and find a house in shambles, siblings malnourished, and that woman crying in the corner, trying to cope.
Finally.
He stood before the familiar, peeling wooden door of his home.
The door was ajar.
In the wind, it creaked ominously, as if it might fall apart at any moment.
Lu Ye took a deep breath.
The air mixed with icy rain and salty sea wind.
He raised his hand, ready to push the door and face whatever awaited.
But when his palm touched the door and he pushed—
A wave of warm, dry air greeted him, completely unexpected!
And then.
An overwhelmingly rich aroma, unlike anything he had ever smelled, assaulted his nose!
The scent was complex yet harmonious.
The freshness of seafood, the richness of meat, and an indescribable warmth and satisfaction that penetrated to his soul.
Lu Ye froze.
His eyes, calm through countless life-and-death moments, showed confusion for the first time.
What was that smell?
He slowly lifted his gaze.
What he saw caused his supercomputer-like brain to short-circuit.
No darkness awaited.
A meticulously cleaned kerosene lamp sat on the table in the main room, casting a soft, bright orange glow.
No filth or disorder.
The floor was so clean it reflected light.
The previously pockmarked walls were neatly covered with elegant floral wallpaper.
The old Eight Immortals table was topped with a matching, brand-new tablecloth.
In the center, a clean glass jar held a few blooming red wildflowers.
In the corner, a broken sofa he had assumed long ruined was now spotless.
A soft blanket and two plush cushions lay atop it.
The entire room was neat, warm, and bright.
Like… a picture from a city magazine, the kind of home only urban elites could afford.
A peaceful, warm atmosphere, entirely isolated from the raging storm outside, enveloped him.
Rain dripped from his hair and cheeks as he stood in the doorway.
He felt like an intruder.
A demon from the icy depths had stumbled into a warm, human paradise.
This… where was this place?
It had to be a mistake.
His first reaction wasn’t joy but the instinctive caution of an elite reconnaissance soldier.
He instinctively stepped back into the cold rain and wind.
Raising his head, he fixed his gaze on the familiar house number, illuminated intermittently by lightning.
Yes.
This was the right place.
But…
How could this possibly be his home?!
His home had always been a “dog’s den,” empty except for the west wall!
Lu Ye’s sense of reality had been shaken like never before.
He pushed the door open again and stepped inside.
This time, he saw more clearly.
On the wall.
The wallpapered wall had a large sheet of paper posted.
In beautiful, grand handwriting he had never seen before were the words: “Household Points System.”
Next to it.
A childish crayon drawing, crooked but lively.
It depicted a little fairy in a beautiful dress, with three small figures standing respectfully nearby.
At the top, in the same crooked handwriting, were large words:
【Sister-in-law is the Most Beautiful!】
“Sister-in-law?”
Lu Ye read the words aloud, almost unconsciously, staring at the naive doodle.
Boom!
Like thunderclap inside his head.
He suddenly understood.
All this change came from that woman he had never met… the new wife?
The delicate one?
The little troublemaker?
She… could transform this house into this?
Impossible!
Lu Ye felt his worldview, built over twenty-six years, completely overturned and crumbled.
He scanned the room.
Silence.
The siblings should be asleep.
And… her?
The woman who had created all this, where was she?
His gaze slowly fell on the master bedroom door.
A faint, subtle floral fragrance, different from the food scent, wafted from the crack in the door.
It carried a deadly allure.
His Adam’s apple moved involuntarily.
His heart beat faster.
He stepped forward cautiously, like navigating a hidden minefield, toward that door.
He wanted to see.
Behind that door, what kind of… enchantress awaited?
Standing at the door.
He raised his large, rain- and gunpowder-streaked hand.
Paused for three full seconds in midair.
Then, gently, it landed on the door panel.
“Creak—”
A soft sound.
The door opened.
The master bedroom door opened slightly.
Lu Ye’s movements were silent.
Like a leopard prowling the night, completely stealthy.
Through the crack came a new scent.
Not the aroma of food.
A light, sweet floral fragrance, mixed with a warm, feminine scent, like snow cream.
The smell was light and gentle.
Yet it seemed to reach inside him, lightly teasing the tip of his heart.
His military-trained heart, which had never faltered in gunfire, skipped a beat.
He tilted slightly, peering through the crack.