5
I Will Be Responsible for You
Sure enough, before they even reached home, they saw Mother Lu anxiously watching for them at the doorway.
“Thank heavens, you’re finally back. I thought my daughter-in-law had gotten lost and was about to go look for you at the factory.”
Lin Jianchun limped while supporting her waist, giving Mother Lu a brave “I’m fine” expression.
Mother Lu’s eyes nearly popped out—based on her experience as a married woman, her daughter-in-law’s current state clearly indicated they’d been… active.
Mother Lu grabbed a broom and started hitting Lu Xuanzhou: “You brat! No wonder you’re an hour later than usual—you’ve been dragging your wife around outside! What, is our bed at home too small for your antics? Don’t you know young women are shy…”
Lu Xuanzhou was baffled, only understanding his mother’s implication after taking several hits!
His ears turned bright red. “Mom! I couldn’t take the main road with her on the bike—had to detour through alleys. It’s nothing like what you’re imagining.”
Lin Jianchun’s face flushed crimson too. She’d forgotten this era’s social norms—even married couples shouldn’t be too intimate in public. She’d actually thought Lu Xuanzhou took the long way to create alone time.
After realizing her mistake, Mother Lu compensated by giving Lu Xuanzhou a piece of pork belly at dinner.
Lu Xuanzhou snorted and ate it.
Seeing her eldest son accept the meat, Mother Lu cleared her throat: “Ahem, take tomorrow off work to get your marriage certificate. We’ll register right after visiting your wife’s family. Our family won’t imitate the Song family’s behavior—taking advantage of your wife’s innocence.”
Lu Xuanzhou remained silent.
Mother Lu gave him two more pieces of meat, but he still didn’t respond. Fuming inwardly, she muttered: “Even a dog would wag its tail for this much meat. Why did I give birth to this mute?”
Mother Lu grew anxious—she’d finally gotten a good daughter-in-law and feared losing her, yet her eldest son showed no urgency.
After dinner, Little Lu perceptively took over dishwashing duties while Mother Lu escorted Lin Jianchun and Lu Xuanzhou to their room “to aid digestion.”
Lin Jianchun supported her waist with one hand and extended the other toward Lu Xuanzhou: “That bumpy ride wrecked me—I ache all over.”
After a slight hesitation, Lu Xuanzhou took her hand and guided her toward the bed.
Lin Jianchun collapsed spread-eagle on the mattress. “Help me massage it, or I’ll limp tomorrow and people might… misunderstand.”
If Lin Jianchun went out limping tomorrow, everyone would assume newlywed passions like his mother had.
Lu Xuanzhou ultimately didn’t refuse. His large hand settled on Lin Jianchun’s waist, his Adam’s apple bobbing when rough fingertips met warm skin.
He resolved to treat this as work—and one doesn’t retreat from work.
True to his masculinity, Lu Xuanzhou’s hands were strong.
Lin Jianchun moaned contentedly.
Mother Lu, returning with hot water, heard the suggestive sounds through the door and hurriedly sent the teenage Little Lu to his room with a radio.
Inside, Lu Xuanzhou’s jaw tightened as he mechanically kneaded Lin Jianchun’s slender waist.
“Lower.”
He mechanically shifted downward—and pressed against resilient curves.
“Harder.”
Withdrawing now would imply improper thoughts.
He was like an emotionless machine, pressing buttons haphazardly: “Done? I’m tired.”
Lin Jianchun turned her head and saw Lu Xuanzhou drenched in sweat, genuinely exhausted. This young man, despite his youth, was worn out after just a few presses—truly all show and no substance.
“Fine then.”
Next, she needed to give Lu Xuanzhou a lesson, teaching him what it means to touch a tiger’s backside—once you do, you must take responsibility.
Lin Jianchun stood up, sat cross-legged in front of Lu Xuanzhou, and fixed him with a piercing gaze.
“You touched me last night and ran away. Just now, you touched me again—do you still plan to escape?”
Lu Xuanzhou stared at Lin Jianchun’s red lips as they moved, his reason telling him that she and Song Zhian were in a free-spirited, stable relationship and wouldn’t shift affections so quickly. Even if she did, it wouldn’t be with him; he knew he wasn’t good-looking.
“I’m not like you. When I touched you while riding the bike, I’ll take responsibility for it.”
“Lu Xuanzhou, will you give me this chance?”
Lu Xuanzhou was truly going mad—since when did a girl insist on taking responsibility for a man? Men don’t suffer any losses in such matters.
Lin Jianchun was still too naive, no wonder she had been deceived by the Song Family like this.
Steeling his heart, Lu Xuanzhou said, “One month. Let’s set a one-month deadline. If you still want to take responsibility for me by then, I’ll agree.”
Lin Jianchun nodded, “Deal.”
Lu Xuanzhou gave the bed to Lin Jianchun and made a pallet on the floor for himself.
Lin Jianchun lay on the bed, watching Lu Xuanzhou in his clothes on the mat: “You sleep without taking off your clothes?”
Lu Xuanzhou didn’t respond, deliberately steadying his breathing.
In the darkness, Lin Jianchun’s soft, sticky voice seemed amplified infinitely, as if spoken right beside his ear.
Seeing that Lu Xuanzhou had fallen asleep, Lin Jianchun sighed boredly.
It was only 8:30—at this hour, she should be grumbling while grading college students’ assignments, regretting why she had assigned homework in the first place. Out of ten papers, six were nearly identical, all thanks to AI. She would then pull out her phone to read her admirer’s novels and complain…
Sigh, she had even lost her only pastime.
But then again, going to bed and waking up so early might help her live a long life, right?
Amusing herself with this thought, Lin Jianchun lowered the mosquito net, took off her outer convertible shirt, leaving only a white undershirt.
She tugged at the loose cotton undershirt—it seemed she needed to buy some cotton cloth to make a simple bra for better chest support.
But she had no cloth ration coupons; it looked like she’d have to try her luck at the black market another day.
All this fidgeting was witnessed by Lu Xuanzhou.
Lu Xuanzhou rubbed his forehead, wanting to tell her that men and women are different, and private undergarments shouldn’t be handled so carelessly. But if he spoke up, she would know he was pretending to be asleep and would surely demand he take responsibility.
At the first light of dawn, Lu Xuanzhou got up.
He saw the laundry bucket with Lin Jianchun’s changed clothes and yesterday’s bedsheets and pillowcases, picked it up, and headed to the center of the Courtyard.
The water pipes were set up in the middle of the Courtyard. Considering the large number of residents, the neighborhood had installed three faucets for their use.
Lu Xuanzhou turned on the faucet; the late spring water was still a bit cold. He stuck his head directly under the stream to wash his hair.
“Brother Lu, the water’s cold. Be careful not to catch a cold washing your hair like that—dry it quickly.”
Song Caiwei followed Lu Xuanzhou out upon hearing the door open next door.
Lu Xuanzhou ignored her. After turning off the tap, he saw a pair of hands offering him a towel.
It was his towel, but it was Song Caiwei who handed it to him.
Lu Xuanzhou paused briefly before accepting it to dry his hair.
Song Caiwei leaned closer: “Brother Lu, the weather hasn’t even turned warm yet, and my sister-in-law didn’t prepare hot water for your hair wash? She’s not taking good care of you—could she still be thinking about my brother?”
Lu Xuanzhou’s face tightened, his unsmiling expression appearing even more intimidating. Though accustomed to his cold demeanor, Song Caiwei still retreated a step in fright.
“Yesterday your whole family was shouting about making me face the firing squad, and today you come to drive a wedge between me and my wife? Are you so unwilling to let me live in peace?”
Song Caiwei shook her head repeatedly, explaining with a pitiful expression: “Brother Lu, you’ve misunderstood me. I just saw that my brother wrote a note to my sister-in-law asking to meet at the alley entrance at eight tonight, and wanted to give you a heads up…”
Lu Xuanzhou’s jawline tightened. “Finished? Then get lost.”
Unable to contain herself, Song Caiwei bit her lip, wiped her tears, and ran off.
Hah. With such meager skills, she dares to spread rumors before me. But that note… he would respect Lin Jianchun’s choice.
After washing the bedsheet, Lu Xuanzhou picked up the clothes from the bottom of the bucket. His clothes were all factory uniforms—a few strikes with the washing baton and some rinses would clean them quickly.
He lifted Lin Jianchun’s convertible shirt, and a pair of panties fell out.