Lin Shiqi finished analyzing the situation. “What do you think?”
Zhou Lang nodded. “Have her go fetch someone right now. Even if it’s just some random barefoot doctor from town to treat my illness, I guarantee I’ll get better.”
“Are you really that impatient? Isn’t it nice being a fool? You don’t have to work, and someone waits on you hand and foot every day—clothes handed to you, food brought to your mouth.”
Zhou Lang said, “Mainly I don’t want to eat someone’s spit-soaked rice anymore. I want to sit at the table and eat on my own.”
Lin Shiqi: Pfft!
“What we should be worrying about now is that if we really did transmigrate into a book, then we’ll probably have to follow the main plotline. In the end, we’re both cannon fodder. In this book, only your book-smart, ruthless eldest nephew can laugh last. So what do you think—should we go suck up to your nephew now, or what’s the plan?”
“He’s studying at the academy right now, not at home. How are you going to suck up to him? Besides, if he already has a grudge against the Zhou family, trying to curry favor now is probably too late.”
Zhou Lang analyzed.
Lin Shiqi thought that made sense.
Fine then!
Take it one step at a time. Zhou Qinan was still young anyway—just a lowly Tongsheng. He couldn’t make much of a splash yet.
From the original owner’s memories, Zhou Qinan was someone who matured early.
People like that were always the male leads in novels—scheming deeply from a young age, so naturally they’d amount to more than others when they grew up.
This reminded her of how, back in elementary school, some of her female classmates already knew that you date handsome guys but marry rich men. Most of those girls grew up to have stable marriages and married well.
Not like her—over twenty years old and never even been in a relationship.
Shackled by her family into marrying some dog of a man, they bickered every time they met, and agreed to divorce once the elders passed away. No fun at all.
“Alright then! We’ll adapt as we go.”
As night fell, Granny Zhou called out again for Lin Shiqi to go boil hot water.
The whole family needed to bathe.
Today it was the third and fourth branches’ turn to handle these chores, so Granny Zhou only called for her.
After Lin Shiqi boiled the water, Granny Zhou told her to bring a basin of hot water to give Zhou Lao Si a bath.
She also instructed her, “Your husband got his clothes soaked today and caught cold water. Use the hot water to scrub his back properly…”
Lin Shiqi replied sweetly.
“Yes, Mother.”
Lin Shiqi thought she could just half-heartedly go through the motions. She carried the hot water into the room and told Zhou Lang to wash himself.
But who knew—Granny Zhou followed right behind her.
Quick as lightning, Lin Shiqi snatched the towel from Zhou Lang’s hand and lifted his clothes, saying affectionately, “Husband, come, let me scrub your back…”
Zhou Lang tried to resist, but Lin Shiqi held him down firmly.
The stench coming off Lin Shiqi made Zhou Lang want to vomit. He gritted his teeth. “How long has it been since you last bathed?”
If he hadn’t asked, it would’ve been fine. But now that he did, Lin Shiqi was delighted.
From the original owner’s memories, she only bathed about twice a month?
Enough to stink that dog Zhou Lang to death!
“Husband, don’t move so much. Come on, let’s scrub that back of yours…”
Granny Zhou pushed the door open for a look and was very satisfied. “The sun was strong this afternoon. Fourth’s clothes that got soaked today are dry now—I brought them in for him.”
“Thank you, Mother.”
“Do you need any help?” Granny Zhou asked.
“No need, Mother. Go get some rest.”
“Mm.”
Granny Zhou set down Zhou Lang’s clothes and left.
Both Zhou Lang and Lin Shiqi were freed.
The moment Zhou Lang escaped Lin Shiqi’s clutches, he gasped for air.
“Lin Shiqi, stay far away from me. If you don’t bathe tonight, don’t even think about getting back in bed to sleep with me…”
The two of them had been sharing a bed ever since they transmigrated over these past few days.
Lin Shiqi thought her husband was a fool. According to the original owner’s memories, the two of them slept in the same bed, so she just kept doing the same.
And Zhou Lang was even more of a coward!
Even after he realized that Lin Shiqi had been taken over by the young wife, he endured it, kept his mouth shut, and suffered through two nights.
Now that their identities were clear, they both felt awkward instead.
Lin Shiqi shot him a big eye roll. “Then you go sleep on the floor. Perfect—I’ll have the bed all to myself. And yeah, I’m not bathing, I’m just not! What are you gonna do, kill me?”
She didn’t even get to gloat for a second.
Before she knew it, Zhou Lang suddenly lunged over and shoved Lin Shiqi’s face straight into the basin of hot water.
“You won’t bathe? Then I’ll wash you myself!”
Lin Shiqi howled. “You dog Zhou Lang! You goddamn bastard! Let go of your grandma—”
Water splashed everywhere.
Zhou Lang was strong and tall. He had Lin Shiqi pinned down with no chance to fight back.
He pressed her into the hot water basin and scrubbed her face vigorously until it was clean.
No exaggeration—a whole layer of grime came off her face.
Revealing the tender, fair skin of a young girl beneath. Her complexion felt much lighter too.
Halfway through washing her, Zhou Lang felt something strange stir in his chest. He let her go.
“Wash yourself. Don’t dirty my hands…”
Lin Shiqi, hair disheveled, lunged at him ready to fight to the death. “You animal, are you insane?”
And so began their first physical fight since transmigrating!
Before, it had always been verbal sparring.
This time, they actually came to blows!
With Lin Shiqi on the attack and Zhou Lang retreating step by step, the fight devolved into utter chaos.
In the end, they knocked over the bathwater again, leaving water everywhere in the room.
If not for the fear that outsiders might hear and Granny Zhou would come back, Lin Shiqi would have killed Zhou Lang right then and there.
Both of them were completely soaked.
There was no choice but to bathe.
She had no choice but to go out again to fetch hot water.
To wash her entire body.
The room had barely any furniture—calling it bare as a pauper’s home wouldn’t be an exaggeration—but Lin Shiqi had nowhere else to bathe. When she’d first transmigrated here, she’d smelled her own stench. She’d wanted to wash but had neither the conditions nor the place, so this room was her only option.
But she’d been afraid her fool of a husband would see her, and it would be awkward.
Now that it was Zhou Lang, an old acquaintance…
“Your granny here is about to start bathing. If you dare sneak even one peek, I’ll make you grow styes on your eyes and rot your dick off…”
Before she could finish, Zhou Lang climbed straight onto the bed and covered his head with the quilt.
His muffled voice came from beneath the covers, “You? Hah. This young master would rather go watch a sow bathe than look at you!”
Lin Shiqi sniffed.
One of these days, when the night was dark and the wind was high, she was going to gut Zhou Lang! Nobody better try to stop her!
Zhou Lang truly meant what he said—by the time Lin Shiqi finished washing, changed her clothes, and took care of everything, he still hadn’t poked his head out from under the quilt.
For some reason, Lin Shiqi found this bastard both infuriating and utterly detestable.
Kill him! She’d grind him to bits!
“Move over, make some room for your granny to sleep!”
Lin Shiqi climbed onto the bed.
Zhou Lang reluctantly complied. The floor was all wet—no one could sleep down there—so the two had to squeeze onto the bed. There was no way anyone was actually sleeping on the ground.
Before, when they hadn’t revealed their identities, sharing a bed had carried no other thoughts.
Now, their feelings were different.
After all, they were an unmarried man and woman alone together.
And two people who were quite repulsed by each other.
In their past lives, there was no way in eight lifetimes that the two of them would ever have ended up sleeping in the same bed.
Zhou Lang was disgusted by Lin Shiqi, and Lin Shiqi was equally disgusted by him.
The two kept as far apart as possible, but the quilt wasn’t that big.