What? You Che?
Zheng Wan could hardly believe her ears.
“What did you just say? Who is called You Che?” Zheng Wan rushed directly in front of the man, her voice uncontrollably high-pitched.
The man frowned at Zheng Wan’s sudden, agitated interrogation and said crossly, “Who are you?”
“Never mind who I am! I’m just asking you, is it true that Yang Qing changed his name?” Zheng Wan asked.
“You must be a relative of Yang Qing’s wife,” a man next to them chimed in with a smile. “Yang Qing did change his name. He’s called You Che now, taking his mother’s surname.”
“Which ‘You,’ and which ‘Che’?” Zheng Wan continued to press.
“The ‘You’ with the water radical, and the ‘Che’ as in ‘thoroughly,'” the man answered patiently.
Hearing this, Zheng Wan felt as if her entire world had collapsed.
In all of Fengzhou City, there was likely only one person with that name; it couldn’t be such a coincidence that they just shared the same name.
She actually hoped it was a coincidence.
Remembering something, Zheng Wan quickly asked, “Does You Che work at an electronics factory?”
The man nodded.
Zheng Wan’s heart sank even further.
“Is it the Fengzhou No. 3 Electronics Factory?” Zheng Wan called out the name from her memory. She remembered Tan Lin telling her that before You Che made his fortune, he worked as an R&D engineer at that specific electronics factory.
The man nodded again.
“Is he an R&D engineer at the electronics factory?” Zheng Wan asked once more.
This time the man laughed. Instead of answering her question immediately, he asked in return, “He’s already married a wife; why are you so concerned about him?”
“Is he or isn’t he?” Zheng Wan grew anxious.
“He is,” the man replied.
Each affirmative answer was like a bolt of lightning from a clear sky, exploding over her head. The blow was so great that her tanned face turned several shades paler.
The fact that Yang Qing was You Che was now almost a certainty.
No wonder she had felt a strange sensation the first time she saw Yang Qing. No wonder his appearance had attracted her all at once.
It turned out there had been omens all along. However, she and he had completely missed each other; he was now married to Meng Ruo.
Zheng Wan didn’t know how she made it to the Meng family’s restaurant. By the time she came to her senses, she was already seated at the wedding banquet. Looking up, she saw You Che and Meng Ruo as a couple, toasting everyone.
“Why aren’t you eating anything?” the man next to her asked with a smile.
Zheng Wan turned her head and realized it was the man who had just answered her questions.
“No appetite,” Zheng Wan said sullenly.
Having started the conversation, the man enthusiastically began chatting with Zheng Wan.
“What’s your name?” the man asked.
“Zheng Wan,” she answered absentmindedly.
“My name is Wang Wenzhou. I’m a colleague of Yang Qing—oh, I mean, You Che,” the man said with a smile.
Zheng Wan had no interest in listening to him at all. Her mind was filled with thoughts of You Che, and what she was going to do now that he had married Meng Ruo.
She nodded subconsciously, but then her expression froze.
“Wh-What is your name?” As if realizing something, Zheng Wan asked with a stutter.
“Wang Wenzhou,” the man said with a smile, enunciating each word.
Upon hearing this name, Zheng Wan’s heart skipped a beat.
She had been so focused on You Che just now that she hadn’t paid much attention to the man talking to her. Looking at him now, he indeed looked a bit familiar.
Just looking at his face, Zheng Wan only thought he looked familiar, but hearing his name made it click—Wang Wenzhou. Wasn’t this the scumbag who had pestered her in her previous life, only to be snatched away by Meng Ruo later?
In her previous life, that stupid and clumsy clown Meng Ruo had helped her block his advances, but in this life, Meng Ruo had already married out. Who would help her block him now?
“Is there something wrong with my name?” Wang Wenzhou asked with a smile.
“N-Nothing,” Zheng Wan replied, avoiding his gaze.
“You seem to care a lot about people’s names,” Wang Wenzhou added with a smile. “My name, and Yang Qing’s—I mean, You Che’s—name as well.”
After saying that, Wang Wenzhou laughed again. “That Yang Qing is something else too. Why change his name for no reason? He’s not a child anymore; it’s made me fumble my words.”
Hearing Wang Wenzhou mention You Che, Zheng Wan couldn’t help but look up again. Coincidentally, after Meng Ruo and You Che finished toasting those two tables, they were walking toward their table.
The newlyweds approached slowly, raising their glasses and saying words of thanks to everyone for attending their banquet. Everyone, in turn, raised their glasses to offer blessings to the couple.
Zheng Wan, however, stared at You Che the entire time until he turned to leave. Her gaze was filled with such reluctance.
After You Che had walked away, Wang Wenzhou’s eyes blinked as he watched Zheng Wan.
“You seem to care quite a bit about You Che?” Wang Wenzhou asked with a smile.
“I don’t!” Zheng Wan only then realized her gaze had been too obvious and quickly looked down at her bowl.
Despite living a second life, she was still someone born in the 70s, and her thinking was still somewhat conservative. At the very least, she couldn’t let an outsider see that she cared deeply for a married man.
“I’m full; I’m going home first.”
Zheng Wan didn’t want to have too much contact with this scumbag from her previous life. After saying this, she left.
Wang Wenzhou watched Zheng Wan’s receding back, then looked back at You Che and his wife not far away, and smiled as if finding it very interesting.
In Wang Wenzhou’s eyes, Zheng Wan’s looks weren’t exactly mediocre. Although her skin was dark, those round eyes were very attractive. More importantly, a young girl like Zheng Wan clearly looked like she had just come from the countryside—naive, innocent, inexperienced, and full of curiosity about everything in the city.
This was exactly the kind of girl he liked best.
After the wedding banquet at noon, Yang Heping hosted another dinner at his own home in the evening.
Although Liu Xiuying was unwilling to host You Che and his wife, she couldn’t win against Yang Heping and could only keep a long face throughout to show her dissatisfaction.
Since he had to walk home later, You Che didn’t dare drink too much. After a few glasses of wine, Yang Heping showed signs of being tipsy.
“Xiao Qing,” Yang Heping said, grabbing You Che’s hand. “No, no, that’s not right. You’ve changed your name now.”
“Our Yang family has failed your mother, and we’ve failed you too.” As he spoke, Yang Heping actually began to wail.
Sitting at the table, Liu Xiuying and Yang Yuxiang looked embarrassed by Yang Heping’s loss of composure.
Li Mei hurried to help the drunken Yang Heping into the bedroom. “I told you that you couldn’t drink, yet you insisted.”
“It’s getting late. You two should head back quickly,” Liu Xiuying said, turning back to Meng Ruo and You Che.
By the time You Che brought Meng Ruo back to their small home on his bicycle, it was nearly eight o’clock in the evening.
Now that it was just the two of them in the house, Meng Ruo finally had time to look around this little nest. The newly bought washing machine was placed in the most prominent position in the living room, with a large “Double Happiness” sticker on it. Placed next to the washing machine were her two dowry chests, also a festive bright red.
Not just there, but on the doors and windows as well, bright red “Double Happiness” stickers were posted.
The layout of the house consisted of one bedroom, one living room, one kitchen, and one bathroom. She walked into the bedroom. The bed was covered with a bright red quilt—not her dowry quilt, but likely one You Che had prepared separately.
Although this new home was simple, it had the necessary atmosphere.
I didn’t expect the future tycoon to be quite meticulous, Meng Ruo thought.
“The people to install the washing machine will come tomorrow,” You Che said.
Meng Ruo nodded. They had two days of wedding leave, so they could rest for another day tomorrow.
Afterward, the two of them stood in silent eye contact for a while.
” I’ll wash first.” With that, You Che picked up a basin and towel and entered the bathroom.
While You Che went to wash up, Meng Ruo looked around their bedroom. After observing for a while, she put away the wedding quilt spread on the bed. It was the middle of summer; there was no need to use a quilt, and it was spread out purely for appearance and festivity.
After putting the quilt in the wardrobe, Meng Ruo panted a couple of times from exhaustion. Then, she sat down on the edge of the bed to rest for a moment.
Unexpectedly, the moment she sat down, the bed made a terrifying “creak,” sounding exactly like a door closing in a horror movie.
Meng Ruo shifted her weight, and the bed made another “crunching” sound.
She tilted her head, staring at the bed with a frown. Actually, when she was putting away the quilt earlier, she had noticed the bed seemed a bit shaky, but she hadn’t expected it to be so exaggerated. The bed looked old, having stood for many years; it was likely already here when he moved in.
As if refusing to believe it, Meng Ruo sat on the bed and shook it twice. The bed acted as if it were about to fall apart, continuously making “crunching” and “creaking” sounds.
Incredible. How were they supposed to sleep on this bed tonight?
You Che had just finished washing up. As soon as he stepped out of the bathroom, he heard the violent sound of a shaking bed coming from the bedroom.
Startled, he hurried to the bedroom to check, only to see Meng Ruo sitting on the edge of the bed, shaking it.
You Che: “…”
Meng Ruo looked up, saw him standing at the door, and hurriedly said, “How are we supposed to sleep on this bed?”
After saying that, she shook it twice more to demonstrate the truth of her statement.
Creeeak—Crunch—Creeeak—Crunch—
The aged bed made its final sound. The next second, with a loud “Bang,” the bed collapsed!
Meng Ruo also lost her balance, falling backward, her head hitting the bedboard heavily.
She rubbed the back of her head, which was a bit dizzy from the impact, and sat up. It was mid-summer, and the bed was only covered with a newly bought bamboo mat; that hit felt like it had rattled her brain.
She stood up holding the back of her head, looking at the completely collapsed bed, her elegant eyebrows arched.
The bed was so fragile it collapsed just from her shaking it twice? This was something she had far from anticipated; otherwise, she wouldn’t have courted death by shaking it so hard.
Unbelievable!
Meng Ruo looked up at You Che with an innocent expression.
“The quality of this bed is no good. Even if I hadn’t shaken it, it would have collapsed if the two of us slept on it,” she explained with some distress.
“I know.” You Che, coming to his senses, walked over to inspect the state of the bed.
As for the bed now, the two legs at the foot had snapped directly, while the two at the head had loose connections, and the mortise and tenon joints there were now broken as well.
You Che then set aside the bamboo mat to check the bedboards; the boards were actually sturdy and completely fine.
“In this situation, we can only saw off the legs,” You Che said.
With that, he went out of the room to find a saw in his toolbox. When he returned, he was holding a wood saw. He squatted down and began to saw the two legs at the head of the bed.
On the wedding night—first a collapsed bed, then sawing the bed. Truly unique.
Meng Ruo felt the scene at this moment was both farcical and hilarious.
After sawing off the four legs of the bed, You Che put away the saw and said, “It’s done.”
“Let’s just make do and sleep like this tonight. Tomorrow I’ll find a few bricks to prop it up a bit higher.”
“When I get my salary next time, I’ll have a carpenter make a new bed,” You Che arranged everything clearly.
“Mhm,” Meng Ruo responded.
Hearing her muffled voice, You Che remembered that when the bed collapsed just now, she had let out a startled cry and then hit the back of her head.
“Were you frightened just now?” You Che asked.
“A bit,” Meng Ruo replied, subconsciously touching the back of her head again.
When the bed collapsed, not only did hitting her head hurt, but more importantly, it was the sudden loss of balance at the moment of collapse—the feeling of shock from the abrupt fall.
“Does the back of your head still hurt?” You Che asked with concern, his gaze landing on the back of her head.
“It’s alright,” Meng Ruo answered truthfully. “It was just a bit dizzy when it first hit, but it’s much better now.”
“Mhm,” he nodded. “This is my fault. Previously, when I was making the bed, I noticed it was a bit shaky, but I’ve been too busy these past few days and didn’t pay much attention.”
The house had only been secured recently. After furnishing it, he hadn’t come over to sleep. He thought that everything was new and should wait until the bride married in to be used, so he had been sleeping in the electronics factory dormitory.
“It’s fine.”
Just as Meng Ruo finished speaking, there was a sudden “Bang, bang, bang” knocking on the door.
To call it knocking was an understatement; “banging” was more appropriate.
In the middle of the night, who was looking for them so urgently?
Meng Ruo was about to go open the door, but You Che raised a hand to block her and said, “It’s too late. I’ll go.”
She thought about it and realized he was right. Late at night, if the one knocking was a man, it would be awkward.
As soon as the door opened, a middle-aged woman’s voice rang out from outside—full of energy and loud as a bell.
“What are you two doing in the middle of the night? Making such a huge commotion—that loud ‘Bang!’ I thought there was an earthquake!”