Xie Fangzhu said, “I saw her.”
The moment he stepped out of the lamp room, he had already noticed her.
Unlike the other miners, Xie Fangzhu had never been interested in the young wives waiting under the trees.
To him, men and women were all the same—two eyes, one nose, one mouth. Nothing special.
Today, he had only glanced over because the other miners’ reactions were so exaggerated.
But the moment he looked, his gaze was hooked by the slender figure standing beneath the trees, holding onto a bicycle. Her skin was so fair she looked like a fairy.
And once his eyes landed on Shen Yingying, he couldn’t look away.
There were clearly several other women nearby, so why was she the only one he couldn’t stop staring at?
Was it because she was the only one looking at him with all her heart and attention?
In the past, Xie Fangzhu had always sneered at those young wives who came to pick up their husbands after work.
He also looked down on the men who got absurdly happy over it.
Did having a woman accompany you home somehow make the road no longer a road?
To him, it was just pretentious.
But today, seeing Shen Yingying waiting beneath the trees for him, the heart he had kept tightly clenched in fear that she might run away suddenly relaxed.
At the same time, it felt as if something had filled his chest completely.
Damn.
It warmed his heart.
Shen Yingying spotted the two of them as well. She waved while pushing the bicycle toward them.
Originally, she had planned to wait at home for Xie Fangzhu. But she had heard that the mining face where they worked underground was several kilometers away from the shaft exit, and there were no vehicles underground—they had to walk the entire way.
Just walking from the work site to the shaft entrance took at least thirty to forty minutes.
And today, she had ridden the bicycle home herself, which meant Xie Fangzhu had already walked several kilometers underground and would still have to walk more than two kilometers above ground afterward.
When she imagined his tall figure carrying food while trudging down the road exhausted, she strangely felt a little sorry for him.
Besides, she remembered how Xie Fangzhu had stood up for her that morning. Whether he had done it to maintain his “devoted husband” image or genuinely for her sake, it had felt incredibly satisfying.
So she decided to raise his favorability a little more and came to pick him up on the bicycle.
Looking at the woman whose eyes were filled entirely with him, Xie Fangzhu felt as if a cat were scratching at his heart. It itched pleasantly, and even his voice softened unconsciously.
“Why did you come?”
Shen Yingying’s gaze landed on his soot-covered face. Even though Xie Fangzhu worked in the tunneling team, he wasn’t much cleaner than the coal-cutting crews.
His entire body was covered in coal dust, and even his handsome face was hidden beneath the thick black grime, leaving only his light-colored eyes visible.
She smiled.
“Today I rode the bicycle home. I couldn’t bear the thought of you walking so far, so I told Qingqing and came to pick you up.”
“I’m a grown man. I’m not that delicate.”
He snorted as though he didn’t care, but the corners of his lips lifted uncontrollably.
He had spent the entire day underground worrying that she might run away, even though he had already arranged for Jiaozai and Chen Qingqing to watch her.
She was different from before now.
He was addicted to her.
If she really ran away, he would go crazy.
He had even imagined what he would do if she actually fled.
Break her arms and legs and keep her locked beside him forever?
But instead, she had obediently stayed home—and had even come specifically because she didn’t want him walking so far.
Xie Fangzhu’s heart softened completely, and guilt washed over him.
How could he think such terrible things about her?
Shen Yingying, of course, had no idea what was running through his mind. If she had known, she probably would’ve burned incense in gratitude for her own decision not to wander off.
All she noticed was the smile he was trying unsuccessfully to suppress beneath the coal dust.
This man really was the textbook example of “saying one thing while meaning another.” He was obviously delighted.
She raised an eyebrow teasingly.
“So what? You’re not happy I came to pick you up?”
Xie Fangzhu didn’t deny it.
“I’m happy.”
Beside them, Han Wei was so shocked he couldn’t even speak.
Was his bro telling the truth or lying?
Wasn’t Xie Fangzhu the one who despised men whose wives came to pick them up?
Once, Han Wei had sincerely expressed envy toward those men and said he hoped that one day he’d also have a wife waiting for him after work.
Xie Fangzhu had rolled his eyes at him then.
So if he was genuinely happy now that sister-in-law had come to get him, wasn’t that just slapping himself in the face?
Suspicious, Han Wei looked toward Xie Fangzhu.
The dark, gloomy eyes from earlier were now completely different, like sunlight breaking through clouds, glowing softly. There wasn’t a trace left of the anger he’d shown the female lamp worker.
He was obviously in an unbelievably good mood.
…So he really meant it.
…His bro really was shameless—one set of standards for himself, another for everyone else.
Still, Han Wei didn’t dare say that out loud.
If he did, he’d definitely get beaten into a ball.
After chatting briefly, the three headed toward the bathhouse.
Xie Fangzhu and Han Wei had just come up from underground and were covered head to toe in coal dust. They couldn’t eat like this and needed to wash up first.
As for Shen Yingying, she hadn’t bathed once since transmigrating into this world yesterday, and she felt horribly uncomfortable.
So when she came to pick up Xie Fangzhu, she had also brought a change of clothes. While he bathed, she planned to rinse off in the women’s bathhouse as well.
By the time Shen Yingying emerged carrying a basket of dirty clothes, Xie Fangzhu had already finished washing and was waiting outside.
He was dressed in the typical clothing of the era: an old dark-blue cotton shirt and loose straight-legged pants.
On most men, the outfit would’ve looked utterly ordinary.
But on his tall frame—well over six feet—with a body that looked muscular without being bulky, he resembled a model.
Even ugly clothes somehow looked stylish on him, making him absurdly eye-catching.
When he saw her, he blew out a ring of smoke and crushed the cigarette in his hand.
Lowering his gaze to her, he casually asked,
“Finished washing?”
“Mm.”
Shen Yingying nodded, then suddenly realized her chest felt oddly empty.
Only then did she remember that she still had to eat with Xie Fangzhu afterward. Walking around with soaking wet hair wasn’t very elegant, so she had twisted her two braids up behind her head.
She raised her hands to undo them. One braid came loose smoothly, but the other got tangled in the hair tie.
Trying to untangle it backward was awkward, and before long, anxious redness appeared on her pale cheeks.
Seeing how much she struggled, Xie Fangzhu stepped behind her and reached over to free the braid caught in the elastic band.
His gaze unconsciously fell on the slender white nape of her neck.
Faint marks still lingered there.
His eyes darkened.
He couldn’t help recalling what had happened between them yesterday, remembering how she had felt beneath him.
That feeling…
Heat crept up his handsome face.
When he realized what he was thinking, he silently cursed himself for being no better than an animal.
What filthy thoughts was he having in broad daylight?
Quickly, he sped up his movements and finally freed her braid.
“All done.”
Completely unaware of the chaos in his head, Shen Yingying curved her eyes into a smile.
“Thank you, Xie Fangzhu!”
“What are you thanking me for?”
He raised an eyebrow, then naturally took the basket of dirty clothes from her hands.
“Come on. Let’s go eat.”
Shen Yingying smoothed down her slightly damp braids and glanced toward the men’s bathhouse.
“Aren’t we waiting for Han Wei?”
Xie Fangzhu lowered his eyes briefly.
When Han Wei had come out with him earlier, he’d originally wanted to wait together for Shen Yingying before heading to dinner.
But Xie Fangzhu had found him annoying and driven him away.
Of course, he felt there was no need to tell Shen Yingying something so trivial.
So without changing expression, he calmly said,
“He’s big, so he gets hungry fast. He already went ahead to eat.”
“Oh, I see.”
Shen Yingying didn’t suspect anything and followed beside him, her gaze falling on the basket he carried.
She thought to herself that this man was actually pretty considerate. In this era, nobody had even taught him, yet he already knew to help carry his wife’s basket voluntarily.
Unable to resist, she lifted her eyes to look at him again.
His hair was still slightly damp and had been brushed back by his fingers, leaving only a few strands hanging casually over his forehead. His side profile was sharp and clean.
As if sensing her gaze, Xie Fangzhu turned to look at her.
Now his handsome features were fully displayed before her eyes—delicate yet masculine, so attractive it was ridiculous.
He completely matched her aesthetic tastes.
Good-looking, protective, didn’t fool around with other women, even fairly gentlemanly…
He was basically the perfect husband.
The only problem was that he was too crazy.
A major villain destined for prison and eventually a bullet.
What a waste.