Chapter 48

The quilt was soft—light and fluffy, sinking in like cotton.

Ye Qingshui had bought cotton after the autumn harvest and had stuffed and fluffed the quilt herself. It carried her faint fragrance—warm, gentle, subtle, almost imperceptible.

Xie Tingyu, burning up with fever, felt like a furnace. Crawling into Ye Qingshui’s bed, he was surrounded by warmth. The air was filled with her scent, making him feel grounded and at peace.

His fevered, restless mind suddenly calmed.

Ye Qingshui was just about to move his wandering hand away. But before she could, Xie Tingyu quietly retracted it. His voice, dulled and hoarse from the fever, slurred like he was sleep-talking: “No one… has ever been this good to me.”

He sounded confused: “Why… won’t you hold on anymore…”

In the middle of the night, Xie Tingyu’s fever left him groggy. His lips were cracked and burning. In his dream, he tasted the scalding heat of ginger soup—spoonful after spoonful. He hated the taste, pressing his lips tightly together.

Ye Qingshui held the spoon, wishing she could stab it down his throat. If he weren’t so pitiful, she wouldn’t have even bothered.

The next day.

When Xie Tingyu woke up, he found himself drenched in sweat, sticky and uncomfortable.

Despite having a serious fever, he was already mostly recovered by the next morning. He figured that getting to cuddle someone soft and warm was a rare benefit—one that likely wouldn’t happen again that night—and the thought left him a bit disappointed.

Last night, Ye Qingshui hadn’t pushed him away. Through the haze, he seemed to taste the sharp spiciness of ginger soup in his dream, and even when he woke, his mouth still held that gingery taste. Somehow, it made him feel warm inside.

She must still like me, he thought—just too stubborn to admit it.

Xie Tingyu reviewed everything that had happened between them and felt convinced his judgment was right, giving him renewed energy.

Thinking of that soft bundle in his arms from last night, he almost didn’t want to get better. Getting sick had never felt so good.

Early in the morning, when Ye Qingshui got up, she touched his forehead and couldn’t help but sigh—Xie Tingyu’s body was as strong as an ox. Her tiny bit of guilt melted away.

She left for work without a second thought.

When Ye Zhongjian saw his niece getting up before dawn to work, while his niece’s husband was still snoring in bed, his face darkened. But as an elder and with this being the start of their acquaintance, he held his tongue.

He said nothing, grabbed his hoe, and headed to the fields.

In Ye Zhongjian’s eyes, Xie Tingyu was a pretty boy—too good-looking for his own good. He’d heard he was a city-sent intellectual youth, and he figured that’s exactly how he had tricked his Shuiya into being so devoted.

After finishing work, when Ye Zhongjian came home and found that Xie Tingyu was still lounging around, his face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

Xie Tingyu had no idea he’d unintentionally left his uncle-in-law with the impression of being a useless pretty boy.

Ye Zhongjian, face tense, called him out.

Staring at the midday sun, he asked: “What kind of chores do you usually do around here?”

Xie Tingyu had only just recovered in recent days. Before that, he hadn’t done much hard labor. He picked up on the disdain in Uncle Ye’s tone and rubbed his nose awkwardly.

“I chop firewood.”

That answer nearly made Uncle Ye faint.

“So you don’t fetch water, sweep, or cook?”

Xie Tingyu answered honestly: “Shuiya doesn’t let me do those things.”

Now Uncle Ye was speechless. He already thought this guy was a slacker, but he didn’t expect him to be this hopeless.

Suppressing his temper, face dark, he said: “My mother and sister-in-law are out there busting their backs in the fields. The least you could do is cook a meal so they have food when they return. Don’t tell me you can’t cook. Come with me.”

Xie Tingyu was about to nod, but worried that if he did, Uncle Ye would explode on the spot.

He wanted to explain, but swallowed the words.

In the kitchen, Uncle Ye saw a piece of pork on the stove. The lard jar was full.

There was also white flour and rice in the grain container.

Something felt different.

But Ye Zhongjian knew exactly how poor this family was. There was no way they could afford all this in just six months.

He figured his mother and sister-in-law must have been scrimping and saving to welcome him home.

He took out a radish and, while slicing it thin, lectured his niece’s husband: “Radish takes a while to cook. Slice it thin so you use less firewood. Here, you try.”

Xie Tingyu copied his technique and sliced the radish. Afterward, he scooped two big spoons of lard into the wok—based on how Ye Qingshui usually cooked.

Uncle Ye’s eyelids twitched. Who puts that much lard in food? It’s like using it as water.

“You seriously never cooked at home?”

Xie Tingyu nodded.

Uncle Ye couldn’t understand what kind of family could raise such a lazy man. No wonder he had such fair skin and delicate hands.

No wonder foolish girls fell head over heels and worked themselves to the bone for guys like this.

When Ye Qingshui, Grandma Ye, and her mother returned, the scent of food filled the air.

Grandma Ye was overjoyed: “It must be Erwa cooking!”

Ye Qingshui washed her hands and went to the kitchen—only to find Xie Tingyu stirring leftover rice with eggs to make fried rice.

Uncle Ye stood nearby like a landlord overseeing a laborer. “One egg is enough! You crack that many eggs, and we won’t eat tomorrow!”

He lectured sincerely: “Tingyu, now that you’re part of our Ye family, you can’t be lazy anymore. Our family is so poor the wind blows through our walls. If you don’t do any work, we can’t even drink northwest wind. After lunch, go fill up the water vat, and chop the rest of the firewood. Don’t wait to be told—real men carry the weight of the family and help the women rest.”

His speech nearly made Grandma Ye faint.

“Oh heavens, what nonsense is Erwa spouting?! How could he ask our handicapped grandson-in-law to do that kind of labor?!”

Ye Qingshui’s mother blushed bright red—like a ripe apple. She wanted to remind her younger brother: Actually, our family isn’t poor anymore. We eat meat every few days, have white rice at every meal… All thanks to the son-in-law he’s scolding.

The whole village was envious of them—so envious their eyes were practically turning red.

Only Ye Qingshui couldn’t help but laugh. Her little uncle was just too adorable. Judging by his tone, did he think Xie Tingyu was some pampered, lazy man who didn’t know the first thing about hard work or grain?

If Xie Tingyu’s powerful parents and spoiled little sister saw this scene, they’d probably faint on the spot.

Xie Tingyu blushed slightly from being scolded, but when he saw Ye Qingshui laughing, he felt that being lectured was worth it.

He sat down and gobbled his food, then quickly went to chop firewood.

Ye Mama and Grandma Ye exchanged looks. They couldn’t help but quietly remind Little Uncle Ye: “Xiao Xie’s limbs aren’t all that agile. He was bedridden for quite a while to recover from his injuries. Don’t push him too hard. He’s an honest and sincere young man.”

Little Uncle Ye gave a vague grunt and asked: “How long was he recovering? He seems pretty nimble to me.”

Ye Mama replied: “More than two months.”

Little Uncle Ye choked on his tea.

So he was nursed for over two whole months?!

The men around Little Uncle Ye were all rough and rugged—soldiers who didn’t leave the front line for minor injuries, and even with serious ones, were back carrying rifles after a month.

To suddenly see such a delicate man being so gently cared for—he could only sigh at how tender the women in the family were being.

His face darkened.

This pretty boy really had some skills.

Ye Mama quickly finished eating and hurried to stop her son-in-law: “What water are you going to fetch? Xiao Xie, don’t move, just stay put. Let Mama handle it.

You go back to the room and get some rest.

Your uncle didn’t mean anything by what he said.”

Ye Qingshui turned to see her uncle’s temples bulging with veins as he glared at Xie Tingyu, and finally stopped laughing.

She explained to her uncle: “Brother Yu’s injury hasn’t fully healed. It’s a serious one—he hurt his spine. He’s not what you think.”

Little Uncle’s expression finally eased like a thunderstorm fading away. He muttered: “I see…”

Shaking his head, he added with a sigh: “But you all really dote on him. Dote on him like he’s made of gold.”

“Don’t you see it?”

Just one round of chopping firewood, and the whole house full of women skipped lunch to stare at him.

Last night, his niece had stayed up in the dark brewing medicine all night.

During the day, when Little Uncle asked how his niece’s husband was doing, and heard “fever,” his mood got real complicated.

Ye Qingshui was caught off guard by the question. Meeting her uncle’s bright and deep gaze, she fell into a daze.

He said seriously: “Shuiya, don’t spoil him too much.”

“Men—getting banged up is normal. Spoil them too much, and they go bad.”

Ye Qingshui felt as if her mind had suddenly cleared. She thought about it… and honestly, it did seem like there was some truth to it.

But she couldn’t take her uncle’s suspicious look anymore. She quickly shoveled down the rest of her rice and silently left the kitchen.

Little Uncle picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks, clearly dissatisfied, but unlike his niece, he wasn’t giving up.

The worse Xie Tingyu’s cooking was, the more determined he became to teach this son-in-law properly.

After finishing his chores, Xie Tingyu returned to the house and looked up to see the smug little girl grinning with pride.

His brows furrowed. He tugged her braid and said grumpily: “Shui’er, you’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

Ye Qingshui pulled her braid out of his hand without a trace of politeness: “Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be happy?”

“Someone’s standing up for me—how can I not be?”

“Uncle may be crippled, but he’s got a nasty temper. If he finds out about all the crap you’ve pulled, he definitely won’t hold back.”

She recalled how, in her past life, after she divorced, her little uncle had taken a train for several days and nights to the capital—just to beat the hell out of Xie Tingyu. When he came back, his eyes were red, and he kept persuading her to remarry.

Xie Tingyu looked at the proud expression on her face and couldn’t help but laugh.

If her uncle, as an elder, wanted to scold him—could he even fight back?

The only reason he obediently listened to all that lecturing just now… was for her sake.

Xie Tingyu had been trained strictly by his father since childhood, with exceptional physical strength. When it came to fighting, he had never lost a match.

But now that the soft touch of her braid was gone, he felt a little disappointed.

When will the day come when he can touch her whenever he wants? Hold her when he wants. Kiss her when he wants.

This woman was more difficult to deal with than a whole squad of soldiers when she got stubborn.

Xie Tingyu gritted his teeth.

One year from now—she’d be singing a different tune!

Author’s Note:

Ping Shengjun: Oh my, our Yu-ge is getting bold.

Yu-ge: Mmhm~

Now here’s the question:

What if, after a year… Yu-ge ends up with a divorce anyway?

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