Cheng Chi laughed and said, "How can Shaotang compare with me? He is still a young boy, but I am already an adult. Naturally, my father-in-law trusts me more!"
Zhou Shaojin thought about it and it made sense.
My brother-in-law still has to rely on the family's money to support his wife and children, but Cheng Chi has already taken on the expenses of the eldest house and even the original Jiuru Lane. My father must be more at ease with him.
She took Cheng Chi's arm and giggled.
Cheng Chi saw the old woman who led them to the guest room lower her head quickly, her face flushed.
Look around again.
The maids and servants on duty all pretended not to see anything. But the silly girl Shao Jin didn't notice anything and continued to talk to him in a low voice, chirping like a happy little bird.
He couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
It’s better to keep this silly girl at home so that people can feel safer.
Please come less often to your father-in-law's place!
They had a simple lunch at noon and rested for the whole afternoon. In the evening, Zhou Zhen invited a few of his friends in Baoding to come and welcome Cheng Chi. Li and Zhou Shaojin were talking in the inner room: "... How is the second uncle treating you?"
Zhou Shaojin blushed and nodded, saying, "Very good!"
I talked to her along the way and bought her interesting things. Although the journey was a bit tiring, she enjoyed it.
Li paused and said hesitantly, "Shaojin, has your uncle...consummated your marriage?"
Zhou Shaojin's face suddenly turned red as if blood was about to drip out, and he mumbled for a long time, not knowing what to say.
After all, they are not biological mother and daughter, and neither of them has ever raised the other, so there are some things that both of them are embarrassed to say.
But Li had been entrusted by Zhou Zhen, so he had to ask.
She was also a little embarrassed.
He lowered his head and drank tea.
The room suddenly became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
Zhou Shaojin was extremely embarrassed and hesitated to speak several times.
Just as she was gathering her courage to speak, a maidservant came through the curtain and said, "Madam, the fruit is here."
In order to entertain Zhou Shaojin and Cheng Chi when they returned home, Zhou Zhen specially asked the cargo store to get some apples and pears.
After hearing this, both of them couldn't help but feel relieved and breathed a sigh of relief. The sound of the exhalation was so clear in the silent inner room that Zhou Shaojin and Li couldn't help laughing.
The atmosphere suddenly changed from uneasy to cheerful.
Zhou Shaojin said shyly: "Madam, don't worry about me. The Fourth Master treats me very well. I have nothing to ask for in my life if I can marry him."
These words made Li blush and she was too embarrassed to ask further.
When Zhou Zhen returned to the house, she only said that Zhou Shaojin was very happy to marry Cheng Chi, and said nothing else. Zhou Zhen was a father, so how could he ask about his daughter's private affairs? He assumed that everything was as Cheng Chi said before the marriage, and did not pursue it any further. Then, thinking of Cheng Chi's respect for her at the banquet today, his profound knowledge, and his easy-going yet sincere social skills, he became even more satisfied with this son-in-law. He put aside all the things at hand, and went to visit the Great Compassion Pavilion with him today, and went to visit antique shops tomorrow, and later met friends to recite poems and compose essays. It didn't seem like he was entertaining his son-in-law, but more like he was meeting a long-time friend. So much so that Li had to remind Zhou Zhen privately: "They are returning to their parents' home, not visiting here. You should let them go out for a walk, right?"
Zhou Zhen disagreed and said, "Doesn't Shao Jin dislike going out? Besides, it's not appropriate to take her to places where Zichuan and I go. Isn't it just right for her to stay at home with you and do needlework for You Jin?"
Li didn't know what to say. She thought it was a good thing that he only came back for five days, otherwise, on such a wedding night, the groom would not accompany the bride but his father-in-law!
She comforted Zhou Shaojin: "Don't worry about them. I asked someone to buy a lot of small cloisonné blue and white jars. You can take some stewed dishes from Dabei Pavilion back to give to others. Isn't the old lady from Jinling? Your uncle Li and I helped to get some salted fish, bacon, sausage and so on... Remember to get along well with the old lady. The second uncle went to Jining, and you are the only one left at home. If anything goes wrong, you will have no one to help. If you don't win over the old lady to your side, you will have no place to complain if you suffer a loss..."
These were all told to her by her mother in the past, but she married a man without any parents-in-law, so she had no use for them. Now she brought them up and told Zhou Shaojin.
Zhou Shaojin smiled, thanked Li, and said, "When are you going to give birth? Tell me before you give birth. If it's nothing important, I'll come and accompany you."
"A daughter who is married off is like water spilled out." Mrs. Li was very cowardly in her heart, but she said angrily, "There is no reason for me to ask you to go back to your parents' home to take care of you. Just live your own life well. I have the master here!"
The two talked about a lot of things, and both felt a little closer than usual.
Cheng Chi came back after the second watch. He chewed tea leaves for a long time before washing and going to bed. He apologized to her in a sheepish manner: "I wanted to come back earlier, but I ran into a classmate and then he wouldn't let me leave. My father-in-law didn't want to leave either, so I ended up drinking two more cups." He covered his hands and feet with a hot water bottle and went to bed. "I didn't have time to care about you these two days. What did you do today?"
Zhou Shaojin actually likes it this way that his father and Cheng Chi are as close as friends.
This was something she had longed for but could not obtain in her previous life.
She leaned over to help Cheng Chi tuck in the corner of the quilt and said with a smile, "Father is rarely so happy, so you should spend some time with him. I am doing needlework with my wife in the inner house, preparing things for the New Year and gifts to bring back, and playing with sandbags with Youjin, which is also quite fun."
Cheng Chi nodded. He felt very hot, so he stretched his feet out of the quilt, closed his eyes, took Zhou Shaojin's hand, and began to stroke it gently.
Zhou Shaojin smiled slightly.
Under the light, Cheng Chi's facial features were deep and distinct, yet he looked softer and more handsome than usual.
She hesitated, reaching out her hand several times and retracting it each time, and after a long while, she gently placed it on the pillow beside his face.
Cheng Chi closed his eyes and breathed long and evenly.
A very familiar look.
Zhou Shaojin then became bolder and gently touched his cheek with his fingers.
Cheng Chi frowned.
Zhou Shaojin was so frightened that he quickly retracted his hand.
Cheng Chi's brows relaxed and he fell into a deep sleep again.
Zhou Shaojin lay on the pillow and looked at him.
His eyebrows are thick and black, and his eyelashes are long and curled... Just like him... He plotted against the ancestor of the second house, and even lied with open eyes, saying that the matter had nothing to do with him... What a bad guy!
Zhou Shaojin hummed softly twice, bit her lip and smiled, then boldly touched his brow.
It was thick and hard, making her fingertips itchy.
She looked up at him.
Sleeping soundly.
She traced her brow along the outline of his.
Cheng Chi still didn't react.
He is a quiet person, and he must be very tired after accompanying his father in eating and drinking for the past two days.
Zhou Shaojin's heart suddenly softened, and his lips pressed softly on Cheng Chi's cheek.
Cheng Chi didn't move.
She imprinted on the corner of his mouth again... Then on the center of his eyebrows, eyelids, forehead, and top of his head... It was never enough... He just lay there obediently, letting her do whatever she wanted... It felt like he was my sweetness.
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but cover his mouth and laugh.
Cheng Chi turned over like a leopard, pressed Zhou Shaojin under him, and said with a smile: "Okay! You dare to bully me while I'm asleep, let me see how I'll deal with you!"
Zhou Shaojin screamed in fear, and when the sound came out of his throat he realized something was wrong and stopped abruptly, but a short sound was left behind.
Mrs. Fan Liu, who was on duty outside, had not yet rested and asked hurriedly, "Fourth Madam, what's wrong?"
"It's okay, it's okay!" Zhou Shaojin said hurriedly, "I seemed to see a mouse running past the bed."
"Rats?!" Mrs. Fan Liu said in confusion, "There are rats in the prefectural government office? Tie the tent tightly and deal with it tonight. I will talk to my wife early tomorrow morning and ask her to catch a cat..." Then she went to bed with a mutter.
Zhou Shaojin then realized that Cheng Chi was pressing heavily on her, and half of her body was stiff.
"Get up!" she said suddenly, "Be careful the mothers might notice something!"
I don’t know if it’s because it’s inconvenient at her parents’ house or if Cheng Chi has been drinking these days, but he doesn’t like to “get physical” with her like he did in Beijing.
Cheng Chi did not move, but looked at her with a smile and said, "Mouse? You saw a mouse? Where is it? How come I didn't know there was a mouse in this room? Let me look for it..."
His hand reached into her sleeve and grasped her full breasts.
Zhou Shaojin became anxious.
On the day she came back, Li asked her whether she and Cheng Chi had consummated their marriage. He had promised his father that he would wait until she was older before consummating the marriage. If Li and his father knew about this... Cheng Chi would definitely leave a bad impression on his father.
Zhou Shaojin grabbed his wrist and said hurriedly: "Don't, don't do this..."
Cheng Chi let her go with a smile and bent down to kiss her.
The lingering kiss made Zhou Shaojin's body slowly soften.
Cheng Chi's hand touched her waist again.
She twisted her body and laughed because of the itch.
Cheng Chi bit her ear.
Her heart was beating fast and she pushed him away with a red face.
He kissed her collarbone again.
Zhou Shaojin couldn't stop laughing and began to understand a little.
Different from those explorations filled with love and desire, Cheng Chi at this moment was just teasing her intimately.
The defenses in her heart were suddenly broken down.
Zhou Shaojin giggled and tried to tickle Cheng Chi.
Cheng Chi smiled and took a bite of the pink cherry on her chest.
Zhou Shaojin opened his eyes wide.
Cheng Chi bit her again.
Zhou Shaojin did something she had always wanted to do but hadn’t done before—she ruffled his hair.
Cheng Chi laughed softly, hugged Zhou Shaojin and rolled around on the bed, kissed her gently... and played with her... The temperature gradually became hotter...
Zhou Shaojin gradually relaxed and no longer had any guard against him...
Cheng Chi sighed.
How come there is such a good atmosphere at Shaojin’s parents’ home!
He hugged Zhou Shaojin tightly and whispered fiercely in her ear: "Wait and see how I deal with you when we get home!"
Zhou Shaojin was stunned, then couldn't help but laughed softly.
That laughter was bright and cheerful.
It was a comfort and lightness that she had never experienced before!
Cheng Chi's heart also became happy.
This was the Shao Jin he wanted to see.
There is no longer any trace of gloom, no longer any trace of hardship.
Like a little girl who knows nothing about the world, she laughs happily and lives wantonly.
He hugged Zhou Shaojin tightly again.
※
Dear friends, I am feeling a bit tired of updating twice a week during this period. I am not feeling well, and there have been power and water outages for several days in a row, which has affected the quality of my writing. After thinking about it again and again, I decided to stop updating and take a break.
There will be only one normal update today, and the update for tomorrow will be scheduled at 7pm. The double update will resume at 9am on the 4th.
We apologize for any inconvenience caused.
O(∩_∩)O~
※(To be continued)