"My dear, remember to check out the third update when you return from admiring the moon tonight. And perhaps toss a few pink votes my way, won't you?"

"Alright, it's all in your hands then. I need to get home and take care of my wife. Thank goodness this is the last table."

"What a rare and dutiful father you are. I’ll be sure to mention it to the younger brother later."

Uncle Gan didn't bother replying to the brat. He got in his car and drove off.

Cheng Ying walked over and stood behind Chi Wu. "Drink a little less, perhaps?"

Suddenly, the boisterous crowd erupted. "What, you’re already bossing him around right after the engagement? Wu Zi, you can’t let this happen! A real man stands tall, don't let a woman scare you! Get up and send her packing!"

Who knew which unlucky soul had gotten drunk enough to utter such nonsense.

Chi Wu stood up, slightly unsteady, and leaned against Cheng Ying.

Cheng Ying couldn't dodge. If he moved now, Chi Wu would end up collapsing under the table. Just how much had he consumed?

Chi Wu, face flushed, clung to Cheng Ying. "No way, I like my wife managing me. I only listen to my wife."

A chorus of wails rose up. "So weak! You're disgracing all men! Are you even a man anymore?"

Chi Wu was drunk, but his mouth still worked. "Only a real man listens to his wife. You guys just don't get it. I’m done drinking. You all carry on."

That bunch of people wouldn't let up. Normally, they were a pack of rowdy youths; even sober, they weren't exactly angels, but drunk, they were something else entirely.

It took Cheng Ying three cups of wine before he managed to usher the inebriated Chi Wu inside.

After finally seeing off that gang of mischievous wretches, Cheng Ying could finally calm down. Engagements were exhausting work.

In his past life, people always said marriage was an exhausting affair, but sadly, Cheng Ying hadn't experienced it.

This life, he was certainly making up for lost time.

He went to the East Room to check on the old lady; his own mother was looking after her, with his heavily intoxicated stepfather nearby.

Cheng Ying went straight to the West Room, cleaned Chi Wu’s face, and sat down beside him to rest.

Chi Wu, eyes half-open, murmured, "Yingzi, I’m truly so happy. I know you aren't. I’m right here. Do whatever you want with me. I'm a man. I can handle it, and I have faith. I refuse to believe there’s anyone better for you than me. I’m counting on it; you will be mine sooner or later."

He finished with a slurred addition: "It’s just that I adore you, and I hate seeing you look at anyone else. Look at me instead."

Cheng Ying thought to himself, Just how drunk has this kid gotten, speaking such nonsense?

But you couldn't exactly disdain your own child.

Chi Wu suddenly became intensely animated. "I'm so happy, I'm ecstatic! We’re engaged! Now it's perfectly reasonable and legal for me to stay at your place!"

Then he sprawled out on the kang, claiming territory like a conqueror. "This is mine now too. From now on, this is my home. Let’s see who dares say otherwise."

Cheng Ying rolled his eyes. "Then sleep."

Chi Wu countered, "I can't sleep, I'm too happy!" And thus, Cheng Ying, who was privileged enough to attend to the drunk Chi Wu, discovered the method Chi Wu used to dispel his drunken excitement.

Chi Wu spent the entire afternoon bellowing renditions of Nan Ni Wan in the West Room. Nan Ni Wan. Cheng Ying felt he was experiencing an entirely novel sensation.

The kid's rendition wasn't bad. He almost captured the timbre of the Heavenly King Zhou.

Cheng Ying's forehead ached, his eardrums throbbed—it was sound pollution drilled straight into the brain.

But at least he understood now: the previous time Chi Wu had slept soundly, it was because he hadn't been this drunk.

Cheng Ying closed his eyes and lightly tapped the brat’s forehead. You wicked child. Where did you get such boldness? Such a massive plan? And you dared to go through with it! Now it’s too late to worry about anything.

In the evening, Cheng Ying deliberately prepared two lavish tables of fine wine and food for the neighboring masters who were staying over.

The old lady declared that finally, their mouths would be silenced. From now on, if she heard them gossiping behind closed doors, she could stand up straight again.

Cheng Ying realized then just how much this whole affair had weighed on the old lady.

Cheng Ying gently rubbed his grandmother's forehead. "You worry too much. They might not even be talking about us."

The old lady sighed. "I'm just guilty conscience. I have something to hide, otherwise, why would I feel this way? It’s all because of the foolish things you, my good-for-nothing child, did. You need to be more careful from now on. I haven't felt this uneasy in half my life."

Chi Yong woke up, sobered by the strong tea—which Cheng Ying had somehow procured; Chi Yong had been wiped out, but the daughter delivered two cans to her mother.

"Mom, Zhi Zi and I are heading back now."

"Wait until after you've eaten."

"I can't eat; my stomach feels terrible. We're leaving. If you need anything, just call us. The two kids were clueless; don't mind them. I'll discipline them when I get home."

The old lady waved them off. You think you can discipline them? I wouldn't let you. Truly.

Then the old lady spoke, delivering a statement that stunned Cheng Ying so much he almost couldn't believe it.

The old lady said, "Alright, you go to sleep too. When Wu Zi sobers up tonight, make him something to eat. I'm going to bed as well."

Cheng Ying replied, "Then let's sleep."

"I put the bedding for you in the cabinet; it’s all new. Go on over."

Only then did Cheng Ying realize the old lady expected him to rest in the West Room. This was just an engagement, not a marriage! This pace was too fast; it wasn't legal! This wasn't how it was done!

The old lady snapped, "What's there to be shy about? The village doesn't recognize that certificate anyway. After an engagement, everyone does this. Don't let people say your grandmother is unreasonable; they’ll gossip."

Cheng Ying protested, "Grandma, we’re in the city now. An engagement has no legal standing!"

"Stop talking that nonsense. We all came from the village. All those masters are watching. If I keep you here, wouldn't that be bullying Wu Zi? Wu Zi is already moving into our home, he's already put out enough as it is. Be sensible!"

Cheng Ying insisted, "But we are in the city now, Grandma. Go to sleep. Without a marriage certificate, it’s against the law."

The old lady gave him a kick. "Stop trying to fool me. Your grandfather and I lived together our whole lives without a certificate. I birthed four children! Are you saying I was illegal?"

Cheng Ying thought, So that means I'm an illegal product? No, wait, my father is the illegal product.

Then what the old lady said next was even more astonishing: "Your Eldest Uncle and Aunt, Second Uncle and Aunt, your mother and your father—none of them ever registered their marriage. Very few people in our village have licenses. Who are you trying to fool? If the two families approve, the children have no objections, they set up a banquet, find a witness, and that’s how they start living together. Everyone did it that way."

Cheng Ying's face darkened; he had officially become the offspring of an illicit liaison. It turned out his own mother’s relationship with Chi Yong was considered his first marriage, meaning his stepfather had somehow gotten the better deal.

He wondered if he should tell Chi Yong later that his mother had never been officially married, and if his stepfather would feel like he’d gotten a bargain.

Cheng Ying’s thoughts drifted too far afield.

He quickly stopped himself. "Grandma, really? Is our village really that remote?"

"Is there any reason for that to be false? In the village, when people get engaged and married, it’s just two families discussing it, a matchmaker in the middle, someone from the production team to witness, and that’s it. Who has the time to run to the township office late at night just to get a piece of paper?"

Cheng Ying covered his face. He decided he absolutely had to make sure his own family members didn't mind the trouble and made that trip in the future. This whole procedure—was it really something that could be skipped? Was this a procedure skipped because people were afraid of the effort?

The old lady huffed. "Stop bringing up irrelevant things and get over there."

Then she looked at her granddaughter self-consciously. "You two are still young; you still have school to attend. You absolutely must not do anything truly irrelevant!"

Cheng Ying burst out laughing. Then why are you sending me over? This old lady was so endearing.

The old lady couldn't stand seeing her granddaughter so calm. She gave him another kick and went to her own room to sleep. I wonder if that poor kid understood what I said. All that silly grinning.

Cheng Ying went to the West Room. Sure enough, when had his grandmother prepared all this? The West Room was fitted with brand new quilts and mattresses, neatly stacked at the end of the kang.

Cheng Ying covered himself with the blanket without the slightest blush. If he were to develop any special feelings for this kid Chi Wu, whom he had watched grow up and personally taught, it would be a genuine oddity.

Besides, forget whether Cheng Ying was being prudish; Chi Wu's behavior, even though he hadn't cursed it out loud, still felt distinctly unsettling in his heart. He couldn't feel entirely pleased about it. The kid needed to straighten this out.

Cheng Ying lay beside Chi Wu and slept soundly through the night, dreamlessly.

When it came to matters unrelated to romance, he was always at ease.

For Cheng Ying, developing any profound affection for a child he had watched since childhood, whom he had meticulously guided, was inherently difficult.

Even if he noticed that this troublesome kid Chi Wu harbored a slight maternal complex toward him, Cheng Ying didn't care. The child was growing up; his horizons were broadening, and this phase would naturally pass. It's nothing, as he always said: There are no insurmountable problems in the world.

In her own room, the old lady was agonizing. That troublesome child better not do anything bad.

How old are they really? Even though it was just an engagement, and sending Yingzi over was partly for the benefit of the masters watching, they are so young. If they actually did something... what would become of their schooling?

After all, the old lady had lived in the city for over three years, and her thinking had shifted slightly. In the village, seventeen or sixteen-year-olds were already holding babies, but here, sixteen or seventeen was still truly just childhood.

The old lady almost regretted telling her granddaughter to sleep over; she regretted not making herself clear.

Furthermore, she couldn't bring herself to take even one step closer to eavesdrop. This was her granddaughter, not her daughter-in-law. How could it be the same?

The old lady pounded the wall. Why did I have to end up with such a worrisome child?

Chi Wu had drunk too much, and his voice had been dry from howling for so long. Moreover, he had only consumed alcohol and hadn't eaten, so he woke up hungry in the middle of the night. His throat was also terribly dry.

He fumbled on the small side table near the head of the kang for a long time but couldn't find anything.

Suddenly, a light shone directly into his eyes, stinging them so much he couldn't open them properly. Then, a cup of lukewarm water was brought right to his lips.

Chi Wu drank it down like parched earth receiving sweet dew. He let out a comfortable sigh, then used one hand to block the light and open his eyes fully.

When he saw Cheng Ying, Chi Wu's mood was one of bliss so profound it felt like it might overflow. "Yingzi."

Cheng Ying yawned. "How is it? Are you hungry? I kept some food warm in the pot for you. Go grab a bite yourself."

Then he retrieved the teacup, lay back down beside Chi Wu with a relaxed air, and immediately started sleeping again.

Chi Wu looked at the person lying shoulder-to-shoulder with him; his heart pounded like a drum. This was his fiancée.

Chi Wu finally felt it was real. Even though they were sleeping in separate blankets, this was his wife. That recognized marital status when he stepped outside...

Chi Wu muffled his head in the quilt, laughing so hard his body curled up like a shrimp. The anticipation of so many years—it felt like since he first became aware, his heart belonged to Cheng Ying. Finally, this day had arrived.

Chi Wu chuckled silently, unable to straighten his back from sheer joy. Too bad Yingzi couldn't share his happiness; how could this person just fall asleep?