Chi Wu watched Cheng Ying leave, pursing his lips and raising an eyebrow, certain she wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything else. He turned off the television and strolled leisurely toward the martial arts room, his triumphant glee barely concealed.

Cheng Ying saw the neatly made bed and felt a pang in her jaw, finally understanding why their room had mosquitoes in May. How childish this boy was.

This was clearly an invitation for her to come to bed. To perform such a thoughtless act—did he truly take her for some inexperienced young girl?

Cheng Ying shook her head, kicked off her shoes, and climbed onto the kang, without a moment's hesitation. If he had ten times the nerve, he still wouldn't dare to provoke her further.

Even if she came over to sleep, what did it actually signify? In the countryside, families without enough rooms often slept huddled together on a single kang, one pressed against the next.

The older the child gets, the more scatterbrained they become. Chi Wu reached the west room and saw Cheng Ying already lying on the kang asleep.

He was quite satisfied; at least the bedding he had prepared hadn't been disturbed. Chi Wu climbed onto the kang with a teasing jab, pleased that his objective had been met.

He relaxed slightly. "Aren't you a bit too dirty?

Have you washed your feet? Did you think that since Grandma wasn't home, you could just be careless?" Cheng Ying opened her eyes halfway.

"Indeed. That mosquito repellent you sprayed felt quite refreshing, didn't it?

Do you know how precious that stuff is to Grandma? You wasted so much; when Grandma returns tomorrow, what will you say about the waste?" Chi Wu’s motion to take off his shoes and step onto the kang halted instantly.

He swiftly stepped back onto the floor, rushed to fling open the window in the east room, trying his best to air out the lingering smell before the old lady came back. Then, clutching the mosquito repellent, he sprinted back to the rear area, determined to hide it well so the old lady wouldn't notice half a canister was missing.

Having completed his task, Chi Wu grinned and slipped back into the room. Chi Wu swaggered onto the kang.

"I hid the stuff; Grandma won't see it." Cheng Ying thought to herself, Good grief, this unlucky boy, how childlike can you be? To think he’d pull such a thoughtless stunt.

"So this is how you deceive Grandma?" Chi Wu retorted, "I was just stopping Grandma from feeling bad about wasting things." Having delivered that, he cozily pulled up the light quilt and settled down to sleep. Cheng Ying looked at the person beside her, unsure if this scatterbrained child possessed any awareness of propriety between a man and a woman.

After all that maneuvering to get her to the west room, it was purely for sleeping. Of course, even if Chi Wu harbored other intentions, Cheng Ying would have kicked him off.

Still, such a simple objective merited some notice. As Cheng Ying drifted off, she pondered their relationship.

Why did it feel a little amusing? How full of joy life could be.

Thinking loosely, he was merely a child asking for candy. Chi Wu felt that he wasn't asking for much.

For the current stage, just having Cheng Ying accept him and accept the change in their relationship was enough. The fact that she hadn't grabbed the feather duster and thrashed him was already giving him face.

So, he slept soundly, without any distracting thoughts. Naturally, if Chi Wu had been engaging in nightly revelry in his dreams, it wouldn't have affected his actions; at most, his thoughts might have been slightly sordid.

The old lady, having watched over her god-grandson all night, returned early the next morning. This time, she dared not open her own door in front of a crowd.

She tiptoed into the house and peered anxiously toward the west room. Fortunately, neither of the children had drawn the curtains.

They were both lying honestly in bed, sleeping. It was clear at a glance, and the old lady let out a sigh of relief.

She patted her chest. She hadn't slept well at all the previous night, but now she could finally put her worries to rest.

Being old and exhausted, the old lady soon dozed off in the east room. When Chi Wu and Cheng Ying woke up and saw the old lady asleep in the east room, Chi Wu felt a pang of guilt; he knew the old lady had been anxious lately because of the situation between him and Cheng Ying.

Cheng Ying, for her part, voluntarily wished for the old lady to have a better rest. Chi Wu, in a morning frenzy, took the chopping board next door to pound dumpling filling, terrified of waking the old lady.

Cheng Ying thought, Why must you insist on making dumplings? By the time the old lady woke up, Chi Wu's dumplings were already in the boiling water.

The timing was perfect. After washing up, the old lady saw three large plates piled high with plump, white dumplings before her.

"Ah, there's no place as comfortable as home." Chi Wu brought her a bowl of garlic sauce. "Of course, Grandma, have a taste." He thought to himself that he wouldn't part with them either; Grandma had been running back and forth because of them.

It was hard enough for the old lady to adapt to one environment; now that he had used his means to secure a guarantee between himself and Cheng Ying, the next step was to prove he could shelter Cheng Ying from all storms. The old lady said, "Right, for such fine dumplings, we should save a plate for your Second Uncle and the others." Cheng Ying countered, "Grandma, what kind of culinary expertise does my Second Uncle have?

Would he even deign to eat our dumplings? You eat them." Chi Wu chimed in, "Yes, I made extra.

I'll bring a plate for Second Uncle and the others when I send some over." They spoke in unison. Chi Wu caught the tail end of Cheng Ying’s sentence and immediately changed his tone.

"Yes, my skills are indeed lacking. Grandma, why don't you ask Second Uncle what kind he likes, and I'll wrap some specifically for him." Cheng Ying’s face darkened, and she lowered her head to eat dumplings.

Did he have to be so agreeable? The old lady frowned at her granddaughter, concerned she might be bullying Chi Wu.

"No need. It’s not good to eat Second Uncle's cooking all the time." Chi Wu watched Cheng Ying’s conflicted expression, thinking, Should I give them the dumplings or not?

I truly dare not take charge here. The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

The old lady sighed. At least from now on, her granddaughter would be the mistress of the house; there would be no question of her being mistreated.

Cheng Ying swallowed her dumpling and quickly spoke up—No talking while eating was not a custom in their family. "Grandma, Wu Zi and I went shopping together yesterday and bought some things.

They are all in the storeroom; please take a look and see if you need anything else. Wu Zi and I are free these two days; we can go out again." The old lady was genuinely delighted to hear the two children making plans to go shopping together.

It was much better for the two children to be getting along than fighting like cats and dogs. Of course, given Chi Wu's current deference, a fight seemed unlikely anyway.

The old lady asked, "Have you chosen a school yet?" Chi Wu answered before Cheng Ying could. "We have, Grandma.

I filled out the registration form myself; there won't be any mistakes." Chi Wu intended that he would take responsibility for any ensuing scolding, implying he was accepting the consequences too. Cheng Ying remained silent; she wasn't someone who could be bought off with petty favors.

The old lady then instructed, "Oh, you two should take some wine later, and pick out a few nice potted plants to bring home. This is my fault; you should have visited yesterday.

I got caught up with things and forgot." Cheng Ying replied, "It's fine, Grandma. It's not too late to go now." Chi Wu interjected, "Grandma, I'm used to staying here at our house.

My grandparents are also used to it." The old lady corrected him. "That’s not the same thing.

This is the city. If we were in the countryside, after an engagement, you would have to visit every relative's house.

You two hurry up and get ready." Chi Wu said, "We'll listen to you, Grandma. Why don't you take another nap this afternoon?

Didn't Second Uncle’s eldest nephew look unwell? I see you have dark circles under your eyes." Cheng Ying watched from the side, thinking, Can you be any more ingratiating?

Can you be any more shameless? Is there anyone like you?

This is courting favor. Then, Chi Wu added, "Grandma, when you weren't home yesterday, Ying Zi couldn't sleep until after ten o'clock.

We should hire a helper for Second Uncle; we can't have you running around at your age." Cheng Ying nodded; Chi Wu’s words resonated with her. The old lady cast a chiding glance at Chi Wu, but inwardly, she was pleased.

"What helper? That would make us sound like rich landlords, we can't live like that.

In a few more days, your Second Aunt will be a full month postpartum. She can bring the baby over to stay with us for ten days or half a month; there'll be no need for a servant.

Don't waste money! You two listen to me: don't think that just because I don't say anything, you can treat money like trash.

Be frugal. Treat money as if you don't have it; that way, it will last." Chi Wu declared, "Grandma, our family will certainly be prosperous in the future." The old lady and Cheng Ying both looked up at him.

Chi Wu clarified, "We won't spend extravagantly; everything will be saved." The old lady tapped Chi Wu lightly on the head. Chi Wu almost cried with excitement.

He finally had the same treatment as Cheng Ying! He had endured long enough!

This was how you treated someone close, right? From Yang Zhi's perspective, they truly were one family—a family with a masochistic streak.

Cheng Ying could now watch Chi Wu's antics with relative composure. It was just a matter of their relationship; there had been no substantive change.

She let time wear down the boy's impatience. Speaking of which, when life wasn't complicated, time passed quickly.

May brought the college entrance exams and Second Aunt’s childbirth. Although there had been some upsetting incidents in between, once she accepted things and let them go, time flew by.

Cheng Ying reflected that she had merely moved from the east room to the west room. Reading books and listening to the Yan Wu recordings wasn't bad at all.

As for other things, Cheng Ying sometimes wanted to laugh. The unlucky boy wasn't pursuing any pleasure; it was just about sleeping on the same kang.

Nothing happened in between; it was as pure as could be. She felt completely secure.

Why go through such a fuss when they were just sleeping? Everyone inside and outside the house had been busy.

The things that worried Cheng Ying were none, or perhaps everything. Now, Cheng Ying could even tumble into bed with Chi Wu at night and fall asleep.

What a purely platonic revolutionary friendship! They were fiancés, but Cheng Ying felt they were more like buddies.

You could even call them mother and son. Cheng Ying handled the procurement tasks for returning to the village under the old lady’s supervision quite well.

Chi Wu took over the factory construction from Cheng Ying, and the progress was surprisingly fast. Chi Wu had directly converted his renovation team into a construction crew.

How could their own work be slow? So, by the time Fatty Sun held the full-month celebration for his son, Cheng Ying’s Northern Solid Wood Furniture Company already possessed its own five-mu factory compound.

The courtyard next to Cheng Ying's house had been converted into a completely open-plan furniture showroom. It was currently the largest and most luxurious furniture store in the provincial capital, second to none.

As for Chi Wu, his renovation team was now an official company, doing quite well. The source of his clients was stable.

Many work units were being allocated housing now, and those with means hired his company to spruce things up for a few days. Chi Wu had largely stopped engaging in reselling activities.

The medicinal herb business was completely wound down, although there were still some loose ends. He now had legitimate, thriving businesses bringing in stable, legal income, and the money he spent was all post-tax earnings.

His mood was exceptionally bright; he finally possessed the capital to support a family in the future. PS: If Chi Wu were to summarize his life, it would be the process of chasing his wife; the road ahead is long, oh so long.

RP