Seeing Chi Wu in that state, Cheng Ying felt a pang of sympathy. For every lap Chi Wu ran on the ice, Chi Wu had to complete three or four, coordinating and directing the entire time—it was truly arduous.

She retrieved a bottle of honeysuckle tea from her spatial storage, brewed a small pot, and handed it to him. "Drink this quickly. It'll be a miracle if your voice isn't completely gone by tomorrow."

In all of Cheng Ying's life, she had never spoken with such gentleness. If Chi Wu hadn't been watching her so intently, he might have suspected she was someone else’s wife, a complete stranger.

Holding the water his wife had brewed, Chi Wu felt every bit of his hardship was worthwhile. He was certainly on the right track. No wonder the male students in the dorm spent their Sundays taking their girlfriends out—this kind of 'fun' truly accelerated the development of feelings.

Looking at Cheng Ying’s brisk figure as she went out to work, Chi Wu felt it was even more worth it; his wife was clearly worried about him.

It confirmed the path he had chosen was the correct one. He just needed to keep trying harder. If he showed off his merits enough, his wife would naturally be completely won over.

They were hardly figures unworthy of attention. Instantly, Chi Wu's confidence soared.

Chi Wu raised an eyebrow and grinned, "Oh, it’s just my throat that aches."

Cheng Ying looked at the haul of fish outside and frowned. It was fun while it lasted, but dealing with this bounty was going to be difficult.

It wasn't the lean years of the past when food was scarce; their family wasn't obsessed with such things anymore.

But since the catch was here, it couldn't go to waste. That wasn't Cheng Ying's nature.

Besides, the villagers were watching. If they didn't handle this properly, people would start gossiping: "The Cheng family has gotten a bit too high and mighty; they look down on the things our village catches." That kind of talk was unavoidable.

Cheng Ying put on her protective sleeves, tied her apron, and pulled on her cotton gloves before heading to the backyard to move things.

Even though it was cold, storing them in the un-sunlit part of the backyard was still the best option.

Chi Wu emerged from inside and quickly moved to stop his wife. "Don't bother, this is heavy labor. There’s a man here, why do you need to do it?"

His hoarse voice hadn't even finished when Cheng Ying gave him a sharp kick. The troublesome man! He was the one who stirred up all this trouble, and now look at him, utterly worn out over a pile of scrap fish. "Get back inside and lie down!"

Chi Wu reveled in obeying Cheng Ying’s words, but he didn't dare let his wife work outside alone. "We'll do it together. It won't take many trips, and then we can rest together."

Cheng Ying looked at the mound of fish; it was true, she couldn't manage it all by herself.

Fortunately, the fish had frozen rock-hard as soon as they were out of the water. They could simply arrange them neatly in the backyard and cover them with snow.

After moving everything, Cheng Ying’s back was completely stiff. Looking at the heap, she fretted, "Should we give some away? How are we possibly going to eat all this?"

Chi Wu retorted, "After all the effort we put in, you’re worrying over just a few extra fish compared to others?"

Chi Wu felt they hadn't acquired nearly enough to justify his effort spanning a day and a night.

The two sat by the stove to rest, too lazy even to get up and cook.

Second Aunt arrived carrying a large basin of fish soup, followed by Dun'er carrying a basin of rice. "Eat quickly while it's hot. I figured you two were too tired to move, so just eat here."

Cheng Ying looked at Second Aunt and exclaimed, "Dear Second Aunt, I adore you!"

Cheng Ying felt that just for this single basin of fish soup, she could let all past grievances drift away on the wind.

This was truly her Second Aunt. What perfect timing.

Just as Chi Wu brought the fish soup to his lips, he heard Cheng Ying’s declaration and snorted it right out of his nose—a complete lack of table manners! It was utterly improper. "Cough, cough!"

Chi Wu covered his mouth and nose.

Second Aunt quickly handed him a towel. "Oh dear, why weren't you more careful? Are you alright?"

Cheng Ying teased, "How hungry are you? Your mouth isn't big enough, so you started using your nose?"

Chi Wu shot Cheng Ying a glare—wasn't she the one who caused all this? "I'm fine, Second Aunt, really. It'll pass. This soup is spicy."

Imagine the suffering of snorting spicy soup through your nose.

Cheng Ying looked at the poor boy, ladled a bowl for herself, and sipped it. "It’s so fragrant; it warms the whole body."

Second Aunt looked troubled. "Isn't it? Wu Zi, you don't like spicy food? That’s fine. Second Aunt can cook you a non-spicy fish tomorrow."

Chi Wu waved his hand. "No need, I'll eat it. I was just careless just now. Second Aunt, please sit inside. We'll eat first. You don't know how much we didn't want to cook. Seeing this fish, our mouths started watering right away." His explanation was quite apt.

Second Aunt smiled. "Oh, you eat. I’ll head home now. I’ll come back tomorrow to get the basin. If I stay here, how can you eat properly? Rest well. Even your Second Uncle is exhausted from just sleeping at home, let alone you two. Get inside and lock the door for a good sleep."

With that, Second Aunt efficiently left.

Cheng Ying grabbed Dun'er. "How much fish did your family get? Why don't you take some from Sister here?"

Dun'er was much firmer than Cheng Ying. "My older brother took several fish right away and sent them to Grandpa. You should keep your fish for yourselves. I’m leaving."

Chi Wu said, "We worked so hard to catch these fish; how could Second Aunt and the others be short-changed? The Village Head keeps track of everything. Don't worry."

Chi Wu rubbed his nose, thinking of Second Aunt. "Why is she always so hard for me to figure out?"

Cheng Ying understood immediately why he asked. "Hurry up and eat your soup."

Chi Wu mused, that was true. If someone treated you poorly, you remembered it. If they treated you well, why dwell on the past? But he still recalled the moment Cheng Ying called her "Dear Second Aunt" and nearly choked himself. "So, 'Dear Second Aunt' brought this over for you?"

Cheng Ying glared. "That was me being magnanimous, showing I don't hold grudges, that I’m big-hearted." These traits barely matched Cheng Ying's personality.

Chi Wu suspected Yingzi only acknowledged Second Aunt when there was food involved, much like sticking to whoever was providing milk.

But he didn't dare express his opinion. "Yes, my wife is the most magnanimous." He didn't even believe those words himself.

Chi Wu smacked his lips, feeling a bit sour. "It would be great if you were a bit more magnanimous toward me." If only she’d let him get close without resistance, that would be even better.

Cheng Ying looked at him, confused about how she was stingy with Chi Wu. "Am I that stingy with you?"

Chi Wu thought about how a simple touch of his hand earned him a kick—that wasn't just stingy; that was stingy to the extreme.

Facing Cheng Ying, he retracted his words. "No, not at all. Who could be more generous than you? I’ve never seen anyone like it." This was pure, deliberate insincerity.

Cheng Ying was satisfied and pursed her lips. Even she felt she was making an effort to be generous; she considered her current self a major renovation.

She had already let go considerably. Regarding things she could resolve, Cheng Ying never dwelled on minor points. "Mhm, let’s eat, or the fish soup will get fishy when it cools."

When Chi Wu heard this, it felt like the Empress Dowager had just commanded, "All you ministers, rise." He quickly picked up his bowl to eat.

Later that evening, Cheng Ying prepared a large basin of hot water for Chi Wu and dragged the reluctant Chi Wu, who was lounging on the heated brick bed, out for a soak. She had put a lot of effort into this bath—plenty of good things inside, guaranteed to banish cold and fatigue better than ginger soup or medicine.

With only the two of them at home, Chi Wu couldn't afford to get sick; otherwise, she would be the one suffering.

Cheng Ying consoled herself with this thought; otherwise, why would she fuss over Chi Wu so much?

Chi Wu thought that a minor illness or two wasn't bad; at least it showed him the attitude of the people around him. Look how worried the usually indifferent Cheng Ying was now.

If he just put in a little more effort, his wife would surely throw herself into his arms.

Chi Wu encouraged himself. First year of university was almost over; he absolutely had to make his wife completely his, or he’d be a laughingstock.

Chi Wu only dared to think these things; he was hesitant to act on them.

After Chi Wu soaked until he was completely comfortable, he came out and let Cheng Ying quickly push him into the quilt. "You have to stay tucked in tightly, you must sweat, understand? If you get sick, I have no way to find a doctor for you."

Saying that, she started drying his hair with a towel.

Chi Wu wondered if Cheng Ying would sponge him down if he caught a cold and developed a fever.

As soon as this thought crossed his mind, Chi Wu’s face flushed, and his body felt hot. He had thought a bit too deeply, a bit too intimately, and this was the result.

Cheng Ying exclaimed, "No way, are you running a fever already?"

She felt his forehead; it was certainly hot. "It’s too hot!"

Then she looked at his temples and the tip of his nose, where sweat was starting to bead. Cheng Ying was surprised. "You’re already sweating? That doesn't fit medical knowledge. I guess I need to study more."

She quickly got off the bed, dissolved a packet of cold medicine, and gave it to Chi Wu. "Are you burning up or not? Why are you sweating and still so hot?"

Chi Wu buried himself under the covers and breathed a sigh of relief, glad his wife couldn't see his physiological reaction, or she would surely know what was happening. "It'll be fine in a moment. It’s just because I just got out of the water; my body is hot."

Cheng Ying frowned. "I think you just went wild celebrating these last few days. You’ve been so stressed studying this past half-year; once you relax like this, you’re bound to get sick."

Chi Wu could only nod along. His body was perfectly fine, top-notch; it was just that normal reaction that was a bit too intense. "Mhm, I feel okay. Yingzi, you should wash up and go to sleep too. If you feel unwell later, I’ll call you."

Cheng Ying asked, "Are you really okay? I’m going out to tidy up the room."

Chi Wu nodded. I’m really fine. If you don't let me get close, just stay away from me, and I'll basically be fine.

Cheng Ying tidied up the bathwater outside Chi Wu's tub.

Sigh, it was only for Chi Wu that Cheng Ying would serve someone other than the Old Madam.

Then she locked the door, banked the stove fire, and got into bed on the brick platform, not forgetting to pat Chi Wu’s head. "If you feel uncomfortable in the night, just say so."

Chi Wu thought, if I feel physically uncomfortable, can I say so? But looking at his uncharacteristically gentle wife, Chi Wu didn't want to spoil the atmosphere. Being beaten up wasn't worth it.

Chi Wu casually pulled his wife closer with one arm. Why were they in separate quilts again? It seemed his wife still wasn't used to it.

Chi Wu frowned and mumbled shyly, "You should stay closer to me, just in case I start running a fever and don't know it."

He then leaned his big head slightly towards Cheng Ying’s side.

Cheng Ying thought that made sense; if she was near Chi Wu’s arm, she would naturally know if he developed a fever during the night.

But resting her head on a sick person's arm didn't seem quite right. Since Chi Wu didn't object, she supposed she had no choice. "Okay, you sleep. I’m here."

Chi Wu was shameless. He wanted to plant a couple of kisses on his wife’s cheek but settled for, "It’s all up to you then."

Chi Wu wrapped his arm around his wife and, exhausted, immediately fell asleep.