Cheng Ying looked at Chi Wu, who couldn't stay still even lying down, and felt not just a pang, but a deep ache. "Keep him under observation if you must, but why worry about that?"

Chi Wu found it rare for Cheng Ying to be so irrational, and his wife's expression was deeply troubled. "It doesn't hurt that much."

That statement would have held more credence if he hadn't been gritting his teeth while saying it.

Cheng Ying looked down at Chi Wu's leg with shadowed eyes. "It's left a scar."

Chi Wu realized something then; he hadn't paid much attention. "Are you disgusted?" He instinctively touched his face. Because it had been severely burned, even if the tissue wasn't ruined, a layer of old skin had sloughed off. Truthfully, Chi Wu didn't look very good right now.

This realization caused Chi Wu deep anxiety.

Cheng Ying shot him a look and went out to find the doctor. Such a large burn, how painful it must be.

As for Chi Wu's face, in Cheng Ying's view, there was no change. She had been looking at him for over a decade; whatever Chi Wu looked like, in her eyes, it was already fixed. There wouldn't be much sensory shift, especially at such an emotional moment.

Chi Wu touched his face again. His wife had left without even turning back. Did she simply not want to look at him? "Grandma, is Yingzi disgusted by my scar? Maybe we should arrange for a skin graft at the hospital later."

The old woman wasn't just advising him; she was placating him. "You're a young man, why put yourself through that suffering? It hurts so much. Don't overthink it. With your face, you don't even need to touch it. It's handsome no matter what."

The old lady thought about scolding Yingzi; how unreliable, saying such things, look at the fuss she's causing now.

Though it hardly qualified as true comfort, Chi Wu deferred to his grandmother. He would ask the doctor later if there was any special medicine to quickly even out the color of his face. He wasn't too worried about what color it became, as long as it wasn't patchy like it was now.

While Chi Wu recovered, Cheng Ying stayed by his side. As for the company and the subsequent compensation issues, Cheng Ying handed everything over to Uncle Gan to manage. In Cheng Ying's estimation, none of the losses compared to a patch of good skin on Chi Wu's leg.

Lying in the sickbed, Chi Wu worried far more than the conscientious Cheng Ying. When Uncle Gan visited, Chi Wu informed him that the land behind their house would be cleared and prepared for the old lady to occupy her time. As for the factory, they would rebuild a new one in the suburbs.

Uncle Gan thought how wealthy they were; even after such losses, they could still invest more capital. And the workers were receiving full pay during the layoff—that was certainly an expensive gesture.

Chi Wu said it should just be considered paid leave for the employees. Furthermore, officials were involved in investigating the cause of the fire; Chi Wu and Cheng Ying only needed to await the outcome.

The rest of the time, Chi Wu obsessed over his face—when would it finally match in color? It was a source of immense fixation for him.

Once Chi Wu's wounds scabbed over, the doctor forbade contact with water.

Yet, every evening, Cheng Ying gently wiped his leg with gauze, repeating the process patiently and tirelessly.

This action significantly soothed Chi Wu. His wife wasn't scrutinizing his face; she was caring for his injury. Otherwise, why wouldn't she wipe his face, but keep tending to his leg? This realization warmed him deeply. Chi Wu felt a pleasant flutter.

Chi Wu decided he'd let his wife do as she pleased, since it wasn't festering anyway. Truthfully, watching Cheng Ying focus so intently on his leg every day made Chi Wu's heart burn warmly. Not everyone could look so intently at such unsightly skin.

When his grandmother came to see him, she wept from distress, yet she couldn't bear to look too long at the burned thigh. Heaven knew if Cheng Ying’s focused gaze tomorrow would lighten the scar even slightly.

Cheng Ying was now seriously considering whether the water from the spatial dimension had a different effect outside of it.

Why was the recovery so slow? Even a mother hen growing patterned feathers didn't take this long. It was just a scar; she had been wiping it for days, and there was still no improvement.

She wished she could fix her eyes on Chi Wu's thigh and never look away.

In retrospect, burns were notoriously slow to heal. This situation was truly taxing.

When Chi Wu was discharged, only a few days remained before school started. Although Cheng Ying didn't see dramatic results, the doctors insisted that Chi Wu had recovered quite well, and the resulting scars were far less horrific than they had initially predicted.

Cheng Ying declared that as a physician, she needed to work harder in the future—how incompetent, to call this recovery "quite good." She felt an unprecedented disappointment in these doctors.

When Chi Wu returned home, the quadrangle courtyard had already been renovated according to his own design.

To ensure fire safety and security, Chi Wu hadn't been idle during his hospital stay; he had instructed the willing workers to renovate the house.

Since the hospital stay was so long, every nook and cranny of the home had been meticulously finished and made comfortable. Chi Wu didn't need to bother with it.

The storefront property that was supposed to be the main face of the business had been reclaimed by Chi Wu. Their household wasn't short on the rent from those two shops anyway, especially since the furniture company had burned down, rendering the loss of those storefronts negligible. They would simply make the home as comfortable as possible.

The previously purchased courtyard belonging to Cheng Ying and the one Chi Wu later bought were now completely connected. The courtyard appeared vast and bright. The five mu of land behind it had been fenced off to include both courtyards. In the future, if the old lady wished to go to the back, she could simply use the back gate; it was much more discreet now.

At this point, calling this place a royal garden wouldn't be an exaggeration—with the front and back combined, it spanned over six mu, a scope few families would possess the audacity for.

Chi Wu allocated the three rooms on the east side for the old lady. The east and west rooms were prepared; going forward, Uncle Gan, Aunt Gan, and the couple Chi Yong would all have space to stay.

The three rooms on the west side were arranged by Chi Wu and Cheng Ying themselves. In fact, while in the hospital, Chi Wu had specified that they would live in the east rooms—that was the proper arrangement for the heads of the household.

Chi Wu had initially intended for the west room to be converted into a nursery, but seeing Cheng Ying beside him, he held his tongue and let it remain as a small living room, decorated warmly. Anyone could see that adding a baby crib would instantly turn it into a nursery.

The old lady, surveying the spacious courtyard at home, felt genuinely content. Rural people were accustomed to courtyards spanning half an acre; living in the city always felt restrictive.

Now, it was even larger than their home courtyard back in the village, with row upon row of empty rooms—they were richer than the richest landlords.

Thankfully, the rooms at the back were managed by the old lady herself. They were all renovated and decorated; leaving them empty would only invite decay.

Only the old lady's three rooms were tidied up, where Cheng Ming currently resided. He had never enjoyed such spacious conditions even in his own home.

The old lady was perceptive. She discreetly inquired with the comrades at the police station and, once her granddaughter was old enough to manage a household, she transferred the property originally registered under her name directly to Yingzi's name while her granddaughter was occupied at the hospital.

The old lady reasoned that she didn't want to leave any messy affairs for her granddaughter. If she truly passed away, who knew how people’s hearts might change? Her granddaughter had arrived at this point through sleepless nights and relentless plotting; it would be unfair to anyone else.

When Chi Wu arrived home and saw the two courtyards merged into one grand entrance, he was overjoyed. Looking at Cheng Ying beside him, all he needed was a certificate stamped with a big red seal—if his wife's mood brightened and they took a stroll to the Civil Affairs Bureau, then Chi Wu’s life would be complete.

Cheng Ying didn't know what madness this boy was exhibiting at the gate; why hadn't he moved for so long? "Didn't you say it stopped hurting a long time ago?"

Chi Wu said, "I haven't been home for over half a month; of course, I feel the changes are significant."

Cheng Ying replied, "Other than the courtyard being a bit bigger, I don't see any difference."

Chi Wu pressed, "It's different; we're living in the east rooms now." He doubted his wife could grasp the sheer joy of this patriarchal sentiment.

Cheng Ying scoffed. What difference did it make? They still lived in the same complex, and specifically, the east room of the west three rooms. She had no idea why he was so elated.

Indeed, she didn't understand. Chi Wu sighed. My wife, when will you allow yourself to think a little deeper?

The old lady emerged from inside. "Oh, you're back so soon? I thought you'd be later. Let Wuzi go back to his room first to see if he's settled in. Haven't you looked yet?"

Cheng Ying said, "Grandma, it's just renovating the old house, what's there to see?"

The old lady retorted, "You know nothing! Wuzi is fond of you, so take him to look."

Chi Wu’s injury, even with the scar, didn't require support; he could walk quite briskly, only needing to avoid contact.

Cheng Ying picked up a bag of laundry and walked toward the three rooms on the west side—where she and Chi Wu were supposed to live.

Chi Wu was inwardly thrilled. Yingzi didn't understand the feeling of upgrading from a young master to a proper patriarch.

If they had children, it would be official. When the children had children, he would ascend to the status of Old Patriarch. Chi Wu was already planning fifty years ahead: when he had grandchildren, he would tidy up the six rooms at the back and move there with Cheng Ying. He was planning further ahead than his wife gave him credit for.

Cheng Ying thought Chi Wu was acting strangely today. "Are you dense? Aren't you coming?"

Chi Wu followed her, grinning sheepishly. "Coming, aren't I? It’s just that the changes are so big."

Cheng Ying shot back, "Enough, I know your little schemes. You're probably thinking about something else."

Cheng Ying pushed the door open into a room that was bright and shining. Everything inside, from the furniture to the decor, had been newly procured by the old lady. She said that since everything had gone wrong this year, they should replace the old things to drive away bad luck. This three-year-old reasoning—driving away bad luck—was essentially synonymous with attracting good fortune, judging by her taste.

Chi Wu rubbed his hands together. This was almost like a newlywed chamber. He looked at his wife and declared, "A new home!"

Cheng Ying replied unenthusiastically, "The same old person."

Chi Wu felt his wife’s comment was utterly off-base. Did she mean she wanted to change partners? His gaze remained fixed intently on Cheng Ying.

Cheng Ying snapped, "What are you looking at? I didn't say I disliked you." Then she took the dirty laundry toward the newly renovated washroom in the back.

When designing the house, Chi Wu, keeping the old lady's convenience and the future arrival of children in mind, had even altered the newly built toilet, moving it directly inside the house, since there was ample space.

The old lady had grumbled to Cheng Ying behind Chi Wu's back, "There are only three of us in this household, why are they putting in five or six toilets? They must have nothing better to do."