When Xu Xinchen arrived at the hotel, she saw Aunt Zhao directing several people to carry out the broken door panel from yesterday. Aunt Zhao looked distressed and kept muttering, "My poor, newly installed door..."

Xu Xinchen's heart skipped a beat. Oh no, how could she have forgotten about this?

When Sister Zhao saw the two of them, she was taken aback. "Xiao Shi, who is this?"

Chen Ningsheng stepped forward from behind her, extended his hand and shook hands with Sister Zhao, "I'm here to stay at the hotel, do you have any rooms available?"

Both of them were taken aback. Sister Zhao looked at Xu Xinchen. She felt that the atmosphere between the two was strange. Did they really not know each other?

"Oh, wait a minute."

She took out her notebook and checked. "The rooms are all booked. A tour group just arrived, and all the rooms are full."

"There's one more room," Chen Ningsheng pointed.

Sister Zhao looked in the direction he was pointing, smiled, and said, "Sir, are you joking? This door is broken, how can we live here? Can you come and stay here after I fix the door?"

I'll pay for the door panel.

Even Xu Xinchen couldn't help but look over.

Sister Zhao was taken aback. Since the person had already said so, there was no reason not to agree. She smiled broadly and readily agreed, "Okay, okay, how long will you be staying?"

Chen Ningsheng glanced at Xu Xinchen, whose face remained expressionless, and a slight twitch appeared at the corner of his mouth. "One month."

Chen Ningsheng sent someone to Anmen. Sister Zhao looked at Xu Xinchen with a smile, "You know this person?"

Xu Xinchen didn't reply, but smiled.

"He's obviously here for you. He's handsome and a good match for you. You'd better seize the opportunity."

"Sister Zhao, what are you saying?" She smiled, not taking it seriously, and turned to ask, "By the way, how is Ji Bei's injury?"

Speaking of this, Sister Zhao felt a surge of anger. "Which damned thief was it yesterday who hurt him so badly and smashed my newly installed door? If I catch him, I'll skin him alive!"

Xu Xinchen was drinking water when she heard this and choked on it, coughing incessantly.

"Are you alright?" Sister Zhao patted her back twice to comfort her.

Xu Xinchen waved her hand, wiping her mouth with a wet wipe. She thought to herself, "It seems Ji Bei has already sorted things out. As long as she doesn't give herself away, Sister Zhao won't know the truth about yesterday..."

Carpenters were constantly coming and going all morning, and in no time, the door was installed, looking exactly the same as before. Sister Zhao beamed with joy, treating Chen Ningsheng like her own son.

She was secretly helping him all along, patting Xu Xinchen on the shoulder and saying, "Xiao Shi, there's no hot water in Mr. Chen's room. Go to the kitchen and boil some for him."

"Xiao Shi, Mr. Chen's room isn't clean. Go and tidy it up for him."

Xu Xinchen walked in and out of his room with a stern face. Chen Ningsheng, with one hand clenched into a fist and covering his lips, watched her from the bedside, suppressing a laugh, and then pretended to laugh.

He took the broom from her hand and said, "Let me help you."

"No need, Mr. Chen, it's my pleasure to serve you." Xu Xinchen looked up at him, gave him a standard smile, walked around him, and continued tidying up.

By noon, Xu Xinchen finally had some peace and quiet, but Sister Zhao came running downstairs to call her again, "Xiao Shi, go out and buy some fish. I'm going to cook some sauerkraut fish for lunch to thank Mr. Chen. Oh, and invite Mr. Chen along too, the fish is heavy, you can't carry it by yourself."

"Mr. Chen, you don't mind going out with Xiaoshi, do you?" Sister Zhao said to Chen Ningsheng, who was putting on his coat.

"Of course not. I'd be delighted." Chen Ningsheng, dressed impeccably in a suit, looked at her and made a gentlemanly gesture of invitation.

In the market, the two walked a few steps apart, one in front of the other, but no one thought they weren't a couple. Their outstanding demeanor made them stand out from the place.

Chen Ningsheng still looked like a rich young master when he went to the market. With his hands in his pockets, he casually and lazily swept the streets, his face showing a freshness he rarely showed.

Xu Xinchen was much more careful. She compared prices at each stall and finally settled on a vendor selling crucian carp. The fish were fat and big, jumping around in the bucket. Xu Xinchen stared at them for a while and said, "Boss, I want this one."

Upon hearing her words, a shirtless man holding a palm-leaf fan stepped forward to offer his enthusiastic service. "Miss, you have excellent taste! This fish was just caught today, it's still lively and jumping around. Look at it, it's jumping quite vigorously."

He took out a knife. "Miss, shall I kill it for you, or will you take it back and prepare it yourself?"

"Go ahead and kill him."

Xu Xinchen buried her head in her pocket looking for money.

Chen Ningsheng stepped forward to stop him, "No, I'll go back and kill them."

The shopkeeper, about to make his move, paused, unsure whether to proceed. Chen Ningsheng, impeccably dressed in a suit, exuded an air of refined elegance, while the young woman was also beautiful and delicate, like a lotus emerging from water. The shopkeeper mistook them for a married couple and hesitated, glancing at Xu Xinchen.

"Kill him right here."

Chen Ningsheng stepped forward again to stop her. He leaned close to Xu Xinchen's ear and said in a low voice with a smile, "Don't kill her. I will kill her. It's not fresh to kill her here. I'll do it when we get back."

The two were at an impasse, and the boss, who seemed to be an experienced man, jokingly said, "Sir, just listen to your wife. Her word is law."

Upon hearing this address, both of them were stunned. Chen Ningsheng was the first to react, his eyebrows and eyes lit up with a smile. He nodded in realization, "Yes, the wife's words are the most important. The boss is right."

The shopkeeper picked up a knife and deftly gutted the fish, muttering to himself, "In a marriage, the husband has to give in to his wife, otherwise, if she throws a tantrum, you'll be in for it..."

Chen Ningsheng stood to the side with a smile on his face, constantly echoing, "Yes, the boss is right."

Xu Xinchen turned her head and glared at him.

Chen Ningsheng stopped talking and touched his nose.

The owner packed the prepared fish into a clean plastic bag and brought it to them. Chen Ningsheng pulled out a hundred-yuan bill from his pocket.

The boss was stunned and didn't take it. Where was he supposed to find change for such a large bill?

Another coin appeared in front of her, and Xu Xinchen handed it to the shopkeeper, saying, "Boss, take this one."

The shopkeeper hesitated, looking at the two of them. Chen Ningsheng naturally took back the banknotes, put them in his pocket, and raised his chin. "Boss, take hers."

He added, "You have to listen to your wife."

Along the way, Xu Xinchen walked ahead expressionlessly, while Chen Ningsheng followed behind her carrying the fish. His gaze never left her, a slight smile playing on his lips, and a hint of tenderness shimmering in his dark eyes.

To passersby, they looked like a young couple having a tiff.

In the afternoon, Xu Xinchen carried a pile of clean sheets downstairs to the laundry room. She lathered them with soap and scrubbed them repeatedly. Suddenly, the light dimmed, and when she looked up, she saw the man with his hands in his pockets, leaning against the door frame, staring at her intently with his eyes downcast.

She turned her gaze away indifferently and continued scrubbing.

Chen Ningsheng squatted down next to her and watched for a while without disturbing her, so she didn't chase him away.

In her time, who would wash clothes by hand? With the rapid development of technology, every household has a washing machine. You just put the clothes in and it will automatically adjust the settings. But in this era, resources are scarce, and clothes can only be washed by hand. It's okay for her own clothes, but this hotel has more than ten rooms, and the sheets have to be changed every day. The workload is huge. She has developed calluses on her hands since she came here.

She sighed resignedly to herself, her hands already red from rubbing them.

Suddenly her hand was tightly grasped. Chen Ningsheng held her small, red hand in his large one. Strands of hair obscured his eyebrows and eyes, and it was unclear what he was thinking.

Xu Xinchen instinctively struggled, but was pulled back forcefully.

Seeing that the other person showed no sign of letting go, she asked, puzzled, "What are you doing?"

Chen Ningsheng rubbed his fingertips against her delicate palm, his tone firm, "Your hands are already red, don't wash them anymore, if you keep washing them the skin will break and the wound will get infected."

"What did you say?" Xu Xinchen forcefully pulled her hand out of his grasp and put it back into the foam water.

She knew Chen Ningsheng was watching her, but she ignored him.

A moment later, his deep, magnetic voice came from beside her, "Lu Minshi, this isn't your job. You don't belong here."

Xu Xinchen raised her face and met his sharp gaze. His eyes were deep and unfathomable, as if they could suck people into an endless vortex.

After a long pause, she let out a low scoff.

Suddenly, he snatched the clothes from her hands.

She saw him put his hands in the water and scrub them with a serious expression. The scene was absurd. He was dressed in a suit and had handsome features, yet he was concentrating on doing such meticulous work. It was truly comical.

Seeing that his technique was clumsy, Xu Xinchen realized that he had been pampered since childhood and had never done this kind of thing before, so she tugged at the bed sheet.

He couldn't budge it; Chen Ningsheng wouldn't let go.