As soon as he finished speaking, the wind in the courtyard seemed to still for a few seconds.
Zhou Zuizui was stunned for a moment, staring at Shen Nan's calm eyes for a few seconds before sitting back down on the small stool in silence.
Shen Nan didn't urge her. He looked down at her for a few seconds, then looked away, found a place to sit down, took out a lighter and cigarette from his pocket, and was about to light it when he glanced at Zhou Zuizui.
"I don't mind."
Shen Nan lowered his eyes, then lit the cigarette in his hand and put it in his mouth.
He had no other habits, except that when he was so tired that he couldn't hold on any longer, he would want to smoke to perk himself up. A few days ago, after completing his mission, Shen Nan went back to report with him and took care of most of the things. After handing everything over to the police, he went back to the team to report and was detained for one night before being released.
He didn't even go home after that; he came here urgently after receiving a phone call.
He held a cigarette between his fingers, white smoke swirling around him, drifting from left to right. Zhou Zuizui inhaled the secondhand smoke, her eyes flickering slightly, but she remained silent.
The two sat in the courtyard not far apart, doing nothing and saying nothing, yet the atmosphere felt tense and unsettling.
Qiuqiu and Ai Zeyang were prying at the door, trying to eavesdrop.
"Won't they start arguing?" Qiuqiu asked, a little worried.
This was the first time, or rather, a rare time, that she had seen her sister's expression so unpleasant, radiating a chilling aura that made people afraid to approach her.
Ai Zeyang watched from the side, frowning: "Don't worry, nothing will happen."
Just as he was about to speak, the two men in the courtyard turned their heads and looked in their direction.
Ai Zeyang coughed, touched the tip of his nose, and pulled Qiuqiu by the collar and left.
After the two left, Zhou Zuizui opened her hands to Shen Nan.
"What?" Shen Nan raised an eyebrow, took the cigarette away, and avoided her.
Give me a cigarette.
Shen Nan: "..."
He lowered his eyes, looking at the hand in front of him. It was small, delicate, and fair, clearly the kind of hand that didn't do much work. But that wasn't actually the case. Zhou Zuizui did work; it was just that she loved beauty and took better care of herself than anyone else.
Are you sure you want it?
Zhou Zuizui glared at him, and before Shen Nan could speak, she reached into the pocket on the side of his thigh... When her soft hand touched his hard thigh, Shen Nan stiffened. Before he could even speak, Zhou Zuizui felt disgusted with herself, frowned, and said, "Can you cooperate a little?"
Shen Nan found it amusing that this person had directly grabbed it, making him feel like he wasn't cooperating.
He paused for a moment, then smiled slightly in response. Zhou Zuizui casually reached into the pocket, took out the cigarettes and lighter, held them in her hand, pulled out a cigarette, put it in her mouth, and perfectly spun the lighter to light it.
His smoking posture and stance were even more skilled than Shen Nan's.
Shen Nan frowned subconsciously as he looked at it.
The two leaned against each other in silence, smoking. Zhou Zuizui looked up at the sky above the open courtyard. The sky was blue with white clouds, and every day was a sunny day here.
She exhaled a smoke ring, finally feeling a little better. Zhou Zuizui sat next to Shen Nan, her voice low: "Do you think the weather here is nice?"
"fine."
"The scenery."
Shen Nan lifted his eyelids to look at her: "What do you want to say?"
"Where do you want me to go back to?"
Shen Nan glanced at her sideways and asked in a low voice, "You don't know where to go back, yet you're still smoking?"
There were only two things that could annoy Zhou Zuizui to the point of smoking. He didn't know his wife particularly well, but he wasn't completely ignorant either.
Zhou Zuizui curled her lips into a mocking smile, which was taken as tacit agreement.
The two finished their cigarettes in silence. Shen Nan turned to look at her, paused, and said, "She's in the hospital."
Zhou Zuizui's eyes flickered as she looked at Shen Nan and asked sharply, "So you came to pick me up for the funeral?"
Shen Nan was taken aback by her words, rubbed his temples with a hint of helplessness, and said in a low voice, "No."
He stared at Zhou Zuizui's indifferent face for a long time, then stood up with his hands in his pockets: "Think about it, do you want to come back with me tomorrow?"
After saying that, Shen Nan turned and walked out. When he reached the small door, he stopped and looked back at the person sitting there silently. He said gently, "Go back. I'm here."
After everyone left, the courtyard became even quieter.
As soon as Shen Nan went out, he ran into Ai Zeyang.
"Hey bro, got a free drink?" Ai Zeyang put his arm around Shen Nan's shoulder.
Shen Nan gave him a cold look, and Ai Zeyang unconsciously lowered his hand, saying awkwardly, "Why are you acting like a whistleblower? How can you be a couple when it's so cold?"
Chuichui is Zhou Zuizui's nickname, but she's generally not allowed to call anyone that. Ai Zeyang only dares to call her that a couple of times behind her back.
Upon hearing this, Shen Nan lifted his eyelids, his face cold: "It's none of your business."
Ai Zeyang: "..."
He said he was very hurt.
Why are these two, one after the other, so cold? I wonder how they usually get along.
He looked at Shen Nan: "Want one?"
Shen Nan then looked at the man in front of him seriously: "Are you very familiar with her?"
Ai Zeyang chuckled, raised his eyebrows with unwavering confidence, and said, "Seriously, if you hadn't shown up halfway and stolen my man, Chui Chui would have been mine long ago!"
Listen, Shen Nan looked Ai Zeyang up and down for a moment, then sneered: "Without me, you wouldn't be you."
Ai Zeyang: "..."
Holy crap, this is really going too far! He's already been suffering enough from Zhou Zuizui's attacks these past few days, and now he has to be attacked by Zhou Zuizui's husband too. Just thinking about it makes Ai Zeyang's heart ache.
He clutched his heart and looked at Shen Nan: "Want to have a drink with your love rival?"
Shen Nan chuckled and looked at Ai Zeyang, whose personality was completely different from Zhou Zuizui's, with a slight interest.
"Can."
The two grown men sat in Zhou Zuizui's little tavern, drinking the wine she had brewed herself, chatting and laughing, not at all like rivals in love.
Qiuqiu sat at the front desk, lost in thought.
"Qiuqiu, what are you daydreaming about?"
Qiuqiu pointed to the two people not far away, looked at Lin Mu and said, "Are those two really rivals in love?"
Lin Mu glanced at him, smiled faintly, and said, "Not all rivals are jealous of each other. Ze-ge probably has something to ask his brother-in-law." After saying that, Lin Mu looked at Qiuqiu: "Where's my sister?"
"Isn't he in the yard?"
"No, I just came from behind."
Qiuqiu said "oh," thought for a moment, and then said, "Then they probably went back to their room."
She knew that when her sister was in a bad mood, she would usually hide in her room.
In fact, Zhou Zuizui was indeed in the room.
It was still broad daylight, and sunlight streamed in through the window.
Zhou Zuizui lay in bed trying to sleep and forget what had just happened, but she couldn't fall asleep as soon as she closed her eyes.
She stared at the sunlight streaming in from outside, blinked, and her emotions were starting to show.
Shen Nan's sudden return, to say he would take her back, somewhat disrupted her peaceful and enjoyable life.
For some, Zhou Zuizui and Shen Nan's marriage might be a happy one, but for the two of them, it wasn't. At least not at the very beginning.
She met Shen Nan just one year after graduating from university.
Zhou Zuizui's life from childhood to adulthood was meticulously planned out. Which school she would attend, which class she would be in, even which friends she would make, what time she had to go home—all of these were arranged for her. She never had any rights of her own.
But she had a soul that yearned for freedom. She wanted to live a free and unrestrained life, to do whatever she wanted.
At first, Zhou Zuizui did indeed put on a very good act at home because she wanted to fight for her freedom and for a free life after graduation.
However, she underestimated the cunning and ruthlessness of some people, as well as their willingness to use any means to achieve their goals, and overestimated her own abilities.
After graduating from university, Zhou Zuizui wanted to come to the ancient town to live with her grandmother, but she was stopped. Even her workplace was arranged by certain people.
She had thought there would always be a chance to leave.
Until she was set up on blind dates, time and time again, no matter what methods Zhou Zuizui used to threaten them, it was all in vain. They never listened to her opinions or ideas, and only did things their own way.
Until a series of unexpected events occurred, she met Shen Nan. Even so, Zhou Zuizui did not want to stay in the big city.
At that time, she had only met Shen Nan a few times and eaten a few meals together, all of which were arranged by her parents.
Zhou Zuizui could sense that Shen Nan wasn't interested in her, and she felt the same way about him. She preferred to remain single and longed to return to the ancient town.
So after a few meals, Zhou Zuizui wanted to return to the ancient town. This suggestion was met with opposition from her whole family. Her father, whom she had been scolded, strongly opposed it and even locked her up to prevent her from returning to the ancient town.
Later, they threatened Zhou Zuizui with something she couldn't bear the most.
Later... the reason she compromised and married Shen Nan was because Shen Nan said that if she married him, he would help her.
Afterwards, the two got married in a daze. Shen Nan persuaded Zhou Zuizui's parents and all his own parents and relatives to send Zhou Zuizui back to the ancient town. Then he received a mission and went to the frontier, not returning for two years. Zhou Zuizui was fortunate enough to live a leisurely life alone in the ancient town.
There's no need to face relatives and friends, no need to deal with all sorts of messy things, and no need to be confined in a cage. Everything in life and all matters are arranged clearly and logically.
Just as Shen Nan had promised her before their marriage, he let her do whatever she wanted and go wherever she wanted.
Thinking about it, Zhou Zuizui couldn't help but chuckle softly.
The reason she was willing to marry Shen Nan back then was probably for this. Because she knew that without marrying Shen Nan, she would never have had such two peaceful and free years.
When Shen Nan arrived in the ancient town, she was willing to help him, partly to repay a debt of gratitude.
Just then, someone knocked on the door from the outside.
Zhou Zuizui was taken aback, and said listlessly, "The door wasn't locked."
Shen Nan pushed open the door and went inside. The room was unchanged from when he left last time. As soon as he entered, Zhou Zuizui smelled the alcohol.
She frowned and looked at Shen Nan: "Are you drunk?"
"No." Shen Nan looked up at her, his gaze lingering on her face. He paused, then stepped forward and leaned closer. "What are you thinking about?"
"I'm wondering why you didn't come back after five or ten years."
Shen Nan looked at her in astonishment.
Zhou Zuizui raised her eyebrows and said smugly, "This way, I might even forget what my husband looks like."
She's really mischievous and completely unafraid of Shen Nan.
Shen Nan stared at her for two seconds, then remained silent. After a while, he asked, "Did they call you?"
"I called before, but I didn't answer any of them." I even blocked all the numbers.
Upon hearing this, Shen Nan couldn't help but smile, his facial features softening slightly. He nodded and said, "That's just your personality."
Unruly and stubborn, once she's made up her mind, nothing can sway her. Just like the dramatic things she did back then.
Zhou Zuizui took this as a compliment and shrugged: "Of course."
She didn't want to pay any attention to those who only treated her as a tool.
After a moment of silence in the room, Shen Nan sat down on the sofa to one side, opened his legs and looked at Zhou Zuizui, without urging her or making any other moves.
Zhou Zuizui sat up in bed and looked up at him: "Chen Nan, do you still stand by your word?"
"Hmm?" Shen Nan raised an eyebrow, his dark pupils staring at her, his eyes deep and unfathomable.
Zhou Zuizui lowered her head, a sly glint in her eyes, then looked up to meet his gaze and asked softly, "If I marry you, will you still keep your promise to protect me for the rest of my life?"
Author's Note: Captain Shen: My wife is definitely thinking about some messy things again.
Zhou Zuizui: Otherwise, I wouldn't have suddenly brought up what you said to me when you tricked me into marrying you!
Captain Shen: What can I do? I have to spoil my own wife.
Waaaaaah, I thought of so many romantic things Captain Shen would do for us, and they really fit the title of the story perfectly!
I'm going back to the big city to support my wife! Just wait and see!!! As for the other things that are still a bit of a mystery, I'll explain them one by one later, don't worry! Our Chui Chui is actually very capable; he did have a weakness before!
Sending you 100 red envelopes! Leave lots of comments, love you all!
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