DLGSW 03

Chapter 3

Wen Yue had no idea that Zhou Qingshan and the others were plotting behind her back. Right now, she was sitting face-to-face with Zhou Yao at a wooden table, eating.

Just as he picked up his chopsticks, she suddenly stopped him.

“Wait—didn’t you just tend the fire? Did you wash your hands?”

“Wash my hands? Too much trouble.” Zhou Yao didn’t even hesitate. He already had food clamped between his chopsticks, mixing rice with vegetables and shoveling it into his mouth.

Maybe the food really suited his taste—his tightly furrowed brows eased a little, and even his tone wasn’t as sharp anymore.

But Wen Yue only frowned harder.

“No. You have to wash your hands. If you don’t, there are a lot of germs on them—you’ll get sick.”

Especially with how dirty his hands were! Honestly, it was unbearable.

“I’ve been eating like this for twenty years and I’ve never gotten sick.” Zhou Yao lifted his eyes at her with a cool glance, his tone indifferent. “Stop making things difficult. Eat your food.”

Wen Yue put her chopsticks down. “If you don’t wash your hands, I can’t eat.”

She had always been a bit obsessive about cleanliness.

Living in this era with poor conditions—fine, she could endure that. But hygiene was another matter. Washing your hands took less than a minute. Was that really so hard?

“……”

“Wen Yue, do you only feel comfortable when you’re picking a fight?” Zhou Yao was silent for two seconds before slamming his chopsticks down hard on the table.

The sharp crack echoed through the room.

His dark, piercing eyes shot toward her like blades. His face turned cold and impatient, anger rolling off him as he spoke in a rough, raised voice.

“I don’t hit women—but don’t you go pushing it. I married a wife, not some ancestor I have to serve.”

Wen Yue flinched.

Her small, slender body trembled slightly as she met his gaze, confused.

…When had she ever been picking a fight?

Zhou Yao was clearly furious. He stood up abruptly, the chair scraping harshly against the floor.

Looking down at her, he didn’t bother softening his tone.

“It was your uncle who said you wanted to marry me. I asked you too—you said you agreed.”

“Two days after you moved in, you’ve been crying all the time. You don’t answer when I talk to you, and when I ask what’s wrong you don’t say anything. If you didn’t want this marriage, I wouldn’t have forced you into it. But you came here yourself and then act all wronged—who are you trying to disgust?”

“In the hospital you said things would be different, and now you’re starting again? I’ve never washed my hands before meals in twenty years and I’m still alive and well. I said it already—if you don’t want to live here, then leave. I’m not going to force you.”

His voice only grew rougher as he spoke.

He was pissed.

So what—only she felt wronged? He did too.

He’d originally just wanted to fulfill his grandmother’s last wish and get married. Instead he brought home a “ancestor-level burden.” The past few days, she wouldn’t even eat unless he prepared everything for her, and even then she cried while eating—as if he’d committed some unforgivable crime.

Then in the hospital she said she wouldn’t be like that anymore. And now she was back to finding new things to complain about.

This kind of life—what the hell was the point? It was suffocating. He might as well not have gotten married at all. They hadn’t even registered the marriage anyway; they could just pretend it never happened.

Zhou Yao irritably ran a hand through his hair.

Wen Yue was stunned.

From childhood to now, no one had ever spoken to her like this. Her eyes immediately turned red.

She took a deep breath, forcing down the rising emotions, telling herself not to cry.

Don’t get angry. Don’t get angry. Don’t get angry.

Just treat him like he’s talking nonsense.

But thoughts were one thing—feelings were another. Her nose turned red, her eyes filled with tears, and the corners of her eyes and tight lips made her look unbearably wronged.

The moment Zhou Yao saw that expression, his head started to hurt.

Just as expected—she was about to cry again.

And she did.

Tears fell in large drops, like broken pearls sliding down her cheeks. Sniffling, her rabbit-red eyes stared at him.

“Why are you speaking so loudly? So fierce? Can’t you just talk properly?”

Zhou Yao: “?”

“…Are you seriously asking me that?” His voice stayed hard and unrestrained. “Crying, crying, crying—do you do anything else besides cry? Did I hit you or abuse you?!”

Wen Yue wiped her tears with the back of her hand as they kept falling.

“You’re the one who’s scary… you scared me… and you won’t even let me cry?”

Zhou Yao let out a cold laugh. “So now it’s my fault?”

Wen Yue didn’t answer, just wiped her tears messily.

In her mind, of course it was his fault. He got angry for no reason, brought up old grievances, and yelled at her. Those things were done by the original owner of this body—what did they have to do with her? In the hospital she had clearly said she’d change.

She knew it wasn’t entirely his fault. He didn’t know the truth—but she still didn’t want to carry this blame.

Why couldn’t he just talk properly? Did he have to act like he was on fire?

“Stop crying. Your crying is giving me a headache.” Zhou Yao frowned deeply, exasperated.

“Then stop swearing.” Even though her voice was still shaky with tears, her tone had softened a little.

Zhou Yao: “……”

Wen Yue sniffled. “Can we talk properly? Sit down. I get tired looking up at you.”

“If I sit, you stop crying?” he asked reluctantly.

“I’m not crying anymore,” she said, wiping her face again. “Sit down.”

Zhou Yao clicked his tongue, clearly unwilling, but finally sat back down when he saw she really wasn’t crying anymore.

“Speak. What do you want?”

Wen Yue looked at him seriously.

“What I said in the hospital wasn’t a lie. I really want to live this life properly with you. I promise I won’t cry like before or ignore you—but you have to agree to one thing too.”

Her eyelashes were still wet with tears. Her cheeks were faintly red, pitiful in a way that made it hard to look away.

Zhou Yao was honestly afraid she’d start crying again mid-sentence.

Luckily, she didn’t.

“I want you to listen to me about hygiene at home,” she said earnestly. “Like washing rice before cooking, washing hands before meals—these are simple things. They don’t take time.”

Zhou Yao frowned. “I’ve lived like this my whole life. Haven’t I survived just fine? Why make it so complicated?”

“But I have cleanliness issues. If things aren’t clean, I feel really uncomfortable.” Her voice turned soft and pitiful again. “If you want to live this life properly too… can you agree to this?”

Zhou Yao raised a brow. “And if I say no?”

“….”

Wen Yue froze.

Then she looked genuinely stunned.

Her brows slowly knitted together as she thought.

If he refused…

She definitely couldn’t go back to her uncle’s house. That place might even be worse. Then they’d just eat separately—she wouldn’t have to watch him. That… could work too.

“Are you planning to go back?” Zhou Yao suddenly asked coldly when she stayed silent. “Don’t even think about it. The bride price is already paid. If you leave, I’d be the one losing out.”

“I don’t do losing deals.”

If she could really stop crying all the time, agreeing wouldn’t be impossible. Other than that flaw, her cooking was genuinely good—ridiculously good.

Remembering the chili stir-fry and mapo tofu from earlier, he licked his lips unconsciously.

Then he stood up.

“I’m going to wash my hands.”

Wen Yue immediately brightened. “Okay. Make sure you wash them properly.”

Zhou Yao: “.”

A moment later, he came back in with water still dripping from his hands, face expressionless. He must’ve scrubbed hard—his tanned skin looked slightly red.

He held his hands out. “Clean enough?”

Wen Yue carefully examined his fingers, even checking under his nails. Satisfied, she nodded.

“You did really well. You’re great. Let’s eat.”

For a moment, Zhou Yao’s fingers still felt the faint warmth of her touch. He rubbed them absentmindedly, then frowned at himself as if annoyed, and sat back down with a cold expression.

Silence returned as they ate.

Wen Yue wasn’t very hungry—she’d already eaten a large meat bun in the morning. She finished half a bowl and set her chopsticks down.

Zhou Yao glanced at her. “Done?”

“I’m full,” she said obediently. “The bun this morning was too big.”

He scoffed. “Cat-sized appetite.”

The room fell quiet again, filled only with the sound of him eating.

……

In the adjacent room, Aunt Lin strained her ears for a long time but heard nothing. She clicked her tongue.

“So they’re quiet now? I thought they’d be arguing again. Looks like their relationship really isn’t good. But that makes sense—Zhou Yao’s temper is rotten. No one can stand him.”

“Poor Wen Yue though. Such a sweet girl,” Aunt Liu sighed. “If the village knew, they’d feel sorry for her.”

Aunt Lin’s eyes lit up slightly.

This was definitely something worth spreading around the village. With Zhou Yao’s already terrible reputation… she’d make sure it got even worse.