Volume One, Chapter Thirteen: Gently Soothing His Drunken Mischief

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This question caught Jiang Weiyue off guard.
As expected of a male protagonist, he was no ordinary man; even when drunk to the point of stupor, he could still see through her little thoughts.
Jiang Weiyue felt somewhat guilty but maintained a serious expression and said, “Ah, Song Chuanhe, you’ve misunderstood. I wasn’t trying to leave just now. I saw you were drunk and uncomfortable, so I wanted to get you a glass of water.”
Her eyes shimmered with sincerity and allure, reflecting the man’s figure completely.
Originally skeptical, Song Chuanhe somehow found himself believing her.
Seeing that Song Chuanhe had calmed down, Jiang Weiyue helped him to the nearby kang bed.
Fortunately, it wasn’t cold now, or he might have frozen sleeping exposed on the bare kang.
Leaning half on the kang, despite his dizziness, his blurry gaze remained fixed on Jiang Weiyue.
Neither spoke, and the atmosphere fell into an eerie silence.
The “double happiness” character pasted on the wall, along with the fertility doll symbolizing blessings for many children—
now felt like a cruel joke.
After all, those decorations had been put up by the two of them together, laughing and joking.
Jiang Weiyue felt those symbols no longer represented festivity but instead seemed like evidence of her betrayal toward Song Chuanhe.
She lowered her head, trying to minimize her presence. She vaguely remembered that drunk people would soon fall asleep when drowsiness hit.
She hoped Song Chuanhe would do the same.
“Weren’t you going to boil some tea? Why haven’t you gone yet?”
“Huh?”
“What’s with the ‘huh’? Or were you lying to me again just now?”
“No, no, wait, I’ll boil the water right away.”
Song Chuanhe’s kitchen was right next to the bedroom, separated only by a wall, which Jiang Weiyue thought was much better than sharing the same room with him.
If she dawdled a bit longer, maybe Song Chuanhe would fall asleep before she returned.
But to her surprise, Song Chuanhe followed her into the kitchen.
Seeing how he closed in on her step by step, Jiang Weiyue felt exasperated and sighed inwardly.
This damn man truly had no trust in her, as if afraid she would run away.
It was hard to believe that in the original story, this man—reckless and passionate in the beginning, cold and indifferent later—had such a clingy, vulnerable side when drunk.
Since the kitchen hadn’t been used for a long time, lighting the fire was troublesome; the firewood was damp.
Jiang Weiyue tried several times to start the fire, but it just wouldn’t catch.
She suspected it was partly because of Song Chuanhe.
After last night’s sudden attack while she was bathing, she had grown fearful of him.
Plus, his face was like an ice block—handsome when smiling but intimidating when not.
Failing seven or eight times to light the fire, Jiang Weiyue broke into a sweat.
Song Chuanhe couldn’t stand watching anymore; he snatched the matchbox from her and took out a match with his strong, defined fingers.
With a gentle strike on the box’s ignition area, a faint flame flickered, igniting hope. He then grabbed some kindling straw.
In no time, the fire blazed up, growing stronger.
Though their fire-starting methods were similar, Jiang Weiyue couldn’t understand why only Song Chuanhe’s fire succeeded.
Now that the fire was burning and the weather was warm, the water would soon boil.
Just as Jiang Weiyue was about to bring the hot water to Song Chuanhe, she realized he had already fallen asleep.
He must have been exhausted, sitting on a small stool and dozing off, even letting out faint snores.
Watching his peaceful sleeping posture, Jiang Weiyue, who had been tense all night, finally relaxed.
Once asleep, his coldness and sharpness softened. Jiang Weiyue couldn’t help but marvel.
This damned man, Song Chuanhe, was truly handsome. They said the buzz cut was the ultimate test of looks, and he passed with flying colors.
In the future world, many men relied on hairstyles and makeup; once stripped of those and given a buzz cut, they lost their appeal. But Song Chuanhe was different.
His features were bold and intense, with a perfectly sculpted face and sharply defined jawline, standing over 1.9 meters tall—just standing there made him the center of attention.
Except for his darker skin—after years as a soldier outdoors, it was understandable—this man was nearly flawless.

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But why was there a prominent scar above his left eyebrow?
That scar added a ruthless edge to his already cold face. When he wasn’t smiling, it was truly intimidating.
Aside from that, this man had no flaws at all.
Lost in these thoughts, Jiang Weiyue unexpectedly fell asleep leaning against the stove.
The next morning, Jiang Weiyue was awakened by the crowing of roosters.
She was accustomed to rising at three or four a.m. to prepare breakfast, so her body had developed a natural rhythm, waking her at this hour.
As her memories from the previous day returned, she sat up in shock.
Yesterday—she had actually fallen asleep in Song Chuanhe’s house.
Her heart was surprisingly bold; given their current relationship, she wasn’t afraid that he would kill her in her sleep to avenge past grievances.
“Awake?”
While Jiang Weiyue was lost in thought, Song Chuanhe walked in. She realized she had somehow moved from the stove to the kang bed.
Moreover, the bed was now covered with bedding and quilts, completely different from yesterday when it was bare.
No matter—her priority was that she had fulfilled Song Chuanhe’s condition and could now leave to prepare breakfast.
Summoning her courage, she looked at Song Chuanhe, whose eyes were clear again.
He seemed sober now.
“I—I agreed to your condition yesterday. Can I leave now?”
At this hour, many villagers were still asleep; soon, some would start going to the fields to work.
She wanted to leave before they woke, lest she be seen leaving Song Chuanhe’s house and cause trouble again.
The man looked down at her cautiously and teasingly said, “You can leave, but you have to come whenever I call.”
Jiang Weiyue frowned in confusion: “What do you mean, come whenever you call?”
“What do you think?”
“Song Chuanhe, what exactly do you want?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Until I’ve had my fill of playing with you, you have to come whenever I want.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Jiang Weiyi, you should care about that, right?”
“You’re shameless…”
“Not half as shameless as you were back then.”
“I’ll give you three seconds to think it over. If you’re ready, leave. If not, we’ll just wait it out—I have all the time in the world to play with you.”
Jiang Weiyue took a deep breath. She didn’t care about the Jiang family, but she cared about Jiang Weiyi, that girl.
“I agree. Can I leave now?”
The man nodded but warned slowly, “Don’t think that marrying me will let you escape.”
“Stay away from other men, you know I’m possessive. If I find out another man has touched you, you know the consequences.”
Wailing quietly,
Wasn’t this supposed to be a triumphant story of a great male lead?
Why did it feel more like a twisted love story?
Seeing Jiang Weiyue’s troubled expression, Song Chuanhe’s handsome face darkened instantly.
His large hand pressed on her shoulder, his brows furrowed as he spoke harshly, “Jiang Weiyue, I’m talking to you. Didn’t you hear me?”
“Or are you thinking about someone else while you’re here with me?”
“No, no, I swear I’m not. I’m just scared of you. Can’t you speak to me more gently?”
Hearing the answer he wanted, Song Chuanhe’s expression softened somewhat.
“As long as you obey, I’ll be gentle with you. Let’s go; I’ll escort you home.”
“Maybe I should go back alone. I’m afraid the villagers will misunderstand if they see us…”
At these words, Song Chuanhe’s face, which had just lightened, darkened again.
“What misunderstanding? Your reputation is so bad already; is there still a need for misunderstandings?”
Such a possessive and sharp-tongued man.
Jiang Weiyue cursed him bitterly in her heart.

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Outwardly, she lowered her gaze and obediently said, “Yes, that’s right. Let’s go now. I’m afraid if I stay out too late, I’ll be late preparing breakfast.”
Song Chuanhe said nothing but went out ahead.
Seeing this, Jiang Weiyue sighed in relief.
She realized this bastard was like a stubborn mule.
When they arrived at Jiang Weiyue’s old home, Song Chuanhe didn’t enter but turned around and left with a cold, indifferent back.
When Jiang Weiyue entered the yard, Jiang Weiyi was still asleep.
This saved Jiang Weiyue some trouble; if Jiang Weiyi had woken up, she’d have more to worry about.
Jiang Weiyue completed the preparations, and when Jiang Weiyi got up, she helped with lighting the fire and pressing down the water.
The two worked swiftly and cooperatively to finish everything.
Then they hitched the cart and headed to the steel mill.
At the factory entrance, Jiang Weiyue waited through the morning shift’s start and the evening shift’s end. Today was just like the previous days.
It seemed the factory workers had agreed not to buy her breakfast.
Only a few nearby residents bought from her, leaving Jiang Weiyue feeling weary and somewhat wronged.
She had clearly agreed to Song Chuanhe’s “unreasonable demands,” yet he was still making things difficult for her.
Was he trying to push her to the brink?
—
Jiang Weili got up early today. Her first task was to prepare a loving breakfast for Song Chuanhe in the kitchen.
Although Song Chuanhe hadn’t accepted her breakfast yesterday, his visit to her house was a favor to her.
Moreover, her attitude toward him was better than toward others in the Jiang family, clearly showing she had feelings for him.
Even if not love, at least fondness, which she intended to nurture into love.
Previously, when Song Chuanhe helped the Jiang family in the fields, she noticed he wasn’t picky and especially loved meat.
With that in mind, she minced the leftover pork belly she bought yesterday to make some buns, cooked porridge, and boiled two eggs to bring to Brother Chuanhe.
But as she was preparing, Old Lady Jiang, waking to use the toilet, heard noises in the kitchen and came in.
Seeing Jiang Weili chopping meat so early, she frowned and scolded, “You greedy girl, why are you cutting meat so early?”
“Grandma, you don’t know—I’m making this for Brother Chuanhe.”
“You’re a grown woman, rushing to bring food to a man? Don’t you have any shame?”
This insult pushed Jiang Weili’s resentment toward Old Lady Jiang to its peak.
She swore that once she was with Brother Chuanhe, she would make sure that old witch got nothing good.
“Grandma, you’re right. For most men, we women wouldn’t be so forward.”
“But Brother Chuanhe is different. First, he doesn’t hold grudges about the past, and we should thank him.”
“Second, I gave him breakfast openly in front of so many people, and he accepted it.”
“Won’t the factory workers think there’s something special between us? Would that be good for my grandfather, my father, and my four brothers?”
“Besides, Brother Chuanhe likes me. If I can win him over, none of us will have to do hard labor at the factory anymore.”
“More than that, I’ll ask Sister Weiyue to have Brother Chuanhe arrange light work for both of us at the steel mill.”
Old Lady Jiang narrowed her eyes, realizing that once a blockhead, Jiang Weili had grown clever.
Cleverness was good, very good.
“You’re right. Go ahead; I’ll fully support you in winning over Song Chuanhe.”
“By the way, if you get along with him, see if you can get him to introduce that minister from yesterday to Weiyue.”
“Weiyue may have a less than honorable past, but she’s beautiful and deserves a man like Minister Qin.”
These words made Jiang Weili clench her fists unconsciously, digging her sharp nails into her palms, the pain burning fiercely, bringing her back to reason.
That old woman was truly biased. In her past life, she had despised Weiyue’s former husband, a meek man who abused her, yet this old woman said:
“Don’t have too high standards. Given your looks and lack of a job, a man like him is more than enough for you. What, you want to find some big boss?”