Chapter 11: A Fierce Battle

Page 1/3

On the very first night at Su Jingqiu’s house, Si Mingming completely abandoned the idea of resting and sleeping for health. The house felt somewhat empty, and she paced back and forth inside, like a small creature newly arrived in an unfamiliar environment, everything seeming fresh and novel.

When she grew tired, she curled up on the sofa and gazed out through the large floor-to-ceiling windows at the night outside. Si Mingming had no real concept of houses; Nie Rushuang lived in a shabby old place in the city, and the house she had bought wasn’t much better. To her, a house was simply a place for people to live, and having such a large one for just herself was pointless. Even in Su Jingqiu’s big house, she only felt a sense of novelty.

Si Mingming admired Nie Rushuang’s sisters from the underworld, who could cast a wide net and somehow catch a big house. She deliberately “showed off” to Nie Rushuang by sending a short video, telling her, “My husband is really rich.”

Nie Rushuang knew her daughter too well; her tone was sarcastic, clearly unimpressed by Su Jingqiu’s money. Years ago, a big boss had tried to woo her with money, but she had remained unmoved.

That big boss somehow got hold of Nie Rushuang’s contact information and came to her home, saying he wanted to become her son-in-law, the best son-in-law in the world. Nie Rushuang saw the big boss was handsome and refined, and compared to her own daughter, who was somewhat indifferent around others, she was curious and asked, “Auntie’s just curious, what do you like about Mingyue?”

“She’s different from others,” the big boss replied.

The big boss was a businessman who could close deals of any scale. At first, he didn’t pay much attention to Si Mingming, but when he realized she didn’t take him seriously, he suddenly became very interested. The big boss was known to lavish money just to win a smile from a beauty, but Si Mingming frowned and swatted him away like a fly, saying, “Take it, take it away quickly, so annoying.”

So when she said, “My husband is really rich,” she was just being mischievous. Nie Rushuang was still angry but too lazy to argue, only telling her, “If you really want to recognize me as your mother, then have your husband come properly and pay me a visit.”

“Of course I will. Tomorrow, for sure.”

“Tomorrow won’t work; I’ve got a performance and a dinner afterward.”

“…”

Si Mingming thought her mother was truly adorable—angry yet never forgetting her performance, never letting anything get in the way. After relaxing enough, she realized it was past one in the morning, so she went to take a shower and prepare for sleep.

In the bathroom, halfway undressed, she suddenly put her clothes back on. She felt uneasy, very uneasy. She was also worried there might be hidden pinhole cameras in Su Jingqiu’s house—after all, he often brought girls home for fun and then sold the videos. So she seriously began searching for hidden cameras, spending over an hour on it.

The end result was a complete mess in the bathroom and her bedroom. She overturned every possible hiding place, inside and out, leaving no corner untouched. Finally, drenched in sweat, she slumped to the floor—no cameras. Her husband wasn’t that despicable. Or maybe he was despicable in other ways she hadn’t discovered yet.

At this point, Si Mingming was wide awake. When a person doesn’t sleep at night, their stomach often joins in, making a ruckus. She was so hungry it felt like she could devour an entire pig. She rummaged through the fridge—unsurprisingly, it was well-stocked and neatly organized. She opened bottles and small boxes, finding some quick-cook ingredients Su Jingqiu had prepared.

Nice. But Si Mingming couldn’t cook.

Eventually, she took out a steak and seared it over high heat. By this time, dawn was approaching. Su Jingqiu finished his all-night work and returned home, hearing noises inside and smelling cooking oil. He dashed to the kitchen and found his disheveled wife standing with hands on hips, struggling with some pasta. The carefully selected and stored pasta was being roughly handled.

“What are you doing?” Su Jingqiu asked sternly.

Si Mingming was startled, raised the spatula, and jumped aside. Seeing Su Jingqiu, she remembered: this was his home.

“I’m hungry.”

Page 2/3

“You’re not sticking to your health routine anymore?”

Si Mingming remembered she had turned the bedroom and bathroom upside down and felt a bit guilty. She shook her head and grinned, “Just celebrating living together.”

Su Jingqiu sensed something was wrong and went to inspect the room. She really had ransacked his home. His head was buzzing; suppressing his anger, he said, “You better give me an explanation.”

Si Mingming knew “hidden cameras” wouldn’t do—they would insult him. But she didn’t want to lie, so she said nothing, only promising, “Tomorrow I’ll clean it all up. Promise.”

Her stomach growled at the perfect moment. Standing by the stove, she finished eating, then felt sleepy. Su Jingqiu’s bedroom door was closed, his clear signal of distance. Si Mingming pursed her lips and turned to bed.

She had to admit, the first night of living together was a totally novel experience in her life. A man was sleeping next door; if she listened carefully, she could hear faint sounds. Those noises reminded her of a summer night in childhood, when she lived in a communal apartment building and heard mice rustling outside, stealing things. She wanted to look but was too afraid. So she just listened.

Si Mingming opened her phone and jotted down a few lines in a memo: “Second night of marriage, the mouse came.” She wanted to write more, like an observation report on her marriage, but her mind wandered, and everything seemed dull. She put down the phone and fell asleep.

Her biological clock was off. She slept soundly until noon the next day. On a summer Sunday afternoon, the world was too noisy. Si Mingming opened her eyes, dazed for a moment, then remembered she was at Su Jingqiu’s house.

She checked her phone and saw photos Zhang Lele had posted in the group chat: taken earlier that morning, they went to the amusement park with Yiyi, but by noon, she’d lost all her charm.

“Bai Yang is completely useless,” Lu Manman scolded harshly, “I told you long ago, don’t marry or have kids, but you didn’t listen!”

Zhang Lele tried to defend Bai Yang but was in a bad mood and joined in the scolding. Most parents came to the park with their kids together; people like her, alone, were rare. Well, there was one. A man with a little boy about three or four years old, very cute. The man was refined, speaking gently to the child, every gesture dignified. Zhang Lele’s curiosity was piqued; she watched closely, wanting to see the boy’s mother but couldn’t.

She’d never seen such an image of Bai Yang, so she paid special attention to that father. When Yiyi fell and cried loudly, the little boy knelt down and comforted her, “Don’t cry, little sister.” He still spoke unclearly but already knew how to soothe his sister.

The boy’s father came over and showed the boy how to help Yiyi up. Zhang Lele watched carefully. Usually, when Yiyi fell, she didn’t help her much but encouraged her to get up by herself. Today, with extra attention, Yiyi felt different and cried again, turning to Zhang Lele.

Zhang Lele knelt before Yiyi and softly said, “Yiyi, did it hurt? Do you remember how you fell? Be careful next time!”

She then turned to the man, thanked him, and chatted briefly.

This touched Zhang Lele deeply. She said in the group chat, “I can’t remember if Bai Yang has ever taken care of Yiyi alone for a whole day.”

Si Mingming replied while pushing open the bathroom door, where a half-naked figure passed by. She looked up and saw a stunned Su Jingqiu. He obviously forgot there was another woman living in his house and felt a surge of anger at being spied on. He glared hatefully at Si Mingming, then went to find his clothes.

Si Mingming, purely out of curiosity, took another look and couldn’t help but admire: that back line was the best among all the men she knew. Too bad he didn’t work for her company. Maybe they should hire male models as comforters, like other companies did. Seeing it with her own eyes, she realized the advantage of handsome men.

Page 3/3

She lowered her head to think, but Su Jingqiu suddenly spun around and charged back at her. He realized: What am I afraid of? This is my home! Why should I be afraid to be shirtless here? If I want, I can even take off my pants now!

He stared fiercely at Si Mingming. She looked up, confused.

“If you want to look, then look openly,” Su Jingqiu mocked her mercilessly. “Sneaking around, what kind of skill is that? I’ve seen plenty of people with guilty hearts but no courage! Pathetic!”

Wow! Si Mingming thought, his imagination was soaring high, and she had no idea what he was talking about. Then Su Jingqiu’s actions became a bit frightening. He grabbed her wrist and pressed it against his chest. He thought Si Mingming was a “thirsty” woman, as her desire for him had been obvious several times.

But when he pressed her hand to his skin, she instinctively pulled away and wiped her hand on her clothes. The touch still lingered—a man’s real body.

She despised him.

Utterly despised.

Si Mingming was the kind of person who needed long-term interaction to slowly dissolve those strange feelings inside. Although this was a marriage she had initiated, she knew there was still a long way to go between them.

Su Jingqiu knew instinct was the most truthful and couldn’t be faked. So why was she acting so… forward? He hadn’t studied women before and thought they were complicated—this one especially so.

He had just been thinking he could do whatever he wanted at home, even take off his pants without fault. Now he felt being shirtless wasn’t quite right. Si Mingming was too powerful; it seemed she didn’t have to do anything and yet made him flustered.

He figured it was because they were still strangers.

Nie Rushuang had told Si Mingming that most people married after meeting only a few times, some even without meeting at all. On the wedding night, the couple often sat silently face to face. But people were strange—strangers who undressed and embraced each other seemed to become familiar after one night.

“Mingming, do you understand? You need real contact with the other person. Otherwise…” Nie Rushuang wanted to say, “Otherwise, you’d still be using that little thing, with no warmth at all!”

Si Mingming tossed her phone aside and peeked out. Su Jingqiu had put on a home T-shirt with a low neckline, revealing an attractive collarbone. Men could have such collarbones too—it was indeed quite enchanting.

“Su Jingqiu,” she waved at him and coyly said, “Come here.”