Chapter 18 - part 1

He Mingchuan took the initiative to say, “I’ll just sleep in the living room.”

That was an arrangement everyone was satisfied with.

Lu Miao and He Kefei didn’t have to squeeze into one room, and Lu Miao and He Mingchuan wouldn’t be living together before getting their marriage certificate.

It just meant He Mingchuan would have to suffer a bit by sleeping on the sofa at night.

Father He directed his son, “Move Sanshui’s luggage into your bedroom.”

Then he turned to Lu Miao, “You must be exhausted from traveling all day. Rest early tonight. Tomorrow morning, let Mingchuan take you to the civil affairs bureau to get the certificate.”

Father He considered getting the marriage certificate a top priority.

He didn’t want Lu Miao living in the house without a proper title.

“We’ve made lunch plans with some relatives outside. We’ll take you to meet them. Mingchuan’s status is a bit special, so the wedding can’t be too elaborate. Sorry to make you feel wronged.”

“It’s alright, I don’t feel wronged.” The wedding was just a formality. Lu Miao didn’t care too much about it.

Father He and Mother He both worked at a hospital and had been there for many years. With one son and one daughter, their family was allotted a slightly larger three-bedroom apartment during the housing distribution.

Aside from the master bedroom for the parents, each child had their own room.

Since He Mingchuan was away from home for years, his sister Kefei got the relatively larger of the two extra rooms.

He Mingchuan’s room was practically empty. Calling it unfinished might be a stretch, but there was at least a bed and a set of table and chairs.

And that was pretty much it—there were hardly any signs that the room was lived in.

In contrast, the luggage Lu Miao brought nearly filled the room.

She politely asked, “Can I put my stuff in the closet?”

Father He hadn’t walked far and immediately turned back when he heard her. He beat He Mingchuan to the response and said, “Of course you can. This is your home now—you can arrange things however you like.”

Lu Miao missed her time at home terribly. At home, the simple chores were always done by Lu Congge for her.

Arrange things however she liked? What she wanted most was someone to arrange them for her. After confirming Father He had walked away, she called out to He Mingchuan, “The closet’s full of your personal stuff, and I don’t know what I can touch. Maybe it’s better if you put my luggage inside for me.”

He Mingchuan opened the closet. His usually emotionless face was now full of confusion.

He didn’t come home often, and the only things in the closet were a set of bedding and two pieces of clothing.

He took the bedding and laid it out on the living room sofa—his bed for the night.

Then he packed the remaining two clothes into his own luggage bag. He turned to look at her, as if silently asking: Is this enough?

Lu Miao looked at him with a sly smile and a sing-song voice, “I heard the military has really high standards for tidiness. The first time I saw you, I knew you were someone who’s very disciplined. You must be a model soldier in housekeeping, super good at organizing things.”

“Don’t even think about it. I’m not helping you.” He Mingchuan saw through her intentions immediately and refused coldly, “Take care of your own stuff.”

Lu Miao sat on the bed and hugged her poor, pitiful self, saying in a delicate voice, “I left everything behind for you, not for your money or looks, but because I believed you’d be good to me. And now on my very first night here, you’ve already changed. You won’t even help me with something as simple as unpacking.”

He Mingchuan, who had already walked to the living room, paused for two seconds and turned back expressionlessly. “Are your hands just for decoration?”

Lu Miao looked up at him with teary eyes and whimpered, “I’m not like you—I’m not as handy or talented.”

He Mingchuan cursed inwardly, So perfunctory, no sincerity at all. Who compliments a man by saying he’s “handy and talented”?

He walked back into the bedroom with a cold face, laid the unused bedding flat on the top shelf of the closet, then followed with the clothes...

Lu Miao rested her chin in her hands, watching him with a beaming smile. She praised him now and then, “Men who do housework are the most handsome. From the first moment I saw you, I just knew—you’re reliable.”

He Mingchuan was going crazy. He’d never met a woman as shameless as Lu Miao.

Still, he lived up to her praise—he unpacked everything swiftly and neatly.

When he was about to open one particular bundle, Lu Miao reacted fast and grabbed it into her arms. “Wait, I’ll take care of this one. No need to trouble you.”

He Mingchuan froze for a moment, realizing what was inside. He coughed lightly to cover the awkwardness in his voice. “Besides that, anything else?”

“Nope, that’s all. Please, carry on.”

He Mingchuan really was efficient. He unpacked all of Lu Miao’s luggage in no time, even placing her toiletries and skincare products neatly on the desk.

The once-empty room suddenly felt full of life.

He turned to call her over to check, only to meet a pair of sparkling, starry eyes. Whatever he was about to say, he swallowed it down and just said, “Rest early.”

While He Mingchuan was tidying up, Lu Miao wasn’t idle either. She had already made the bed for the night, laying down her flowery bedsheet from home. The pillow and blanket were tossed casually on top.

As soon as He Mingchuan caught sight of the bright floral bedsheet, he looked away. The loud pattern hurt his eyes.

It completely clashed with the room’s original style.

But now the room had been thoroughly Lu Miao-ified—it didn’t resemble how it looked an hour ago at all.

Late at night, He Mingchuan lay on the sofa, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

It wasn’t that the sofa was uncomfortable—he’d endured far worse. In fact, the living room couch was a decent resting place.

But just before he closed his eyes, he suddenly remembered that he used to sleep on that bed too.

Lu Miao must have been exhausted from the day’s travel; she fell asleep almost instantly once her head hit the pillow.

The next morning, she was woken by a knock on the door—it was He Mingchuan.

He knew Lu Miao liked to sleep in. If no one woke her up, she could probably sleep till noon.

Normally he wouldn’t care, but they were supposed to get the marriage certificate that morning and have lunch with the relatives afterward—no delays allowed.

Father He was having breakfast when he saw He Mingchuan knocking on the door. He quickly called out, “Don’t disturb Sanshui.”

“Whatever it is, wait till she wakes up.”

Their household was strict with the kids—neither He Mingchuan nor Kefi were ever allowed to nap.

But He Mingchuan didn’t stop knocking. “Wake her up.”

Father He, always polite to outsiders, said, “What are you waking her for? It’s not like there’s anything urgent. Let her sleep a bit more.”

“We’re going to register the marriage,” He Mingchuan said, checking the time.

Father He let out an “Oh” and said, “Then knock a bit more gently.”

He stuffed more breakfast into his mouth and urged Kefi to hurry up and eat so she wouldn’t be a third wheel.

Lu Miao was annoyed awake by the persistent knocking. But when she remembered she wasn’t at her own home, her frustration faded.

She didn’t even have to guess—it could only be He Mingchuan at the door. He probably wanted to come in and grab something.

She opened the door and immediately flopped back onto the bed, gesturing for him to help himself.

Worried she might be changing clothes, He Mingchuan didn’t push the door open.

He stood at the door for a long while without hearing a sound. Then he called out, “Lu Miao?”

No response. He slowly pushed the door open.

The curtains didn’t block much light. Sunlight streamed in through the gaps, and he saw someone sprawled out on the bed, completely unaware of anyone entering.

She had crushed the pillow and blanket beneath her, and her nightdress had accidentally ridden up to her thighs, showing two white and bright legs.

Her sleeping posture was extremely..umm.. unrestrained...

He Mingchuan stiffened as if electrocuted, turned around, and took two steps back. With a loud slam, he shut the door.

Standing at the door, he shouted in a harsh tone, “Lu Miao, get up. It’s time. Hurry up. Don’t make me say it again.”

Father He, lying in the master bedroom reading the paper, jolted at the threatening tone.

Despite the warm September weather, he shivered, remembering the days before his own wedding when he was terrorized by his brother-in-law.

He Mingchuan’s voice was cold as ice, and Lu Miao was startled awake.

Just so he’d know she was up, she started giving him real-time updates:

“I’m awake now.”

“I’m getting dressed... I’m done getting dressed.”

In the room next door, Kefi covered her ears angrily. Is she a little kid or what? Why does she have to report every single thing she does?

After dressing, Lu Miao dashed into the bathroom to wash up.

At that moment, You Yonglan, who had just finished her night shift, returned home.

The first thing she saw was her son’s frosty face in the living room—a look that was quite intimidating. Not many in the family dared to upset him. After thinking about it, she ruled out both father and son, which only left that future daughter-in-law.

She debated whether to pretend she hadn’t seen anything and go catch up on sleep, or take the chance to advise her son before the certificate was signed.

After an intense mental battle, she decided to act like nothing happened.

But before she could even reach her bedroom, the bathroom door suddenly opened.

“Mom, I just saw a fairy!”

Lu Miao rubbed her eyes, still half-asleep, wondering if she was dreaming.

How could someone in the real world be this beautiful?

Her “Mom” completely stunned the mother and son in the living room.

Lu Miao had just used it as an exclamation, like “Oh my god!”

Anywhere else, people wouldn’t have thought much of it.

But You Yonglan was different.

Once Lu Miao and He Mingchuan registered their marriage, she really would have to call her “Mom.”

You Yonglan instantly realized this unfamiliar girl must be her rural future daughter-in-law.

She was better-looking than expected.

But why would she call her “Mom” the moment they met?

Lu Miao finally registered that the stunning woman must be He Mingchuan’s mother. She froze for a few minutes, her brain working overtime to figure out what to do next.

Before she could think of a plan, her beautiful future mother-in-law vanished from view.

She looked at He Mingchuan with a questioning gaze: What’s up with your mom?

He Mingchuan didn’t answer, he didn’t know either. “It’s already eight o’clock. You have ten minutes to eat. We’re leaving in ten minutes.”

Without hesitation, Lu Miao sat down and took a savage bite of a youtiao, imagining it was He Mingchuan’s head.

Rush rush rush, all you know is rushing.

Just as Lu Miao was battling her way through a bowl of youtiao and doufunao, You Yonglan, who had just disappeared into the bedroom, slowly walked out.

She tossed a red envelope in front of Lu Miao. “Never seen a daughter-in-law so eager to call someone ‘Mom’ just to get a red envelope.”

Lu Miao’s eyes widened—so that’s what she went to get just now.

She gave the envelope a little squeeze to feel the thickness, then her eyes squinted with delight. “Thank you, Mom. You're beautiful and kind.”

The first “Mom” earlier had been an accident. This one? Straight from the heart.

This envelope was thick. He Mingchuan’s mom really was a good person.

You Yonglan snorted at her undignified behavior. “Such a small-minded girl. That little bit of money’s enough to make you this happy?”

But the more generous someone was, the more polite Lu Miao became. She shook her head. “It’s not the money that makes me happy. I just didn’t expect my mother-in-law to be such a gorgeous, classy woman. Other people have to go to the movies or buy a TV to see celebrities. Me? I just look up at home.”

Was she saying she looked like a celebrity? You Yonglan’s mouth twitched downward. “Flattery won’t get you anywhere with me. Save your sweet talk.”

Lu Miao stuffed a bite of youtiao in her mouth and struggled to chew it down.

A cold voice suddenly interrupted.

“Reminder: five minutes left.”

Lu Miao mumbled an “Oh” and went back to eating.

Meanwhile, Father He was lying in bed reading the newspaper. His wife walked into the room but didn’t head straight for bed—instead, she sat at the vanity, mumbling to herself, “Is she really that pretty?”

After a moment, she added, “That girl’s not completely hopeless. At least she’s got good taste.”

Father He: ……

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Author's note: Hello friends. The later chapters of this story were so ridiculously long that I have to split it into parts. Please don't mind the inconvenience. Enjoy the story😊.

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