Chapter 122: Second Watch (Revised)

Chapter 122: Second Watch (Revised)

"Grandma, this guy got his wife mad all by himself, but now he's blaming me. He said his wife wouldn't come until after the Lantern Festival. When I saw him following a pretty girl on the street, I had to stop him and make him think twice, didn't I?"

Dai Mingxuan pointed at his bike, which now had a crooked handlebar, and cried out in grievance: "Look what he did to my bike. I think all these years he wasn't farming; he must have been playing bandit."

The elderly woman glanced at her cold-faced eldest grandson and patted Dai Mingxuan's arm: "Alright, tomorrow I'll get your uncle to buy you a new one. Go on home for now."

Dai Mingxuan's eyes darted around, wanting to stay and hear the whole story.

Fu Mingze's antics were rare, and being left by his wife on the street was even rarer for Fu Mingxuan. He was now burning with curiosity.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have 'risked his neck' to come back.

"Alright, hurry home. If he gets mad later and smashes your prized possessions at home, I won't be able to help you."

The elderly woman persuaded, and Dai Mingxuan, upon hearing this, thought, indeed.

Fu Mingze had never been one for a good temper since he was a kid. He usually didn't get mad, just kept a straight face and ignored people. But once he really got mad, he would definitely hit you where it hurts, destroying whatever you held dear, making sure you remembered it and wouldn't dare to cross him again.

Thinking of his own 'prized possessions' at home, Dai Mingxuan quickly pushed his busted bike and left.

"What exactly happened? Was that pretty girl your missus?" the elderly woman asked.

She had originally planned to hit the teahouse with her old friends today, bringing along the young folks from both families to get to know each other. Fu Mingze had taken off temporarily, and with what Fu Mingzhuo had been saying, the elderly woman grew more and more uneasy at the teahouse and headed back not long after sitting down.

She thought her eldest grandson was really going to turn into a scoundrel as Fu Mingzhuo had said, but it turned out the one who had come to the wrong door earlier was her daughter-in-law?

The elderly woman was thoroughly puzzled: "Since she's already here, why did she take off again?"

Fu Mingze sat in the chair, his face dark, and said: "She didn't know our home was here."

The elderly woman was confused: "Ah?"

Fu Mingze rubbed his temples: "I haven't told her that our family situation isn't like what's in the rural records."

On the other side, Shen Moer returned to the guesthouse.

Zhou Pingan was still engrossed in reading and painting, while Shen Shaoyuan was carrying little Liang Liang around. Every time someone appeared in the corridor, the little one would quickly turn her head, and after seeing who it was, she would make an ambiguous sound with her little mouth, then coldly turn her head away.

Shen Shaoyuan was amused: "Oh, it's not mommy again? Why is it not mommy every time someone comes up?"

Little Liang Liang widened her round eyes, raised her little hand, and slapped Shen Shaoyuan's face, letting out a very temperamental hum.

Shen Shaoyuan clicked his tongue: "This little temper, I wonder who she takes after."

Suddenly, little Liang Liang turned her head and started babbling happily. Shen Shaoyuan looked up and saw that Shen Moer had indeed returned.

"If you don't come back soon, your daughter is going to kill your old man," Shen Shaoyuan chuckled and asked, "How did it go? Smoothly?"

Shen Moer's expression was complicated: "It went quite smoothly, I guess."

Seeing her daughter reaching out her little hands for a hug, her mood became even more complicated.

After the little one had grown a bit, it became very obvious. Apart from being a bit chubby, her facial features and expressions were exactly like Fu Mingze's.

Just having shaken off a big liar, and coming back to see a little liar, this feeling was truly mixed.

Little Liang...

Liang Liang waited with her little hands outstretched for a long time, but didn't get the soft and fragrant hug from her mother, so she immediately pouted and started to cry pitifully.

Shen Moer picked up the child and lightly patted her bottom: "Little liar."

Shen Shaoyuan raised an eyebrow and asked: "What's wrong?"

Shen Moer thought for a moment, didn't mention Fu Mingze, but talked about the house situation: "It's a three-courtyard house, the upkeep is just average, but the main structure is still intact. We won't live there for now, so we'll just leave it and repair it gradually."

She also mentioned the price—eighteen thousand—which was indeed very reasonable.

They didn't deposit the ten thousand in cash in the bank but kept it directly in the treasure vault. The remaining eight thousand in gold could also be taken from the treasure vault.

Shen Shaoyuan: "Liu Yingshuang went out again. Let's go to your room."

This time, Shen Shaoyuan held little Liang Liang and stood guard outside, while Shen Moer went into the treasure vault to get the money and gold.

Liang Liang looked at the half-door that appeared out of nowhere, tilted her little head: "Huh?"

She pointed her little hand toward the half-door: "Ma～ma～"

Shen Shaoyuan glanced at the child: "Mom, yes, mom. We're not going, your mom will come out after getting the stuff."

Sure enough, after a moment, Shen Moer emerged carrying a cloth bag.

Seeing her mom come out, the half-door disappeared again out of nowhere, startling Liang Liang. Her round eyes blinked rapidly as she pointed toward where the door had vanished, babbling, "Yi yi yi a a a."

Shen Shaoyuan: "When she's a bit older, we'll have to encourage her more."

Shen Moer stroked her daughter's soft baby hair: "Good girl, when you're older, you can go in there and find things to play with on your own."

That afternoon, Shen Moer went out again with her bag. Just as she got off the bus, she saw Fu Mingze standing next to the bus stop sign.

Who knows how long he'd been standing there, his cheeks and nose red from the cold.

He wasn't wearing the flashy yet impractical suit from that morning, but a black long cotton coat, simple and elegant, not like ready-made clothes from outside, but more like custom-made.

Shen Moer ignored him and strode straight into the alley with her bag.

Fu Mingze, with his long legs, caught up in a few strides, coaxing softly: "Darling, I really didn't mean to hide it from you, it's just that your family has been poor farmers for three generations, with a spotless background, I was afraid you wouldn't accept my background."

When he mentioned the three generations of poor farmers, Fu Mingze hesitated for a second unconsciously.

Shen Moer's eyes flickered slightly, a faint smile surfacing in them.

To be honest, she actually quite understood Fu Mingze's thinking, after all, she had similar thoughts herself.

However, what she hid from him was ultimately supernatural and unspeakable things, while his was just a bad background and pretending to be poor in the countryside despite having money at home, what's so hard to admit about that?

Shen Moer glanced at him: "You didn't plan to start another family once you returned to the city from the very beginning, did you? Just as well, the situation in the records doesn't match, and the address is probably fake too, even if I wanted to find you, I probably couldn't, right?"

Fu Mingze: "..."

He really couldn't clear his name even if he jumped into the Yellow River.

After saying that, Shen Moer didn't pay him any more attention and went straight to No. 19 courtyard.

Professor Zeng was somewhat dumbfounded when he saw her bringing money and gold in an inconspicuous cloth bag, especially after learning that she came by bus.

"Child, you're really too reckless."

Shen Moer smiled and said, "Neither stealing nor robbing from me is an easy task."

Professor Zeng was surprised. "It seems Comrade Shen is no ordinary female comrade."

Professor Zeng, perceptive as he was, didn't ask why Fu Mingze had returned. After taking the money and writing out a receipt, he went with them to handle the paperwork.

Shen Moer was in no hurry to move in, so she let Professor Zeng take his time, planning to stay until her son came up north to pick her up.

Both parties cheerfully wrapped up the paperwork.

This time, Fu Mingze kept up with Shen Moer, following her all the way onto the bus. Shen Moer got off the bus near the small courtyard she had bought, and Fu Mingze followed her to the entrance of the courtyard.

Shen Moer took out the key, unlocked the door, and walked in.

Fu Mingze hesitated briefly before following her inside.

"This is the courtyard I just bought yesterday for seven hundred and fifty yuan. The money from my father selling his position, plus our family's savings over the years, was more than enough."

Shen Moer said, "This courtyard is not far from the school. We can simply bike to and from school, no need for the bus. Occasionally, if biking is inconvenient, we can take a shortcut and walk over in just twenty minutes."

"The courtyard isn't big, but five rooms are enough. Even if we bring your elders to live with us, it should be sufficient. I originally thought your family was financially struggling and housing might be tight, so bringing the elders over would be good. Plus, the courtyard is spacious enough for Liang Liang to play and run around as she grows."

After a pause, Shen Moer added, "My original plan was to buy the house at No. 19 and hold onto it for a couple of years until things got better. Once we have enough money on paper, I would tell you."

"I'm indeed not an ordinary rural commune member. I have secrets—I'm quite wealthy—and I can easily buy houses in Yongning Hutong. If I wanted, I could buy even more houses. But these things, had you not stumbled upon them, I wouldn't have considered telling you."

Fu Mingze looked at Shen Moer, a sense of dread creeping in: "Moer, it's okay..."

Shen Moer smiled. "You see, our marriage was built on mutual deception. You deceived me, and I've been deceiving you all along."

She looked at Fu Mingze. "Fu Mingze, should we reconsider this relationship?"

Fu Mingze's expression changed. "Moer, I don't agree!"

Shen Moer smiled again and said, "Wait until you see my secret."

As soon as she finished speaking, Fu Mingze's vision darkened, and he was stunned to see an ancient wooden door materialize right before him.