Chapter 326: Counting Money Late at Night

**Chapter 326: Late-Night Money Counting**

Ye Xiaoxiao also met several relatives from the Lu family, including a cousin that Lu Hanchuan made a point to introduce.

Though it seemed like a close relationship, Lu Hanchuan whispered, “That’s the eldest son of my uncle—just call him Yun Bohuai.”

“Is that appropriate? The way you said it… This cousin must be the classic ‘other people’s child,’ right?”

Ye Xiaoxiao could tell just by looking at him—he had the look of a straight-A student.

Lu Hanchuan asked, “What’s ‘other people’s child’?”

“It’s when parents nag you, always holding them up as an example.”

“…”

Lu Hanchuan looked like he wanted to say more but stopped himself, so Ye Xiaoxiao nodded. “I get it. No need to explain.”

As they whispered, Yun Bohuai had already stood up with his wine glass.

“Never thought I’d see the day you got married. For a while there, I thought you’d end up alone.”

Yun Bohuai’s tone was calm, but that subtle dig was enough to stir someone’s temper.

Lu Hanchuan gave a cold smile. “Hah, how thoughtful of you.”

Yun Bohuai raised his glass and clinked it against Lu Hanchuan’s. “No toast necessary. Congrats, I guess.”

Ye Xiaoxiao: “…”

“Your cousin has quite the personality.”

Lu Hanchuan summed it up in two words: “Drama king.”

Ye Xiaoxiao swatted his arm.

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

With so many guests around, they didn’t have time for chit-chat.

Ye Xiaoxiao only managed a brief exchange with Duan Lei, setting up a time to talk later.

Duan Lei shot a wary glance at Lu Hanchuan before silently nodding.

Lu Hanchuan drank quite a bit, and later Han Xing and the others helped fend off most of the toasts.

But in the end, it was Ye Xiaoxiao who helped him out of the restaurant.

Han Xing waved, “Sis-in-law, look after Lu for me.”

Ye Xiaoxiao nodded.

Once Han Xing and the others were gone, Lu Hanchuan stood on his own, not a trace of drunkenness left.

“You weren’t drunk?”

Lu Hanchuan: “I was holding it together.”

Ye Xiaoxiao: “Sure, and I’m the queen of England.”

The Lu family and the Ye family weren’t going with Xiao Xiao and the others to the new house.

“Have you gotten everything at home ready?” Although Yun Chengxiu had sent the housekeeper over several times, she still didn’t trust the two to live alone.

Ye Xiaoxiao: “Mom, everything’s ready.”

“All right, I’ll have the driver take you back. Don’t bother driving yourselves.”

Yun Chengxiu arranged for the driver to take them home.

Meanwhile, the Ye family was handling things with Ye Changning’s help.

Most guests were gone by now. Yun Chengxiu and Lu Xingzhou still needed to wrap up some matters at the hotel before heading home.

“Okay.”

Ye Xiaoxiao nodded, then said to Miao Cuifang and the others, “Mom, Dad, Grandpa, Shifu, you should rest early too.”

Miao Cuifang: “Alright, you’ve had a long day. You go ahead first. We’ll see off the remaining guests.”

So after the driver dropped everything—gowns, guestbook, and gift money—inside the car, Ye Xiaoxiao and Lu Hanchuan headed out first.

No. 21 Chunfeng Road.

The driver dropped all the items off inside before leaving.

Once the courtyard gate was bolted, only Xiao Xiao and Lu Hanchuan were left in the entire yard.

“I’m gonna change first.”

Ye Xiaoxiao pushed Lu Hanchuan onto the small sofa in the living room. “You can use the guest bathroom.”

Then she bolted into the bedroom to shower.

Lu Hanchuan froze for three seconds before suddenly chuckling.

Why would he use the guest bathroom now that they were married?

……

In the bedroom, their bodies tangled together. A slender wrist adorned with a jade bracelet struggled weakly, delicate fingers gradually interlacing with another pair of long, elegant ones.

It wasn’t even dark yet, but Lu Hanchuan unleashed his raw, dominating energy.

He taunted her mercilessly, “Xiao Xiao… Who couldn’t keep up, huh?”

Xiao Xiao’s eyes glazed with tears. “I… I couldn’t keep up.”

……

When she woke up later, it was already 11 p.m.

Since they’d started early, Xiao Xiao was now fully awake.

Her jet-black hair spilled across the pillow, her snow-white skin marked with love bites.

After waking, Ye Xiaoxiao was surprised not to see Lu Hanchuan beside her.

She sat up slowly but couldn’t be bothered to get out of bed to look for him.

She didn’t have to wait long before Lu Hanchuan pushed the door open, carrying a bowl of plain noodle soup.

"Where’d you get this?"

Ye Xiaoxiao’s stomach growled. "You actually snuck food while I was asleep!"

Lu Hanchuan: "Come on, be fair, babe. I was afraid you'd wake up hungry, so I went to check if there was anything to eat. The fridge in the kitchen was packed full."

Ye Xiaoxiao: "Auntie must’ve stocked it."

That was really thoughtful, since no places would still be serving food this late.

Lu Hanchuan placed the bowl of noodles on the nightstand.

"Stay put. Wait for me to bring in the small table."

Along with the two bowls of noodles, Lu Hanchuan also brought a dish of pickles.

"These pickles totally look homemade—Auntie must’ve made them."

Wearing her oversized floral pajamas, Ye Xiaoxiao wolfed down a bowl of steaming noodles.

Lu Hanchuan's cooking skills were impressive—she’d never scarfed down food like this before, finishing the bowl in just three minutes.

Seeing how much she enjoyed it, Lu Hanchuan immediately asked, "Want another bowl?"

Her stomach thoroughly satisfied, Ye Xiaoxiao replied, "No, but I’m feeling a bit of a carb coma now."

She face-planted onto the bed.

Luckily, midnight snack runs like this weren’t a daily occurrence, or she’d quickly gain some happy pounds.

Meanwhile, Lu Hanchuan cleaned up.

He thought Xiao Xiao would have fallen asleep again by the time he returned, but instead, he found her wide awake, sitting cross-legged in bed.

Laid out in front of her were the cash gifts and the gift ledger, which she had somehow brought into the room at some point.

The bag holding the money was pretty stuffed.

Lu Hanchuan arched a brow. "Did you carry this in yourself?"

Ye Xiaoxiao: "I dragged it in. It was pretty heavy."

Lu Hanchuan laughed, shaking his head. "Why didn’t you open it?"

Ye Xiaoxiao: "I was waiting for you. Gotta make it special."

Even though Ye Xiaoxiao was already quite wealthy, counting cash just hits different.

"Alright." Lu Hanchuan played along and sat down across from Xiao Xiao. "Now we can begin."

Ye Xiaoxiao unzipped the bag and dumped out all the cash.

The colorful array of bills was a cheerful sight.

"There's even the hundred-yuan note from last year's release. These bills look so festive!"

As living standards improved, the design of currency had also been updated over time.

But even so, ordinary people going to wedding banquets wouldn’t just hand over 100 yuan as a gift all at once.

Today’s wedding was clearly not an ordinary one.

As soon as Ye Xiaoxiao opened the gift registry, she could see that many guests had given a thousand yuan.

Although this money would have to be returned, over the next decade, as inflation rises, the currency will depreciate significantly.

The purchasing power of a thousand yuan today is much greater than it'll be in ten years.

So getting married early does have its perks.

Ye Xiaoxiao also spotted a few bank cards among the cash.

“My third brother just gave a bank card.”