Xiao Liqing said unwillingly,

“What kind of daughter-in-law doesn’t call her father-in-law ‘Dad’? She has no manners at all. Liye is still a boss, you know. If word gets out, he’ll lose face too.”

Xiao Li let out a mocking laugh.

“Oh please, forget not calling him ‘Dad.’ Just hearing that this little widow is moving in already feels unlucky to me.”

Xiao Fangdong snapped back, “You think she’s unlucky? I think you’re unlucky. You look decent enough on the outside, but after working three days you need two days off. If we weren’t all eating together, four out of your family of five would’ve starved already.”

Xiao Li immediately shut up, but Xiao Liqing still grinned with his big teeth showing. Then Xiao Fangdong added,

“And you still have the nerve to laugh? You raised three ugly sons—not a single one worth showing off. Every time I take them out, people think I’m walking pigs.”

Xiao Liqing’s smile vanished too, and even Wang Xiangmei’s expression darkened.

Standing at the back of the crowd, Jiang Yuning curled her lips slightly upward. She hadn’t expected Xiao Fangdong’s roasting skills to be this fierce.

Xiao Liye stood close beside her, lazily leaning against the wall. Catching her expression, he curled his lips into a faint smile.

“That happy already?”

Jiang Yuning’s smile stiffened. Then she replied,

“I’d be even happier if he scolded you too.”

Xiao Liye let out a low chuckle.

“The sky would collapse without me in this family. Seems like you still can’t tell who’s really in charge here.”

Jiang Yuning fell silent. It was true—judging from how sharp Xiao Fangdong’s tongue was, he still became speechless around Xiao Liye. Clearly Xiao Liye held the highest status in the family.

But Xiao Liye clearly wasn’t done.

“So from now on, behave yourself in my house. When the time comes, leave obediently. Don’t think that just because my dad backs you up, I can’t do anything to you. If you piss me off, I’ll throw both of you out onto the streets.”

Jiang Yuning snorted softly.

“Don’t worry. Once the six months are up, I’ll stay far away from you. Even if we run into each other on the road later, I’ll turn around and leave immediately. I definitely won’t bother you.”

Xiao Liye heard the answer he wanted, but for some reason, an uncomfortable feeling rose in his chest.

While eating at the table, he kept thinking about it.

“She’s definitely pretending just to fool me.”

Because Jiang Yuning had only just arrived, she still felt out of place. Even the food tasted bland to her. After taking only a few bites, she quietly sat to the side, waiting for everyone to finish so she could wash the dishes.

Meanwhile, Xiao Liye had already returned to the room, taken a quick shower, and sat by the desk drying his hair.

Jiang Yuning walked in, pulled out the straw mat from the corner, then spread an old yellowed quilt over it.

Opening the wardrobe, she stared at the chaotic mountain of clothes, sheets, and blankets piled inside. She had no intention of organizing them for him, so she simply asked,

“Which bedsheet am I allowed to use?”

Without even turning around, Xiao Liye replied,

“You sleep on the bed. I’ll sleep on the floor.”

Jiang Yuning froze for a moment.

“…He’s that nice?”

Clearly, she had overthought it. Xiao Liye continued,

“So when I’m sleeping on the bed, you won’t have excuses later like, ‘Oh, I got sleepy after using the bathroom and accidentally crawled into your bed and hugged you.’”

Jiang Yuning’s chest trembled with anger. She decided then and there that she would rather remain a widow forever than settle for him.

If she ever did something like climbing into his bed, she’d slap her own face raw and then throw herself into a river.

Seeing her stay silent, Xiao Liye worried she might still have other tricks in mind and warned her again,

“You hear me? I’m sleeping on the floor from now on. If I open my eyes and see you lying in my arms, don’t blame me for beating you to death.”

Jiang Yuning sighed softly through her nose.

“You said it yourself. Then you’d better not come sleeping beside me either.”

“Sleep beside you?” Xiao Liye repeated before scoffing.

“What would I want that for? Because you’re some untouched virgin? To help ease your loneliness? I, Xiao Liye, have standards. I’m a clean freak.”

Jiang Yuning’s face flushed red, then pale, then red again. She felt like he could kill her from anger before six months even passed.

Grinding her teeth, she snapped,

“Your wardrobe looks like a pigsty and you call yourself a clean freak? If you count as one, then nobody in the world is clean.”

Xiao Liye’s expression stiffened.

As if unconvinced, he opened the wardrobe and saw the disastrous mess inside.

He fell silent and quietly grabbed a shirt to cover it.

“…There are different kinds of clean freaks. I just don’t sleep with little widows.”

Jiang Yuning ignored him. Spotting pajamas and sleep pants nearby, she figured that since she apparently wasn’t allowed to wear pajamas outside the room, changing in the bathroom probably wasn’t acceptable either. But asking him to leave would probably earn her another lecture about being troublesome.

Fortunately, everyone wore thermal underwear beneath their clothes during this season. While Xiao Liye was busy laying out his bedding on the floor, she quickly removed her jeans and sweater before slipping under the blanket.

After spreading the bedsheet and grabbing a quilt, Xiao Liye deliberately turned his back toward her while sleeping, clearly trying to emphasize how much he disliked her.

Jiang Yuning couldn’t care less.

It was just that the blanket was saturated with Xiao Liye’s masculine scent, making her extremely uncomfortable.

“…Has this thing seriously not been washed in ages? Why does it smell this strong?”

In the middle of the night, Xiao Liye got up to use the bathroom. Half-asleep when he returned, he instinctively climbed onto the bed.

When his large hand touched something soft, he comfortably pulled it into his arms and wrapped a strong leg around her waist before falling back asleep.

The next morning, the early wind carried icy frost. The village was shrouded in white mist, impossible to tell apart from the smoke curling out of chimneys.

Xiao Liye slept more comfortably than ever before. He’d never felt this rested in his life. As a result, he slept until eight in the morning—something unheard of for him.

Still groggy, he opened his eyes to see Jiang Yuning lying quietly in his arms. Her porcelain-white face was tinted with faint blushes, her sleeping expression peaceful and serene.

He jolted awake instantly and pinched her cheek.

“Jiang Yuning, what exactly did you promise me last night?”

It didn’t hurt much, but the rough texture of his fingers felt unpleasant. Startled awake, Jiang Yuning immediately grabbed the blanket and scooted far away from him.

“I really don’t know what happened!”

Xiao Liye said irritably,

“You don’t know? You slept with me and even kept burrowing into my arms, and you still dare say you don’t know?”

Jiang Yuning glanced at where she’d been sleeping. Thinking back to the feeling at her neck, she realized she must’ve been using his arm as a pillow.

Feeling even more wronged, she said,

“I was clearly sleeping properly last night. I really don’t know how I somehow ended up in your arms.”

Xiao Liye sneered.

“Isn’t your whole goal to spend the rest of your life with me? Why pretend? You crawled into my bed last night—what’s next tonight, taking my clothes off?”

“N-No, I…” Jiang Yuning was so anxious she was nearly in tears. Her eyes grew misty, but suddenly she seemed to realize something.

She stared blankly at the bedding on the floor, then at Xiao Liye lying on the bed. Her face slowly turned dark.

Xiao Liye also noticed something strange. Following her gaze around the room, he recalled the blurry memory of returning from the bathroom last night.

His expression instantly became as ugly as if he’d swallowed a fly.

The next second, Jiang Yuning viciously pinched his face.

“Can you have some shame? You climbed onto the bed and dragged me into your arms, then you shamelessly blamed me for it!”

His face hurt—not from embarrassment, but because she’d pinched him hard.

Rubbing his cheek, Xiao Liye felt guilty but still refused to admit it.

“How do I know? Maybe you were the one who carried me onto the bed.”