Ye Tian was stunned for a moment, then swept his arm in a grand gesture and thumped his chest, "My lady, just give your orders, and your husband will go through thick and thin for you, climb mountains or dive into boiling oil without a second word, toil and moil with no complaints..."
Ye Tian froze and didn’t speak. He didn’t have a home; this home naturally was Tang Su’s.
For the first time, Tang Su didn’t speak while Ye Tian remained silent. She understood Ye Tian’s character well; this man had both the strongest and the frailest pride at the bottom of his heart. Tang Guoqing was the Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, and though his position was that of a deputy, he was not someone Ye Tian, a mere commoner, could match. Having snatched the Secretary’s daughter, the huge gap would certainly cause a knot in his heart. Now, facing the situation head-on, naturally, there would be resistance and hesitation in his heart. As his wife, she could certainly understand.
Ye Tian set aside the blanket in his hands and gently stroked the small, clean pair of feet beside him—Tang Su’s feet. It was the first time he’d held them in his hands. Tang Su didn’t pull away, allowing this man, whose bowed head made his expression unreadable, to stroke her feet over and over. She really couldn’t imagine the hidden expression behind the plain-looking fellow. Disappointment? Difficulty? Or was it heartache?
The hand stroking her feet paused, and Ye Tian looked up at Tang Su with a blissful smile on his face. "Then let’s go tomorrow, shall we? If you’re not free, we can go the day after. In any case, whenever you want to go out, we’ll go."
"Can you really go with me?" Tang Su’s face, held in its calm composure for so long, now for the first time showed a hint of anticipation in Ye Tian’s gaze.
Ye Tian nodded, "Of course. You are my wife, after all. An ugly son-in-law always has to meet his father-in-law eventually; we have to go sooner or later, so let’s make it tomorrow."
The smile on Ye Tian’s face was so lovely, but Tang Su felt it was also terribly painful.
She had to admit that she was being selfish. Back in the Tang Family, she didn’t speak up for Ye Tian, who had just arrived; at that time, she was still a young member of the family, afraid of going against her elders’ thoughts. She couldn’t understand why Ye Tian had stood up for her then, merely standing there restlessly watching Tang Guoqing’s anger flare. And now, Tang Su who was about to become a wife, was going to be selfish once again. It wasn’t for herself; it was for Ye Tian. She wanted to exhaust her last bit of strength—for Tianhe City, where Zuo Zhengyang wasn’t the only figure of note. Even if there was no connection to the Tang Family, she wanted to add a hint of their essence because without that, Ye Tian would certainly suffer losses in Tianhe.
A melancholic expression flashed across Ye Tian’s face as he turned around; it was only for an instant, very brief, but still caught by Tang Su. That feeling was almost as if it had happened to her, heart-wrenching, self-reproach, and self-blame.
Tang Su’s heart ached; she carved every bit of Ye Tian’s heart into her own. The meticulousness of a woman’s heart was not something that men could easily imagine.
This night, the moonlight was hazy. Ye Tian held tightly in his hand the jade Maitreya Buddha that Shen Xuepei had given him, his eyes not shutting for a moment. What was clutched in his hand was his everything.
The next morning, Ye Tian got up a bit earlier than usual. By the time he returned, Tang Su had already prepared breakfast, with plain porridge, pickles, and fried dough sticks—a very simple meal. Li Ruoshui was also sitting by the table, arranging the fried dough sticks on a plate.
"Brother Tian, you’re back?"
Ye Tian nodded and said to Tang Su, "Look, wife, the gifts I bought."
Staring at the big and small boxes in Ye Tian’s hand, Tang Su was stunned for a moment, "Are these gifts you bought?"
Ye Tian grinned broadly, "Yes."
Strong Bull Tiger Bone Powder, Six Flavors Rehmannia Pill, Strong Kidney Pills... The brightly colored boxes were covered with eye-catching brand names. A metaphorical waterfall of black lines immediately cascaded in front of Tang Su.
"Hehehe..." Ye Tian chuckled as he set down the goods, then patted her shoulder, "Silly wife, how could I possibly bring these as gifts? I’m not stupid."
"You’re not stupid but not all that clever either."
"Being clever doesn’t put food on the table."
Ye Tian washed his hands and sat down, scooping porridge into bowls for Tang Su and Li Ruoshui, then served himself a bowl too.
"Thank you." Li Ruoshu politely voiced her thanks while Tang Su accepted the bowl of porridge with an indifferent face, not uttering a word of politeness.
Upon their arrival at the Tang Family, it was already nearly noon, but not a single person from the large Tang household came out to greet them; the cold atmosphere seemed somewhat out of place under the midday sun.
"Oh, you came empty-handed? How brazen!" Chen Pingyue harbored not the slightest bit of fondness for this son-in-law of the Tang Family; after all, it was this young man who had slapped her twice, harbor good feelings for him? Unlikely.
Tang Guoyao glared at her, then turned to Tang Su and said, "Since you’re here, sit down first."
Ye Tian nodded, and took Tang Su’s hand as he sat down. In the living room, only these four people were present; Tang Guoqing was still occupied with official duties in the study on the second floor and couldn’t come down for the moment.
"Susu, have you been well recently?"
Tang Su nodded with a smile, "Second Uncle, we’re now living in Tianhe and doing very well. We came here to tell you... we’re getting married."
"What!" The first to express surprise was not Tang Guohao, but Chen Pingyue sitting beside him, known for her loudmouth. "You’re getting married? To who? Him? What’s he?"
Tang Su’s face turned, as no woman could stand her husband being criticized by others. But just as she was about to argue with Second Aunt, she was quietly pulled by Ye Tian. Turning to look at him, what emerged on the corner of Ye Tian’s mouth was a full-blown smile.
"Susu, don’t be angry. Your Second Aunt is just concerned about you; it’s just her straightforward temper. Don’t mind it, you’ll get used to it after a while." Tang Guohao was smoothing things over for his wife, but the expression on his face was not very natural.
Ye Tian spoke with a smile, "It’s okay, we are the younger generation. It’s right for Second Aunt to guide us, it’s for our own good."
"Pfft, who’s your Second Aunt? I don’t have such an illustrious big nephew!"
She still couldn’t forget those two slaps.
"Ye Tian, come up here a minute." A voice came from the corner of the staircase on the second floor—it was Tang Guoqing. Ye Tian breathed a sigh of relief, but as he stood up, Tang Su pulled on him, genuinely worried about what her father might say to hurt him.
Ye Tian placed his hand on top of hers, the warmth from his palm telling Tang Su that he would be alright.