The Laid-back Life of a Stepmother

An hour without ice felt endless. Wen Ye felt like she had read her book for ages, only to discover that half the time had passed.

At this moment, Tao Zhi slipped in quietly and approached her, saying, "Madam, Liuya just told me that Master and Little Master were about to reach the west courtyard, but they stopped outside and didn't come in. I wonder what they're up to."

Wen Ye’s gaze shifted from her book to her, asking, "How long have they been standing there?"

Tao Zhi replied, "I'm not sure about that."

Wen Ye closed her book and stood up, murmuring, "What are those two up to now?" Since she was bored anyway, she glanced out the window and noticed it wasn't too sunny outside. So she said, "Come, let's go take a look."

Outside the west courtyard, the father and son were still in some kind of "stalemate."

When Wen Ye arrived, she saw Xu Yuxuan circling around Xu Yuejia, his head tilted, trying to figure something out.

With a curious gaze, she looked at Xu Yuejia and noticed he seemed to be holding something, constantly avoiding Xu Yuxuan’s view.

Finally tired, Xu Yuxuan stopped and snorted loudly, "Father!"

This time, he was genuinely angry.@@novelbin@@

Wen Ye walked over and asked, "What are you two doing out here?" Nanny Ji and the others saw her and quickly bowed in greeting.

Hearing her voice, Xu Yuejia turned around, his eyes landing on the umbrella above Wen Ye’s head. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Are you going out?"

Wen Ye denied it immediately, "Of course not, I was clearly coming to welcome my husband and Xu Yuxuan."

Tao Zhi, holding the umbrella handle, remembered her mistress’s earlier words as she stepped out of the main hall—“Let’s go see the fun”—and quietly lowered her eyes.

In the meantime, Wen Ye noticed Xu Yuxuan’s puffed-up cheeks and asked Xu Yuejia, "Did you bully him?"

Xu Yuejia replied, "How so?"

Wen Ye pointed at the little boy next to them, "If you didn’t bully him, why would he be so angry?" Despite his young age, this little guy had a surprisingly stable temperament and rarely showed such anger.

Seeing Wen Ye, Xu Yuxuan quickly trotted over and complained loudly, "Mother, Father is hiding delicious cookies! I saw them!"

"Delicious cookies?" Hearing this, Wen Ye’s gaze finally moved to the direction where Xu Yuejia was hiding his hand, catching a glimpse of the corner of the oil-paper bag he had failed to conceal.

Looking at the mother-son duo’s identical curious gazes, Xu Yuejia paused and said, "Let's go back first."

The trio returned to the west courtyard, and with the room cleared of all maids, Xu Yuejia placed the oil-paper bag on the table under the expectant gazes of Wen Ye and Xu Yuxuan.

Wen Ye finally caught the scent and exclaimed, "It's roast chicken?!"

No wonder it smelled like meat.

Xu Yuejia gave a slight ‘hmm’ and said, "I picked it up on the way back." Wen Ye opened the oil-paper bag and took a look; it was flavored with cumin, which was great because she liked it.

"Thank you, Husband," Wen Ye said, feeling she hadn’t had roast chicken in ages.

Seeing her radiant smile, Xu Yuejia’s lips also curled up slightly. But when his gaze fell on Xu Yuxuan’s eager expression, he added, "I was planning to keep it from him."

Wen Ye dismissed it, "He’s just a little kid, how much can he eat?"

Xu Yuxuan seemed to understand that the roast chicken was for him too, and he immediately huffed a few times at Xu Yuejia, expressing his dissatisfaction with his earlier actions.

Wen Ye tore off a chicken wing and handed it to Xu Yuxuan, saying, "Here, eat."

"Thank you, Mother~" Xu Yuxuan happily took it and began nibbling on the small amount of meat with his tiny milk teeth.

Wen Ye then tore off a small piece of meat from the chicken thigh and fed it to Xu Yuejia, saying, "You went through the trouble of buying this, have a bite too." Xu Yuejia’s gaze shifted from the small piece of chicken to her face, seemingly contemplating something.

Wen Ye met his gaze and thought to herself, "Does he think it’s dirty?" She remembered he had a mild case of germaphobia.

Before Xu Yuejia could speak, Xu Yuxuan’s head poked over, his eyes burning with interest as he stared at the small piece of chicken, saying, "Mother, I’m not afraid!"

The roast chicken was delicious, even better than cookies.

Xu Yuejia glanced at his son and calmly said, "No." Then, right in front of him, he ate the chicken Wen Ye had fed him, his gaze on her deeper than before.

Xu Yuxuan felt disappointed and returned to gnawing on his small chicken wing. Wen Ye smiled and said, "Don’t worry, I’ll leave the other small wing for you too, Xu Yuxuan." Xu Yuxuan was too busy chewing to speak, only able to hum ‘mm-hmm’ and nod. "Mother, have the chicken thigh for yourself." The moment he finished speaking, Wen Ye tore off a chicken thigh.

She preferred the chicken thigh; it had more meat.

Wen Ye planned to eat half first and save the rest for dinner.

When she noticed Xu Yuejia’s eyes frequently glancing at her chicken thigh, she thought for a moment, tore off another small piece from the roast chicken, and fed it to him.

And then, he ate it.

Wen Ye realized then that someone like him, who had been raised as a noble son and was now a successful man, naturally carried some baggage.

It would be truly shocking if Xu Yuejia started eating roast chicken with his hands like her. Considering he had gone out of his way to buy it for her, feeding him a few more bites was no big deal.

However, Wen Ye thought more about it: apparently, no one could resist the temptation of delicious food.

The three of them shared most of the roast chicken, leaving a small portion, including another chicken thigh.

The entire room was filled with the aroma of roast chicken. After satisfying her hunger, Wen Ye told Xu Yuxuan, "Xu Yuxuan, if Aunt Madam Lu asks, just tell her that Father brought back some delicious cookies, okay?"

Xu Yuxuan was confused, "Why?"

Wen Ye explained gently, "Because if Aunt Madam Lu finds out, you won’t be able to eat them again in the future." Xu Yuxuan shook his head vigorously and covered his mouth, saying, "I won’t tell!"

Having dealt with the little one, Wen Ye looked at the older one with a sweet smile,

"Husband, you too, okay?"

Xu Yuejia remained silent for a moment before saying, “So that’s what you meant.”

Wen Ye didn’t try to hide it, "This is called effective bribery."

In such situations, one couldn’t be greedy. Only by pulling everyone in could she ensure that her roast chicken feast wouldn’t reach Madam Lu’s ears.

It was fine if Xu Yuxuan hadn't caught them, but since he had, there was no point in hiding it anymore. Buying the silence of a small child with a couple of chicken wings was a very cost-effective deal.

"Still, thank you for bringing back the roast chicken, Husband," Wen Ye said finally.

Xu Yuejia repeated, "It was just a spontaneous purchase."

Wen Ye ‘hmm’-ed twice and said, “Understood, definitely not because you wanted to eat it yourself.”

Xu Yuejia: "... "

At dinner, Wen Ye gave Xu Yuxuan and Xu Yuejia each a small portion of the remaining roast chicken, keeping the rest for herself.

They ate it discreetly, away from the servants’ eyes. Fortunately, Wen Ye never liked having people around when she dined, and Xu Yuejia even less so. To him, the only use of the maids seemed to be serving tea.

Wen Ye had never seen the arrogance typical of noble sons from the capital in Xu Yuejia. And now, even Xu Yuxuan could feed himself without Nanny Ji’s help.

###

Lately, Wen Ye kept dreaming about a Water Bottle Fairy. Not only did she help around the house, but she also provided company during the night and had a cooling effect.

Every time Wen Ye woke up, she wondered, had the Water Bottle Fairy’s services expanded to include companionship and cooling effects?

They say that dreams reflect one’s thoughts during the day. After bathing, Wen Ye looked at Xu Yuejia on the bed and thought, the Water Bottle Fairy was imaginary, but the man was real.

Wen Ye turned and went back,

when she came out again, she was holding a piece of black silk. She walked over quietly and called, "Husband?"

Xu Yuejia looked up at the sound and saw what she was holding. Without waiting for Wen Ye to say anything, he put down his book and said, his expression unreadable, "Is this also part of the bribery?"

Wen Ye shook her head, "I just wanted you to try a new silk ribbon." After all, she couldn’t just tear his nightclothes again like the last time. Besides, black seemed to suit him more.

Everything felt natural, especially when Wen Ye tied the silk ribbon over Xu Yuejia’s eyes.

All he could see was darkness, and his senses were heightened. The heat was overwhelming, more intense than ever before.

Wen Ye woke up feeling hot, only to find a man’s arm in her embrace. She sighed in relief when she saw it was Xu Yuejia.

"Finally awake?" Xu Yuejia had woken up long before Wen Ye but hadn’t gotten up.

Wen Ye quickly released his arm, yawned, and sat up, asking him, "Husband, don’t you have to go to work today?"

The restraint lifted, Xu Yuejia got up and said, “I do.”

Wen Ye asked, "Then why…"

Xu Yuejia turned to look at her, "You were holding onto me the entire time."

Wen Ye didn't think it was her fault. She said, "How strong can my grip be? I'm sure Sir could have escaped if he wanted to." No wonder she felt the snail girl in her dream was so hot last night—it was because she had hugged the wrong person. Xu Yuejia adjusted the loose strings of his nightwear and said slowly, "It seems you don't have a thorough understanding of yourself."

The man’s words had a hidden meaning.

Wen Ye glanced at his tie-tying actions and said, "It was an accident. I didn't expect it to be Sir."

Hearing this, Xu Yuejia paused his dressing and looked at her again, his gaze deepening. "Who did you think it was?"

"The snail girl." Wen Ye blurted out and then explained, "I've been having dreams lately. There's a snail girl in my dreams, and I thought I was hugging her."

This time, the "snail girl" had turned around, though she couldn't recall the exact details of her appearance. But it went without saying that she must have been very beautiful. So, Wen Ye added, "And she's a great beauty."

Xu Yuejia paused and continued dressing, as if casually asking, "What did you do in your dream with her?"

Wen Ye also got out of bed; with such a hot morning, she couldn't sleep in anyway.

She replied simultaneously, "I didn't do anything. She helped me fan the air, so I was grateful and wanted to give her a hug." But she ended up hugging the wrong person.

"Why are you so sure it was the snail girl in your dream?"

"Of course, because she also helped me arrange my clothes, didn't speak, and left after finishing." As soon as Wen Ye finished speaking, she realized her words might have a double meaning.

Xu Yuejia: "……"

It sounded like she was describing Xu Yuejia.

Wen Ye secretly cursed in her heart, thinking, "It's all just a dream, dreams aren't real." There’s no such thing as a snail girl, let alone a great beauty.

Just as she finished saying it was fake, she started to yearn for it again: "Sir, what do you think this dream means? Is it a prophetic dream?" Like perhaps predicting that Madam Lu would allow her to use ice today?

Xu Yuejia finished dressing in his official robes, his expression unreadable. Wen Ye sighed.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door. It was Yun Zhi's voice. Wen Ye asked her to come in.

Yun Zhi entered, first curtsying to Xu Yuejia, and then walked towards Wen Ye, respectfully reporting, "Madam, Qingxue from the main courtyard came on behalf of Madam Lu to ask if Madam would like to go to Xiquan Mountain to escape the summer heat tomorrow."

Xiquan Mountain wasn't far; it could be reached in half a day.

Wen Ye remembered Madam Lu mentioning that her dowry included a wooded estate near Xiquan Mountain. The estate was surrounded on three sides by mountain springs, making it an excellent place to escape the heat.

Wen Ye decisively agreed, "Yes!"

The weather was getting hotter, and she couldn't bear staying in a room without ice. After getting the confirmation, Yun Zhi turned and left the room to reply. Meanwhile, Wen Ye looked at Xu Yuejia, who remained silent, her eyebrows and eyes light and cheerful as she said, "I told you, she's a great beauty."