Dazzling

Xing Wu told Qing Ye to take a shower first, but she said she took too long and insisted he go first. A lazy smile tugged at the corner of Xing Wu's lips: "Let's just shower together then."

When he turned around and saw Qing Ye sitting on the edge of the bed, hugging the quilt with an utterly embarrassed expression, he couldn't help but chuckle before heading into the bathroom.

Although there was nothing left for her to shy away from after what happened with Xing Wu yesterday... she simply couldn't bring herself to shower with him. It was just too mortifying.

Xing Wu finished his shower quickly, merely rinsing off before stepping out. As Qing Ye stood up and slipped on her slippers, he deliberately wrapped his arms around her from behind, leaning down to whisper suggestively, "Hurry up in there."

Qing Ye pressed her lips together, lowered her head, and scurried into the bathroom. Xing Wu turned to watch her retreating figure, the corners of his mouth lifting in a silent smile. He didn't know why he loved seeing Qing Ye so flustered and shy—it was absolutely adorable.

While showering, Qing Ye caught her reflection in the bathroom mirror and noticed her cheeks were burning. Her mind kept replaying those indescribable moments with Xing Wu, and the thought that something more might happen later made her incredibly nervous.

However, when she emerged from the bathroom, she discovered Xing Wu had already fallen asleep, his phone still clutched in his hand but his breathing deep and even.

She walked over to his side, leaning down to study him carefully. His breathing was steady, his eye sockets deep-set, and his long eyelashes rested gently against his skin. His thick brows arched slightly upward, giving him a rebellious air, but with his eyes closed, he shed all his usual aggression, looking like a peaceful young man.

Xing Wu was usually highly alert—even with his eyes closed, he could sense when Qing Ye was watching him from the other bed. But today, he must have been utterly exhausted, as he showed no reaction despite her watching him so closely from such proximity.

After all, humans weren't made of iron. They had experienced a heart-pounding fire last night, followed by intense physical activity in the early hours. He hadn't slept all night, then had to run errands in the morning, deal with the police, and handle family matters. Even the strongest person would be completely drained after pushing through like this.

Qing Ye gently took his phone and placed it on the bedside table, then pulled the covers over him properly. Instead of sleeping herself, she opened her laptop, connected to the hotel's Wi-Fi, and spent some time researching online store business models before browsing through various forums and posts. Only after shutting down her computer did she finally climb into bed.

Qing Ye had always been somewhat particular about beds. When she first arrived at Zhazha Pavilion, it took her a long time to adjust to the firm mattress at Xing Wu's house. Normally when traveling, accommodation conditions were her top priority—no matter how interesting the destination, if she opened the hotel room door to musty smells or felt the environment was oppressive and unclean, she'd consider the trip essentially ruined. She would never normally stay in such a small inn.

But perhaps because Xing Wu was lying beside her, she miraculously didn't struggle with the unfamiliar bed this time. Snuggling into his embrace, she fell asleep quickly.

On the first day of the new year, Qing Ye didn't sleep in, waking up around seven in the morning. Surprisingly, Xing Wu had woken even earlier—when she opened her eyes, he was already gone from the room.

New Year's Day had always been Qing Ye's busiest day. Either her father's friends and subordinates would come to pay their respects, or she'd have to accompany her parents visiting others' homes. Every year followed the same routine: waking up early, putting on new clothes, dressing up, and following her parents around to collect red envelopes.But this year was the most unusual Spring Festival she had ever experienced. Upon waking, she found herself with nothing to do. Xing Wu, worried she'd feel cold getting up, had adjusted the heater before leaving, so Qing Ye didn't even bother putting on a sweater after rising. Entering the bathroom, she noticed Xing Wu's long-sleeved T-shirt had dried, so she simply took it and slipped it on—the temperature felt just right.

She planned to call Xing Wu after washing up, but he returned while she was combing her hair, carrying a thermal container. He gave her a slightly puzzled look as she stood in the bathroom: "Up this early?"

Then he walked to the window, placing the items on the table. Qing Ye set down her comb and asked him, "Are there any places selling breakfast today?"

"No, I went home to make some. Grandma refused to eat last night, so I cooked some porridge and fed her. We might need to take her to the county hospital in a few days."

Qing Ye walked over and asked, "What's wrong?"

Xing Wu opened the thermal container, scooping out the porridge spoon by spoon, his voice somewhat muffled: "Her condition isn't good."

With his back to her, head bowed as he ladled the porridge, he seemed shrouded in gloom. Qing Ye took a few steps forward, wrapped her arms around his waist from behind, and pressed her face against his back.

Feeling her slender arms around his waist and her soft body against him, Xing Wu's tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed slightly. But Qing Ye buried her face in his back and said, "I have something to tell you."

Hearing her tone, Xing Wu paused for a moment: "What is it?"

"Yesterday I heard Huang Mao say building a house here only costs around two hundred thousand. I have three hundred thousand—over two hundred thousand for construction, and the rest should be enough for furniture and appliances."

Xing Wu put down the spoon, pulled her hands from his waist, turned around, and stared at Qing Ye with a frown: "I didn't even take their money yesterday, do you think I'd take yours? Besides, this money is for your education. Don't even think about it."

Qing Ye had anticipated this reaction from Xing Wu and knew he'd be somewhat angry when she brought it up. So she directly moved closer to him. Xing Wu unceremoniously pushed her away. Qing Ye's eyes widened, she stood on her toes, hooked her arms around his neck, and her temper flared immediately: "Try pulling my hands away again!"

Xing Wu stopped moving, though his expression remained stern. Qing Ye's clear eyes locked firmly with his: "Hear me out. We'll use this three hundred thousand to rebuild the house on the original site. You gave me fifty thousand last time, right? I haven't touched it. After the New Year, let's go talk to Grandpa Xie and see if we can take over his factory for fifty thousand."

Xing Wu's frown deepened: "You want to take over that nearly bankrupt factory? Are you joking?"

But Qing Ye spoke with utmost seriousness: "I'm not joking. My current funds aren't enough for studying abroad anyway. And money—if you just leave it sitting there, it'll only decrease, it won't grow. With just this amount, we might as well gamble and try to make it multiply. Think about it: I need money for school, Grandma needs money for medical treatment, the whole family needs money to live. Dazzle Island is gone—we must have an income source. Liu Nian and Yan Yan don't have stable prospects either—we can ask them to join us. It might be tough, but so what? What if we succeed?"Xing Wu pondered for a moment before saying, "Running a factory isn't that simple. You have classes to attend and exams to prepare for, and I can't stay there all day either. Besides, none of us have experience in that line of work. We'd need people for everything from production to packaging to shipping. Even if we take over the factory, we don't have the money to hire workers."

Qing Ye stood on her toes and nuzzled his chin. "Xiao Ling Tong mentioned that people from other classes are interested too, but I've been keeping the numbers down for now, worried that Grandpa Xie might object. If we take over the factory ourselves, we'll have a place to study, and after the New Year, I'm thinking of starting a college entrance exam tutoring class."

Xing Wu held her shoulders and bent down to look at her. "You want to take over the factory to run a tutoring class and make money?"

Qing Ye laughed. "What are you thinking? How could I charge my classmates? Do I look that money-hungry to you? Didn't you just say we don't have money to hire workers? Well, I'll explain problems to them—no charge for all that talking and brainwork—and it wouldn't be too much to ask them to lend us a hand in return, would it?"

Xing Wu caught on immediately, straightening up with a sigh. "The city ways run deep! So you've got it all planned out?"

"Yeah, I've been thinking about it for a couple of days. I think we can give it a try. Everyone starts from not knowing how to knowing, from novice to expert. Anyway, we're already poor enough—it's not like we have much to lose, right?"

"I have no objection to you taking over the factory, but I won't touch that three hundred thousand for studying abroad."

Qing Ye lowered her gaze, slowly resting her forehead against his chest, her voice soft and warm. "Xing Wu, we can't be without a home."

Her words struck him squarely in the chest, blocking all the words he was about to say. He was deeply moved. "Their home" held a special magic for him. He had never imagined that someone like Qing Ye—a smart, beautiful, high-class girl from the big city—would one day willingly share hardships with him. What had he, Xing Wu, done to deserve such a girl? Overwhelming emotions surged within him as he looked down at her with a grave expression.

Qing Ye lifted her head and said to him, "We'll have one. We'll have everything. In the future, we'll have a big house, a nice car, and lots of money—more than we can spend..."

At this, she laughed herself, her radiant smile like warm sunlight shining into Xing Wu's heart.

"So don't overthink it. Money can be earned slowly, but we can't be without a home. Listen to me on this—there's no room for discussion."

A slight softening finally appeared in Xing Wu's eyes. Looking at Qing Ye's optimistic and confident demeanor, it seemed the gloom in his heart had dissipated a little. He didn't know why this girl before him was like a treasure, always bringing light during his lowest moments, making him love her beyond all reason.

He reached out to lift her and pull her in front of him but suddenly paused. "You're not wearing pants?"

Qing Ye awkwardly tugged his T-shirt lower. Xing Wu's gaze drifted downward—her smooth, well-proportioned legs were bare and strikingly pale. Xing Wu directly moved the porridge aside, lifted her by the waist with one hand, and set her on the table by the window. Kissing her lips, he said, "Happy New Year."Qing Ye's face flushed crimson from his French-style lingering kiss early in the morning, yet she felt something being pressed into her hand. Pulling away, she looked down and discovered Xing Wu had actually given her a red envelope. She thought she wouldn't receive any red envelopes this year, so she immediately broke into a smile, hopping off the table to tell him: "Wait a moment."

She rummaged through her bag - she had actually prepared a red envelope for Xing Wu too, just hadn't expected to receive his first.

Handing him the pre-prepared red envelope, she stood on tiptoe to kiss him: "Happy New Year. How much did you put in?"

"See for yourself."

So they opened their red envelopes simultaneously, discovering they had both put in exactly one thousand yuan with uncanny coordination. They looked up at each other and couldn't help laughing, though their laughter carried a hint of bitterness. Qing Ye chuckled while saying: "Why are we so pathetic? Having to give each other lucky money."

Xing Wu ruffled her hair and urged her to get on the bed and cover her legs to avoid catching cold. He brought the porridge to her bedside.

During breakfast, Qing Ye discussed the house construction matter with him in more detail. She was completely clueless about this, but Xing Wu knew quite a lot - like the prices of Yellow Sand, cement, and bricks, or how frame structures and brick-concrete structures had different costs per square meter. Xing Wu roughly estimated that if he personally handled all material purchases and hired familiar friends for the work, they could save quite a bit, probably getting it done for around over a hundred thousand.

Hearing this, Qing Ye got so excited she could hardly wait to withdraw the money. Xing Wu reminded her: "It's New Year - not only are materials unavailable, but no one's taking jobs either. The earliest we can start is after the holidays."

Qing Ye thought about it and agreed, smiling as she said: "I don't have many requirements, just that our room needs a big window."

"Wouldn't it be better to just build a balcony?"

"Can we do that?"

Seeing her expectant expression, Xing Wu cracked a smile: "Why not?"

"Awesome!" Qing Ye immediately got excited, as if she couldn't wait to see their new home.

After finishing the warm porridge, she felt completely cozy inside. Her eyes sparkling, she looked at Xing Wu: "So what are we doing today?"

Xing Wu packed up the thermal container, glanced at her, then lowered his head in silence for a while before saying: "If we're really going to build the house, there are some things I need to handle first."

Qing Ye blinked: "What things?"

"Family matters. I'll explain when I go back at noon. You don't need to come with me then."

"No, I want to go with you."

Xing Wu looked at her, hesitating to speak.

Qing Ye started acting cute and coquettish again: "Who abandons someone alone in a hotel during New Year? I want to go back with you. You handle your business, I won't say a word."

Xing Wu smiled wryly: "Get changed then."