After Marriage

Ye Shuang was woken up by the noisy commotion. He yawned and couldn't help pulling open a small gap in the curtain to take a look outside—

Perhaps because the seven-day feast was about to start, the entire village was unusually lively. Many villagers had even come early to grab seats, some bringing their own liquor, all waiting for lunchtime to begin the meal.

"What a lively scene. I'll head back to the city today," Ye Shuang thought to himself. Even though he had just gotten married, he couldn't let things at the company slide. Besides, the Chen family had given a generous dowry, which meant he and Chen Qin would need some time to sort through it all.

He picked up his phone and glanced at the messages. There were already over a hundred notifications, mostly congratulations from all kinds of people on his wedding yesterday. Those who couldn't make it had even sent big red envelopes.

"So many people," Ye Shuang muttered, mildly surprised. Still, he sat on the edge of the bed and replied to each message one by one before setting the phone down and looking at the person beside him—Chen Qin was still sound asleep, her pretty face flushed pink, a sweet smile curling on her lips.

She was clearly having a good dream.

Ye Shuang reached out, gently brushed aside a strand of hair clinging to her cheek, and quietly studied her sleeping face.

A few seconds later, Chen Qin grinned. "Hehehehe."

She looked a bit silly, didn't she?

Ye Shuang shook his head slightly, then couldn't resist pinching her cheek. Feeling his touch, Chen Qin suddenly opened her eyes and shot upright.

"Ye!"

"What's wrong?" Ye Shuang was a little startled by her sudden reaction but asked, "Did you have a nightmare? Why such a big reaction?"

"I dreamed we got married yesterday!" Chen Qin said.

"Really?" Ye Shuang paused for a few seconds, then hesitated.

"Didn't we actually get married yesterday?"

Chen Qin sat still for a moment, then came to her senses and cooed sweetly, "Husband——"

Seeing her clinging to him and refusing to let go, Ye Shuang chuckled and gently patted her bottom. "Looks like you're still half asleep. Come on, time to get up."

"Oh."

When Ye Shuang and Chen Qin came downstairs, the living room was packed with relatives from the Chen family, including Chen's Father, Chen's Mother, and Chen Hai, along with a few others.

"Good morning, Dad, Mom, uncles, aunts." Ye Shuang greeted them with a smile.

"Ha ha, come over and sit. Breakfast is ready." Chen's Father cheerfully waved them over.

Once they sat down, Chen Hai nudged Ye Shuang with his elbow. "Sleep okay?"

"Fine, I'm not picky. I can sleep anywhere."

"I thought you and Chen Qin would've stayed up all night counting the money and celebrating," Chen Hai said.

Ye Shuang caught the sour tone in Chen Hai's voice and couldn't help smiling. "What's there to count? It's not like it's going to fly away. Besides, yesterday was way too exhausting. I took a shower and fell right asleep."

"Sigh, it must be nice to have so much money you can't even count it. I don't have that kind of luck." Chen Hai deliberately raised his voice a little, hoping Chen's Father would hear. The next second, he got a kick from Chen's Father.

"Tsk, if you had half the skill of Qin and Shuangzai, I'd hand over the entire group to you without a second thought."

"Aye, aye, aye." Chen Hai scooted over a bit, clicking his tongue, then shrugged. He wasn't walking the same path as Ye Shuang and Chen Qin, and with his laid-back personality, he definitely wasn't cut out for management responsibilities.

Chen Hai had no desire for Chen Qin's position. He just wished his allowance could be a little bigger.

After all, as a rich kid, wanting some pocket money wasn't too much to ask, was it? As long as he didn't start a business, he couldn't squander the family fortune—he knew that well.

He only bought motorcycles for fun, occasionally topped up games, and chartered a boat for deep-sea fishing. Among his social circle, he was considered a pretty low-key rich kid.

Chen's Father understood what his son meant. Originally, he had hoped Chen Hai would show some ambition, because Chen Qin had been carrying too much on her own. But ever since Chen Qin and Ye Shuang got together, Chen's Father had changed his mind. Now he was already thinking about grooming the next generation.

With Ye Shuang and Chen Qin's abilities, maintaining the family business for decades wouldn't be a problem. The children they would have would likely become even better successors.

Seeing his son's pitiful look, Chen's Father relented.

"Starting this month, you can ask your mother for some spending money."

"Really?" Chen Hai's eyes lit up.

"Yeah."

Chen Hai immediately perked up, the sour look vanishing from his face. He wasn't after as much as Chen Qin had—he just wanted a bit of spending money since his wife had been controlling the purse strings.

After breakfast, Ye Shuang sat with the elder relatives, drinking tea and chatting. His smooth conversation and handsome appearance won them over, and many of the older folks couldn't help nodding in approval, taking a liking to him.

In the afternoon, Ye Shuang and the others returned to Haizhu City.

"Mom, I want to live with Ye," Chen Qin said from the back seat of the car, leaning toward Chen's Mother in the passenger seat.

"No can do. Your husband has to work. Who has time to look after you?" Chen's Mother replied immediately.

Chen Qin started acting cute. "Oh, Mom, it'll be fine."

"No."

"But we just got married!" Chen Qin said pitifully. What newlyweds didn't get to stay together? At home, they even had to sleep in separate rooms. She couldn't even hug Ye Shuang while sleeping.

"It is a new marriage, but you've been clinging to Shuangzai since elementary school. Haven't you had enough alone time?" Chen's Mother said in exasperation.

Chen's Mother knew it all too well. When Chen Qin was little, she’d come home from school, drop her backpack, and say in her baby voice, "Mom, I'm going to find Ye. Don't make dinner for me."

Sometimes she'd even stay over for days, completely forgetting to come home.

Chen's Mother would have to come pick her up in person, and Chen Qin would cling to the table leg, refusing to let go, until she got a good scolding.

"One thing is another," Chen Qin said weakly.

The status was different now—before, they were friends; now they were husband and wife. Shouldn't they get to be a little more affectionate?

"Wait until you have a child first," Chen's Mother said, then added to Ye Shuang, "Shuangzai, keep an eye on Qin and don't let her do anything reckless."

"I understand, Mom." Ye Shuang just smiled lightly.

Back at the Chen family estate, everything was still decorated with festive "double happiness" signs. Even the lake in front of the manor was dotted with colorful and elegant wedding lanterns.

"Honey, what are you looking at?"

"Nothing. Just think it's all very beautiful," Ye Shuang said.

"Hehe, right?"