Zhou Cheng knew Xia Xiaolan would come to see him these days.

With her August 28th train ticket and an overnight stay, she’d surely tour Beijing with her family on the 29th. Classes started September 1st, so she’d come to see him either on the 30th or 31st.

On the morning of the 30th, Zhou Cheng made sure he was impeccably groomed.

At 21, Zhou Cheng was quite experienced in handling matters. Having started work early and survived life-or-death situations, he was mentally more mature than his peers.

But physically, he had just reached adulthood.

What did a 21-year-old fresh face look like? Smooth skin, resilient to all-nighters—dark circles disappeared after two days’ sleep, and even his facial hair wasn’t particularly coarse yet… Nevertheless, Zhou Cheng meticulously groomed himself, carefully shaving off the soft stubble while checking the mirror. His crew cut just needed a quick wipe with a soapy wet towel to look fresh and clean.

There were benefits to falling out with Fang Shizhong and Gao Fei—at least these nuisances weren’t hovering around him anymore.

After Xia Xiaolan’s harsh words, if Gao Fei still tried to get close to Zhou Cheng, the unit’s collective disapproval would drown her. Fang Shizhong surely made his wife keep her distance from Zhou Cheng. The couple now directed their antagonism toward Zhou Cheng and Xia Xiaolan, otherwise, the situation would have become even messier.

Though they wanted to avoid each other, the enclosed nature of the unit meant Fang Shizhong’s quarters were in the same building as Zhou Cheng’s, on the same floor, just a few doors apart.

Seeing Zhou Cheng “primping” early in the morning, Fang Shizhong spat toothpaste into the sink, muttering, “What a woman!”

Real men didn’t care about appearances, but Zhou Cheng was good-looking and hygiene-conscious.

Fang Shizhong had poor hygiene habits as a child, and sleeping outdoors during missions hadn’t helped. If not for Gao Fei’s influence after marriage, he wouldn’t even brush his teeth daily.

Even now he slacked off when Gao Fei wasn’t staying at the unit.

He only brushed this morning because Gao Fei had stayed overnight. She’d been coming to the unit often lately—her hospital internship had ended, but her formal job wouldn’t start for two weeks, leaving her with plenty of free time. Fang Shizhong had to brush his teeth; otherwise, Gao Fei wouldn’t let him get intimate. He even had to wash thoroughly—he couldn’t touch his wife otherwise. Having married in his early thirties, Fang Shizhong had just discovered the pleasures of marriage and lately followed Gao Fei’s instructions carefully.

He told Gao Fei about Zhou Cheng’s feminine behavior—using soap to wash his face and applying something afterward.

While Gao Fei joined her husband in criticizing Zhou Cheng, she thought about how rural Fang Shizhong’s background showed in his living and hygiene habits—she had so much to teach him. Zhou Cheng’s habits were good, but unfortunately, he had rejected her olive branch!

Though Zhou Cheng was usually clean, he wasn’t normally this meticulous.

Gao Fei checked the date—wasn’t it university registration time?

“Xia Xiaolan is coming today.”

“How do you know?”

“Hmph, just watch!”

While Gao Fei correctly predicted Xia Xiaolan’s visit, she hadn’t expected her to bring others.

All that chattering—were they treating the unit like a circus?

When Xia Xiaolan arrived, several people followed, calling her “Sister-in-law,” carrying three large baskets full of watermelons. Some carried two large paper boxes, contents unknown, tightly sealed.

This year’s watermelons cost 0.15 yuan per jin. They had flooded the market last month, and Gao Fei had eaten her fill all summer. She always brought one for Fang Shizhong when visiting.

Though she wasn’t officially working yet, Fang Shizhong’s salary was at her disposal.

With a monthly salary of over a hundred yuan, if they couldn’t afford watermelons at 0.15 yuan per jin, what was the point of marrying Fang Shizhong?

But for Gao Fei to distribute gifts like Xia Xiaolan did each visit—how many times could Fang Shizhong’s salary cover that?

“Look at her showing off!”

Gao Fei slammed the window shut.

“Leader, these watermelons…”

“Bring them to my room first. We’ll gather everyone later to share them!”

“Yes!”

“Watermelons today, everyone gets watermelon!”

As several people started running off excitedly, Zhou Cheng stopped them: “Wait! Bring the two boxes over, but don’t put the watermelons in my room. Tie the baskets securely with rope and lower them into the well to cool. We’ll pull them up when it’s time to eat!”

Located in the suburbs, the unit had both running water and a deep well.

Well-chilled watermelons would taste even better.

“Aunt Liu, Aunt Li, you’ve come too! Please, come to my room and sit!”

With both elders visiting, Zhou Cheng wouldn’t be inconsiderate, though it meant suppressing his desire to hold hands and embrace his sweetheart.

Liu Zitao rushed over, hugging Zhou Cheng’s leg: “Brother-in-law, don’t forget me!”

Zhou Cheng picked him up, “Haven’t forgotten you—I’ll take you shooting later.”

Taking advantage of Liu Zitao’s disruption, Zhou Cheng managed to secretly hold his wife’s hand briefly.

Xia Xiaolan didn’t need to pull away; Zhou Cheng withdrew quickly himself.

“The boxes contain some canned food. Keep them for yourself, or share if there’s too much.”

Zhou Cheng nodded absently. Though they’d met on July 24th for Xiaolan’s birthday, after a month apart, he couldn’t get enough of looking at his wife. Suddenly remembering her injury, he asked, “Does your wrist still hurt?”

Now he could legitimately take her hand to examine it, gently squeezing. Seeing no sign of discomfort from Xia Xiaolan, he knew her fracture had mostly healed.

“It doesn’t hurt…”

“Even so, take care of it. I hear university students do their laundry—you’re not to touch cold water. Bring your dirty clothes to the unit weekly; I’ll wash them!”

Xia Xiaolan glared at him, “Won’t they stink by then?”

Liu Fen and Li Fengmei walked ahead, hearing Zhou Cheng offer to do Xia Xiaolan’s laundry. When Liu Fen started to speak, Li Fengmei frantically pulled her sleeve.

Women typically handled household chores—why object to a man willing to do laundry? The young couple’s relationship was good now; they could worry about laundry later. Better to preserve the current happiness! The sharper Li Fengmei kept Liu Fen quiet.

Zhou Cheng’s room was spotless.

When Liu Fen and Li Fengmei arrived, their leader came by for a look. Zhou Cheng straightforwardly introduced them as his mother-in-law and aunt-in-law.

The leader patted Zhou Cheng’s shoulder, “Take good care of them… By the way, what’s with all the watermelons your men were carrying?”

Watermelons were distributed to all leaders and colleagues except Fang Shizhong. Zhou Cheng was direct: “Since they reported us even after eating the lamb my wife sent, I’ll keep these watermelons for ourselves.”

With about 30 watermelons left, Zhou Cheng’s men could each have a piece. Why share with others who’d report them afterward?

The leader was speechless.

Though the previous report was “anonymous,” everyone knew who filed it. This wasn’t Zhou Cheng holding a grudge—he just refused to feed dogs with food he’d bought!