Chapter 174: Has a Tendency Toward Domestic Violence

He dragged Wen Ling into the room; Wen Ling wanted to take a bath, but Zhou Yinhe wouldn't let her.

He pushed Wen Ling onto the bed, bent over, grabbed a few small bags from the bedside table and threw them on the bed, then said to Wen Ling: "It's now 2 p. m.; let's aim to finish by 5 p. m., leaving you half an hour to bathe, and we'll set off at 5:30 to get a meal."

"" Wen Ling struggled a few times, then angrily cursed: "What do you think I am, some kind of thing that can endure your... and still have the energy to go eat?"

"Isn't that okay?" Zhou Yinhe tilted his head, leaned down to kiss her while also feeling regretful, sighing: "Then let's make it 4 p. m., giving you an hour and a half to rest and bathe."

Wen Ling didn't understand why he was in such a hurry; seeing his posture that insisted on having his way, she softened her tone to negotiate: "How about tonight? I'm afraid that if we go out to eat tonight, my grandfather and grandpa will notice something."

Zhou Yinhe's motion paused; indeed, if they were discovered, all his efforts these past days would be wasted—no one would want to see their beloved bullied.

"All right." Zhou Yinhe compromised, "Then twice."

"No way!" Wen Ling shook her head vigorously; she knows Zhou Yinhe best in this regard… If it really were twice, the first might be a bit quicker, but the second would still not be finished by four, more or less the same.

Now she was like a lamb awaiting slaughter, so she softened her voice, wrapped her arms around Zhou Yinhe's neck, acted coquettish, and earnestly praised him.

"Honey, you're not unaware of how capable you are; if we really did that, it definitely wouldn't work—just once, okay?"

Zhou Yinhe's ears turned red from her praise; as he lowered his gaze, his shimmering, watery eyes silently fixed on Wen Ling, and only after a long while did he hum in agreement.

Wen Ling let out a breath of relief, relaxed her whole body, and surrendered to him.

She also missed him, especially in the late night hours.

They hadn't been together in a long while, and she was also worried about the old gentleman next door, so they hurried through it.

Afterward, Zhou Yinhe took Wen Ling to bathe, solemnly saying: "Tonight, no matter what you say, I won't let you off."

Wen Ling narrowed her eyes; nighttime matters are for nighttime—she currently lacks the brainpower to think about how to entertain him tonight; all she wants now is to catch up on sleep, preferably without anyone disturbing her.

After bathing and returning to the room, Wen Ling curled up under the blankets, her thoughts scattered, half-asleep.

But Zhou Yinhe, who had just lain down behind her, was anything but honest, his hands and feet wandering, preventing Wen Ling from sleeping.

"Don't mess around; if you keep this up tonight, you'll regret it." Wen Ling grabbed his wrist and bit him, warning: "I'm serious—I'm not joking."

Zhou Yinhe let out a disappointed "oh," then held Wen Ling in his arms and also caught some sleep.

After waking up, Wen Lao and Qin Lao were playing chess in the courtyard; Zhou Yinhe had connected the two sides of the yard, making it even larger. For the two elders, he not only had the stone chess table under the pavilion renovated, but also had workers overtime to build a fish pond stocked with plenty of edible fish, so that while they passed the time they could also feel fulfilled.

When the two of them returned first in the morning, Wen Ling had been praising him nonstop; upon seeing this, Qin Lao and Wen Lao also kept saying how thoughtful Zhou Yinhe was.

Wen Ling only felt that Zhou Yinhe was quite scheming, having firmly grasped her grandparents' hobbies; if he kept indulging her like this, in the future, when Wen Ling bullies Zhou Yinhe, would he always have to go to the two elders for arbitration?

Seeing the two come downstairs, Wen Lao, without even looking up, said: "Why are you only coming down now so late?"

Wen Ling yawned, changing the subject: "Come on, come on—we agreed on 5:30; by the time we get there, we'll surely be late."

Only then did Wen Lao and Qin Lao lift their heads to glance at the two; Wen Ling subconsciously guilty, tugged at the scarf around her neck, her gaze wandering.

"Why is there a red patch on your chin?"

Wen Ling offhandedly explained: "I haven't been back to stay in a while; there are mosquitoes in the room."

The two elders this time were especially in sync; they both let out a soft hum, then rose together and walked toward the car parked outside the villa.

Wen Ling waited until they got into the car, then grabbed Zhou Yinhe hard and twisted, saying while putting force into it: "It's all your fault, all your fault."

Zhou Yinhe yelped from being twisted, feeling wronged: "Back then I was dazed; how could I have paid attention to this?"

"That's also your fault!" Wen Ling refused to listen, twisted his flesh another turn before letting go, and walked away without looking back.

Zhou Yinhe rubbed the sore spot where he'd been twisted, lifted his arm to look, and saw a faint purple hue already appearing.

As he chased after Wen Ling, he complained: "Do you have a tendency toward domestic violence?"

Wen Ling, while getting into the car and looking back with a squinting smile, said: "Yeah, scared yet?"

"What's there to fear? Hitting is kissing, scolding is loving." Zhou Yinhe followed her into the car and uttered a phrase that the two elders only half-understood.

Qin Lao first asked: "What do you mean, hitting is kissing, scolding is loving?"

Upon hearing that, Zhou Yinhe was about to tattle, rolled up his sleeves and just lifted his hand when Wen Ling slapped the back of his hand, giving him a glare.

"What's this? Are you guys arguing?" Wen Lao chuckled, teasing: "You two were just fine a moment ago; you're still like kids—say you'll turn faces and you do."

Wen Ling shook her head, explaining: "No, we're just playing around; we wouldn't argue over such trivial matters."

After saying that, she poked Zhou Yinhe: "You agree, right?"

Zhou Yinhe heard the warning in her words; he truly feared that if he messed up this bit, he'd get nothing tonight, so he also explained: "Right, we're just messing around."

Qin Lao and Wen Lao snorted with laughter, then paid no more attention to them.

Wen Ling then started an eye‑contact spar with Zhou Yinhe—unilateral, she glared and rolled her eyes at him, while Zhou Yinhe always wore an innocent expression.

For the sake of tonight's benefits, he really could endure it.

Wen Ling didn't want to continue the eye‑contact spar with him, because he only had one move while she had to make many—it was tiring, not to mention it made her look somewhat unintelligent.

Arriving at the restaurant, the four entered the private room Zhou Yinhe had booked in advance; they arrived at 5:40 p. m., Zhou Yinhe anticipated they might be later, so he had the restaurant prepare dishes ready to be served by six; thus, shortly after they sat down, the manager began bringing out the dishes with the waitstaff.

"Grandpa Qin should have eaten here before; Grandpa Wen, try a bite to see if it suits your taste." Zhou Yinhe rose, picked up the serving chopsticks, gave Wen Lao and Qin Lao some vegetables, then also gave Wen Ling some—exceedingly thoughtful.

The four chatted while eating; suddenly the manager knocked on the door, gave Zhou Yinhe a look, Zhou Yinhe frowned but still stepped out of the private room.

"What's up?"

The manager respectfully said: "Fifth Young Master, Young Master Jiang and Young Master Ke are in the other private room, asking you to come over."

Zhou Yinhe lifted his gaze toward the direction the manager indicated for the private room, nodded: "Got it."

After returning to the private room to say hello, he then went to the private room where Jiang Jibai and Ke Chengyu were.

"What's up?"

The two had solemn expressions.