Chapter 140: Another Level Up

Lu Chuan glanced at the sky, feeling sorry for Fang Yuan. “You must be tired. Let’s eat first.”

He crouched down and massaged Fang Yuan’s calves. “Why don’t we just settle on a place and stop worrying about spending money?”

It wasn’t easy to spend money, mainly because Fang Yuan wanted to get the best value. There were houses she liked, but they were all too expensive.

Fang Yuan said, “That won’t do. We have to compare, after all—it’s a lot of money. If we look around more, we might save a few hundred. What’s a little tiredness compared to that?”

Wu Hu nodded along. “Brother-in-law, it’s not easy to earn money. Don’t you feel bad just handing it over? I think we can keep looking.”

Lu Chuan felt embarrassed to say, I feel even worse for Fang Yuan.

Lu Chuan said, “Buying a house isn’t something to rush. We can look again next week.”

What else could he do? Fang Yuan hadn’t made up her mind yet. She’d compare everything: that house was too old, this one was too remote, or the alley was too narrow—her mixer wouldn’t fit through in the future.

And she wanted a big courtyard. She even said, what if she bought a big crane one day and there wasn’t space to park it?

Lu Chuan couldn’t very well say, “If you really bought a crane and just left it at home instead of working, you wouldn’t be able to eat or sleep.”

Wu Hu nodded again. “That’s true. If the house is too small, Fang Yuan will get mad, and you won’t even have a place to hide, brother-in-law.”

Lu Chuan thought, there’s no need for that. He didn’t dare say he’d never upset Fang Yuan, but he certainly wouldn’t hide from her.

When they got home, Wu Hu didn’t go back to the construction site or anything. The day had been more exhausting than working.

Lu Chuan boiled a big kettle of hot water, and Wu Hu watched as his brother-in-law carried a basin of water into the room for Fang Yuan.

Wu Hu sucked in a breath. None of them treated their wives with such care. Brother-in-law really knew how to put aside his pride.

He thought, next time they go house hunting, they’d better pick one with high courtyard walls. Otherwise, if people saw how attentive brother-in-law was to his wife, there’d be gossip all around.

Wu Hu really did carry a lot in silence.

Fang Yuan was truly tired and didn’t move from her seat. “You and fifth brother go wash up. I’ll do it myself.”

Lu Chuan hadn’t expected that suggesting they buy a house would make Fang Yuan even more exhausted. She was so meticulous when checking out courtyards, even inspecting the tiles on the roof.

To Lu Chuan, Fang Yuan’s thoroughness was her way of being responsible for their future. He really cherished this about her. “No rush. Fifth brother can handle it himself.”

Fang Yuan didn’t catch the tenderness in his words. She raised an eyebrow. “You think I can’t do it?”

Lu Chuan simply put Fang Yuan’s feet in the basin. “I’m saying you work harder than us and pay more attention to detail.”

Fang Yuan didn’t notice his actions and just followed the conversation. “Of course. It’s our home, after all. We have to be careful. We’ll be living there for a lifetime.”

Lu Chuan smiled and, without hesitation, started washing his wife’s feet. Fang Yuan was working so hard for their home.

What’s wrong with being picky about a house? It just means you care.

Lu Chuan suggested, “Why don’t we increase our budget a bit?”

Fang Yuan, feet in the basin, refused crisply, “No way.”

Lu Chuan got splashed in the face by the water.

Fang Yuan quickly wiped him off. “I didn’t mean to. But you can’t just spend money recklessly. That’s a bad habit. You need to change.”

Lu Chuan said, “And you shouldn’t lose your temper so quickly. Aren’t we just discussing? That’s not a bad habit—I don’t think you need to change. But at least let me finish what I’m saying.”

Fang Yuan was silent for a while. Lu Chuan was always easy to talk to and never lost his temper, which made Fang Yuan feel awkward and self-reflective. “I’ll try to change too.”

Lu Chuan said, “No rush. Take your time. Tonight, read with me for a bit—it’ll help you calm down and be more mindful.”

Fang Yuan’s expression changed instantly. “Are you saying I’m not mindful?”

Then she added, “If I was good at studying, I’d be in college by now.”

Lu Chuan replied, “That’s just because you didn’t have the right method. Look at your math before, and now you’re great at keeping accounts. Clearly, it’s the method that was wrong.”

Fang Yuan’s expression softened. “That makes sense. Maybe if I study with you, I’ll end up with a ‘money’ character at the end of it.”

Lu Chuan paused, still holding her feet, his shoulders shaking with laughter. He thought, at this rate, she’ll write a whole book on money.

Fang Yuan asked, “What are you laughing at?”

Lu Chuan looked a bit giddy with joy. Fang Yuan said, “Don’t make fun of me.”

Lu Chuan said, “No, no, don’t get mad. Really, I’m just happy. Let me enjoy it for a bit.”

Lu Chuan might not have much of a temper, but he could always coax the fiery Fang Yuan around. Look, now she was even willing to study with him.

When Lu Chuan came out of the room, Wu Hu saw his brother-in-law beaming, looking like he was walking on air, grinning from ear to ear.

Wu Hu was impressed. What kind of level was this? Carrying water to wash your wife’s feet and still being so happy about it, coming out of the room looking like you’d lost your bearings.

As a bachelor, he really couldn’t understand.

Anyone who didn’t know would think he was washing gold nuggets, not feet.

Wu Hu refused to believe his own sister could be so good at coaxing people—after all, he’d lived with her for over twenty years and knew her well.

So the problem must be with his brother-in-law. He really wasn’t an ordinary person.

Lu Chuan truly was different. When chatting with Fang Yuan, he’d mention stories about couples in the dorms.

He’d sigh, “You know, some people date and are always worried and frowning. What’s the point? Clearly, they’re not right for each other, and yet they ask me for advice.”

Fang Yuan glanced at Lu Chuan. “Weren’t you just like that when we first got married?”

Lu Chuan immediately sat up and shouted, “No way!”

Then, despite claiming he’d never get mad at his wife or storm out, Lu Chuan stayed outside for a long time, unable to remember what he’d been like back then.

Even the easygoing Fang Yuan didn’t understand why Lu Chuan had gone out. She’d just told the truth—whether he admitted it or not, it was what it was.

When Lu Chuan finally figured it out and went back, Fang Yuan was already asleep.

Lu Chuan realized that Fang Yuan would never really understand how he felt.

He even massaged her calves for a long time before finally lying down beside her to rest.

On Sunday, it started to snow lightly. Lu Chuan suggested to Fang Yuan that he and fifth brother could go house hunting without her.

But Fang Yuan wouldn’t hear of it. What was a bit of snow? She’d grown up following fifth brother around, having snowball fights and skating—she loved it.

So Lu Chuan, with a dark face, prepared a hot water bottle for Fang Yuan to hold, and even changed the water twice on the way, making Wu Hu wince.

His sister really didn’t need that much pampering—she could hold a snowball with no problem.

Was it really necessary? Even Fang Yuan was getting impatient, but Lu Chuan just said, “Don’t you know your own situation?”

Wu Hu was completely baffled. What situation? He had no idea.

But Fang Yuan obediently hugged the hot water bottle the whole way.

Wu Hu was now certain—he just didn’t belong in their world, and he didn’t understand what they were talking about.

141."