Chapter 88: Staying Out All Night

Chapter 88: Chapter 88: Staying Out All Night

"Didn’t you just say you were afraid the steamed buns were poisoned?"

Shen Songyao burst out laughing.

"Who in the squad has nothing better to do than poison me?"

"What would they gain?"

"I was just teasing."

She took another bite of the bun as she spoke, her words muffled by a full mouth.

"But as for what happened last night, don’t think you can get me to just let it go with a couple of buns!"

She was referring to him not coming home all night.

When Li Hanchen heard this, he thought she was still sulking because he had refused to help her with her request.

His gaze lowered, and his voice grew distant.

"I’m heading out now."

Shen Songyao nodded hurriedly.

"Oh, go on, go on! Hurry up! I have to get ready and head out, too."

"Are you going to sell hair clips?"

"That’s right!"

"Where are you going to sell them?"

Li Hanchen froze the moment the words left his mouth.

’Why did I ask that?’

"The Municipal Department Store! But..."

She paused before adding,

"I just got kicked out of there yesterday. Today, I’m planning to scout out a new spot to set up."

"Why did they kick you out?"

His expression darkened instantly.

"They thought my little stall was getting in the way of their counter’s business."

Hearing that was the reason, the tight line of his mouth relaxed slightly.

"Why not rent a storefront? The state monopoly on goods is long gone. It’s perfectly fine to run your own business now,"

he suggested.

Shen Songyao scratched her head.

"I haven’t saved up enough yet. I’m flat broke."

"You can have all the money in my bank book!"

"The bonus from my last mission is about to be paid out, too. Together, it’ll definitely be enough for you to secure a storefront."

At his words, Shen Songyao actually lowered her head and started to mull it over.

’Opening a shop looks respectable, but the rent alone is crushing.’

’Shelves, lights, mirrors, wiring, electricity bills...’

’Every single thing costs money.’

’And then there’s foot traffic. The department store is packed with browsing customers who’ll make an impulse buy like a hair clip without a second thought.’

’But if you’re holed up in a small shop with a deserted storefront, you’d just be scraping by, wouldn’t you?’

’Besides, there’s more than one department store in the city. If I get chased from the east side, I can move to the west side.’

’In a new spot, there will always be new faces to see my wares.’

’If I really rented a shop just to sell these cheap little trinkets...’

The more she thought about it, the more she felt she’d barely make a dime.

With that thought, the eager excitement on her face vanished.

Li Hanchen misunderstood. He thought she was worried that if she spent the money on herself, there would be nothing left for her family.

His brow furrowed.

"Use this money for now. You’ll earn back more in the future. Every extra cent you earn is an extra cent you can send back to them."

"Right now, you’re running all over town, hawking your wares and working yourself to the bone. How much do you actually take home?"

Shen Songyao blinked.

"Hm?"

"I’m not saying you shouldn’t help them, but you have to take care of yourself first."

"When you said ’them’ just now, were you referring to the Song Family?"

she asked.

Li Hanchen’s throat tightened.

’Calling them ’they’ wasn’t right. Those were his in-laws.’

But after everything the Song Family had done, he just couldn’t bring himself to address them with respect.

His brows furrowed even tighter.

"They’re your relatives, but..."

"How could you not know that I’ve already cut ties with the Song Family for good?"

Shen Songyao suddenly raised a hand, her fingertip poking him right in the chest.

"It’s all your fault! You didn’t come home last night, so I didn’t even get a chance to tell you something this important!"

The words came out in a rush as her slender, pale fingers tapped repeatedly against his chest.

Each tap sent a jolt through him, making his heart pound heavily, once, then again.

He had no choice but to reach out, enveloping her hand in his palm.

But his mind had already latched onto the most crucial phrase.

’Didn’t come home for the night?’

He had just opened his mouth to speak when Shen Songyao grabbed his hand.

"Whoa, your hands are so big and strong! Let’s see whose is bigger."

"Yaoyao..."

Li Hanchen’s throat felt a little tight.

Shen Songyao tilted her head up, her eyes bright.

"Ooh? The thing on your neck just moved! Can I poke it?"

All of Li Hanchen’s exposed skin flushed red in an instant.

Shen Songyao had just stood on her tiptoes when voices echoed from the stairwell.

Li Hanchen quickly pulled his hand back, his grip firm on her wrist.

"Let’s talk inside, quickly!"

Before the words were even out of his mouth, he was pulling her into the room.

The door had barely clicked shut and he hadn’t yet let go when Shen Songyao pressed herself against him.

"You smell so good!"

"What kind of soap is it? Where did you get it?"

Li Hanchen thought she was genuinely asking about toiletries. Even though the tips of his ears were burning, he still answered honestly.

"The department issued it. It’s just one of those green bars."

Shen Songyao rose a little higher on her toes.

"Can you bend down and talk to me? My hearing isn’t very good."

Li Hanchen frowned.

"Did you clash with the family again?"

When he came back yesterday, he’d had a lot on his mind.

He figured Shen Songyao was so fed up with that whole mess involving her older sister that she kept pestering him, which was why he’d been avoiding her.

He’d waited until the dead of night, standing right outside their door with his hand on the knob, but he hadn’t been able to bring himself to turn it.

That’s why he was still completely in the dark about what had happened.

Now, seeing Shen Songyao acting like a completely different person, Li Hanchen’s heart sank.

’Could the shock have been too much? Did something snap in her mind?’

’How else could he explain this situation?’

He had seen similar things before.

When people go through something devastating, if they can’t handle the emotional toll, they tend to break.

Li Hanchen took a small step back, his eyes downcast, his gaze falling to the tips of his shoes.

Shen Songyao put down her spoon, pushing her porridge bowl to the side.

’Is he trying to be a monk or something?’

’So unbelievably boring!’

She looked down and picked up the rest of her bun.

"Oh, Liu Yumin and Shen Yujie were adamant that I get you to find a job for Yang Haoming. You wouldn’t budge, so they cornered me and harassed me every single day. I got fed up and fought them."

"To be honest, I think they went too far."

’I knew it!’ Li Hanchen thought.

’This must have been the thing that broke her.’

He glanced at Shen Songyao again. She was slurping her porridge and seemed energetic enough, but...

Her eyes... they were too still. Unnaturally so.

The more he watched her, the more unsettled he felt. He thought he wouldn’t be able to rest easy until he had a doctor take a look at her.

But he didn’t dare say it out loud.

’I think you’ve lost your mind. Let’s go make an appointment and get you checked out?’

If he actually said that, it would be like pouring gasoline on a fire. She’d probably explode on the spot.

If she really did have a mental breakdown and lost her senses, it would be a debt he could never repay.

So Li Hanchen decided he would first go talk to a doctor he knew, to get some information without alarming her.

Shen Songyao polished off her breakfast in a few quick bites. As she picked up her meal tin to wash it, Li Hanchen reached out and took it from her.

"Let me wash it. Don’t you have to hurry to the morning market to set up your stall?"

Shen Songyao’s hand got restless again, and she patted him on the chest.

"Hubby, you’re being so sweet! Treating me like your precious little treasure, are you?"

Li Hanchen’s body went rigid. He instinctively flinched away as the tips of his ears flushed scarlet.

"I’ll go wash the dishes! You get your things packed!"

Before he’d even finished speaking, he had already vanished into the kitchen.

Shen Songyao blinked.

’Huh?’

’That reaction...’

’Did he blush?’

’Oho, interesting!’

When he came out of the kitchen wiping his hands, Shen Songyao was stuffing her merchandise into a cloth bag.

She had already organized everything the night before, so it only took a moment to pack.

Li Hanchen reached out to help her with the bag, and Shen Songyao immediately grinned and moved closer.

"Hubby, you’re just the sweetest~ And so thoughtful, too!"

And just like that, Li Hanchen’s ears started to burn again.