My wife is a witch princess.

A glint of light appeared in Xia Liqing's eyes, "...How many gold coins do you need?"

"You really want to see it?"

Song Che turned his head. It was the first time he had heard Xia Li's tone of 'excitement'. There weren't many things that could interest Xia Li. 'Eating' was one, 'potions and alchemy' was another. He never expected that looking at the stars could make her happy.

"If you want to see it, I can pay you."

"I'll take you next weekend, it won't cost much."

"Is tomorrow okay?"

"I have to go to school tomorrow, and if I remember correctly, I have a mock exam tomorrow... Holy crap, I have to take an exam."

Song Che's head was buzzing.

The grueling academic burden of senior year pierced his mind. At No. 1 High School, all the knowledge had already been learned in senior year. Senior year was all about repeated exams: exams on Mondays, self-study on Tuesdays, results on Wednesdays, discussions on Thursdays, self-study on Fridays, Q&A sessions on Saturday mornings, and then the cycle would repeat itself after a week.

This is unlike Earth's gravity, which even Newton couldn't control.

This isn't like crossing a threshold, where you can just get through it if you have money.

Chapter 19 You really can't even wash a dish!

The rice was cooked and the celery and egg stir-fry was steaming hot. Song Che carried the plate to the living room table. Xia Li had already washed her hands and was ready to eat. She had eaten eggs and rice before, but this bright green celery was something she had never seen before. Xia Li was ready to try this new thing.

She picked up a piece, smelled it, and noticed a pleasant fragrance.

He put it in his mouth and took a bite, his brows furrowing slightly.

This tastes just as unpalatable as the first potion I made.

...It's bitter, you should add some toothpaste.

She swallowed it with difficulty and quietly stuck out the tip of her tongue.

Song Che filled a bowl with rice, took off his apron and hung it on the hook, but he didn't sit down to eat. Instead, he put on his coat and walked towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Xia Li asked, speaking a little faster.

"Buy bed sheets." Song Che stepped out the door with his left foot, then turned back and added, "I'll be back soon, you can just eat. The landlady is downstairs, it's cheaper than the supermarket."

"……Oh."

The door closed gently.

Xia Li lowered her head and ate a mouthful of rice. As she chewed, she suddenly felt that the rice didn't smell so good anymore. She held her chopsticks for a few seconds, then put down her bowl and unconsciously looked at the door panel.

After Song Che left, she was left alone at home. Xia Li couldn't eat much, so she carried a stool to the door and sat down.

He looked a bit like a security guard at a gate.

……

Song Che went downstairs, turned into the alley, and pushed open the door to the landlord's shop on the first floor.

The shop is small, filled with everyday groceries and handmade furniture. The workmanship is not exquisite, but the materials are solid. Residents in the neighborhood love to buy their goods here.

"Auntie, have you eaten yet? I'd like to get a thicker blanket; the one I had before was a bit chilly at night."

A middle-aged woman behind the counter patted her back and stood up: "Oh, I was just about to go back. How thick do you want, Xiao Che?"

"A little thicker than last time would be fine." Song Che paused. "The duvet cover should be light purple. How much? I'll transfer the money to you."

"I'll charge you 180."

"Please don't always give me such a low price..."

"It's all homemade, it didn't cost much." The old lady bent down and picked up a quilt, while glaring at her son who was lying next to her playing on his phone. "You're better than my son. Remember to invite me to a feast when you get into university! The winter solstice is in a couple of days, it'll be even colder, come to my place for dumplings."

"...You're too kind." Song Che smiled helplessly. He was terrible at social niceties and refusing favors, but the older generation always did it this way, leaving him unsure whether to accept their kindness. He scanned the WeChat QR code, transferred 280 yuan, and then said, "I honestly forgot the exact amount, but consider this a token of my appreciation. With this 100 yuan, could you please buy me a few old copies of 'Live Science' magazine? I remember there were quite a few piled up in the corner; I wanted to take them back and look through them."

The old woman laughed, turned around and gathered the magazines that were used to prop up the table legs and piled up in the corner into a stack, then tied them with a rope.

"Do you need my help? There's a lot of stuff."

"No, I can carry it on my back. Auntie, please start cooking."

Song Che picked up the quilt, slung the bundle of magazines over his shoulder, and pushed open the door to walk into the alley.

My home is only a dozen meters from the alley entrance, on the second floor; otherwise, my small frame really couldn't have carried it that far.

He struggled to find his keys, ready to open the door, but before he could find them, the door opened.

Xia Li pulled down the doorknob and opened the door a little way. The small stool she had just been sitting on was placed next to the door.

To be honest, if she smiled, the scene would have been quite heartwarming. But she always had a calm expression, like a machine.

"You're back."

Her tone softened slightly.

"Hmm. Why aren't you eating? You're not going to sit here waiting, are you?" Song Che glanced at the small stool behind the door, and the image of her sitting upright guarding the door flashed through his mind. He almost couldn't help but laugh.

...Doesn't it look a bit like a puppy waiting for its owner to come home?

"No, I just happened to walk over and open the door." Xia Li looked away.

“…Oh.” Song Che put down the Life Science magazine and the blanket, and took the small stool from behind the door back to the table. “Let’s eat first, I have something to tell you.”

Xia Li stared at the chair that had been taken away, then sullenly sat back down in her original spot. When she was lying, she had completely forgotten about the chair.

"First thing, my little prince, do not open the door for anyone unless I ask you to. What if it's not me after you open the door? This place is relatively safe, but that doesn't mean there aren't bad people. You don't have magic now, and you can't even beat me in a one-on-one fight."

"...I understand." Xia Li sensed a hint of reproach in Song Che's voice and pursed her lips. She just wanted him to come in quickly, which wasn't wrong of her. Xia Li felt a lump in her throat, silently lowered her head, and took a big bite of rice.

"The second thing is that, starting today, the other bedroom is yours. I will teach you how to make the bed once, and after that, it's up to you."

"...Okay." She completely agreed; she hadn't originally planned to ask him for help. But her emotions were still running high, and she stuffed another mouthful of rice into her mouth.

"Thirdly, I have school tomorrow and will be back at noon. In the meantime, you should stay home and read." Song Che placed several science magazines on the table. "Flip through them roughly, and mark anything you don't understand. I'll teach you when I get back."

Also—if anyone asks about our relationship, I'll answer. If I'm not around, just say we're friends or relatives.

“…Okay.” Xia Li finished a bowl of rice in three bites, devoured half a plate of scrambled eggs in three bites, and only touched the celery once. After finishing, she held the empty bowl, secretly glancing at Song Che out of the corner of her eye, and then pushed the bowl towards him.

Song Che served her a bowl of rice and then started eating himself.

The Life Science magazine is quite comprehensive, covering topics like electricity, water, and natural gas usage, as well as general knowledge. Song Che didn't expect her to learn everything at once; he just hoped she would get an impression so it would be easier to teach her later.

Safe living in daily life...is really important!

As for tomorrow's exam, Song Che has given up on treatment.

If you test him, he can talk about complex alchemy and forbidden potion-making procedures. If you test him on what bad habits, shortcomings, vices, and potion-tasting experiences witches have, he can write a book about it. Even if you test him on whether there is reproductive isolation between goblins and dragons, he can say that there is no isolation.

but--

If you were to test him on line integrals, Lagrange terms, relative clauses, and trigonometric functions, Song Che felt he could chop off his hand; even scattering rice for chickens to peck at a formula would be better than him.

No, relative clauses and trigonometric functions have absolutely nothing to do with each other, and it doesn't even qualify as a mistress.

Song Che mechanically chewed the rice in his mouth, unaware that Xia Li had already finished the remaining half plate of eggs.

I'm taking the exam tomorrow without any preparation, so I'm waiting for your advice online. It's urgent.

Song Che's homeroom teacher was a typical senior teacher, who ranked the first in the grade as king, the second as prime minister, and so on, with the rest being eunuchs and laborers.

It means you're not even a songstress like Ba.

Song Che felt like he was dying.

Even rice doesn't taste good anymore.

Xia Li wiped the rice from the corner of her mouth, sat up straight, and asked, "Do you still want to eat?"

After finishing the last two bites of rice, Song Che looked down at his plate.

He wasn't full.

Apart from that lone dish of celery, the other plates were completely empty.

...I didn't wash enough rice at noon.

"Make sure to cook extra rice tonight, just enough for you."

Song Che gave a reminder, then noticed Xia Li eyeing him intently, so he pulled his bowl back.

He quickly finished his rice and the remaining celery, then took his bowl and chopsticks into the kitchen. Seeing Song Che guarding his food, Xia Li gave up her idea of ​​taking it from him and got up to bring in her own bowl and chopsticks.

"I want."

Song Che put down his chopsticks and bowl, making room for Xia Li.

"Here you go, here you go, look, and these too, they're all for you."

Song Che handed over the dish soap and pot scrubber with suspicion, shaking his head slightly. Could the witch really wash dishes? She seemed to have only ever washed potion bottles and magic brooms.

They seem quite confident in their statements.

Xia Li took them, looked down at the two items in her hand, and stared at them for several seconds.

Then she looked up, her voice soft, "These two... how should we use them?"

Chapter 20 Song Che didn't know that he and Xia Li were a hundred years apart.

Song Che finally understood what it meant to be a tough nut to crack.

The man in front of him had no money, was disabled in domestic chores, and didn't have a valid ID card, so he couldn't even get into an electronics factory. He just stayed at home eating and drinking for free. Song Che couldn't think of any way to recoup his losses except by selling him by weight to human traffickers with poor eyesight.

If Mom knew she'd raised such a useless little brat, she'd be furious.

Song Che sighed, resignedly squeezed some dish soap into the bowl, filled the pot with water, soaked the pot brush, and waited until the water level covered the bowl and plates before turning off the water and starting to wash the dishes.

“This stuff is called dish soap, it’s used to remove grease.” Song Che rinsed a bowl with water. “It smells nice, but you can’t eat it. The fragrance is for removing odors. If you eat it, you’ll get sick. You’re not much different from a human now, so you’ll get sick too.”

Xia Li held out her hand, "...Can I wash the rest?"

"Come here."

Xia Li put her hand into the water, and her eyes widened instantly.

...It's so cold, yet Song Che didn't utter a sound.

She picked up the pot brush and, imitating Song Che, scrubbed it around. Just like when she brushed her teeth, Xia Li rigidly followed the brushing motion, but Song Che could definitely tell that she was trying.