My wife is a witch princess.

“Yes. You can’t kiss me first, but… I can kiss you.” Xia Li announced the rules seriously.

Damn it, what's the difference?

Aren't we all family?

"I don't know!" Xia Li replied confidently, using the universal answer.

"...Fine, if I don't know, I don't know." Song Che sighed resignedly. "Then...you do it."

As a result, Song Che was once again put on the defensive.

He watched helplessly as Xia Li leaned closer, her blue eyes growing larger and larger before his eyes. Damn it, His Highness isn't even closing his eyes when he kisses him!

To avoid appearing too shy, he tried to widen his eyes.

The two stared at each other in very close proximity.

Xia Li lightly touched his lips and then withdrew, not giving Song Che any chance to "go further".

Song Che savored the fleeting, light touch, and the more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt.

What does it mean to say "You are allowed to kiss me, but I am not allowed to kiss you"?

I'm the man, damn it! Isn't this establishing my position in the family way too early?!

Song Che's sense of male pride kicked in, and before Xia Li could completely back away, he suddenly leaned in and gave her a light, punitive kiss on her soft cheek.

Snapped!

"Why did you hit me again?!" Song Che covered his forehead.

"You kissed me too hard." Xia Li pointed to a small, light red mark on her cheek that had been sucked out, and accused her seriously. "And we agreed that you wouldn't move when I kiss you."

Xia Li's earnest and reasonable manner made Song Che feel a little guilty.

After all, he had indeed promised her... Sigh, who told her to value "a promise" so much? Other girls probably wouldn't be so bothered. But other girls... Song Che thought about it, and it seemed none of them were as good as Xia Li.

"Xia Li..." Song Che tried to change the subject, with a hint of coaxing, "Shall we have a drink tonight? It's the middle of winter, it'll warm us up."

"Don't drink."

"Just a little bit, it'll warm you up."

“I get headaches and dizziness when I drink.” Xia Li remained unmoved, her eyes revealing a clear understanding of everything. “Besides, the tone and expression you’re using right now are very much like the ‘malicious’ descriptions in books. I’m not stupid.”

“…Okay.” Song Che said casually, mostly just to tease her out of habit.

He couldn't force Xia Li to do anything.

Do unto others, do not impose on others.

He himself disliked being controlled or forced, so he understood that feeling best. Xia Li was a witch, but now she was also the girl he cherished, his girlfriend. He wanted Xia Li to be happy, not sad.

He would never take advantage of his knowledge to deceive or mislead her.

Just then, he suddenly felt his hand being grasped by a slightly cool small hand. Xia Li pulled his hand over and put it into her own warm pocket. She seemed to want to express some emotion, but after adjusting her facial expression for a long time, she finally just pouted slightly and whispered, "Your hands are cold, let me warm them up for you."

Song Che didn't quite understand the logic behind her sudden action, but he was too lazy to delve into it. Just holding her hand like this, feeling its delicacy and the gradual warmth it brought, was already very comfortable.

He leaned against Xia Li, but didn't reach out to hug her. He simply closed his eyes, enjoying the tranquility and warmth. This was just fine.

...It's not because Xia Li knocks on my head.

Well, it's lunch break time, a good time to relax. I still have to work on the problems this afternoon, so I'll take a nap first.

After a while, Song Che felt a warm sensation on his earlobe, as if someone was breathing near his ear.

Xia Li leaned in, very close, her voice almost inaudible:

"Thank you... thank you, Song Che."

"Ok?"

"You've never... lied to me."

Xia Li hates being deceived the most.

Song Che hadn't specifically realized this before.

His choice not to deceive stemmed primarily from his own principles.

This wasn't just directed at one person; it was true that whether it was Xia Li, his parents, or his friends, aside from occasional jokes, he disliked lying. He knew that many people would think it was a bit foolish.

But perhaps it was precisely this "foolishness," this sincerity, that earned him equal sincerity time and time again. He had good friends who worried about him and would skip class to come see him just as foolishly. He also had childhood friends he'd grown up with. He had ordinary but deeply loving parents. And then there was Xia Li, who was exactly to his liking… This was the most important one.

What he admired was Xia Li's purity, her untainted spirit, like a lotus rising from the mud. Nothing could easily change her heart.

This is not a bad thing.

Because Xia Li is a good girl with a pure heart.

"Hehe." Song Che couldn't help but laugh out loud as he thought about it.

He actually got to experience such good fortune first.

“But you tried to kick me out before,” Xia Li suddenly brought up old grievances.

"Huh? When?" Song Che feigned ignorance.

"When I first met you, you pretended not to know me and said I was a glutton and an idiot. You even thought about strangling me in your heart more than once."

Song Che smiled awkwardly: "It's my fault, it's all my fault."

"Then... why do you like me?" Xia Li looked up at him curiously. She couldn't seem to understand this question at all.

"Because I'm not serious," Song Che tried to bluff his way out.

“I know you’re not serious,” Xia Li’s logic was clear, “but I don’t think that’s the reason.”

"I told you, but you won't understand right now..." Song Che was about to give a perfunctory answer when he felt Xia Li gently squeeze his hand, which was in her pocket, as if she was about to pull it away. He immediately changed his tune, "Actually, I did say that. If you can remember which sentence it was, you'll understand."

"There were many times when you looked at me and thought, 'You're so beautiful,' 'I want to touch your legs,' and..." Xia Li paused, trying to recall, "...it seems like you only liked me because you were so indecent."

“Not entirely those. It seems you still haven’t found it.” This time, Song Che wasn’t being mysterious; he had indeed said certain things, but Xia Li hadn’t given a particular reaction at the time.

"I can't find which sentence it is," Xia Li said, somewhat annoyed.

“If you can’t find it, take your time looking. Consider it a little test for you.” Song Che didn’t plan to tell her directly. He smiled and said, “Once you find the sentence I ‘confessed’ to you, you’ll know what I like about you. By then… you should also understand what ‘like’ means.”

"Okay." Xia Li nodded seriously and silently wrote down another agreement.

Song Che continued to enjoy the warmth and softness from Xia Li's palms with a sense of peace. As he touched them, he sometimes wondered to himself: Why are Xia Li's hands so nice to touch? It's as if he can never get enough of touching them.

Damn it, women are such terrible creatures!

Chapter 73 Going Home (3k)

Song Che slept soundly, his hand still unconsciously holding Xia Li's hand, until Xia Li gently shook him awake.

He groggily reached for his phone and looked at it—good heavens, he'd accidentally slept for almost two hours.

His right hand was warm in Xia Li's pocket. It turned out that girls' body temperature was indeed a bit higher. He had been sleeping on the sofa for so long without feeling cold.

As soon as he opened his eyes, reality returned instantly—it was time to study again, and he didn't even think about sleeping a little longer.

Song Che had assumed that, given his past personality, he would at least find a chance to slack off. But aside from today's unexpectedly long lunch break, he hadn't dared to neglect his studies for a single moment during this period.

Perhaps it was because the heavy thoughts in my heart were far more powerful than weariness and lethargy.

Even now, Che, he really doesn't dare to miss a single moment!

He mentally encouraged himself, sat up straight again, and as he opened his book, he couldn't help but utter a somewhat melodramatic declaration:

"Okay, I'll give it my all! I must get into Nanjing University!"

……

Dozens of kilometers away, the train swayed and rattled rhythmically on the tracks.

A 48-hour hard-seat journey, commonly known as a "deadly rhythm," plus several hours of layover waiting, requires immense willpower, as anyone who has experienced it knows.

Even an iron will won't work.

Just thinking about it makes your back and buttocks want to protest.

Zhang Shushu was fast asleep, lying on her side on her husband Song Jianguo's lap.

Sleep on the train is always light and fragmented, but the weariness that had accumulated between her brows finally eased somewhat. Wrinkles had appeared on her face, and her complexion was no longer as radiant as in her youth, but the delicate features of her younger days could still be faintly discerned in the contours of her eyes and brows.

Song Jianguo looked down at her. As a man, he felt sorry for his wife who had to take the train with him.

He reached out and tugged at the coat covering her. Although it didn't seem to let in any wind, he just wanted to pull it a little tighter. It seemed like there was nothing else he could do.

The journey home was rather long, mainly because the hard seat was uncomfortable, but he thought about many things along the way.

This family has never been supported by him alone. There is another person on his shoulders. She foolishly followed him year after year until today. She feels that she is doing alright. She is not cold or hungry, but she just doesn't enjoy life much.

Going to school was tough back then. At twenty, he was still an immature kid. But now, approaching forty, he feels he's still not mature enough, and there's still so much he doesn't understand. The things to learn in this world seem endless. The more he sees, the more he feels his generation is becoming obsolete. He doesn't really like accepting new things, and the old ones aren't very applicable.

But at this moment, he didn't care much about these things; he had already made up his mind about it after returning.

Avoid unnecessary trouble. Going out and working yourself to the bone won't save enough money for medical treatment when you're old.

And after all these years of hard work, that's enough.

We need to find a way to let Shu'er rest and enjoy some leisure time.

Women back then loved to save money, and Shu'er was no exception. She always liked to plunder his secret stash of money, practically like a robber. She never told him the password to the shared bank card at home, saying that the money was saved for their son and that he shouldn't spend it, and he shouldn't spend it either. But he knew perfectly well that the money was really in there, and the password hadn't been changed for over a decade. He could transfer it all away with a single transaction.

She wasn't stupid; he was the one who was stupid enough not to fully understand that she trusted him, not that he was an idiot.

The train changed tracks... A slightly larger jolt woke Zhang Shushu groggily. She struggled to sit up: "Jianguo, lean on me and sleep for a while... Did I sleep too long? Why is it still light outside? Have I slept all day?"

She glanced out the window; a misty vapor clung to the window, and she was half-asleep.

"It won't be long, take a nap. We're almost home." Song Jianguo helped her up, letting her lean on his shoulder. "You look so tired. How about next time, we buy sleeper tickets?"

No sooner had she finished speaking than she received a familiar punch to her arm, though it was always her who felt the pain.

"The sleeper berth is twice as expensive, are you going to pay?" Zhang Shushu's voice was still sleepy, but her instinct for calculating had already awakened.

“I’ll give it to you. I still have money hidden.” Song Jianguo patted his pocket. “I have a hidden compartment.”

Zhang Shushu rolled her eyes at him, but her tone wasn't so harsh: "Let's talk about this next time... You don't need to give me the money. Keep your little bit of savings for yourself. Otherwise, if I kick you out of the house one day, you won't have a penny to your name and you won't be able to survive and will starve to death."

"Okay, wife," Song Jianguo replied with a smile.