Actually, when Jiang Nuo came upstairs earlier, Mu Qiuniang had already noticed him. But since the morning sun was the perfect timing for cultivation, she didn't want to waste the opportunity and chose to ignore him.
After a while, Mu Qiuniang opened her eyes: "Why didn't you sleep a bit longer?"
"Honey, I missed you." Jiang Nuo, a grown man, showed no shame and dove over to hug her tightly. Standing at 1.8 meters, Mu Qiuniang's petite frame didn't even reach his shoulder—it felt more like hugging a child.
But he loved hugging her like this. She seemed to melt into his embrace, and it felt utterly wonderful.
Hehe, can he admit that when they were kids and about the same height, he had been resentful about not being able to hold her close whenever he wanted? Now that he finally could, there was no way he'd let her go!
"If you hold me like this, I can't walk properly."
Before the words were even finished, Jiang Nuo scooped her up in his arms.
He grinned mischievously and said, "Hehe… My legs are longer, and I walk faster than you."
Mu Qiuniang: "..." Didn't even bother responding to him.
Breakfast was prepared by Mu Qiuniang—there was no other choice since Jiang Nuo was a kitchen assassin. Even when he followed seemingly correct recipes, his creations would carry a natural toxic aura, turning into dark culinary disasters. Apart from Mu Qiuniang, whose body could withstand the chaos, eating his food was a one-way ticket to disaster.
As a result, Jiang Nuo generally avoided the kitchen, lest he harm others.
A simple spread of meat buns, side dishes, and black rice porridge was transformed by Mu Qiuniang into a gourmet masterpiece, leaving Jiang Nuo's belly full to bursting every time.
"Honey, your cooking is amazing! I could never get tired of eating this for the rest of my life!" Jiang Nuo didn't forget to shower his wife with praise.
Sitting across the dining table, Mu Qiuniang adhered to the "don't speak while eating" tradition with an elegant dining posture, akin to a noblewoman's portrait. She was so graceful it seemed like a visual guide for dining etiquette.
Not receiving a response didn't bother Jiang Nuo. He continued eating happily while admiring the lovely scenery. Hehe… His wife was indeed the prettiest, even when eating!
Although he couldn't cook, he could certainly wash dishes. After the meal, he diligently tidied up the tableware.
When he returned, Mu Qiuniang had already prepared a fruit platter. Her creation looked like an open-tailed peacock—exquisite and artistic, practically a work of art.
"Hey, wait a minute." Seeing his wife about to dig in, Jiang Nuo quickly stopped her and started searching for his phone, "Where's my phone? This is so beautiful; I need to take a picture!"
Mu Qiuniang shrugged helplessly: "You left it on the bedside table last night."
"Honey, don't eat yet, wait for me…" Saying this, he hurried to the bedroom to fetch his phone.
The poor, abandoned phone had been left forgotten all night and was even powered off. Upon turning it on, a flood of calls, texts, and unread WeChat messages bombarded the screen. Jiang Nuo didn't even glance at them, dismissing the notifications outright so he could take a picture of the fruit platter first.
After snapping the photo, he looked at Mu Qiuniang pitifully and said, "Honey, since our marriage has already been made public, can I post some daily life updates? Don't worry, I won't (for now) include pictures of you."
Mu Qiuniang thought that since people wouldn't know she made the dish anyway, she nodded her approval.
Jiang Nuo immediately uploaded the picture gleefully, writing: [.jpg Wow! My wife's skills are amazing. I just managed to wash a dish, and the dessert was already prepared (drooling emoji).]
Right after posting, he received a call from Lu Mingchen: "Jiang Nuo, are you trying to kill me?! Why did you take so long to answer? Do you know I almost had a meltdown…"
Nervously glancing at Mu Qiuniang, Jiang Nuo noticed she was flipping through her sketchbook. Relieved, but slightly disappointed, he sighed. Sigh… They'd been married so long; shouldn't they have developed some chemistry by now? Why was his wife's attention never on him?
He went to the balcony with his phone: "Big brother, can you lower your voice? My wife nearly overheard you."
"So what if she hears? If you're afraid she'll overhear, why do you still act recklessly without consulting anyone? Jiang Nuo, are you determined to drive me up the wall?!"
"No, no, I still rely on you, big brother."
"Then can I beg you, next time you plan to do something, discuss it with me first? Do you even know how much trouble your stunt caused? I got severely scolded by the higher-ups. Since last night, my phone has been ringing non-stop with people asking about your marriage… And heaven knows, before yesterday, I didn't even know you were married!"
...
In the living room, Mu Qiuniang seemed focused on her sketchbook, but she hadn't turned a single page in quite some time. Her ears twitched slightly, catching every word of someone's phone conversation clearly. Though she didn't understand why Jiang Nuo's announcement about his marriage seemed to have caused some monumental disaster, one thing was certain—Jiang Nuo was now in "trouble."
And this "trouble" appeared to be her fault.
On the balcony, Lu Mingchen continued instructing Jiang Nuo on keeping quiet about anything unless approved by his team, especially when it came to posting on Weibo.
"Uh, big brother, I just posted something this morning…"
"Jiang Nuo, are you trying to drive me insane?!" Lu Mingchen roared, giving someone a thorough scolding.
Mu Qiuniang frowned slightly, visibly displeased. She had never scolded Jiang Nuo, so who was this person to berate him so harshly? She didn't like this man and decided Jiang Nuo should limit his contact with him in the future.
Jiang Nuo obediently listened to the lecture, waiting until Lu Mingchen had finished venting before replying, "I didn't know, okay? Alright, alright, big brother, don't be angry. I'll be more careful from now on."
"Enough! Spare me, young master. If you pull stunts like this again, I'll go bald from stress. Let me check your Weibo post first." With that, the call abruptly ended.
Jiang Nuo felt a little defeated. When he posted, he truly hadn't thought that much about it!
Entering the living room, he saw Mu Qiuniang put down her sketchbook and say, "Jiang Nuo, I'm not too busy lately. If you need help with anything, you can let me know." She was sincere.
Though she didn't understand the entertainment industry much, when it came to Jiang Nuo's matters, she would absolutely help him.
"Honey, you're the best!" Jiang Nuo beamed happily and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, "Marrying you is the greatest blessing of my life!"
"Mhm!" Of course it was.
"Honey, I've been resting recently. Is there any place you'd like to visit? How about I take you on a vacation?"
Mu Qiuniang couldn't quite understand. Wasn't he in "trouble"? How did he still have time and the mood to take her on a trip? Men care about their pride—if he didn't want to tell her, so be it.
She didn't press him further and watched as he pulled out his phone to search for vacation spots.
While searching, Jiang Nuo teased her about being old-fashioned, saying it was ridiculous for someone her age to still not know her way around a phone. The couple's phones were matching models, yet apart from answering calls, Mu Qiuniang didn't use any other functions.