When Lin Fei returned to the Purple Garden Pavilion, it was not too late, arriving just in time to catch his wife indulging in dinner.
Bright eyes, white teeth, and a beautiful face, Mu Shanshan, wearing a white chiffon shirt and seated elegantly at the dining table, resembled the Guanghan Fairy who had seemingly stepped out of a painting, possessing an ethereal beauty that was too divine to be desecrated.
Even though it was not the first time Lin Fei had seen Mu Shanshan, he couldn't help but take several more glances at her. Women like Mu Shanshan, no matter how often or how long you looked at them, were simply never tiresome; you'd only grow fonder.
"Have you seen enough?"
Mu Shanshan, who had just taken a sip of her century egg porridge, felt Lin Fei's aggressive gaze and couldn't help feeling uneasy, snapping at him in rebuke.
"Looking at my own wife isn't illegal."
Lin Fei sat down across from Mu Shanshan with an easygoing smile, answering flippantly.
Mu Shanshan's spoon paused in mid-air. Despite her unwillingness to believe it, the fact that she was Lin Fei's wife couldn't be changed. It didn't matter whether Lin Fei stared at her or did something even more outrageous, none of it would amount to a crime.
With this thought, Mu Shanshan, who would not flinch in the face of business tycoons, found herself at a loss for words.
"Alright, Miss, the young master has not been home for a while, so please hold back on your comments a bit," Auntie Lan interjected timely as she served up some dishes. "The young master hasn't had dinner yet, now you can try my cooking."
While speaking, Auntie Lan placed a set of tableware in front of Lin Fei.
For the past six months, Lin Fei had barely returned home. This was, in fact, the first time he and Mu Shanshan had sat down together at the same dining table for a meal since their wedding.
With a stomach that had been growling for a while, Lin Fei naturally would not refuse Auntie Lan's kindness. He served himself a bowl of porridge, picked up his chopsticks, and started to eat.
Watching Lin Fei gobble his food without regard for his image, Mu Shanshan frowned slightly, her beautiful face chill, "Can't you wash your hands before eating?" Her voice was icy and even carried a hint of anger.
Lin Fei, masticating his meal, replied impatiently to Mu Shanshan, "You're not a worm in my stomach—how would you know whether I washed my hands? You can't even keep your mouth shut while eating. Do you realize, my dear wife, that you're quite annoying?"
"Lin Fei, you..."
Anger flashed in Mu Shanshan's beautiful eyes, clearly provoked by Lin Fei's words.
Mu Shanshan was considered the perfect goddess by countless men, and even the scions of major families would put on their best gentlemanly demeanor in her presence, at least superficially.
At the company, she was the president, a position held in high esteem. All employees would treat her with the utmost respect.
And yet, at home, this nominal husband, Lin Fei, did not regard her at all. After just a few words with him, Mu Shanshan had hardly eaten anything and was instead filled with irritation.
Slam!
The woman forcefully placed her chopsticks on the table to voice her discontent with Lin Fei.
Thump, thump, thump, Mu Shanshan ascended the stairs in her crystal high-heeled slippers, fearing that staying any longer would cause her to die of anger from Lin Fei's provocations.
"Auntie, having just come back, you've already upset the miss. Couldn't you be a bit more considerate to her? Even a day-long marriage should have a hundred days of grace, and your marriage to the miss isn't that brief. Why can't you get along properly?"
Seeing Mu Shanshan leave in a huff, Auntie Lan couldn't help but reproach Lin Fei.
Lin Fei chuckled twice but didn't reply, continuing to savor the feast on the table by himself.
Truthfully, Lin Fei had intentionally angered Mu Shanshan away. Perhaps Auntie Lan didn't expect him to come home for dinner, so the meal she prepared was not very plentiful.
What Auntie Lan made was surely enough for her and Mu Shanshan, but for Lin Fei who had been hungry all day, it would have barely been sufficient for a seven or eight out of ten in fullness. This was something Lin Fei felt awkward to express outright, so driving Mu Shanshan away to enjoy the food alone seemed like an excellent idea.
"I am helping her to diet, to maintain her figure," Lin Fei rationalized shamelessly to himself. If Mu Shanshan knew what he was thinking, the possibility of her exploding in rage was not out of the question.
Having polished off the food on the table with great gusto, Lin Fei sprawled half of his body on the living room sofa and brewed himself a cup of coffee, contentedly enjoying the post-dinner leisure.
"Let's talk."
Having left the dining table and gone upstairs, Mu Shanshan appeared in the living room and sat down on the sofa next to Lin Fei, assuming a stance ready for negotiation.
Lin Fei wasn't surprised by Mu Shanshan's reappearance. If she were not there to negotiate, that would truly be the surprise.
As the two were destined to live under the same roof, it was natural to discuss certain matters upfront, given their current "marital relationship."
"Although we are married, this is not a normal love marriage. Whether you acknowledge it or not, this is an objective fact," Mu Shanshan started, her tone cold and unwavering as she continued, "I don't object to you living here, but you must respect my lifestyle."
Lin Fei spread his hands out, "Such as?"
"The first and most important point is that you absolutely cannot enter my bedroom without my permission. If you don't agree to this, then there's no point in discussing any further. I also promise you, in this house, where you are, I will not be, and vice versa."
Mu Shanshan's words were unusually stern, and with eyes ablaze, she fixed Lin Fei with a stare that conveyed she was not joking.
If Lin Fei wouldn't agree to her terms, she really would either kick Lin Fei out of the villa or move out of the villa herself.
"Don't be so serious, I'm not as shameless as you think. I agree to this," Lin Fei said with a serious look on his face at first, not speaking. But when Mu Shanshan was almost at the end of her patience, Lin Fei finally opened his mouth with a chuckle.
A twisted melon is not sweet, and although Lin Fei was curious about Mu Shanshan, the CEO wife, he was not the type of man who would force a woman to do those kinds of things.
If Lin Fei had wanted to force himself on Mu Shanshan, he probably wouldn't have waited until now. He would have taken advantage of the woman on the very day they got their marriage certificate, instead of foolishly renting a place outside. Mu Shanshan was Mu Hong's daughter, and out of respect for Mu Hong, Lin Fei would definitely not force a woman.
If Lin Fei needed to force his own wife, then he must have really lived these past twenty-plus years in vain.
Seeing that Lin Fei didn't make things too difficult for her and agreed, though the woman's delicate face remained cold, she quietly breathed a sigh of relief in her heart.
"The second point, you cannot let others know you live here, meaning you cannot bring people here. If, if you really need to entertain friends, you must get my approval beforehand. Only with my consent can you bring people home."
Mu Shanshan said this with a bit of guilt because, after all, they were married. From the perspective of a married couple, Mu Shanshan's request was somewhat excessive.
Lin Fei crossed his legs, lifted his head to stare at the ceiling, and spoke word by word, "Wife-dear, don't you think your request is a bit too much?"
A ripple flashed in Mu Shanshan's beautiful eyes, but it was only for a moment before it subsided, and she spoke in a firm tone, "I don't really like dealing with strangers, so please understand. If we get to know each other better in the future, I will consider abolishing this rule."
"Alright then, let's go with what you said. Anyway, I don't really have any friends in Zhonghai."
Mu Shanshan's request seemed excessive, but for Lin Fei, it wasn't unacceptable. Just as Lin Fei said himself, he didn't really have any friends in Zhonghai. Even if he invited Old Wang and his wife, they wouldn't come.
"The third point…"
"Mu Shanshan, don't push your luck!"
Lin Fei was getting annoyed. This woman had one condition after another, and it seemed never-ending. He had moved back because of Mu Hong, his cheap father-in-law, not to find trouble.
"This is the last point," Mu Shanshan quickly added, noticing Lin Fei's dissatisfaction.
Hearing it was the last point, Lin Fei narrowed his eyes and said, "Let's hear it, but I can't promise I'll agree."
"It's just that you can't casually use my things in the future; we need to keep our things separate."
The first two requests had been premeditated by Mu Shanshan, but this last one was improvised on the spot. Because, when the woman had come downstairs, she happened to see Lin Fei gobbling down her leftover preserved egg porridge.
Although Mu Shanshan was not a germaphobe, she couldn't accept the idea of them sharing a set of tableware, at least not for the near future.
"We'll see how it goes."
Lin Fei didn't agree to her request, not because he had ulterior motives, but because he was simple lazy; lazy to keep things that clearly separated. It would only lead to being scolded by her if they got mixed up later. It was better not to agree in the first place.
Mu Shanshan did not have the luxury of expecting Lin Fei to agree to all her requests. In her initial plan, if Lin Fei agreed to her first point, it would have been good enough.
Now, with the first two points settled and the third pending, Mu Shanshan was quite satisfied with the outcome.
"With that being said, I wish us a pleasant collaboration."
Mu Shanshan stood up, walked over to Lin Fei, and extended a hand as white and soft as jade.
Lin Fei was stunned, a hint of annoyance inevitably surfacing on his forehead, thinking she's treating the whole thing like a business negotiation.
From Lin Fei's expression, Mu Shanshan suddenly realized this was not a business negotiation and the man in front of her was not a business partner, but her own husband.
Immediately, a gentle ripple danced through her icy eyes, and a hint of blush surfaced on her jade-like cheeks. Instinctively withdrawing her hand, she turned and ascended the stairs.
"My darling wife, you won't let me into your bedroom, but you have to tell me where I'm supposed to sleep tonight, right? You're not planning to make me sleep on the sofa, are you?!"
Just as Mu Shanshan's graceful figure was about to disappear at the top of the stairs, Lin Fei couldn't help but call out.
"The bedroom on the left on the second floor will be your room from now on," Mu Shanshan paused on the stairs, finished her sentence, and continued walking up.
After taking a few steps, the woman suddenly turned around and spoke coldly, "You'd better go to bed early. Tomorrow is your first day at the company. Don't be late!"
With that, the woman didn't await Lin Fei's reaction but walked back to her own bedroom.
"This is cohabitation, right?"
Lin Fei murmured to himself while alone in the living room, realizing that from tonight onward, he would officially be living in the same house as Mu Shanshan. Although they wouldn't be sleeping in the same room.
While Lin Fei was contemplating, Mu Shanshan, back in her bedroom, tossed and turned in bed for a long time before falling asleep. With an additional person in the house, and this person being her husband, it was impossible for Mu Shanshan, no matter how indifferent she may seem, to be without thoughts.