Su Xiyue was startled by Ye Chen's sudden appearance and jumped up, throwing off the hand he tried to place on her, and said irritably, "Don't touch me without permission from now on."
"Hey, you don't need to react so strongly," Ye Chen said with a wry smile, "That really hurts your husband's feelings."
Su Xiyue glared coldly at Ye Chen, sat on the other side of the sofa, and ignored him, knowing that she was no match for Ye Chen in banter, not even in a hundred years.
However, for the first time in forever, she had checked out a romance drama today, and to her embarrassment, Ye Chen had caught her in the act, causing a slight blush to appear on her pretty face.
At this moment, a woman wearing an apron emerged from the kitchen, appearing to be in her forties; she was carrying a dish and smiled when she saw Ye Chen on the sofa, "Son-in-law, you're awake, the meal is ready."
Ye Chen had already learned about Su Xiyue's living situation before coming here; this woman must be Wang Ma, who took care of Su Xiyue.
"Thank you for your hard work, Wang Ma," Ye Chen said, standing up to help Wang Ma bring the dishes from the kitchen to the table.
Perhaps due to Ye Chen's visit, tonight's meal was exceptionally lavish. After tasting a bite, Ye Chen nodded and praised, "Wang Ma's culinary skills are impressive; no wonder Xiyue has been raised so plump and fair."
Wang Ma was overjoyed upon hearing this and chuckled, "Son-in-law, if you like it, eat more. It's been just the two of us in this big house before, and it's been very quiet. The young miss doesn't eat much, and much of the food usually goes to waste, which is such a pity."
"This girl is just squandering food; don't mind her. From now on, I'll take care of all these meals," Ye Chen said as he chewed on the delicious food, laughing merrily.
"Ye Chen, shut your mouth and eat properly." Seeing Ye Chen talk while eating, Su Xiyue's brows knitted slightly, her pretty face turned cold as she spoke sternly.
"How can I eat with my mouth shut? Sweetheart, why don't you give your husband a demonstration?" Ye Chen casually picked up a piece of vegetable, smiling as he chewed.
"You..." Su Xiyue glared at Ye Chen fiercely, as if her eyes were throwing daggers, and if looks could kill, Ye Chen would have been long dead and dismembered.
"Enough, don't fight anymore. Miss, it's the son-in-law's first day here, let's say a little less, come on, let's eat."
Watching the two on the verge of another verbal skirmish, Wang Ma shook her head with a smile and quickly tried to intervene.
Su Xiyue sat with a cold face, not saying a word, gripping the soup spoon tightly, stirring it angrily in the bowl, making a series of crisp sounds, as though she were venting her frustration on Ye Chen through the soup.
Seeing Su Xiyue act so childishly amused Ye Chen; for some reason, he always wanted to see her angry, finding it particularly adorable.
The atmosphere at the dinner table turned somewhat eerie; Su Xiyue sat quietly without a word, and although Wang Ma wanted to ease the tension and bring the young couple closer, she was at a loss for what to say in the face of Su Xiyue's ice-cold demeanor.
With chopsticks in hand, Su Xiyue looked at the sweet and sour pork ribs on the table. After a moment's hesitation, she reached out to pick up a piece and was about to place it in her bowl when suddenly, Ye Chen's chopsticks darted in front of her, snatching the pork rib from her chopsticks and into his mouth.
"These sweet and sour pork ribs are so delicious, tangy and sweet, Wang Ma's skills are truly unmatched."
Ye Chen deliberately took a bite of the pork rib and then said with a grin.
"That was the rib I picked up, Ye Chen, are you doing this on purpose?"
Su Xiyue seethed, her body trembling with anger, as she rebuked coldly.
"It was clearly I who picked it up; how is it yours? Since you want your husband to pick up food for you that much, here you go?"
Saying this, Ye Chen purposely offered the half-eaten pork rib back to Su Xiyue.
"You're shameless."
Looking at the spare ribs Ye Chen handed over, Su Xiyue felt so nauseous that she was almost dizzy. How could there be such a shameless person in the world, and this person was her husband to boot.
"My teeth are perfectly fine, no need for you to worry," Ye Chen said with a smile, showing off his pearly white teeth.
Su Xiyue slammed her chopsticks down on the table, stood up abruptly, and shot Ye Chen a cold glare before turning to go upstairs.
"Wife, aren't you going to eat more? You can't just eat this little."
Heavy footsteps thundered down from the staircase, demonstrating Su Xiyue's displeasure. If she stayed any longer, she might just die of anger because of him.
"Son-in-law, it's only your first day here and you've already driven the young lady away. Between husband and wife, harmony is the most precious."
Seeing Su Xiyue was so angry that she didn't even eat, Wang Ma couldn't help but complain.
"Wang Ma, I'm just helping her to lose weight, to maintain her figure," Ye Chen silently justified his shameless conduct. If Wang Ma realized he was deliberately teasing Su Xiyue, she would probably scold him.
However, seeing the usually unsmiling Su Xiyue get angry was really quite adorable.
Ye Chen wolfed down the food on the dining table voraciously, and then lay down on the sofa, letting out a comfortable belch of fullness.
Checking the time, it was just past seven. He hadn't been back to Zhonghai City for years, and it was time to go out and see how it had changed.
After a brief word with Wang Ma, Ye Chen left the villa area on his own.
The night lights of Zhonghai City were dazzling, with the entire city enveloped in neon. Walking alone on the streets, Ye Chen felt slightly unfamiliar with the rapidly developing Zhonghai, despite being gone for only a few years.
Crossing a main road, Ye Chen frowned slightly and a glint of coldness flashed in his eyes. Years of life-and-death experiences gave him a sharp intuition for danger. Although surprised, Ye Chen realized that two people were following him.
"Could it be that someone knows I've returned to the country? No, even the Nether Palace wouldn't have many people knowing about my return."
Ye Chen murmured to himself. Just returning to the country and already being followed—regardless of the reason, he couldn't ignore it.
If it were just him, Ye Chen wouldn't worry in the slightest that anyone could harm him, but now that he and Su Xiyue were living together, although they were in Huaxia, the cruelty of his enemies left him no doubt they would definitely do something dangerous to Su Xiyue.
But there was something that puzzled Ye Chen. Those people couldn't be stupid enough to send just two men to follow him. They should have made their move when he arrived at the villa.
After a short period of thought, Ye Chen didn't show any flaws and began to change his route unconsciously, deliberately heading towards less populated areas.
When he arrived at the entrance of an alley, Ye Chen suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked towards a dark shadow not too far away.
"You've followed long enough, come out on your own. Don't think of escaping, or I guarantee you two won't get out of this street alive," Ye Chen said indifferently, his left hand rubbing the ring on his middle finger, his entire demeanor becoming suddenly more menacing.
After several seconds, just as Ye Chen's patience was about to wear out, two figures emerged from the shady corner, and a voice came through.
"It's no wonder they call you the Nether King, your reputation is well deserved.