RIRW – Chapter 98

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_{Hey, everyone! 🌟 I know there’s been some inconsistent updates lately, and here’s the culprit: Unruly Phoenix Xiaoyao – More Like Unruly Disappointment. I got so wrapped up in finishing it because I HAD to know what happens between the ML and FL. Spoiler alert: it was… well, let’s just say, meh. Disappointing? Yes. The end of the world? Nah, I’ll survive. 😅}

_{Thanks for being patient—I promise I’ll get back to my usual rhythm soon (without diving headfirst into another potential disappointment, haha). Let’s keep the vibes strong! 💪}

The two of them went directly to the new house. Shen Yiming asked Zuo Dan to tell him about the changes she wanted to make while he sketched them out on the blueprint.

Zuo Dan glanced over and saw that he had drawn out everything she had just described.

“Shen Yiming, you actually know how to draw?”

Shen Yiming replied, “We used to have a teacher who taught sketching. I thought it was pretty useful, so I secretly learned for a while.”

Just learning secretly for a while… Zuo Dan finally believed that some people in this world really do exist just to make others feel inadequate.

Very quickly, under her instructions, Shen Yiming had drawn out the completed design of the renovated house.

It was almost exactly the same as what Zuo Dan had imagined in her head.

Now that there was a visual reference, Zuo Dan could see things more clearly. She pointed to the master bedroom and said, “This room is so big. We could totally create a walk-in closet here.”

“A space specifically for clothes?”

“Mm-hmm. That way, we won’t need to buy a big wardrobe. We’ll just have someone build a row of cabinets, and we can store as many clothes as we want.” After saying that, Zuo Dan suddenly realized something—people in this era didn’t really have that many clothes. No wonder buying a single large wardrobe was enough for newlyweds; one wardrobe was usually more than enough.

But Shen Yiming thought the idea was great. After all, he definitely planned to buy Dandan lots of clothes in the future—new outfits for every season. One wardrobe definitely wouldn’t be enough. A row of cabinets where everything could be neatly hung and easily accessed would be much more convenient.

“Alright, we’ll make a walk-in closet,” Shen Yiming agreed. “I’ll also get you a big mirror so you can admire yourself in different outfits every day.”

As a woman, Zuo Dan was very excited at the thought of such a scene. She happily hugged Shen Yiming and kissed him on the cheek. “Shen Yiming, you’re the best!”

Shen Yiming licked his lips. “This doesn’t count as me taking advantage of you, right?”

“Nope, consider it your reward.” Zuo Dan grinned smugly. Now that she had her grandmother’s support as her trump card, she wasn’t worried about Shen Yiming getting too bold anymore.

Shen Yiming smiled contentedly. “If you kiss me again, I might treat you even better.”

Zuo Dan laughed. “Keep dreaming.” She was feeling pretty pleased with herself. In the past, when Shen Yiming wanted to kiss her, he would just grab her and kiss her directly. Now, he could only hold back and endure.

Seeing that Zuo Dan wasn’t giving in, Shen Yiming didn’t push it further. He put the blueprint in his pocket and sighed. “I was actually planning that after we get married, we could go on a trip during the holidays. I’ve heard that Shanghai is pretty nice. After the wedding, we could take the train, enjoy the scenery along the way…”

“Mwah, mwah, mwah…” Zuo Dan suddenly threw her arms around his neck and planted a bunch of messy kisses all over his face.

Shen Yiming said helplessly, “Comrade Zuo Dan, are you trying to wash my face?” Then he pouted, asking for a proper kiss.

Zuo Dan bit his lips lightly. “I’ve already rewarded you. But you better remember this—we’re definitely going on a trip after the wedding. First stop, Shanghai. Then maybe Beijing… actually, forget Beijing. Let’s just visit Shanghai first.”

Although she had stayed in Shanghai before, the Shanghai of this era was definitely different from the one she had known. She had to go check it out. Plus, it would be their honeymoon, which made it even more meaningful. As for Beijing, they could visit later. Maybe she’d even apply for college there someday—no rush. Besides, Beijing might be a bit tense next year anyway.

Shen Yiming didn’t argue with her change of plans. After they settled on the renovation details, he went off to find some reliable workers.

At this time, house renovations were handled by specialized construction teams under state management. But Shen Yiming was so well-connected that he didn’t even need to ask around—he immediately found a familiar foreman.

When the foreman heard that Shen Yiming was renovating a house for his wedding, he agreed without hesitation.

Officially, they were just fixing up the damaged parts of the house. But in reality, they would be following Shen Yiming’s custom instructions, replacing doors and windows, and handling the carpentry work as well.

Of course, none of this would be reported to the state—it was considered under-the-table work for the master craftsmen. On one hand, the workers could earn some extra cash. On the other hand, a private renovation project of this scale might attract unwanted attention.

After inspecting the house, the workers promised they could finish everything before the end of the year, in time for the wedding.

Zuo Dan asked about the cost, and after doing the math, it came out to around 200 yuan.

The labor costs weren’t too high; most of the expense was for materials. The master craftsmen offered to use salvaged materials from old houses to save money, but Shen Yiming refused and insisted on using higher-quality materials.

Zuo Dan nearly pinched his ear. “You spendthrift!”

After handing the keys to the foreman, Zuo Dan and Shen Yiming walked home together.

On the way, Zuo Dan couldn’t help but ask, “Shen Yiming, how do you know so many people? You seem to have connections everywhere.”

She had previously assumed that Shen Yiming only had contacts within government agencies. But now it was clear that he even knew people in the construction business. His network was surprisingly extensive.

Shen Yiming replied, “I grew up in the provincial capital. Making a few connections isn’t that hard.”

“You didn’t deliberately make these connections just because you knew you’d need to renovate the house, right? That would be planning way too far ahead.”

Shen Yiming said seriously, “People aren’t stupid. If you approach them with an ulterior motive, do you think they’d bother with you? Comrade Zuo Dan, let me tell you—the key to building genuine relationships is to give something first. You might never need to call in that favor, but if you do, the payoff will be many times greater.”

Zuo Dan thought that if it were her, she probably wouldn’t be able to do the same. She was more easygoing and laid-back, just content to live comfortably within her existing resources. But she admired Shen Yiming for being able to network so effectively without relying on wealth or status.

She figured that was perfect, though. She didn’t like dealing with complicated stuff, but Shen Yiming seemed to thrive on it. He could handle the stressful stuff while she enjoyed life without worry.

“Oh, by the way, Shen Yiming, I’ll cover the cost of the renovations.”

Shen Yiming knew about her little side business, so she didn’t need to explain where the money came from.

Shen Yiming casually pedaled his bike. “Comrade Zuo Dan, your man isn’t so poor that he needs to dip into your private savings. Save that money for your personal spending.”

Zuo Dan smiled and pinched his waist. “Shen Yiming, have you forgotten? We agreed on this. You buy the house, and I’ll pay for the renovations. Don’t underestimate me—I can make money just as well as you can.”

Shen Yiming teased, “Did I really agree to that? When? What day? There’s too much going on—I can’t remember everything.”

“August 16th!” She remembered it crystal clear.

“Oh… August 16th…” Shen Yiming’s voice stretched out, laced with a bit of tenderness, making Zuo Dan’s skin crawl with goosebumps.

“Shen Yiming, get serious. We agreed on this!”

Shen Yiming sighed, “Alright, for the sake of August 16th, I’ll listen to you. By the way, Comrade Zuo Dan, since you’re footing the bill, I think we can make the house even better. Foreman Li said he could make it look modest on the outside but actually very luxurious inside.”

“Get lost, you spendthrift!” Zuo Dan opened her mouth and bit his back.

Instead of getting angry, Shen Yiming laughed out loud. He liked it when Zuo Dan acted close to him.

The two of them playfully bickered all the way home. As soon as they got back, Grandma pulled Zuo Dan aside and asked in a hushed tone if Shen Yiming was behaving himself.

“Very well-behaved! Grandma, you’re amazing—I really admire you. Now that you’ve got my back, Shen Yiming won’t dare to bully me anymore.”

Feeling flattered, Zuo Dan laid it on thick with the praise.

Grandma was delighted, grinning from ear to ear. Ever since Dandan had come to the provincial capital, Grandma felt like she smiled every day, and even her health had improved. She even felt younger.

That afternoon, Zuo Dan mentioned to Shen Yiming that she wanted to treat Xu Dapeng to a meal. After all, Xu Dapeng had helped them out yesterday, and she’d already agreed to the meal—it wouldn’t be right not to return the favor. Since it was Shen Yiming who had caused this trouble in the first place, Zuo Dan thought it was only fair for him to pick up the tab.

When Shen Yiming heard that Zuo Dan had even gone to the coal yard, he playfully tugged her braid. “Comrade Zuo Dan, I’m starting to feel a sense of crisis here. I think I need to get even smarter, or else I’ll definitely be outsmarted by you in the future. How is your little head filled with so many tricks?”

Zuo Dan poked his chest with her finger, “How come your heart is full of so many schemes?”

Shen Yiming laughed and pressed his forehead against hers. Seeing Zuo Dan’s bright red, smiling lips, he couldn’t resist leaning in.

“Yiming, go sweep the yard!” Grandma’s voice called out from inside the house.

“…”

---

The next day, as soon as Shen Yiming arrived at the office, he got a call from Xu Dapeng.

That morning, Wei Jingren had shown up with a new household registration booklet. Her name had already been changed to Wei Jing.

Xu Dapeng said, “What did you say to her? She actually went along with it so easily and changed her name without any fuss. She even told me to let you know that now that you’ve gotten what you wanted, you shouldn’t misunderstand her anymore. She said she never intended to harm you two.”

“Since her name has been changed, her affairs are none of my business anymore. By the way, let’s have lunch together today. I’ve got something to discuss with you. It’s not convenient to talk about over the phone—we’ll talk over lunch.”

“Alright! Comrade Zuo Dan already promised me that you’d treat me to lamb soup.” Xu Dapeng sounded excited.

But there was no lamb soup. When they arrived at the lamb restaurant at noon, the place was closed. Restaurants that specialized in meat often faced supply shortages—if they ran out of meat, they’d simply close until new supplies arrived.

So they found another restaurant instead. Since they had things to discuss, Shen Yiming booked a private room for their meal.

After a few bites of rice and some meat dishes, Xu Dapeng looked satisfied and asked, “Aside from Wei Jingren… I mean, Wei Jing’s situation, what else did you want to talk about?”

Shen Yiming, having finished eating, put down his chopsticks and took a sip of hot water. “How’s Zhang Baoshu doing at the coal yard?”

“I’ve been keeping an eye on him. He used to be a supervisor at one of the lower-level coal yards. Even though he’s not very capable, he has seniority, so he’s been promoted to team leader. At first, he behaved himself, but once he became a team leader, his true nature came out. He couldn’t mess with the female office staff, so he started harassing the apprentice girls.”

Shen Yiming frowned. “We need to find a way to get rid of him. We didn’t bring him here to cause trouble.”

“How are we going to do that? I’ve been thinking about catching him red-handed, but it’s not easy.” Xu Dapeng looked troubled.

“By the time you catch him, he’ll have already harmed someone. We need to have him removed before that happens.”

Xu Dapeng immediately replied, “I’d love to get rid of him too, but I don’t have that kind of power.”

Shen Yiming gave him a withering look. “I wasn’t counting on you. But I don’t want to handle this directly either. After all, I’m not part of the coal yard. It wouldn’t look good if I meddled too much. But you can bring it up with your uncle. This could work out well for him.”

Xu Dapeng’s eyes lit up. He knew that Shen Yiming never asked for favors without offering something in return.

Shen Yiming lightly tapped the table as if he were thinking. “Zhang Baoshu is already a team leader. If we remove him, that opens up a team leader position. The coal yard management probably has family members who’d like that spot—like the mine director, the deputy director, or the union chairman…”

“But what does that have to do with my uncle?”

Shen Yiming continued, “If your uncle helps take down Zhang Baoshu, the management will support placing their family member in that spot. But once that family member moves up, their previous position will become available. Your uncle would have a chance to claim it. He could then trade that position for a favor from someone else. If the management’s family member gets a promotion, your uncle essentially gets a free position in return. All they need to do is get rid of one troublemaker. Do you think they’d go for it? I remember that when the mine director retires, your uncle could even compete for that position. Having a favor like this would give him a huge advantage.”

“…Bro, you’re a genius. That 86-yuan salary of yours is well-earned.” Xu Dapeng picked up his tea and downed it in one gulp.

Shen Yiming smiled as he took a sip of tea. He just wanted to get everything sorted before the wedding. That way, he wouldn’t have to worry about these things afterward.

After lunch, Xu Dapeng rushed off to the coal yard to talk to his uncle. He wanted to get Zhang Baoshu out as soon as possible before he caused any more trouble for the female apprentices.

Of course, he also wanted to score points with his uncle. He was his uncle’s favorite now, and every time he approached him, good things followed. His uncle was always happy to see him.

After returning to the office and resting for a while, Xu Dapeng was about to head to the mine committee office when Shao Aijun from the labor union showed up.

No surprise there—Xu Dapeng already knew why he had come.

For the past few days, Shao Aijun had been pestering him about getting a permanent job for Wei Jing. Xu Dapeng had been avoiding giving a clear answer, waiting for the situation to settle down.

But now, Xu Dapeng felt a bit annoyed—especially after talking to Shen Yiming earlier. He was in the mood to stir things up a bit.

So when Shao Aijun brought up the job for Wei Jing, Xu Dapeng handed him a cigarette, patted his shoulder, and said, “Comrade Shao, I’d love to help you out.”

Shao Aijun’s eyes brightened.

“But I can’t help right now.”

“Why not?”

Xu Dapeng took a puff of his cigarette and sighed. “It’s because of what Wei Jing did…”

It seemed like the permanent job was now impossible to secure. Xu Dapeng had already explained things so clearly—there was no way Shao Aijun could bring it up again. But he would make sure Wei Jing knew it wasn’t because he lacked ability; it was because she had ruined things herself.

Because she had been forced to change her name, Wei Jing felt like a part of her had been torn away. She spent the entire day feeling empty and dazed. Then, as soon as she got off work, Shao Aijun came to tell her that the permanent job was no longer happening. Her eyes immediately reddened.

Shao Aijun grew impatient. “Stop crying already! I did my best. Xu Dapeng said he originally intended to help, but you messed things up by going to find that person. Now, be honest with me—what exactly did you say?”

“I was just explaining things! I didn’t say anything inappropriate,” Wei Jing bit her lip and replied. She really hadn’t said anything out of line—just stated the facts to that village girl. Who could’ve known the girl would overthink it like that?

“You’re still denying it.” Shao Aijun was a little angry now. He felt like he was being played for a fool. Even Xu Dapeng was treating him like a fool now. It seemed like everyone knew the truth except for him.

“If you trust other people so much, why are you even bothering to talk to me?” Wei Jing’s eyes filled with tears.

Seeing her like this, Shao Aijun couldn’t find the words to continue. His heart felt stifled. In the past, he would have immediately comforted Wei Jing, but not anymore. Unless he got to the bottom of this, he would feel uneasy. He liked her so much, but the idea that she might have feelings for someone else made him uncomfortable.

“I’m not going to ask anymore. Think it over carefully. Once you’ve figured it out, we’ll talk. You should rest now—I’m heading home. My mom’s already upset about this whole thing. If I get home late, she’ll start making a fuss.”

After speaking, Shao Aijun turned and walked away.

“Aijun,” Wei Jing called out, but Shao Aijun didn’t look back.

She clenched her fists, feeling both wronged and resentful. All she had done was speak to that girl—she hadn’t gained anything from it. Now even her name had been changed, so why was everything still so difficult for her?

---

At the Shen family’s dinner table that evening, Shen Yiming reported the day’s important events to the two women of the house.

The first matter was that he had called Zuo Dacheng and arranged to move up the engagement date. Zuo Dacheng had no objections. After all, it was just an engagement, not the wedding itself, so changing the date didn’t really matter. They hadn’t set things in stone before anyway. Moving it up a little was better—it would give Yiming more time to prepare.

Zuo Dan acted like she didn’t hear anything. She kept drinking her soup and eating her meal, looking very satisfied.

Grandmother glanced at her grandson and secretly chuckled. This kid had really met his match with Dandan. If it were any other girl, Shen Yiming would have her completely wrapped around his finger by now. Life would be so dull if things were too easy.

After the first announcement, neither of the two women commented. Shen Yiming took that as silent approval. The matter was settled.

Next, he brought up the second issue. “Wei Jingren has officially changed her name. From now on, she’ll just be Wei Jing. Her name has nothing to do with me anymore.”

Zuo Dan finally put down her bowl and asked, “She really changed it? After holding onto that name for so many years, she just gave it up that easily?”

Grandmother said, “It’s for the best. She took that name to try to tie herself to Yiming — pretending she was part of the family. But after she got what she wanted, she treated Yiming like that. It’s better that it’s changed.”

Shen Yiming smiled. “It seems like you’re both pretty happy with this.”

“Very happy,” Grandmother nodded.

Zuo Dan also nodded. It was good that it was finally over. Even though she knew Shen Yiming wasn’t interested in that woman, just thinking about it left a sour taste in her mouth.

Shen Yiming smiled faintly.

After dinner, Shen Yiming took Zuo Dan out for a walk to discuss the engagement details. He was planning to go to Zuo’s hometown for the proposal after he wrapped up his current work.

They wandered through a small park. It was already dark, and the number of people outside was starting to thin out.

When they reached a quiet pathway, Shen Yiming suddenly stopped and leaned in close to Zuo Dan’s face. “Zuo Dan, I need to have a serious talk with you.”

Zuo Dan frowned. “If you want to talk, then talk. Why are you standing so close to me?”

“It’s nighttime. Talking this close makes it easier to hear,” Shen Yiming’s dark eyes gleamed at her. In the dim light, his breath felt particularly close, and Zuo Dan could practically feel it against her skin. Her face flushed.

Shen Yiming leaned in even closer, as if about to kiss her—but he didn’t. He just hovered there and continued speaking, “See? I remember everything you don’t like. I always make sure to keep you satisfied, don’t I?”

His tone had a teasing lilt to it, which made Zuo Dan’s heart skip a beat. “…Mm.”

Shen Yiming smiled. Because they were so close, his lips brushed against Zuo Dan’s. He immediately pulled back.

Zuo Dan’s heart fluttered. Was Shen Yiming trying to seduce her?

Shen Yiming went on, “As long as it’s about you, I’ll always make sure you’re satisfied. For example, I know you like sweet things, so I ate some candy just now. Why don’t you give me a kiss and check if my lips taste sweet? Just a little kiss—like eating candy.”

“Eating candy?” Zuo Dan’s voice was a little dreamy.

“Mm-hmm. Try it.” Shen Yiming coaxed her softly.

Zuo Dan leaned in and indeed smelled something sweet. She licked her lips and looked up at Shen Yiming, noticing that his gaze had darkened with heat.

She smacked her lips and suddenly pushed him away, accusing him, “Shen Yiming, you little trickster! You had candy but didn’t give me any, and now you expect me to taste it from your mouth? I’m going to tell Grandma!”

Shen Yiming’s expression froze.

“Hahaha! Shen Yiming, you really thought you could trick me? Dream on! Where did you even learn that from?” Zuo Dan laughed.

Shen Yiming sighed and stayed quiet.

Zuo Dan folded her arms behind her back and strolled around him, sizing him up. No matter how she looked at him, Shen Yiming was incredibly attractive right now—so handsome and charming that it made her heart race.

Then she suddenly smiled, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him hard on the lips.

Mmm. Shen Yiming wasn’t allowed to mess with her, but she could mess with him all she wanted. It felt amazing.