Zheng Hongjuan left with her head lowered, glancing back at Zhan Zeyi several times before walking away. There was a strange expression in her eyes.
"Auntie, Mom is looking for you!"
In the end, Zheng Hongjuan was dragged away by Political Commissar Wu's youngest daughter, which stopped her from saying anything inappropriate.
Tang Qiyue was then pulled back into the house by Zhan Zeyi.
"What's the point of talking to her? She's not very bright."
Zhan Zeyi took the soap out of the basin. Instead of handing it to Tang Qiyue, he squatted down beside the basin filled with soaking clothes.
Tang Qiyue was surprised at first, but when she saw Zhan Zeyi actually start washing the clothes, she was truly shocked.
Although her family had been wealthy and her mother had hired servants to handle housework, Tang Qiyue still washed her own clothes occasionally.
Now that she had married Zhan Zeyi, she never expected to continue living like a pampered young lady. She had already prepared herself to do household chores.
But seeing Zhan Zeyi washing clothes so skillfully completely overturned her expectations.
Even though she was shocked, Tang Qiyue didn't stop him.
Only a fool would stop him.
Zhan Zeyi skillfully applied soap to the stained areas. His large, rough hands scrubbed the clothes against each other like a washboard, and he cleaned them in just a few strokes.
Tang Qiyue could tell he wasn't pretending—he genuinely knew how to wash clothes.
"What? Touched?"
Zhan Zeyi rummaged through the basin and was about to lift the clothes from the bottom when Tang Qiyue grabbed his arm.
"I'll wash these myself."
Although Tang Qiyue could accept that a grown man like Zhan Zeyi knew how to do laundry, she still couldn't calmly watch him wash her underwear.
Zhan Zeyi simply pulled her into his arms.
"So you want to wash them with me?"
He was a soldier. Who in the army didn't wash their own clothes? To him, it had never been something embarrassing.
But when he pulled out the small garment from the bottom of the basin, he finally understood why Tang Qiyue had suddenly tried to stop him.
Most men would have immediately stepped aside in embarrassment.
But who was Zhan Zeyi?
When he first learned that Tang Qiyue was only a substitute bride, he had immediately rejected the idea of a fake marriage. From that moment on, he had already regarded her as his woman.
So washing his woman's clothes felt completely natural to him.
Zhan Zeyi might have been thick-skinned, but Tang Qiyue certainly wasn't.
A blush spread across her fair cheeks, more beautiful than the sunset.
Sitting under the eaves with his beautiful wife in his arms, even with soap foam still on his hands, Zhan Zeyi could clearly hear his own heartbeat.
He had never been someone who suppressed his feelings.
Realizing Tang Qiyue was genuinely shy, he leaned down to kiss her—but a hand suddenly covered his mouth.
"Zhan Zeyi, behave yourself!"
Tang Qiyue pushed him away and quickly jumped out of his arms.
Her eyes swept toward the military wives peeking from nearby houses, and her face turned even redder.
That rough and shameless Zhan Zeyi might not care about appearances—but she certainly did.
"You can wash them yourself!"
It was only underwear anyway. They were already sleeping in the same bed. If he wanted to wash them, let him.
Zhan Zeyi clicked his tongue. He glanced at the wives who quickly turned their backs and pretended not to see anything, then looked back at the clothes in the basin.
His gaze lingered briefly before he clicked his tongue again—but instead of kicking the basin away, he continued washing.
After finishing the laundry, Zhan Zeyi hung the clothes on the bamboo pole in the yard.
Then he called toward the house.
"I'm going to the camp office!"
Tang Qiyue responded but didn't come out.
Zhan Zeyi didn't go inside to check either. He knew she didn't want to see him right now.
Although a few bamboo sheds had been added to the yard, the fence hadn't been properly installed yet and the gate still wasn't finished.
Zhan Zeyi wasn't worried about people entering the yard. On this island, the only troublemakers were wild animals.
He had only walked a short distance when someone grabbed his shoulder.
"Brother Zhan, you've really put us in a difficult position!"
The speaker was Hu Peng.
Their houses were only a few dozen meters apart. Since neither of them had a proper yard yet, they could easily see each other's homes.
The sight of Zhan Zeyi washing clothes in front of his house had already spread everywhere.
Hu Peng had been scolded by Xu Qiuju for quite a while. If he hadn't seen Zhan Zeyi leave, he wouldn't have even had an excuse to escape.
As soon as he caught up, he noticed that Zhan Zeyi still had that familiar "I'm annoyed with everyone" expression on his face.
Zhan Zeyi brushed the hand off his shoulder and straightened his clothes.
"Walk properly."
Hu Peng was already used to Zhan Zeyi's personality and didn't get angry. He adjusted his own training uniform and walked beside him.
"Before your wife came to the army, didn't you wash your own clothes?"
Zhan Zeyi wasn't wrong.
But now his wife had arrived—and more importantly, he had washed Tang Qiyue's clothes.
Even without a yard, anyone passing by could see the clothes hanging on the bamboo pole.
These rough soldiers only owned military uniforms and training clothes. But Hu Peng had taken a glance earlier and clearly saw that the clothes hanging there belonged to a woman.
Everyone had said that Zhan Zeyi would definitely dislike a capitalist's daughter—especially one forced on him as a substitute bride.
But Hu Peng, as a man, understood something clearly.
With Tang Qiyue's face alone, there was no way Zhan Zeyi could dislike her.
He had just arrived on the island and already wouldn't let his wife do the laundry.
If that wasn't affection, what was?
That scoundrel was probably secretly thrilled.
"So what if you spoil your wife? We're brothers—I won't laugh at you."
Hu Peng chuckled twice.
But when he saw Zhan Zeyi lifting his foot as if to kick him, he quickly changed the topic.
"But what's going on between you and Dr. Qin?"
Zhan Zeyi gave him a look full of disdain.
Hu Peng ignored it and nudged his shoulder again.
"Don't tell me you couldn't tell Dr. Qin came to the island because of you. Now that you've brought your new wife here, what are you planning to do about Dr. Qin?"
"She transferred here with official orders. What does that have to do with me?"
Zhan Zeyi had a bad temper, but because of Old Master Qin's previous involvement, Hu Peng had always assumed Zhan Zeyi had feelings for Dr. Qin.
Otherwise, why would he rush home to settle his marriage with the Tang family before his injury had even healed?
Everyone believed he would break off the engagement and return to marry Dr. Qin.
Instead, Zhan Zeyi accepted this strange marriage.
"Are you serious?"
Hu Peng's expression changed.
Zhan Zeyi stopped walking and turned to look at him.
"Nonsense. I've already slept with her, submitted the marriage application, and moved her dowry here. If that's not real, what is?".