Di Yao was taken aback, then realized what he was apologizing for. She patted his shoulder and leaned closer.
"I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to blame you for not coming to my rescue."
After that, Wei Xunzhou fell silent. Di Yao thought she had hurt his feelings and felt guilty.
If only she hadn't brought up this topic.
In the blink of an eye, they arrived at their doorstep. Xibian heard the commotion outside and came out of the yard, circling Di Yao, wagging its tail, hoping she would pet it.
Di Yao wasn't in the mood and told Xibian to go back inside. After a few whines, seeing Di Yao's firm attitude, Xibian drooped its ears and went back.
Silence returned once more. Di Yao patted Wei Xunzhou's shoulder, signaling him to put her down.
Wei Xunzhou didn't comply. He carried her into the house, set her directly on the bed, and then went to get her shoes.
But Di Yao, having taken off her socks, jumped off the bed and followed him barefoot. There was carpet behind the screen, but nowhere else in the room. Only when she stepped off the carpet did she feel the cold floor.
The Yin-cold energy of the Underworld was indeed extraordinary; the chill from the floor seemed to seep into her bones. Di Yao curled her toes from the cold and waddled left and right like a little flower goose.
Wei Xunzhou opened the shoe cabinet. Instinctively, he reached for a pair of plain cyan embroidered shoes among the bright colors. But just as his fingers touched them, he changed direction and picked up the brightest yellow shoes in the cabinet, embroidered with all kinds of flowery patterns—the type Di Yao would like.
"I don't want to wear these today. I want to wear the ones you just picked out," Di Yao said playfully, leaning down to whisper in his ear.
Wei Xunzhou paused, then picked up the cyan shoes and threw them on the floor.
He closed the cabinet door and stood up, intending to leave, but from the corner of his eye he noticed that Di Yao was still barefoot, not even wearing socks. So he crouched down again, picked up one shoe, and put it on her foot.
Di Yao cooperated fully. Since she had no socks on, the rim of the shoe was stiff and a bit uncomfortable, but she still put it on, spun around, and showed it off to Wei Xunzhou carefully.
"Hehe, the shoes you picked are really pretty! They fit perfectly and feel comfortable!"
Wei Xunzhou let out a light snort, completely at a loss with her.
The shoes in the cabinet were originally Di Yao's own. With her saying that, it was as if they were shopping for new shoes together.
"Don't force the praise." Wei Xunzhou, who had been cold-faced, relented, his attitude unusually soft.
Di Yao felt relieved. "I'm telling the truth! How come I never noticed how good-looking these shoes were before?"
The only drawback was that the color of Di Yao's clothes didn't match the shoes very well. As she admired them, she muttered, "I wonder if there are any clothing shops in Fengdu City. I'll have to find a nice outfit to go with these shoes."
Then she looked up at Wei Xunzhou. "Later, I want you to pick out clothes for me, okay?"
Wei Xunzhou hesitated.
Di Yao quickly added, "Don't worry, husband. I'll pay for it myself. I'm earning money now."
She didn't know that Wei Xunzhou's hesitation wasn't about choosing clothes or money; he knew that in the vast city of Fengdu, there really wasn't a single clothing shop.
Seeing that Di Yao had started planning how to spend the money she earned here, Wei Xunzhou ultimately chose to keep silent and nodded in agreement.
Seeing Wei Xunzhou turn around, Di Yao grabbed his hand. "Wait."
Wei Xunzhou stopped. Di Yao stood in front of him. She had wanted to take this opportunity to explain the earlier misunderstanding, but somehow the words on the tip of her tongue were swallowed back. After much hesitation, she gave up, simply said, "Good night, husband," and ran off.
Leaving Wei Xunzhou standing there, stunned for a long time.