It had been a while, and Sophia, with flushed cheeks, walked out of the room and said to Meilani, "I'm sorry, but you'll have to make do tonight. The things in the west room are piled up, and he might not be able to tidy them all up right away."

Hearing Sophia's words, Meilani turned her head and saw her blushing face. Her mind involuntarily wandered back to the faint sounds of conversation she had overheard between the couple inside the room earlier. Her face flushed, and she quickly avoided eye contact with Sophia.

"It’s no trouble at all," Meilani quickly responded. "Please, don’t worry about it."

Sophia smiled and shook her head. "It's not a trouble at all, as long as you don’t mind our humble home."

She bent down to move the small wooden bed for the child to the east room, but Jackson, noticing, rushed over to help. "Honey, let me move it. Be careful not to hurt your back."

Sophia smiled and turned to the west room to help with cleaning up.

Jackson, working shirtless, had been repeatedly told by his wife to put on a white vest. His muscular arms were exposed, radiating strength. The vest covered the deep and shallow scratches on his broad back.

Not understanding why Sophia insisted he wear the vest, Jackson carried a few fence rails, planning to move them to the yard. But as he worked, he saw Sophia rolling up her sleeves and coming in to help. He immediately spoke up, "Honey, you don’t need to help here, it's too dusty. Go outside and wait in the yard."

Seeing Sophia refuse to listen, he anxiously put down the fence rails and pushed her toward the door. His heart ached at the thought of her working in such a dusty environment.

If it weren’t for the fact that they were about to build a house and a group of men would be coming in and out, he wouldn’t have let the young intellectual woman stay in their home.

However, there was an upside to keeping Meilani around—while Jackson was out hunting and gathering herbs, she could keep Sophia company and relieve her boredom.

Meilani, seeing Jackson push Sophia outside, couldn’t help but chuckle and tease, "Sister-in-law, your husband really dotes on you!"

Sophia blushed upon hearing Meilani’s words and shyly smiled without replying.

This man had truly changed. As long as he was home, he wouldn’t let her lift a finger! Even when it came to heating the water for her bath at night, he would prepare it and bring it to her room.

These past days, she had felt so carefully cherished, it was almost too good to be true… In fact, it was almost a little unnerving.

Sophia was afraid that Jackson’s enthusiasm might fade and he would return to his old ways, making her live in constant anxiety, feeling insecure.

Her mind was constantly on high alert, hoping this good life would last just a little longer. That’s why she was extra cautious in her words and actions, afraid of displeasing him.

At mealtime, she watched him hand her the white bread while he himself took big bites of coarse grain bread. He had always claimed he didn’t like the rough bread, yet he had her make it for him. But once it was made, he wouldn’t touch it, leaving it all for her.

She didn’t mind eating whatever, as long as he could settle down and stop running around, she’d be content.

Even now, she couldn’t figure out why Jackson had suddenly become so considerate. He had been a troublemaker, getting drunk and causing scenes, only to apologize the next day, swearing never to do it again. He would mellow out for a few days, but then revert to his old ways and go back to messing around.

She had never seen him act like this, cooking, boiling water, comforting the child, changing diapers, even buying clothes and shoes for the baby.

Sophia kept reminding herself to stay clear-headed, not to get lost in this sweet whirlpool. What if, when she woke up, everything changed and the reality wasn’t as she had hoped?

But Jackson had no idea what was going on in her mind.

…

As dusk approached, Jackson finally tidied up the west room. It was a mudbrick house that had been used to store miscellaneous items, and the walls were so worn out that the newspapers stuck to them looked like spider webs. The place was still very dusty, but Jackson worked quickly, setting up a simple bed with wooden planks.

He wasn’t sure how comfortable the bed would be, but after shaking it and confirming it was sturdy enough, he decided it was good enough to fulfill the task his wife had assigned him.

Sophia, noticing his sweaty state, quickly grabbed a towel and handed it to him. "Quick, wipe yourself off, dinner’s almost ready."

Jackson didn’t reach out to take it. Instead, he leaned in close, his tall and lean body slightly bent, bringing his rugged, handsome face right in front of his wife’s. His warm breath fanned across her face as he said, "Honey, will you wipe it for me?"

Sophia instinctively glanced at Meilani, who had just entered the room with some things. Once she was inside, Sophia, tiptoeing, raised her hand to wipe Jackson’s forehead and gently reminded him, "There’s someone else in the house now. From now on, when you get up in the morning to use the bathroom, make sure you wear at least a pair of pants. Don’t just go around shirtless, it’s not proper with young girls around."

Jackson’s dark, sharp eyes fixed on his wife as she carefully wiped his face, taking note of her little instructions. His heart warmed with affection.

Although he felt a bit awkward about being shirtless in his own home, seeing his wife so serious made him obedient.

He smiled and placed a light kiss on her rosy lips. "Alright, I’ll listen to you."

Sophia’s face turned bright red at his sudden affectionate gesture.

It was fine when it was just the two of them at home, but now there was a young unmarried woman staying with them. This was too embarrassing!

With her face still flushed, Sophia turned to Jackson and said, "Stop dawdling, go wash up and eat!"

She quickly went back to the kitchen.

Jackson watched her hurriedly retreating figure with a grin on his face, satisfaction evident in his expression. He walked over to the well and splashed his face with cold water.

After working up a sweat, he felt sticky and uncomfortable.

Looking around, he noticed that Sophia was still in the kitchen, and the young intellectual woman was tidying up in the room. It seemed that she wouldn’t be coming out anytime soon.

With that thought, he stripped off his vest and poured cold water from the bucket over his head, feeling incredibly refreshed.

Just then, Meilani happened to come out of the room. She saw the man standing with his back to her, his muscular body on display, his defined muscles rippling, with a few scratches visible on his skin…

Meilani’s cheeks burned, and she hurriedly turned and rushed back inside.

This old mud house had no soundproofing, and it was dark and dusty. Meilani couldn’t stand staying here for even a day. She wanted to return to the city—she wanted to go back badly.