Chapter 47: Step by Step

Thinking of Zhao Chengyu, Li Yaqin couldn't help but curse under her breath.

He truly used both soft and hard tactics to achieve his goals.

Yesterday evening in the car, his unyielding force was still fresh in her mind.

He was practically a thug in military uniform.

Li Yaqin's thoughts drifted back to yesterday evening.

In that cramped, bumpy car.

When Zhao Chengyu brought her back, he pulled her into his arms without any room for argument.

His forceful attitude was so clear, it felt like it was right before her eyes.

His hot body, carrying the scent of a soldier, transmitted through the fabric, rendering her immobile.

She clearly felt his undisguised desire and aggression.

A feeling of being forcibly controlled rose within her.

At the same time, she calmly assessed the impact of this desire on her plans.

From that moment on, she was perfectly clear.

Besides, this was the wife she had pursued relentlessly.

A wife who is eagerly offered herself to a man, and the treatment and position in his heart are definitely different.

The love and benefits a wife receives are also different.

So what should be done to make him deeply involved?

Capture Zhao Chengyu's heart, make him unable to leave her.

And then obtain the greatest benefit. This requires some thought.

How to make him completely infatuated with her, while not compromising her own freedom and interests, is the key.

The effects of the divine pill should be showing soon, right?

The nearly ten-year age gap between them…

A thought flashed through Li Yaqin's mind, then she dismissed it.

Compatibility isn't important; what matters is Zhao Chengyu as a person, and what he can bring.

Zhao Chengyu was a man of profound and unfathomable depth, like an ancient well.

His actions carried the domineering air of a soldier, making him someone who couldn't be easily fooled.

She possessed a spatial ability and those extraordinary elixirs—her greatest asset in this strange world.

But at the same time, this was also the most dangerous secret hanging over her head; if exposed, the consequences would be unimaginable.

She could hide it for a while, conceal it for a moment.

Zhao Chengyu was as shrewd as a hawk; how long could he keep it a secret?

Once exposed…

Li Yaqin's eyes narrowed slightly. No, she absolutely couldn't let him find out.

She had to be even more careful and make the most of every opportunity.

She needed to accumulate enough resources and self-defense capabilities as quickly as possible.

So that even if things changed in the future, she could handle it calmly.

Until the last resort.

What if he discovered this earth-shattering secret?

Given his all-controlling nature, she couldn't even imagine what would happen.

But think about it the other way around: Zhao Chengyu's family background.

The real power he wields is precisely the protection she needs most right now.

With the Zhao family connection, her "eight generations of poor peasants" background finally has some justification.

Whether it's dealing with things in her spatial dimension,

or doing anything else, things will be much easier.

At least, there will be far fewer troublesome people causing problems.

After all, everyone seeks advantage and avoids harm.

Moreover, she's already secured this incredibly leisurely job at the slaughterhouse.

This is practically tailor-made for her by God—no, by Zhao Chengyu himself.

Collecting meat, and various other scarce resources rarely seen outside this era,

will become extremely convenient and discreet, unlikely to attract attention.

This allowed her to amass resources using her spatial abilities.

Living the comfortable, carefree life she always dreamed of was incredibly important to her.

Li Yaqin truly longed for that kind of life.

She yearned for a life where she could enjoy the fruits of her labor without hard work.

But this absolutely did not mean she was willing to compromise herself and live a life of serving men and toiling around the kitchen.

Especially the matter of raising children, which she avoided like the plague.

Give birth, thanks to the miraculous fertility pill, might reduce many of the physical risks and pain.

Especially the thought of raising children gave her a headache.

While the fertility pill could guarantee pregnancy, and it was said that the child would be extremely dependent on the mother.

This might be useful for consolidating her position, but the hardship and responsibilities of raising a child…

But raising a child? Wouldn't that be exhausting?

Li Yaqin felt annoyed just thinking about it.

In her mind, anyone who took care of such a child would go insane.

The mere thought of it sent shivers down her spine and filled her with exhaustion.

Give up her current easy, effortless job?

She wanted freedom and a comfortable life.

Give up all that precious free time?

And then be constantly surrounded by children, worrying and toiling away?

Ultimately becoming a haggard, worn-out woman, completely overwhelmed by housework?

Especially the thought of potentially having to help her brother, Li Qiang, with his child.

And even having to run around taking care of her sister-in-law, Li Panpan, during her postpartum period.

Yes, Li Yaqin felt it clearly.

Every cell in her body, inside and out, was fiercely resisting it all.

Ha, she didn't want to lift a finger.

Li Yaqin's lips curved into a silent smile.

How could that be?

What she wanted was easy work, plenty of free time to manage as she pleased.

She had escaped the suffocating Li Family Village.

The stigma of being pregnant out of wedlock, laid by Li Yuehua, was now just a distant joke, no longer able to touch her in the slightest.

Her spatial storage was overflowing with things.

Mostly herbs gathered from the mountains and fields, fresh wild vegetables, and sweet and sour wild fruits.

She had also managed to get a few plump pheasants and casually collected some round wild eggs, but meat was still far too scarce.

She relied on those fragmented, hazy memories.

In that remote mountain forest, she appeared precisely before Zhao Chengyu and He Chengyang.

She rescued these two men who clearly possessed extraordinary status.

This is how she smoothly earned the hefty "reward" they spoke of.

It allowed her to enter the slaughterhouse so easily and without hindrance, and also gave her an excellent way to collect and store meat.

She quietly collected a little bit each day.

On ordinary days, this amount was insignificant mixed in with the large quantities of meat.

But over time, little by little, it accumulated into an astonishingly large quantity.

The job was now firmly in her hands.

The house with a courtyard that Zhao Chengyu had verbally promised was not yet officially registered in her name.

It was likely stuck on the cumbersome procedures at the real estate bureau; the paperwork for changing the owner's name would take some time to complete.

She meticulously planned each step of her current actions using fragmented and vague information from her past life.

It was truly effortless, precise, and efficient, like having an invisible hand steadily guiding her as she walked.

Heaven has practically forced this opportunity upon her; it would be foolish and a waste not to enjoy this extraordinary blessing.

What's troubling her most right now is

how to skillfully conceal all these seemingly too-smooth, even somewhat illogical, encounters,

leaving no room for suspicion.

After all, there aren't many truly foolish people in this world.

When faced with something that makes one uneasy, something amiss,

everyone will instinctively want to get to the bottom of it, to find out the truth.

The next move is to fully utilize one's unique advantages.

Being suspected of being a spy, well, that would be terrible!

She needs to stall that controlling Zhao Chengyu for a while, keeping him on tenterhooks.

She must make him develop that obsessive, unrequited love for her, that feeling of wanting her more than he can have.

She had already quietly consumed the miraculous divine pill and the beauty pill.

These two potent pills are now continuously and subtly transforming her physical constitution, appearance, and temperament.

Ultimately, they will transform her into a stunning beauty that others wouldn't even dare to dream of, a beauty that captivates all beings.

Next, she needed to remain calm and wait patiently.

She would see what kind of house, what kind of life-saving favor, they would ultimately bestow upon her.

And what about the empty title of "adopted daughter of the He family" that He Chengyang had casually mentioned earlier?

And the tangible gift the He family had promised as a token of their gratitude.

Only these things could she truly hold in her hands.

Things she could see and touch, these substantial benefits,

were the most reassuring and grounding guarantees.

Li Yaqin had always believed in only one simple principle:

Where the money and resources were ultimately used.

The underlying intentions and importance placed upon them would then be clearly revealed.

A muffled engine roared faintly from the street corner.

A black sedan rolled over the remaining puddles on the street.

The splashes of water spread rapidly to either side like two inky fan-shaped streaks.

The deep engine roar abruptly ceased outside her temporary lodging, leaving a jarring silence.

The car door was pushed open with undeniable force, producing a soft metallic clang.

Zhao Chengyu's tall, slender figure strode out, exuding an imposing aura.

In the man's hand, he clutched a bright red hardcover notebook tightly.

The pristine cover reflected a faint yet dazzling luster in the dim, overcast light.