Chapter 3: Social phobia
The next day.

Chen Zhi woke up to the sound of Xinyue knocking on the door.

Subconsciously, I sat up and lowered my head.

Seeing that she was still wearing her wedding dress from last night, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

He originally planned to pretend to be drunk, but he didn't expect that he couldn't drink much and drank quite a lot. He covered himself with the quilt and lay down. Not long after, he actually fell asleep without realizing it.

Fortunately nothing happened.

Right now he couldn't figure out whether Xu Shuhe was a human or a ghost, and he hadn't figured out the fact of his own reincarnation yet, so he really had no mood to enjoy a night of love.

After calming himself down and looking up, he saw Xu Shuhe sleeping on a small couch not far away.

It was a bit surprising.

Why, why don’t you come and sleep on the couch?

Chen Zhi's eyes moved, and he couldn't help but wonder, could it be that the other party was also unwilling to consummate the marriage with him?
"Madam, it's time to get up and go offer tea to the master and the mistress!"

Xinyue's voice rang out again, a few notes higher than before, and successfully interrupted Chen Zhi's thoughts.

At the same time, Xu Shuhe, who was lying on the small couch, finally stretched and sat up slowly.

"I know, I know. I'm already up." Xu Shuhe answered lazily with his eyes closed.

Chen Zhi glanced at her, lifted the quilt and got off the bed, "Come in and serve me."

Hearing his voice, Xu Shuhe shuddered, immediately became alert, and quickly opened his eyes.

Seeing that Chen Zhi had already stood up, he immediately got up as well and quickly put on a virtuous and gentle smile on his face.

"My husband is awake. He was drunk last night and slept too deeply. I was afraid of disturbing his sleep, so I took the initiative and didn't ask anyone to help him take a bath. Did he sleep well? Did he have a headache?"

Chen Zhi felt a little uncomfortable with her concern.

He silently took a half step back, and then said, "It's okay, I slept well. Um, I'm going to take a shower and change clothes first, you can take your time to clean up."

After saying this, he quickly left the inner room.

Just then, Xinyue came into the room to serve, and saw Chen Zhi running out as if he was escaping. She looked at him in confusion, and then lowered her voice and shouted at Xu Shu.

"Why is my son-in-law running away so early in the morning as if he had seen a ghost?"

"You are the devil!" Xu Shuhe raised his hand and poked Xinyue's forehead, then snorted, "I think he is socially anxious."

Xinyue's head tilted when she was poked, and she dodged to the side while asking, "What is social phobia, girl?"

"Social phobia." Xu Shuhe said.

Xinyue was puzzled, "What are you afraid of?"

"I'm just afraid of talking to people." Xu Shuhe explained.

After hearing this, Xinyue understood, nodded and muttered softly.

"My uncle is still a thin-skinned person."

Xu Shuhe listened and complained in his heart, that's right, it's useless to be so tall.

And if this person really has social phobia, then it will take a lot of effort to get along with him/her, and he/she may be difficult to raise.

But even if you grumble, you still have to get the business done.

After washing and changing clothes, the couple set out to serve tea to their elders.

The Chen family was in the business of cloth and garments, and they were well off. Xu Shuhe's marriage was a childhood sweetheart arranged by the two families a long time ago.

Chen Zhi's father, Chen Huaiqian, the current head of the Chen family, was a childhood friend of Xu Shuhe's father Xu Jin.

Many years ago, the Chen family accidentally offended an official. If Xu Jin had not provided financial and physical assistance, the Chen family would probably have been destroyed at that time.

Therefore, Chen Huaiqian took the initiative to propose that the children of the two families get married in the future, and Xu Jin readily agreed.

It's a pity that Xu Jin died young due to illness, leaving behind only Xu Shu and this one daughter. Chen Huaiqian, on the other hand, has three sons and one daughter, and is still in good health.

Chen Zhi was born to Chen Huaiqian's first wife. He has an older sister, Chen Yurong, the eldest daughter of the Chen family, who is already married. Then there is his half-brother, Chen Jin, who was born to Chen Huaiqian and his second wife, Feng.

There is also a fourth brother, Chen Xun, who is also the son of Feng. Feng was originally the concubine of Chen Huaiqian, and was made the legal wife after Chen Zhi's mother passed away.

Xu Shuhe reviewed some information about the Chen family in his mind, and soon, under the guidance of a maid, he arrived at Wanshuangzhai, the courtyard where his mother-in-law Feng lived.

"Master, Madam, the Third Young Master and his wife are here!"

A well-dressed middle-aged woman who was guarding the door saw the two of them and immediately smiled and passed a message to the people inside.

This enthusiastic look made Xu Shuhe feel a little relieved.

The servant is like this, it shows how easy it is for the master to deal with him.

However, when Xu Shuhe glanced at Chen Zhi beside him, he found that Chen Zhi's expression was very cold, even a little gloomy.

What's going on? Aren't they quite enthusiastic?
Could it be that because Feng is stepmother, the relationship between her and Chen Zhi is not harmonious?
With some guesses in mind, Xu Shuhe did not act very friendly and cordial when she met her parents-in-law. She just bowed and greeted them according to the rules.

After all, she and Chen Zhi are now in the same boat, so naturally she has to put herself in the right position first.

However, my father-in-law Chen Huaiqian seems to be a gentle man, and my step-mother-in-law Feng smiles even more kindly and amiably.

"Come on, come on, come forward and let me take a closer look. She is truly a beautiful lady!"

Feng waved at Xu Shuhe with a smile on her face. When Xu Shuhe came closer, she took her hand and looked at her with loving eyes.

"Not bad, not bad. She and our Sanlang are indeed a perfect match. They are a talented man and a beautiful woman. Don't you think so, Master?"

As he spoke, he turned and looked at Chen Huaiqian beside him.

Chen Huaiqian naturally smiled and nodded, "They are all good children."

As they both praised her, Xu Shuhe also showed a bit of shyness on her face, acting like a perfect bride.

"Is your mother in good health?" Chen Huaiqian asked again.

Xu Shuhe lost his father at a young age and was raised by his mother alone, so naturally she could not help but show some concern for him.

"Thank you for your concern, father-in-law. My mother is in good health. When I came here, she also told me to be more filial to you in the future. She said that you and my father are close friends, and you will be the same as my biological father in the future."

Xu Shuhe said obediently.

After hearing this, Chen Huaiqian showed some emotion on his face and nodded.

"Yes, your father and I have a life-long friendship. If you marry into my Chen family, no one will dare to bully you in the future. You and the third brother should live a good life. Third brother, you must remember to treat your wife well."

"Son knows." Chen Zhi responded, being quite respectful.

Seeing that the scene was harmonious, Feng next to her suddenly smiled and spoke again.

"Master, don't worry. Sanlang is a caring person. I heard that there was a little trouble in Sanlang's room yesterday. I was afraid that my new wife was shy and couldn't handle it, so I was going to ask Songqiu to take a look. Unexpectedly, Sanlang handled it all by himself without making it difficult for his wife."

These words sounded like praise for Chen Zhi, but in fact they dug up yesterday's scandal, which immediately aroused Xu Shuhe's vigilance.

Tsk, was it really unintentional or was it intentional?
"What went wrong yesterday?"

Sure enough, Chen Huaiqian immediately frowned and asked in a deep voice.

However, before Feng opened her mouth to speak, Xu Shuhe spoke first.

"Don't worry, father-in-law. It's not a big deal, right?"

Having said that, Xu Shuhe looked up at Feng with hesitation, then whispered again.

"It was Miss Chunliu from my husband's room who insisted on coming to kowtow to me, and that's why she was making a fuss for a while."

Why did he want to take a look at Feng? Because Xu Shuhe had inquired yesterday and found out that Chunliu, who was originally Feng's maid, was sent to Chen Zhi's room by Feng.

Hearing this, Chen Huaiqian's expression suddenly turned grim.

First of all, he was in the wrong. His son had a concubine who gave birth to a child before his marriage, but he kept it a secret from the Xu family. Secondly, he had just said that no one in the mansion would dare to bully Xu Shuhe in the future, but now something unexpected happened.

It was done by someone trained by Feng.

His face was slapped.

(End of this chapter)