Ruling the Historical Romance Novel as the Female Supporting Character-Chapter 366: Sneaking Affection in the Kitchen

As Qin Kaize carried Su Yijia into the kitchen, she suddenly pushed him against the wall.

Qin Kaize froze momentarily as Su Yijia leaned in closer, gripping his collar and pulling him down slightly. Rising on her toes, her rosy lips came dangerously close. Their breaths mingled, leaving Qin Kaize unable to think clearly. It was only when the air between them thinned that they pulled back slightly, but within seconds, Su Yijia was back at it.

Unable to hold back any longer, Qin Kaize lifted her and set her on the cement counter. Su Yijia gasped softly in his ear, completely unraveling his restraint. They leaned into each other, exchanging breaths for at least ten minutes before he pressed his forehead against hers, breathing heavily.

"Now I’m all swollen; how am I supposed to face Zhu Zirui?" Su Yijia pouted, her lips slightly red and swollen, playfully complaining.

Qin Kaize gently traced her pouting lip with his thumb. "He’s got bad eyesight; just ignore him." But seeing her so alluring, he hesitated before muttering, "Forget it, I didn’t prepare enough food today; let him fend for himself at the State-Owned Restaurant."

"Isn’t that just drawing attention to it?" Su Yijia chuckled, slightly annoyed but amused. She then pulled out a healing balm from her space and applied it to her lips. Within seconds, the swelling vanished, leaving her lips a soft pink again.

A flicker of regret passed through Qin Kaize’s dark eyes, but he said nothing more and instead grabbed the dishes to return to the living room. He had prepared five dishes and a soup. After setting everything down, he served Su Yijia a bowl of abalone rib soup before getting two bowls of rice—one for himself and one for her.

Noticing Qin Kaize sitting down directly, Su Yijia felt a bit awkward and glanced at Zhu Zirui. Without needing her to say anything, Zhu Zirui quickly stood up to serve himself. He definitely wasn’t bold enough to expect the boss to serve him, and as for his sister-in-law... that was out of the question.

"Are you happy running this factory?" Qin Kaize asked, watching the small girl sip her soup with a smile.

Su Yijia nodded. "Yeah, I’ve never done this before, so it feels really new." Although her family was in business, she had never been directly involved. Listening was one thing, but actually doing it felt entirely different.

"As long as you enjoy it, just don’t overwork yourself. With Zirui around, you can delegate tasks to him," Qin Kaize said, concerned. While Jiajia had given Zhu Zirui only four design drafts, she had sketched at least a hundred ideas in recent days. She wanted to get all her thoughts down while she was inspired, so she could revisit them later without losing motivation.

"Right now, I don’t have much to do. Once I get into college, I doubt Zhu Zirui will need me, and I might forget about the factory," Su Yijia said, looking innocent.

"As long as you don’t exhaust yourself, I support whatever you do," Qin Kaize replied, holding her hand and gently kissing her delicate fingertips before releasing her.

Su Yijia focused intently on the food, not wanting to do anything else. Once they were almost done eating, Zhu Zirui asked, "Should I look for someone to rent a house tomorrow, or handle the factory matters first?"

"Once the factory starts, it won’t stop. You should sort out your housing first. But don’t rent; if you have the funds, just buy one," Su Yijia suggested seriously.

Zhu Zirui frowned. "I’m not a fan of living in apartment buildings; it’s inconvenient for late-night trips to the bathroom. But standalone houses here aren’t cheap—poor ones are around twelve hundred, and decent ones are fifteen hundred. I’ll resign after a few years to join you all, and leaving a house here would be wasteful."

"How could a house ever be wasteful?" Su Yijia exclaimed, her wide, dark eyes filled with surprise.

"While house prices rise slowly, they have still increased over the years, right? Plus, as the environment improves, property prices will go up. That’s why I didn’t hesitate to invest in a house in Hu City," she added.

"The houses in Hu City appreciate quickly; they’ve gone up by a fifth to a quarter in two years. But here in Fu Province, the increase is slower. It’s better to save money in the bank, where the interest is growing faster than property values," Zhu Zirui explained.

That made sense. The rapid property development in China mostly took off in the late 90s. Before that, the best way to grow wealth was through industry.

"I bought this small building eight years ago for nine hundred, and now it could sell for fifteen hundred. Renting such a place costs fifteen a month, totaling one hundred eighty a year. If you work here for five years, that’s nine hundred to the landlord for free. But spending an additional six hundred could secure you this little building," Qin Kaize interjected.

His wife had already explained the developments of this parallel world to him in rough detail, and she elaborated daily with specifics. Spending twelve to fifteen hundred on a small building and waiting for it to appreciate seemed like a good idea. From what he understood, Zhu Zirui wasn’t short on cash.

"Buy it! I’ll go buy it tomorrow!" Zhu Zirui declared immediately after hearing the calculations. While spending fifteen hundred would halve his savings, it was better than giving it away. Besides, if Kaize said five years, he intended to stay at the factory for at least that long. When the house appreciated by a third, selling it would still be profitable.

After discussing everything, Qin Kaize invited Zhu Zirui to stay at the small building, allowing him to choose any guest room to sleep in.

The next morning, Zhu Zirui woke up early and headed to the State-Owned Restaurant to buy breakfast. After eating, he went out to ask the neighbors if anyone wanted to sell a small house.

His first choice was still to live next to Qin Kaize, making future business dealings more convenient. Luckily, he found a small house for sale in the same alley. However, the place was quite run-down; the exterior needed repairs, and the interior required significant renovations, especially the kitchen and bathroom, which would need complete overhauls, including digging up the drainage system.