Since the disaster area of Su Jian's spewage was too big, the sumptuous lunch had been ruined. In the end, Su Jian made a final dish of tomato and egg over noodles.
The weekend ended in great turmoil. On Monday morning, when Su Jian awoke, An Yize had already left for work.
Alone, Su Jian hobbled around all the rooms before listlessly returning to his own room.
Say. Without An Yize to tease, it's pretty boring in this house.
Plus, there was no one to bring him breakfast...
Last night, An Yize gave him a substantial stack of cash and a few numbers to call for takeout. He said that he could decide for himself whether he wanted to cook or order takeout. At the same time, he also gave him a credit card with a 1 million RMB credit limit (approximately 145 thousand USD) and told him that he could swipe it freely to buy whatever he wanted.
I, your grandfather, am now a rich person! Ah~! Su Jian pulled out the credit card and gently stroked it, yet he did not have any desire to spend money.
Thus, Su Jian's day went like this: breakfast, didn't eat; morning, play online games; lunch, a package of frozen dumplings; afternoon, sleep.
When he woke from his nap, it was past 3 pm. Su Jian was going stir crazy in the house and really wanted to go out for a walk. He then thought of an important problem: An Yize gave him cash and a card, but he didn't give him a house key!
Su Jian searched through the entire room yet didn't find Su-girly's key. He could only sit for a while on the balcony like a bird locked in a cage, gazing pathetically out into the distance. Say, a high-class neighborhood is definitely a high-class neighborhood. The neighborhood scenery looks so nice...
Su Jian, after being locked up in the house all day, wanted to go out.
After thinking for a while, Su Jian decided to call An Yize.
On the other end, An Yize was in a meeting. With a glance at the display, he couldn't help but frown.
"Jian Jian?"
The upper management in the conference all made an "I didn't hear anything" expression even while they were listening intently because this nickname sounded very intimate, and while their president's manner of speaking could be considered no different than the usual, his tone was still gentle.
Su Jian felt a little awkward. "What time are you coming home?" After a short pause, he added, "so I can make dinner in time."
An Yize paused. Tonight, he actually had a dinner event. Even though it wasn't very important, he hadn't planned to eat dinner at home. After hearing the soft voice of the young girl over the phone, he suddenly had the feeling as if going home for dinner wasn't such a bad idea.
Over the past month, he would occasionally, but not often, go home for dinner. Most of the time, he either had to work overtime or go to dinners, while she stayed home, cooked, and ate all alone. She used to text him daily to inquire whether he was coming home for dinner, but the businesslike tone of those texts were only to find out whether or not she had to make another serving for dinner. They pretended to be a married couple deeply in love in front of others, but only a little over a month ago, they were but strangers who carried their own emotional baggage.
In the past, she never called him like she was doing now. Now, her voice was tender and soft, carrying an unmistakable hint of expectation. In the previous month, she would usually be overly cautious, acting only gentle, quiet, and polite. She had been completely unlike her post-amnesia straightforwardness and ingenuousness which kept him sandwiched between laughter and extreme embarrassment. Could it be that it was as she had said? That this was the real her, and because of amnesia, she dared to show her true nature in front of him?
Because of this, he couldn't help from being less cold and indifferent towards her as well.
An Yize said, "I'll get off work and come home at 5:30."
He thought: Her cooking was pretty good. It makes me look forward a bit more to going home to eat.
After all the surrounding upper management who were still eavesdropping heard their normally stern president turning down a dinner event in order to go home, they saw the rare sight of a gentle expression coming from the president's face.
It could only be the president's wife on the phone. Anyone else would come in second! It was said that the president and his newly wed wife had a love more solid than gold, and that they were incomparably, deeply in love. Now, it seemed that the stories were really true.
After the meeting adjourned, the Chief of Operations, Ji Mingfei smacked An Yize's shoulder and laughed wickedly, "What? Didn't I hear that you had a dinner scheduled with Yin corp's Chen Mian? Why are you getting off work and going home on time?"
Ji Mingfei was An Yize's best friend and the only one other than the two people involved who knew the lowdown on his marriage. The two of them started this close friendship in college. Later, when An Yize became in charge of CMI, Ji Mingfei had, as a matter of course, felt duty-bound to come over and help.
An Yize paid no heed to his question, yet this didn't annoy Ji Mingfei. He smiled genially as he followed him into the president's office, "It seems that Su Jian, that little girl, is pretty good!"
An Yize concentrated on flipping open the docûments and took no notice of his best friend's teasing.
Ji Mingfei shook his head, "I say, Young Master An, do you have to be so indifferent?"
The hand An Yize was using to flip through the docûments slowly stopped moving. He suddenly said softly, "Ah Fei. do you think it's because I was always so indifferent that... she left me?"[1]
Ji Mingfei frowned, "Of course not! Even if you were indifferent to the whole world, when would you ever have been willing to let her suffer even the tiniest wrong?"
An Yize smiled wryly, "Then why did she still..."
Ji Mingfei strode towards the front of his desk, "Yize, she's the one not good enough for you."
An Yize's expression slowly cooled, "So, I won't give her any room to return."
Ji Mingfei forced a smile, "It would be best if you really did let go."
He paused for a moment, then said, "Actually, I've checked out that little girl Su Jian. She's very clean and pure, which is pretty nice. Even if she's not your usual type, the two of you are already married. Why not try it out?"
"It's strictly business between us." An Yize paused for a moment then looked up at Ji Mingfei, "I recall that Su Jian isn't your type either."
Ji Mingfei smiled and said, "Although I usually have no interest in goody-two-shoes little girls, but your girl truly has a great body..."
"Ah Fei!" An Yize interrupted Ji Mingfei in a low voice.
"OK, OK. Don't joke around about a friend's wife, alright? I won't say anything anymore, that's all." Ji Mingfei promptly stopped. When he saw An Yize's long face, he secretly laughed in his heart: It's obvious that you care, but you just don't realize it. Now, whether you both stay strictly business to the end all depends on you, little miss Su Jian!
..............
When An Yize got home, Su Jian had just finished cooking.
"You're back?" Su Jian craned his neck towards the living room, "Come help me carry some dishes out." Even though he could figure out a way to get them to the dining table by himself, this would be a very strenuous thing for a wounded person like himself to be doing. Thus, when he heard An Yize had come back, he immediately pushed this task over to a certain Mr. An.
An Yize went over to carry the dishes to the dining table, served rice for the both of them, then set the table.
Su Jian obediently sat and enjoyed his service but didn't forget to press him, "When you're done eating, don't forget to wash the dishes!" When he saw that An Yize wasn't very happy, he immediately glared, "I'm disabled right now. Do you have so little shame that you would ask me to wash the dishes? Plus, I was the one who cooked!" If you weren't my (little master) financial support, This one (little master) would never lower himself to cook for you!
An Yize finally responded, "Alright."
Su Jian was finally satisfied. When An Yize started to eat the fish, he stared at him in anticipation.
An Yize understood and answered truthfully, "It tastes good."
Su Jian was content and filled with pride. He picked up a piece of fish with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth.
A moment later, Su Jian's face froze.
An Yize could see something wasn't right. He put down his chopsticks. "What's wrong?"
Su Jian: "A fish bone... is stuck..."
An Yize: "......"
Although he didn't say anything, he helped assist in the struggle for a while because the little girl across from him's tearful expression from getting a fishbone stuck in her throat was unspeakably...
An Yize held in his laughter and asked, "Is that better?"
Su Jian released a big breath and wiped away his tears, "Ah! It finally went down! I thought it was really going to kill me!"
An Yize said, "Are you going to eat this fish?"
Su Jian shrank back and waved his arms madly, "No! No! I'm not going to eat it. Didn't you say it tasted good? You can eat it all!"
After dinner, An Yize voluntarily went to the kitchen and washed the dishes. Su Jian laid on the couch groaning and holding his stomach.
Your mom! It's all because his cooking tasted too good that he ate too much! Even though he knew that it was best to eat until he was 80% full, but it couldn't be helped that, for him, full counted the same as being stuffed. At the point that he felt full, he was actually 120% full!
Su Jian rubbed his stomach while he weakly shouted, "Yize!" After saying it so many times, he was finally able to say it smoothly.
After An Yize finished washing the dishes and wiping his hands, he came out, "What's wrong?"
"In a little while, let's go out for a walk!" I, your father, have been locked up in the house all day!
An Yize nodded, "Increasing digestion would be good."
When Su Jian finished changing clothes, An Yize carried him onto the wheelchair then pushed it outside.
In the elevator, Su Jian suddenly realized something. He hurriedly turned his head back, "Right! When we come home, you better not forget to give me a key!"
An Yize agreed and asked, "Where do you want to go?"
Su Jian responded, "Just around the neighborhood, that should be fine."
The neighborhood garden was not far from the front of the building they were living in. The trees, ponds, fake mountains and pavilions were all well put-together. It was evening; many of the families in the neighborhood had come out for a walk. There were children running to and fro, frolicking noisily. It was a very lively atmosphere.
An Yize didn't actually like lively surroundings, yet Su Jian was very happy. After being reborn, he had been either lying in a hospital or locked inside the house. Now that he could finally get a breath of fresh air, he was so excited.
An Yize could also recognize this so he stopped walking.
The two of them as a couple appeared very eye-catching. He was tall and handsome; she was beautiful, charming, and currently in a wheelchair being pushed around. Not long after, an old man warm-heartedly inquired in concern, "Is your leg injured?"
Su Jian cheerfully nodded, "Yes, a broken bone!"
The old man said to An Yize behind him, "You should stew more bone broth for your wife. That way she'll get better faster!"
An Yize stroked Su Jian's hair, and made a "mm" sound.
Su Jian looked back at him, only to see his gaze filled with an indulgent love. First, he shuddered, then he suddenly realized: Right! Ah! We're in front of others! We better show some lovey-dovey PDA!
An Yize, this jerk, is pretty quick on his feet when it comes to acting! But how am I supposed to portray a wifey who is deeply in love? Su Jian bit his lip and thought deeply. But he was able to figure out what expression a little wife should have and decided to display a sweet and shy face. "He's... very good."
An Yize, who was behind him, imperceptibly shuddered as well.
A small child unsteadily walked over, then grabbed onto Su Jian's wheelchair, and looked at him with curiosity.
Su Jian smiled. He looked at the little toddler kidlet, tried to endure, then finally couldn't help from secretly pinching his pudgy cheeks. Aiyo! What a great texture! Soft and springy! Little girls are certainly super-cute!
Unexpectedly, the little girl pouted and frowned. She shouted in a baby voice, "Mommy! Pinch baby! Big sister pinched baby!"
Su Jian immediately pulled his hand back. Your mom! What bad luck! I, your father, can even get caught when teasing a cute little girl!
The child's mother walked over, picked up the kidlet, but only smiled kindly at the couple. Then, she gently said to the cute little girl, "Oh~ This big sister pinched Baby because she likes Baby! Because big sister also wants to have as cute a baby as you for Uncle!"
Holy sh*t! When did I, your father, want to have An Yize's baby?! I, your father, simply wanted to pinch your kidlet's cheek! Also, why is that An-surnamed guy an uncle while I, your father, am a big sister?!
Su Jian cried on the inside and urged An Yize that they should cut and run.
They left the crowds for a secluded area by the lake. Su Jian ordered An Yize, "Stop!" Then he started to leisurely push himself in the wheelchair along the walking path next to the lake.
An Yize sat on a wooden bench next to the lake and watched her.
Su Jian became tired from wheeling around so he rolled over next to An Yize. He was in a great mood so he casually struck up a conversation with An Yize, "You don't need to do any overtime in your company?" After he asked, he suddenly realized this guy was the President of the company. He was able to decide for himself whether he worked overtime or not. He was such an idiot!
In contrast, An Yize answered, "It depends on the circûmstances." He paused for a moment, then asked, "Are you bored being alone at home?"
Su Jian forced a smile and listlessly answered, "I'm alright." Brother! I'm actually very bored!
An Yize didn't say anything else, but what Su Jian didn't know was that from that moment on, President An, who usually worked overtime on evenings and weekends, would uncharacteristically start getting off from work on time. This filled his secretary's and assistant's hearts with unending respect and gratitude towards the President's wife.
Su Jian lazily leaned back on the chair looking over the lake. Suddenly, he excitedly shouted, "Fish! There are so many fish!"
An Yize turned and looked. As it turned out, a school of red and white ornamental fish had just swum by.
Su Jian continued to praise, "Ah! A high-class neighborhood is definitely different! Even the fish in the lake are a lot plumper than in other places..."
An Yize's expression involuntarily softened when he saw her excited little face.
Then, he heard the person next to him continue, "I don't know which would be more delicious - steamed or braised?"
An Yize: "......"
Footnotes:
[1]Ah name is a way to call someone close to you. In this case, Ah Fei is Ji Mingfei.