The three little kids wandered around the market for over an hour before finally having their fill. They came out of the market noisily and climbed into their respective cars.

We had agreed to have lunch at Yan Shao's house, so all the seafood we bought was put in the bodyguard car in the back.

Zhu Qianying got into the car first, and Zizai followed by climbing up on all fours. Yan Shao followed behind him, reaching out to lift his bottom and giving him a good push.

Zizai turned to him and smiled, "Thank you, Daddy!"

Just that one bright smile made Yan Shao feel that all the suffering he had endured that day was worth it.

After he got into the car, before it even started moving, Zhu Qianying handed him a wet wipe, saying, "Wipe yourself off!"

She would never admit that at first, she had indeed forgotten that a fastidious man like Young Master Yan might not be able to stand the natural smells of the market.

But later, seeing him dawdling at the back, he finally realized that asking a young master like Yan Shao, who even had to keep his shoes spotless at all times, to go to the market was tantamount to asking him to die.

So she decided to play a trick on him. When he finally caught up, she pursed her lips and frowned slightly. She was clearly extremely uncomfortable, but she still pretended that nothing was wrong. She followed her son around like a puppy. If her son said east, she went east; if her son said west, she went west.

Rarely seeing him so tolerant, Zhu Qianying deliberately handed him all the items she had bought, one by one. She wanted to see if he was as indulgent and lenient with his son as he was with her.

As it turned out, this man was just as indulgent towards her as he was towards his son.

Moreover, he seemed to dislike relying on others more and more. He only asked Qin Xiu to help carry some of the items that Zhu Qianying handed him, after his hands were full of bags. As for the bodyguards following behind, they wanted to help when they saw their young master being treated like a laborer by his young mistress, but they were scared away by the young master's look.

Yan Shao took the wet wipes and carefully wiped his hands. Zhu Qianying then handed him a second one, "Wipe your face!"

Yan Shao silently took it and wiped his face.

"Young Master Yan, you don't have to do this!"

After he finished wiping his face and threw the wet wipe into the trash can, Zhu Qianying stared at his profile and said very seriously.

Seeing that Yan Shao had wiped his hands and face clean, Zizai climbed onto him, snuggled lazily in his arms, swaying his little legs and humming a song. It was clear that he was in a very good mood.

He was so close to his parents that he ignored their conversations.

In fact, children are sensitive. The atmosphere and feeling that their parents are exuding recently makes them feel safe and secure, so they don't care as much about what their parents say.

"Um?!"

Yan Shao clearly didn't understand Zhu Qianying's meaning. He moved his son closer to his lap to make him more comfortable, and then raised his eyelids to look at Zhu Qianying.

His eyes were dark and bright. The teasing and perfunctory attitude that used to frequently appear in his eyes are now rarely seen.

For example, right now, he looked back at her with a serious and affectionate gaze, as if she were his most treasured gem.

"Don't you have OCD?" Zhu Qianying admitted that she could be quite mean at times.

"Yes, I'm slowly overcoming it!"

Yan Shao thought that despite his efforts, he was still disliked by Zhu Qianying.

Zhu Qianying realized he had misunderstood, and quickly waved her hand to explain, "No, I didn't mean to look down on you!"

Actually, if you take the time to understand him, this man isn't hard to understand.

Sometimes, they're even endearingly frank!

"That is..." Young Master Yan became increasingly confused.

He's gone to such lengths, and she's still not satisfied?

Yan Shao's slightly furrowed brows revealed his inner turmoil.

For the first time, Zhu Qianying despised her own eloquence. How could she make things so difficult to explain, when it was something that was so easy to explain?

What I'm trying to say is, you don't need to change!

Yan Shao still looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"Everyone has their own preferences and habits. Just like you can't stand a dirty environment, I hate saying insincere flattery to all sorts of people at a party. You are you, so just be yourself. You don't have to force yourself to change your preferences and habits to please me."

Zhu Qianying understood that "a forced melon is not sweet." Forcing oneself to conform to the other person's preferences would not only cause immense suffering for the one being forced, but would also make the observer feel awkward.

Seeing that Yan Shao was still deep in thought, Zhu Qianying continued.

“I don’t have a controlling nature towards others. I prefer people to be relaxed around me, so I can interact with them in the same way. So, you probably think I should be happy that you forced yourself to adapt to me and Zizai just now, because you changed so much for me. But let me tell you, I’m not happy.”

Zhu Qianying also felt that she was difficult to please. Yan Shao, such a proud man, was willing to go to such lengths for her and Zizai, yet she was not happy.

But that's the truth; she's not happy.

After listening to Zhu Qianying's long speech, Yan Shao was not angry at all. Instead, he asked calmly.

"So, what do you want me to do to make you happy?"

He wasn't angry because he could sense that Zhu Qianying meant no harm.

What she just said seemed to be trying to express that "if he's unhappy, she'll be unhappy," so she'd rather he stay the way he is, and if he's happy, she'll be happy.

Such a cause-and-effect relationship is a very gratifying breakthrough for Yan Shao.

She seems to be trying hard to get along with him happily and to find a way to get along that will make them both happy.

This proactive attitude was something she had never shown before.

“Just be yourself. If you don’t like the smell of the market or can’t stand the noise, you can just tell me and Zizai. You can wait for us in the car. We won’t be angry with you for that. Right, Zizai!”

Previously, Zizai had been humming a song while lost in his own world, but he picked up the conversation without any difficulty.

"Yes, just like how Zai Zai doesn't like durian, Mommy and Grandma never force him to eat it."

"However, if my son clearly doesn't like durian but tells his mom and grandma that he does, then I'll have to pretend that I love durian forever, and that will be a nightmare for the rest of my life!"

It has to be said, Zizai is an incredibly intelligent child.

After listening attentively to the mother and son's explanation, Yan Shao pondered for a moment and then said.

“You’ve all misunderstood. I do dislike the smell of markets and can’t stand the noise, but that was before.”