Chapter 47: Exercise More and Watch Less TV
When the four of them sat down at the table, Jiang Xiliu was still smiling.
"Xi Liu." Xi Zhen gestured to the aunt waiting beside her to serve the soup, then looked at her and instructed, "Don't laugh while drinking the soup, or you'll choke."
"Oh." Jiang Xiliu stopped laughing and quietly grabbed Jin Zhao's hand under the table. When she touched his stiff fingers, she couldn't help but smile again.
Her parents are much easier to deal with than she is. Why is Jin Zhao afraid of her parents but not of her?
Xi Zhen turned to Jin Zhao: "Little Jin, do you have any dietary restrictions? You don't seem to be eating much."
Jin Zhao looked up and met Xi Zhen's gaze, then quickly shook his head: "I have no dietary restrictions, and all the dishes are delicious."
At the dinner table, Jiang Fuhuai and Xi Zhen didn't ask any questions that would make Jin Zhao uncomfortable. They only cared about Jin Zhao's health, but Jin Zhao was still very reserved and didn't eat much after the meal.
Now that we've registered our marriage, we're practically family.
Xi Zhen asked them, "Honey, are you and Xiao Jin staying here tonight? It's getting late, and it'll be a hassle to go back."
Jiang Xiliu hasn't found a satisfactory assistant yet. Apart from occasionally going to the company to check on the Linjiang project, she's not very busy.
She turned her head: "Is there an 8 AM start tomorrow?"
Jin Zhao shook his head: "No."
They only have one career guidance course left for their senior year, which is held twice a week; the lab isn't busy lately either, so he's preparing his resume and planning to look for an internship.
"Then let's not bother with all that. Just stay at home," Jiang Xiliu said. "Just tidy up my room."
Jiang Xiliu was at home, so she could do whatever she wanted, but Jin Zhao became extremely nervous when he heard her words.
Even though he was going to stay here tonight, Jin Zhao never thought he would be able to stay in Jiang Xiliu's room.
As he was lost in thought, he heard Xi Zhen say, "Hmm, the housekeeper is tidying up your room. Xi Liu, go to the study; your dad just said he wants to talk to you about something."
Jiang Xiliu had no suspicions. She stood up and, before leaving, deliberately turned back to look at Jin Zhao, who was still standing there in a daze. Her tone was natural: "When Auntie is done tidying up, you can go directly to my room and wait for me."
Jin Zhao looked up at her, flattered. He hadn't expected that the young lady would still think of arranging things for him at this time: "Okay."
After Jiang Xiliu left, Xi Zhen took out a high-quality box and pushed it in front of Jin Zhao.
"This is a gift that your uncle and I prepared for you when we first met."
Jin Zhao sat up straight and somewhat awkwardly accepted the gift, saying, "Thank you, Auntie."
“We’re all family, no need to be so polite.” Xi Zhen smiled, then changed the subject, “However, it was indeed a bit sudden that you got your marriage certificate. Although it’s a little late to talk about this now, I still want to talk to you about your marriage.”
Jin Zhaoxin's heart sank, but he remained composed on the surface: "Please speak."
“We’ve spoiled Xiliu, and she has a bad temper. Although we encourage her to choose her own partner, we’ve never considered traditional marriage arrangements for her.” Xi Zhen looked at Jin Zhao and suddenly asked, “By the way, Jin, has Xiliu ever mentioned marrying into our family to you?”
They never discussed these issues in depth.
After all, they hadn't even started a proper relationship; they were only maintaining their connection through a sugar daddy/sugar baby agreement, and then they got married without really understanding what was going on.
However, Jin Zhao himself knew that it was incredibly lucky that someone like him could get a marriage certificate with Jiang Xiliu. He carefully said, "Auntie, we haven't talked about these things yet, but I can accept the idea of marrying into the family."
Jin Zhaoben did not have any patriarchal views, and besides, his grandmother was the only one left in his family. He was fully capable and had the right to make his own decisions.
Xi Zhen picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip, and said gently, "Don't be nervous, have some water, we're just having a casual chat."
Jin Zhao quickly agreed and obediently did as he was told. He took a sip from the cup and put it back in its place, saying, "I know."
"Xiao Jin, I heard from Xi Liu that you're a senior in college, about to graduate, right?" Xi Zhen changed the subject. "What are your plans for the future?"
“I want to make money as soon as possible,” Jin Zhao sat up straighter, his eyes becoming more serious. “So for the first few years, I planned to work in a research institute or a company that matched my major, accumulating experience while saving up some capital.”
He paused, then added, "Once I'm sure I'm ready, I'll probably try starting my own business."
Now that his grandmother's condition is stable, if he hadn't registered his marriage with Jiang Xiliu, he would probably have found a stable job step by step, earning a fixed salary of neither too high nor too low each month, occasionally taking on some side jobs, and slowly saving money for his grandmother's retirement.
But there are no "what ifs," he just wanted to be with Jiang Xiliu.
With the meager income of an ordinary office worker, he simply cannot support his confidence in this relationship, let alone bridge the gap between them.
By choosing to start his own business, Jin Zhao was taking a gamble, betting that his abilities could support his ambitions and that he wouldn't always be unworthy of her.
“Starting a business…” Xi Zhen said meaningfully, her smile not reaching her eyes, “It’s a good thing that young people are energetic, but Xi Liu is usually very busy managing the company, so if you start a business, you probably won’t have much free time.”
“The Jiang family is not short of money, nor is it short of people who can make money… From a mother’s perspective, I hope you can take good care of the family.”
Xi Zhen's words kept replaying in Jin Zhao's mind.
He didn't turn on the lights in the room, sitting alone in the dark, pondering Xi Zhen's words.
He was willing to take care of Jiang Xiliu, but giving up his job? He was unwilling to do that—
The door was suddenly pushed open, and Jiang Xiliu returned.
She turned on the light, and Jin Zhao was sitting not far away, quietly watching her. She asked curiously, "What are you doing sitting here?"
Jin Zhao collected all his thoughts: "I'm waiting for you to come back."
The young lady was overjoyed, seemingly unaware of anything. She closed the door, jumped onto Jin Zhao's back, rested her chin on his shoulder, and poked her head out: "Jin Zhao, we got our marriage certificate today, does that count as our first day of marriage?"
"Fine." Jin Zhao was almost suffocating from Jiang Xiliu's choking. He helplessly tugged at her arm, stood up, and Jiang Xiliu was lifted into the air with him.
Jiang Xiliu, always one to push her luck, kicked off her slippers, kicked barefoot against Jin Zhao's waist, climbed on him like a tree, and finally straddled his shoulders. She patted Jin Zhao's head and said, "Giddy up!"
Jin Zhao: ...On the first day after getting the marriage certificate, you can't get angry, because getting angry has a bad meaning.
He was afraid that if he squatted down or let Jiang Xiliu continue playing, she would fall.
He had no choice but to grab Jiang Xiliu's calf and slowly move towards the bed.
Jiang Xiliu immediately realized his intention, grabbed Jin Zhao's hair with both hands, and shouted anxiously, "No, no! I haven't showered or changed yet, I can't lie on the bed, it's too dirty."
The young lady really dislikes everyone, including herself.
Jin Zhao had no choice; he didn't want to argue with her, so he had to back down: "I'll let you ride one lap, and then you'll get off with me, okay?"
"I want to ride around the whole house." Jiang Xiliu wasn't satisfied and kept kicking her feet in front of him.
Jin Zhao gritted his teeth: "...Just this room, all around."
"Ten laps," Jiang Xiliu demanded outrageously.
Jin Zhao didn't waste any words with her and directly grabbed her legs, pretending to squat down.
"Hey! No!" Jiang Xiliu screamed in fright, holding Jin Zhao's head tightly with both hands and refusing to let go. In her panic, she even put a finger in his mouth. "Three circles, just three circles."
Jin Zhao remained silent, then suddenly quickened his pace. A startled "Ah!" came from above, quickly turning into an excited scream, "Faster, run faster, giddy up!"
Jin Zhao didn't know what other people's wedding nights were like, but on his and Jiang Xiliu's wedding night, they rode horses for half an hour.
Jiang Xiliu's room had been converted into half of the third floor, making it several times larger than Jin Zhao and Yi Sile's rooms combined. Jin Zhao estimated that running these three laps would take at least a kilometer.
Even so, Jiang Xiliu was still not satisfied. She commented, "It doesn't run fast enough, it's very bumpy, and its stability and comfort are both poor. If you were a car, I definitely wouldn't buy you."
Jin Zhao almost couldn't catch his breath. He gritted his teeth and called out to her, "Jiang Xiliu."
"What? I'm just telling the truth." Jiang Xiliu said confidently. She had shouted too loudly, her face was red, and she was sweating. Although she hadn't moved, being too excited was tiring. She announced, "Never mind, I'm too tired. I'm going to take a shower."
After saying that, Jiang Xiliu sauntered into the bathroom.
Jin Zhao was waiting for her outside.
Jiang Xiliu either trusted Jin Zhao too much or felt there was nothing to do at home, because she didn't even close the bathroom door properly, and the sound of rushing water and singing echoed outside.
Jin Zhao's mood, which had been gloomy, inexplicably improved as he listened to Jiang Xiliu's erratic and unpredictable tone.
He shook his head, there was really no way to describe her: when she was infuriating, she was infuriating, but when she wasn't, even her breathing was pleasing.
As he listened, Jin Zhao's gaze unconsciously drifted to the large bed covered with pink bedding, and he suddenly felt a little nervous.
He thought of his previous experience.
Under the influence of the drugs, Jin Zhao's vision was blurred, and he could no longer see Jiang Xiliu's expression. He only remembered her soft hands patting and scratching him.
Perhaps he didn't do it well; he only did half of it before Jiang Xiliu abandoned him and ran away.
In short, it wasn't a good experience for either him or her.
"Jin Zhao," Jiang Xiliu called from the bathroom.
Jin Zhao didn't go in. He stood at the half-open doorway and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Come in and blow-dry my hair." Jiang Xiliu was too lazy to do it herself; it was more suitable for her to order people around. "Hurry up, dry it before I finish my skincare routine."
Jin Zhao hesitated outside the door for a few seconds, but finally pushed the door open and went in.
The young lady, wrapped in a bath towel, turned her face, flushed and rosy from the steam, and gestured with her chin toward the corner: "The hairdryer is over there."
After washing his hands, Jin Zhao stood behind Jiang Xiliu.
Jiang Xiliu applied face powder in front of the mirror: "Jin Zhao, can you go practice the Bone Shrinking Technique? You'll become shorter tonight."
With his enormous size, Jiang Xiliu felt that the light in the room had been dimmed by him.
"Watch less TV dramas." Jin Zhao plugged in the hairdryer.
Warm air, smooth surface, and fragrance.
Jin Zhao pursed his lips, his expression tense, and he was more serious about blow-drying his hair than he was doing experiments in the lab.
A man who works diligently is attractive; a man who works diligently for her is even more attractive.
Jiang Xiliu looked at herself in the mirror with great satisfaction.
After the hair dryer was turned off, Jiang Xiliu was still a little unaccustomed to the excessively quiet space.
She touched her hair and checked Jin Zhao's work: "Not bad."
Jin Zhao hunched his back slightly, staring down at the ground, trying to calm himself down.
—The door wasn't closed properly, and hot air escaped.
Jiang Xiliu stood up: "Go wash up."
"Oh, right." Jiang Xiliu's gaze shifted downwards, "You should watch less dramas too."
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Author's note: Update tomorrow morning at 13:00 [Huang Xin].
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