Chapter 54 A Good Husband: My wife is more outstanding than me, and our family is stable...
Jin Zhao's question stumped Grandma Jin.
From childhood to adulthood, Jin Zhao was never the kind of child who would confide in her. Even when she was mocked or deliberately bullied at school, Jin Zhao would silently fight back in her own way.
It can be said that Jin Zhao has never caused his grandmother any worry throughout his life.
"Why are you suddenly asking this?" Grandma Jin looked at her grandson with concern. "What happened?"
Jin Zhao wanted to control himself, but he couldn't manage his current emotions.
Although he hasn't started working yet, he already seems to be facing the challenge of balancing family and work.
"Did you quarrel with the young girl?" Grandma Jin still remembered Jiang Xiliu.
Jin Zhao shook his head, then nodded: "I must have upset her."
He sent Jiang Xiliu a message on his way to the hospital, but Jiang Xiliu has not replied to him yet.
Seeing that Jin Zhao didn't intend to say much, Grandma Jin could only offer a few words of advice: "Dating is different from studying. There's no standard answer. Grandma knows you're a serious child, but when you get along with people, you have to focus on the important things and let go of the trivialities. Don't get too caught up in things, and don't get confined by rules and regulations."
...
It was at this time that Jin Zhao realized that unless Jiang Xiliu took the initiative to find him, he had no chance to meet her.
On the day he was supposed to report to the research institute, Jin Zhao sat in his dormitory for more than two hours in formal attire, but ultimately did not go out.
He took a picture of the dormitory table and sent it to Jiang Xiliu, saying, "I didn't choose to go to the research institute."
She scrolled up and saw that she hadn't replied to any of his messages since Jiang Xiliu left in anger that day.
Fortunately, Jiang Xiliu didn't block him, so Jin Zhao was able to send the message out.
The mentor's message came first: "Jin Zhao, come to my office."
The leaves outside the dormitory window had all fallen, so Jin Zhao grabbed a jacket and put it on.
His supervisor called him over, naturally for work-related matters.
The report stated that he politely declined the offer that very day, which was practically a slap in the face to his mentor.
"There are still six months until graduation. You don't want to continue your studies, and you don't even look for an internship." Jin Zhao's mentor was not angry about his pride. He glanced at his former star student and said, "Tell me, what exactly do you want to do? I'm worried about you."
Jin Zhao lowered his head and remained silent, pursing his lips.
His phone vibrated in his pocket.
Before meeting with his teacher, Jin Zhao habitually adjusted his phone's settings so that, apart from messages from people on his whitelist, no one would send any notifications to his phone during this time.
And there is only one person on his whitelist.
Jin Zhao thought: If Jiang Xiliu had a big fight with him, he wouldn't be this upset.
He had indeed worried about not having a job, but now, jobs, prospects, the future...
Everything should give way to Jiang Xiliu.
Jin Zhao was able to come to this conclusion thanks to that kidnapping.
During those sleepless nights while waiting for Jiang Xiliu's reply, he repeatedly recalled the fall off the cliff.
If he's willing to die for Jiang Xiliu, then why should he be afraid of losing his job?
Is work more important than life? Of course not.
—But compared to life, Jiang Xiliu narrowly won.
"Teacher." Jin Zhao reached into his pocket, gripping the cold phone case tightly, interrupting his tutor's long-winded speech. He said, "I'm sorry."
“I don’t need your apology.” Jin Zhao’s mentor waved his hand. “You need to know that you don’t have much time to hesitate. You should find your direction in life as soon as possible. Ordinary people like us can’t hesitate at such an important time.”
Children from poor families mature early. With family circumstances like Jin Zhao's, he should strive to seize every opportunity to climb the social ladder.
"I know." Jiang Xiliu required Jin Zhao to answer her phone before it rang three times and to reply to her messages immediately.
So Jin Zhao was somewhat anxious to end this discussion about his future. He regretted that his teacher's well-intentioned advice was destined to be in vain, "I have already found my direction in life."
Under the incredulous gaze of his mentor.
Jin Zhao said, "Marriage and partner are the top priorities in my life."
His words nearly infuriated the middle-aged man opposite him.
Jin Zhao thought he could get away with it by explaining things clearly, but his words only provoked more of the teacher's emotions.
"A good man should have ambitions beyond his hometown! All you ever talk about is getting married; you'll never amount to anything in your life!"
Jin Zhao looked at his mentor, whose face had become somewhat ferocious. He knew that the mentor was doing it for his own good, but said, "Teacher, I'm already married."
Jin Zhao even said with some pride, "My wife is more outstanding than me. Someone always has to make sacrifices for the stability and harmony of the family."
"I don't think staying at home to be a wife and mother is any worse than having ambitions to travel the world."
He thought for a moment and said earnestly, "I will be a good husband."
When Jin Zhao walked out of his supervisor's office, the notification on the message board showed "nine minutes ago".
Jin Zhao knew without even opening the app that Jiang Xiliu didn't want to talk to him anymore.
He wiped his hands clean before unlocking and clicking through.
Jiang Xiliu sent him a photo in return.
Blue sky, white clouds, ocean, sandy beach, and a group of scantily clad men displaying something.
At the bottom of the photo, the end of a beach chair is visible, along with a pair of crossed and perched feet.
Jin Zhao stared at those feet, completely ignoring the rest of the background.
Jiang Xiliu's feet are quite fleshy, and she doesn't like to paint her nails with overly bright colors, always opting for nude pink.
He walked to an open space and sent Jiang Xiliu another photo of the sky, which had become somewhat gloomy because of her absence.
[System 0777: Main quest progress +1, Miss, you're now at 77.]
The little hamster perched obediently on Jiang Xiliu's shoulder, which puzzled it.
[System 0777: Shouldn't Jin Zhao be angry seeing this? Why is his favorability rating still increasing?]
Jiang Xiliu took the fluffy hamster from her shoulder and held one of its little paws, then flicked its round head: "What are you seeing? What's wrong with the photo I posted? It's just a landscape picture I snapped casually."
He should be increasing his progress and improving her favorability. She's already willing to talk to him, shouldn't Jin Zhao be grateful?
The baby hamster struggled with its four paws.
[System 0777: My database says many main characters dislike having too many same-sex people around their partners.]
Jiang Xiliu sighed softly: "Your database needs updating. A sensible protagonist should learn to understand the hardships of their partner, instead of making trouble for themselves by dwelling on trivial matters."
"Jiang Xiliu, can't you move around a bit?" Ye Qishan walked over with two glasses of iced drinks in his hand. "Have you been lying here sunbathing every day for the past few days?"
"Can't I get a tan?" Jiang Xiliu tossed the little hamster in her hand into the sand with annoyance. She took one of the cups, took a sip through the straw, and kicked Ye Qishan away, who wanted to squeeze into the same chair with her. "Get lost."
Ye Qishan stumbled from her kick. In an attempt to protect the drink in his hand, he lost his balance and landed hard on his backside in the sand. His back sank heavily into the fine, hot sand, but he managed to hold his hand up firmly and not spill a drop.
He turned his head to the side, about to complain, when he felt a shadow fall on his face. Jiang Xiliu's new pet, the fat hamster, was climbing up his face.
It's one thing for his owner to bully him, but even the hamsters are following suit.
Ye Qishan propped himself up on the sand with his free hand, and decided not to move anymore, leaning against Jiang Xiliu's chair.
After sitting for a while, the scorching sand became warm. He pushed his sunglasses up over his head and asked, "When are you and that guy surnamed Jin having your wedding?"
Jiang Xiliu and Ye Qishan appearing here together was not something they had arranged.
It was because their kindergarten and elementary school classmate, Lu Xinyue, was holding her wedding here.
The hotel where the wedding was held was decorated with a very wedding atmosphere. Jiang Xiliu was very curious about it for the first two days after arriving, but after that, she came to the beach to sunbathe every day.
Ye Qishan was the most upset, seeing others get married reminded him of Jiang Xiliu's marriage certificate.
He observed Jiang Xiliu carefully for several days and was surprised to find that she didn't usually chat or call that man surnamed Jin. So he decided to come and subtly inquire about it.
Ideally, the two of them would divorce again.
Jiang Xiliu immediately saw what he was thinking: "What's it to you?"
Ye Qishan was already used to Jiang Xiliu speaking to him like this: "I'm going to prepare a big gift for you."
Jiang Xiliu snatched the system hamster back from Ye Qishan's hands, put it on his shoulder, and ignored Ye Qishan completely.
"I'm serious." Ye Qishan leaned closer. "I'll give you a big gift when you get married, and an even bigger gift when you get divorced."
Jiang Xiliu held her phone, looking at the photos Jin Zhao had sent.
—What kind of rubbish is this? Is the camera covered in dust? Why is it so dark?
[System 0777 grooms itself: Miss, would you like to take off your sunglasses and take a look?]
There's nothing to see when you take off your sunglasses.
Jin Zhao's life was unremarkable; he did nothing but study and make money, and he had almost no hobbies.
Male protagonist: Did you go out to play? When are you coming back?
The male protagonist is the nickname Jiang Xiliu gave to Jin Zhao. System 0777 objected once: "These are all confidential, they can't be so blatantly displayed in the nickname."
Especially since the young lady's phone has no password, it would be terrible if someone saw it.
Jiang Xiliu agreed verbally, but she hasn't changed her mind yet: "Attending a classmate's wedding."
Not long after, Jin Zhao asked the same question as Ye Qishan: "Have you thought about when we should have our wedding?"
Jiang Xiliu kicked Ye Qishan's shoulder.
Ye Qishan had already put the cup in his hand aside. He reached out and grabbed Jiang Xiliu's ankle, pulling her foot forward, and with his other hand, he lightly brushed the sand off the soles of her feet.
He thought she was kicking him because she was rubbing the sand on the soles of her feet.
Jiang Xiliu didn't even notice that she had been walking on sand every day recently and had gotten used to the feel of it. She asked, "Hey, why do we have to have a wedding ceremony to get a marriage certificate?"
Ye Qishan: ? ? ?
His eyes darted around, and for once he was quite clever, he replied with a grin, "Who says so? It's perfectly normal to get a marriage certificate without a wedding. You can have one when you get a second marriage." He was the first to sign up for Jiang Xiliu's divorce, seizing the opportunity.
...
While waiting for news from Jiang Xiliu, Jin Zhao was unable to concentrate on anything.
Staring intently at the chat window only increases anxiety, so he could only aimlessly scroll through his Moments.
Ye Qishan posted nine pictures without any caption.
Jin Zhao's finger had already slid over the page, but then, as if possessed, it flipped back to the top and clicked on it.
The wedding, the beach, and his familiar silhouette.
Jin Zhao gave it a thumbs up.
At the same time, a message popped up at the top of the phone.
Jiang Xiliu: No.
-----------------------
Author's note: I've been working overtime until National Day, so I should be able to get back to work earlier on October 1st [poor thing].
Red envelopes rained down today too! [Qingxin]
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