Chapter 64 Hunger Strike "So you don't need me to cook for you anymore...?"
Jin Zhao bent down slightly to observe and discovered that the lock on the front door had been changed.
He hadn't been near the door for the past few days and didn't remember anyone coming to change the locks.
To leave now, you need to enter a password or scan your fingerprint.
Jin Zhao tried his fingerprint and possible passwords, but of course, they were all wrong.
At that time, he hadn't considered that Jiang Xiliu had done all of this on purpose; he thought Jiang Xiliu had simply forgotten to tell him about changing the locks.
Jin Zhao took a picture and sent it to Jiang Xiliu with some distress.
Male protagonist: You forgot to tell me the password.
"Male protagonist: I need to go to school today and I'm in a hurry to leave. Could you please have someone come and open the door for me?"
The password has been entered incorrectly too many times and has been automatically locked.
The little hamster sat on the sofa, looking at Jin Zhao who could still laugh, shaking its head.
Jiang Xiliu was busy when she received Jin Zhao's message, and more than an hour passed before she saw it.
Jiang Xiliu raised an eyebrow slightly when she saw the message he sent.
The door lock was changed the morning after the wedding. Jin Zhao hadn't mentioned it in the past few days, so Jiang Xiliu assumed he had accepted it calmly.
I didn't expect him to only find out about this now.
She didn't reply to his message.
During this time, Jin Zhao tried calling Jiang Xiliu several more times, but she didn't answer.
During the few days Jin Zhao stayed at home, Jiang Xiliu would go back for lunch and dinner whenever she didn't have any social engagements.
But she didn't come home today, and didn't get home until after 10 p.m.
When she opened the door, Jin Zhao was sitting alone on the sofa watching TV.
The door slammed shut with a loud thud, startling the man on the sofa awake.
"You're back so late today." Jin Zhao stood up, took Jiang Xiliu's coat with a humble expression, and hung it up. "Were you very busy with work? You didn't even come home for lunch."
Jiang Xiliu hummed in agreement.
“Next time you’re not coming home for dinner, let me know in advance.” Jin Zhao followed behind her. “It’s a waste to cook too much and not be able to finish it.”
Jiang Xiliu glanced at him and said, "I know."
Jin Zhao paused for a moment, then cautiously asked her, "Did you see the message I sent?"
"What news?" Jiang Xiliu was washing her hands, the soft sound of water easing the tense atmosphere.
Jin Zhao breathed a sigh of relief. He curled the corners of his mouth slightly, with a hint of complaint: "You changed the lock but forgot to tell me the password, and you didn't register my fingerprint either. I was supposed to go back to school today, but I was locked at home and couldn't get out, so I had to ask the teacher for leave."
Jiang Xiliu slowly and deliberately wiped the water off her hands.
She went into the walk-in closet to choose the pajamas she would wear that night.
Jin Zhao continued to follow behind her.
“I haven’t forgotten.” Jiang Xiliu’s hand slid over the rows of clothes hanging in the closet, finally stopping on a lotus-colored one. “I just felt that you didn’t need to ask for the password.”
Jin Zhao was stunned. He looked down at Jiang Xiliu, who had a calm expression, and asked somewhat absentmindedly, "There's no need for a password? What does that mean?"
Jiang Xiliu: "Didn't I tell you before? You don't need to go out to work, you just need to stay home and take care of me."
She met his gaze: "Has your memory gotten worse? You forgot so quickly?"
Jin Zhao forced a smile, which looked terrible: "I haven't graduated yet, and at the time it wasn't said... that I would be taking care of you at home like this."
They spent three sweet days together. Jin Zhao didn't want to argue with Jiang Xiliu, so he could only control his emotions and reason with her.
"After I graduate, I will keep the promise I made to you. I won't go out to work and I will take good care of you at home. But that doesn't mean I can't even go out. I never promised you that."
Jiang Xiliu shook her head and unhappily reached out to cover his lips.
“Jin Zhao, I set the rules.” Jiang Xiliu said matter-of-factly, “What I want is a partner who ‘never leaves the house,’ and I think I’ve made that very clear.”
Jiang Xiliu took two steps toward the door, then turned around and said, "Oh, right. I never said you weren't allowed to go out, but you can only go out with me."
"From the moment we got married, there was only one center in your world, and that was me."
After Jiang Xiliu finished speaking, she took the clothes she had chosen and went into the bathroom.
Jin Zhao stood there, lost in thought.
This is not right.
Jin Zhao drooped his eyes and slowly walked out of the dressing room. He stood at the bathroom door waiting for Jiang Xiliu.
When Jiang Xiliu came out, she saw him blocking the doorway like a pillar. She glanced at him unhappily and said, "I've been busy all day and I'm very tired. Do you have to argue with me at a time like this?"
Jin Zhao moved his lips: "I have to go to school tomorrow, otherwise I won't be able to graduate if I ask for leave again."
"You don't need to go out to work, so not graduating doesn't mean you haven't graduated," Jiang Xiliu deliberately twisted the facts. "Is a diploma more important than me?"
Jin Zhao shook his head.
However, after so many years of hard work and studying, it shouldn't all end in nothing.
Jin Zhao said, "They are all important."
Jiang Xiliu lifted her foot and kissed him, glaring at him: "Say it again, which is more important?"
Jin Zhao remained silent.
Or rather, Jin Zhao still hasn't realized that Jiang Xiliu is determined to keep him locked up at home this time.
He still harbored the belief that Jiang Xiliu was just joking with him.
Jiang Xiliu was doing her skincare routine, and Jin Zhao was standing behind her, blow-drying her hair.
As he dried his hair, he tried to recall if he had done anything to upset her in the past three days.
Or is it that Jiang Xiliu never went with him about that ice cream incident?
"I really need to go to school tomorrow." Jin Zhao still wanted to have a proper talk with Jiang Xiliu. "If I did anything to upset you, could you punish me in a different way?"
Jiang Xiliu frowned. Why bring this up again?
It's so annoying. I've said it so many times all night. Does Jin Zhao not understand human language?
"Get out of here, I don't need you to dry your hair anymore." Jiang Xiliu snatched the hairdryer from his hand and pushed Jin Zhao out the door. "Go outside and reflect on your actions."
Jin Zhao didn't know what he needed to reflect on. He rubbed his temples helplessly, went to the living room, and grabbed the little hamster that was watching TV with great interest.
Besides him and Jiang Xiliu, this is the only living creature in the house.
"What does Jiang Xiliu mean?" he asked, looking into the hamster's panicked black bean eyes. "She can't really be going to lock me up at home, can she?"
The little hamster, also known as System 0777, nodded its head hesitantly.
In the original storyline, Jin Zhao was imprisoned before his marriage.
It's chained to the side of the bed, limiting its movement to the size of the room.
The young lady hasn't locked him up yet; she's even given him her phone to use.
Therefore, in System 0777's view, Jiang Xiliu had already been very good to Jin Zhao.
Jin Zhao naturally didn't think the hamster really understood him. Seeing the little hamster droop its head several times, he was worried that he had hurt it by pinching it, so he put it back.
By the time Jiang Xiliu had finished getting herself ready, it was almost midnight.
Seeing that Jiang Xiliu kept yawning, Jin Zhao didn't bother her about the door lock anymore, thinking he would talk to her about it the next morning.
Jiang Xiliu had no idea what he was thinking; she drank a glass of milk before bed.
After Jin Zhao and she held their wedding, she would pour Jin Zhao a glass whenever she drank.
When Jin Zhao first drank the milk that the young lady brought him, he was utterly flattered.
However, the two had a disagreement today, and Jin Zhao thought that she would not care about him anymore tonight. Unexpectedly, Jiang Xiliu did not hold it against him and still prepared for him.
Jin Zhao hasn't set an alarm for the past few mornings, and his biological clock has become irregular, so these past few mornings when he wakes up, Jiang Xiliu has already gone to work.
But he still had to talk to Jiang Xiliu the next morning, so he set three alarms before going to bed.
When he woke up, the other side of the bed was empty again.
Looking at the clean ceiling, Jin Zhao had an idea that he himself did not want to believe.
Did Jiang Xiliu put drugs in the milk she served him every day?
Jin Zhao was absent again this morning.
But this morning was the day their lab held its group meeting.
The phone's lock screen displayed several chat windows: the professor's angry rebuke and the concern of senior students.
After unlocking his phone, Jin Zhao first apologized to his mentor: "I'm sorry, something happened at home."
He made up an excuse on the spot, his mind a little fuzzy.
Sun Jianhua didn't even reply to him.
His senior colleague in the lab kindly advised him: "Professor Sun was very angry today because you were absent. You should apologize to him this afternoon."
Jin Zhao huddled on the sofa and turned to look at the tightly closed door.
I had no choice but to bite the bullet and ask the teacher for leave again: "Teacher, I still need to ask for leave this afternoon. If there is any data work that can be processed online, you can send it to me directly."
His message failed to send.
Sun Jianhua was so angry that he blocked Jin Zhao.
Jin Zhao let out a long sigh, feeling that it should have been done long ago. He tugged at the corners of his mouth, wanting to laugh but unable to.
Since getting the marriage certificate, it seems like he's been making multiple-choice questions, one after another, an endless series of choices.
Between a stable job and taking care of Jiang Xiliu, he chose to take care of Jiang Xiliu.
He chose to rush into a wedding rather than hold one at all.
Now, he needs to make another choice between his studies and Jiang Xiliu.
He chose Jiang Xiliu without hesitation from both of the previous choices.
Given the sunk costs, does he now have no choice but to choose Jiang Xiliu?
When the door opened, Jin Zhao thought he was hallucinating.
Jin Zhao turned around, holding his phone, and saw Jiang Xiliu and A Biao standing at the door.
Jiang Xiliu sniffed, but couldn't smell any food aromas: "What have you been doing at home today? Didn't you cook anything?"
Jin Zhao then noticed that it was already midnight.
He stood up, swaying slightly: "I forgot."
Jiang Xiliu stared intently at him and asked, "You haven't eaten anything since you woke up?"
Jin Zhao shook his head and made an excuse: "I'm not hungry."
It wasn't really an excuse; he genuinely didn't feel hungry.
System 0777 was monitoring Jin Zhao at home in the form of a hamster, so Jiang Xiliu actually knew that Jin Zhao hadn't eaten anything all day yesterday except for that cup of milk with added ingredients.
But yesterday he was waiting for her to come back so they could eat together, so what does he mean by this today?
Because she wouldn't let him go out, he went on a hunger strike against her?
Jiang Xiliu hated being threatened. She gave a cold laugh and said, "Not hungry? Then don't eat."
"Ah Biao, move all the food from your house to your place." Ah Biao lives nearby for work convenience, "Don't leave anything behind."
Ah Biao glanced at Jin Zhao: "Yes, Miss."
The door was wide open, and A Biao was moving things in and out. Jin Zhao, lost in thought, watched A Biao's actions and suddenly asked Jiang Xiliu, "So, you don't need me to cook for you anymore?"
Jin Zhao thought Jiang Xiliu was unhappy and wanted to kick him out.
Jiang Xiliu stood in the entryway and looked at him calmly upon hearing this: "I don't need it for now, anyway, I won't go hungry."
Jin Zhao nodded; she certainly didn't lack cooks around her.
“Then I’ll pack my things,” Jin Zhao said. “Don’t be angry. After I graduate, I’ll be a good boy—” and stay at home obediently.
Jiang Xiliu interrupted him: "Packing your things? Trying to leave?"
She laughed: "Don't daydream."
After Jiang Xiliu finished speaking, she turned around and walked towards the door.
A sudden wave of panic washed over Jin Zhao: "Xi Liu."
"Jiang Xiliu."
He took two steps toward the door and suddenly noticed that there were two bodyguards standing guard outside.
Therefore, even if he knew the password, he couldn't possibly get out of here.
"Jiang Xiliu."
The door closed, and the last thing Jin Zhao saw was Jiang Xiliu's back as she entered the elevator.
He took out his phone, wanting to call Jiang Xiliu; the two of them needed to clear things up.
My phone has no signal.
Even the TV lost its internet connection and started repeatedly playing previously downloaded content.
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