Chapter 13
It was almost seven o'clock when Iris got home, and the living room was already filled with the aroma of food. Iris quietly opened the door, peeked inside, and heard some noises coming from the kitchen. She then breathed a sigh of relief, straightened her back, and proudly entered the house, holding up the spoils of her two-hour shopping spree: "I'm home! BB, look what goodies I brought you!"
The sounds from the kitchen stopped for a moment, but no one answered. This silence lasted only a few seconds; before Iris could even count to ten, the clatter of spoons and bowls resumed. Something was wrong! Alarm bells rang in her mind, and her first instinct was to run to Zhuang Zhuoyuan and beg for forgiveness. She hadn't expected that standing him up once would provoke him to this extent.
"BB—" Iris's words trailed off as the sweet nothings she was about to say caught in her throat, because the person busy in the kitchen wasn't her beloved boyfriend. She looked at Zhuang Zhuohua, who had unusually come home early from work, with some surprise: "Sister, are you cooking tonight?"
Zhuang Zhuohua turned off the stove and put down the ladle. She turned around and smiled slightly at Iris: "What, are you surprised to see that I'm the one cooking? Don't forget, A-Yuan grew up eating my cooking when he was little."
“I have complete confidence in and high expectations for my older sister’s cooking skills!” Iris ran over, grabbed Zhuang Zhuohua’s shoulder, kissed her affectionately, and smiled broadly. “I was just surprised that A Yuan didn’t help today.”
"Oh—" Knowing the inside story, Zhuang Zhuohua raised an eyebrow and hit the nail on the head: "You're worried he's angry with you?"
"Big sister, why are you bullying me too!" Iris wrinkled her nose and stomped her foot, snuggling up to Zhuang Zhuohua and acting coquettishly. She realized that her cool Madam could sometimes be quite mischievous. For example, right now, she couldn't glean any useful information from Zhuang Zhuohua's expression, which was clearly intentional on the latter's part. "Big sister, big sister, big sister, can you teach me how to coax A-Yuan?"
Zhuang Zhuohua said seriously, her eyes showing a hint of sympathy as she refused: "This is not a good matter. It's best to wait for A Yuan to come back before we talk about it. By the way, I'm just helping to watch the fire. A Yuan is still the chef today."
Iris even had the energy to cook, and she was making her favorite fish soup lately. Iris's eyes lit up, and she finally felt a sense of relief. However, the longer she waited, the more she wanted to pout. Zhuang Zhuoyuan had only gone downstairs to buy soy sauce, but it felt like an eternity. She had already brought a pile of shopping bags into the room, and he still hadn't returned. Iris sank into the sofa, leaning against the large rabbit plush toy, and her heart began to race again. She looked at Zhuang Zhuohua with a pained expression and pleaded for help again, "Sister, what's A-Yuan like when he's angry?"
"If you want to know, wouldn't it be better to ask me?" The sound of a key unlocking the door came, and Zhuang Zhuoyuan appeared. Zhuang Zhuohua promptly got up and took the things from her younger brother's hands, tactfully leaving the two of them some space. If you ignored the slight smile on her lips, Iris would be even more grateful for her older sister's thoughtfulness.
"Was I speaking that loud just now?" Zhuang Zhuoyuan hadn't moved, and neither had Iris. She slumped on the sofa, waiting for someone to hug her. In this standoff, Zhuang Zhuoyuan was always the first to concede. His good-natured boyfriend sat down beside him and showed her his phone: "While you were starting to worry again, my sister already gave me a live update on what was happening."
Iris seized the opportunity, feigning grievance: "Then why don't you hurry up and kiss and hug me!"
Zhuang Zhuoyuan was so angry he almost laughed: "Miss, shouldn't I be the one who's angry?"
"So, are you going to kiss me or hug me?" With her boyfriend's indulgence, the young lady pushed her luck, hugging a cushion and placing her legs on Zhuang Zhuoyuan's lap. Before Zhuang Zhuoyuan could speak, Iris instantly switched to a weak and innocent expression: "Don't you want to forgive me?"
Using both soft and hard tactics, any man would likely fall at the feet of a beautiful woman who knows this trick well. Zhuang Zhuoyuan was glad he still had enough self-control. He held Iris's fidgeting legs and leaned down to set the conditions first: "Then are you willing to tell me the reason for standing me up? You know, I won't mind a normal date, but today you abandoned me and left me to go get our engagement ring alone. I'm really heartbroken."
“Oh, I’m really, really sorry,” Iris shifted, hooking her little finger around Zhuang Zhuoyuan’s hand, her voice gradually turning serious from soft and sweet. “At this time, I can’t tell you what I did today, but I swear, it is definitely an important and serious matter. BB, give me a little time, I’ll definitely give you an explanation later, okay?”
The person who was worried instantly became Zhuang Zhuoyuan. He had initially thought that the interaction between the two was just playful banter between lovers, but he never expected Iris to become so serious. He disregarded everything else, took her hand first, and asked nervously, "Shishi, tell me honestly, have you gotten into any trouble? Hey, it doesn't matter what happened, just tell me, and I'll help you."
"What if I break the law? Will you arrest me?" Iris felt Zhuang Zhuoyuan's hand tremble slightly. She didn't expect that after being pranked by her several times, the self-proclaimed smart Zhuang sir would still fall for it. Looking at his conflicted expression, she finally couldn't help but laugh: "Silly Yuan, I would never be stupid enough to do something illegal. You're so nervous, are you really considering arresting me?"
"Yes, I'm considering whether to sentence you, you little rascal, to life imprisonment." Zhuang Zhuoyuan reacted quickly. Zhuang Zhuohua was still at home, and Iris might be intentionally avoiding the topic. Since she was willing to change the subject and joke around, he didn't need to rush. He was confident that Iris had her own standards.
Iris not only had a ruler, but also a ring. Zhuang Zhuoyuan had placed the wedding rings in such a conspicuous place in the room that she would notice them as soon as she opened the door. Silently taking out the ring box, Iris coughed twice and acted as a priest: "Mr. Zhuang Zhuoyuan, do you take Ms. Zhou Yishi to be your wife? Whatever she thinks, you will unconditionally support her; whatever she goes through, you will always be by her side."
Zhuang Zhuoyuan felt like he was the one sentenced to life imprisonment, but he was extremely satisfied with this "verdict" and accepted it willingly. "I'm willing, one hundred percent willing." Skipping the formalities, Zhuang Zhuoyuan first took the women's ring and put it on Iris's ring finger, as if afraid she would escape. Only when the small diamond shone steadily on Iris's hand did his heart feel completely at ease. "I thought you were going to make a thirty-point agreement with me before you would marry me."
Thirty chapters? Iris thought Zhuang Zhuoyuan was laughing too soon. He'd agreed to this "unconditional support," but she didn't believe their future prenuptial and postnuptial agreements could be settled within thirty articles. However, Iris wasn't going to remind him of this now, because at the latest, after tonight, even if she didn't say anything, Zhuang Zhuoyuan would realize it. "So, BB, it's your turn now."
Zhuang Zhuoyuan made no conditions; he only asked the simplest question: "Dear Miss Zhou Yishi, would you be willing to marry Mr. Zhuang Zhuoyuan and be his wife for life?"
"I—" Iris blinked, looking at the ring on her finger held in his palm. Suddenly, she realized she seemed to have no other choice. The cunning Inspector Zhuang had gotten away with it and married a beautiful wife in no time. Looking up, she saw his radiant smile and playfully punched Zhuang Zhuoyuan's shoulder, only to have him hold her wrist tightly: "You still haven't answered me, will you marry me or not?"
Iris glared at him, then pounced on him and bit his lip: "Marry me, marry me, marry me!"
Without wearing a ring, they quickly moved on to the next segment. Zhuang Zhuoyuan had his arm around Iris's waist, enjoying the sweetness while also marveling at their perfect chemistry. Judging from these occasional moments of unspoken understanding, he and Iris seemed like a match made in heaven.
After taking a shower and getting into bed, Mrs. Zhuang finally confessed to Mr. Zhuang that she had met a new friend that afternoon: "He's a man, but he's Elaine's ex. I only met him because of his profession."
"Hmm?" Zhuang Zhuoyuan patted Iris's head.
Iris leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Haven't you noticed that my sister is so engrossed in her work that she barely gets a few hours of sleep a day? Several times when I've been home, I've found her coming back and only resting for two or three hours before heading out of her room again. So I think I need to meet a therapist. Edgar may be young, but according to Elaine, he's reliable. Or, we could try to meet an even better therapist through him!"
Zhuang Zhuoyuan immediately recalled Zhuang Zhuohua's terrible state after her fiancé's death. He had thought everything was over once she returned to work and a normal life, but he hadn't expected that her current normalcy might just be a "pretend" to numb herself. In this respect, he had to admit that his observation was not as meticulous as Iris's. Zhuang Zhuoyuan still harbored a sliver of hope: "BB, do you really think my sister's condition is so serious that she needs to see a psychologist?"
Iris shrugged: "At least we can learn from the therapist how to communicate with my sister and how to help her relax and enjoy life, all right?"
Zhuang Zhuoyuan wholeheartedly agreed. Given Zhuang Zhuohua's strong self-defense capabilities, breaking through her psychological defenses would be extremely difficult. Having some directional guidance would be invaluable. He pulled Iris closer, feeling immense relief and gratitude: "Iris, thank you."
Iris felt his kiss on her forehead, her lips curving upwards. She moved even closer to Zhuang Zhuoyuan, but also laughed at him, saying, "You silly pig."
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