Chapter 18
Having met each other's parents and bought a house, everyone assumed that Iris and Zhuang Zhuoyuan, whose relationship had always progressed rapidly, were definitely going to have a whirlwind marriage this time. Unexpectedly, even as the second semester was about to start and the two returned from visiting relatives in England, Iris still maintained her status as the future Mrs. Zhuang.
Many people expressed their disappointment, such as Sister Pauline and Lamy, the wife of the man who was beaten by his mother. Neither of them were present at the moment, and Uncle Chao was busy at the counter collecting cash, so only Ye Shuhui spoke up as a representative: "Ah Yuan, you have surprised us again this time. My wife has already prepared the wedding gift money and is just waiting for you to give us a specific date to send it out."
Guo Yaozu nodded in agreement, "Long Po and I have also made preparations and are just waiting to drink at your feast. You'd better tell us soon when we'll have good news?"
Faced with everyone's urging for marriage, Zhuang Zhuoyuan shook his head and simply smiled. After finishing a sip of wine, seeing that everyone was still waiting for his answer, he reluctantly said, "It's up to Iris to decide, but she's been too busy lately."
Oh, something's up! Sensing a hint of melancholy in Zhuang Zhuoyuan's voice, Jianren immediately became gossipy. Considering that Zhuang Zhuoyuan was alone at PC Bar again tonight, he made a connection and, as always, spoke without restraint: "Speaking of which, you two don't seem as clingy as you were when you first got together. Could it be that Iris has changed her mind over time and doesn't like you anymore?"
His expression blatantly proclaimed "I've got a second one," prompting others to immediately spit in disapproval. Zhuang Zhuoyuan, however, seemed unfazed, maintaining a relaxed demeanor. He then half-jokingly added, "Not just a second one, but a third, fourth, and fifth too."
During her ten days in England, Iris spent most of her time with him, but she also had dates every day. Today it was April, tomorrow Betty, the day after Cecilia… from A to Z, she called almost all of his friends. You can imagine how wild his girlfriend had been in the two weeks before he even left for England. And this wildness didn't stop even after she returned to Hong Kong. After only two days of jet lag, calls from various friends started pouring in, instantly taking away Iris's earlier exhaustion and desire to relax.
“And then there’s her work, her classes, and other training, like driver’s licenses, combat training, and things like that. Anyway, it’s only the beginning of the year, and our Iris’s schedule is already packed.” Zhuang Zhuoyuan didn’t need to count the days to figure it out; he could tell that his impulsive girlfriend hadn’t left any time for their wedding, so getting married this year was basically impossible. But the more lively Iris was, the more at ease Zhuang Zhuoyuan felt: “Last time we went to Dapu and didn’t find anything, she was still thinking about investigating modified guns. Now she has a drama to film, classes to attend, and friends to hang out with, so I’m finally not worried about her running off.”
When the topic of filming came up, Su Wenqiang forgot the "fighting" question she was about to ask. She changed the subject and asked Zhuang Zhuoyuan about the progress of Iris's new book: "During Christmas, Iris said she wanted to seal away that novel with the criminal protagonist as a final memento between her and her sister. She also said she was going to use folklore materials to write a new book. The manuscript should be almost finished by now, right? I wonder when it can be published?"
Zhuang Zhuoyuan truly admired Su Wenqiang's skill in urging manuscripts. No wonder Iris often said that Madam Su was her motivation for writing: "She has already finished writing and handed it to the editor. Iris will be here later, and you can ask her yourself."
As soon as Zhuang Zhuoyuan finished speaking, the group sitting directly opposite the bar entrance spotted Iris. They were about to greet her when she made a shushing gesture and tiptoed behind Zhuang Zhuoyuan. So, she was up to her usual antics! The others understood and silently stopped to watch. While the tricks Zhuang Sheng and his future wife used sometimes seemed a bit cheesy, they were undeniably charming when pursuing women.
Iris used a rather old-fashioned trick: carrying her things in one hand, she used the other to cover Zhuang Zhuoyuan's eyes, her low voice still brimming with barely suppressed excitement, revealing her good mood: "Guess who I am?"
"Who is it?" Even before Iris got close, Zhuang Zhuoyuan had already guessed her arrival from the person's reaction. He hesitated for a second or two, waiting until he estimated Iris would be satisfied, before speaking again: "Let me guess which of my honeys?"
Iris wasn't going to let him tease her. She didn't show any annoyance and instead asked, "Which other honey do you have?" She knew that Zhuang Zhuoyuan would make up a whole bunch of names again, but when he actually said Yuanbao's name, she couldn't help but laugh. "Okay, okay, our golden retriever is indeed your honey. I'm satisfied with that answer. Here's a reward for you."
“But I haven’t guessed the real answer yet!” Zhuang Zhuoyuan looked up at his girlfriend. Iris’s gaze swept over his left hand, which he was holding and which was no longer covering his eyes, and she could no longer find a reason to insist on his answer: “If Zhuang Sheng is sure he doesn’t want this reward, then I won’t force him.”
Zhuang Zhuoyuan's bright eyes were filled with her, and his smile couldn't be sweeter: "I didn't say no!"
Iris lowered her head, and the crowd of onlookers couldn't help but click their tongues in disapproval. Fortunately, half a year had passed, and she no longer needed to take out her sunglasses. She could simply turn her head away, take a sip of her drink, and, as they say, you get used to it.
However, the two of them looked reminiscent of a scene from a movie. Ah Xing opened a bottle of wine and handed it to Zhuang and Zhou, saying, "Have you ever thought about trying Spider-Man's upside-down kiss?"
“We’ve already had our holiday.” Iris blinked, and before she knew it, Zhuang Zhuoyuan snatched the bottle from her hand, which she had just taken a sip from, and poured most of the bottle of wine into his own.
“Hey!” she protested.
Zhuang Zhuoyuan, however, had a golden rule in hand: "Mommy gave me an order before she saw you off, telling me to keep an eye on you and make sure you don't drink too much. Now that's how it is, you have no reason to complain about my saliva."
Suffocated, Iris tried another approach, frowning as she tried to persuade them further: "I only had one sip, you left too little." While feigning affection, her fingers stealthily reached for another bottle. Iris's thinking was simple: whether she drank or not was secondary; coming to a bar with only a little alcohol in her hand would make her look like a baby girl.
Zhuang Zhuoyuan knew exactly what his girlfriend was thinking. Ever since Gloria called her a "child" in England, Iris, unable to resist her aunt's provocation, had been fighting for her sake until now. If he hadn't known she had just been to another bar, Zhuang Zhuoyuan wouldn't have minded handing her the whole bottle of beer. "Sweetie, your grapefruit-flavored cocktail isn't very strong, but if you mix it with beer now, what if you get drunk? Here, take this bottle first, and I'll pour you more later if you really finish it, okay?"
"The magistrate can set fires, but the common people can't even light lamps." Iris pouted and muttered, determined to throw a tantrum at Zhuang Zhuoyuan for a minute. She took out the cloth bag she had just brought and put about ten bottles of plum jam on the table: "These are sauces given by Tangtang, the sister of CID's Inspector Yin. She has a silver tongue; anything she gives away is good stuff. You can take them back and try them."
"Yin Sir's sister?" Jianren was still recalling when Ah Zu, who was standing next to him, mistakenly thought he was about to hit someone and quickly reminded him, "Don't do anything reckless. Cheng Ge's sister is still a minor."
"You idiot!" Jianren cursed. "Do you think I'm that kind of person? I just remembered that I seemed to have seen Inspector Yin's sister a while ago, but she was hanging out with some young thug. The two of them were chatting and laughing, and they even looked like they were about to hold hands."
"No way!" Ah Xing was also surprised. He had partnered with Yin Jincheng before, and the two had a good relationship. Therefore, he had always treated Yin Jintang, whom he had met a few times, like a younger sister. "Are you sure you're not mistaken? Chloe has always been a good girl. How could she be hanging out with thugs? Could that person be her classmate? Just dressed a bit too avant-garde?"
Jianren bluntly said, "Do you think I only care about appearances? That handsome guy, even if he's a student, he must be a member of band 3. I think we'd better find an opportunity to mention it to Inspector Yin, otherwise it will be troublesome if his sister gets tricked. You all know that fifteen or sixteen-year-old girls are the easiest to fool."
Xie Jiaxing's expression immediately turned serious. After a moment's thought, he took out his phone, seemingly about to call Yin Jincheng. Iris also seemed thoughtful, but she had a better understanding of the situation than the others present. Noticing Xie Jiaxing's actions, she quickly stopped him, advising, "We don't know the full story yet. Maybe that boy really is Chloe's friend? If we bring it up, it might give Yin Sir a bad first impression, and it would be even worse if the two siblings argued about it. I think it's better if I go and ask Tangtang first, and then let her explain to her brother herself. That would be better."
"But……"
“Let Iris try it first, it won’t make a difference if she takes a day or two,” Zhuang Zhuoyuan said at Iris’s subtle prompting when Xie Jiaxing showed hesitation. He also changed the subject, “Didn’t you guys want to know about the ‘upside-down kiss’? Well, in my experience, it’s worth a try. As long as it doesn’t last too long, the experience will be absolutely amazing.”
"Oh!" The crowd immediately started to cheer, half of them waiting for gossip, and the other half wanting to learn from the experience.
Iris felt as if the gleaming gazes before her had already carved several deep pits, waiting for her to fall into them. But for the sake of her poor little Chloe, Iris decided to treat everyone as family: "It's sweet, really. Everyone here is a Flying Tiger, so I'm sure a little inverted movement won't be difficult for you. However, you should pay more attention to your posture when doing the movements, because if you do them correctly and tighten the lines that should be tightened, your abs and V-lines can be perfectly displayed, which is a bonus."
As soon as she finished speaking, she instinctively jumped back. Sure enough, several groping hands reached out to Zhuang Zhuoyuan: "Come on, Brother Yuan, show us your perfect V-line and perfect abs! See how fit you've been working out lately!"
Under the violent suppression of the pack of wolves, Zhuang Zhuoyuan was weak, pitiful, and helpless. After Iris sent the notification text message, she could only facepalm and look up at the sky. Oh, my dear brother-in-law, you've sacrificed so much for me! Next time we go to your tea restaurant, you'll have to give us a huge discount, a discount that'll break our bones!
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