Chapter 42
When Iris got home, she found everything about Zhuang Zhuoyuan strange. Even though she had to go to school, Zhuang Zhuoyuan could drink beer! Even though she had plenty of supplements, Zhuang Zhuoyuan could eat all sorts of snacks! Even though she was waited on hand and foot, Zhuang Zhuoyuan could do whatever he wanted!
She initially felt that pregnancy was unfair!
"I heard you guys had combat training again today." The young lady floated past the kitchen carrying her textbooks, her miserable look obvious without even looking at her. Zhuang Zhuoyuan, who was chopping vegetables, immediately perked up, brought over some freshly squeezed juice, and followed her to the living room, carefully feeding and comforting her: "Oh, it's just regular training. I also heard from Chaozai that you guys told a lot of ghost stories today. How was it? Was it fun?"
Iris glanced at him, uninterested, and placed the juice she had taken on the coffee table: "It's fine as it is."
Zhuang Zhuoyuan thought to himself, "Oh no!" He quickly changed out of his apron, sat on the sofa, and pulled his wife into his arms, saying all sorts of sweet things, "Oh dear, why are you so listless? Let me hug you. Are you feeling unwell? Or what would you like to eat tonight? How about we go out to eat? After dinner, I'll take you on a date. Let's go to the movies, the arcade, and then take a walk on the beach, okay? I'll spend the whole weekend with you again."
Iris drew a circle in the air and exclaimed, "What a huge pie!"
"When have I ever lied to you?" Zhuang Zhuoyuan took that finger in his hand, let Iris rest her head on his shoulder, and hugged her quietly for a while before asking, "Are you feeling any better now?"
"Just a little bit." She pinched two fingers to create a small distance. Zhuang Zhuoyuan saw this, kissed her forehead, and then pulled her closer, slightly avoiding her lower abdomen: "Then I'll hug you a little longer."
Iris laughed, provoked by his words: "Do you think I'm that easy to fool?"
Zhuang Zhuoyuan said seriously, "Yes."
"You big bad guy!" Iris completely lost her composure and gave him a push, "Go cook!" Zhuang Zhuoyuan just couldn't believe how sweet his wife was; he couldn't get enough of looking at her and hugging her. So he also acted coquettishly, "Baby, I need to work harder."
She pouted and gave him a quick, disgruntled peck on the lips. The little bird wasn't being sincere. "You won't be able to open the treasure chest or claim the reward like that."
What other rewards are there? Iris snorted and turned her head away: "Speaking of Pan Sir, there's a gun with too much recoil that will hurt me; speaking of Sister Lamy, she's too busy; speaking of Fu Zhi's mother, she's been traveling recently; speaking of Sister Pauline, there's Hui over there..." She stopped herself in time, it seemed like she couldn't go anywhere.
“Huihui has already moved out. I heard from Atao that she left as soon as she found a place.” Zhuang Zhuoyuan observed Iris’s expression, then reached under the coffee table and took out an invitation: “Now it’s your turn to choose. Are you going to Atao’s place for our monthly BBQ, or are you coming with me to my old classmate’s wedding?”
Iris's eyes darted around: "Don't you have to be the best man?"
Zhuang Zhuoyuan had already seen through her inclination and laughed, "They're just old classmates with ordinary relationships, not enough for him to be a groomsman."
"Then I'll choose BBQ!" After saying that, she regretted her haste and quickly crossed her fingers: "Wait, what if I can't eat anything at the barbecue? Everything is too spicy! I guess I can't drink herbal tea either."
It's as if she's ever liked herbal tea; every time tea is brought to her lips, she frowns. "Don't worry, I'll prepare juice and a whole bunch of fruit for you. Eat whatever you want, but everything has two words—"
"Just the right amount, it's OK!" Iris was happy as long as she had food and fun to do.
At this moment, Zhuang Zhuoyuan thought of another person. He touched Iris's chin and suggested, "Why don't you go and act cute, and then call your older sister along?"
Acting cute is fine, but Madam's schedule is already fully booked. Iris proudly crossed her arms and showed off her latest helper: "I gave Ben two tickets; he's probably already made plans to see a play with my sister."
"You're so quirky, sneaking ahead again!" Zhuang Zhuoyuan was truly exasperated. Iris's support for her future brother-in-law changed every day, and he could never keep up with her pace. He could only be thankful that she didn't change her mind every day when choosing a husband.
Lamy and Grace finally reappeared at the barbecue. After not seeing Iris for so long, Grace, who had been missing her, immediately ran over as soon as Iris appeared: "Sister Iris, you're finally here! Do you like the cat I gave you?"
“I love it so much! Thank you.” The little girl was referring to a plush toy that Iris had asked her mother to bring over when she was hospitalized. Iris smiled at her, took Grace’s hand, and sat down next to her mother. “Lamy, it’s so nice to see you and Grace, since you both have time to come today.”
“I’m so glad to see you’re alright,” Lamy said, turning around to shake Iris’s hand. “Sorry, I’ve been wanting to see you, but it’s not convenient for me to go to the hospital in my condition.”
Sitting in the reclining chair, Lamy's belly was quite noticeable. Iris looked at her curiously but didn't dare to touch it: "It's alright. I know you care about me. You're under special protection now. There are a lot of germs in the hospital, and I don't want you to make this trip for no reason. Besides, I received all your comforting text messages, phone calls, and cards. I know how you feel."
The two sisters really didn't need to say much. Looking at Iris's happy face, Lamy felt deeply gratified and couldn't help but sigh, "I'm so happy for you both." She also knew that Iris was now a key person to protect as well.
Iris smiled, put her arm around Grace's shoulder as she grilled squid balls, and said, "Grace must be the happiest one. I remember when we chatted online last time, you told me that you were going to Ocean Park with your whole family. How was your time?"
“Sigh—” Grace sighed deeply, her mood momentarily low: “That time, we had just left home when Daddy was called back to work, so it was just Mommy and me going out to play. I’ve been looking forward to it for a long time. But oh well, it’s good that we can have a BBQ together this time.”
The sensible little girl was already like a little adult. Iris affectionately patted her head, then turned to observe Lamy's expression. She knew her sister-in-law wasn't really supportive of Madam continuing her career at SDU. Logically, she shouldn't interfere in their marital affairs, but seeing their frequent friction, Iris felt this wasn't a solution, so she casually mentioned, "Actually, there are also clerical positions in the Flying Tigers." Madam loved her work with the Flying Tigers, and Lamy hoped he could be safe, return home on time, and spend more time with his family. Choosing this position might be the only way to have the best of both worlds.
Lamy forced a smile, her furrowed brows barely relaxing. She patted Iris's hand and said, "When you reach my stage, maybe you'll understand. But you're different from us, and I believe you'll be better off than me."
Was Mom's family not happy? Actually, no. It's just that, as the old saying goes, every family has its own troubles.
Iris gained a new understanding of life, and she tried to incorporate these insights into her novel, burying herself in writing for several days in a row. During these times, she was remarkably quiet; the only sounds in the room besides the keyboard were the turning of pages. At these moments, Zhuang Zhuoyuan felt that Iris was exceptionally radiant. He had seen her on stage, given interviews, and displayed her various outstanding qualities in public, but never had she shone so brightly. He felt increasingly proud of his wife and deeply honored by her presence.
When a work is completed, Zhuang Zhuoyuan felt it was necessary to reward the family's great writer. He took the initiative to arrange the itinerary and reported to Iris: "Actually, Azu's family runs a martial arts school, and he often meets and exchanges kung fu with some martial arts enthusiasts. During this period, he also often pulled a group of us together to study grappling techniques, so if you are interested, we can go with him to take a look."
“Okay!” Iris readily agreed, but there was something else she wanted to do even more: “BB, I suddenly feel like cooking you a meal, so let’s go out and buy groceries first, okay?”
"Wow, you seem so enthusiastic today." Zhuang Zhuoyuan clutched his chest, flattered and surprised.
Iris patted his head, stopping his emotional outburst: "Don't overthink it, honey. I'll only cook once or twice a year, there's absolutely no way I'll become a housewife."
Zhuang Zhuoyuan was well aware of this. Jennie had also repeatedly reminded him that her daughter wasn't going to marry into someone's family to cook and do laundry. In fact, if that were the reason, why would he marry her in the first place?
Zhuang Zhuoyuan assumed Iris meant shopping at the market and supermarket. He was surprised to find the young lady driving him all over Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the New Territories. After a while, the back seat was piled high with takeout food, and they even had desserts when they passed a dessert shop. Zhuang Zhuoyuan jokingly asked Iris what she planned to cook for him. Iris pointed to a row of takeout boxes and said matter-of-factly, "These dishes are really delicious! I'll just cook you a meal when we get home."
That's really all I can do now, just cook rice.
The young lady suddenly had a craving for egg waffles. Zhuang Zhuoyuan looked around and took a shortcut to find the roadside stall she liked. While waiting, he thought about the dishes, many of which Jennie liked, and suggested, "Why don't we go back and have dinner with Mommy tonight? Yuanbao has gradually adapted to life here. I've seen it recently and it's been behaving very well, so I think it should be fine."
"Then we'll have to buy Yuanbao another gift later."
Just then, the phone rang. Iris's expression immediately changed upon hearing the call: "What! You said Mom's in the police station?"
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