Chapter 59
A week later, Madam recovered well, and the official announcement that Inspector Leung approved his stay at SDU to work in logistics was issued. Everyone was overjoyed and was even more motivated to train on various projects.
It was quite difficult for Iris to get a chance to meet Su Wenqiang, because recently, this office worker who could have just stood by and watched leisurely has actually started training with a bunch of rough guys. Aqiang's physical fitness was already much better than most people's, and even if he wanted to take it to the next level, training with SDU's program was a bit of an exaggeration.
"Here it is! You absolutely have to use this hydrating and repairing face mask, otherwise you'll definitely end up like those men, tanned like charcoal soon. And let me see, there's also this eye wrinkle remover, sunscreen, and lip balm—take it all!"
The sales clerk brought out a row of skincare products. Iris looked at them and had the ones she needed packed up and given to Su Wenqiang. Su Wenqiang was quite embarrassed: "Iris, this is too much."
"It's alright, it'll just be a waste if you don't want it. You can take it home and try it out." Last time, Zhuang Zhuoyuan mistakenly thought she was pregnant and secretly prepared to replace a batch of her cosmetics and skincare products. But not long after, she was actually diagnosed. Now, not only are all the unused products at home ruined, but even the various discounts and freebies from the store are temporarily unusable. She also gave Su Wenqiang a stack of coupons: "Anyway, I've accumulated so many things that I haven't claimed or used. Our skin types are similar, so it should be fine for you to use them. Just consider it helping me take them, otherwise my money will really be wasted."
"Would the young lady be short of money?" Su Wenqiang accepted her kindness, thanked her, and then joked with Iris: "No, according to what Mr. Zhuang calls her, she should be called 'little princess'."
“I can spend all the money I earn myself. A-Yuan still has to pay his mortgage, not to mention we now have a money-devouring beast.” Iris pointed to her belly, seemingly helpless but actually full of happiness.
“Yes, Tangyuan is almost three months old,” Su Wenqiang said with emotion. “Time flies. It feels like I just met you, and now you and Ayuan are going to be parents.”
"Ah, then that must be our problem." Iris smiled, then turned to Su Wenqiang and asked, "By the way, I heard you've been training really hard lately. Why are you suddenly working so hard?"
Su Wenqiang shook his head: "It wasn't sudden. I've been training with them all along, like rope skipping. After your husband and the others finished training, I played around with it myself before packing up."
"This isn't a game." If Iris had the chance to enter their base, she'd probably only come for a day trip and just use the trial card.
Su Wenqiang couldn't tell whether she was implying something or saying it unintentionally. After thinking for a moment, he finally made up his mind and decided to reveal his secret: "Actually, I've always wanted to join the action team."
"A female Flying Tiger!" Iris exclaimed in surprise, her eyes quickly flashing with praise and respect. She gripped Su Wenqiang's arms tightly and affirmed her with great seriousness, "Ah Qiang, you are absolutely a respectable Madam! That's awesome! I believe you will definitely become the first female member of the Flying Tigers in Hong Kong. Oh, this is so exciting!"
Iris was so excited she almost jumped for joy, but Su Wenqiang, after sharing her aspirations, didn't seem so confident. She trusted Iris, so she was willing to tell her best friend her secret, but she absolutely didn't want her decision to apply to Flying Tigers to be made public.
Iris didn't understand: "Why? This is a good thing, everyone will definitely support you!"
Su Wenqiang remained silent.
Iris thought for a moment and tentatively asked, "Is it because you don't want people to put pressure on you?" Not to mention that there has never been a female Flying Tiger in Hong Kong since the establishment of the Special Duties Unit (SDU), even ordinary male police officers face immense pressure when applying for the SDU. Iris understood Su Wenqiang's hesitation and immediately put two fingers in front of her mouth to indicate that she would never tell anyone about this.
Su Wenqiang gave her a grateful look. After they found a beverage shop to sit down, she told Iris about her past experience: "Actually, I took the Flying Tigers exam once before, but I failed at the last stage. When I was jumping off the bridge, I was too scared to jump because it was too high, and that's how I was eliminated."
This was unexpected for Iris. She remembered that Su Wenqiang had performed admirably in rope skipping, and she had just mentioned that he had been training accordingly. How could someone who could quickly descend from the fourth floor to the first floor have such a strong fear of heights?
“One has safety measures, the other doesn’t,” Su Wenqiang answered succinctly. Iris nodded thoughtfully, thinking that the desensitization option using the drop tower could also be ruled out.
In the evening, she started looking at information about phobias. Zhuang Zhuoyuan was used to his wife's rapid learning, but he was still curious about what had sparked her interest in the condition.
"Oh, it's a friend of mine who's afraid of heights. I'd like to see if there's any way to help solve her problem."
Zhuang Zhuoyuan flipped through the pages on her desk again: "What about your Du Tianyu and Yao Meiling?" He had recently been reading the character biographies she had written for them, and the more he read, the more interested he became. In Zhuang Zhuohua's words, he had started a different kind of story-following.
Iris recently kept pressing Chong Cheuk-wah about the couple's frequent pursuit of thieves, partly because Madam Chong had direct contact with them during the arrest and interrogation, and partly because she wanted to complete her research as soon as possible. Chong Cheuk-yuen was officially promoted to probationary inspector, and Edward decided to fly to Hong Kong to celebrate with his family again. He planned to stay until after his Hong Kong wedding, barring any unforeseen circumstances. Given his extended stay, Iris presciently suspected he might bring them a special gift.
“Honey, do you know what Child Development is?” Iris wrote the two words on a paper airplane and threw it. She didn’t turn back, resting her chin on the back of the chair and staring straight at him.
He understood the literal meaning, of course, but Iris's earnest suggestion, coupled with her amused expression, suggested that things weren't simple. Zhuang Zhuoyuan, puzzled, thought for a moment and assumed it was another of Iris's newly signed-up maternal and infant care courses, so he obediently asked, "Is this a course I need to attend?"
“Yes and no.” Iris nodded and shook her head, thinking that if she had a better mindset, she could treat it as a game. It’s just that in all these years, she has never met anyone who could be so open-minded in the end. She decided to prepare her husband mentally: “Baby, there’s something I’ve never told you. Actually, I had a child when I was in high school.”
Zhuang Zhuoyuan was completely petrified.
While Iris was searching for photos of her son, Zhuang Zhuoyuan was tormented. He longed to go and see him, but lacked the courage. The sudden appearance of a child was too much of a shock for him; even though he loved Iris deeply, he needed time to accept it.
Even with the most organized cloud storage, finding the exact photos of old memories isn't easy. Iris tapped the tablet screen while stealing glances at Zhuang Zhuoyuan's reaction. Seeing his pale face, she finally realized she'd gone too far. She quickly dropped what she was holding and tried to hug him, but Zhuang Zhuoyuan didn't even react. Worried, Iris leaned close to his ear and spoke twice before the still-frightened Zhuang Zhuoyuan gradually relaxed his brow: "Oh yeah, when you were with me you even..." He covered his eyes halfway through, his smile mostly one of relief: "I knew that, how could I forget?"
Iris leaned back, her eyes darting around as she beckoned to him again: "Aren't you afraid that this is also a lie I told you?"
Before she could even finish the word "lie," her soft cheek was pinched. Zhuang Zhuoyuan used a little force, as revenge for her earlier, unfunny joke: "What do you take me for? I can sense things."
With irrefutable evidence, the matter was indeed undeniable. Iris gave up on arguing about it and reiterated the facts to Zhuang Zhuoyuan: "But I did have a son."
The Child Development course I took in high school required each student to take home a doll with a built-in rating system to care for. The tiny robotic baby was highly similar to a real baby, needed to be fed and have its diapers changed, would cry at irregular intervals, and required caregivers to find ways to soothe it. The child had to be with the caregiver at all times and in all places.
"So, whether I was in class, sleeping, or going out, I had to take him with me everywhere, along with a huge bag of diapers and bottles. I couldn't even last a week before I started to despair. What's worse, even when I was taking an exam, if he cried, I had to run out to comfort him." Iris recalled the situation with dread, and Zhuang Zhuoyuan was stunned. Firstly, he hadn't expected that such courses were offered abroad, and secondly, he admired his wife for being willing to attend so many new mother training courses after going through such a grueling period. Of course, most importantly, he was very grateful to Iris for choosing to keep this unexpected child despite knowing how difficult childbirth and raising a child would be.
Iris was both amused and exasperated: "Zhuang Zhuoyuan, are you stupid? This is our child!" She loved him so much, how could she possibly give up the baby in her belly?
Therefore, Zhuang Zhuoyuan was even more grateful: "Wife, thank you for being willing to have a baby for me."
"Then you must try your best to be a good husband and a good father." Words of gratitude sounded pleasant, but Iris, having personally raised a child, was very clear-headed at this moment. To ensure her comfort during pregnancy and postpartum, besides the necessary helpers and postpartum nannies, Zhuang Zhuoyuan's performance was also crucial. She finally found the photo and eagerly showed it to Zhuang Zhuoyuan: "Look, this is my son back then, a blond Caucasian baby. He looked a little ugly, even uglier when he cried, but you get used to it after a while. Daddy saw him back then and knew our family's opinion on the robot baby, so this time he used the baby photo we used for the previous composite to make two, one for each gender."
Zhuang Zhuoyuan vaguely guessed what kind of good show Iris was going to see, and immediately wanted to collapse as well. He thought he wouldn't be able to fulfill his responsibilities as a father until the end of the year or next year, but now it seemed that in less than a week, he would be living the life of cleaning up after his excrement and urine.
Child development, right? That's really impressive.
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