Chapter 65
That's too cheesy.
After getting married, Zhuang Zhuoyuan and Iris became even more unbearable. Even though they hadn't gone on their honeymoon yet, everyone else felt like they were constantly immersed in a sweet romance. Especially after Iris finished her final exams, Zhuang's wife, who was bored at home alone, seemed to want to have long phone conversations with Zhuang Zhuoyuan almost all the time.
"Have some empathy, will you?" Zhuang Zhuoyuan glanced sideways at his friends rubbing their arms at the dinner table. "My parents-in-law have gone back to England, and my sister and I are both at work. My wife is definitely bored at home alone."
“I understand.” Only his mother, who was also a good husband, could truly understand his thoughts. He picked up his cup and clinked it with Zhuang Zhuoyuan’s, but Zhuang Zhuoyuan felt that the first cup of lemon tea should be offered to him first: “Today is the day you officially rejoin the team. No matter what, you should be the protagonist.”
One good thing after another happened to Fei Hu, and everyone applauded. Amidst the laughter and chatter, Yu Xueli suddenly pulled Su Wenqiang away mysteriously to find Zhan Hantao, who was paying the bill. Zhuang Zhuoyuan noticed his action, raised an eyebrow, and only after the two left the table did he casually glance back. After some pushing and shoving, Yu Xueli handed Zhan Sir some unidentified documents, then pushed Su Wenqiang forward. At first glance, Madam Su looked utterly unwilling. She didn't look directly at Zhan Sir, but instead glared at Yu Xueli, her mouth opening and closing, presumably annoyed by his meddling.
"What are you looking at, Ah Yuan?" Granny Long saw him turn around, and everyone else followed Zhuang Zhuoyuan's gaze after hearing his words. Zhuang Zhuoyuan chuckled and said, "Nothing, I was just wondering if Ah Li was going to go and help with the bill too."
"That brat is so thoughtful?" Jianren muttered. "This time it's definitely Zhan Sir who's paying. Let's do this: next time Ah Li will treat, and the time after that, Ah Yuan will come. You've successfully 'married into' a wealthy family and are now financially independent!"
"Isn't all this food enough to shut you up, you scoundrel? Treating you is no problem, but let me make it clear again: my money has been handed over to my wife for a long time. All the money my parents-in-law gave her goes to her too. In short, my wife controls the family finances. As for me, I only have pocket money right now. So let me make it clear beforehand that after we get married, I won't become an ATM."
Food and drink, minor squabbles are fine, but for bigger issues, it's best to be upfront and clear beforehand. He and Iris share a brotherly bond, but Zhuang Zhuoyuan has also reached an understanding with his in-laws; they can't always be anyone's protector. He'll help where he can, but there's no reason to tolerate what he shouldn't, lest he nurture a snake that will cause trouble later.
Everyone knew what was going on, and as brothers, we had no reason to make things difficult for him. Mom chimed in, "It's true that A-Yuan has to pay his mortgage now, let him off the hook. But when are you and Iris moving in? My wife keeps asking you to come over for dinner."
“We can call you anytime for meals, but we probably won’t be able to move until next year,” Zhuang Zhuoyuan said, calculating the schedule. “Next, we’ll have another wedding in England and honeymoon in Venice. My wife will probably stay in London until a week before school starts. Shortly after she comes back, my mother-in-law will also come to Hong Kong to be with her. That’s about a month in between, so we don’t plan to travel back and forth between the two places. And Iris’s due date is at the end of December or the beginning of January, so we’re considering staying in the new house until the baby is about two or three months old.”
"Then come over for dinner tomorrow night," Mom said decisively, worried that the young couple might suddenly decide to send one of them back to England. She then added, "If Iris has any dietary restrictions, remember to let me know so we can prepare accordingly."
“Everything’s fine,” Zhuang Zhuoyuan said, and he couldn’t help but praise Xiao Tangyuan. It was no exaggeration to say that he had grown up. “Iris has been eating and sleeping well lately, and she’s basically fine. I’ll go back and tell her that she can come to your house for dinner. She’ll be very happy. But it’s fine to keep it simple and not make your sister-in-law go to all that trouble.”
A conversation between two married men with children is something a group of single men can't easily join in. Everyone chatted about their own things, and they were still having a great time even during happy hour. Zhan Hantao has been frequently going fishing with Zhuang Zhuohua lately, and she always comes home in a very good mood. Zhuang Zhuoyuan and his wife assumed that the two men's relationship should be progressing, but for some reason, they haven't heard any good news from them yet.
While his gossipy friends were scattered in different places, Zhuang Zhuoyuan dragged his wife along, one on each side, to block Zhan Hantao. Unexpectedly, Zhan Hantao first said, "Let nature take its course," then added, "We all understand," leaving the couple shaking their heads in disbelief.
"Brother Tao!"
"You can't do it like this!"
Iris started the conversation, and Zhuang Zhuoyuan followed suit. Zhuang Zhuohua has never been proactive in relationships, and now Zhan Hantao is still planning to handle things this way. If things are left to develop unchecked, they might not even be together by the time they have their second child.
"The most important thing for a girl is a sense of ritual—"
“Look how many times A-Yuan has proposed to me.”
"My older sister is such a rule-abiding person—"
"Understanding each other is one thing, but some things still need to be said."
"For example, if you have a carefully chosen gift in your hand and you take it to see my sister, then logically, this gift should be given to her, right? But if you don't say anything, she might think that you just happened to have the gift with you because you didn't know where to put it. When the gift is still in your hand, if you don't say anything, no one will know what the outcome will be."
“And even if you give the gift to my older sister,” Iris continued, “if you don’t explain why you gave it to her, she can still make countless guesses. For example, you might just have seen it and bought it for her; or you might choose to give it to thank her for her help on the case all this time; she might even think you have money to burn. In short, if you don’t tell her you love her—”
"Then she won't know you love her." Love comes and goes, she comes and she goes, Zhuang Zhuoyuan was genuinely worried that Zhan Hantao's head, which turned into a blockhead when it came to love, wouldn't be able to process it. He decided to set an example for Zhan Hantao: "Wife, I love you."
Iris instantly understood his meaning. Of course, even if she didn't understand, she would still respond in the same way: "Honey, I love you too."
The two exchanged a kiss from a distance, making it hard for Zhan Hantao not to understand. However, a new problem arose: he really couldn't bring himself to do something so cheesy.
"You can confess normally, right?" Zhuang Zhuoyuan created an opportunity for him. "My wife took my car out for a drive, so I had to borrow my sister's car. Then, by accident, I scratched it and need to go to the garage to get it repaired. I'll give you some time. Is five days enough? Or do you need a week?"
Does Tchaikovsky's driver's confession need to take as long as composing a new musical movement? As Zhan Sir began to ponder, Iris and Zhuang Zhuoyuan guessed that the term "brother-in-law" wouldn't be far off. They exchanged a smile and clinked glasses. Iris leaned against the bar, her gaze searching for Yu Xueli and Su Wenqiang. Turning to Zhuang Zhuoyuan, she asked curiously, "You helped Tao Ge, why didn't you give Ali a push?"
Zhuang Zhuoyuan moved closer to her and said, "Is it possible that I prefer to stand on the side and watch?"
Such a response was so typical of Edward. Iris tapped his nose with a smile: "I'm finding that you fit in with our family quite well now. No wonder Daddy likes to drink with you."
Zhuang Zhuoyuan touched her glass again: "Just a little sip, hmm?"
Iris raised an eyebrow as she looked at her orange juice.
The next morning, Zhuang Zhuoyuan told Zhuang Zhuohua that the car had been sent for repairs. Madam Zhuang, who had been staying at home all day on holiday, felt her head buzzing when she heard that she wouldn't be able to use the car for a week. She couldn't help but mutter, "I should have known better than to lend it to you."
"Or I can take you to work together, sister." Iris cut the fried egg on the plate, and finally pushed it to Zhuang Zhuoyuan. Anyway, she wouldn't have time to finish eating in a little while, so she drank a couple of sips of milk to fill her stomach, and then thought about where she should go to eat something delicious after dropping her husband off at work.
"Baby, you have no appetite again?" Zhuang Zhuoyuan began his exaggerated performance, offering her a small slice of ham. Iris covered her mouth and shook her head, and Zhuang immediately found the reason: "It must be because you didn't sleep well last night, baby. Your temperature has been a little high these past few days. Shall I go get the thermometer to check your temperature again?"
Leaning over, Zhuang Zhuohua touched Iris's forehead, her concern tinged with worry: "It really does seem a little hot, Iris. Have you had a fever these past few days? Have you seen a doctor?"
"Don't worry, sister. The doctor said pregnant women's body temperature is a little higher. I'm fine, I just feel sleepy easily, which is probably related to the weather." Zhuang Zhuoyuan's sudden action made Iris worry about what reason they would use to prevent Zhuang Zhuoyuan from becoming Zhuang Zhuohua's driver after Zhuang Zhuohua stopped letting her drive.
Just as I was worrying, Zhuang Zhuohua spoke up: "Then you should go back to your room and rest first. Come down for breakfast later when you're more energetic. You're pregnant now, so you don't have to rush every time. There are only a few of us, so there aren't many rules. Commuting to and from get off work is also very simple. I'll have Ah Yuan pick me up in a bit, and ask Ben to pick me up when I come back, or you can take a taxi."
"Let Ben pick you up!" Zhuang Zhuoyuan clearly saw his wife's eyes light up, and he quickly interjected, intercepting the opportunity for Zhan Hantao before Iris could subconsciously nod: "No need for that trouble, sister. I entrusted this to Atao yesterday at PC Bar. He... hey, the doorbell, it must be him!"
The maid had already hurried to the central control system. Iris nodded, and the gate to the courtyard slowly opened. After confirming it was Zhan Hantao, Zhuang Zhuohua quickly removed her hair clip and, in the short time, tidied her appearance. Iris and Zhuang Zhuoyuan chuckled, trying their best to pretend they hadn't noticed anything. The latter stepped forward to greet Zhan Hantao, practically pushing him through the door in his eagerness. "Ah Tao, you've come at the perfect time! My sister was worried about whether it would be too much trouble for you..."
"No trouble at all!" After entering the room, Zhan Hantao's mind was clearly focused entirely on Zhuang Zhuohua. Before Zhuang Zhuoyuan could finish speaking, he answered even more eagerly.
Zhuang Zhuoyuan was quite pleased. He patted his shoulder twice and then took over the main role: "Sister, did you hear that? Tao is on a long vacation. He doesn't mind picking you up and dropping you off. Don't worry, you can ride in his car. Baby, let's go upstairs to take your temperature. I'll bring your breakfast up with me, okay?"
As soon as the two plates disappeared, the maid immediately brought over a new one. The timing was so perfect that Zhuang Zhuohua knew without a doubt how her car accident had happened and what her plans were this morning.
"Please sit down, Inspector Zhan." Zhuang Zhuohua glanced at him, her gaze shifting, seemingly somewhat bewildered by the sudden visit. Zhuang Zhuoyuan and Iris peeked from the corner of the stairs, giving a cheering gesture to Zhan Hantao, who could catch a glimpse of them. But as soon as Zhan Hantao's gaze shifted, Zhuang Zhuohua's voice rang out: "Zhuang Zhuoyuan! Zhou Yishi!"
The young couple quickly put their arms around each other's shoulders and went upstairs one after the other: "We're going to have breakfast and take our temperatures while we're at it! Sister, you can do as you please. Good luck, Tao!"
Zhan Hantao's face turned even redder in an instant.
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