Chapter 78
They met again after nearly a month and a half. Although they video chatted every day, Zhuang Zhuoyuan felt that his wife had changed a lot, especially her belly, which was much bigger than before, and she now needed to use her hands for support when walking. Of course, it was also possible that Ms. Iris was too excited to see Mr. Zhuang Zhuoyuan.
"Baby, slow down." They kissed through the railing first, and Zhuang Zhuoyuan noticed her slightly unsteady breathing and reminded her. Iris didn't care about that, and first took his hand and placed it on her belly: "Tangyuan just woke up. He moved a few times when the plane landed. Tangyuan, say hello to Daddy!"
Zhuang Zhuoyuan hadn't felt any fetal movement yet, and he was instantly a little nervous. He looked forward to his son's first greeting, but was also worried about making Iris stand for too long while waiting. Fortunately, the little dumpling was very cooperative; in less than twenty seconds, he gently stretched out his arms and legs, letting his dad and mommy feel his movement. Zhuang Zhuoyuan and Iris burst into laughter instantly.
The car had been changed to a model more suitable for pregnant women. After putting away their luggage with Derek, Zhuang Zhuoyuan switched seats with him and went to the back seat to be with his wife. The back seat of the new car was much more spacious, and several cushions were placed there. Iris chose a suitable one, put it on, and leaned back comfortably with her eyes half-closed. Little Tangyuan also turned over at the right time. She smiled and pointed to her belly at Zhuang Zhuoyuan: "Honey, Tangyuan and I both really like this car."
"Then you'll be happier when we send you to class." In the first semester of the second year, Iris's family didn't really want her to go, but she insisted, so they had no choice but to go along with her wishes. As the pregnancy progressed, Zhuang Zhuoyuan felt increasingly regretful at the thought of going to school. He had been far too relaxed; he shouldn't have let Iris get pregnant at this time.
Iris could tell what he was thinking at a glance. She took Zhuang Zhuoyuan's hand, rested her head on his shoulder, and said slowly, "BB, do you know that when we were in England, a friend of mine actually consulted me about whether it was appropriate to have a child while studying?"
"Then what did you say?" Zhuang Zhuoyuan asked, curious about her answer.
Iris made a big cross with both hands: "Of course I don't recommend it. I'm obviously a bad example." But she continued, "But I don't regret having Tangyuan at all, because you and Daddy and Mommy will always be there to help me with my problems, so I'm not afraid. Others may not be as lucky as me. Most importantly, I love you very much, and I love Tangyuan very much too."
"These are the most beautiful words of love I've ever heard." Zhuang Zhuoyuan gently put his arm around his wife's shoulder. "Baby, I will definitely take good care of you and our child. I won't let you regret your decision."
When she returned, she struggled to adjust to the time difference for a long time. Until the eve of the start of the semester, Iris stayed at home to rest and prepare for her pregnancy, and did not go out. All the souvenirs she brought back from her trip were delivered to everyone by Zhuang Zhuoyuan. For the few who were not home, she sent them messages and asked them to come and pick up the packages. In addition, with the occasional visits from caring elders such as Sister Pauline and Aunt Fuzhi, the Zhou family mansion was not deserted while Zhuang Zhuoyuan and Zhuang Zhuohua were at work.
However, speaking of Zhuang Zhuohua, Iris always felt something was off about her after her return. The most obvious thing was that she didn't act like a woman in love at all. Logically, she and Zhan Hantao should be in the throes of a passionate romance, but Zhuang Zhuohua was either working overtime or coming home every day, and Iris rarely heard her talk about her dates with Zhan Hantao. Iris observed for a long time and felt something was wrong. One day, when Zhuang Zhuoyuan came into the room, she hurriedly pulled him aside and brought it up. Zhuang Zhuoyuan felt the same way, and he had a further suspicion: "I suspect it's that dream house that's to blame." Everything was fine at the wedding in England; it's impossible for her to change her mind without a reason. After thinking it over, the most likely explanation was that Zhuang Zhuohua couldn't let go of her feelings for her ex-fiancé.
Iris sighed deeply upon hearing this, "Actually, what's needed most right now is to squeeze and cover things up, but unfortunately, Tao-ge only shows such courage when carrying out missions; otherwise, he's completely unaggressive. It seems he and my sister are going to break up." Iris made a heart shape with her hands, creating a broken image. Zhuang Zhuoyuan was even more heartbroken; he desperately wanted his good friend Zhan Hantao to be his brother-in-law. Fortunately, things hadn't gotten to that point yet, and Zhuang Zhuoyuan still had a glimmer of hope. He tried his best to get Iris's help: "Why don't we try to help them out? After all, so far, I don't think anyone is more suitable to be my sister's boyfriend than A-Tao." Iris didn't respond immediately, silently thinking about Ben, but seeing her husband's expectant expression and recalling the past, it was indeed Zhan Hantao who had helped Zhuang Zhuohua resolve her inner conflict. She finally decided to relent: "Alright then, in the last few days before school starts, I'm willing to have one more four-person date with you all."
This time, there's no fishing. In the sweltering August heat, Zhuang Zhuoyuan is worried that Iris might catch a cold from playing too much and getting too hot. He was already terrified of her during the time she was alone in England, going everywhere she went. Other guardians might have spoiled her, but now that it's his turn to take care of her and her child, Zhuang Zhuoyuan is determined not to let anything like this happen again.
Iris had never publicly shared photos of herself recently taking helicopter rides, hot air balloon rides, or jet ski rides, so she always assumed Zhuang Zhuoyuan was unaware of her whereabouts. She seemed extremely disappointed that she couldn't go to the beach again this time, having had so much fun there. However, Zhuang Sir was no longer one to mince words, so Iris sighed and could only stay home with him, playing this game of pretend.
"Playing house?" Zhuang Zhuoyuan processed the newly delivered lobsters, thinking that only his little princess would be willing to spend this much on a game. Just yesterday she went to pick up a report saying she needed to control her weight, and today, the dumpling filling had been changed to lobster meat. Ten large Australian lobsters were neatly arranged in the kitchen; if the young lady hadn't suddenly remembered she might dislike the strong seafood smell, the number of "victims" would have been far greater.
Iris immediately found fault: "So now you care about the Australian lobster but not me?" She put her hands on her hips, exuding a powerful aura. Zhuang Zhuoyuan kept moving, cutting the shell, taking out the meat, and chopping the filling in one go. He then took the chives and scallions, picked one of each, and asked Iris to smell them: "Let's see if you're still afraid of these two smells today."
Iris immediately felt guilty. She used to be fine with these flavors, but things changed after she became pregnant. Her dishes still needed scallions, ginger, garlic, and chives for seasoning, but too much or too little was unacceptable, and she couldn't even see them in the bowl while eating. If she ate even a tiny bit, she would vomit uncontrollably. Zhuang Sheng had been her Chinese cook and vegetable picker for several months now, and today he even personally prepared the dumpling filling. She deeply felt the hardships her husband endured, and a sense of guilt and pity welled up within her. In an instant, she completely forgot about the trouble she had deliberately stirred up earlier.
Feeling warm inside, Iris stepped forward and put her arm around Zhuang Zhuoyuan's waist from the side. She gave him a hug and wanted to give him a kiss, but halfway through, she realized that she was carrying his child and that as both husband and father, Zhuang Zhuoyuan should take on these responsibilities.
Unable to fool his wife, Zhuang Zhuoyuan quickly sent her away from the kitchen before she could pester him further. The two most important people hadn't arrived yet, and he hoped his wife could focus her extra energy on bringing them together.
Southerners don't eat dumplings often. At the table of four, only Zhuang Zhuoyuan had learned to make them several nights in advance, and his dumplings looked somewhat presentable. Iris, his playful partner, clearly wasn't interested in the dish; she just moved around a couple of times and considered her work done, only making sure Zhuang Zhuoyuan's dumplings looked nice. Chef Zhuang couldn't see anything about his dumplings that needed plating, but since his wife had taken on the task, he could only be casual when putting them down, to show his support for her supposedly surveillance but actually gossipy behavior.
Iris's eyes kept glancing at Zhuang Zhuohua and Zhan Hantao across from her. Zhuang Zhuohua's initial movements were clumsy, but with over a decade of culinary experience, she quickly developed her own method after just a few dumplings. Zhan Hantao, on the other hand, was like a rough, burly man trying to embroider—he couldn't bring himself to do it. Zhan Hantao was genuinely struggling. He was usually adept at handling knives and guns, but now he was utterly helpless against a soft dumpling wrapper. He didn't want to make dumplings with meager fillings, but when he scooped out a similar amount of meat filling as Zhuang Zhuohua, the pork and lobster seemed to come alive, leaking out from every loose opening. The usually infallible Zhan Sir had met his Waterloo. Iris watched as he frantically pulled one side of the wrapper to cover the gap, leaving a large hole on the other side, and couldn't help but burst into laughter. She then became a good matchmaker, grabbing Zhuang Zhuohua's hand and pleading with her, "Sister, please help Brother Tao! His dumplings are almost turning into pizzas." Zhan Hantao's face instantly flushed. He smiled shyly, instinctively trying to hide the failed creation, but Iris proudly pushed it in front of Zhuang Zhuohua.
Zhan Hantao didn't usually care much about others' opinions, but seeing his brothers all standing on his wife's side, laughing heartily, he suddenly worried that Zhuang Zhuohua might find his clumsy attempt distasteful. Zhuang Zhuohua was also quite surprised by the oddly shaped dumpling; she hadn't expected Zhan Hantao to have such an artistic side. Suppressing a laugh, equally helpless, she silently picked up a dumpling wrapper and covered the wriggling, tangled meat filling with it, as a sign of mourning: "Just wrap it up again, there's no other way."
Zhan Hantao fully caught the smile in her eyes, his dark face flushed, and he was about to speak when Iris, who had started the conversation, delivered another fatal blow: "How about we coat them in breadcrumbs and fry them? Maybe these shrimp can die a little more peacefully."
Zhuang Zhuohua finally couldn't help but laugh out loud, and her flour-covered fingers landed on Iris's face: "You little rascal!"
Iris disagreed with this assessment. She stood up straight and placed her freshly made dumplings next to Zhan Hantao's previous creations. The dumplings, which hadn't looked particularly appealing before, immediately appeared much more attractive. She declared confidently, "At least my dumplings won't leak!" Those with higher skill naturally have the confidence to criticize those with lower skill. Besides, Zhan Hantao clearly needed her guidance.
Before his wife could continue speaking, Zhuang Zhuoyuan nudged her elbow, reminding her to know when to stop. Iris glanced at him sideways; she was almost finished with just one more sentence.
Just then, another dumpling broke open, and she pointed directly at it as a negative example, saying, "Dumplings shouldn't spit out their filling, but people should speak their minds." She then called on Zhan Hantao, "Brother Tao, do you understand?"
Zhan Hantao was stunned for a moment. Zhuang Zhuohua finally saw through the true purpose of the two guys opposite her. She began to think that now was a good time, so she simply put down what she was doing and prepared to pull Zhan Hantao to wash his hands: "I think Ayuan can only cook this meal, otherwise we will only be able to eat meat dumpling skin soup later. Atao, you should have something to say to me, right?"
Zhan Hantao hadn't really decided what to say yet. When Zhuang Zhuoyuan invited him to dinner, he only mentioned it was to improve his relationship with Zhuang Zhuohua. Now, with a speaking segment added at the last minute, his mind was in a mess. But Zhuang Zhuohua had already turned and left, and he couldn't just leave without following her. He glanced at the two instigators opposite him; the couple were both blinking their bright eyes, cheering him on. Perhaps they did have some issues that needed to be resolved. Zhan Hantao took a deep breath, untied his apron, and headed towards the garden.
This worrisome couple finally made some substantial progress. Zhuang Zhuoyuan breathed a sigh of relief and winked at Iris. A glance at the messy table revealed his current concern. From the moment they arranged the date, Zhuang Sheng had been prepared to be a tool, but with so much work left to do, he needed help. Little did he know his wife, who wasn't exactly known for her "pregnancy brain," was even more perceptive, having already devised a way to shirk her duties. Iris slowly moved to the edge of the table, picked up a set of cards with her almost spotless hands, and began exaggerating: "Tao-ge's taciturn nature is really worrying, but don't worry, honey, I specially designed a 'Truth or Dare' card set for him. When he doesn't know what to say, or if my sister has any questions, he can just take out the card to answer them."
She had already planned her escape route and assumed the role of supervisor. Zhuang Sheng had no choice but to watch as Zhuang Tai slipped away. He had also predicted that after the aroma of dumplings wafted out, the supervisor would definitely return to check the food quality, and he, the worker, could only resign himself to his fate.
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