Chapter 120 - 117: Buy, Buy, Buy
Seeing Li Xiu at a loss for words, Zhou Lian couldn’t help but burst out laughing. ’Serves him right,’ she thought, ’for teasing me in front of our daughter.’
Seeing his wife shaking with laughter, Li Xiu ground his teeth. He pounced, pulling her into a fierce embrace and kissing her hard. He didn’t let go until he’d left a purple hickey on her skin. Meeting her glistening eyes, he gave her nose a tender peck and said, "The daughter’s debt is paid by the mother, Bao’er. I wouldn’t mind if our little girl did that to me a couple more times."
"You’re shameless! She’s your daughter, too," Zhou Lian said resentfully. ’This man has absolutely no shame!’
"Mhm, and I wouldn’t mind if Bao’er decided to have her ’daughter’s debt paid by the father,’ either. Your husband would be very much looking forward to it!"
Zhou Lian was utterly defeated by his extreme shamelessness. Speechless, she covered her eyes with her hands, refusing to look at the man who had clearly gone off the deep end. She had a feeling that, in the future, her husband would only become more and more unrestrained, perhaps even wild.
Her premonition was correct. Decades later, their grandchildren would cringe at their grandparents’ public displays of affection. It wasn’t that the grandparents were stern—on the contrary, they were incredibly kind to their grandchildren. The key issue was that the youngsters simply couldn’t compare to the level of affection their grandparents showed!
Watching her parents embracing, nearly nine-month-old Nuonuo tilted her head. She couldn’t make sense of it, so she simply crawled toward them on all fours, babbling in protest as if to ask why they weren’t including her in the fun.
The sound of the family of three’s laughter rose and fell, echoing through the small courtyard home. With a beautiful wife and a lovely daughter, Li Xiu was basking in his good fortune at that moment, the very picture of a man who had won at life.
「The next day」
The weather was clear and fine. After breakfast, Li Xiu, holding his daughter and his wife’s hand, set out in high spirits to buy clothes and school supplies for his wife.
They arrived at the Wangfujing Department Store. Since it was a Monday, it wasn’t very crowded. Li Xiu strolled leisurely with Zhou Lian, his daughter in his arms. In a single morning, he bought Zhou Lian three outfits, two pairs of shoes, a schoolbag, a fountain pen and ink, and some notebooks. Then, under her glare, he also bought three or four kinds of pastries for her to snack on.
After raiding the department store, he took his wife to have roast duck; after all, it was one of the Capital City’s signature dishes. It wasn’t until they were inside the restaurant that Zhou Lian snapped back to her senses. "We can eat this, but Nuonuo is too little. She can’t just eat meat."
"Bao’er, don’t worry," Li Xiu said, giving her a gentle smile as he spoke helplessly. "There’s soup and thin pancakes; Nuonuo can eat those. Just focus on eating and don’t worry about it. I wouldn’t let our daughter miss out." ’I’m her biological father, aren’t I?’ he thought, exasperated. ’Would I really let my own daughter go hungry? Am I that unreliable?’
She gave Li Xiu a placating smile. She had let her worry get the best of her. A man as meticulous as hers—how could he have not considered their daughter? But with the unrestrained personality he was showing now, she was afraid he’d hold her misstep against her. Zhou Lian felt helpless. ’It’s not like I’m starving him,’ she grumbled internally, ’so why does he act like a ravenous wolf every day?’
Li Xiu, of course, couldn’t hear her inner thoughts. If he had, he would have surely retorted that he’d been "celibate" for decades. Now that he could finally "eat meat," only a fool would pass up the opportunity. Besides, his wife was so easily flustered, and watching her squirm with shy embarrassment was a great pleasure in itself.
The couple was currently unaware of each other’s thoughts. If they were, Li Xiu would be destined to kneel on a washboard, while Zhou Lian would probably find out what it’s really like when a starving wolf finally gets its fill. For now, however, things were still harmonious. The roast duck dinner left all three of them completely satisfied.
When they returned home in the afternoon, Zhou Lian stared at the pile of things on the table and ground her teeth. She knew it was a sign of her husband’s affection, but he had spent far too much money. Buying and renovating the house had already cost a small fortune. Now that she was starting university, Li Xiu would have to look after Nuonuo and couldn’t work. At this stage, they only had expenses and no income. Yet Li Xiu continued to spend money like water. ’This can’t go on!’ she thought.
After putting Nuonuo to sleep, Li Xiu came out to see his wife fuming at the table full of new things. A moment’s thought and he knew exactly what was wrong. He shook his head with a smile. ’His wife was so naive.’ In his past life, the opportunity had never arisen, and he hadn’t yet had his awakening. But now? If he let his wife and child worry about money, he might as well go buy a block of tofu and slam his head against it.
He gently pulled Zhou Lian into his arms and kissed her tenderly. "Bao’er, don’t worry. Your man won’t let you down."
Seeing her confused look, he smiled. "Silly Bao’er. We’re in the Capital City now, not our old hometown. What did you see on the streets today? They’re full of unemployed youth. Policies have relaxed, and large numbers of educated youth are returning from the countryside, but how can there possibly be enough jobs to go around? Your husband may not be a genius, but I’ve spent more than ten years learning from some very smart people. Earning enough money to support my wife and child is more than easy. From now on, Bao’er, you don’t have to worry about these mundane matters. Just focus on your studies, be happy, and stay right here in my arms. Your husband can shelter you from any storm."
Zhou Lian looked at Li Xiu and, for some reason, said something she would regret for days. "Li Xiu, I thought you were going to say you would slay a dragon for me!"
"So, Bao’er wants me to slay a dragon for you, huh? Well, dragons are a bit hard to find. How about you ’feed’ your husband first so he’ll have the strength to go dragon-slaying?" With that, he scooped Zhou Lian up and headed for the bedroom. ’His wife starts school in a few days. University back then wasn’t as laid-back as it would be in the future. He’d be lucky to get a ’taste of meat’ once a week. Better to have a feast now!’
Seeing the wicked aura radiating from Li Xiu, Zhou Lian shivered. ’I didn’t say anything, did I? How did I manage to provoke his inner wolf?!’
Li Xiu was a man of his word. The price for his "feast" was Zhou Lian spending the entire next day in bed. She ground her teeth as she watched her husband, who looked increasingly handsome and refreshed. He effortlessly handled the laundry, cooking, cleaning, and childcare, and still found time to pop in and tease his wife.
Seeing his wife pouting coquettishly, Li Xiu felt his heart melt. He put their sleeping daughter down, leaned back against the bed, and let his wife rest in his arms, asking softly, "Bao’er, are you still tired?"
"Of course I’m tired! I have no energy, and my back is sore," she whined, lightly tapping his chest. Zhou Lian pouted. "It’s all your fault! Why else would I feel like this?!"
His large hand began to gently massage her lower back. He kissed her and said with a smile, "Let me rub it for you. It’ll feel better. Bao’er, you just lack exercise. You’ll have to start working out more in the future."
"How am I supposed to exercise?" Zhou Lian said, frustrated. "You don’t even let me do chores, and I barely get to hold Nuonuo. I can’t just get up and go for a run at the crack of dawn!" She had no idea she had just walked right into his trap.
Seeing his completely oblivious wife, Li Xiu grinned wickedly. "Bao’er, your husband has a way to help you with that. Why don’t you sweet-talk me a little? If you do, maybe I’ll tell you. How about it?"
"How am I supposed to sweet-talk you? You’re a grown man!"
And that’s the thing about innocence. Even a rabbit with decades of extra life experience can’t turn into a fox. In the end, it will still be dragged away to the wolf’s den.