Chapter 74: A Surprise from Him to Her
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Chi Rui’er’s lips were shaking, and her face was pale as a sheet. His words were ringing by her ears like a sudden attack from a savage beast. She was not mentally prepared to hear him say those words at all.
She stood there, suddenly feeling absolutely pathetic.
Turning around, she headed straight for the door.
“Rui’er, I’ll get someone to send you back.”
“No need.” She pulled the door open and just left.
Jin Qingyan looked like he was in a trance. He felt that since he was an adult, he should be responsible for his own actions. If he married An Xiaoning, she was his wife, so regardless of anything, he should not give other women any glimmer of hope.
—
Mei Yangyang had hired another sales assistant. Her name was Zhang Li, she was 21 years old and had two years of experience as a sales assistant. Now, in the store, there were three employees, including her. An Xiaoning only went to personally check on the stock herself, the other matters of the store were left to the three of them to handle. Mei Yangyang went home every day, while Xu Jingwen and Zhang Li stayed behind to look after the store.
At 5:30 pm, Jin Qingyan’s car stopped at the entrance of the store. He wanted to give her a surprise, the very first since their marriage.
As he arrived at the doorstep of the store, Mei Yangyang saw him and greeted cheerily, “Brother-in-law, you’re looking for my sister right?”
“Mmm… where is she?”
“She’s gone to buy food for us, she’ll be back very soon.” She pointed to the interior of the store and continued, “You can sit there and wait for her.”
“Okay.” Jin Qingyan took the opportunity to survey the store — it was uniquely renovated, one look and he knew it was his wife’s piece of work.
The clothing looked like they cost a few hundreds, but the designs were fashionable. He reached out to feel the material of their clothing, and it was indeed of fine quality.
“Take it, Brother-in-law.” Mei Yangyang passed him a cup of tea.
“Thank you.” He took it and asked gently, “How’s the daily earnings of this store?”
“Under my sister’s leadership, it’s improving by leaps and bounds every day. Look, we’ve also hired two sales assistants.”
Seeing Jin Qingyan for the first time, Xu Jingwen and Zhang Li were both in awe. Xu Jingwen greeted him, “Hello, Mr. Jin, I’m Xu Jingwen.”
He nodded and smiled politely at her.
This smile instantly turned Xu Jingwen head over heels for him. Her face flushed immediately and felt like it was on fire.
She had applied for a job at this store precisely because she heard that it was opened by Jin Qingyan’s wife, in hopes of meeting the man of her dreams. To her, Jin Qingyan was a handsome, rich, powerful, and gentle man who was the perfect prince charming in her heart. Sure enough, meeting him then allowed her to see for herself the gentle temperament he possessed like what netizens had claimed online.
As compared to the fanciful efforts from a girl like her, Zhang Li appeared calm and did not take the initiative to introduce herself either.
Not long after, An Xiaoning returned carrying a few bags of dumplings. There were also side dishes and some piping hot soup. At the sight of Jin Qingyan’s car, she’d known he was here.
Mei Yangyang immediately took the bags from her and called Zhang Li and Xu Jingwen to head inside to eat.
“It’s the first time you’re here at this shabby store of mine, right?”
Jin Qingyan stood up and leaned in front of the table, his eyes darting around. “It’s renovated pretty well. I heard from Yangyang that your store earnings are impressive too. How great — I can do business, and so can my wife.”
“I know everything, there’s nothing I can’t do.” She grabbed her bag and said, “Let’s go home.”
Jin Qingyan snorted, “You know everything? I really doubt that.”
“What, tell me what I don’t know then.” An Xiaoning said with a beam, “Let me tell you, as long as it can be learned, after I learn it, I’ll know it.”
“There’s something. You may be able to learn it, but you probably won’t.” He continued calmly, “Want to know what it is?”
An Xiaoning stopped in her footsteps. “What?”
Jin Qingyan only mouthed two words and did not make a sound. But even then, An Xiaoning knew what he was saying.
It was because his lips mouthed two alphabets which one could easily understand. The first was a ‘K’ and the second was a ‘J.’
She reached out and landed a fist at his chest, blushing right to the tip of her ears. Turning to leave, she responded, “Silly.”
He caught up and stretched his long arms to hug her shoulders. “Do you want to learn? I can teach you for free and even provide you with the tools for practice.”
“Get lost…”
Jin Qingyan had always enjoyed teasing her, so he continued, “As my wife, you don’t even want to humor me with such pleasures. How about this — let’s do it the ’69’ way, fair and square. None of us will lose out.”
An Xiaoning went blank. “What is ’69’?”
“Mmm… this, I’ll explain when we get home…”
The two cars arrived at their doorstep one after another.
After parking in the garage, he got off first and told her, “Get into my car, I’ve something to tell you.”
“We can say anything in the room, why sit in the car?”
“Quick, I just want to tell you in the car.”
An Xiaoning had no choice but to open the door beside the driver’s seat and get in. “What do you want to say?” she asked.
He looked towards the backseat and said, “For you.”
An Xiaoning followed his eyes and turned around. The back row was full of beautiful, delicate roses.
It would be a lie if she said she wasn’t surprised, but she felt that he was being exceptionally unusual. She then asked, “A gift with ulterior motives. Tell me, what have you done wrong towards me again?”
“You’re overthinking again.” He stuck out his finger to poke her head and remarked in amusement, “Why can’t you just think of my virtues.”
An Xiaoning opened the car door and got off. She opened the back door of the car. The sight of so many bright red flowers before her suddenly brightened up her mood tremendously.
“Place the flowers in the living room, place a huge bunch in the bedroom too. I love them.”
“Alright.”
Upon entering the living room, Maomao ran over excitedly, biting the corner of An Xiaoning’s pants. She squatted down and commented, “Has Maomao been eating loads of good food recently, he’s gotten so fat.”
“You just see, this fellow will get so fat that you won’t be able to carry him one day.”
An Xiaoning carried Maomao and said, “If I can’t carry him, I’ll just walk him. Too bad our Maomao is male. If not, I can still see him mate and give birth to little puppies.”
She held Maomao in her arms and sat on the sofa, using her hand to stroke its white fur. “Why do I just feel that you’re acting really unusual today.”
He sat beside her and tilted his body to look at her. “Tonight, I’ll act even more unusual.”
Unable to withstand the steamy look in his eyes, An Xiaoning stood up, placed Maomao in its doghouse, and went to the kitchen to watch Auntie Chen make dinner.
During dinner, Jin Qingyan picked up more food for her with his chopsticks and said gently, “Eat more.”
An Xiaoning passed a suspicious glance at him. She couldn’t help but think he was acting strange today.
“Why do you always mix the fermented beancurd and other ingredients with your rice? Is it tasty that way?”
“You try it too.”
She picked up a piece of fermented beancurd with her chopsticks and placed it in his bowl, conveniently mixing it for him. “Taste it.”
Jin Qingyan raised his spoon and imitated her by placing a huge scoop into his mouth. It did not taste horrible at all — on the contrary, with the addition of the handmade peanut chili sauce which had its unique flavor, the texture was very refreshing.
After a satisfactory meal, An Xiaoning sat on the sofa to rest.
Jin Qingyan grabbed her arm and said, “Come with me.”