Chapter 647: Chapter 432 Qualified Husband
The first watch of the night had begun.
——–
Chuxia took Yingying to Elder Wan’s place first, not just to let him know about the dinner at the Zhou family that evening, but also because when she lived with the Zhou family, she always made sure to visit Old Master Wan before heading to work.
At the doorway, Yingying shrank behind Chuxia, appearing sowhat timid.
Chuxia comforted her by rubbing her head, “Great Grandpa Wan is very kind. When he sees a pretty and cute little girl like Yingying, he will surely like her. But rember to greet him, Yingying. People like children who are polite, right?”
“Mhm!” The little girl nodded vigorously, grinning at Chuxia, “Auntie, I’ll listen to you.”
“Good girl.” Chuxia praised her, then pushed the door open and saw a familiar figure sitting with his back to her. As the person turned around, she realized it was indeed Zhou Mikang.
“What are you doing here?” Chuxia asked, puzzled. When he had rushed out earlier, he seed in such a hurry.
“Waiting for you,” Zhou Mikang said with a smile, “How about that, surprised?”
“Quite surprised, not so much pleased,” Chuxia retorted, looking around, “Where are Grandpa and Sister-in-law Yin?”
“Sister-in-law Yin’s great-uncle isn’t doing well; she’s gone to the hospital. Grandpa Wan is in the study,” Zhou Mikang said, glaring at Yingying, who was still hiding behind Chuxia, “Why aren’t you greeting your little uncle?”
Yingying’s small body tensed up, and she clamped her mouth shut, a stubborn streak coming over her.
“You’ve scared her,” Chuxia said soothingly, embracing Yingying, “Don’t be afraid, Yingying. Little Uncle is just jealous that you and your little auntie have such a good relationship. Call out to him, it’ll make him happy too.”
“Little Uncle,” Yingying called out in a voice as faint as a mosquito, her face twitching, clearly reluctant. Zhou Mikang, frowning deeply, stared at his young wife, “Who’s jealous of you? How can you falsely accuse like that?”
Seeing the girl’s stubbornness had resurfaced in front of an unfamiliar person, Chuxia didn’t want Zhou Mikang to upset her, so she took Yingying’s hand and walked out, “Tell Grandpa when he cos out that everyone will be eating at our place tonight.”
Hearing her say “our place,” Zhou Mikang’s previously sour expression imdiately brightened, and he nodded eagerly, “Okay, I’ll tell Grandpa Wan.”
Chuxia paused in her step, feeling inexplicably uncomfortable. Watching her leave without a word, what was going on? How could a husband and wife be so cold to each other?! Tears uncontrollably welled up in her eyes. Not wanting to lose face in front of him, she quickly sped up, inadvertently causing the unprepared Yingying to stumble as she hurriedly followed…
“Pfft!” Chuxia, who had been harboring a bellyful of grievances, couldn’t help but burst out laughing at Yingying’s comical little gait.
“Auntie!” Yingying protested, pouting.
“Sorry, sorry…” Chuxia turned to glare at Zhou Mikang, full of resentnt, “I was just angry with you. You don’t care about at all, hmm! You almost made topple Yingying over. To apologize, I’ll sleep with Yingying tonight.”
“Really, Auntie?”
“No way!”
Both Yingying and Zhou Mikang spoke almost simultaneously, one with wide eyes of surprise, the other with wide eyes of anger.
“Of course, it’s true.” Chuxia said as she picked up Yingying, “Your little auntie would never lie to you.” She then triumphantly raised an eyebrow at Zhou Mikang and quickly slipped out the door.
“Phew…” Chuxia set Yingying down after walking out about a dozen ters, taking a deep breath, and tapped the little one on the head, “Little thing, you’re quite heavy. Just these few steps have made my arms ache. Hey, what’s wrong?”
With sniffles, Yingying smiled at Chuxia, “It’s been so long since anyone has held , it feels so comfortable being embraced.”
Tears mixed with smiles shouldn’t be an expression on a five-year-old child’s face. Chuxia imdiately felt a pang in her heart, looking at Yingying with regret, “Your little auntie is so foolish. Otherwise, I could have held you for a bit longer.”
“You’re quite foolish.”
Before Chuxia could respond, Yingying was already in Zhou Mikang’s arms. The little girl struggled briefly, then turned to Chuxia with eyes full of apprehension and seeking approval.
“Let your little uncle hold you,” Chuxia said, casting a glance at Zhou Mikang, “He’s strong. You can even ride on his neck if you want. How co you decided to co out and see us off?”
“Just teasing you. Took it seriously, did you?” Zhou Mikang said, chuckling as he poked her nose, “Grandpa Wan wasn’t even ho. You’re such a silly goose, aren’t you? I happened to run into Grandpa Wan on my way here. He was heading to Grandpa Ye’s house and was worried you wouldn’t find him here, so he wanted to let you know. I took the keys from him to wait for you.”
“When I ca over, I also visited the Jing Family and told Jing Zhe that I would be taking you to work today. How about that, I’m still qualified as a husband, right? Were you almost cursing to death in your mind just now?”
“Not at all,” Chuxia quickly denied. “I always say what I have to say to your face, I would never talk about soone behind their back. Don’t believe ? Ask Yingying. I didn’t say a single curse word just now.”
“Mhm,” Yingying nodded vigorously. “Uncle Jing, Auntie Chuxia really didn’t curse at anyone. Don’t hit her.”
Zhou Mikang looked at her seriously: “What if I don’t hit Auntie Chuxia but hit you instead? How about that?”
The little girl shrank back a bit, and Zhou Mikang quickly reached out to support her back. She gradually relaxed, and after a mont, she squinted and smiled: “Uncle Jing, you’re just trying to scare people…”
After dropping Yingying off at the kindergarten, Chuxia sighed and said, “This child is really smart. Just from the hand you placed on her back, she could tell that you truly care about her. Many adults can’t even make judgnts about soone’s character based on little things, but she already can. It breaks my heart to see that.”
“With the right guidance, this child has a bright future. The Xiao family’s troubles actually saved her. If she were educated by the Xiao family, she could have beco an extre headache for people,” Zhou Mikang looked at Chuxia. “Do you think I’m being heartless?”
“I hate self-righteous do-gooders the most.”
“I’m very pleased with that answer,” Zhou Mikang patted her head. “Seeing that you understand sowhat, I’ll forgive you for abandoning .”
Knowing that he was referring to her choosing to stay with Yingying over him that evening, Chuxia laughed guiltily: “Who asked you to tease on purpose? Now we’re even.”
Zhou Mikang shook his head with amusent but didn’t make a sound.
“By the way, what are you going to do later?” Chuxia asked.
“Do you have anything you need to do?” Zhou Mikang countered.
“No, I’m just curious. You say one mont you’re busy, the next you’re not; you’ve got all confused, so I’m just asking,” she said nonchalantly.
“I have to stop by the Ye Family today, and then, I have to handle my own business. I’ll co over in the afternoon to pick you up from work, and tonight…” He purposely sighed and said no more.
“If you keep pulling these stunts on , it won’t just be about spending a lonely night by myself,” Chuxia grabbed his collar and said, “Oh right, I’m warning you, you’re not allowed to tell Grandma and Mom about us sleeping in separate rooms tonight.”
“So you do know you’re in the wrong?” Before Chuxia could lose her temper, Zhou Mikang quickly changed the subject. “Chuxia, I can see that you truly care for Yingying, but rember, care with moderation, understand?”
“What do you an?” Chuxia stared at him blankly. “Of course, I know you’re not jealous of her, so I hope you can make things clear. After all, I really have no experience with these matters.”
“You…” Zhou Mikang looked at her helplessly. “Ignorance can be bliss, don’t you know that?”
“I know, but I don’t want to be ignorant. My parents have always hoped I would make them proud. If I were to live happily in ignorance, how could I ever bring them glory?”
“What is the fundantal reason for the Xiao family father and son’s downfall?”
“Too much evil!”
“…” Zhou Mikang was at a loss for words, not knowing what to say for a mont.
Chuxia rolled her eyes: “I know what you an is that because Xiao Yuwen had designs on , it angered you and led to a confrontation between you two, and ultimately the annihilation of the Xiao family.
But even without the incident of Xiao Yuwen disrespecting , wouldn’t he have clashed with you anyway? You’re on opposite sides; it was only a matter of ti before you ca to blows. Maybe I played so role in sparking the conflict, but ultimately isn’t it their fault for choosing the wrong side, following the wrong people? What does it have to do with ?”
“That’s logical, but I know Zhou Aiping better than you do. She can’t distinguish between good intentions and bad ones. When she cos back, if she sees that you and Yingying are close, she’ll attack you with the nastiest words. If I’m there, of course, I can protect you, but what if I’m not?
Of course, I believe Grandma and Mom will protect you. But you should understand, I would confront Zhou Aiping for your sake, even to the point of hitting her if necessary, but Grandma and Mom can’t do that.
Chuxia…” Zhou Mikang gently touched her hand. “I married you out of a duty to be responsible for you. Knowing that you could be hard, I must stop you.”
“I understand,” Chuxia nodded gloomily, her head hanging low. She disliked these calculating interpersonal relationships, but she also knew that marrying into such a prominent family, such matters were inevitable. She couldn’t just act based on her own preferences alone.
“I’m only saying not to get too close, not that you can’t be close to her,” Zhou Mikang said, amused as he watched her. “Tell , it hasn’t even been that long; could it be that your feelings for Yingying have already grown deeper than those for ?”
“What nonsense are you talking about?!”
Zhou Mikang teased her on purpose. “Is it nonsense? All the ways you dodge make it clear enough that I’m less important to you than Yingying, don’t they?”
“Stop it!” Chuxia rolled her eyes at him and turned her head towards the window, although the corners of her mouth unconsciously curled up. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welco to vote for it at Qidian (qidian) with recomndation tickets or monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian to read.)
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