Chapter 43

“Boss, your birthday is in a few days, right?” Tang Jiu approached Jiang Ziquan, who had her head bowed as she looked through several stacks of documents, with a flattering smile. Recently, he has been facing great pressure under Jiang Ziquan’s anger towards him that even his face had lost some weight.

Jiang Ziquan looked up at the calendar on the wall and saw it was indeed almost her 29th birthday. If one rounded it up, she was basically 30 already. She touched her still smooth and fair face, somewhat reluctant to accept the fact she was getting old. Her tone was sullen: “Yes, why do you ask?” Tang Jiu has always been a cheapskate, so it was rare for him to get her something, “Did you get me a gift or something?”

“Boss, now that you mentioned it, I actually did get you something.” Tang Jiu’s voice took a strange turn as he quickly glanced around to make sure no one was listening in. He leaned forward, a mischievous smile on his face as he said, “This gift will help Boss top your wife.”

Jiang Ziquan kicked him in the shins, barely suppressing her anger. So they were talking about where or not she can top her wife? Ridiculous, she was already struggling hard enough to lure Teacher Shen into bed with her, she didn’t have time to care who was top or bottom.

She asked in an annoyed tone, “Seriously though, why do you always think I’m the bottom in this relationship?”

Tang Jiu carefully studied her expression and after realizing she didn’t ask that rhetorically in a fit of anger, he answered, “Didn’t Teacher Shen open the door that one time I brought you breakfast? She also said you were indisposed.” He then wiggled his eyebrows, “Don’t worry, I understand.”

“Understand my ass.”

Tang Jiu mumbled under his breath, something about being blamed for nothing. He assumed he had touched one of Boss’ sore points and whispered, “Also, after that day, when you first came back, you looked like you were in so much pain. You were sore from doing that, right?”

Jiang Ziquan speechlessly clutched her head in her hands. So it turns out that saying about how a man’s imagination can be blown off of proportions was actually true. She clenched and unclenched her hands as she frowned and exhaled, “Alright, alright, nevermind that. Tell me, what is this gift you keep talking about?”

Tang Jiu’s eyes lit up and he moved closer before taking out a book: “Boss, it took me a long time to find this. You don’t know how embarrassing it was for me when I bought it.”

Jiang Ziquan grabbed the book and studied it closely. It turned out to be an album full of wedding photos and each one photo had different styles, but they all featured wlw couples. As a man, for Tang Jiu to go shopping and searching for photos like these, he must’ve had to lose a lot of faces. It seems he has finally done something right that caused her to feel satisfied.

“Boss, I think Teacher Shen would look good in a more traditional style, what do you say?”

Jiang Ziquan agreed. The two of them had been married for so long that she actually forgot about the wedding. Except for the time when she gave her a ring shown she first proposed, they had not taken the rest of the steps for their marriage. Even their relatives knew little about their marriage and it really was a bit of a failure on her part. After some thought, she found she was looking forward to having their wedding photos taken and the wedding itself, but who knows when that was happening. She looked at Tang Jiu sadly and decided to change the topic, “Hey, Tang Jiu, remember that Xu Yao I mentioned before? Are you really not considering him at all?”

Tang Jiu: “….We’re still talking about this?”

“Yes, of course. After all, if you’re looking for a man, I think you’d only be able to top someone like Xu Yao.” Jiang Ziquan said, trying to maintain a serious expression.

“How is that possible?” Tang Jiu could obviously tell his boss was joking and gave her glare before saying shyly with an expressed expression, “Actually, I quite liked the person from my blind date last time. Look, when my hair grows back again, I think I want to try it with her one more time.”

Jiang Ziquan looked closely at his head and consoled, “I think you should buy a wig instead. By the time your hair grows back, the citron daylilies would have wilted already. [1]”

She continued: “Although, with the wig method, you won’t have to delay your blind date with Xu Yao.”

“….”

Boss, just how much does Xu Yao like men? And are you sure he even likes men in the first place?

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Jiang Ziquan didn’t have the time to discuss the wedding photos with Teacher Shen when her mother called her back home.

【 I’m going back to my mother’s house for a little bit, I won’t be home for lunch.】

Shen Yumo was currently overseeing a self-study and glanced at her phone that had buzzed, sending a quick reply, 【 I understand.】

After seeing the text, Jiang Ziquan happily pushed open the door only to see the entire family had gathered. Her father, mother, big brother, sister-in-law and the child still in her sister-in-law’s belly were all sitting on the sofa. A total of five people and all eyes were on her. She froze, quickie going over her actions from the past few months, wondering if she had done nothing wrong. However, she was too busy chasing after Teacher Shen recently and she concluded she didn’t even have the chance to do something bad.

Putting on an innocent expression she greeted them and then sat down: “So, why did you call me back for?”

“Little Quan, how are you and Yumo’s relationship lately?” Mr. Jiang had always been fond of his daughter so one could tell he was uncomfortable with integrating his favorite child. His tone tried to sound harsh but came out sounding like he was spoiling her.

“Huh?” Jiang Ziquan felt bewildered, what’s with this question?

Mrs. Jiang was obviously more suited for this integration and threw a stack of documents next to Jiang Ziquan. Like a machine gun, she fired her sentences quickly, “Are you really going to divorce Yumo after a year? Are you really willing to do this? Are you prepared to face the same fate as Aunt Nian Fang?”

Although the Jiang family had the power of falling in love with their soulmates, at first sight, it was not always possible for them to stay together forever. A recent example in their family was a distant aunt of Jiang Ziquan. This aunt also found someone she liked bought was unable to grasp the opportunity and had to let her soulmate go. From then on, she had lived a solitary life. Coincidentally, this aunt also liked women so when Jiang Ziquan told her family that her soulmate was a woman, the Jiang family was already prepared for this possibility. However, it was because of this aunt’s fate that Mrs. Jiang was worried that Jiang Ziquan would be unable to remain with Yumo.

“What about her? From what I know, Aunt Nian Fang is living a good life right now.” Jiang Ziquan whispered, her head bowed. She looked at the stacks of documents beside her and realized that it was the 《Marriage Agreement》 contract she had signed with Shen Yumo a long time ago. Jiang Ziquan carefully read each clause, and her hands skimmed over Teacher Shen’s signature. The handwriting was really beautiful.

However, her lovestruck appearance was so obvious in the eyes of the Jiang couple. They sighed in their hearts, they knew their daughter too well. Their daughter was probably already too obsessed with Shen Yumo to be saved.

Jiang Ziquan had always thought that the contract was merely for keeping up appearances and then she would get Shen Yumo to fall in love with her regardless. She had completely forgotten about it and didn’t even know where she put it. She rubbed her nose sheepishly, “Where did this thing pop up from?”

“Little Quan, did you really sign a contract with Teacher Shen?” Jiang Ziquna couldn’t help asking. He quite liked his sister’s wife and felt satisfied by Shen Yumo’s calm temperament and beautiful appearance. However, he cared about his little sister first and foremost.

Jiang Ziquant thought about her answer and replied, “Brother, you didn’t understand the situation at the time but Teacher Shen wouldn’t have agreed to stay married with me if I didn’t sign it.” Seeing the looks from her other family members, she hastily added, “However, you can rest assured, our relationship is much better now and I can confidently say we will not get divorced.”

Mr. Jiang sighed and advised, “Then we should get your wedding done as soon as possible.”

“That’s right, that’s right! You’ll be turning 30 in a few days and if you wait any longer, you won’t look good in a wedding dress anymore.” Mrs. Jiang agreed, already picturing the wedding dress she had in mind and looked at her expectantly.

“I’m turning 29.”

“What’s the difference?”

“Alright, I get it. Coincidentally, I was just recently thinking of getting wedding photos taken with Teacher Shen. I think the wedding should be during the summer vacation. Teacher Shen has to take care of her third-years for now and it won’t be too late to hold the wedding down.” Jiang Ziquan didn’t dare to argue with her mother and simply told her mother her plans.

“What you said is correct, it’s better for Yumo to focus on her work first.” Mrs. Jiang felt a little relieved that her daughter at least had plans for the future, “Since you’re here, let’s have a family lunch together.”

“En.”

And just like that, the whole contract matter was dropped, for now.

Perhaps it was because Jiang Ziquan hadn’t come back home for a long time, because Mrs. Jiang had made her favorite food. Jiang Ziquan naturally was satisfied with the food that she has eaten for her meals for more than 20 years.

When she left, Jiang Ziquan also shamelessly packed up a lot of the leftovers. After all, she was getting a little embarrassed at having to ask Teacher Shen to cook for her every day.

‘Every time you come back, you’re just like a bandit robbing a village.” Although the words that came out of Mrs. Jiang’s mouth were merciless, she still turned around and grabbed some food from the refrigerator for Jiang Ziquan to take home.

“After the holidays, make sure to bring Yumo over for a visit, understand?

“I understand. Sister-in-law, make sure to pay attention to your body.”

“En.”

“Will you visit the Shen family later to get a better read of the situation?” Mr. Jiang still had some misgivings about the marriage and muttered to Mrs. Jiang, “This daughter of ours has more problems than our son.”

“So true.” Mrs. Jiang nodded before turning away.”

“Where are you going?”

“The bandit has cleaned out our food, I need to go buy some more. I’ll also buy some gifts for parents of the bride the next time we see them.” Mrs. Jiang didn’t look back as she left, looking like a soldier stepping onto the battlefield.

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Shen Yumo opened the door and looked up to see a bandit stuffing food into their refrigerator. Jiang Ziquan was stuffing beer, coke, and all sorts of things in the tiny fridge that Shen Yumo couldn’t help exclaiming, “Why did you buy so much from the supermarket?”

“I didn’t buy these from the market, my mother gave them to me.” Jiang Ziquan searched through the rest of the content in her bag, “We can eat some tonight after heating them up.”

Shen Yumo nodded and came over to take a look. Taking out the food that was stuffed haphazardly out again, “Go sit down, let me do this.”

Welp, that was a waste of time then. Jiang Ziquan felt sullen that her heard work was brushed to the side. Then she looked at Shen Yumo with a sly smile, “Hey, buddy, how about a kiss?”

Shen Yumo’s hands stopped, but she didn’t look at her, “Who is your buddy?”

Jiang Ziquan continued, “Alright, then, wifey give me a kiss?”

This was the first time Shen Yumo heard Jiang Ziquan call her that, and her heartbeat furiously as she blush and whispered, “No time.”

“It’s fine, I can do it myself.”

“What?”

Jiang Ziquan had taken advantage of that moment when Shen Yumo turned her head to press a quick kiss to her lips. She stood up, “Alright, you can continue.”

Although the cold air from the refrigerator caused Shen Yumo to tremble, her heart still felt warm and fuzzy inside.

Author’s notes:

Author: “Ah, I just want to watch my cartoons.”

Readers: “NO you don’t, your only want should be to keep writing!”

T/N notes:

[1] citron daylilies bloom in June to July and wilt in the Fall. They are common in China. So she’s basically saying his hair won’t grow back for a couple of months.

In case you didn’t know: wlw = woman-loving woman

Oh, also, Chinese people only think a marriage is official after a wedding.