Chapter 44

Jiang Zhe noticed she was unhappy and gently rubbed the furrow in her brow with his finger, saying, “You need to recover from your cold first. Once the weather clears up, I’ll take you out to play.”

At the mention of going out, Jiang Yu immediately perked up, asking, “Where do you want to take me?”

“To see the ice lanterns?”

Jiang Yu thought that was great, “Sounds good.”

But she felt a bit worried, “But Jiang Luoluo is so small; it might not be suitable for her to go to such a cold place.”

Jiang Zhe completely disregarded the little one, saying, “We won’t take her with us.”

Jiang Yu glanced nervously at her mother, who was soothing the little one, and said, “Isn’t that a bit unfair? If we sneak off to play, what will happen to the child?”

Jiang Zhe suggested, “We can have the nanny, your parents, and my mom take care of her.”

Jiang Yu looked at her mother again, “Mom…”

She had to admit, she was tempted.

If her parents had agreed to hire two nannies initially, she wouldn’t feel so guilty leaving the child to go have fun.

Though Mother Jiang verbally scolded them, she genuinely enjoyed seeing the two of them go out and have fun together. After all, when the parents have a good relationship, the child will be fine too.

She waved her hand, “If you two want to go, then go ahead. We’ll take care of the child. But before you leave, you have to recover from your illness.”

Jiang Yu responded eagerly, “Okay, Mom!”

After laughing, she continued to feel miserable, clutching tissues to wipe her nose.

Jiang Yu was unwell, but the little one wouldn’t let her off. After being held by her grandma for a while, the moment she spotted her mother, she reached out for her to hold her. Jiang Yu was afraid of passing her illness to the child, so she quickly hid in Jiang Zhe’s study.

The little one, unable to get her mother’s arms, immediately started crying outside.

Jiang Yu felt heartbroken hearing it but, considering the child, kept her distance.

In Jiang Zhe’s study, Jiang Yu felt a bit bored. He had some documents to process, and she rested her chin on her hand, watching him work.

The man was already good-looking, wearing a white sweater and looking calm and gentle as he concentrated on his work. His profile was softly defined and elegant.

Jiang Zhe sensed someone was watching him. He looked up and saw Jiang Yu, who should have been reading, staring intently at him.

Jiang Zhe thought there was something on his face. After checking and finding nothing, he asked, “What’s wrong?”

With a faint smile on her lips, Jiang Yu said, “Jiang Zhe, has anyone ever told you that you look really handsome when you’re working?”

Jiang Zhe didn’t expect her to compliment him and was a bit surprised. Then he replied, “No.”

He added, “You look really beautiful today too.”

Jiang Yu giggled and resumed reading her book. After a while, she suddenly had a flash of inspiration, “I’ve decided what kind of shop to open!”

Jiang Zhe looked at her.

Jiang Yu glanced at the computer he was using and asked, “If I tell you now, will it disrupt your work?”

Jiang Zhe listened intently, “No, it won’t disrupt me. The work I have isn’t urgent.”

He closed his computer.

Jiang Yu also closed her book and said, “I want to open a café. After the New Year, I’ll go learn how to make coffee. What do you think? When I was working before, I always dreamed of this kind of life—sipping coffee while enjoying the view of the garden.”

Jiang Zhe had no objections.

“That sounds good.”

“Since I’ve caught a cold, let’s go see if there are any suitable shops available?”

Jiang Zhe immediately disagreed, “You’re sick; the most important thing right now is for you to rest properly.”

Now that Jiang Yu had an idea in her mind, she was eager to act on it. Jiang Zhe’s insistence on her resting naturally made her unhappy. She said, “If you have time, let’s go out together. I’ll bundle up; the car has heating, and it won’t be cold once we get indoors. We can just take a look around and see if there are any suitable places. Sitting around at home is just as unproductive.”

Jiang Yu immediately went over and hugged his arm, her eyes sparkling, “Jiang Zhe, thank you!”

Jiang Zhe looked at her bright eyes and said, “Actually, I prefer it when you call me ‘hubby.’”

Jiang Yu was fluent in saying it when joking with her mother, but now that Jiang Zhe asked her to call him that, she felt a bit shy and struggled to say it.

After hesitating for a long time, she finally said, “I can’t say it.”

Jiang Zhe didn’t mind. He leaned in slightly, pressing his lips to hers.

Just when the atmosphere turned soft and beautiful, and Jiang Yu wanted to deepen the kiss, her nose suddenly ran.

Embarrassed, she wanted to find a hole to hide in and hurriedly ran off to grab a tissue to wipe her nose, laughing awkwardly, “Uh, it wasn’t on purpose.”

Jiang Zhe was good-natured about it, “I know.”

“So, shall we go out this afternoon?”

Jiang Zhe felt a bit helpless about her spontaneous nature, “Let’s wait until tomorrow, when your cold is better.”

“Later, I’ll drink another dose of medicine.”

Although it was just a powdered medicine, to Jiang Yu, it felt no different from taking medicine. She immediately pouted, “Okay.”

By the next morning, Jiang Yu’s cold had improved a lot, and Jiang Zhe drove her out.

It hadn’t snowed in the last couple of days, and the snow outside was melting. Even though Jiang Yu was bundled up in thick clothing, she still felt cold.

She didn’t understand, “I’ve already dressed so warmly, why am I still cold?”

Jiang Zhe knew it would be like this and handed her his jacket with a resigned expression, “You’re already sick, and with the snow melting these days, of course, you’ll feel cold. I just told you to wear more layers, but you didn’t listen.”

Jiang Yu stuck her tongue out at him.

Jiang Zhe shook his head and drove towards the city center.

After wandering around the pedestrian street for a while, although there were many shops available for rent, Jiang Yu was still a bit unsatisfied. She described to Jiang Zhe, “I want a place that has a yard, ideally.”

After saying that, she looked at Jiang Zhe, who was driving, and asked, “Do you understand what I mean?”

Jiang Zhe nodded, parked the car by the roadside, and made a phone call. After a while, he said, “There seems to be a place next to our company that fits your requirements. It used to be a restaurant, but it’s recently up for transfer.”

Upon hearing it was near their company, Jiang Yu felt a bit uneasy. “Isn’t it a bit too close to your company? What if someone from your company sees me? That would be so embarrassing!”

Jiang Zhe said, “If it meets your requirements, then it doesn’t matter.”

Jiang Yu worried, “I’m just afraid it’ll be awkward.”

Jiang Zhe didn’t expect Jiang Yu to be so shy at this moment. He replied, “Making money is all the same; there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. You can go check out the place and see if it suits you before deciding.”

“Okay, let’s go check it out first.”

When they arrived, a young man was waiting for them at the door. Jiang Yu didn’t recognize him, but when he called her “boss lady,” she realized he was a colleague of Jiang Zhe’s named Xiao He.

He looked quite young and scratched his head awkwardly as he explained, “This is my aunt’s shop. Her child is in middle school, so she wants to move to my uncle’s place. You can sit here; she’ll be here soon.”

Jiang Yu had no intention of sitting. She looked around and became more and more satisfied. The yard was perfect for planting flowers, and she could enjoy coffee and desserts on the terrace. She was very pleased.

Xiao He’s aunt arrived shortly after. When she heard they were planning to open a coffee shop, she took them inside and showed them the terrace. After they finished looking around, Jiang Zhe, who had been keeping a bit of distance, asked, “So, what do you think? Do you like it?”

Jiang Yu hesitated, “I really like the place, but I still need to think about it.”

Xiao He’s aunt was very cheerful, smiling, “That’s fine. Just let me know once you’ve made up your mind.”

“Okay.”

After saying goodbye, they headed back. On the way home, Jiang Yu remained silent for half the trip before finally telling Jiang Zhe, “I’m quite satisfied with that place, but if she’s transferring it, we won’t be able to use the equipment. We’ll need new ones, and I feel like the rent is a bit expensive.”

The shop belonged to Xiao He’s aunt. Since they were colleagues of Xiao He, she had already given them a discount, but Jiang Yu still felt it was a bit expensive.

Jiang Zhe encouraged her, saying, “Rent in other places isn’t cheap either, and they don’t have as much space. I think you can consider it. You don’t need to worry about the money.”

Jiang Yu replied, “It’s not just about the money; I’m worried about losing money later, and then…”

Jiang Zhe said, “In business, there’s no such thing as being ten out of ten certain. I’m willing to support you, so don’t worry about failing.”

“And I have a selfish motive,” Jiang Zhe said thoughtfully.

Jiang Yu didn’t expect him to have an idea of his own and asked, “What’s your idea?”

Holding the steering wheel, Jiang Zhe took a moment before saying, “Wei Cheng wants to expand the company, and I’ll probably have to come to work frequently. If you’re a bit closer, I can come find you when I have free time. Plus, I can see this place from the company’s upper floors.”

Jiang Yu’s breath hitched, “So I can’t refuse, can I?”

Jiang Zhe reassured her, “No, if you don’t like this place, we can look for others. This is just my selfish motive, but it’s your own business, and you get to decide.”

Jiang Yu sighed with regret, “But I think this place is great. Since you believe in me so much, let’s choose this one.”

Jiang Zhe swallowed hard, “Okay.”

A few days later, Jiang Yu’s cold was completely gone. Jiang Zhe reminded her about their plan to go see the ice lanterns, and she felt a bit guilty about leaving the baby to have fun. While packing her things, she hesitated and asked her mom, “Mom, is it really okay for us to sneak out and have fun?”

Jiang Yu’s relationship with Jiang Zhe had been quite cold since they had a child, but they had recently warmed up. Of course, Mother Jiang hoped the two kids could nurture their feelings together. Raising a child really challenges a couple’s relationship, so when she saw her daughter hesitating, she immediately became displeased and said, “With me, your dad, your mother-in-law, and the nanny here, what’s there to worry about? Are you afraid we can’t take care of her? Honestly, we have way more experience than you two. I’d be happy not to cause any trouble while you’re gone.”

Jiang Zhe had put in a lot of effort in taking care of the baby, so when her mom mentioned causing trouble, it only referred to herself.

Jiang Yu felt a bit insulted and complained, “Mom, you’re making me feel like I’m not the baby’s real mom, you are.”

Mother Jiang shot her a look, “Do you understand that grandparents dote on their grandchildren more than on their own children?”

Jiang Yu was hurt by that, and when she went outside, she saw her dad and went to seek his support. Her dad affectionately patted her head and then added, “Your mom makes a good point.”

Jiang Yu: …

So she went to find Jiang Zhe. He also patted her head, and Jiang Yu immediately became wary, asking, “You don’t think my parents are right too, do you?”

Jiang Zhe softly said, “No. Since they’re so willing to help out, let’s just enjoy a few more days of fun.”

Jiang Yu nodded and provocatively said, “Yeah, we’ll have a few more days of fun before coming back.”

Her mom was quite unconcerned, happily hugging her granddaughter, “Sure, you don’t have to come back for the New Year; we’ll celebrate the New Year with your daughter.”

Jiang Yu felt exhausted, “There is really no love anymore.”