Chapter 56.1

Meng Zhengrong’s bewildered expression truly amused Xu Yuan.

As she sat on the bed, laughing unabashedly, Meng Zhengrong realized he had fallen for his wife’s trick.

Feeling the cold wind blowing, his intelligence finally kicked in, and he became aware of just how foolish he had been.

He should have known better; after such an event, she hadn’t thrown a tantrum, so he should have been grateful. Alas, he had been blinded by this sweet facade.

How could he believe that her tenderness in the car was genuine?

Even on ordinary days, she rarely treated him with such warmth. There must have been an ulterior motive, and he only realized it too late.

Meng Zhengrong helplessly knocked on the glass door, “Let me in. Can’t we talk face to face about whatever it is?”

Although it was still only late October and the days were somewhat warm, it was definitely autumn now. Standing on the balcony at night, being hit by the cold wind was indeed uncomfortable.

Fortunately, the sound insulation wasn’t great; otherwise, Meng Zhengrong would have had to shout until his voice went hoarse for Xu Yuan to hear him.

Xu Yuan walked over, standing behind the glass, her arms crossed and wearing a smug expression that was almost unbearable to look at. “Isn’t this face to face? You can say whatever you want now. It’s no big deal.”

“How is it no big deal?” Meng Zhengrong bent his fingers to knock on the door again, “Look at the weather. It’s really cold outside.”

Xu Yuan found his situation both satisfying and infuriating. “Then why didn’t you consider my feelings just now?”

For Xu Yuan, just turning on the lights and driving in the room was her limit. Let alone in the car, that had directly challenged her bottom line. She hadn’t had the strength to push him away at the time, so she thought she could take revenge afterward.

Since she couldn’t deal with him at that moment, she couldn’t believe that she wouldn’t get a chance to turn the tables later.

Meng Zhengrong raised an eyebrow, “But you were enjoying it just now, weren’t you?”

To be fair, Meng Zhengrong was partly to blame. In such a situation, he should have been gentle and coaxing Xu Yuan, treating her like a queen. Yet, whenever the topic shifted to this, he subconsciously enjoyed teasing her.

Hearing this, Xu Yuan felt like kicking Meng Zhengrong down the stairs. She couldn’t believe that there was someone in the world who was even more shameless than her past self.

But the truth was right in front of her; there really was such a shameless person.

Xu Yuan laughed out of anger, her expression calm as she nodded. “Looks like you’re not cold at all. Just enjoy the breeze out there.”

“Wait!!” Meng Zhengrong panicked, “I was wrong! I’m really sorry!”

He wasn’t afraid of the cold; he just found it embarrassing. What terrified him more was that Xu Yuan might actually leave him out on the balcony all night. She could definitely do that.

“Oh?” Xu Yuan sneered, “Why don’t you tell me what you did wrong?”

Deep down, Meng Zhengrong didn’t actually think he was in the wrong.

He just wanted to change the location of their intimate moment. What was wrong with that?

He hadn’t disturbed anyone, hadn’t offended anyone, hadn’t caused any negative impact, and hadn’t damaged any public facilities. He merely wanted to enjoy a moment in the car—what was wrong with that?

Meng Zhengrong was sure that any man with a normal orientation, oh no, to be precise, no matter what their orientation, would want to have such an experience with their partner in a car.

He was as normal as they come, but his wife thought his normalcy was wrong.

Sigh.

He wished he could drown his sorrows in alcohol.

Despite thinking this, his wife was more important than anything else in the world. Without missing a beat, Meng Zhengrong said, “I was wrong. I shouldn’t have disregarded your feelings or done things you don’t like. It won’t happen again; I promise.”

This experience would be enough for him to reminisce about for a long time.

Next time, with the help of alcohol, he would surely find a way.

Xu Yuan continued to sneer, “Promises without consequences are just empty words.”

“Then what do you want me to do?”

Xu Yuan stared at him expressionlessly, pausing for a moment before saying, “Just wait.”

With that, she turned and walked away from the room.

Left alone on the balcony, Meng Zhengrong reflected on the situation. He wasn’t overly worried; it seemed Xu Yuan wasn’t heartless enough to let him catch a cold. She would probably let him back in before long.

As Meng Zhengrong imagined this scenario, Xu Yuan returned, carrying a large durian in her arms. She huffed and puffed as she set the big fruit down on the ground.

Even though the durian hadn’t been opened and there was a glass door between them, Meng Zhengrong instinctively held his breath.

The smell was intoxicating; just the scent made him question reality.

To this day, Meng Zhengrong was still baffled by how anyone could enjoy eating that stinky fruit.

Unfortunately, Xu Yuan liked it a lot, and now there was durian in the fridge. Meng Zhengrong basically avoided opening the fridge whenever possible.

“Stay outside or kneel with the durian. You choose.” Xu Yuan said with a stern face, showing no mercy for their marital bond.

Meng Zhengrong glanced at her, then at the durian. “…”

He was practically at a loss for words.

“There’s gold under a man’s knees,” Meng Zhengrong finally said after a moment of contemplation.

Xu Yuan was impatient to hear such words. “Then did you kneel when you proposed?”

Didn’t feel that there was gold under a man’s knees during the proposal, but suddenly felt that way now?

Meng Zhengrong, caught up in the moment, replied, “I didn’t propose.”

Immediately regretting his words, he wished he could slap himself. Did speaking without thinking ever bring him any good?

Even if he had proposed, the person he was proposing to was indeed the real Xu Yuan. So, theoretically, it wouldn’t have made any difference to her whether he proposed or not. However, Xu Yuan was still upset, and upon hearing this, she couldn’t hold back. “Fine, pretend I didn’t say anything. You can just stay on the balcony. I see you’re looking rosy; it seems you can handle the breeze just fine.”

Xu Yuan truly intended to ignore Meng Zhengrong, lying on the bed watching a TV drama starring Song Chaowen.

Although the weather was a bit cold, Meng Zhengrong could endure it. However, he couldn’t stand being out on the balcony alone, watching his wife comfortably lying on the bed and watching TV.

The key point was, he hadn’t brought his phone, which meant he was essentially just standing outside in the wind.

A modern person used to their phone and computer could hardly stand outside like this for ten minutes, he thought.

What could he do to get Xu Yuan to come over and open the door for him?

Meng Zhengrong had indeed considered breaking down the door, but then he thought about how close the glass door was to the bed. If he broke it, the shards could hit Xu Yuan, and that would be disastrous.

Most importantly, how would the housekeeper and servants discuss this incident privately the next day?

The immediate priority was to get Xu Yuan to open the door voluntarily, but was that even possible?

Even if it seemed unlikely, he had to give it a shot.

“Wife, please open the door for me, and I’ll give you my bank card password,” Meng Zhengrong said earnestly.

Xu Yuan remained unmoved.

He felt this tactic wouldn’t work on his wife, so he tried again, “From now on, wherever you say we go, that’s where we’ll go. I swear I won’t do anything immoral again.”

Xu Yuan wanted to laugh but managed to hold it back.

If she laughed now, he would only become more shameless. She had to teach him a lesson and show him who was in charge.

Meng Zhengrong was truly at his wits’ end, but to be honest, even knowing this would happen, he would still want to do it in the car again.

Sigh, he was hopeless.

Feeling even colder than before, Meng Zhengrong finally decided to use his trump card.

Didn’t little girls always fear ghosts?

He began to mimic a ghost’s wailing, thinking that Xu Yuan might be scared. “I’m so cold~ Let me in~”

Seeing Xu Yuan still indifferent, Meng Zhengrong simply sat down and prepared to tell her a ghost story. To be honest, he hadn’t really heard many ghost stories himself, so he tried to lower his voice, attempting to create a spooky atmosphere.

Xu Yuan thought Meng Zhengrong was being quite boring. He kept making ghostly sounds outside, which was seriously affecting her mood while watching TV.

After all, how could Meng Zhengrong think she was scared of ghosts?

Having lived in a palace where people often died silently, and not to mention her own hands weren’t exactly clean, if ghosts truly existed, they should be afraid of her.

Xu Yuan directly got off the bed and walked over. Meng Zhengrong felt a surge of hope, thinking she was scared and was going to open the door for him.

See? His wife couldn’t possibly want him to suffer in the cold.

To his surprise, Xu Yuan leisurely sat down beside the glass door and said to him, “Your ghost stories are too childish. Let me tell you one.”

Surely, the ghost stories she had heard firsthand in ancient times would be scarier than Meng Zhengrong’s modern tales.

Xu Yuan thought she had already found the answer.

She saw Meng Zhengrong’s expression change halfway through her story.

At first, he could tolerate the cold wind outside, but now he couldn’t handle it at all. The autumn wind blew through the trees, making a rustling sound.

What had seemed harmless before now felt sinister alongside Xu Yuan’s authentic ghost story, and even a big man like Meng Zhengrong couldn’t help but shudder for the first time today.

“Little Ling opened the wardrobe and saw…” Xu Yuan smiled sweetly at Meng Zhengrong, “What do you think she saw?”

Meng Zhengrong’s teeth were chattering, but he forced himself to stay calm. “I don’t want to know. Just don’t say it.”

“Are you not curious about the rest of the story?” Xu Yuan said with an innocent look. “Or is my story just not scary enough for you? If so, I can switch to another one.”

Meng Zhengrong replied, “No need, just don’t say it.

To her surprise, Meng Zhengrong was scared of ghosts. Xu Yuan sighed internally, poor little guy.

Seeing him shivering, she thought she had punished him enough, so she opened the glass door and let him in.

Once inside, Meng Zhengrong immediately lay on the big bed, wrapping himself in the blanket. When Xu Yuan got into bed, he held her tightly.

Xu Yuan turned off the TV, and then she heard Meng Zhengrong mumbling, “I’m freezing to death.”

He should have said he was scared to death.

Poor little guy.

Perhaps it was best not to scare him anymore.