If she couldn’t eat it, he wouldn’t eat it either; he always kept her company.
The Rolls Royce drove through the bustling streets of Ginza.
Li Yaru leaned against the car window, curiosity shining in her eyes as she watched everything outside.
The intoxicating extravagance was hard to look away from.
“This place is really lively, Zhuang Qiting.” She sighed.
This was the Showa Era in Japan, an age the Japanese themselves called the golden age of prosperity and madness.
Everything here was glamorous and flourishing.
Pity no one could foresee that in just two years, all this extravagance would collapse overnight, as fleeting as a dream.
Zhuang Qiting stroked her cheek. “Isn’t Hong Kong Island bustling, too?”
“Of course, Hong Kong Island is the best!”
Li Yaru spoke with hometown pride, her eyes lighting up at the mention. “I just think, if we could open a Wang Zhen Lou here, we’d be making money hand over fist!”
Zhuang Qiting snorted. “You really are a greedy pixiu. Even out here, all you think about is business.”
He glanced out the window at a tall silver building, then looked back at her and said slowly,
“But this place is too far. Opening your restaurant here isn’t realistic. Once Hong Kong Island returns, open one on the mainland instead—that’s the real market. Plus, the cuisine there shares the same roots. You won’t even need to change the menu. Just wait, darling. There will be plenty of chances for you to get rich. But for now, your most important task is to give birth to our daughter. Making money is your husband’s job—he could feed a thousand of you without a problem.”
There was an unconcealed arrogance in his tone. Li Yaru snorted softly, muttering that she was just daydreaming. To really open a restaurant would mean a lot of hassle.
Ignoring him, Li Yaru continued to watch the scenery. Everywhere here, she saw fashionable city women in high heels, carrying Chanel or LV purses, striding confidently down the street.
Li Yaru looked down at her own feet in milky-white flat vegetable-tanned leather shoes and announced to Zhuang Qiting, “Tomorrow I’m wearing high heels, too.”
Zhuang Qiting pinched her cheek and refused gently, “No.”
“Why not? I can walk perfectly fine in heels—just three centimeters!”
“No reason. Not even one centimeter. You promised to behave.” Zhuang Qiting’s tone was gentle, but domineering, treating her like a child as he tapped her head.
Behave, behave, behave. He was always telling her to behave. Li Yaru didn’t like how he acted like her father when he was her husband, not her dad.
She suspected he’d deliberately chosen a woman with her personality, just to satisfy his fatherly quirks!
Feeling sulky, Li Yaru didn’t argue. She just lowered her gaze, hiding her disappointment.
Her odd mood continued into the afternoon. Zhuang Qiting noticed and asked about it, but she wouldn’t say.
Visiting Asakusa Temple had been Li Yaru’s suggestion, but now that they were here, she couldn’t muster any enthusiasm for photos and looked downcast the whole time.
There were many worshippers at Asakusa Temple seeking omikuji. The gentle sky resembled a piece of sky-blue silk. The Five-story Pagoda stood majestic and ancient.
Li Yaru didn’t want to squeeze into the crowd and just stood beneath a blooming cherry tree.
She wore a pale pink dress that matched the cherry blossoms, pearls draped around her neck.
Occasionally, petals landed on her jet-black curls. It was a beautiful look—if only she could pair it with high heels, she’d look even better.
She looked down at her own vegetable-tanned leather shoes—no matter how she looked, they seemed ugly, making her even more annoyed.
“I heard the omikuji here are very accurate. Should we draw one?” Zhuang Qiting came over and gently hugged her.
The man was tall and handsome, radiating presence. In his light suit, he exuded nobility. The woman was unhappy and pushed him away.
Cherry blossoms drifted down over them, making a picturesque scene that drew many glances.
“No. What’s the point?”
“Really not going to draw one? Dinner’s soon. Miss it now, and you won’t get another chance.” Zhuang Qiting checked his watch, then looked at her calmly.
He knew exactly why she was throwing a tantrum. She’d become even more temperamental since getting pregnant.
“No. It’s not Hong Kong Island. Foreign deities don’t care about me. If I draw a bad lot, I’ll just be in a worse mood.” That’s what Li Yaru said, but her eyes couldn’t help following a group of girls walking by.
The girls each held an omikuji, and the golden suikinrin bells at their waists jingled melodiously.
They’d probably drawn lucky lots and chatted happily among themselves.
Zhuang Qiting was amused by her twisted logic and flicked her nose. “Then we won’t draw one. Go wait for me in the car. I need the restroom. Then we’ll have dinner. I’ve arranged all your favorites tonight.”
He gave Li Guanjia a look. “Follow the madam. Don’t let her fall.”
Dinner was in a refined Japanese manor, surrounded by red maples and flowing water. The theme was the local specialty, kaiseki cuisine. Tonight’s menu was specially designed for Li Yaru—no sashimi at all.
An entire table was covered with exquisite dishes.
Li Yaru wasn’t one to deny herself and ate heartily, but she didn’t really pay attention to Zhuang Qiting. He was just too domineering—even his gentleness felt fake.
There was a kabuki performance in front of the folding screen. After two songs, Zhuang Qiting waved the performers away.
The music faded. The aroma of food lingered in the air, only broken occasionally by the clink of chopsticks. The atmosphere grew even quieter.
“Ah Rou.”
“Mm…”
“Why so many little tempers since you got pregnant?”
He shouldn’t have asked—he only made her angrier.
Li Yaru put her chopsticks down coldly, staring at the man across from her. “That’s just how I am when I’m pregnant. I’ve got a bad temper and lots of it. If you don’t want to spoil me, don’t. I never asked you to humor me.”
“When haven’t I humored you? I always do.”
“Yes, you humor me for two sentences, then the third one is a threat. Even while pregnant I have to put up with you bullying me. If I weren’t pregnant, you’d spank me and have your way with me every night! It’s infuriating!”
Zhuang Qiting could only sigh—she really spoke so roughly. He finished his sake, got up, and sat beside Li Yaru. After a brief struggle, she ended up in his arms.
“Look at this.” He took a golden cloth pouch from his pocket.
Li Yaru hesitated, but took it, untying the cord.
Inside was an omikuji from Asakusa Temple—No. 11, Daikichi. On it was written, “Prosperous business and family, glory shines in the capital, ride the clouds with a fine arrow, and noble ones will aid you.”
Besides the omikuji, there was a golden suikinrin and a pair of Ryuen-mamori.
“Daikichi!” Li Yaru exclaimed with delight, and the suikinrin chimed gently and warmly. “When did you get these?”
Zhuang Qiting said, “After you went to the car. I tried once and got Daikichi, thanks to my wife’s luck.”
Li Yaru gave him a sideways look.
Zhuang Qiting picked up the pair of Ryuen-mamori, handing the pink one to Li Yaru and keeping the green one for himself.
“They say these bring marital bliss. One for you, one for me. And the suikinrin—I thought you’d like it, so I got it too.”
He knew, of course, that Li Yaru wanted it. Earlier at Asakusa Temple, she’d stared at the bells in other people’s hands for a long time.
Li Yaru pursed her lips, stroking the pink brocade pouch. “What does it mean?”
“Nothing special, Ah Rou. I just want you to be happy. I’m not trying to bully you, I just worry you’ll get hurt while you’re out. It’s because I care. Can you understand?”
“If you speak nicely, I’ll understand.” Her gaze was clear and bright.
“Haven’t I spoken nicely before?”
“No. You always get fierce, like a tiger trying to scare me.”
Zhuang Qiting laughed heartily and kissed her on the cheek. “I’ve already toned it down for you. Who told you to be so mischievous, even while pregnant?”
“Anyway, I’m wearing high heels tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow I’ll take you to buy high heels, but you can only buy them, not wear them. Wait until the baby is born, then you can wear them all you want.”
“You—”
“I’ll buy you a hundred pairs.”
Li Yaru fell silent, blinking as she raised her feet and rested them on his legs, acting all haughty and spoiled.
“Then, Boss Zhuang, from today on, you have to personally put my shoes on for me and serve this young lady.”
Zhuang Qiting squinted. This little thing was using words carelessly again. “Serve” and “wait on”—these were words for little men, yet she dared use them on him.
“Just answer: Will you serve me or not?”
The next moment, Zhuang Qiting firmly gripped her chin and kissed her fiercely.
His broad frame enveloped her as his tongue stirred her mouth, leaving her dizzy and breathless.
Only then did he let her go, satisfied with the sight of her so thoroughly claimed.
“It’s not about serving you, baby—it’s about spoiling you.”
Li Yaru’s lips were still red and glistening as she muttered an unenthusiastic “oh.”
Zhuang Qiting felt a headache coming on, worried that the little girl in her belly would be even more of handful than her mother.
If that happened, he’d really be finished.
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