The car slowly traveled along the road, the city’s neon lights shining through the window and casting colorful patches of light across Fu Shengyan’s face.
Lin Zhihua held the steering wheel steadily, while the quiet car was filled only with the faint sound of the engine and the barely audible melody of the music playing through the speakers.
Fu Shengyan kept his gaze fixed on Lin Zhihua’s profile, a hint of hesitation and probing in his eyes as he softly asked, “Does he treat you well?”
Lin Zhihua choked. So this guy had spent all that time mentally preparing himself just to ask this?
“Pretty well.” Lin Zhihua decided to praise Great Lawyer Fu a little more and give the fragile patient enough of a sense of security. “He’s very considerate and respects me. He remembers everything I like, and he’ll always be there whenever I need him.”
Fu Shengyan’s breath caught, and his heart felt as though it had been tightly gripped by a hand, a dull ache instantly spreading through his chest.
Looking at the light in Lin Zhihua’s eyes and the smile lingering on her lips, Fu Shengyan clearly realized that his Zhizhi had already found happiness with someone else by her side, while he had ultimately missed his chance.
It had been many years since Lin Zhihua had said anything so mushy, and she couldn’t help coughing lightly. She turned her head slightly, somewhat curious about how Fu Shengyan would react after hearing this confession.
Fu Shengyan’s expression was complicated. He looked at Lin Zhihua, the corners of his lips lifting slightly into a smile that looked worse than crying, and said hoarsely, “That’s good…”
Lin Zhihua was deeply struck.
She ground her teeth, swallowed the words that had reached her lips, turned her face away, and stopped paying attention to this unromantic man.
Eighteen-year-old Mr. Fu was really difficult to figure out. He was actually even jealous of himself?
Wasn’t that way too childish?
How was this eighteen? He was clearly eight at most!
The two remained silent for the rest of the drive.
“We’re here.” Lin Zhihua parked the car, unfastened her seat belt, and pushed the door open to get out.
Fu Shengyan looked at the unfamiliar villa in front of him and silently got out of the car.
The woman hadn’t even shown her face on their wedding anniversary, and there wasn’t a single light left on when he got home. Sure enough, he and his nominal “wife” were only tied together by a contractual marriage alliance.
Fu Shengyan took a deep breath and suppressed the bitterness in his heart. “You can just drop me off here. It’s late, so you should head home first.”
Lin Zhihua: “?”
Lin Zhihua rolled her eyes. “Go where? This is my home, okay?”
Although this was their marital home, only her name had been written on the property deed in the first place.
She skillfully entered the password and pushed the door open, then glanced back at the man standing there in a daze and said irritably, “Why are you just standing there? Aren’t you coming in?”
Fu Shengyan entered, overwhelmed by the unexpected favor.
The smart robot by the entrance immediately sensed their arrival, and soft lights instantly came on, illuminating the entire room.
The villa’s interior was decorated very warmly. In the open-plan living room, several hand-knitted cushions were casually scattered across the soft linen sofa. An open magazine lay on the wooden coffee table beside it, with several thick books scattered around.
The robot, Xiaofu, turned its round and adorable body slightly as a clear, pleasant, and enthusiastic voice rang out. “Welcome home, dear masters! You must have had a wonderful and unforgettable third anniversary!”
Lin Zhihua hadn’t felt the wonderful part yet, but it certainly had been unforgettable.
Her husband had been perfectly fine when she left for work that morning, but by the time she came home that evening, he had directly shrunk into a high school student.
“Change your shoes before coming in.” Lin Zhihua placed a pair of blue slippers at his feet.
Fu Shengyan frowned at the blue slippers that had obviously been worn before, then looked at the pink pair on Lin Zhihua’s feet that was clearly the matching couple’s version and gritted his teeth. “You’re making me wear his shoes?”
Lin Zhihua ignored him. She had already gotten used to Fu Shengyan occasionally acting strangely tonight.
What mine and his? You two have the same pair of feet anyway.
After changing into her slippers, she handed her bag to Xiaofu, rubbed her stomach, and headed toward the kitchen.
After all that commotion, she still hadn’t eaten dinner!
Seeing Lin Zhihua ignore him, Fu Shengyan felt a little aggrieved. He had no time to dwell on it and quickly changed his shoes before following her.
Xiaofu failed to notice the unusual atmosphere between its two masters and followed closely behind them. “The indoor temperature has been adjusted to the most comfortable setting. Your packages have been placed by the entrance.”
“Thank you, Xiaofu.” Lin Zhihua patted its round head, and after receiving its master’s praise, a smiling face appeared on Xiaofu’s electronic screen.
Fu Shengyan glanced at it several times.
Lin Zhihua gently pulled open the refrigerator door, and a faint floral fragrance immediately drifted toward her.
The sight before her made her let out a soft gasp. The entire refrigerator was filled with gorgeous red roses in full bloom. Every single one had been carefully selected, with full stems, brilliant colors, and droplets of dew rolling over the petals, reflecting dazzling light beneath the soft illumination.
Gentle, soothing music flowed through the air like a murmuring stream. In time with the music, Xiaofu slowly approached Lin Zhihua while holding an exquisite two-tiered cake.
A warm image flickered across Xiaofu’s electronic screen. “This is the surprise Sir prepared for you. Dinner is ready, and you may eat whenever you wish.”
Moved, Lin Zhihua took out her phone and snapped several pictures of the roses and cake, planning to post them on Moments later to show off their love.
Watching this romantic scene, jealousy surged wildly inside Fu Shengyan. His hands unconsciously clenched into fists, his fingernails digging deeply into his palms.
“A-Yan, hurry and hold this.” Lin Zhihua placed the cake tray into Fu Shengyan’s arms, then pulled him in front of the refrigerator.
Although he didn’t understand what she was doing, he still steadily took the cake and cooperatively posed.
Lin Zhihua quickly picked up her phone and stepped back a few paces, carefully adjusting the angle through the viewfinder on the screen.
“Hubby, smile.”
Fu Shengyan instinctively lifted the corners of his mouth, then immediately widened his eyes as his heart violently skipped a beat.
With a “click,” Fu Shengyan’s bandaged head and ridiculous expression were permanently captured in the photo.
Looking at the picture on her phone, Lin Zhihua burst out laughing. She quickly saved a backup, afraid that if she were even a second slower, the person in the photo would snatch her phone away and delete it.
She laughed for quite a while, but when Fu Shengyan didn’t rush over in embarrassment to grab her phone, she voluntarily held it up in front of him.
Fu Shengyan’s attention wasn’t on the phone at all. He stared at Lin Zhihua in disbelief and asked in a slightly trembling voice, “Zhizhi, what… what did you just call me?”
“A-Yan?” Lin Zhihua waved the photo in front of him.
“Not that.” A trace of urgency entered Fu Shengyan’s voice. “Just now, when you told me to smile…”
Lin Zhihua’s eyes turned, and a mischievous smile curled at the corners of her lips. She deliberately tilted her head and blinked innocently. “What did I say? Aren’t you just A-Yan?”
He pursed his lips, his gaze locked tightly onto Lin Zhihua, the longing in his eyes becoming increasingly obvious.
“Look at the cake in your hands.” Lin Zhihua looked at this innocent eighteen-year-old version of Fu Shengyan, who only had memories up to that age, and slowly moved closer while holding back her laughter.
Fu Shengyan stiffly lowered his head. On top of the cake were two hearts drawn in pink frosting, while golden jam in the center spelled out: “Zhizhi and A-Yan, together forever.”
His eyes suddenly widened, and his heart began beating faster beyond his control.
Lin Zhihua stood on tiptoe and gently breathed beside his ear, enunciating each syllable. “Huuub—by—”
A blush quickly spread from the roots of his ears across his cheeks, even the tips of his ears turning bright red and burning hot.
With wicked amusement, Lin Zhihua pinched his earlobe and said with a grin, “What? Didn’t Tang Yuan tell you? Today is our third wedding anniversary.”
Fu Shengyan’s lips trembled slightly, and the pounding of his heart sounded like thunder beside his ears. He could clearly feel the warmth from Lin Zhihua’s fingertips, and that warmth seemed charged with electricity, spreading from his earlobe throughout his entire body and sending a tingling sensation through every limb and bone.
“Did he really not tell you?” Lin Zhihua looked at his slightly reddened eyes and gently let go.
Her expression became a little strange. “So when you were acting all weird earlier, you thought both of us had married other people?”
Fu Shengyan couldn’t suppress the upward curve of his lips as he nodded somewhat shyly.
“Zhizhi, I… I’m really so happy.” Fu Shengyan carefully put down the cake, then pulled Lin Zhihua into his arms, his arms unconsciously tightening around her. “Good thing I’m not that stupid after all…”
Lin Zhihua wrapped her arms around his back and chuckled softly. “Who said that? Back then, the toughest thing about you was your mouth.”
Fu Shengyan looked at her innocently.
“Let’s not talk about this right now. I’m hungry, so let’s eat dinner first.” Lin Zhihua gently pushed him away, and Fu Shengyan reluctantly released her, his expression seeming a little regretful.
Xiaofu had already taken the initiative to light the candles. The dining room was filled with a warm and romantic atmosphere, while the soft candlelight flickered across the translucent warming cover.
Lin Zhihua gently pressed a button beside the dining table, and the warming cover slowly lowered, revealing dish after dish that looked, smelled, and tasted delicious underneath.
“Never seen this before, have you?” Lin Zhihua blinked at him, her tone carrying a little pride. “This is a high-tech product our team just developed. It can precisely maintain the temperature and humidity of food.”
Fu Shengyan curiously leaned closer to the warming cover and carefully examined the novel device.
He exclaimed in admiration, “That’s amazing. With this, you never have to worry about the food getting cold again.”
Lin Zhihua picked up a piece of braised pork trotter and placed it in Fu Shengyan’s bowl. “Like nourishes like. Eat what you want to strengthen.”
“Zhizhi, I injured my head, not my leg.” Fu Shengyan was a little puzzled. He poked the pork trotter with his chopsticks. It had a beautiful caramel sheen and looked soft, sticky, and springy.
“Who said that? Aren’t you a big pig trotter yourself?” Lin Zhihua took a bite of braised spare ribs and narrowed her eyes happily.
Fu Shengyan pushed the pork trotter to one side and stiffly changed the subject. “Zhizhi, were all these dishes made by that round-headed smart robot?”
“You made all of these.” Lin Zhihua took several bites of rice and seriously began to recall the past. “In the second month after we got married, you specifically went to learn from Ms. Yun because you didn’t want me eating takeout every day.”
Looking at the braised spare ribs in her bowl, Lin Zhihua remembered the first time Great Lawyer Fu had cooked.
Neither of them knew anything about cooking. At the Lin family home, Ms. Yun was responsible for the cooking, while at the Fu family home, even five-star chefs took turns cooking for them.
At the time, they were newlyweds and only wanted to enjoy their world of two, so they hadn’t even hired a housekeeper.
The two of them had strongly disagreed over ordering takeout.
Lin Zhihua wanted fried chicken, crayfish, and barbecue, while Fu Shengyan thought all of those were unhealthy and greasy and insisted on ordering takeout from a private chef instead.
Lin Zhihua said they could each order their own food and satisfy their different preferences at the same time, but Fu Shengyan insisted that the two of them had to eat together, otherwise it would make them seem too distant.
After repeatedly reaching a stalemate, Candidate Fu entered the examination room armed with the knowledge he had learned from five minutes of reading a cookbook. The test question was Ms. Yun’s most frequently made braised spare ribs, and he fumbled around while answering it. In the end, Examiner Lin Zhihua gave him a huge failing grade.
Because she really couldn’t swallow those few charred, unbearably salty unidentified objects!
In the end, Fu Shengyan threw away that plate of “spare ribs” and tossed the ruined pan into the trash along with it.
Later, while Lin Zhihua was working overtime, Fu Shengyan secretly went to Ms. Yun for extra lessons, preparing to thoroughly amaze Lin Zhihua.
It took Fu Shengyan about half a month to go from making something edible to something delicious, and Lin Zhihua also ate braised spare ribs for nearly half a month. Fortunately, her childhood fondness for the dish was strong enough, otherwise she might not have wanted to see braised spare ribs again for the rest of her life.
After achieving some success with braised spare ribs, Fu Shengyan seemed to have unlocked his cooking skill. His cooking became better and better, and Lin Zhihua ate very happily, so the two of them never hired a cooking aunt afterward.
“Zhizhi?” Seeing Lin Zhihua staring blankly at her bowl, irritation began rising in Fu Shengyan’s heart.
“It’s nothing.” Lin Zhihua came back to her senses and quickly finished the food in her bowl.
Fu Shengyan clenched his fist and made up his mind. “Zhizhi, I can learn how to cook. You…”
“Don’t. Please don’t.” Lin Zhihua hurriedly interrupted him. “For now, we can just order takeout.”
Fu Shengyan’s eyes dimmed. “Zhizhi, you don’t want me to learn how to cook, do you? Because I won’t be able to make it taste exactly the same as his…”
Lin Zhihua: No, I just don’t want my fragile stomach to survive another month of braised spare ribs!