“Today is your birthday, you should enjoy yourself. I’ll drive.” As they were coming out of the restaurant, Ruan Xia offered to take over the job of driving.

  Song Tingshen didn’t turn down her offer out of politeness. He handed her the car key, picked up Little Wang, and got into the back seat.

  Although the peak rush hour had passed, there was still some traffic on the road. Probably because today was a somewhat special day, Song Tingshen actively tried to find something to talk about with her. “Father-in-law and mother-in-law are getting older. I’ve been thinking about whether or not to buy them a villa in our community. If they live close by, it’ll be convenient for you when you visit them. Little Wang will also be able to see his grandparents every day.”


  Ruan Xia shook her head. “No need. They’re already used to the area they’re living in. There’s not many middle-age people or seniors living in our community either. My mom wouldn’t be able to find people to do plaza dancing with.”


  (T/N: Plaza dancing or square dancing is a popular exercise routine for middle-aged and retired women in China.)

  Song Tingshen was silent for a while before he added, “We talked about you opening a store this afternoon. Do you need me to buy a store with a suitable location for you?”
……

  Did he feel that he had too much money and nowhere to spend it?

  Since he had already spoken to this point, Ruan Xia carefully thought it over and figured out why Song Tingshen was acting so out-of-character.

  After that incident where Little Wang had misunderstood and thought they were getting a divorce, her understanding of Song Tingshen had deepened. Song Tingshen, this guy…… he was quite straightforward. The way he repaid favors was very simple. He would throw money around: buy a house, buy a car, buy a store, give jewelry, give purses, etc. Of course, this way of thinking might be due to his prior understanding of the original owner and thinking that’s what she wanted from him.

  Today’s situation was the same. He felt that she had treated him nicely today by celebrating his birthday with him, so he felt that he should give her a suitable expression of gratitude. A verbal thanks wouldn’t be sufficient. He was offering to spend money on her because he had adapted to the original owner’s preference.

  In this aspect, his behavior was quite like one of those domineering CEOs.

  “It’s okay.” Ruan Xia smiled. “I have money. If I really want to open a store, I won’t have a problem with funding it.”


  Seeing that Song Tingshen looked as if he was thinking hard on what else he could give her, Ruan Xia paused before adding, “You know, you don’t have to do stuff like this. You’ve already given me a lot. I have a large home to live in, have a car to drive, and I don’t have to worry about necessities every month. Don’t worry. If I really have something I need, I’ll definitely ask you about it.”


  Hearing Ruan Xia saying this, Song Tingshen finally felt relieved. Still, he didn’t forget to add, “You have to tell me if there’s something.”


  “I know ~”


  —


  Since their family of three was eating dinner outside, Ruan Xia had given the housekeeper aunty half a day off. Although the housekeeper aunty wasn’t originally from here, her son and daughter-in-law worked in this city and had bought a small home here. And so, since Ruan Xia had given her half a day off, she went to stay over at her son’s place and wouldn’t be coming back to the villa until tomorrow morning.

  When they returned home, Song Tingshen saw that Ruan Xia looked tired, so he took over the task of giving Little Wang a bath.

  Giving this chubby kid a bath could be considered physical exercise. He would get very excited as soon as he came into contact with water and wouldn’t give up on playing around in the bathtub for at least half an hour each time.

  Little Wang’s wet hair was sticking to his forehead. He suddenly said to Song Tingshen, “Dad, I feel mom likes me a lot now.”


  Song Tingshen laughed at his words. While scrubbing the underside of his son’s knees clean, he said, “Your mom has always liked you a lot.”


  Little Wang shook his head. “Mom didn’t like me before.”


  Translator Ramblings: I’ve been thinking that the way Song Tingshen tries to reward Ruan Xia with material gifts is awkward and over-the-top, but once Ruan Xia pointed out that this is probably what the original owner would have wanted, his behavior made sense. I like that she is preemptively putting a stop to further attempts, and I hope this is the beginning of them changing how they interact.