“What is it?”


  Carrying his son down the stairs and sensing the rather strange atmosphere in the room, Wu Kun asked.

  As the little boy in his embrace saw Xu Tingsheng, he yelled ‘Uncle’ and leapt right down to sit beside him.

  “.……You’ve met?” Wu Kun asked.

  “Yes,” Xu Tingsheng confirmed.

  Wu Kun’s wife smiled, nodding.

  Then, Xu Tingsheng recounted the incident that had occurred at the flower store that afternoon.

  Wu Kun was not infuriated after hearing about it as he smiled, saying, “This is the personality your Sister-in-law has. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be running a flower store. Just staying there quietly and growing plants in peace everyday, she already feels happy.”


  Huang Yaming enquired, “But with Sister-in-law having been bullied like that, won’t she feel despondent, stifled? What about you, Bro Kun? How can you stand it?”


  Wu Kun’s wife smiled, “When encountering this sort of thing, I just feel less happy for a while, just a while. If he comes and steps in, blowing up the matter or doing something to the person, I’d instead feel troubled and uneasy then, feeling sad for a long time. So, this way is still better.”


  Wu Kun smiled too, saying, “Let me tell you something about the past, when I first came to know your Sister-in-law. If she didn’t have this temperament, wasn’t so easy to bully, I really might not have been able to shamelessly win her over.”


  Their spirits instantly rose as they got ready to hear the story.

  Wu Kun slowly reminisced, “Back then, your Sister-in-law ran a small noodle store with her sister. She was twenty. I was seventeen, a hotel attendant. Because I loved gambling but wasn’t so good at it, I often ended up having no money for meals.”


  “Then, there was once when I was really too hungry and just couldn’t stand it. I disregarded everything and ate without paying at that noodle store……”


  “In the end-considering your Sister-in-law’s personality, you can definitely imagine it. Ever since then, I often went to her place for a free meal……it must have been over a hundred times?”


  In reply to Wu Kun’s question, his wife answered, “Definitely more than that.”


  Wu Kun chuckled, “Forget about that. There aren’t any debts between us, anyway. So, I ended up hounding your Sister-in-law after that. Actually, there were two things in my mind at the time. Firstly, this girl is so easy to bully. I can’t let anyone else bully her. Secondly, this girl is so good to bully. I’ve got to marry her back where I can bully her all I want.”


  The four broke out in laughter.

  Blushing, Wu Kun’s wife clicked her tongue at him.

  “Then……Sister-in-law agreed to it? She had to give agreement, right?” Tan Yao asked.

  “You’ll have to ask your Sister-in-law about that,” Wu Kun smiled, replying.

  His wife said nothing.

  Xu Tingsheng smiled, saying to Tan Yao, “Actually, there isn’t a need to ask this in the first place. Just think about it. If Sister-in-law didn’t like Bro Kun, after tolerating it a few times, wouldn’t she have called the police rather than let him eat over a hundred free meals?”


  After Xu Tingsheng said so, everyone directed their gazes towards Wu Kun’s wife, Wu Kun himself included.

  She nodded gently.

  Wu Kun smiled in a very blissful manner. He had still been young back then, not the later Wu Kun, the current Bro Kun.

  Things had been exceptionally blissful back then.

  Now, Wu Kun introduced Fang Yuqing, Tan Yao and Huang Yaming to his wife as well. They all took out their gifts. When Xu Tingsheng was taking his gift, looking at the house that was chock full of plants, he felt rather at a loss as to what to do.

  “It’s okay. Your Sister-in-law can fear having too much of anything, including money, but just not plants,” Wu Kun rescued him from his dilemma, personally moving the plant to a better location.

  His wife brewed tea for the four of them before returning to the kitchen to continue her cooking.

  The little boy began playing earnestly with the remote-controlled car.

  Falling silent, Xu Tingsheng looked at Wu Kun, remembering those two things his wife had said that afternoon. Firstly: This also happened a few times before, but they didn’t come again. Also: Thank you for helping me to protect my son just now. Otherwise, things could really have gotten out of hand.

  He also recalled the scene of that young man and his motorbike crashed by the roadside as his head was dripping with blood.

  Wu Kun was very frank with him as he whispered, “Actually, I already knew earlier about what happened in the afternoon. Someone reported it to me. I just didn’t think that you were the one inside the store at the time. That guy must have suffered a concussion at the very least. Anyway, he definitely won’t dare to go to your Sister-in-law’s store again in the future.”


  This meant that a close confidante of Wu Kun’s had actually continually been keeping an eye on his wife’s flower store for him.

  “Don’t let your Sister-in-law know about this,” Wu Kun earnestly reminded him.

  Xu Tingsheng nodded, smiling, “Bro Kun, isn’t this too much? The ancients had signs warning others about tigers up on mountains. But the store that most cannot be touched in Yanzhou is actually made to seem completely innocuous and harmless……isn’t this just a great big pit trap?!”


  Wu Kun smiled, replying, “Blame your Sister-in-law.”
……

  This meal went on for over an hour. Because Wu Kun’s wife was present, the conversation focused mainly on kids, studying, and university. The ‘famous’ Xu Tingsheng was forced to narrate his past experiences in brief as he also interacted with the little boy for a long while.

  Wu Kun’s wife did not speak much, but she did constantly reiterate, “You boys, don’t be led astray by Wu Kun!”


  Wu Kun dared not rebut her at all.

  The only minus point about this meal was that the dishes were really too spicy. Wu Kun had previously said that they were on the spicy side, being from the river regions. He should really have said that they were deadly spicy. Xu Tingsheng and Huang Yaming who both thought that they liked food that were on the spicy side were both stimulated so much they couldn’t stand it.

  Tan Yao and Fang Yuqing had it even worse.

  Yet, Wu Kun’s wife still asked, “I asked earlier, and Wu Kun said that you can take a little bit of spicy food, so I added in some spices, just a bit. How is it? It isn’t so spicy, right?”


  Smoke emitted from their ears, blood flowing to their heads, the four withstood it and nodded, “No, it’s fine, it’s fine……hiss……it’s just right……hiss……hah……”


  Just before they left, Wu Kun’s wife found a chance to talk to Xu Tingsheng in private.

  “You have something to ask of me, Sister-in-law?” Xu Tingsheng asked, seeing that she appeared rather hesitant.

  “I can tell that Wu Kun values you very highly, Brother Xu, and trusts you a lot too,” She said, “Sister-in-law looked up quite a bit about you and knows what you’re doing. I would like to ask something of you.”


  “Just say it, Sister-in-law.”


  “Could you guide him onto a path like yours as much as possible? ……Sister-in-law actually only has one wish, which is that I will be able to walk normally together with him and our son on the streets one day without having to worry that someone might suddenly chop at us with a knife……”


  Now, she raised her arm. Xu Tingsheng saw two deep knife scars running down it.

  “I have several on my back too……I’m mainly just worried for our son. He was kidnapped once when he was three……that’s why I have a wish like this, even if we move a few times, move to another city a couple of times, even. It’s fine even if we have less money,” As Wu Kun’s wife spoke, tears had already welled up in her eyes.

  Xu Tingsheng now knew why such a powerful and ambitious person like Wu Kun was so afraid of his wife in private. Besides love, it was because of guilt too.

  “You can rest assured, Sister-in-law. I’ll do my best. Actually, Bro Kun himself should be wishing for the same too. He’s currently working hard,” Xu Tingsheng said sincerely.