Does Suisui want to try something different tonight?

If Xiao Ming when answering the phone could be described as “quick as a rabbit,” then after hanging up, she could perhaps only be described as “dumbstruck.”

“…Do you think apologizing with my death would still be meaningful now?”

Until the two got out of the taxi, standing in the desolate evening wind not far from the expensive apartments in the prime financial district, Xiao Ming looked at Sheng Sui with despair:

“Why didn’t you just strangle me on the spot when I was running my mouth!”

“It’s fine, the contract is already signed,” Sheng Sui held back her laughter to comfort her best friend, patting her shoulder: “Besides, Zhou Shiyu isn’t as scary as you said.”

“Not that scary?”

Xiao Ming recalled the recent collapse of rewriting over twenty planning proposals in one week, feeling like swearing profusely.

Considering her life was about to be forfeit, and that dying people speak kindly, she finally just laughed twice: “That’s only because he’s good to you, okay?”

However, Sheng Sui had a point – the contract was already signed, Zhou Shiyu couldn’t possibly break the agreement over such a small matter.

No longer wearing a mourning expression, before formally visiting, Xiao Ming didn’t forget to buy an expensive skincare set at the nearest department store.

“Compared to pleasing the male host, obviously pleasing the female host is more cost-effective,” while paying, Xiao Ming forced a smile while praising herself: “I’m such a little genius.”

Sheng Sui’s repeated reassurances had little effect. Watching her best friend’s expression of facing death throughout, she couldn’t help but laugh and cry, repeatedly guaranteeing that Zhou Shiyu had a good temper.

Half an hour later, Sheng Sui led Xiao Ming through the door. While changing shoes at the entrance, they could faintly hear the sound of knives cutting ingredients from the kitchen.

Her peripheral vision falling on the cat ornament where keys were placed, Sheng Sui suddenly remembered that Xiao Ming was allergic to cat fur. She hurriedly tried to stop her from entering so she could quickly carry the cat to the bedroom.

“Ping’An is already in the bedroom.”

Before seeing the person, they heard his voice first. Amid Xiao Ming’s awkward “Mr. Zhou,” Sheng Sui turned around to see Zhou Shiyu in black clothes and pants approaching, holding a ceramic bowl and wooden pestle with something green inside, processing some unknown ingredient.

“The windows have been open for a while, and the robot vacuum just cleaned up the cat hair on the floor.”

In stark contrast to Xiao Ming’s trembling nervousness was the man’s consistently impeccable thoughtfulness, politely saying: “Suisui mentioned that as long as you don’t hold the cat, you won’t have allergic reactions, so we didn’t specially clean the house.”

“Ah, no need, no need, my allergy isn’t that severe.”

Xiao Ming waved her hands repeatedly, feeling slightly touched, thinking maybe she had been petty before and he really was a good person: “Sorry to trouble Mr. Zhou.”

“No trouble,” Zhou Shiyu smiled like a gentleman, bringing up old matters: “After all, Miss Xiao and I are ‘good brothers.'”

Xiao Ming: “……”

Dog of a man, this guy is definitely a wolf in sheep’s clothing!

Thus the grudge was formed. Xiao Ming was too lazy to continue being fake-polite, continuously cursing in her heart;

But her mouth honestly and shamefully swallowed saliva when she saw the dinner menu Zhou Shiyu had prepared.

Low-fat, low-sugar bagels baked to crispy perfection, topped with fresh avocado layered with smoked deep-sea salmon, drizzled with hollandaise sauce and poached eggs, garnished with chives and pepper, finally topped with premium caviar as the finishing touch;*

Golden crispy Japanese tempura neatly arranged on lettuce leaves, the curled edges seeming to let you hear the sizzling sound of flour-coated tender shrimp jumping into hot oil, making one’s skin and flesh relax;*

Plus low-calorie yet chewy Japanese soy milk buckwheat cold noodles, French Provençal stuffed tomatoes, mushroom lettuce and lotus fresh vegetable meatball soup, paired with nourishing sweet red date apple white fungus soup – every dish perfect in color, aroma, and taste. Any single dish could serve as a signature at a high-end restaurant.

Xiao Ming was so shocked by the feast that she forgot to curse, turning to see the tall, thin man standing by the rice cooker, expertly turning on the food scale, zeroing it before placing an empty bowl and using the wooden spoon to scoop rice.

Having shared housing for years, she knew Sheng Sui needed to control carbohydrate intake, frantically poking her best friend’s arm:

“Holy shit, is Zhou Shiyu calculating carbs for you?”

Sheng Sui nodded as if this was perfectly normal, seeing Xiao Ming’s eyes about to pop out: “What’s wrong?”

“…Nothing,” Xiao Ming was speechless from the shock of the scene before her, finally sighing deeply:

“In a certain sense, the people at Cheng He really misunderstood your husband. Wearing a ring is showing off? They haven’t seen real showing off yet.”

Their conversation wasn’t quiet, reaching Zhou Shiyu’s ears word for word.

The man turned around, placing the rice, dishes, bowls, chopsticks, and peeled, cut fruit cups on the dining table. Seeing Xiao Ming insisting on pulling Sheng Sui to sit beside her, he smiled:

“I heard there are some complaints in the company about the marriage.”

After speaking, the man looked at Sheng Sui across the table with a half-smile, slightly raising his eyebrows.

“Exactly,” Xiao Ming looked at her specialty stuffed tomatoes on the table, suddenly understanding that the old fox had once “consulted” her about cooking, boldly curling her lip in disdain:

“You show off to everyone, of course people get annoyed,” she picked up a piece of tempura, tossed it in her mouth and crunched loudly, saying boldly: “You really should change that.”

“Why should I change?”

“The method to stop complaints is simple,” Zhou Shiyu smiled imperceptibly, his eyes behind the glasses pitch black: “Just ‘invite’ those people to leave.”

“…Mr. Zhou, I was wrong.” Xiao Ming apologized at light speed, though her continuous stuffing of food showed little sincerity.

Sheng Sui watched Xiao Ming being both brave and cowardly while exceptionally able to eat, her eyes sparkling with deeper amusement.

Having been friends for years, she knew Xiao Ming’s personality of clear love and hate.

In university, when a rich second-generation student persistently bothered Sheng Sui, Xiao Ming directly poured a basin of hot water from top to bottom when he came to stake out the dormitory building again; that day, the men’s dormitory building echoed with male wails for a long time.

Now, even though she was bantering with Zhou Shiyu on the surface, to some extent she had already accepted the man’s identity as her husband.

After eating and drinking her fill, Xiao Ming didn’t have the nerve to pat her butt and leave. Despite Sheng Sui’s attempts to stop her, she insisted on helping to clean up, only pulling Sheng Sui out for a walk after finishing.

Sheng Sui knew she had things inconvenient to say at home, so after greeting Zhou Shiyu, she prepared to leave.

“Come back early.”

With the bedroom door closed, Zhou Shiyu on the recliner pulled Sheng Sui onto his lap, methodically tying the butterfly bow at her waist, his thin lips against her ear: “I’ve run hot water for you at home.”

After speaking, the man’s thin lips parted slightly, biting her earlobe with just the right pressure: “—After all, after sending away the guest, it’s time to properly ‘entertain’ Mrs. Zhou.”

“……”

The suggestive ambiguous tone was too strong. Sheng Sui covered her ears, turned to glare at the ill-intentioned man, and left with red ear tips.

The financial center at eight PM was bustling with activity, streets filled with traffic and passing white-collar workers hurrying along.

“Even now, I still feel like I’m dreaming.”

Sheng Sui was linked arm-in-arm by Xiao Ming, hearing her best friend sigh again: “You actually married Zhou Shiyu – that’s Zhou Shiyu!”

“Mm,” Sheng Sui had gone through quite a period of the same thought process, understanding Xiao Ming’s current feelings. She only looked down at the ring on her right ring finger, curving her lips softly:

“I’m very lucky.”

The two walked together toward the street edge convenient for hailing cars, planning to call a ride-share for Xiao Ming to get home.

Sheng Sui took out her phone from her pocket, about to open the ride-hailing app when she suddenly noticed the email icon showing a red number 1.

She paused, her expression slightly stunned.

After starting work, she rarely received emails even for work, let alone for daily communication—

Could it be that Z finally replied to her?

Holding her breath, she clicked the icon. When Sheng Sui saw the new unread email was signed “Z,” her heart skipped two beats. She opened the email.

Z’s content was longer than expected, over a hundred words. Sheng Sui couldn’t finish reading it all at once.

While hurriedly skimming through it, she heard the neglected Xiao Ming say irritably: “Even if it’s a love letter from your husband, you’re not in such a rush to read it now, are you?”

“Hm?” Sheng Sui looked up from the screen, confused: “Why would you think it’s from him?”

“I didn’t read the content, just accidentally glimpsed the sender,” Xiao Ming had already called her own car, shrugging: “I remember your WeChat contact for your husband is also a capital ‘Z.'”

Z was Zhou Shiyu’s original WeChat name. After Sheng Sui pinned him to the top, she felt no need to change the name.

“This ‘Z’ is someone I knew in university.”

After Sheng Sui briefly explained the university mutual aid group situation, she suddenly remembered that in the email content she’d just scanned, the words “wife” had appeared several times.

So she sighed: “I always thought Z was a girl, but now it seems very likely to be a man.”

“Do you want to know if he’s male or female?”

Xiao Ming hadn’t expected one email to involve years of friendship, pondering: “I still have contact with the student council president from back then. I could help you ask about the list – though it involves privacy and it’s been so long, I can’t guarantee anything.”

To say she wasn’t curious would be a lie, especially learning that the former “caring sister” might very well be a man.

Just as Sheng Sui was hesitating, she saw a car with hazard lights slowing down in the distance, reminding Xiao Ming to check the license plate.

“Let’s talk about my situation later. Maybe asking won’t lead to any results,” she said, seeing her friend into the car while reminding: “Remember to call me when you get home.”

“I know, you should go back quickly too, it’s cold outside.”

After seeing Xiao Ming off, Sheng Sui quickened her pace home, wanting to read Z’s complete email content sooner.

Passing a pharmacy, she slowed down and turned back, pushing the door open.

“Hello, do you sell vitamins and other supplements here?”

There were still five or six people selecting medicines in the pharmacy. Sheng Sui patiently waited for a middle-aged pharmacist to come over:

“Do you have vitamin B, vitamin C, calcium-magnesium tablets, fish oil, and folic acid?”

She then mentioned three other supplements that the hospital doctor had recommended for diabetic patients during her last physical exam.

Supplements weren’t like prescription drugs – their value lay in consistency. Sheng Sui, who had always been inconsistent with taking medicine, deeply understood when she heard Zhou Shiyu had forgotten his medicine yesterday.

Perhaps mutual supervision could achieve a one-plus-one-greater-than-two effect.

“We have all of these, but you’ll need to choose the brand and type.”

The female pharmacist gently suggested three or four brands to Sheng Sui, then remembered something and looked up to ask carefully:

“Oh right, are you a pregnant mother or currently trying to conceive?”

Sheng Sui didn’t react at first: “…Ah?”

“Appropriate folic acid can prevent anemia and hypertension in pregnant women, reduce the probability of fetal deformities, and promote fetal development.* Many women take it during pre-conception, early, middle, and late pregnancy,* but you must follow medical advice.”

Seeing Sheng Sui still looking confused, the female pharmacist smiled knowingly: “These medicines aren’t all for yourself, are they?”

“…Not all,” the explanation left Sheng Sui even more confused, momentarily finding it hard to speak, laughing awkwardly:

“To tell you the truth, the folic acid is for my husband.”

“Men can also take folic acid during pre-conception,” the female doctor, whose daughter was about Sheng Sui’s age, looked at her with more affection:

“It seems your husband really wants to be a father.”

“……”

Does Zhou Shiyu want to have a child with her?

Sheng Sui had never considered the issue of childbearing before.

Undoubtedly, as a teacher, she liked children. The changes in her original family had never made her consider giving up the right to become a mother;

More accurately, seeing students running toward their mothers’ embraces at the school gate every day after school, she sometimes envied this warm scene.

Having lacked love since childhood, Sheng Sui was someone who hoped to be needed.

However, preparing for pregnancy was always a matter for two people. Why had Zhou Shiyu never discussed this with her?

Was it because they had just married and he didn’t want to pressure her so soon?

No wonder the man used to take supplements behind her back – there wasn’t even a medicine bottle to be found at home.

In the end, Sheng Sui returned home empty-handed.

First, she hadn’t expected there to be so many manufacturers just for vitamins, let alone fish oil and calcium-magnesium tablets, worried about too much quality difference from what Zhou Shiyu had bought before;

Second, since she already knew Zhou Shiyu wanted to secretly take folic acid to prepare for pregnancy, Sheng Sui felt directly exposing it wouldn’t be quite right.

“…What are you thinking about?”

In the steamy bathroom, the two stood honestly together under the overhead shower, watching the fine, warm water flow from above, finally hitting the ground and splashing endless droplets.

Because of the pharmacy incident, Sheng Sui was inevitably somewhat distracted, then felt a slight stinging pain in her earlobe.

The man held her from behind, his deep voice echoing in the enclosed space: “More than a month into our marriage, is Mrs. Zhou already tired of her humble husband?”

Hearing him misuse idioms again, Sheng Sui turned to look at him: “Don’t talk nonsense.”

Zhou Shiyu laughed lowly, using that magnetic voice to tell Sheng Sui to stand steady and hold onto the marble wall, slowly pushing past her soft, delicate lips in the pattering shower sound, not rushing for results.

Usually, Sheng Sui would beg within a minute, but tonight she remained unmoved for quite a while.

Her mind was occupied with other matters, always distracted. Finally, when fine sweat formed on her forehead, she pressed her lips together, unable to hold back anymore, turning to look at the man behind her.

Not wanting to be too direct, Sheng Sui tried a more tactful approach: “…Zhou Shiyu, do you want to be a father?”

“……”

In an instant, Sheng Sui saw too many incomprehensible emotions in Zhou Shiyu’s bottomless black eyes – surprise, confusion, something thought-provoking, and a trace of dimness that was almost missed.

All the complex emotions finally transformed into a bewitching low laugh after the man curved his lips.

“What,” Zhou Shiyu lifted Sheng Sui’s chin with his right hand, his thumb and index finger lightly pressing against her jawbone, his smile carrying an irrefutable refined scoundrel meaning, just like his current tone:

“Does Suisui want to try something different tonight?”

Author’s Note:

Folic acid isn’t for pregnancy, it’s for treating illness

Today I’m still asking for comments and nutrient solution, thank you very much mwah mwah mwah

1: Dish names learned from the internet

2: Related knowledge uses internet information, will delete if infringing

Thank you very much for everyone’s support, I will continue working hard!