Chapter 40
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This time Ji Yue prepared many items for Ji Yan: the latest design of Chanel’s dress and high heels, a limited edition Louis Vitton bag, a set of makeup, and two very sexy lace lingerie.
When Ji Yan saw the two revealing pieces of lingerie, he immediately felt something wrong. What was that couple doing, why did they get him this? How can he give it? If he gave it to Tang Tang, she would think he was a pervert!
Ji Yan was extremely glad that he had checked the items first instead of just giving them to Tang Tang directly.
But the main question at the moment was how to deal with the lingerie? Taking it home was out of the question. Returning it to Gu Zhang An was a bit unreasonable. But if he threw it away, the people who clear the trash could misunderstand. Ji Yan sat in his office and stared at the lingerie and pondered for a long time. When his eyes started to feel sore, he finally decided to lock it up in the bottom drawer and never open it again.
After solving this troubling matter, Ji Yan thought that the rest of the items were alright. Even if he didn’t understand women, he did know that all women liked clothes, bags, and makeup. Also, didn’t Tang Tang want to become pretty? She will definitely like the gifts.
Ji Yan came home carrying a box again. This time Ji Xiao Zhuo didn’t need to investigate to know that the things were for mummy and not for him. After thinking about it, he patted his daddy’s shoulder with an encouraging expression and instructed, “Good Luck, daddy, don’t be too slow. Men should be clear and straightforward!”
Suddenly, Ji Yan felt puzzled, his son was very talkative, who was he similar to?
This time Ji Yan did not procrastinate and simply placed the things on the bed so Tang Tang would see them as soon as she entered the room.
Just as expected, Tang Tang discovered that there was a large box on the bed. She looked at it strangely and confirmed that it wasn’t something from their home. Seeing that it wasn’t placed somewhere where she shouldn’t touch, Tang Tang reached out and opened the box.
After opening the box, she saw that there was a pure white, sleeveless dress, a pair of red high heels, a red bag, and a set of makeup with words at the top that she couldn’t make sense of.
Why were there so many things for women at home?
Tang Tang couldn’t help but look suspiciously towards the bathroom where Ji Yan was currently bathing. She didn’t bring these things, and they definitely weren’t for Ji Xiao Zhuo. Where did Ji Yan get all these women things from? Was it like last time where someone gifted it to him?
After thinking for a moment, Tang Tang waved her hand at Ji Xiao Zhuo, who was driving in the living room, “Bao Bao, come here for a moment.”
Hearing his mummy calling for him, Ji Xiao Zhuo instantly drove his little car skillfully to the bedroom, “Mummy, what did you call me for?”
Tang Tang pointed at the box on the bed, “Bao Bao, do you know what those are? Where did they come from?”
Ji Xiao Zhuo’s eyes spun. He felt that he shouldn’t ruin daddy’s surprise for mummy, so he shook his head, “I don’t know, mummy. Maybe you should ask daddy.”
Tang Tang could only nod and as she prepared to close the box, a noise was heard from the bathroom door before it opened. Ji Yan came out of the bathroom while drying his hair with a towel. Seeing that Tang Tang had opened the box, a slight nervousness flashed across his eyes.
“Husband, I wanted to ask you, are these things yours?”
Facing Tang Tang’s suspicious gaze, Ji Yan moved his fist to his mouth as he cleared his throat and spoke with a voice that didn’t allow others couldn’t guess what he was feeling, “Ji Yue said women like these things so I told her to get some for you and see if you like them.”
Were they for her again?
Tang Tang blinked. She suddenly felt that Ji Yan had been a bit strange for the past few days. He kept buying things for her when it wasn’t her birthday or a special day. Also, she couldn’t use these things. Using the words that she had learned from this world, the dress was too sexy. It exposed the arms and legs. How would she dare to wear it? Furthermore, the heels of the shoes were as thin as a needle. It looked like the heels were 8cm high. If she wore them, it would be like taking her life. She would probably need to enter the hospital after taking two steps, ah. Finally, the makeup set. Using makeup would make her skin worse, so she definitely couldn’t use it.
In conclusion, she could only put all these things apart to collect dust. It was such a waste of money to leave such expensive things without use.
Tang Tang felt pain when she thought about it and couldn’t help but ask, “Husband, why did you buy these things for me, ah? It’s such a waste of money.”
Light flashed across Ji Yan’s eyes. He didn’t know how to respond. He came up with something after thinking for some time, “En … You’ve worked hard every day to look after the house and Xiao Zhuo. It’s not a waste to buy a few things.”
So it turned out that he thought that she had worked hard and wanted to reward her, ah … no wonder he kept giving her things. But it was not hard to look after a child, and it was something that she should do. There was no need for a reward.
She heard from Wen Wen that women who don’t go out to work won’t have a standing at home, and the husband will look down on them. But Tang Tang wasn’t looked down on, she even got a reward. He was too good!
He treated her so well even though he didn’t have any feelings for her. She didn’t understand why the original owner was so bad before. If she was swapped with the person who Ji Yan really liked, how happy would they be, ah? The girl who would become the person who Ji Yan liked was so blessed, ah. It would be great if that person was her …. unfortunately …
Thinking up to this point, she suddenly remembered Gu Yan Ran’s words. Tang Tang’s heart felt sour, and she forcefully pushed down her feelings. She lifted her head and smiled, “Thank you, husband, but you don’t need to get anything for me in the future. Housework and looking after Xiao Zhuo is something that I should do. There is no need for these things.” Since the things were bought, they couldn’t be returned, so she should still accept them. But she couldn’t accept it next time as she was already freeloading, so it was natural that she should do the chores. There was no need for rewards.
Ji Yan watched her accept the gifts, but he couldn’t see much happiness from her. He secretly frowned. He couldn’t tell whether she actually liked the gifts or not, so he directly asked, “So, do you like them?”
Honestly, Tang Tang didn’t really like the gifts, but she thought that she would hurt him if she said that she didn’t like them since he kindly bought it for her with good intentions. So she decided to tell a white lie and smiled as she nodded, “En, I really like them.”
After hearing her response, Ji Yan sighed in relief. There was a bit of happiness in his eyes as he said, “It’s fine if you like it.”
Tang Tang put away the things in the cupboard solemnly before turning to talk about something important to Ji Yan, “Husband, the school will be starting soon. Have the matters been settled regarding Bao Bao joining it?”
Ji Yan had sorted this matter early on, “There is a nursery at this military housing compound. All the children here attend school there. I have already greeted them. I’ll take Ji Xiao Zhuo to register there tomorrow. It’s fine to take him to school the day after tomorrow.”
“Oh, ok. That’s good. Do I need to prepare anything else for the registration? I’ll take Bao Bao instead. You’re busy with work, and I don’t have anything to do at home.”
Ji Yan shook his head, “It’s alright. I’ll find some time to take both of you there tomorrow. You’re not familiar with the area. I’ll guide you first so you can familiarise yourself, then it will be up to you to take Xiao Zhuo to and from school.”
Tang Tang agreed after some thought. She didn’t know who the teacher was. It would be better for Ji Yan to go with her, so she could introduce herself. Tang Tang took Xiao Zhuo’s school bag and stored his pencil case and books before passing it to Ji Xiao Zhuo, “Bao Bao, you are going to take your school bag and go to your new school tomorrow.”
When Ji Xiao Zhuo was about to take his bag, Ji Yan was quicker and grabbed the school bag first. Ji Yan pulled the zip to open the bag and took out an exercise book. He flipped it open and saw it was empty. Not a single question was answered.
The exercise book was a mathematics book that included addition and subtraction questions up to a hundred. Ji Yan bought the exercise book for Xiao Zhuo at the beginning of the summer holidays as his homework. He was afraid that Ji Xiao Zhuo would just play wildly at home so he wanted Xiao Zhuo to train his mind and prevent him from being clueless when he went back to school. Ji Yan didn’t expect the kid didn’t even solve a single question.
Ji Yan made Xiao Zhuo come over and took him out of the car. When Xiao Zhuo was standing properly, Ji Yan questioned, “Ji Xiao Zhuo, explain to me, why did you not do a single question?”
Ji Xiao Zhuo linked his fingers and stared at the ground in silence.
“Ji Xiao Zhuo, I haven’t checked your work in two months because I thought that you were a child capable of self-discipline, and you wouldn’t forget to do your homework. But you need to give me an explanation now.”
Tang Tang didn’t expect that passing the school bag would cause such a big matter. Seeing that the situation wasn’t good, she hurriedly went over to flip through the exercise book in Ji Yan’s hands. It was really empty. She suddenly felt angry and guilty.
She was angry because Ji Xiao Zhuo didn’t even write a single thing in the exercise book. Going to school was to gain knowledge, and focusing on their studies was something a child should do. No matter how much Tang Tang spoiled Ji Xiao Zhuo, she wouldn’t let him skip his homework. She didn’t want him to slack off his studies when he was still so young.
But Tang Tang also felt very guilty because she didn’t know that Xiao Zhuo had homework. She thought there wasn’t any because the teacher didn’t set it and she never asked him about homework. If she knew earlier that Xiao Zhuo had work to do, she would definitely supervise him daily until it was finished.
Tang Tang looked apologetically at Ji Yan, “I’m sorry, husband, I didn’t know that Xiao Zhuo had work to do. If I did, I definitely would have supervised him. I will properly check he does his studies next time.”
Ji Yan wrinkled his brows and waved at her, “Tang Tang, this isn’t your fault. It’s Ji Xiao Zhuo’s problem. If a person doesn’t even know what they should be doing and require someone to check on them, that person will achieve nothing in the future.”
Immediately, Tang Tang had nothing to say as she thought that Ji Yan’s words were correct. It seemed like she needed to teach Bao Bao more about this principle. She was careless.
Seeing that his mummy was blaming herself, Ji Xiao Zhuo finally looked up and said, “Daddy, I felt those questions were too easy. It was a waste of time to answer them, that’s why I didn’t complete the exercise book.”
Tang Tang’s eyes widened in surprise. She didn’t think that Xiao Zhuo’s reason would be this.
Ji Yan didn’t express any surprise from Ji Xiao Zhuo’s words. He knew Xiao Zhuo could answer them. Xiao Zhuo was smart, and the addition and subtraction questions in the book didn’t pose a problem for him, butletting Xiao Zhuo practice his sums wasn’t his purpose.
“Ji Xiao Zhuo, so you don’t need to do the exercises because you already know how to do it? Is this the attitude I taught you when doing things?” Ji Yan knew that sometimes smart people would lose because of their arrogance, and they would also look down on simple things. But sometimes, it was the simple things that decided if you succeeded or failed. Ji Yan didn’t want Xiao Zhuo to become supercilious because he was smart and wouldn’t comply with the basic regulations.
Ji Xiao Zhuo looked down and went quiet for a long time before looking up again and apologised, “Sorry, daddy, I was wrong. It won’t happen again.”
Ji Yan didn’t let go of the issue because Xiao Zhuo apologised, “Then now you need to run five laps as punishment. Any complaints?”
Ji Xiao Zhuo shook his head and loudly said, “No complaints!”
“Alright, finish your work first. You’ll do the laps tomorrow.”
Without a single word, Ji Xiao Zhuo took out a pencil and ran to the desk with the exercise book and started to solve the questions.
Tang Tang had no opinions regarding the punishment that Ji Yan had set, but when she looked at the time, it was almost 9pm. How could Xiao Zhuo finish all the questions at this time? Thinking about it, she couldn’t help but plead for leniency for Xiao Zhuo, “Husband, it’s almost time for bed. Such a thick book can’t be finished in one go, and Bao Bao is too young to stay up late. Can he do it tomorrow?”
Ji Yan waved his hand to ease her mind, “Don’t worry. He can complete very quickly and doesn’t need to stay up late. Relax and take your bath.”
“But …” Tang Tang wasn’t at ease, but she couldn’t meddle with how Ji Yan educated his child either, so she could only take her things and enter the bathroom. She washed herself a lot quicker than usual, and when she came out, she saw that Xiao Zhuo’s position remained the same as he did the questions. Tang Tang could only go to the bathroom again and prepare the water for Ji Yan’s foot bath. So she gave Ji Yan his daily foot massage while keeping Xiao Zhuo’s company. Tang Tang thought in her mind that she must plead for Xiao Zhuo when the foot bath ended so he could sleep earlier.
In the end, it was Tang Tang who was shocked. Before she finished the foot massage, Ji Xiao Zhuo carried the exercise book as he ran to pass it to Ji Yan, “Daddy, I’ve finished it.”
Ji Yan took the exercise book, “Good, I’ll check it. Go and take a bath, then we’ll talk.”
Ji Xiao Zhuo knew that he was in the wrong, so he was very obedient. He collected his pajamas and went to wash alone. He didn’t dare to disobey his daddy and didn’t dare to act spoiled and ask Tang Tang to help him wash.
Tang Tang was so astonished by Ji Xiao Zhuo’s speed that she stopped massaging Ji Yan. She couldn’t help but look at the time. It only took two hours!
Was two hours enough to complete the whole exercise book? Ji Xiao Zhuo wasn’t trying to deceive his father, right?
Tang Tang was afraid that Ji Yan would discover Xiao Zhuo’s hoax and give him a heavier punishment. She was very worried, so she glanced at the exercise book in Ji Yan’s hands.
Ji Yan noticed Tang Tang’s glance and found it funny in his mind. He patted the space beside him and said, “You should also help checking it.”
Originally, Tang Tang wanted to refuse, but she was too worried about Ji Xiao Zhuo. In the end, she sat next to him and moved her head closer to look at Ji Xiao Zhuo’s work. Since she had been in this world for quite some time, Tang Tang had already learned how to read and write numerical numbers, so she was able to check Xiao Zhuo’s answers.
Tang Tang did a quick flip through the booklet and saw that every question was answered. To be able to complete every question in two hours was pretty good. She just didn’t know how many were correct and she didn’t know if Ji Yan would get angry if there were many incorrect answers.
When Tang Tang was checking the answers, she was shocked because the questions didn’t seem to be suitable for a three years old kid who hadn’t even officially started school. Originally, Tang Tang thought that Ji Xiao Zhuo was doing addition and subtraction questions up to 10. There were questions that Tang Tang, who had learned arithmetic before, had to put some thought in before answering.
Were these really questions that a three years old child could solve?
“Husband, is it really alright for Bao Bao to do these questions? Isn’t it too hard for him?”
Naturally, Ji Yan noticed Tang Tang’s skepticism, so he explained, “Xiao Zhuo’s memory is really good. Also, his thinking and learning skills are very strong, especially in calculating. When other children were learning how to count, Xiao Zhuo had already mastered calculations up to 10. Then I taught him some mental arithmetic skills, and now he doesn’t need to do any work for calculations up to 100. That’s why that kid thought it was too easy and wasn’t willing to do the workbook.”
Tang Tang was speechless. Cry, cry, she was probably the dumbest person in the family, wasn’t she?
Seeing Tang Tang widening her eyes like she was disdaining herself, Ji Yan thought that it was quite cute, and for some reason, he said, “Truthfully, I knew that this was not difficult for Xiao Zhuo, but I don’t want him to look down on simple things and then make a habit of not doing them. He should be serious even when doing the simplest of things, and that’s why I gave him a punishment.”
Immediately, Tang Tang nodded in agreement. Compared to Ji Yan, she didn’t really know how to teach a child. Luckily there was Ji Yan, Bao Bao can definitely become outstanding under his daddy’s teaching.
Finally, Ji Yan could see the usual admiration and worship in Tang Tang’s eyes. His mood promptly improved and carried on, “When the semester starts, I will teach Ji Xiao Zhuo how to multiply and divide up to 100 mentally. This will train his thinking and mathematics skills, and when he officially starts his education at school, I will let him study at a deeper level.”
Wasn’t multiplying and dividing up to 100 mentally a deep level of learning? Then wasn’t she no different to a fool? Tang Tang suddenly remembered that when she chatted with the regimental commander’s wife. She told Tang Tang that Ji Yan had a postgraduate degree from S University, and it was a waste for him to be a soldier with his brains.
Tang Tang certainly agreed with that comment now, and she was also deeply aware that she was dragging him down.
When Tang Tang, the ‘hindrance’, checked ten questions, Ji Yan had already finished checking the workbook. “All correct. He was being serious.”
Tang Tang silently put the workbook down and quietly went to do her own thing.
Author’s note: One day, Ji Yan would enter his office and open the bottom drawer, and he would personally take the two sets of lingerie that he once swore to never take out again…