Now I understood. This wasn't my father asking for a favor—it was a direct order.
My father is incredibly stubborn. Once he makes up his mind, not even eight oxen can pull him back, and he's obsessed with saving face.
The reason our relationship is strained is because of my marriage. When I married my wife, people in the village gossiped, saying I was a freeloader, and my father strongly disapproved.
In the end, he couldn't change my mind, so he swore in front of the whole village that he'd never set foot in my house again. For the past six years, he's kept his word, no matter how much I tried to persuade him otherwise.
With a father like that, how could I dare refuse his orders?
If I upset him and he decides to cut ties with me for good, what would I do? It's truly a headache.
My wife and I have always been financially independent, and we don't interfere with each other's work. Of course, this was my idea, and my wife, out of consideration for my fragile pride, went along with it.
But now, it's become a problem. I really don't feel comfortable asking my wife to do something so difficult.
I spent the whole day in the office pondering and finally decided to do something nice for my wife. After letting Wang Di know, I left work early.
I drove straight to my wife's company building to wait for her, planning to treat her to a nice dinner tonight.
Leaning against the car, I lit a cigarette and thought about how to bring it up to her later.
Finally, it was time to get off work. As soon as I spotted my wife, I was about to go up to her when I noticed she wasn't alone—two people were with her.
One was Li Ke, and the other was a man whose photo I had just seen last night—Lin Feng, the guy who had Li Ke so smitten she couldn't eat or sleep.
The three of them walked out of the office building chatting and laughing. Li Ke's eyes were practically sparkling as she looked at Lin Feng, as if she were about to throw herself at him any second.
Didn't she say she hadn't even had a chance to talk to him?
How did they get together so quickly?
I was a bit puzzled.
My car was parked right at the entrance of the company, so my wife noticed me quickly. At first, she looked surprised and confused, then hurried over.
"Honey, what are you doing here?" my wife asked, clearly taken aback.
"I wanted to treat you to a nice dinner, so I came to pick you up," I said with a smile.
"Let's do it another day, honey. Not today," my wife quickly replied.
"But you're off work now. Why not?" I asked.
She glanced back at Li Ke and Lin Feng, then said to me, "Remember I told you last night that Li Ke is crazy about a handsome guy? That's him. We finally managed to invite him to dinner today."
"What does that have to do with you?" I asked.
"Ke Ke's position isn't high enough, so she couldn't get the chance. I was the one who managed to set it up. I have to go," my wife explained.
Just then, Li Ke and Lin Feng walked over. Li Ke was so focused on Lin Feng that she completely ignored me. It was Lin Feng who spoke first, asking my wife, "And who is this gentleman?"
"Mr. Lin, this is my husband, Liao Fan," my wife replied with a smile.
Lin Feng looked at me, and a flicker of disappointment flashed in his eyes—so subtle that if I hadn't been staring at him, trying to see what kind of man had Li Ke so captivated, I would have missed it entirely.
Lin Feng smiled and extended his hand to me, saying, "I've heard so much about you. Mr. Liao, you truly have an impressive presence."
I smiled slightly and shook his hand, replying, "The honor is all mine. Mr. Lin, your reputation is truly thunderous, enlightening, deafening, and resounding through the heavens."
Maybe it was because of that subtle look in his eyes, or maybe I just couldn't stand his overly refined manner, but I was suddenly filled with irritation. Mimicking his style, I threw out every idiom I could think of. Who says I can't be pretentious too?
"I didn't expect Mr. Liao to be so humorous," Lin Feng said, smoothly withdrawing his hand without showing any sign of offense.
My wife quickly tugged at the back of my shirt discreetly, though she kept a calm smile on her face. "You should head back first, honey. I'll come home right after dinner," she said, then hurriedly urged Lin Feng to leave.
"Will Mr. Liao be joining us?" Lin Feng asked politely, smiling with a gentlemanly demeanor.
"No, you all go ahead," I replied.
I felt like I had nothing in common with someone who spoke so pretentiously, as if he were some foreign aristocrat. Going along would just be awkward, and I didn't want to waste my energy getting annoyed by his act.
Lin Feng smiled and nodded at me, then waved his hand. A stretch Lincoln immediately pulled up. Lin Feng opened the car door and politely invited the two ladies to get in first.
Li Ke quickly slipped inside. My wife glanced at me, subtly winked at me, and then got into the car as well. Lin Feng nodded politely to me once more before finally getting in himself.
Watching the stretch limousine speed away, I was seething with anger. I gave the wheel of my second-hand Haval a hard kick and cursed inwardly: So what if you have money? You think you can just show off like that? Damn it.
I rarely envy the wealthy, but today, for some reason, I just couldn't shake off this feeling of frustration and suffocation. Lin Feng had been nothing but gentlemanly and courteous from start to finish, without a hint of looking down on me, yet I couldn't stand him.
When he spoke in that refined, pretentious manner, I really wanted to take off my size 42 leather shoes and stamp them right on his mouth, framed by that show-off beard of his.
I knew my anger was somewhat irrational, but I just couldn't control it. Maybe hating someone really doesn't need a reason.
I had originally planned to treat my wife to a fancy dinner, but now that was out of the question. Sullenly, I drove back home, settling for a quick meal at the noodle shop near our neighborhood entrance before heading inside.
I lay on the couch, bored out of my mind, watching TV as time ticked by. I really wanted to call my wife and hurry her home, but in the end, I held back.
It was already 9:30 when my wife finally returned. Her face was flushed, and she reeked of alcohol, staggering unsteadily as she walked.
I quickly helped her to the bathroom to freshen up, then guided her back to the bedroom, where she collapsed onto the bed.
"Su Nan, aren't you going a bit too far? You've never drunk this much before," I said, a mix of anger and heartache in my voice. As I helped her change into her pajamas, I couldn't help but scold her.
My wife rolled over, adjusting her position to make it easier for me to change her clothes, then mumbled incoherently, "Husband, let me tell you… Ke Ke really didn't misjudge him. Not at all. Lin Feng, Young Master Lin, he's so down-to-earth, so polite, so gentlemanly. Hehe, Ke Ke finally found the right person."
"Gentlemanly my foot! What kind of gentleman gets you drunk like this?" I snapped.
"No, no," my wife raised a hand, waving it back and forth a few times before letting out two drunken hiccups. She continued, slurring her words, "It wasn't Lin Feng. We only drank a little during dinner, really just a little."
As she spoke, she held up two fingers, gesturing in the air. "Just this much. Then… then after dinner, Lin Feng left. Ke Ke… it was Ke Ke. She was over the moon today, you know, husband? Hahaha, you should've seen her. It was hilarious. Then… then she insisted on dragging me out to drink with her, and that's how we ended up like this."
My wife giggled foolishly, rambling incoherently for a while, but I finally understood. So Lin Feng had left long ago, and Li Ke was the one who had gotten my wife drunk like this.
"Then how did you get back? Where's Li Ke?" I asked.
"Ke Ke… Ke Ke brought me back. She was afraid… afraid you'd scold her, so she didn't dare come up," my wife replied.
It dawned on me. Li Ke's alcohol tolerance was even better than mine, so she was probably fine. But she had gone and gotten my wife wasted. I'd have to give her a piece of my mind later—how dare she drag my wife into her own romantic escapades.
"Husband, I'm going to throw up," my wife suddenly exclaimed.
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