Chapter 42 — Then Let's Give It a Try

"Why aren't you saying anything? You don't want to do business with my family?" Su Yanyi guessed as she stared at the silent Qin Jiran.

Because he didn't want her to misunderstand him and he didn't want to be perfunctory, he finally decided to be blunt and said, "Of course not. I'm just a little confused. Why would you agree?"

"Why wouldn't I agree?" Now it was her turn to be confused. Why wouldn't she agree to something that was a matter of course?

The two seemed to share absolutely no tacit understanding, but fortunately, they had enough patience for each other. They weren't afraid to keep on asking questions if they were confused.

The only problem was that they could never manage to grasp the key point, so it was a bit headache-inducing.

Just then, Qin Jiran became aware that he seemed to have forgotten about something. He gave it some serious thought as he recalled Su Yanyi's attitude towards him recently, and suddenly, he realized what it was that he'd forgotten.

"Yanyi, are you not going to divorce me anymore?" he asked somewhat expectantly.

His thought process went: Ever since Su Yanyi brought up divorce and then for some reason changed her mind, she had been treating him differently.

She gave him her full support in not only his career but also their home life.

Their relationship seemed to be much closer than before; they ate together, commuted to and from work together, conversed with each other, and cared about each other. They had even shared a bed. He was happy to accept all of these changes, but he was also cautious.

Remembering their recent interactions, he couldn't help but wonder if Yanyi was serious, even just a bit, about him —or rather, their marriage— and perhaps, she also wanted to spend the rest of her life together with him?

Immediately, his heart started to race. As much as he wanted to calm down, he couldn't; just thinking about how Su Yanyi might be taking their marriage seriously made it impossible for him to behave normally.

"Of course. Haven't I already talked about this?" she responded in a matter-of-fact tone. She didn't know why he was suddenly asking this, but it made her knit her brows and look at him with some dissatisfaction.

Don't tell her that this man was still hung up on the matter of divorce?

The words she'd spoken that day were still fresh in his mind. Qin Jiran responded in a low voice, "You said we'll talk about it next time and didn't say that we won't divorce."

It was the reason for his constant unease, as he feared that she would suddenly bring up divorce again and leave him with no opportunities to retrieve the situation.

Su Yanyi glared at him, silently reprimanding him for putting words in her mouth. She couldn't deny it though, so instead, she said, "We're not divorcing, and we won't talk about divorcing again."

Anyway, living with him was pretty fulfilling, and she doubted she would ever trust another man the way she trusted Qin Jiran. Since that was the case, it was only right for her to spend the rest of her days with him. That was the best choice for both of them.

Once her words registered, his eyes lit up. He stared at her and asked in a very serious tone, "Really?"

"Of course!" She always kept her promises.

Even though for the most part, he believed her, Qin Jiran still felt an inkling of doubt in his heart. He wanted nothing more than to ask her, why weren't they divorcing anymore?

Back when they made their marriage agreement, she had worn a face full of disgust, as though she would divorce him the instant an opportunity came to her.

In fact, she behaved the same way not too long ago, so he found her sudden change in attitude really strange.

Maybe she'd thought things through?

A self-mocking thought formed in his mind. He felt like a lucky man who suddenly stumbled upon a treasure trove. He was delighted —and very much so— but at the same time, he was full of doubt and unease.

"Yanyi, you've been treating me so well lately. It's making me misunderstand," he said in a joking yet cautious tone, unsure if his jest would displease her.

"Misunderstand what?"

She honestly felt like there was a wall between her and Qin Jiran. What else would be the reason for their faulty communication? She could never understand his thoughts. What was he even misunderstanding? What?

"Misunderstand your feelings for me," he chuckled, "actually, I'm a pretty decent man, aren't I? Why don't we give it a try? I'll be a good husband."

As he carefully observed her expression, he felt like his heart was about to jump out of his chest. If she showed even the slightest of disgust, then he would immediately release the explanation that he was holding ready on the tip of his tongue.

Su Yanyi also trained her eyes on him. As he waited with bated breath, she mulled over what he said and gave an earnest nod.

"You're very good, yes," she agreed, "let's try it then. I'll do my best to be a good wife."

She didn't sound very solemn, but she was taking it very seriously. In her mind, Qin Jiran was indeed a good man; whether it was his personality, appearance, diligence, or devotion to her, she admired and was wholly satisfied with this man.

As a matter of fact, aside from her own father and brother, there was no other man she admired more than she did Qin Jiran.

She'd already planned to be with him and was working hard to sustain their marriage. Although it remained unspoken, she'd stopped regarding their marriage as contractual one a long time ago.

Her last line, "be a good wife," was also something she said after much contemplation. It definitely wasn't just an empty promise.

Everyone had their own ideas on what a "good wife" meant. To Su Yanyi, a good wife was not necessarily a gentle and virtuous woman who stayed in the kitchen.

She aimed to hold to her promise of protecting him and treating him wholeheartedly for life. By being nice in her own way and taking advantage of the System Missions to create more opportunities for interaction, she was slowly closing the distance herself and this taciturn man.

They were making progress. For the sake of his smile, she'd even put aside her dignity to play cute. It wasn't easy, and she couldn't be considered a good wife yet, but she was close. As long as she continued to work hard, she was confident that she would make it.

VIN: Fluffy. The next few chapters are all fluffy.

RELEASE SCHEDULE: 1x a week, 3x every other week.