MGASC -Chapter 83 Playing the Handsome-Man Temptation

Zhang Qiao had absolutely no interest in flirting with a feudal-minded old fossil…

“Everyone who came today is a big shot. We can’t lose face. I dressed up carefully—of course I look good.”

Big shot? Which big shot was she talking about?

A trace of dejection swept through Lin Tianyue’s heart.

He had to admit that sometimes the gap between people was bigger than the gap between a person and a dog.

Sometimes even he envied Zhou Junlin—his learning, demeanor, looks, background—everything about him was close to perfect.

If Lin Tianyue were a woman, he’d probably admire that kind of man even more.

He let go of Zhang Qiao, but kept his eyes fixed on her, burning hot. “I’m going to Jin City tomorrow. Is there anything you want me to buy?”

Zhang Qiao thought for a moment, her gaze landing on his clothes.

Lately she’d been busy with business matters with Yingzi and hadn’t gone into the city, nor had she had time to prepare clothes for him. Luckily, he’d borrowed something from Chen Gang today.

As for what she was wearing, it had been altered from her old clothes.

Truth be told, although the old Zhang Qiao was a handful, she did have decent taste in clothes.

“You should pick out a suit for yourself,” Zhang Qiao said. “You’ll need it for a lot of occasions in the future.”

Lin Tianyue froze. She was actually thinking about him.

Did that mean she didn’t dislike him that much after all?

“I’m asking what you want,” he said. “Food, drinks, daily necessities, clothes?”

“Me?” There was a lot Zhang Qiao wanted to buy, but she didn’t really trust Lin Tianyue’s taste. “Oh—get a few more books.”

“Sure. What titles?”

Zhang Qiao went back to the office, grabbed paper and pen, and made him a book list: Gone with the Wind, Pride and Prejudice, A Global History, Meditations…

She wasn’t sure whether he’d be able to find them; whichever he could get would do.

“Since when did I miss the fact that you like reading so much?” Lin Tianyue said in amazement.

Zhang Qiao shot him a huge eye-roll. “These are for you to read!”

This big brute needed to liberate his thinking—he had to strengthen his cultural knowledge. Everything she listed was a classic, works that had stood the test of time.

Though habits were hard to change, Zhang Qiao wasn’t sure how far Lin Tianyue could be “reformed,” but it didn’t hurt to try.

Lin Tianyue didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “For me? When would I even have the time…”

“For economics-related books, you can ask Zhou Junlin,” Zhang Qiao said. “Oh right—those foreign materials I translated for him at home? They’re very useful references for your business. I made a copy while I was translating. When you have time, take a look!”

Lin Tianyue—this is as far as I can help you.

How much you understand, whether you truly grasp it, depends on your own fate.

Hearing that she’d even made a copy for him, Lin Tianyue was even more shocked. “Y-you mean… you made two copies?”

“Don’t get too touched. And don’t get carried away.”

Zhang Qiao was afraid he’d suddenly hug her again like he did that day in the car.

He wasn’t bad-looking, his figure was good too—even if she stayed clear-headed, she might not be able to resist.

Don’t try that handsome-man temptation on her—she didn’t fall for that!

But Lin Tianyue was already deeply moved. His wife had actually copied a set just for him—she was way too good to him!

“Qiao, I—”

His blood surged; he really wanted to hug her. But Zhang Qiao’s expression was cool and distant, as if he didn’t even exist.

He rubbed his hands together. “Don’t worry. I’ll definitely buy all these books for you.”

“They’re for you,” Zhang Qiao corrected him again, utterly disdainful of his level of awareness.

“Alright, alright. After I finish reading them, I’ll write reflections for you, okay?”

Zhang Qiao rolled her eyes again, then wrote down a few daily necessities. In fact, there was something fairly important she needed to buy.

Her belly had grown—she needed maternity underwear.

The old ones were too small.

But having Lin Tianyue buy them…

Seeing her hesitate, Lin Tianyue boasted, “If there’s anything else you want, just write it all down.”

Zhang Qiao had no choice but to describe it to him: “There’s a kind of underwear for pregnant women—I don’t know if they sell it… um… pure cotton, large size, preferably something that supports the belly. If they have it, buy light-colored ones…”

Lin Tianyue hadn’t expected that after all that hesitation, she’d end up mentioning something so intimate.

A grown man like him—going to buy her underwear?

…Well. That works too.

His dark face visibly reddened. “Okay. I’ll do my best to figure it out.”

Zhang Qiao smiled. “I’ll write down the measurements for you.”

“…Alright.”

Lin Tianyue carefully folded the paper and tucked it into his shirt pocket.

He still had to invite the leaders out for dinner. After saying a few words to Zhang Qiao, he left.

And on that same day, after being paraded through the streets, Wang Mingqing and Wang Yan were escorted to the execution ground. With a series of gunshots, these heavily sentenced criminals hastily ended their lives.

The Wang family wailed in grief, and Wang Yan’s mother, overwhelmed by the shock, began babbling incoherently after collecting her daughter’s body—completely losing her sanity…

…

That night, when Lin Tianyue finished his social engagements and returned home, it was already deep into the night.

He washed up first, then quietly pushed on the door to the inner room.

To his delight, it opened.

Afraid of waking Zhang Qiao, he didn’t turn on the light, instead sneaking in on tiptoe.

Zhang Qiao was already fast asleep under the mosquito net on the big bed. Lin Tianyue grabbed a blanket and lay down on the simple bed beside it.

Even without the light on, the moon was bright tonight. Moonlight spilled into the room like a thin veil.

He noticed a stack of notebooks on the table. His heart warmed instantly. Ignoring his exhaustion, he picked one up and flipped it open.

It was too dark to see clearly, so he took it outside, found a flashlight, and read by its beam, looking at the delicate, elegant handwriting.

So it wasn’t hand-copied—it was duplicated with carbon paper.

It even felt a little tacky to the touch.

Lin Tianyue couldn’t help grinning. He knew it—his wife wasn’t that silly. He’d thought she hand-copied two full sets.

She really was a clever little thing, even knew to use carbon paper.

Knowing that it was duplicated, he planned to go back to sleep—he still had a trip to make tomorrow. But her handwriting was so beautiful that he couldn’t help reading a bit more.

And once he started, he ended up finishing the entire notebook.

Honestly, these new foreign ideas were truly enlightening.

The next morning, when Zhang Qiao got up, Lin Tianyue had already prepared breakfast.

While eating, he reminded the three kids to behave at home, listen to Zhang Qiao, and help her with chores.

Zhang Qiao noticed the notebook he’d flipped through on the Eight Immortals table, and the corners of her lips lifted slightly.

He read it?

Good. A child who loves learning deserves praise.

Before he left, Zhang Qiao gently reminded Lin Tianyue to be careful on the road.

She hadn’t spoken much to him all morning, so hearing her suddenly show concern made Lin Tianyue beam with joy.

“Qiao, I finished the booklet you copied for me,” he said proudly. “I even brought two books with me for the road.”

“Mm.”

That was it?

Lin Tianyue thought—just that?