Chapter 142 - 141: Intimacy is Fine, But Mind the Occasion

Chapter 142: Chapter 141: Intimacy is Fine, But Mind the Occasion

"Looks like you want your other cheek to swell up so they match."

Xia Shanshan shot him a glare. "Go get me the eggs from the fridge."

"Mom, I want my fried egg extra crispy."

"It’s going to have a runny yolk. Take it or leave it."

"Nooooo!!"

◇

The family of three finished their noodles and cleaned up in a few minutes. Then, Jiang Wende drove his wife and son to the school.

By 8 a.m., many students and parents were already waiting in the classrooms. Xia Shanshan greeted parents the entire way there, and by the time she reached her office, her face was stiff from smiling.

"Mom, I’m realizing that being a teacher is pretty exhausting. You don’t just have to teach students; you also have to deal with their parents."

Xia Shanshan rubbed her face and calmly retorted, "Is there any job that isn’t tiring?"

Jiang Xia’s breath caught. ’She has a point.’ He knew this all too well; even as a reborn person, he had to pull all-nighters for work every day.

"I just mean, you don’t have to be so serious. You could slack off a bit and relax, you know?"

"You can slack off in other jobs, but not when you’re a teacher."

She spoke earnestly. "I’m responsible for all of my students. In the time I might spend slacking off, I could be explaining a few more problems, grading a test, working on my lesson plans, or checking in on an introverted student."

Jiang Xia fell silent. He couldn’t help but remember his past life, when his mother had died suddenly while working on her lesson plans. ’For someone as dedicated and responsible as her,’ he thought, ’slacking off would be a form of sacrilege.’

"Alright, I have to go to the dean’s office to pick up the final exam papers. Go entertain yourself." Xia Shanshan impatiently shooed him away; she was going to be very busy today.

Jiang Xia nodded and slowly strolled over to the classroom for first-grade, class two. Seeing that his little sister-in-law hadn’t arrived yet, he quietly tried to recall what the school looked like back when he was a student.

A few minutes later, two familiar figures—one tall, one small—appeared in his line of sight.

Jiang Xia walked over and patted his little sister-in-law’s head. "Morning, Xiao Man."

"Morning, brother-in-law~" Lin Xiaoman expertly took his hand, her adorable face beaming with a smile.

Jiang Xia’s heart skipped a beat. He subconsciously scanned his surroundings, but when he didn’t see his father-in-law, he let out a sigh of relief.

"My dad was supposed to come, but he got a last-minute call and had to go deal with something, so I came instead," Lin Yanwan said.

"And your mom?" Jiang Xia asked.

"She went to the factory."

The little sister-in-law pouted. At the parent-teacher meeting, all the other kids had their moms and dads with them, but she only had her older sister. Even though she was sensible and understood that her parents were working hard for the family, she still felt a little sad.

Lin Yanwan ruffled her sister’s hair and sighed softly. "It seems they just got a new order for dolls. The client is in a rush, so Mom has to personally oversee the work."

Jiang Xia crouched down, gently squeezed his little sister-in-law’s cheek, and smiled tenderly. "Cheer up, Xiao Man. Mom and Dad couldn’t make it, but you still have your big sister and me."

"Mhm! I like you the most, brother-in-law!"

Hearing this, the corner of Lin Yanwan’s mouth twitched. ’Every single day,’ she thought, ’all she does is try to steal my man. I can’t keep this sister anymore!’

"Nope, that won’t do. You can only like me second-best. The person who likes me the most has to be your sister," Jiang Xia said with a grin.

Lin Yanwan’s heart soared when she heard that. ’Hmph, good thing you’re quick on the uptake.’

She gently kicked Jiang Xia’s shoe, her face betraying an obvious delight. "Why are you saying things like that in front of a child?"

"Oh, so you don’t want to hear it. Fine, I’ll stop," Jiang Xia sighed.

"Brother-in-law, brother-in-law, I want to hear~" Lin Xiaoman said, gently shaking his hand.

Jiang Xia booped her on the nose. "I like Xiao Man the most!"

"Hehe? Isn’t it supposed to be second-best?" Lin Xiaoman’s eyes widened. Lin Yanwan was also stunned.

"Nope~"

Jiang Xia shot his wife a mysterious look, then suddenly leaned close to Xiao Man’s ear and whispered, just loud enough for Lin Yanwan to hear, "I like Xiao Man the most, but the one I like *mostest* is your sister, of course."

She gritted her teeth in frustration. ’This guy. He can’t even say he likes me without teasing me, can he?’

"So, if you put it that way," she huffed, "do you have someone you like *mostest most*?"

"I do," Jiang Xia replied, nodding without hesitation.

"Your mom?"

"Nope."

"Then who is it?"

"I’m not telling you~"

"Are you going to tell me or not!" She wrinkled her nose and pinched the flesh on Jiang Xia’s arm.

’If I don’t like his answer, I’m grabbing something else!’

"OW, ow, ow! Honey, go easy on me!" Jiang Xia put on an exaggeratedly pained expression. "The person I like mostest, mostest most of all is my wife, of course! You couldn’t even guess that? Boo hoo hoo... our love has faded! You don’t love me anymore!"

"...How the hell was I supposed to know who you were talking about!" Lin Yanwan discreetly shifted her grip to the cartilage in his arm. If it weren’t for all the prying eyes, she would have made him see stars.

Lin Xiaoman looked up at her brother-in-law, wondering why he had suddenly gone quiet.

"Xiao Man! You’re here!"

Just as the two were locked in their silent struggle, a cute little girl called out a greeting to Xiao Man.

"Sister, brother-in-law, I’m gonna go play with Xiao Mei."

"Go ahead. But stay in the classroom, don’t go anywhere else," Lin Yanwan reminded her.

"Okay."

Jiang Xia wore a strange expression as his wife dragged him out into the hallway. He took a deep breath. "Honey, I was wrong."

"Hmph!"

"You look so beautiful today, honey."

"Stop calling me that. I’m not your wife."

"Honey, my face hurts. Rub it for me, please?" Jiang Xia said shamelessly, taking her hand.

Seeing the bruise on his face, Lin Yanwan’s proud facade crumbled and her heart softened.

"You’re so shameless, always playing the victim," she whispered. She then raised her hand to his left cheek, only daring to trace the area around the bruised cheekbone with her fingertips.

"That just proves that your heart aches for me."

"My dad isn’t angry with you anymore. He knows he was wrong, but he’s too proud and doesn’t know how to apologize to you," Lin Yanwan said softly.

"Why would he need to apologize? It’s better if he always feels guilty toward me," Jiang Xia said with a grin, rubbing his cheek against her palm. "That way, even if he gets annoyed with me, he’ll just have to suck it up."

Lin Yanwan was speechless. "You’re unbelievable. Scheming against my own dad."

"How is that scheming? At most, I’m just playing along with the situation. Otherwise, would I have taken that beating for nothing?" he chuckled.

"So, does it still hurt?"

Jiang Xia blinked. "It hurts! But it’ll stop hurting if my wife gives me a kiss."

She was about to refuse, but seeing his puppy-dog eyes, she hesitated. "...There are so many people around."

"We can be sneaky. Just a quick one. No one will see. Like this..." Jiang Xia lowered his voice and suddenly planted a kiss on her cheek. "Don’t you think this is kind of exciting?"

Lin Yanwan shot him a glare, then glanced around furtively before quickly planting a kiss on his bruise.

And at that exact moment, Xia Shanshan’s voice rang out from behind them.

"Ahem. You two. This is a school. You should be more mindful of the time and place for your public displays of affection."

...

(Why do I have to sleep separately from my wife when we visit her family? Waaaaah!)