Chapter 166：The Family Business (8)

Being the headstrong woman that she was, Joann did not take to her friend's advice as much as Lee Mu hoped she would. She was not one to take advice from others because she was confident in her ways. Therefore, most of his words just flew over her head.

After hearing what Lee Mu had to say, Joann shrugged and brushed his concern off, saying, "Lee Mu, you're reading too much into this. Every couple has their own mode of co-existing and things are going just fine between me and Xu Jing.

"Hell, we've been together for god knows how many years already, it feels like we're already an old married couple, settled in our ways. If there is a problem with how we're interacting, the marriage would have ended a long time ago.

"Lee Mu, I appreciate your concern but everything is just fine." Joann ended that with a smile.

Lee Mu though was not convinced. Things like this built up over time and the longer it dragged, the worse it would be when it finally exploded. Other than that, even if things seemed fine up until now, there was no promise it was going to continue to be so as they moved into the future.

Furthermore, Lee Mu only brought this up because he realized Joann was not paying her marriage as much attention as he believed she should. However, she was using the very same attitude he was warning her about to brush him off. Not only did that worry Lee Mu but it gave him a sense of futility to what he was doing.

Just as he was about to say something more, the door to their room opened and Xu Jing walked in with a new box of tissue box. There was a bright smile on his face like he was glad to be given this chore to do. The man would probably be the happiest man in the world if his only job was to please his wife.

Xu Jing handed the box to his wife and Joann accepted it with as little fanfare as just giving him a nod. The lack of appreciation for her husband was particularly noticeable to Lee Mu.

Internally he sighed. 'Perhaps I'm butting too much into other people's business, if Joann says everything is fine, everything is probably fine. After all, who am I to judge how other couple lives their lives?

'Furthermore, I've done my part. I've told Joann about my worry and what she plans to do with it should no longer be my business. Yes, that's right, whatever will be will be.'

That was how Lee Mu convinced himself to stop intervening. His friend had stated her stance, if he pushed any further, it would only work to earn him Joann's ire. Therefore, he carried on as if nothing had happened.

When Zao Ming returned with the receipt, Lee Mu reached out to grab his boyfriend's hand. He gave it a squeeze to grab Zao Ming's attention. Then, they did one of their non-verbal exchanges, a special skill that couples developed after they had been together for so long that their way of thinking often lined up.

It was worth noting that Zao Ming and Lee Mu did this more often than Xu Jing and Joann, even though it was the latter couple who had been together longer.

Lee Mu noted that he had already talked to Joann. He had said everything he could and so they should mind their own business from then on. Zao Ming nodded to show his understanding.

As one of the hosts, Zao Ming said, "Xu Jing, Joann thank you for coming out for dinner with us today. It was fun, we should do this again."

"Of course, thank you for the meal."

Zao Ming pulled up the suit jacket that was hanging on the back of Lee Mu's chair and handed it over to him.

"Thank you." Lee Mu accepted with a smile.

On the other side of the table, Xu Jing stood up from his chair to grab Joann's coat from the coat rack. Then, he proceeded to put it over his wife's shoulders. Joann adjusted the coat and turned to Lee Mu to say, "Thank again for the treat tonight."

It was amusing to see how similar yet different the two couples were. They parted at the restaurant entrance. Lee Mu went to give Joann a goodbye hug and they went back to their separate lives.

...

One fine day, Lin Kang approached Xiu Ling with the idea of going on a date. While Xiu Ling was surprised, she did remember her best friend telling her a date with Lin Kang was one of the things she needed to do before coming to the final decision. Therefore, she agreed.

In spite of herself, Xiu Ling couldn't help but be nervous as the date drew near. She left the details of the date to her husband and she wondered where Lin Kang would be taking her.

On the morning of the date, Xiu Ling was hustled off to some mysterious location by Lin Kang. When she stepped out of the car and saw that she was at the entrance to a mall, she could not have been more confused and surprised.

She predicted exotic locations, fancy restaurants, private clubhouses or even foreign trips... but a mall?! That truly had escaped her speculation.

...

Lin Kang had read somewhere that a woman likes to be spoiled and pampered. Lin Kang had never been in a serious relationship so he assumed that meant preparing gifts and presents. It was why Mrs. Lin and Yi Nian had caught Lin Kang with those unusual presents, which he had not given out yet.

He was going to present them to Xiu Ling one of these days but that plan changed after the incident with Mrs. Xiu. Lin Kang realized he needed to put more care and attention into his gifts and that was exactly what he did, adding an extra spin that he believed was thoughtful to his existing plan.