Cooking for His Husband

Uncle Chen soon appeared before Ji Mingzhu, dressed in an elegant, well-fitted butler's uniform with a waistcoat.

His hair was slightly gray at the temples and meticulously combed. With great deference, he asked, "Young Master Ji, what can I do for you?"

The boy smiled shyly. "There's no need to be so formal. It's nothing much. Mom just told me that Gu Shang tends to neglect his health when he gets busy with work, and asked me to keep an eye on him. But I don't know much about him, so I wanted to ask what his daily habits are like, from what you've seen. Also... how is his health? Does he need anything to build up his strength?"

Uncle Chen paused, then hummed thoughtfully as he recalled, "The master is usually very busy with work, and he needs plenty of energy to handle all his responsibilities, so he places great importance on exercise. In his free time, he goes out to play golf and the like, and he rarely smokes or drinks. He also has regular checkups, and his health is quite good."

"When he's home, we servants take care of things for him. Unless he's exceptionally busy, he generally eats regular meals. But when he's at the office, he doesn't take very good care of himself." Uncle Chen looked troubled.

Gu Shang was a workaholic. When he was busy, he simply went without food, working straight from morning until night with nothing but black coffee to keep him alert.

Only when he finally had a moment to spare would his empty stomach weakly protest against being neglected.

Usually, whenever that happened, the master would ask him to prepare medicine as soon as he got home.

Then Uncle Chen would know that Gu Shang had spent another day neglecting his health.

But even when he wasn't busy, Gu Shang had grown accustomed to being particular about his food. Even if his secretary ordered a meal in advance, he would only eat a little if it wasn't to his taste.

After hearing Uncle Chen's account, Ji Mingzhu knitted his brows deeply.

How could he do that? From morning until night-that was the longest, fullest stretch of the day.

And his husband actually went without food, drinking only that... coffee? Did that stuff taste good?

But whether it tasted good or not, skipping meals and only drinking liquids was terribly harmful to the spleen and stomach!

With his brows furrowed, the beauty looked so forlorn that anyone would have felt sorry for him.

Seeing the boy's worried expression, Uncle Chen reassured him, "It's already wonderful that you care, Young Master Ji. What the master lacks is someone who cares about him. Just remind him more often..."

"No." Ji Mingzhu looked up, his mind made up. "He won't listen to me."

With how much of a blockhead his man was, he would surely just brush him off or pretend he hadn't heard.

"Then..." Uncle Chen hesitated.

"I'll make him something myself and take it over!" the boy declared.

Uncle Chen recoiled in alarm and hurried to dissuade him. "You absolutely mustn't, young master!"

Ji Mingzhu looked puzzled. "Why?"

Would anyone really be unhappy if their wife brought them a meal after a hard day's work?

Uncle Chen broke out in a cold sweat.

Someone really would be unhappy-Gu Shang, for instance.

The master was good in every other respect, but he was particularly unsparing when it came to work.

Gu Shang was an extremely disciplined man who held himself to high standards, so he became very irritable whenever the schedules and plans he had made were disrupted.

Even his parents knew better, arranging family meals only after their eldest son had finished work and never interrupting his rhythm.

Of course, the master would never be so disrespectful as to scold his parents. His already icy face would simply grow even darker, frightening his subordinates into trembling like quails waiting to be roasted, terrified that one mistake would cost them their jobs.

If... if Ji Mingzhu went to see Gu Shang without discussing it with him first, and all for something as trivial to Gu Shang as eating a meal... Uncle Chen was truly worried that the boy would be humiliated in public.

It would hardly be good for the couple to fall out so soon after getting married.

It certainly wouldn't affect the Gu Corporation, and no one would dare gossip about someone of Gu Shang's standing. But the little Ji Family would become a laughingstock.

Especially since there was already more than enough gossip about Ji Mingzhu himself. The filthy things people said about him were awful. If this gave them more ammunition... and the madam and master came to dislike their son-in-law's bad reputation and made things difficult for him, Ji Mingzhu's life in this wealthy household would become uncomfortable.

Ah, why didn't Young Master Ji understand?

The most important thing for a suitable, safe marriage-alliance partner was to make himself as inconspicuous as possible, remain quiet and obedient, and enjoy his comfortable life like a canary in a luxurious, jewel-studded cage. That was enough. He shouldn't make conspicuous outings or eagerly seek a share of the family's power. The latter sort... generally didn't last long.

But as a servant, there were things Uncle Chen could not spell out without overstepping his place.

So Uncle Chen could only say awkwardly, "The master tends to ignore his surroundings when he's working. I'm afraid that if you go... you might not have a very pleasant time."

At that, Ji Mingzhu smiled with his lips pressed together, revealing a sweet dimple. "Oh, I see. That's all right. I can wait."

The boy's eyes were clear and innocent, without a trace of ulterior motives, and suddenly Uncle Chen could no longer find the words to stop him.

The boy's voice was soft and warm, a little bashful. "Could you help me get a food carrier ready? Sorry for the trouble."

"You mean an insulated lunch box?"

Ji Mingzhu's eyes lit up. "Yes, yes! Thank you!"

Modern life was so convenient. Even food carriers could keep things warm!