Husband, Could You Spare Some Time for Me?

"Did you hear me?"

The boy in his arms had been frozen for so long he looked completely dazed. After waiting a while, Gu Shang had no choice but to prompt him.

Ji Mingzhu made a soft sound and slowly climbed out of the man's pleasantly scented embrace, trying his hardest to keep a serious expression. "I heard you, husband. Both my ears heard you."

Satisfied, Gu Shang stroked the boy's soft cheek. "Good. Such a good boy."

"But, husband..." the boy asked dazedly, "what does being a wealthy family's wife mean?"

As soon as Ji Mingzhu finished asking, his face flushed.

Ahhh, he'd asked when he already knew the answer! He was a bad boy!

The corners of the man's lips lifted slightly. Sure enough, he cared about that title of wealthy family's wife. For a straight man, it must have been hard to stomach.

Gu Shang offered the explanation he had prepared long ago. "You've married into the Gu Family now. If you don't know any arts or skills at all, people could easily bully you or laugh at you when you attend events."

Gu Shang really wasn't trying to scare him about that. He genuinely had his best interests at heart.

Although he could protect him, no one could guarantee what might happen in the future. What if? What if he happened to be absent, and that silly, pampered little thing got bullied?

So it was best for him to have skills of his own, allowing him to maintain his dignity without depending on anyone else. That would be ideal.

"So I've signed you up for a few classes. You can also choose whichever ones interest you. Just think of it as cultivating your tastes."

The boy nodded, only half understanding.

Gu Shang thought for a moment, then gave him a rough introduction. "Don't worry. At the very least, I won't make you study anything as advanced as higher mathematics or physics. It'll mostly be things like music, strategy games, calligraphy, painting, cooking, flower arranging, embroidery, and so on. There are more specialized subjects within those, too. It mainly depends on which categories interest you. You can study any of them in depth."

"Of course, if you're too dim to get the hang of them, you don't have to study them in depth. Learning the basics will be enough."

Hearing that, the boy who had been a top student in his previous life grew indignant. "Husband, how could you discourage me like that? I'm not dim!"

Gu Shang didn't believe him. His lips curved. "Really?"

Ji Mingzhu hurriedly clutched his clothes and said anxiously, "Really! If... if I don't do well, you can be strict... no, you can even hit me!"

Ji Mingzhu had meant to say that Gu Shang could be stricter with him, but as the words left his mouth, he suddenly remembered he had already said that before. He had no choice but to change it to something more forceful.

"Forget it. Domestic violence isn't one of my bad habits..." Halfway through, Gu Shang's voice grew softer.

He suddenly remembered that Ji Mingzhu's adoptive father did have that bad habit, so he instinctively softened his voice, worried he might have touched on the boy's painful memories.

Realizing what he was doing, Gu Shang clicked his tongue.

There was nothing else to it. He was simply worried that if he touched on the boy's old wounds, this little crybaby would start crying again, and then who would have to deal with the headache?

He nodded. "All right."

Then Gu Shang had another thought. "If you aren't as outstanding as you claim... your punishment will be to cook me a meal. How does that sound?"

He had to admit that the boy really was an excellent cook.

Gu Shang had tasted so many exquisite delicacies that his standards for what counted as impressive had long since become exceptionally high. Ji Mingzhu's cooking was one of the rare things lately that he could describe that way.

Ji Mingzhu readily agreed. "What's hard about that? As long as you want it, husband, I can cook for you every day."

Just knowing that Gu Shang liked his cooking already made Ji Mingzhu very happy.

"But, husband, could you spare some time for me tomorrow?" Ji Mingzhu asked.

"What is it?" Gu Shang vaguely remembered that he had asked the same question that morning.

The boy glared at him. "Tomorrow is my first visit home after the wedding! Aren't you coming with me?"