Chapter 513 - 468: Gu’er, You’re Like My Mom

Gu’er could understand Li Zhi’s thinking. In fact, anyone would feel the same in his shoes.

"Li Zhi, to be honest, when Feng Ling came to talk to me, I didn’t want to get involved or say too much. I was afraid you’d think I was being nosy, since it’s your life, after all. But I can see that she’s truly passionate about learning, and she’s such a gifted young woman. If you tie her down with marriage now and don’t let her go, it would be really unfair to her."

"Yes, I’m sure Feng Ling would give up this opportunity for you. But for the rest of her life, it will be a regret. Think about it—if you were passionate about something and really wanted to do it, but she wouldn’t let you. Even if you agreed for her sake, as time went on, wouldn’t you always be thinking about it? Wouldn’t you feel regretful? You’d wonder, ’If only I’d insisted back then, maybe things would have turned out differently.’ You might even start to resent her for holding you back, right?"

Gu’er paused when she saw Li Zhi deep in thought, knowing her words were sinking in. She continued, "You two have a long road ahead of you. If you’re truly meant to be, you’ll be spending a lifetime together. A lifetime is so long. If you give her half a year, or even a full year, to do what she wants, she’ll look back on it with more than just love for you. She’ll feel gratitude and respect, because you respected and supported her. I think that’s incredibly important to her."

"When I first came to the city, didn’t Jia Ming give me two years? As long as your feelings for each other are true, she won’t run off. Besides, I already asked her. She said that no matter what wonderful things she might see out there, it’s not what she wants. Her heart is small. Once she let you in, there was no room for anyone else."

As soon as Gu’er finished, Li Zhi’s eyes lit up. "She really told you that?" he asked eagerly.

"She told me. Would I make something like that up to trick you? Besides, you weren’t planning on getting married until next year anyway, right? That’s the perfect amount of time—a year. If she goes and learns this skill, and gets good at it, that’s something that will benefit her for the rest of her life. A woman’s life isn’t just about staying home and raising children for you. It’s not like you need her to do your laundry and cooking, so why not let her do something she’s passionate about? It’s better for both of you."

Li Zhi already understood the logic in Gu’er’s words; he was just reluctant to let Feng Ling go. ’But I get it,’ he thought. ’If I don’t let her go, this will always be a sore spot between us. It might be fine when things are good, but the moment we have an argument, this will come up, and there will be resentment. If I support her, she’ll be grateful. She’ll feel respected and will be more positive about our relationship. I should let her go. I’ve been on my own for so many years, what’s one more? A year will fly by in the blink of an eye. And if I miss her, I can just go visit.’

"Alright, I get it," Li Zhi said after he’d thought it through. "You women have got us guys completely figured out. We have no choice but to listen to you."

Sun Jiaming just smiled. ’Figured out?’ he thought. ’I think things are great just the way they are.’ As long as Gu’er was happy, his child was happy, and his home was happy, then he was happy. Besides, Gu’er was a wonderful wife. She never threw baseless tantrums, wasn’t shrewish like some other women, and she wasn’t bossy either. She always discussed things with him. He was more than willing to listen to her.

"Who are you calling a woman?" Gu’er shot back. "Go say that to Feng Ling and see if she doesn’t twist your ear."

Gu’er glared at Li Zhi.

"Heh heh, heh heh, she wouldn’t," Li Zhi chuckled, not bothered at all. "My Feng Ling isn’t like that. Besides, even if she did, it wouldn’t hurt."

"Alright, are you two done talking?" Sun Jiaming interjected. "Now that you’re done borrowing my wife, you can go do whatever it is you need to do. Stop showing off. ’My Feng Ling,’ indeed. Is she yours yet?"

Sun Jiaming was relieved to see Li Zhi’s mood had improved. ’I could have said the same things to him,’ he thought, ’but with Gu’er being a woman, hearing it from a woman’s perspective makes it easier for him to accept.’

"So petty. Fine, I won’t say it here. I’m going to go find my Feng Ling. She *is* my Feng Ling, what are you gonna do about it?"

Having worked things out, Li Zhi’s mood was much lighter, and he was able to joke again.

Gu’er smiled and shook her head.

"Gu’er, sometimes I feel like you’re a mother."

Sun Jiaming said this suddenly, looking at Gu’er after Li Zhi had left.

"Huh?"

Gu’er froze, then asked uncertainly, "Why would you say that? Do you think I’m getting old?"

She touched her face as she asked. Her skin was still smooth, with no wrinkles in sight.

"No, that’s not what I meant. My wife is as lovely as a flower; how could you be old? It’s just a feeling I get. When we’re with you, we feel like children. We feel like we can talk to you about anything, tell you anything. Because we know that no matter what we say, you won’t get angry or blame us. You’ll give us advice, comfort us, and accept us. That feeling... it’s like a mother’s."

Sun Jiaming explained. He didn’t actually talk much with Cao Qiu. Because of the relationship between Cao Qiu and his grandmother, he tended to keep a lot of his thoughts to himself. But it was different with Gu’er. He saw her as his lover and his wife, but sometimes, he truly felt she had a motherly side to her.

Gu’er finally understood what Sun Jiaming meant.

"You scared me. I really thought you were saying I seemed old," Gu’er said, relieved. "Actually, every woman has a maternal side, whether it’s toward her children or her own man. It’s not just me; it’s perfectly normal."

Gu’er smiled. ’Maybe it’s because I have the experiences of a whole other lifetime,’ she thought. ’That’s why I’m so patient with the people I’m close to. I often unconsciously see them as my juniors, as people younger than me.’

"Alright then," Sun Jiaming said, pulling Gu’er close. "You can be my mommy."

He buried his head in her chest.

"Stop it," Gu’er said, her face flushing as she knew he was just being playful, starting one of their little bedroom games. "Don’t be like that, it’s the middle of the day."

"Come on, Gu’er, just let me have a little taste," Sun Jiaming pleaded. "Don’t worry, no one’s coming in."

He had locked the door long before. Their son was outside with his grandmother, and it had been a while since he and Gu’er had fooled around like this.

"Mama! Mama!"

Suddenly, Jiji’s cries came from outside.

"Gu’er, open up! Jiji’s hungry," Cao Qiu called out as well.

Gu’er quickly pushed him away, her face beet red as she looked at Sun Jiaming. "This is all your fault."

"My bad, my bad," Sun Jiaming chuckled, wiping the corner of his mouth. He watched as Gu’er straightened her clothes, then he went to open the door. "Don’t worry, our son will never know I was trying to steal his dinner."

"Why was the door locked?" Cao Qiu muttered as Sun Jiaming opened it.

"Gu’er and I were just discussing something. We just finished and were about to come out," Sun Jiaming said, his expression perfectly calm as if he hadn’t been the one causing trouble just moments before. "Come here, little guy. Let Daddy hold you."

But Little Jiji just gave his father a look and ignored him, toddling straight for Gu’er instead. ’Mommy has the yummy milk. I don’t want Daddy.’