The Villain's Wife

When Zhou Jingren arrived at Facci Group, Lily immediately told him about Zhou Huifang on their way home to The Peak.

"It is surprising how he would be this dumb," Lily said as she finished beating the eggs.

"Well, he was born and raised in a household where Zhou Kang exists. Actually, it is not very surprising to me. Are you sure you are going to bake at this hour?" He eyed the flour. "I mean… shouldn't you be resting?"

"Baking is something that I should learn."

"For?"

"For myself?" Lily answered. "This is for my growth. I realized that I need to grow for my children and you know… personal reasons." Rolling her eyes, Lily started mixing all the wet ingredients with the dry ones. "You should support me on this."

"I support you in everything." He grinned. "Even if that involves burning the house."

"Hey! That hurts."

"What hurts?"

"That— " Lily used a whisk. "I will let everyone else eat my cooking except you."

Zhou Jingren chuckled in response. "Shall I call everyone, now?"

"You seem too excited to have them taste my cooking?"

"Of course, I am. I'm a proud husband after all." He eyed the batter. "What are you going to bake? Cookies?"

"Really? Does this look like some cookie? Wait! Do you think the batter is too dry? Do you think I should add more milk?" Lily's eyes widened as she looked at the batter.

"Why would you add milk?"

"I don't know." She shrugged and used a spatula to show the consistency of the batter. "You said it looked like I'm making a cookie."

He chuckled. "Your ability to overthink is really on a higher level than us mortals. I was only asking. I didn't say it is too gooey."

"It is?" She raised an eyebrow.

"What does the recipe say? Wait… what are you making? Chocolate cake?"

"Yes. Chocolate carrot cake."

"A what cake now?"

"I said… A chocolate carrot cake!"

"And… do you have a recipe for it?"

"No." Lily shook her head. "This is purely based on my instinct."

Zhou Jingren stared at her in disbelief, his mouth agape. "So— uh… you are telling me that you are baking in the middle of the night, purely on instinct just because you like it?"

"Hm?" She shifted her gaze towards the eggs. "Maybe we need more eggs and yes… is there something wrong? This should be my new found— passion."

He gulped as he fought the urge to facepalm himself.

"Is there something wrong with following your instinct?" Lily asked.

"No-No… It's not that. It's just that I find this a very peculiar type of instinct." Now that he thought about it, his wife had turned into a totally different person after getting pregnant. He eyed her stomach. This wouldn't be the child's fault, right? "Would you like me to help you?" he asked.

"Nah. I can do this. I am a grown independent woman after all." Lily answered. "This is something that every mother should learn how to do. You know… when our child goes to school, I am planning to bake him snacks. Cookies and stuff."

"Really?"

"Of course. I will be a hands-on mother."

"Maybe you should just let Chef Yang do that." Zhou Jingren said. He would not want to traumatize their child, alright?

"But every mother does that?"

"You are already good at earning money. Maybe… you can just stick to that? How about I do the baking instead?" He suggested. "I mean… as my wife… you need to relax and have some time for yourself. I can't allow you to do all this after working your ass off for the whole day."

Lily pursed her lips in response. Zhou Jingren's words indeed sound reasonable. "Alright… this is ready. I should bake it and wait for forty minutes then it's all good." After tossing the cake into the oven, Lily immediately smiled at her husband. "You should taste it. I know… it might not taste that good but I am learning."

"If you want to learn then you should follow some recipe's first."

"But…. I was planning on creating my own recipes."

He sighed. When it comes to talking with his wife… there was really no winning. There was only agreeing with her opinion or losing. "Alright then." He nodded. "But moving forward… I mean after you give birth, you should not focus on things like this and just focus on taking care of our child. I don't want you to become so tired."

"Jingren, ah. This is a part of motherhood. Cooking and baking— "

"I will do that." He interrupted her. "I will make the snacks and bake for you and our child."

"Really?"

"Hmmm." He nodded as if his life depended on it. "You already have to take care of our child for nine months, then you will also have to suffer through the pain of labor and giving birth. I think it is fair that I do this for our child just too … compensate."

"Hmm." Lily's lips thinned. "Then alright." She smiled. "It would be nice to teach our children that cooking and baking is not something that only women should do."

"Right… that is also another reason why I wanted to do this." He let out a sigh of relief inwardly. At least… he already convinced her not to do the cooking, he thought.

He was wrong.

"Still— I am planning to learn cooking and baking and you— you will be the judge. You will taste everything that I make." Beaming, Lily crossed her arms across her chests. Did Zhou Jingren think that she was a fool? She laughed inwardly. "After all, you are my husband, my partner, and my lifetime companion. You should witness my growth!"

In this conversation, there was no winning. Only agreeing or losing.

"Alright." He nodded in defeat. Could he really do something about this? Shaking his head, Zhou Jingren pulled her into his embrace. "Alright… I will taste everything that you serve."

His words immediately made Lily laugh in his arms. "Good." She tiptoed and kissed his cheeks before pecking on his lips. "What a good husband."

"What a naughty wife." He answered before his lips captured hers.