Chapter 287: Dad, What Should I Do?
After hanging up Shi Lan’s clothes, Jiang Xia rushed to the kitchen, planning to cook for her.
Too bad the robot had already finished.
He looked disappointed at the sight of the dishes the robot was placing on the table, but Shi Lan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
’Food itself is innocent.’
’With Jiang Xia’s cooking skills, it was best not to let him wreak havoc on the kitchen.’
After the meal, Shi Lan found the Treatment Pod in Jiang Xia’s home and climbed inside with practiced ease. Jiang Xia watched her, cherishing every second they spent together. "Lanlan, I want to be with you too."
Shi Lan glanced at the space inside. While the Treatment Pod was spacious, it would be a tight squeeze for two people. So, she coldly rejected his plea and pressed the button to close it.
Resigned, Jiang Xia could only wait for her obediently from the outside.
Through the transparent door of the Treatment Pod, he knelt on the floor, his eyes fixed on the person inside.
The Treatment Pod automatically activated sleep mode during a session, so Shi Lan had fallen asleep the moment she lay down. A pale white therapeutic mist shrouded her face. Unable to resist, Jiang Xia pressed his cheek against the pod.
’This way, I can see her more clearly.’
’Hehe, my wife is so beautiful.’
’Her lips were so red, her nose was so delicate, and her eyelashes were dark and thick. When she opened her eyes, they were sure to be sparkling and gentle, and they’d look at him with a smile in them.’
He was pressed so close that his breath fogged up the pod’s door. He carefully traced a heart in the condensation, perfectly framing Shi Lan’s cheek inside it.
"Lanlan, Lanlan..."
"I like you so much..."
Jiang Xia couldn’t stop murmuring, letting out a silly, secret giggle every now and then.
Just then, a thought struck him. He immediately sent a message to his father and began to show off.
[Dad, so this is what it feels like to have a partner.]
[It’s pure bliss. Last night was so nice...]
[It’s just that Lanlan seemed to work really hard. She was busy the whole time, but she was really happy too. We kissed for a long time...]
[Ah, if only we’d met a few years earlier. I could have experienced the joy of having a wife much sooner.]
[But then again, Lanlan was still a long way from getting married back then...]
In the Jiang Family home, Jiang Hua was muttering about how you lose a son once he’s married off and never hear from him again. Suddenly, he received a notification for a message from his son—whom he had set to "special attention"—and eagerly opened it.
He was just about to chew the little brat out for not bringing his wife home for a meal after all this time when he saw the nonstop stream of messages.
Jiang Hua almost choked on his own spit. He stared at the chat history in disbelief and rubbed his eyes.
’What in the world is my foolish son talking about? Why was *Shi Lan* the one working hard?’
’Suddenly, the words on the screen didn’t seem to make any sense. Last night...’
’Last night must have been their first night as a married couple. He remembered his son chattering about it, counting down the days to their... consummation. But something about this seemed very wrong.’
[What’s going on? You little brat, didn’t you put in any of the work?]
Jiang Hua couldn’t help but ask.
Jiang Xia blinked, confused. His brilliant golden eyes shifted guiltily.
’Come to think of it, that was true. Last night, whenever Lanlan gave him a few extra kisses, his whole body went limp. He’d just been lying there the entire time. He really hadn’t done any of the work.’
He and his father were very close, so Jiang Xia answered honestly. [No... I... I was just lying there the whole time...]
[You!]
[You foolish boy...]
Mr. Jiang was so speechless his finger trembled as he typed on the screen. [You have the nerve to say that? How could you let the female do all the work by herself? Isn’t this supposed to be your time to shine?]
[Son, you need to step up. If you keep this up, the female might start to think you’re useless.]
Jiang Xia panicked when he read that. [Dad, what should I do? My body goes limp the moment we kiss, I have no strength at all.]
[Useless thing!]
It was rare for Mr. Jiang to speak so harshly to his son, but he felt he, as a father, bore a great deal of responsibility. He had neglected to pay attention to this area of his son’s life and educate him properly.
With that in mind, he immediately sent over a few "treasured" documents and videos from his private collection.
[You better study these carefully.]
Jiang Xia’s head began to throb the moment he saw the word "study." He couldn’t believe he still had to hit the books at his age.
’Thankfully, there were videos too. I’ll start with those.’
Determined not to let Lanlan think he was useless, Jiang Xia adopted the spirit of a diligent scholar. He clicked on a video with a thumbnail that read, "Study Well and Improve Every Day," and began to apply himself.
The moment he opened it, sound spilled from his device. Jiang Xia stared at the naked man and woman on the screen, his face flushing crimson as he frantically closed the video.
"W-What kind of indecent stuff is this!"
"Did Dad send the wrong thing?"
Jiang Xia looked again at the video’s thumbnail—a plain green background—and switched to another one titled, "Contributing to the Nation’s Prosperity."
He opened it. It was the exact same kind of thing as before.
Jiang Xia couldn’t sit still any longer. He quickly messaged his father to confront him. [Dad, what is this stuff you sent? This isn’t study material at all.]
This time, Mr. Jiang *actually* choked on his spit. ’My son doesn’t even know about this kind of thing? And he’s asking *me* about it?’
’Where am I supposed to put my old face?!!’
Mr. Jiang suddenly found his son far too chatty. Unable to contain his mix of shame and annoyance, he typed furiously, [Just listen to me and study it. Everything you need to know about how to serve your wife is in there.]
After sending the message, he temporarily blocked him and refused to reply.
Jiang Xia sent another message, but a notification clearly indicating he had been blocked appeared on the screen.
He never thought in his entire life that his own loving father would have the heart to block him...
"Alright, maybe I really did misunderstand him."
He muttered softly, but his eyes couldn’t help darting guiltily toward the Treatment Pod. Seeing that Shi Lan was still fast asleep, he turned the volume down and opened the video again.
Jiang Xia still couldn’t get past the beginning. Then, he remembered something, found the "Healthy Mode" option in the video settings, and turned it on.
This time, the man and woman in the video were automatically clothed.
However, in this world, facial identity was a matter of great privacy. Risky videos like this all used fake, robotically synthesized faces, and their circulation was permitted online for the express purpose of improving the "mating knowledge" of the male and female population.
Jiang Xia had never really thought about females before, so naturally, he’d never paid attention to this sort of thing.
Now, watching the "Healthy Mode" version, Jiang Xia felt much less uncomfortable. It was just like watching a normal show.
After watching for a while, he could tell from the man and woman’s voices what the video was teaching. The scene from the previous night replayed in his mind.
’No wonder Dad said what he did. It seems Lanlan and I really did have our roles reversed. She’s the one who should have been lying down and resting...’
’When I think about it that way, my wife must love me so much. She went to all that trouble for me, working so hard.’
Jiang Xia was so moved he became teary-eyed all over again. To avoid tiring out his wife next time, he began to earnestly study the positions shown in "Healthy Mode."
Even with the clothes, he used his imagination, picturing his and her faces on the actors. He then inadvertently recalled the beautiful figure he’d glimpsed through Lanlan’s sleepwear the night before.
His face began to burn, and he couldn’t help but draw his knees up.