Chapter 54 - Shocking News (1/2)

“How much is your salary?” Tang Qiu asked He Lei. “You’re my husband’s butler, aide, and even his chauffeur.”

Flustered, He Lei replied, “… 200,000 yuan a year, Young Mistress.”

That was a lie. 200,000 yuan was a fraction of what he had.

“Thank you for helping to look after my husband. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Tang Qiu was grateful for his kindness. Nowadays, a housekeeper’s salary was about 30 to 50 thousand a month. He Lei juggled several responsibilities at once, but he only earned 10,000 yuan on a monthly basis.

“I’m merely doing my duty, Young Mistress,” was all he said.

***

That night, Tang Qiu showed Jiang Shaocheng a notebook of sums. “These are the daily expenses I calculated. Am I missing anything?”

He hadn’t expected that she would be still dwelling on the matter. She had tallied everything down to how much their meals would cost. Did they have to live hand to mouth like this? She was so concerned about spending money, it was almost adorable.

“Let’s not think about this now, Qiu. We have to sleep.”

“You go to bed first, dear. I want to make sure the amount is correct.”

.

The notebook was snatched from her hands and tossed aside. Her husband pulled her towards him. “You’d rather spend time gazing at those sums than me?”

A laugh spilled from Tang Qiu’s lips, playfulness bubbling up in her. “Haven’t I done that enough already?”

Jiang Shaocheng’s arm tightened around her waist. To have her so tantalizingly close, unable to savor every inch of her body… “Looking isn’t enough,” he said roughly. “Far from it.”

His embrace had suddenly become a steel cage. “What do you want, then?”

Jiang Shaocheng threw the covers over both of them. “The doctor said I’ll recover faster if I’m in a good mood,” he whispered. His lips grazed her ear, sending an itch through her body that bloomed into a slow fire. “You want that for me, don’t you, Qiu?”

Perplexed, Tang Qiu searched his face for signs of humor and found none. “Be a good girl,” he murmured, “and I’ll tell you what’s the best way to please a man.”