Chapter 488: A Battle of Wits With His Wife
Translator: End less Fantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
In front of such a diligent and studious wife, if he said ‘I don’t want to learn how to read’, he would surely make her look down on him.
Having been pampered by her, he really couldn’t bear the slightest feeling of being looked down upon by her!
So what could he do?
Huangfu Lingyao’s eyes rolled, and he said, “Wife, you are so busy, isn’t it unnecessary?”
Liu Shimei, seeing his resistance, couldn’t help but ask in confusion, “Why don’t you want to learn how to read? People always need to learn and progress! Look at this…”
She pointed to the book on the table and said, “If you can learn all these characters, you can understand what is written here. Wouldn’t that be great?” Huangfu Lingyao roared in his heart, ‘I understand it! Not only can I understand what’s written here, but I can also write, and I can write very beautifully! Not only can I organize information like this, but I can also write political essays and national policies!’
But-
No matter how rich the inner drama was, he had to succumb to the reality in front of him: he was a fool!
He blinked his long eyelashes and said, “But it will distract you from your work, Wife. You already have so much to do every day. Where do you have time to teach me how to read?”
Liu Shimei quickly came up with a solution. “Then I’ll find you a tutor!”
Huangfu Lingyao,”…”
Just let me die!
Unable to persuade her, he could only resort to his last resort, putting on a pitiful expression, with eyes full of grievances, blinking his long eyelashes as if saying: If you force me to study, I will cry!
Sure enough, whenever Liu Shimei saw him like this, she couldn’t help but soften her heart, and the crazy factor of spoiling her husband would come out and dominate her consciousness.
She sighed and said, “If you don’t want to learn, then forget it.”
Dealing with him was like dealing with a son who had no interest in studying. No matter how much she forced him, he wouldn’t learn. She had to find another approach, make him discover the joy of learning from a different angle.
Liu Shimei pondered for a moment and said, “How about this? Can you recognize any of the characters on this paper? Just a few, okay?”
“Huh?”
He thought he was changing his strategy subtly, but Huangfu Lingyao saw through it all. He knew he couldn’t resist anymore; otherwise, he might genuinely disappoint her. There was no way he could let his wife be disappointed in him!
So, he obediently nodded and looked down at the information about Shu Yutong. He began pointing at the simple characters, trying to pronounce them. Of course, to avoid appearing incompetent, he had to know all the simple characters. For slightly more complex ones, he pretended to rack his brains, finally hesitatingly pronouncing them. To make it all more convincing, he intentionally mispronounced a few homophones!
After this ‘battle of wits’, he was drenched in sweat!
Finally, the stern ‘female master’ let him off, saying, “It seems you do know, but you might have forgotten because you haven’t practiced in a long time.”
Liu Shimei furrowed her brow and said, “How about this, Lingyao? Aren’t you bored following me around while I work? Why don’t you read a book? Is that alright?”
Could Huangfu Lingyao refuse?
Of course not.
He had to say, “Alright! I’ll do as you say!”
Well, at least he wouldn’t have to hide reading from his wife anymore. In a way, this situation turned out to be a blessing in disguise!
The conversation shifted back, “What about accepting this disciple?”