The Return Of The Devil's Wife 100 A Picnic, Underworld Style 1

Yan Qing Shan arrived at the kitchen, ready to cook food for her and Zi Jue's picnic. A picnic isn't one without delicious food. That was her simple principle. Good food nourished not only the body but also soothed the mind and soul. Somehow, Yan Qing Shan could understand the Aces' sentiments when it comes to dishes. It was because of her cooking that got her recognition from them. Truly, food can pry open a path to anyone's hearts.

Zi Jue wasn't around when Yan Qing Shan came to. She figured that he was taking care of last minute matters concerning the work he will be leaving at his secretary's hands. However, she gave a jolt of surpise upon seeing him concentrating on whatever it was that he was making. She knew Zi Jue could cook. She just didn't know he was this good. Well, it seemed that she wasn't the only one utilizing the food path.

"I feel like our power balance is a real mess. I can proudly say that I am well-versed in cooking. Even so, you're even more of an expert in it. Your wife's virtues will be questioned if you keep this up, you know?" Yan Qing Shan said as she leaned languidly by the doorway. She saw Zi Jue flashed a small smile but kept his eyes on the pot he is stirred.

"My wife is my queen. It is only natural that I cook for her. Of all people, I do not want to be the one who's cooking she would dislike. Besides, the way to a person's heart, be it men or women, is through their stomach. Through this, I can ensure my way to my wife's heart. To h.e.l.l with that prejudiced power balance." Zi Jue replied to her with a glance, the small smile in his lips remained therein. Yan Qing Shan giggled in response to this, she knew the underlying meaning of those words. She knew who they were for. They were mere nonchalant jests just as much as they were a confident declaration. Yan Qing Shan could feel an undeniable tingling in her cold, hardened heart. One that she frequently bask in despite her many protests.

'My wife is my queen huh? Hmm. Who would have guessed that the great devil whose gently smile would harvest his enemies blood without fail would ever spout such irrefutably sweet words?' Yan Qing Shan smirked at her thoughts. She didn't have any qualms about it. Being treated like a queen was every woman's dream.

"Wow, you sure are revolutionary. Be careful. I might get spoiled rotten with all of your doting." She said as she treaded nearer to his side.

Zi Jue peeked at her from his absurdly long and thick eyelashes. Yan Qing Shan gazed at them, thinking of how they are so much like b.u.t.terfly wings delicately fluttering. She was caught up with her admiration so much that she didn't notice Zi Jue putting a lid unto the pot and then proceeded to cage her in his arms.

He leaned his forehead down to her pale shoulders illuminated by the soft morning light.

"Good... It's all good. I want you to be spoiled beyond comprehension. So spoiled that no one other than me will be able to grant you your whims and your caprices. Rest easy and savor all of it, I don't mind." Zi Jue murmured softly in her ear. Yan Qing Shan felt s.h.i.+vers in her spine. Her legs felt weak due to the sinful sensation. She giggled at his proclamation. He sounded so arrogant, as if all of the world was merely his present to her. But instead of feeling trapped with such words like she did in the past, Yan Qing Shan felt proud and beautiful. There was a man willing to pamper her like this. No matter what she does, no matter who she becomes. It was a pleasant feeling.

Yan Qing Shan averted her eyes and looked at the myriad of food boxes laid atop the kitchen island.

"You need help with the cooking?" She said after Zi Jue released her.

"Hmm. I'm almost done. I just need to pack all this into the food boxes that we will be bringing along. Though, I guess it wouldn't hurt letting you give me a hand with that." Zi Jue responded with an indulgent tone.

"Alright. I'll do that while you finish up with that." Yan Qing Shan deftly a.s.sembled the food in the boxes afterwards. The mood was harmonious to the point where Yan Qing Shan was unaware of the unconscious of the blissful smile she had on or that she was humming softly to herself. She also failed to notice the retreating figures of employees possessing bitter countenances as if they'd been fed with something unappetizing.

---

"Where exactly are we heading for this picnic, Ah Jue?" Yan Qing Shan asked with her voice tinged with undeniable excitement.

"We're going to the mountain villa I recently acquired. It's nearby and the view is fantastic. There's a flower field I know you'd especially like." Zi Jue answered as he focused his eyes on the road while answering her question.

Yan Qing Shan stared intently at his side profile. Ah... Even at such an angle she couldn't deny his good looks.

'Ah it's so soothing looking at a beauty like this everyday. This is what life is all about.' Yan Qing Shan giggled at her thoughts. Referring to Zi Jue as the beauty was without a doubt an audacity that only she was allowed to commit.

It was right to choose to be with him.

There was no absolutes in the world. She knew that this good relations.h.i.+p with him was as mystical as it was precariously fragile. But Yan Qing Shan was determined to make it so that it was not ephemeral. That it would not be so easily broken. All her life she has lived through loneliness. Yes, she was lonely. Her circ.u.mstances had driven her to push people away, to create an impenetrable cold fortress to protect herself. But that was then. This time Yan Qing Shan was able to experience so many things that she could only have imagined back then. She was drowning in a sea of warmth and Yan Qing Shan only wants to sink into it even more.

"You alright?" Zi Jue observed her oblivious demeanor through his peripheral vision. All he could see was a beautiful woman who never fails to take his breath away. She has become even more radiant. The small glimpse of the raging liveliness she held restrained in her heart, one that he had accidentally saw the first time he saw her, was now completely s.h.i.+ning through. It was matchless, just as he had a.s.sumed it would be.

"I'm fine. I'm just excited." Yan Qing Shan replied sweetly. Her cold mask was completely off. In some ways or the other she knew that she could rest easy with Zi Jue around. Yan Qing Shan might have been saying that the work she was doing the past few days didn't even amount to much. Still, it was incredibly tiring. Her taut mind was was stretched thin no matter how much she denied it. Dealing with Zhao Ming Hua and Yan Xiaoyi, working her way to her goals they were taking a toll on her.

But she couldn't back down. Yan Qing Shan didn't dare back down. It was as much as for her sake as for her family. She didn't want the same kind of ending as it had been in the past. G.o.d has given her the chance to set everything right, she will not just let it waste away.

"After our picnic, do you mind us dropping by the Hades' headquarters?" Zi Jue inquired shattering the silence brought by her musings.

Yan Qing Shan shook her head. "Not at all. You have business to attent to, there?"

"No. I want to introduce my people to you. It's time they meet their Madame." Zi Jue grinned with delight as he said this. Yan Qing Shan pouted playfully at him, putting on a dubiously annoyed expression.

"Madame? I haven't even married you yet, you know. I'm still in school. This mister here needs to rein in his desires lest it would embarra.s.s and tarnish his name." Yan Qing Shan remarked with mock indignance. Her eyes betraying her intentions.

"Aiyah. This isn't this mister's delusions, it is merely the wish of my subordinates and brothers to address you as such." Zi Jue played along with her, his voice innocent yet teasing. He wasn't wrong anyway. His people truly were the one who wanted to call Yan Qing Shan, Madame. And he had no plans of refuting something that was definitive and bound to happen, no matter what.

There can only be one Madame of the Zi Family. And that was her, Yan Qing Shan. Only her.