Arrogant Man VS Unyielding Woman

A weak smile crept on Moore's face as he heard the hesitation in Jean's voice. He knew something was up, and it only gave Jean a dilemma, so he said, "That is, if tonight's inconvenient for you, we can have an appointment next time you're available. I really just called to tell you that I have been discharged."

Jean's eyes widened in surprise. "What? You're discharged from the hospital?" Jean felt excitement build inside her after hearing the news. In a high-pitched and giddy voice, she inquired again,"Are you sure that you are all right now to leave the hospital? Don't you need to take a reexamination?"

"Well, I've taken the examination already, and the results show that I am recovering very well. The doctor then released me and told me that I only need to take more rest at home, so I can be completely healed." Moore then let out a sigh of relief as he told Jean about this.

Jean smiled brightly. "That's wonderful! It's great to hear such good news!" Jean exclaimed with a huge smile plastered on her face. She felt thrilled to hear this, and indeed she felt like this is the best news she had heard recently ever since the kidnap. With excitement evident on her tone, she said, "Well, you see, the reason why I was hesitant in the first place was because I promised Zed that I will cook dinner for him tonight. But after hearing such exciting news from you, I'm definite that he can wait, and yours calls for a celebration. What do you think about making a dinner reservation? Let's say, how about Shangri-La Restaurant?"

Moore's eyebrows furrowed in thought. "Wait! Did I hear it clearly that you were supposed to cook dinner by yourself tonight?" In his voice, Moore obviously took no interest in having dinner in a restaurant but showed great interest when he heard that Jean was about to cook personally.

"Well, yes," Jean replied with a nod even though Moore couldn't see that gesture. "However, I am not a good cook, and I can only cook several dishes, so whatever you're planning, I don't think I dare to invite you to my home."

"Oh no, Jean! That's totally fine for me." Moore hastily interrupted Jean and showed his full interest in eating the food cooked by Jean. "Since my food had been served by the hospital staff, I am craving for home cooked dishes. Especially that you will cook tonight, I will love every dish you cook. I swear!"

Jean couldn't help but smile. It seemed that Moore was capable of saying such sweet words as Zed.

Since Moore assured Jean that he was completely okay with her dishes, Jean could only nod her head in agreement. She asked, "Okay, fine, just don't blame me if it ever tastes weird. Anyways, tell me what dishes you like so that I will prepare it."

"Nothing in particular. Just cook what you are good at, but don't make it too complicated. Any dish you cook will be fine for me." Moore smiled as Jean finally assented and then continued, "Well then, I will take my belongings back home first before I head to your home." "Wait, are you still at the hospital right now?" Jean asked.

"Yes, I just finished the discharge procedures. These forms are too tedious," Moore replied with a frown on his face.

"Oh, really? Okay, listen, just stay there, and I will send someone to pick you up. He can send you home first, so you can drop your belongings and then he will drive you to my home." Jean smiled at herself. She felt like a really good planner.

Moore's eyes widened. He didn't want to trouble her too much so he hastily turned down her kind offer. "Oh no! That would be too hassle for you. Really, I can just take a taxi."

"No worries, silly! It's no trouble at all. I just have someone next to me," Jean assured with a smile on her face.

Moore thought about this for a moment after hearing Jean's reply. With a sigh, he finally compromised. "If you put it that way, then okay. I will be waiting for him at the gate of hospital." "Great! I will ask him to pick you up real soon." After they bid each other goodbye, Jean hung up the phone. She turned to Toby, who was concentrated on driving and called his name.

"Yes, Mrs. Jean?" Toby responded in haste after hearing his name. He didn't bother remove his attention on the road. Besides, he was trained to be alert at all times.

"Call either Gregory or Terry. Ask one of them to pick Moore up at the hospital. Tell whoever is available to send him home first and then drive him to my home," Jean ordered Toby. She leaned back on her seat and crossed her arms on her chest.

"But..." Finally, Toby gave a quick glance at Jean through the rear view mirror. Jean looked at him back with a questioning look as if asking him why he dared to oppose her. Because of embarrassment, it took him some time before he spoke, "Well, Mrs. Jean, Gregory and Terry are here to protect you, and not..."

"I know, but you are here to protect me, and I am confident that you can protect me well, aren't you? Besides, you just need to drive me to the vegetable market and nothing wrong would happen. Trust me as I trust you." With a smile, Jean said with conviction on her tone, trying to persuade him.

The embarrassment on Toby's face lingered for a moment. After thinking about it for a while, he compromised. He gave another quick glance at Jean and nodded with reluctance. Jean just smiled at him back. He then took out his phone and called Gregory to pass on Jean's order.

After talking to Gregory, he placed his phone down and reported to Jean,"Mrs. Jean, Gregory has set out to pick Mr. Moore up in the hospital as you ordered."

"Great! Thank you, Toby. Now, please, pull up?to the?curb of the nearby vegetable market, and I will go buy some vegetables." Jean pointed and gave him a faint smile.

Confused, Toby's eyebrows furrowed into a frown. He did not understand why she was doing this.

He had never seen someone drive a limited-edition refitted Bentley to a vegetable market before, until now!

Perhaps, Jean was the only person in the world who would do it without hesitation.

With these thoughts muttering in his heart, Toby still followed her order and pulled up at the curb after he saw a big vegetable market in front of them.

Jean excitedly got off the car and then headed to the market. Toby wasn't sure if she noticed how other people stared at her or the car, but she either didn't or she chose to ignore them.

Then again, she was very quick to buy some meat, vegetables, and sea food before finally walking back towards the car. Toby reached out for the paper bags and placed them all on the trunk.

Jean thought about how she was truthfully not modest at all, because all the dishes she were good at were all what she liked to eat.

Since both Zed and Moore didn't tell her to prepare a certain meal they wanted, perhaps both of them should just make do with what she will cook for them tonight.

At the thought of this, Jean suddenly realized that she hadn't informed Zed about her invitation to Moore. As soon as she got into the car, she immediately reached for her phone and dialed Zed's number.

The phone was soon answered after the second ring, and a concerned voice reached Jean's ears. "Hey, honey, what's up?"

"Hey, darling. Well, I just heard moments ago that Moore has been discharged from the hospital today. I promised him that I would treat him to dinner once he leaves the hospital. But then I promised to cook dinner for you tonight, right? So, Moore said that he also wanted to come to our home and join us for dinner to have a taste of my cooking. I wonder if you will mind it."

Jean explained, not giving the chance for Zed to decline.

Although Zed minded it very much deep in his heart, he couldn't say no after hearing Jean's soft and sweet voice. In a tender and gentle tone, he said, "Honestly, I do mind, but I should also thank him. If it were not for him, we wouldn't have been reconciled so soon. Since he'd like to come, why not? We should show our good hospitality and gratitude to him." "Oh, honey, I know you will agree! Then, I apologize for bothering you and go back to whatever you were doing. Just come back home early, and I will make preparations first." Jean beamed a wide smile. Although she expected that Zed would mind, she still knew that Zed would keep an open heart.

"No problem, darling. Don't tire yourself too much, okay? You can ask Zelda for help." After she heard that, a huge smile crept on Jean's face. She realized how much Zed was concerned about her.

"Oh, Zed, I'm not that enervated!" She chuckled. "Now, I am going to hang up and I will wait for you home. I love you."

With a smile playing on her lips, Jean hung up the phone as soon as Zed replied with an "I love you too."

As soon as she got back home, she didn't waste any more time to change and just wore an apron on top of her day's clothes and started to busy herself preparing for dinner.

Meanwhile, Zelda observed the pile of ingredients on the kitchen counter. She realized that Jean was going to cook so many dishes by herself tonight. Because Jean wasn't calling for her, Zelda was anxious to assist her.

Like a cat on hot bricks, Zelda pleaded, "Mrs. Jean, at least let me wash the dishes for you, okay? I feel very uneasy seeing you do all this alone while I just stand here without giving you a hand." Zelda really wanted to help Jean. She spent her life having something to do, and it made her uncomfortable at the thought that she had nothing else to do this time.

"I'm totally fine, Zelda." Jean stopped slicing the carrots and lifted her eyes to look at Zelda, stopping her from washing the dirty dishes on the sink. With a reassuring smile on her face, Jean said, "I must do it by myself, because the guest tonight is special. So don't feel uneasy, and take this free time to have a rest!"

"Special guest?" With a look of confusion on her face, Zelda asked.

"Oh, I don't know how to explain it to you, but you'll see, so you'd better go have that rest now. Besides, Zed will be home soon, and he will help me." Jean said, giving Zelda another reassuring smile as she tried to persuade her to leave the kitchen for her alone. Zelda sighed in relief after hearing that Zed would be back soon to help Jean. She then gave Jean a helpless nod before reluctantly leaving the kitchen and heading to her own room.

Relieved as well, Jean heaved a deep sigh after watching Zelda leave.

To be honest, she felt very nervous and stressed out whenever the talkative and garrulous Zelda was beside her.

She was not good at cooking, so she didn't want anyone to watch her cook. Most importantly, she found it difficult to concentrate with someone else beside her.

What's more, Zelda was a great cook, and for sure, she would feel very intimidated by Zelda and even more stressed out in front of her!

The?time?ticked?away?second by?second as Jean was preparing the ingredients and washing and cutting dishes.

The rice had been done in the electric cooker, and all the other needed ingredients were already prepared.

Everything was ready. All she needed to do was wait for Zed and Moore, so that she could start frying and cooking.

Since she didn't want to waste any food, she only prepared dishes enough to serve three people.

Besides, what's important was that she had cooked them as much dishes as she knew.

After wiping her hands dry with the fresh towel, she glanced at the clock on the wall and surmised that Moore should be coming any time now.

As soon as she saw the low-key Audi car coming slowly out on the courtyard, a huge smile appeared on her face.

Pleasantly surprised, Jean immediately walked out to greet Moore.

Jean watched as Moore got out of the car. She was so glad to see him in his almost recovered state that she couldn't help but smile wider. "Welcome, Moore!"