Arrogant Man VS Unyielding Woman

"Sit down, please. You have not recovered yet, so it's unnecessary to pay too much attention to etiquette." Zed stopped Moore in a hurry.

"I feel much better now, and I'm not as weak as you think. Don't believe Jean's words. She's making a mountain out of a molehill." Moore ruefully smiled at Zed.

"No, you are wrong here. I have to obey her orders. From what I know, women begin to wonder if we love them when we don't listen." Zed sat opposite Moore and looked at him with a smile.

Hearing Zed's words, Moore nodded. Zed had hit home with this point. He replied, "I couldn't agree with you more. But in Jean's case, this is especially true. She's a bit different from others since she doesn't reveal her emotions too easily and bear matters of the heart all by herself."

Zed looked askance at Moore and said, "It seems to me that you know her very well."

"It is because of the video incident. I saw her face awash with tears almost every other day in the hospital. Despite what she had gone through, she never complained once." Moore held Zed's gaze as he replied. The video incident made Zed flush with shame. After a moment's pause, he sighed.

"Speaking of the video incident, I have to apologize for not handling things properly. Thank you, Moore. Thank you for being her friend and taking care of her at such a stressful time," Zed said to Moore with gratitude.

"You are welcome. Though, my help wasn't much significant." Moore shook his head.

Zed looked at Moore with a smile. Although they had not expressed their thoughts frankly, both of them knew what each other wanted to say.

Moore saw Zed was looking at him with a smile, so he felt a little nervous. "You can rest assured that I won't promise Jean to move in and interfere in your private life. Jesse just left, and I don't want to become the second 'Jesse'," he said.

"I'm very glad to hear you say that." Zed sighed when he heard Moore's judicious words. "But I've promised Jean that if she can persuade you to move in, I will have no objection to it."

Moore felt a little bit surprised at Zed's words. "So, I will not promise Jean this, and thus I won't bother you."

"No, you have misunderstood me," Zed shook his head and said. "It's true that I didn't welcome the idea of you moving in my house in the past. But now I prefer that you live with us." 'Many things can be prevented from happening if you are around.' Zed thought.

"Why?" Moore was puzzled and curious at Zed's words at the same time.

"You don't need to ask why. If you don't want Jean to feel guilty about you all the time, then just promise her!" Moore was stumped.

He looked at Zed for a long time, guessing the meaning behind his words. Finally, he nodded his head and said, "I'll think it over, so please give me some time. It's a little surprising to me." Zed nodded in sympathy and subtly nodded in agreement.

'It is true that Moore had never imagined that I will agree to him moving in.

In fact, I don't have to worry about their past. Now, Jean's my wife and we love each other. That's enough.

I have to trust Jean and I better have confidence in myself, ' Zed thought.

"The food is ready. Zed, please, come to help me."

Jean poked her head out of the kitchen and beckoned Zed.

"I'm coming." Zed responded to Jean and stole a look at Moore, who was still lost in thought. Shaking his head, he walked into the kitchen with a slight smile on his lips.

"What can I do, baby?" Looking at the amount of things Jean was trying to get done, Zed felt sorry for not peeking in once to help her. He said, "I told you to let Zelda help you, but you still don't take my advice. Are you feeling tired, baby?"

"No, I'm alright." Zed was happy to see that Jean had fully immersed herself in cooking. "Today I've prepared dinner with a lot of thought, so try to eat as much as you can later even if the dishes are not so delicious," Jean said.

"Of course, even if you hadn't mentioned this, I would have tried my best to finish all the dishes." Zed said to Jean tongue in cheek.

"Come on, baby. I was just kidding. Don't be so serious. Let's open a bottle of red wine! Our meal is almost ready. Lay the bowls and plates on the table while I start serving the dishes."

The corners of her mouth turned into a faint smile as she ordered Zed about.

"Yes, my dear wife." Zed kissed her on her forehead and then took out the wine and started laying the table.

After Jean had put all dishes on the table, both men were taken by surprise. They had never imagined Jean to be this good and versatile at cooking.

There were strong bone soup, fish soup, fried broccoli, vinegar eggplant, celery lily and it went on and on.

Staring at such a wide spread for dinner, Zed gulped down his saliva and said to Jean,"Baby, now I understand why you just said that you have prepared very carefully. You know what? These dishes are even better than a five-star hotel! They look incredibly appetizing. "Really?" Jean's face blushed after hearing Zed's compliment. "I don't know if Moore likes the taste. Moore, sit down and help yourself, please."

"Thank you." Moore smiled and said, "It must be very delicious. I can tell just from the smell. Thank you so much, Jean. I am going to play the glutton down and treat myself with all these delicacies."

"I feel happy to have friends at home. Please help yourself. Moore, I have made two soups and boiled them for a long time. Why not drink some?" Jean put a bowl of bone soup in front of Moore and asked him to try.

"Thank you. I'll serve myself from here." Moore took the ladle from Jean's hand.

"Make yourself at home, Moore," Jean smiled and said. She was careful not to look partial to anyone. She knew that Zed liked fish soup and served him a bowlful.

At the start of the evening, Zed might have been slightly unpleasant, but Jean serving him his favorite soup mollified him. Now, he was savoring the delicacy with pleasure.

Looking at the two men very pleased with the dishes she had cooked for hours, Jean glowed with satisfaction. Finally, she too took a bowl full of soup and started to drink it.

A peaceful calm descended on the table as the three people happily ate their dinner.

Once they were done, Zelda walked into to clear the table meanwhile Jean stood up to go inside the kitchen again.

This time around, she carried a fresh fruit platter and put it on the tea table in the living room. Looking at Moore, she asked, "Moore, did you like the dishes? Were they to your liking?"

"Of course, I enjoyed the meal so much. Jean, I had never imagined you to be so proficient at cooking." A smiling Moore answered Jean.

He hadn't lied to Jean. In fact, he had really enjoyed the dinner and eaten beyond his normal appetite.

Now despite wanting to eat the fruit in the attractive fruit platter, his bulging stomach had no space for one more morsel of food.

"Moore, how did you find my cooking?" Jean smiled and asked Moore.

Just as Jean spoke, Zed and Moore exchanged knowing looks.

Both men were smart enough to figure out the reason why she had asked the question a second time. They both could see what was coming next.

"Yes, I like it very much. But, Jean..." Just when Moore was about to refuse Jean's invitation, she interrupted him.

"Since you like it, you can stay here and I'll cook it for you every day. Moore, you are not good at taking care of yourself. You've been in the hospital for such a long time. And now, you have become slimmer than even women. I am not jealous of your slim figure. Instead, I feel very guilty about it. After all, if it weren't for the accident, you would have been very healthy now. You don't want me to feel guilty for you all the time, right? So, just take my advice to move in. That way, we can look after each other, right?"

Jean's list of reasons to persuade Moore left both Zed and Moore dumbfounded.

'Why is Jean so insistent? Does she already know that I will refuse her?' Moore wondered.

Moore turned to look at Zed and he found that Zed was also gaping at his wife.

"Jean, I know that you care for me. But I'm used to living alone, so I'm afraid that I will have to refuse your kindness." Moore answered with an embarrassed smile.

He had thought it over and had come to the conclusion that he would not move in.

"Why? Moore, we're friends, aren't we?" Jean was a little bit annoyed by Moore's refusal. "If you are still unwilling to move in, then forget what I said just now."

"Jean, of course we are friends!" Moore hesitated for a moment and then explained. "Jean, it has nothing to do with us being friends or not. You should enjoy your private life with Zed and this is why I should not move in. Do you understand?"000000