Arrogant Man VS Unyielding Woman novel Chapter 40

After careful thinking, Jean realized that it was unnecessary for her to explain her relationship with Ethan to Zed.

Although Jean and Zed were bound together by marriage, Jean believed that they were not affectionate toward each other. As they were not a real couple, it was only a matter of time before they divorced.

Jean limped into the bedroom, and then slammed the door and slid the deadbolt into place.

'Why is Jean so angry? Don't I have the right to be angry?' Zed thought to himself. Although Zed had pushed Jean to the ground rudely, he still held Jean responsible for the incident. After all, she had annoyed him. Since she was to blame, he did not understand why Jean got angry more intensely than he did.

Zed Qi furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to solve this puzzle.

Unable to come up with a satisfactory answer, he decided to confront Jean. He went straight up to the bedroom door and began knocking on it repeatedly and forcefully. However, no one answered him.

"Jean Wen, open the door! Now!" Zed was so furious that he shouted at Jean.

"No! No! No!" Jean insisted on not opening the door for Zed.

"No? You are in my home and occupying my bedroom. How can you refuse? Open the door!"

"I... will not open the door, unless you apologize to me!"

"Apologize? Why should I apologize? It is your fault. You should apologize!"

"Is that so? Fine! If you are going to argue with me, you can stay in whichever room you like except for this bedroom!"

Jean was ill-tempered indeed.

Jean and Zed quarreled like that for a long time. Between shouting at Jean, pacing in the hall, and hammering on the door, there was nothing else that Zed could do. Jean was adamant. As frustration mounted, Zed's face darkened.

A few moments later, Zed lost his patience and raised his hand again to knock at the door.

However, Zed did not get any response from Jean. Fed up with the situation, Jean had crawled into bed. Each time Zed hammered on the door, she would worry that the force he was using would break the door. She pulled the quilt up to her chin and pursed her lips as she glared at the door. When she didn't hear anything, her ears pricked. She was curious about how long Zed would keep knocking. Anyhow, she had made the resolution to ignore him.

"May I request you to open the door, please?"

As soon as Zed realized that his tough attitude would not ease conflicts between him and Jean, he became polite and gentle. When Jean heard Zed's request, she couldn't help bursting into laughter. However, she covered her mouth to prevent Zed from hearing her.

"Jean, I'd like some fresh clothes. I need to take a bath." Zed attempted to speak with a calm voice although his face was still black with rage. When he still didn't receive a response, he pounded on the door.

Jean, who had hopped out of bed to fetch Zed's belongings, waited till he stopped pounding on the door. Then she tip-toed to the door and stuck her ear against it. As soon as she heard footsteps and felt assured that he was walking away, she unbolted the door and tossed his clothes and towel out.

Zed was flabbergasted. He hadn't expected Jean to comply. If he had known what she would do, he would have stayed and forced his way in. As it were, the door had been slammed shut even before he could process the fact that his pajamas and bath towel had come flying out of the room.

'What an awful woman! Her temper is really horrid!' Zed Qi's anger could no longer be restrained. It thrummed through his veins and he felt as though he had to do something. He ran to the door and beat it again with his fist. When silence ensued, he gritted his teeth and furrowed his eyebrows.

"What else do you want? Why can't you tell me in one go ?" Jean shouted at Zed impatiently.

"You forgot my underpants. I have to wear something under the pajamas." Zed lowered his voice and replied. As he imagined Jean's embarrassment, a smile danced on his lips.

Time ticked by ever so slowly as Zed waited for Jean to open the door. His smile grew and disappeared. But the door remained closed. Just as Zed sighed, ready to give up, the door flew open. A blushing Jean stood before Zed with his underwear precariously balanced on her little finger.

"There! Take it."

As soon as Zed reached and took the underpants, Jean withdrew her hand and closed the door again.

After locking the door from the inside, Jean rushed to the bathroom to wash her hands. She used soap to repeatedly scrub the little finger that had touched Zed's underpants.

...

Early the next morning, Jean walked out of the bedroom. She had completely forgotten about last night's events. She languidly walked toward the kitchen, yawning and stretching along the way. She halted the minute she reached the living room!

Jean was astonished to see that Zed was asleep on the sofa. He was only covered with a thin blanket.

She frowned. The villa was huge. He could have picked any guest room to sleep in. Why did he choose to curl up on the sofa?

Having heard Jean's footsteps, Zed woke. He rubbed his eyes and stretched to ease the crick in his neck from spending the night on the sofa. Suddenly he began to cough.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Guilt overcame Jean when she heard the unexpected cough. She rushed to the bedroom and grabbed a thick and soft quilt for Zed. Then she rushed back into the living room and wrapped it around Zed's shoulders. She crouched in front of him and expressed her concern for Zed's health.

"Have you caught a cold? Why didn't you sleep in the guest room?"

"I have difficulty falling asleep in the guest room."

"Why didn't you say so earlier?"

"If I had told you, would you have allowed me to sleep in the bedroom?" Zed looked Jean in the eye.

"I... might have considered it." Jean replied hesitantly.

Jean pursed her lips when reminded about the previous night. With nothing more to say to Zed, she walked to the cabinet and took out the medical box. Then, she sat on the floor and prepared to change the bandage on her injured foot.

As soon as Zed saw the injury, he pushed away the quilt and strode toward Jean with bare feet. Then, he gently held Jean's ankle and examined at her injury carefully.

"I can do it by myself."

Jean was a little embarrassed and pulled back her leg. However, she overestimated the strength she would need to free herself from Zed and lost her balance.

"Sit tight. Don't move."

Zed said as he steadied her.

Jean placed her hands on the floor to keep her balance. She did not dare to move for fear of worsening her injury. She sat patiently and watched Zed apply medicine to her wound.

Looking at Zed cleaning the wound with a swab, Jean was so touched that her heart beat faster. Jean's breath hitched as a thought crossed her mind. She truly believed that only a couple that genuinely cared about each other would behave considerately even when they have been fighting. She and Zed squabbled last night but now, he was being thoughtful. Jean began to think that they behaved very much like a couple who had been together for a long time.

'No, no, no! I must be delusional!'

Jean kept dissuading herself. She couldn't fathom that she would ever be lucky enough to earn such love from a rich and powerful man like Zed. Her eyes roamed over Zed's beautiful face as she reminded herself that their marriage would end in a divorce.

As soon as Zed finished bandaging Jean's foot, he lifted her and settled her on the sofa gently. Afterward, he talked to Jean with a warm and affectionate tone, "Get some rest. I will make you breakfast."

Jean was so shocked that her mouth opened wide.

'Unbelievable! Did Zed just say that he will make me breakfast? What's happening here?

Wait. Why does my face feel so hot and why is my heart racing?

What on earth is wrong with him? He treated me so badly yesterday but he is being so kind today. Is this Zed's way of torturing me?' Jean couldn't understand the change in Zed's behavior.

Although Jean was told to rest on the sofa, she couldn't help leaning forward and looking at Zed who was busy in the kitchen. After a while, Zed stepped out of the kitchen, but there was nothing in his hands.

A strained, unfamiliar look of embarrassment came over Zed's face when he moved toward Jean and sat beside her. Seeing Jean peering at him, Zed explained, "I have ordered some food."

"Huh?" Jean shook her head and said, "You don't know how to cook?"

"Is Ethan Lei capable of cooking?" Zed turned to glare at Jean, and questioned her in a jealous tone.

At Zed's mention of Ethan, Jean froze for a few seconds. She hadn't expected Zed to bring up Ethan. It took her a while to process Zed's question. Then she nodded as she answered, "The omelet rice he makes is very delicious."

As soon as Zed heard Jean speaking highly of Ethan, his face became darker, and his eyes seemed to spark with fury!

However, Jean had only answered the question he asked.

It suddenly occurred to Jean that Zed and Eva had been alone together for a long time last night. She guessed that their relationship had progressed. However, since Jean's mobile phone was broken, it was difficult for her to speak with Eva and find out what had transpired. Jean could have asked Zed, but she felt embarrassed at the thought. Therefore, she decided to figure it out by means of devious questioning.

"By the way, when will we start the divorce proceedings?"

After thinking it over carefully, Jean raised the tricky question. As per her rationale, this question would accomplish two things. First, it would help Jean avoid awkward situations between her and Zed, and through his answer, she would learn whether Zed and Eva's relationship was progressing.

If Zed and Eva had reconciled, Eva would be reluctant to let Jean remain as Zed's wife and Zed would have decided to accelerate the divorce procedure.

Jean believed that her question was smart, and she soon became excited to see whether her assumption was right or not. She stared at Zed with an expectant expression.

As soon as Zed heard the question, he turned to glare at Jean. His eyes were as cold as ice and his face twisted with rage.

"What? Are you so eager to eat the omelet rice Ethan Lei makes ?"

"Ah?" Jean had just asked Zed when they would get divorced. She didn't understand how Zed had connected her question with Ethan's omelet rice.

"Jean Wen, do you not take marriage seriously? Does it amuse you to speak of divorce all the time ?"