Jasmine, who had been asked out to dinner by Josh, saw Serena’s post and immediately passed her phone to Josh for him to see.
“What’s up?” Josh asked as he took the phone.
He was struck speechless the moment he saw Serena’s post.
That couple’s posts one after another were basically a public display of affection, spreading the love for all to see. Was that not too much?!
Jasmine said, “I really didn’t expect the seemingly cold and aloof Zack to be so good at cooking. He’s multi–talented and he’s so good to his wife. He’s a model husband! I have to admit I’m really envious seeing Serena so happy.”
Jasmine looked at Josh as she said this.
Josh immediately began feeling immense pressure.
As he was bad at cooking, he had no way of presenting a table full of dishes that could rival a professional chef as Zack had done.
In his heart, he griped about his good friend. He was so exceptional that he was about to thoroughly outshine all the other single upper–class men. It was not easy trying to get a wife.
“Ms. Sox will be very happy in the future too.”
Josh had no skill in cooking, but he felt that he would treat his wife very well. If something came out of his relationship with Jasmine, he would definitely ensure her happiness.
Jasmine laughed. “Who knows at present if they’ll be happy in the future? Love and marriage aren’t the same. Things can be super sweet while dating, but after marriage, everything returns to reality. Every single flaw a person deliberately hides while dating will be exposed without fail. A marriage will only last if they can tolerate each other to the end.
“Mr. Bucham, you can’t cook, can you?”
Josh replied honestly, “I’ve tried, but it wasn’t good. I could probably make something edible at best. Jasmine, is your standard for a husband someone who has to be great at cooking and housework?”
He no longer called her “Ms. Sox“. He felt that after knowing each other for so long, continuing to address her that way seemed a little distant.
In the past, men always wanted a wife that was good at both housework and cooking. Was that now also the standard for women to choose their husbands?
It was all Zack’s fault for being outstanding. They were both men and came from upper–class families, so why was Zack exceptional? He was pretty much an all- rounder.
Maybe it was just that Grandma May was too good at raising her kids and grandkids that they were all raised to be excellent in every aspect.
“Our family chef is pretty good,” Josh added.
Jasmine picked up a bite of food and said, “I don’t expect my future partner to be good at both housework and cooking. I just think that it’s something everyone knows how to do, so after getting married, we could take turns cooking and I won’t be so tired then.”
“To me, husband and wife should be equals. I won’t pamper my husband like he’s a young lord of some sort. If my other half had any sort of chauvinistic ideals, I’d rather be single than serve him.”
“We have a chef at home. There won’t be any need for you to cook.”
Jasmine was speechless for a moment. “Mr. Bucham, I never said I was going to marry you, so what do you having a chef at home have anything to do with me?”
Josh opened his mouth but remained silent, unable to reply.
After a moment, he said, “Jasmine, wait here for me. I’m going out for a bit.”
Jasmine hummed in acknowledgment.
Josh had gone out to buy flowers.
Luckily, there was a florist nearby, and the boss of that florist was a local who was not in a hurry to close for the holidays, which was why he managed to buy a bouquet of roses in such a short amount of time.
Carrying the bouquet, Josh returned and walked straight toward Jasmine. He handed the flowers to her with his black eyes gazing straight at Jasmine. Earnestly, he said, “Jasmine, after getting to know you, I’ve come to like you more by the day. I feel like I’ve been single all this while because I’ve been waiting for you to come into my life. Would you be my girlfriend?”
Jasmine accepted the flowers, put them on the table, and said to him, “First, let’s eat.”
“If you don’t give me an answer, I won’t be able to stomach anything.”
“If you can’t stomach anything, there’ll be more for me then.”
Josh was struck silent.
Jasmine laughed when she saw his speechless expression. “Mr. Bucham, I don’t dislike you, but if you’re asking me to accept you right now and become your girlfriend, I don’t feel comfortable with that. Maybe we don’t know each other well enough yet. I hope you can give me a bit more time to get to know you better before we define our relationship.”
Out of countless blind dates, only Josh left a good impression on Jasmine. She did not run from it, but she could not bring herself to accept Josh right this moment.
She always felt that it was very unfair between her and Josh.
Based on the Bucham family’s network, Josh was extremely clear about her entire family history stretching back eighteen generations. He even knew about how many children her grandmother had had and how many had survived to adulthood. She did not even know that.
She only knew her father had four siblings and thought her grandparents had only had five children.
Once, she had no idea what they had been talking about before that, but Josh mentioned her father had eight siblings. It was just that only five of them reached adulthood, while the remaining four had died when they were infants.
At the time, Jasmine was struck dumb.
She then returned home and asked her father, but he had no idea either. When she asked her grandmother about it, it was only then her grandmother admitted that that was the truth.
In the past, living standards were bad and many people had many children, but most had at least one child who passed away.
Her grandmother asked her how she knew about that.
It had been her first four children who passed away. The latter five survived and lived to become adults.
That was why even her father had not known he had lost four siblings before him.
This made Jasmine realize how much more powerful and terrifying than she had imagined the Buchams were.
Just as she had put it to Serena, she was as plain as day to Josh–there were no secrets to speak of.
On the other hand, she knew absolutely nothing about Josh.
She not only felt it was unfair but also scared–scared of Josh and the Bucham family’s power.
Thus, she liked Josh but did not dare immediately accept his suit. She thought, ‘Let’s get to know him a little better.‘
Josh felt a little disappointed but was not discouraged. He said, “That’s fine. I’ll wait for you, no matter how long it takes. I’m willing to wait until you feel like you know me really well and you’re willing to become my girlfriend. I’m even going to wait until you’re willing to marry me and become my wife.
“But Jasmine, can you tell me why you’re so against becoming my girlfriend right now? You could get to know me better during the dating stage too.”
Jasmine was silent for a moment before she replied, “Mr. Bucham, I’m afraid of your family and its power. Buchams have always been mysterious and no one has ever really understood your family. You guys have always been able to dig out everything, whatever you guys want to know.
“Before we went on the blind date, you knew I was going, so you dug up everything you could on my family, didn’t you?
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.