Seeing Shui Xian going rampant with his sudden shopping spree, Raelle had no idea what to do for a moment. As she processed his willfulness, she held his arm to stop him, "That's enough already."
"I didn't buy anything yet," said Shui Xian. "Do you wear anklet?" He bit his nail in a thoughtful manner before adding, "It'd look great on your gorgeous ankles." He nodded to himself as he imagined it and agreed with himself, "Definitely looking great."
"Are you okay?"
"Absolutely!"
"Is it okay for you to be this excited over this?" questioned Raelle.
"I'm buying for my wife," commented Shui Xian. "Why shouldn't I be excited?" He continued to point at different articles as he asked her, "How do you like this one?"
Raelle shook off his hand and found herself a seat saying, "Don't ask me."
Shui Xian pursed his lips and sighed out, "Fine, I'll just choose myself."
Raelle casually looked around and said to the shop attendant, "Let me see that jade necklace."
The shop attendant attentively took out the necklace she pointed at with her gloved hands and carefully passed it to Raelle.
"Is this lavender jade?" asked Raelle
"Yes, Ma'am," answered the shop manager who came to attend to her on her own. Knowing Raelle's identity, the shop manager was even more polite and attentive to Raelle than Shui Xian who was still picking different pieces of jewelry for his wife.
The lavender jade necklace that Raelle held wasn't something made intricately or looked exquisite. It had a simple design but it gave off a very elegant feeling. It was crafted for a modern individual who sought sophistication in daily life with simplicity while keeping their affinity with their culture and antiquity.
"This is a complete set," said the shop manager as she took the bracelet, ring, and earrings from the shop attendant and presented it to Raelle.
"I'll take it," said Raelle without even thinking twice. She took out her card to pay when Shui Xian noticed it and stopped her.
"I'll pay for it," he told her.
"Why can't I pay for it?"
"I know you're an independent person but I'm a fool. A fool who wants to spoil and pamper his wife. Would you allow me to do something?"
"I'm not buying it for myself," said Raelle as she gazed at her foolish husband who was so eager to spend his money on her.
"Huh?"
"I'm buying it for Yue," answered Raelle. "Then tell me, why should I let you pay for it?"
"What's mine is yours," that was the only argument he could think of right now.
"And what about what's mine?" she asked in return.
"That is also yours," he answered decisively.
Raelle shook her head, "The other day, I read the same statement in a book and I certainly don't like it. A woman has a right to her man's money but a man has no right to hers? Aren't we living in a society driver by gender equality? How is this gender equality when men are still getting the shorter end of the stick?"
"Baby, do you know that your words can offend a lot of feminists?" Shui Xian felt helpless before her argument. He didn't even know why she had been thinking about this. He didn't think much about it.
"Do I look like I care who I end up offending?" retorted Raelle and Shui Xian could only shake his head. Indeed, his wife was the fearless one. She never cared. "I'm merely stating a fact. Isn't a relationship built on giving and taking? Then why is it that your money is mine and mine is also mine? Isn't that ruining the balance of a relationship?"
Shui Xian thought about it for a moment and sighed out, "Then what do you want me to do? You're spending money on me, I want to do the same."
"I didn't stop you," answered Raelle. "But this is something I'm buying for my family. It's not your responsibility to pay for it. Even if you feel like it's nothing."
Shui Xian raised his hands in defense and stepped back, "Okay, your highness. You can do whatever you want."
"That's more like it," said Raelle. "This useless argument could have been avoided if you had taken a step back from the beginning."
Shui Xian shook his head at her and smiled softly while he said to the shop attendant, "Pack the things I just picked."
"Are you done?" inquired Raelle.
"For now," answered Shui Xian. "I'll get the chief designer to make a special luxury collection for my wife. One of its kind." He was feeling pleased with his own idea.
Raelle couldn't possibly understand his thought process but then again, Shui Xian also couldn't understand her thought process either. It wasn't really a big deal for him to pay for what caught her eyes, but she was really particular about it. He didn't even understand why that was so. But he was willing to go along with her.
If she wanted to pay for herself, he'd just let her be. The last thing she lacked in her life was money. In fact, he even once wondered that her assets seemed to be more than his own. That thought had made him work even more passionately lately.
"You seem to understand a lot about jewelry," stated Raelle. She had seen how Shui Xian had been questioning the attendant in detail about every single piece he had chosen for her.
"When my mom was alive, I was always surrounded by her jewelry designs or unfinished pieces of jewelry or even a lot of rare gemstones. It'd be weirder if I didn't pick up a thing or two."
"Oh, so it's your mother's influence."
"Parents always seem to have some influence on their children," he commented thoughtlessly but when he realized what he said, his head whipped to her side to observe her face. However, as always, he couldn't find anything from her face.. It even looked like she didn't even hear his casual remark.
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