Madam, Please Behave-Chapter 290: Torment

December 1st.

Winter had officially arrived.

7:35 PM.

Winter nights fell earlier, and Liu Changqing stood downstairs, gazing at the nearly withered leaves on the trees not far away. A sense of melancholy stirred within him, like he had just grasped some profound truth about life...

He looked up at the sky.

He thought for a long while...

Finally, as if he'd made up his mind, he raised his hand and hesitated slightly, then pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket.

He threw them away—like saying goodbye to his old self...

Staring at the cigarette pack in the distance, Liu Changqing looked resolute.

He had promised An Yuanyao he would quit smoking—for a healthy body, and more importantly, to set a good example for the kids.

As a father, he had to lead by example. How could he not follow through on a promise to his wife? Besides... science had proven that smoking really did harm your health.

After serious consideration, Liu Changqing agreed to An Yuanyao’s request to quit smoking.

That’s how this scene came to be.

He took a deep breath and etched this day into his memory. If he could manage something as hard as losing weight, then quitting smoking was nothing...

“Heh... Don’t underestimate me, nicotine...”

Muttering that to himself, Liu Changqing took one last look at the cigarette pack on the ground, and then, like a soldier heading to war, he turned away from the past and stepped toward the stairs, step by step, as a brand-new version of himself.

The stairwell was dim, and the sound of footsteps going upstairs faded away...

The discarded cigarette pack just lay there...

Time ticked by slowly.

Three minutes later, a figure darted back out from the stairwell, walked up to the cigarette pack, bent down, and picked it up.

Skillfully flipping open the box, he pulled out a cigarette and clamped it between his lips.

One last smoke before quitting for good!

That’s what the returning Liu Changqing was thinking.

Then he pulled out his lighter—click, click—a spark flared to life.

Just as the flame was about to touch the tip of the cigarette, Liu Changqing froze. In his mind, he saw An Yuanyao in the house, earnestly reminding him how smoking was bad for his health...

He looked down at the lighter in his hand. Liu Changqing snapped out of it like he’d been jolted awake, and hurriedly threw away the cigarette pack again.

That was way too close!

Even he didn’t know why, just moments after going upstairs, he suddenly had the urge for one last smoke, like his mind had been clouded. By the time he realized what he was doing, he’d almost lit it.

As the saying goes—once you give in the first time, there’s always a second time. If he lit this one, the promise he made to An Yuanyao would mean nothing. He’d become someone who couldn’t keep his word.

If his daughter found out that the father she admired and respected couldn’t even resist a little nicotine...

Slamming on the brakes just in time, Liu Changqing quickly took the cigarette out of his mouth, snapped it in half, and then lifted his foot and kicked the whole pack away with force.

Then, like he was fleeing the scene of a crime, he bolted upstairs.

At his door, Liu Changqing opened it and stepped inside, slamming it shut with a bang. Then he leaned against it, breathing hard like he’d just seen something terrifying.

This baffled the mother and daughter sitting on the sofa watching Pocket Monsters.

They both turned to look at Liu Changqing, who was gasping for air with his back pressed against the door.

An Yuanyao was the first to react.

Worried, she rushed over and examined Liu Changqing’s face, asking with concern in her voice,

“What happened to you… Why are you so freaked out?”

Liu Changqing looked at her, stunned for a few seconds, then opened his arms and pulled her into a hug—like he never wanted to let go again.

“You don’t know what kind of decision I just made…”

“What are you talking about…”

Caught off guard by the sudden hug, An Yuanyao got a little flustered. After replying, she gently pushed Liu Changqing away. After all, their underage child was still sitting nearby watching, so she couldn’t help feeling a bit awkward.

Truthfully, An Yuanyao was overthinking it.

Liu Xiazhi only glanced at the two adults starting their hugging game again without much curiosity.

She quickly looked away and turned her attention back to the TV screen.

Compared to watching her parents hug, the Big Train Channel’s Pocket Monsters was way more interesting. Every evening at 7:30, right after the national news, they played this.

The story followed the protagonist, Wang Zhi, whose goal was to become a Pokémon Master while searching for his missing brother, with his buddy Pikachu along for the ride.

Liu Xiazhi’s favorite character was Pikachu!

That round face, yellow body, and squeaky “pika pika” voice…

She considered it the ultimate cutie!

That’s also why she picked up her long-unused handheld console again a few days ago—just to train the Pikachu she caught in the game into the strongest Pokémon!

Now, aside from the TV… she wasn’t interested in much else.

Seeing how awkward An Yuanyao looked, Liu Changqing glanced over at his daughter, who was fully absorbed in the show on the sofa...

He decided not to hold his wife anymore.

After thinking for a moment, his expression grew serious, and he spoke.

“This isn’t looking good… The moment I decided to quit smoking, I realized—it’s not as easy as I thought...”

“Is it really that hard?”

An Yuanyao asked in confusion.

From what she remembered, her younger brother used to smoke too, but after he got married, quitting was a breeze.

“Should I call Qianxun… ask him how he managed to quit back then?”

“No, don’t!”

Liu Changqing quickly stopped her.

If the in-laws found out he was being all dramatic just trying to quit smoking… wouldn’t that totally ruin their good impression of him?

“I can quit—I promised you, didn’t I?”

He quickly reassured her.

That made An Yuanyao feel all warm and fuzzy inside. She was starting to really understand Liu Changqing now. She knew that if he actually promised her something, he’d definitely give it his all.

Maybe quitting really was tough…

That thought crossed her mind. She’d heard before that if smokers suddenly stopped, their bodies would feel totally off. She wasn’t sure if that’s how Liu Changqing felt, but she had already prepared for this.

Thinking of something, An Yuanyao spoke up.

“Wait here—I got you a quit-smoking secret weapon!”

“A quit-smoking secret weapon?”

“Yep, I saw a bunch of people online saying this helped their husbands quit...”

As she spoke, An Yuanyao turned and walked into the room.

When she came back out, she was holding a lollipop. 🍭