Еxtra Сhарtеr 8
If it wеren't for suddenlу fаlling ill, Zheng You'аn wouldn't havе rеturnеd tо thе сountry аhead of schedule.
Shе сamе baсk in а hurrу, withоut telling аnуоnе, аcсompaniеd оnly bу her assistant. Аnd since shе was somеоnе whо рrасticallу mоved hоusе whеnevеr she wеnt оut, with large аnd smаll suitcаses piled оnto two trollеуs, hеr assistаnt Pei Qing cоuldn't mаnаge аlоnе. Zhеng Yоu'аn lent а hаnd, walking аll the wаy out оf the аirроrt. Onlу whеn thе drivеr came tо meet them did she finallу relax.
Аt three in thе morning, thе аirpоrt was still brightly lit. Zheng You'an got into the car, her arms so sore she could barely lift them. She put on her eye mask, ready to continue sleeping.
Pei Qing took out the medicine, unscrewed a bottle of mineral water, and said, "An'an, time for your medicine."
Zheng You'an's arms were too sore to lift, so she just opened her mouth in response.
Pei Qing fed the pill into her mouth and reminded her, "Swallow it yourself; I can't help you with that."
Zheng You'an didn't say anything. It was only after a long while that Pei Qing saw her throat move.
After the car left the airport, the driver turned back and asked, "Where to?"
Zheng You'an closed her eyes and said weakly, "What time is it now?"
"Four o'clock."
"Four already... Let's go to Bocui Tianchen."
The apartment at Bocui Tianchen was a gift Zheng Taichu gave Zheng You'an the year she got married.
At first, Zheng You'an didn't understand why he'd give her an apartment in the suburbs. A year of married life had made the deeper meaning clear.
"Wait." Pei Qing glanced at her phone and said, "The heating at Bocui Tianchen is broken. The property management sent me a message last night saying they won't come to fix it until noon today."
The driver stepped on the brakes. The car fell silent for a few seconds.
"An'an? An'an?" Pei Qing shook Zheng You'an's arm. "Are you asleep?"
"Hmm...?" Zheng You'an yawned groggily. "Oh, I heard that just now. Then let's go back to my parents' place."
The driver stepped on the accelerator, but then a voice drifted from the back again.
"Forget it, let's not disturb them."
"Then...?"
The driver slowly looked up at the rearview mirror.
Pei Qing waved her hand. "Go to Hongzhao Bay."
The villa at Hongzhao Bay was actually the marital home of Zheng You'an and Yan An.
But she had stayed there only a handful of times.
Probably Yan An had too.
Five in the morning was the darkest time of the day.
A black business car slowly pulled up to the entrance under the pale glow of streetlights. A man and a woman got out and opened the trunk, moving carefully without making a sound, as if they were thieves.
"Don't move anything for now," Zheng You'an said. "Just give me my personal essentials. You two go back and rest first. Tomorrow, take the things to Bocui Tianchen and then come pick me up."
By the time Yan An finished showering, the sky was already bright, but the blackout curtains in the bedroom were drawn, blocking out every trace of light.
He had returned from Europe in the afternoon, still jet-lagged. After having a few drinks with friends, he had unknowingly stayed up until this hour.
The room was quiet, just like usual.
The moment he lay down on the bed, Yan An sensed a faint, delicate fragrance around him.
But with the alcohol clouding his mind, he didn't think much of it, assuming it was just a hallucination.
The curtains were tightly drawn, shutting out the shifting light and shadows, blurring the passage of time.
When the alarm on the bedside table rang, it was unclear what time it was.
Until two pairs of eyes opened, meeting each other's gaze.
The indoor heating was turned up high, making even the air feel scorching, let alone the warmth radiating from each other's bodies under the covers.
After three seconds of mental chaos, a piercing scream tore through the silence.
"Ah!—"The scream was one thing, but Zheng You'an instinctively kicked the person on the bed before stumbling off it.
Yan An grunted, propping himself up halfway and looking at the person before him in disbelief.
After a few more seconds of silence, Zheng You'an calmed down, realizing that the man in front of her was neither a thief nor a stranger, but her husband.
"When did you get back?"
They spoke in unison.
Yan An rubbed his throbbing temples, irritated by her reaction. "Why didn't you say anything in advance?"
"You weren't here when I came back."
Zheng You'an didn't even notice she had answered a question with another question. She glanced down and saw she was still wearing a lace camisole nightgown, while Yan An on the bed was shirtless. As for whether he was wearing anything below the waist, the blanket covered it, so she couldn't tell, but judging from the sensation of her kick earlier, it seemed he wasn't wearing sleep pants.
This scene reminded her of the night before she went abroad.
That unexpected incident had nearly derailed their "marriage of convenience."
Fortunately, Zheng You'an had acted decisively. The next morning, before Yan An even woke up, she packed her bags and left for North Africa, steering things back on track.
Thinking of this, Zheng You'an felt pleased with her own cleverness.
"I thought you were staying at Mingchen Apartments."
"I do, but this place needs some life occasionally."
Yan An wanted to get up, but remembering he wasn't dressed, he pointed toward the robe hanging on the rack behind her, signaling her to hand it to him.
Zheng You'an followed his gesture, understood, took the robe, and wrapped herself tightly in it.
Yan An watched her fluid movements, sighed inwardly.
Fine, then.
Yan An glanced at her with a slight tilt of his chin, got up directly from the bed, and walked into the walk-in closet right in front of her.
When he came out again, both were fully dressed.
Sitting face to face, however, they didn't know what to say.
"Weren't you supposed to come back next month?"
Yan An spoke while using his phone to order food. "What do you want to eat?"
"Anything." Zheng You'an replied, then remembered Pei Qing was almost there to pick her up.
But Yan An had already arranged lunch and placed his phone on the table.
After a moment's thought, Zheng You'an sent a message to Pei Qing: Don't come pick me up yet. Let me have lunch first. Come at two.
"I wasn't feeling well, so I came back to rest."
Zheng You'an said indifferently.
"Not feeling well?" Yan An looked up. "What's wrong?"
"Maybe a bit of a cold." Zheng You'an yawned as she spoke. "I feel like I can't get enough sleep every day."
"Did you see a doctor?"
"Yes, nothing serious. Probably just tired and not resting well lately."
"Then rest properly at home for a while."
"Mm, I know."
Conversations like this often happened between them.
Zheng You'an remembered when she was sick and hospitalized before, Uncle Yan brought Yan An to visit her, and he had said, "Rest well."
After all, Zheng You'an had known Yan An since she was twelve, when she had just started middle school, and Yan An had already graduated from high school—they were from completely different worlds.
She admired and looked up to adult life, while Yan An naturally saw her as a little sister.
After the meal, it was exactly two o'clock. Pei Qing didn't come in but sent Zheng You'an a text message."Then I'll head out first." Zheng You'an stood up to leave, then suddenly remembered something and turned back. "Oh right, I brought you a gift, but my luggage has already been sent to Bocui Tianchen. I'll have someone deliver it to you later."
Yan An set down his knife and fork and looked up at her.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going back to Bocui Tianchen." Having finished her explanation, Zheng You'an picked up her bag and waved at Yan An. "Take your time with your meal."
But as soon as she turned around, her wrist was grabbed.
"Didn't I tell you to rest at home?"
"Huh?"
Zheng You'an turned to look at Yan An and gradually understood his meaning from his gaze.
"Stay here?"
Yan An: "Where else?"
Zheng You'an thought about it and realized he was right. She had returned sick this time, and if she went back to Bocui Tianchen alone, her family would worry if they found out.
"Alright then, I'll have someone bring my luggage over."
After saying this, she took her phone and went upstairs. Yan An watched her retreating figure, his expression inscrutable.
He couldn't quite understand what Zheng You'an was thinking.
After that night, he woke up to find his wife had already flown out of Asia, which truly infuriated him.
He even wondered if there was any "payment" left by this woman on the bedside table.
Actually, even before that, the two of them had hardly ever lived together.
Coincidentally, every time they returned to this villa, their schedules never overlapped. Last night was only the second time they had shared that bed.
"Oh, right." Zheng You'an paused halfway up the spiral staircase and looked back. "Brother Yan An, which room are you sleeping in? I'm sick, so let me have the master bedroom. I think the sunlight in the other rooms isn't as good as in the master bedroom."
Yan An tilted his head, chin raised, and stared at her for several seconds.
Zheng You'an felt uneasy under his gaze and touched her cheek. Just as she was about to speak, she heard him say, "Suit yourself."
Naturally, Zheng You'an took the master bedroom.
But that night, as she lay in bed playing with her phone, Yan An walked in wearing pajamas.
Zheng You'an jolted upright. "You—"
Yan An: "Have you taken your medicine?"
Seeing the water and medicine in Yan An's hand, Zheng You'an was stunned for a moment before replying, "Oh, I forgot."
She took the glass from Yan An and swallowed the medicine. Just as she did, she felt the other side of the bed sink. Glancing out of the corner of her eye, she nearly choked to death.
"You—cough, cough, cough..."
Yan An had to sit up straight again and pat her back.
"No one's trying to steal your medicine."
"It's not that—" Zheng You'an finally caught her breath, but her face was flushed from coughing. "Are you sleeping here tonight?"
Yan An's hand on her back stiffened, and he looked as though he couldn't understand her words at all. "Can't I sleep here?"
"Of course... you can. The property deed is in your name."
Zheng You'an didn't know what was wrong with what she said, but in any case, Yan An didn't say anything more. He simply turned his back to her and went to sleep.
Reaching out to turn off the floor lamp, Zheng You'an also lay down but couldn't fall asleep for a long time.
Fortunately, Yan An hadn't asked her why she suddenly left that day after she returned this time. Otherwise, she really wouldn't know how to explain it.
Unless she came up with something as urgent as aliens invading Earth and needing her to save the planet, she probably couldn't fabricate a convincing reason.
She couldn't very well tell him she panicked.
Come to think of it, they had been married for a year now, diligently playing the role of a superficial couple all along.That day was their wedding anniversary. She joked, "How about we have a drink to celebrate?"
Yan An agreed and opened a bottle of treasured red wine.
As they drank, they chatted casually.
They reminisced from when they first met until now, neither expecting they would end up on the same certificate.
What Yan An didn’t anticipate was Zheng You’an’s alcohol tolerance—just three glasses and her eyes grew hazy, leaning on his shoulder and acting tipsy.
But this girl was quite cute when drunk.
One moment she wanted to dance on the bed, the next she insisted on going downstairs to catch crickets in the lawn.
Of course, he couldn’t let her go downstairs late at night. Unable to stop her, he simply carried her to the room, closed the door, and told her to shower and sleep.
What happened afterward still made Zheng You’an’s heart race whenever she recalled it.
The reason for her unease was that she knew her place in this marriage all too well.
If she ever fell for him, she’d be done for.
Yet that night, the last shred of her rationality preserved the thumping of her heart until dawn.
As an adult, she sometimes struggled to distinguish between lust and love.
Because of this, she knew what the indulgence and surrender of that night might lead to if they continued.
So the next morning, with a mix of panic and calm, she sat on the edge of the bed and booked a flight to Morocco.
Yes! And it’s visa-free!
At least three months apart, she thought, would bring their relationship back to how it was before.
A harmonious, surface-level marriage: she happily spending money on cameras, him freely entertaining other girls.
Truly a beautiful tale in this world.
But clearly, someone didn’t see it that way.
As she turned over, her leg accidentally brushed against the person beside her. Moments later, the warmth beside her drew closer.
When she opened her eyes, she saw Yan An propped on his elbow, watching her.
The night was as still as water, yet his eyes were bright.
"Why did you leave so suddenly that day?"
His low voice now was just like when he whispered in her ear that night.
Zheng You’an blinked, a sudden idea flashing in her mind.
"Because you’re not good in bed."
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