Wu Fu had not anticipated finding a male stranger in Cen Jin’s home.
He suppressed his surprise and calmly inquired about the young man’s identity. The boy looked somewhat familiar and clearly recognized him—Wu Fu could tell from his gaze. But when the boy introduced himself as “Li Wu,” Wu Fu failed to conceal a deeper, more complicated astonishment.
Had Cen Jin really taken this child in?
In that moment, his wife suddenly felt like a stranger to him.
Suspicions swirled in Wu Fu’s mind, and he decided to confirm: “Why are you here?”
His tone remained gentle and polite, but the boy’s eyes held no friendliness. “Ms. Cen helped me transfer to Yi High School.”
Wu Fu frowned slightly. “Are you living together now?”
“I live on campus. Do you need something from her?”
Though the boy’s words were straightforward, his attitude already carried the authority of someone who belonged in this home. Wu Fu glanced down at the slippers the boy wore—a clear sign of intrusion, like a cuckoo seizing another’s nest. “Cen Jin left something at my place. I came to return it, but I couldn’t reach her. I was worried something might have happened, so I came directly.”
Immediately, Wu Fu regretted his explanation. He didn’t owe this boy a single word.
“Is she home?” he asked again.
“No,” Li Wu stood firmly within the doorframe, his sharp eyes and height creating an imposing, almost guarded pressure. “She went out.”
Wu Fu had to reassess him. “Do you know where she went?”
“No.”
Wu Fu sighed inwardly. Their relationship didn’t seem as close as he had imagined.
He handed over the plain white shopping bag. “I’ll leave this with you. Make sure she gets it.”
Li Wu agreed and took it.
“You’ve grown quite a bit,” Wu Fu remarked casually, adjusting his collar in a final attempt at small talk. “Last time I saw you, you weren’t even as tall as Cen Jin.”
Li Wu stared at him for two seconds, then curved his lips slightly. “Now I’m taller than you.”
The smile held no warmth—instead, it carried an inexplicable chill. Such blunt hostility and rejection were traits only boys of this age dared to display so openly; as adults, they would gradually learn to wear masks of social grace. Wu Fu smiled faintly in return. “Do you resent me for not helping you?”
Li Wu slipped one hand into his hoodie pocket. “No.”
The two words sounded defiant. Wu Fu decided on the spot to engage him a little longer.
“I want to make it clear—we actually have no obligation to do this,” he deliberately used “we” to emphasize the distance between them. “Cen Jin is a good person, but she’s idealistic. Idealism requires certain conditions.”
Li Wu remained silent.
“She sees you as someone she must take responsibility for. Not everyone has to abide by this kind of idealism—this ‘pity the poor and relieve their distress.’ Personal intentions and objective circumstances can’t always align…”
Wu Fu stopped his lecturing. In the boy’s eyes, he saw unmistakable possessiveness and aggression—so intense it felt suffocating. How bizarre. He had only come to return an item, yet he found himself on the receiving end of a challenge only another male would recognize.
The boy didn’t care how he was described, judged, or treated.
His animosity seemed to stem from one source alone.
Wu Fu sensed something was off.
But precisely because the boy made no effort to hide it, Wu Fu had even less desire to confront it directly.He knew that the moment he spoke, he would be at a disadvantage in this battle.
Cen Jin's affairs were completely unrelated to him now. All he wanted was to break free as soon as possible, without any further unnecessary entanglements.
But that didn't stop him from finding it absurd. He let out a laugh and asked, "How old are you?"
Li Wu said, "Seventeen."
Just as he was about to ask another question, his phone suddenly rang in his pocket. Wu Fu took it out, glanced at the name, and immediately answered, "Hello."
He looked back into the young man's eyes, expressionless. "Yeah, I'm at your place. I gave the stuff to Li Wu. Where are you? Okay, I'll be there soon."
After hanging up, Wu Fu slipped the phone back into his pocket. "Aren't you afraid I'll tell her?"
Li Wu asked, "Tell her what?"
Wu Fu said, "You know."
"I am," the young man replied without hesitation, "but I want you to know."
Wu Fu smiled knowingly. It was clear he wouldn't help pave such an easy path for him.
―
A little after four, Cen Jin sat in the Starbucks on Qingping Road, waiting for Wu Fu to arrive.
The man was wearing a trench coat and no glasses, making him look somewhat younger, almost reminiscent of his university days.
Of course, it wasn't just him revisiting the past. Cen Jin had also dressed up for the occasion. Her crimson skirt cascaded from the chair like a large, blooming flower.
They didn't look like a couple about to part ways but more like lovers on their first date.
Their eyes met. Wu Fu seemed momentarily dazed, while Cen Jin merely curved her lips into a smile. "I didn't order anything for you."
She then explained her sudden silence: "I just went to my new company to submit some documents and left my phone in the car."
"No problem," Wu Fu said as he sat down, pulling two stacks of documents from his briefcase and getting straight to the point. "Take another look."
Cen Jin took one of the stacks and began flipping through it casually.
The pages were cold, filled with emotionless words and numbers.
She read with intense focus. Wu Fu, meanwhile, went to the counter to place an order. When he returned, he took a pen from his bag, twirling it between his fingers, occasionally glancing at the pen and then at her.
Before long, Cen Jin smoothed the agreement back onto the table, pressing down on the last page with her wrist. "I've finished reading. There are no issues."
She tapped the bottom right corner of the last page lightly. "Is this where I sign?"
"Yes," Wu Fu handed her the pen.
Cen Jin glanced up at him. "What about you?"
Wu Fu said, "You go first."
Cen Jin removed the cap without hesitation and wrote her full name after the words 【The Wife】.
She looked back at Wu Fu. "Do I need to leave a thumbprint?"
"Yes," Wu Fu took out an inkpad.
Cen Jin lifted her lips slightly. "You're really well-prepared."
"Just a habit," he replied. Cen Jin was always forgetting things, and filling in the gaps had become his specialty.
Cen Jin fell silent, pressing her red-inked thumb over her name.
Wu Fu followed the same steps.
And again for the second copy.
Each took their own copy, and with that, the legal effect took hold. They were now separated, no longer bound by the title of husband and wife.
Just then, the barista called out "Mr. Wu." Wu Fu stood up to retrieve his drink.
The moment the man's clothing drifted away from the table, Cen Jin pressed her lips together, her eyes rapidly reddening.
She looked upward slightly, swallowing back her tears with effort, restoring her composure before he returned.
Wu Fu sat back down, took a sip of his coffee, tucked his copy of the agreement into his bag, and then looked at Cen Jin. "Cen Jin, you look beautiful today.""Thank you," the woman's voice was devoid of emotion. "I'm beautiful every day."
Wu Fu chuckled: "No longer viewing me through husband-tinted glasses?"
"I thought you'd long discarded such things."
Wu Fu curved his lips downward and lowered his gaze, saying nothing more.
He changed the subject: "When did you bring that child to Yishi?"
Cen Jin replied: "The same day he called asking for my help."
Wu Fu showed a look of understanding. "No wonder."
"No wonder what?"
"Nothing," Wu Fu stopped there and inquired about her work: "I heard you're going to Aoxing?"
Cen Jin leaned back in her chair: "Yes."
"Why not find a client-side position?"
"Rather than tormenting others, I prefer competition," she crossed her arms, a hint of arrogance in her casual demeanor: "Looking forward to crossing paths with you."
Wu Fu smiled, raised his coffee cup in a toast gesture: "Likewise."
—
As they walked out of the shop together, Cen Jin suddenly felt unsteady on her feet. Dizziness washed over her as if she might faint at any moment—an indescribable feeling, uncertain whether it was relief or exhaustion.
She gripped a roadside railing, staring fixedly at the billboard across the street.
Wu Fu took out a cigarette, glancing at her. The woman stood in the cold wind like a rose defying the frost. He quickly placed the cigarette between his lips and freed his hands to remove his trench coat.
Muffled by the cigarette, he asked: "Cold?"
"Don't bother," Cen Jin directly raised a hand to refuse: "I'm not cold."
Wu Fu shrugged, slipped the half-removed sleeve back on, took out a lighter to light his cigarette, but kept his eyes on her pale face.
Cen Jin's nose twitched slightly: "When did you start smoking?"
Amid swirling white smoke, Wu Fu removed the cigarette: "If I said it started after we lost our first child, would you believe me?"
Cen Jin studied him for two seconds: "I believe you."
"Not much though, just one a day." Noticing her slightly furrowed brow, he immediately stubbed out the cigarette and tossed it into a nearby trash can: "My emotional state back then was no better than yours. Partly because of the child, but mostly because of you."
Cen Jin's lips twitched rapidly and faintly, refusing to look at him: "Like you said, there's no point discussing this now."
"None at all," Wu Fu gazed at the endless stream of traffic: "How did you get here?"
"Drove."
"Alright, I'll head off first. See you Monday."
—
Cen Jin didn't even know how she drove home. The world seemed engulfed in a torrential downpour—she neurotically turned on the windshield wipers, but they were utterly useless.
Regardless of who might be home, she changed into slippers and tearfully shut herself in her bedroom, collapsing into heaving sobs in the darkness.
Buried under the blankets, memories flashed through her mind like a revolving lantern: Wu Fu delivering steaming breakfast to her dorm early in the morning, the spectacular fireworks they witnessed in Japan, the white bouquet tossed at their wedding, the moment he lifted her joyfully after their first prenatal results—as if she were his child... until finally, the divorce papers placed before her.
She suddenly recalled his words from that day: "Cen Jin, I think we might not be suited to continue living together. We can no longer provide each other with any positive emotional value. Continuing this marriage would only mean mutual loss and torment. Though it pains me deeply, it's better to end the suffering quickly rather than prolong it. Let's separate."
...
Around eight o'clock, Cen Jin finally composed herself, washed her face, and emerged from the bedroom.The world outside was pitch black, with only a sliver of light seeping through the crack under the study door.
Cen Jin’s head throbbed with pain, her temples pulsating relentlessly. She forced herself to walk toward it.
Too lazy to knock, she turned the handle and pushed the door open, then slid half her face into the other person’s line of sight. "Have you eaten?"
The boy lifted his head from behind the desk, staring at her through the door crack without answering for a long moment.
"Did you eat or not?" Her tone grew impatient.
He finally snapped out of his daze. "Not yet."
"Not hungry?"
"Not hungry."
Cen Jin rubbed her nose with her sleeve, her voice slightly nasal, as if wilted by the sun. "I’m hungry. I’m going to eat something."
Li Wu stood up immediately. "There’s still some left from lunch. I’ll heat it up."
As he walked toward her, his tall, lean frame blocked most of the light from the room. Cen Jin’s limited field of vision darkened once more.
She didn’t move, and he couldn’t get past her, leaving him standing there awkwardly.
"Why do you always turn off the lights?" the woman asked abruptly.
Li Wu said, "To save electricity."
"Did I ask you to pay for it?"
"…"
"Turn them on."
Li Wu’s heart skipped a beat. Nervously, he fumbled for the switch, intending to turn on the spotlights in the four corners of the study. But he pressed the wrong one and accidentally turned off the ceiling light as well.
Darkness surged in like a tide, instantly swallowing the entire room.
His senses sharpened abruptly.
The woman’s faint breathing became unusually clear, as if she were right beside him. Li Wu’s heartbeat spiraled into chaos. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and he frantically pressed all the protruding switches on the wall.
Click, click, click, click.
Intense light replaced the darkness, wrapping the two of them back into daylight.
The boy’s breathing was as ragged as if he had just sprinted a long distance, so frantic he couldn’t comprehend it himself.
"S-sorry…" Li Wu lowered his head and saw the woman’s eyes brimming with tears. He couldn’t utter another word.
His heart felt tightly gripped, squeezed of all sound.
She didn’t seem to care about maintaining her composure anymore. She simply bowed her head, let out a long sigh, made room for him to pass, and then turned to leave.
Li Wu followed closely behind, turning on every light along the way for her.
All the beautiful corners of the house gradually revealed themselves.
Cen Jin walked straight to the dining table and sat down. She looked up at the boy standing by the same table, her eyes now dry but slightly swollen.
"Go heat the food."
"Today, it’s your turn to take care of me."
—
Li Wu froze, his mind scalded by those words, burning hot.
He turned and walked to the kitchen counter, placing the leftover takeout from lunch into the microwave, one container after another.
The kitchen was unusually quiet, with no sound other than the occasional ding of the microwave finishing its cycle.
After heating the rice, Li Wu stared helplessly at the cabinets full of tableware. Cen Jin loved collecting dishes—cups, bowls, and plates of all shapes and styles.
In the end, he chose a white-glazed coarse pottery bowl, filled it with rice, and brought it to the table.
Cen Jin had used this bowl at lunchtime, so it shouldn’t be a mistake.
He handed her the chopsticks, and the woman immediately lowered her head to eat.
Li Wu hesitated, wanting to speak. "The dishes…" …aren’t ready yet.
But seeing how intently she was eating, he said nothing more and turned to bring the dishes over one by one.
Only after setting everything out did Li Wu sit down across from her, slowly eating his own meal while stealing glances at her out of the corner of his eye.
Cen Jin began picking up food with her chopsticks, taking a large mouthful of rice with every bite. It was the first time he had seen her eat so heartily and eagerly, as if her stomach had been unblocked.
She lifted the bowl, scraping off every last grain of rice, before setting it back down.The woman remained seated, taking deep breaths—in and out—until a glimmer of focus gradually returned to her eyes. She turned to Li Wu: "Where are the things Wu Fu brought?"
Li Wu gestured toward the living room: "On the coffee table."
Cen Jin didn’t go to check immediately: "Did he come inside?"
Li Wu said: "No."
Her gaze flickered: "Did you open the door for him?"
Li Wu paused briefly, his voice slightly muffled: "He had fingerprint access."
Cen Jin froze for a moment, then belatedly stood up, grabbed her phone, and headed toward the entryway. She stopped behind the door panel, followed the prompts, and quickly deleted Wu Fu’s fingerprint record.
Once done, she turned back. Just as she was about to return to the dining table, her gaze abruptly halted on the silhouette in the dining room. The boy sat upright, his lashes lowered, his nose bridge straight, eating as obediently as ever.
She watched him for a while, her heart strangely calm. She called out: "Li Wu."
The teenager turned his head.
Cen Jin pointed at the door: "Come register your fingerprint after you finish eating."
"Oh..." The boy’s response became light and drawn-out, but his movements quickened noticeably. He buried his head back into his meal, chopsticks clinking rapidly against the bowl, as if afraid someone might snatch it away from him.
OpenNovel