Zhong Chu’s face flushed a deep crimson; she truly had no idea how to respond to a situation so suffocatingly awkward.
She buried herself entirely under the covers, like an ostrich sticking its head into the sand. Raising her voice in a fit of humiliated rage, she snapped, “I’m going to sleep! Get out of here, stop bothering me!”
An Yanqing paused. In the deathly silence, Zhong Chu gripped the corners of the quilt tightly, so much so that she could hear the frantic thumping of her own heart. It felt like a drumstick beating violently against her eardrums, her heart nearly leaping out of her chest.
Then, An Yanqing spoke. Her gentle, low, and husky voice sounded slightly muffled through the dual barriers of the bedroom door and the blankets.
However, that faint, soft chuckle drifted into Zhong Chu’s ears without any hindrance. Her earlobes burned instantly as she heard, “Good afternoon, Zhong Chu.”
Immediately afterward, there was no more movement outside.
Zhong Chu maintained the same position, cautiously exposing one ear outside the quilt, and remained frozen for several minutes.
Only after hearing the faint sound of the door opening and closing in the next room—confirming that An Yanqing had truly left did she move her stiff body. She poked her head out from under the covers and slowly let out a long, cautious breath of relief.
Because she had held her breath for too long, her chest flared with a searing pain as she exhaled. Amidst this dull ache, Zhong Chu was filled with a bellyful of rage but had nowhere to vent it.
What kind of earthly misery was this!
Was this the sort of predicament the proud and noble Eldest Miss Zhong was supposed to face?
With a dark expression, she stared at the cracked screen of her phone as if facing a mortal enemy, watching as the battery slowly drained to zero. The extremely suggestive sounds of splashing water, followed by a long, satisfied, and languid moan, finally dissipated into the air.
She waited patiently for a few more moments. Once she was certain that no more agonizing sounds would come from the phone, she hurriedly pressed the call bell.
Zhong Chu resentfully handed the phone to the servant who arrived upon hearing the bell, instructing them to “destroy the evidence” of this wretched thing as thoroughly as possible and to prepare a new phone for her.
By this point, she was utterly exhausted. Thinking back on the rollercoaster of emotions she had experienced over the past two days, she didn’t know whether to blame herself or that scoundrel An Yanqing for plunging her into such an embarrassing mess.
Physically and mentally drained, her head had barely hit the pillow before she sank into a deep sleep.
By the time the servant woke her up, it was already pitch black outside the window.
Zhong Chu was still immersed in a vivid and colorful dream, unable to snap out of it, and sat dazed for a while while hugging her quilt. By the time she recovered her senses, the memories of the brilliant dream had already faded from her mind.
She rubbed her aching head. Even though she had slept for quite a long time, her sense of fatigue had only increased.
The only remaining memory was An Yanqing’s face from the dream.
She had looked at her quietly, her eyes filled with a heartbreaking sorrow that Zhong Chu had never seen before.
That incredibly proud woman’s back, which was always ramrod straight, was slightly bowed. Her red lips were tightly pursed, and a tiny glint of a tear escaped from the corner of her eye. Her gaze remained fixed on Zhong Chu without blinking, as if in a silent plea for her to stay, or perhaps a form of begging.
But when had the real-life An Yanqing ever shown such a fragile side?
In the dream, she was far more fragile than the fleeting moments of vulnerability she had previously shown in front of Zhong Chu. With her bloodshot eyes and trembling gaze, she even gave off the illusion that without Zhong Chu’s presence, An Yanqing could no longer go on living.
Zhong Chu felt it was absurd. She pressed hard against her throbbing head, tossed aside the quilt, and forced a slight curl of her lips. She thought to herself: Dreams are indeed just dreams; they don’t possess a shred of logic.
When she went downstairs, her father, mother, and An Yanqing were already seated at the dining table. It appeared they had already finished a round of discussion regarding the two of them registering their marriage.
The three of them were experts at controlling their emotions; regardless of how they felt privately, they appeared calm and composed on the surface, refusing to let their thoughts show blatantly in front of Zhong Chu.
Zhong Chu was naturally thick-skinned and oblivious, so she failed to detect the undercurrents hidden beneath the atmosphere of the dining table. After greeting her elders, she simply focused on enjoying An Yanqing’s meticulous and thoughtful care.
An Yanqing knew her tastes better than anyone. Her movements as she served the food were practiced and calm; everything that landed in Zhong Chu’s bowl was food that she liked.
The situation was the same as always, as if this had been their way of interacting for all these years, never changing.
Once the meal was over and the tableware was removed one by one, Grandpa Zhong sat in the head seat, taking in everything happening below him.
Leaning on his cane, he asked slowly, “Chu Chu, it’s getting late. Are you going back with Xiao Qing tonight, or staying at home?”
An Yanqing also turned her head to look at her. At that moment, Zhong Chu wasn’t thinking about anything else but the guilt of having backfired so spectacularly in front of Dr. Su, which had severely screwed over An Yanqing.
“I think…” Although she was reluctant, she thought about how this misunderstanding had started because of her, so she had to clean up the mess.
If she didn’t give Dr. Su an explanation, this “social death” result would eventually be handed over to her parents.
One experience of wanting to die of shame was enough. She didn’t want her post-marital life in “certain aspects” to be brought before her relatives and scrutinized by everyone on the table.
Her entire focus was on An Yanqing, so naturally, she didn’t notice her parents’ hesitant and resistant postures as they looked at the old man. Following that, under the old man’s sharp glare, they had no choice but to rein in their emotions helplessly.
An Yanqing said nothing, but her smiling gaze already spoke volumes.
Zhong Chu cleared her throat. Hidden by the chair and the table, she guiltily pinched her sleeve.
She didn’t dare look at An Yanqing, nor did she dare look at her parents’ expressions. She fixed her eyes straight on the old man and said in a small, reluctant voice, “Even though An Yanqing’s place is small and shabby, since we are already wives, I suppose I should go share her hardships for a few days.”
Grandpa Zhong was naturally pleased with this outcome. Her parents wanted to object strongly, but under the old man’s authority and persistence, they couldn’t even voice a proper protest.
Zhong Chu didn’t take much with her, only clutching her small safe. Other unimportant items would be packed by servants and assistants and delivered to her one by one later.
The driver drove them back. An Yanqing sat in the front passenger seat as usual, while Zhong Chu occupied the entire back row alone.
Zhong Chu’s mind was a mess. The erotic images and sounds from the phone earlier that day those vivid, sensual scenes repeatedly replayed in her mind.
She hung her head, her earlobes burning hot. Uncharacteristically, she didn’t cause any trouble today, nor did she take advantage of the narrow seating to bully An Yanqing when she couldn’t dodge.
Zhong Chu was far too quiet today. As the saying goes, “when a child is quiet, they must be up to no good.” An Yanqing also noticed something was wrong and couldn’t help but look at her expression through the rearview mirror.
“Zhong Chu.”
Her voice was clearly very soft, but Zhong Chu was startled so badly by the sudden call that she jumped, her head snapping up.
Because of her extreme tension, her voice sounded aggressive: “What!”
The interior of the car was dead silent, and her voice exploded like a crack of thunder, her reaction being abnormally intense.
Even the driver, who was concentrating on the road, was startled and instinctively glanced at her through the rearview mirror.
An Yanqing stroked the edge of her phone, discreetly observing the girl’s bright red earlobes. She asked calmly, “Since it’s settled that we’re living together from now on, I can’t keep sleeping on the floor, can I? What are we going to do tonight?”