Night had fallen, and Moon Lake Bay Villa was wrapped in silence. After finishing the last document in the study, Fu Sinian stood up, only to accidentally trip on the edge of the carpet. A sharp pain shot through his ankle. He steadied himself against the desk and looked down, noticing the slight swelling already forming.
The sudden pain made him involuntarily recall that severe cold he had suffered last winter.
At the time, it was the most critical negotiation period for Huachen Group’s annual project. He had worked overtime for an entire week straight, only to collapse on the very day the contract was signed. His fever had spiked to 39°C, leaving him dazed and weak, unable even to get out of bed.
Su Wanning had taken leave and stayed by his side without stepping away. Even now, he could clearly remember how she would soak a towel in warm water every half hour and gently wipe his forehead and neck. Her movements had been so tender, her eyes filled with worry.
“Sinian, do you want some water?” she would always ask softly, helping him sit up and feeding him warm water bit by bit.
At night, his sleep had been restless, waking frequently. Every time he opened his eyes, he would see her sitting by the bed, reading under the dim bedside lamp. The moment she noticed he was awake, she would put down her book and lean closer, touching his forehead, her face full of concern.
“Why hasn’t the fever gone down yet…” she would murmur, brows tightly knit, as though she were the one suffering.
What he remembered most clearly was that late night when his fever made him delirious, mumbling incoherently. She had been so anxious that her eyes turned red, tears welling up as she tightly held his hand. Her voice trembled with emotion. “Sinian, get better soon… If something happens to you, what will I do…”
At that moment, looking into her reddened eyes and feeling the warmth of her hand, he had thought himself the luckiest man in the world to have married her. Silently, he had sworn to treat her even better, to place the best of everything before her.
But now…
Fu Sinian snapped back to reality, the pain in his ankle grounding him. He tried to walk, but every step brought a stabbing sensation. It seemed he needed to apply ice.
He pushed open the study door and limped toward the bedroom. Before reaching it, he heard Su Wanning’s suppressed laughter from inside. There was a lightness in that laughter, a joy he hadn’t heard from her in a long time.
“You always know how to make me laugh…” Her voice drifted through the gap in the door, intimate and soft.
Fu Sinian stopped outside, his hand hovering over the doorknob, unable to push it open for a long moment. That kind of laughter, that kind of tone… it had once belonged only to him. Read this novel at novelping.com for the best experience.
In the end, he opened the door.
Inside the bedroom, Su Wanning was seated at the vanity. On the tablet in front of her was a video call interface. Hearing the door, she startled like a frightened deer, quickly switching the screen, though the lingering smile had yet to fade from her face.
“What is it?” she turned her head, her tone carrying clear impatience.
Fu Sinian noticed the faint blush on her cheeks, the way her gaze flickered, avoiding his eyes. That guilty look made his heart sink.
“I twisted my ankle by accident,” he said, trying to keep his voice steady. “Can you get me an ice pack? It’s in the freezer.”
Su Wanning frowned, her eyes sweeping briefly over his swollen ankle, yet she made no move to stand. “I’m busy with work right now. Can’t you go get it yourself?”
“Work?” Fu Sinian looked at the tablet, now displaying a document. A cold laugh echoed in his heart. The cheerful laughter and intimate tone just now… was that all work?
“It’s just in the kitchen, won’t take long,” he said again, a hint of pleading creeping into his voice without him realizing.
Su Wanning sighed, as if burdened by something troublesome. “I really can’t get away right now. This proposal is due early tomorrow morning. Can’t you just get it yourself?”
Without waiting for his response, she turned back and reopened the video call. Though she deliberately lowered her voice, he could still hear her softly explaining into the microphone, “It’s nothing, just someone asking me something…”
Fu Sinian stood there, the pain in his ankle pulsing, yet it was nothing compared to the cold spreading through his heart. He stared at her back. She hadn’t even turned to look at him, hadn’t asked how serious the injury was, or whether he needed to go to the hospital. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
He remembered how, last year, she had supported him even when he went to the bathroom, afraid he might feel the slightest discomfort. And now, his ankle was visibly swollen, yet she wouldn’t even fetch him an ice pack.
“Alright, I’ll get it myself,” he said softly, his voice barely audible.
Su Wanning gave no response, completely immersed in the video call.
Fu Sinian slowly turned and limped toward the kitchen. Every step was difficult—not just because of the pain in his ankle, but because of the heaviness in his heart. On the hallway wall hung their wedding photo. In it, Su Wanning smiled brightly, leaning into his embrace, her eyes full of happiness and dependence.
Was that woman… really the same person as the one now indifferent to him?
In the kitchen, he opened the refrigerator and found the ice pack. The cold seeped through the packaging into his palm, yet he felt no chill—because his heart was already frozen.
Leaning against the counter, he carefully pressed the ice pack to his ankle. The cold eased the swelling slightly, but the pain within only grew clearer.
Through the kitchen window, he could still see the light in the bedroom. Su Wanning was there, still on a video call with someone unknown, faint laughter drifting through. That laughter, once his most treasured sound, now felt like a blade stabbing into his heart again and again.
Fu Sinian looked down at his swollen ankle, then thought of Su Wanning’s impatient expression just moments ago. Suddenly, everything felt absurdly ironic.
He had once believed they would always support and care for each other, growing old together. Yet in just one short year, everything had changed.
The cold from the ice pack gradually seeped into his skin, but it brought no real relief. Some wounds… could not be healed by ice.
Outside, the night deepened. The lights of Moon Lake Bay flickered softly, illuminating the luxurious villa district—yet none of that light could reach the coldness in his heart.