What is this supposed to be?
Seeing Xu Yiwen sniffing back his tears, He Xihuan shifted the arm still wrapped around the other’s waist, flipped Xu Yiwen around, and locked him securely in his embrace.
Then, pulling out a fingertip bearing a bite mark, he lowered his head and parted Xu Yiwen’s lips.
“Mh.” Xu Yiwen grabbed He Xihuan’s upper arms, his fingertips feeling almost as if they would pierce through the fabric of the shirt and embed themselves into He Xihuan’s flesh.
The scent of yellow apricots at the tip of his nose grew heavier. He Xihuan was releasing soothing pheromones.
The force behind Xu Yiwen’s hands gradually lightened, his palms resting loosely upon He Xihuan’s shoulders.
Amidst He Xihuan’s inhalations and exhalations, his suffocating, tight breath gradually returned to normal.
He felt like someone drowning deep at the bottom of the water, dragged ashore by He Xihuan and brought back to life by mouth-to-mouth resuscitation applied just in time.
His dark brown pupils slowly refocused, and upon meeting He Xihuan’s pitch-black eyes, Xu Yiwen abruptly shoved him away.
“I.” Xu Yiwen half-sat up, rubbing his lips, his gaze faintly indignant while tears still involuntarily welled up and spilled over. “I just missed my grandfather.”
“That.” Xu Yiwen tightly gripped the quilt with his palms, stammering for a few seconds before remembering the matter he needed to discuss with He Xihuan. “Grandma is here these few days, so I will temporarily move back into the master bedroom for a few days. I will go get another quilt in a moment.”
Just as his words fell, the upper half of his loungewear was violently yanked backward, and he was forcibly dragged right back, his head landing on the very same pillow as He Xihuan’s.
“What on earth are you messing around for? Back and forth like this,” He Xihuan said, taking hold of Xu Yiwen’s hand and giving it a bite. “Even if I am a dog, I am not someone for you to toy with like this.”
Xu Yiwen pressed his lips tightly together, his mind acting as if it had short-circuited, and simply glared fiercely at He Xihuan.
His upper garment had been yanked too hard by He Xihuan, leaving the front and back lengths uneven. Half of the skin on his chest was exposed, and just below his collarbone, a brownish-red mole resembling a goji berry pulsed with his heartbeat.
He Xihuan was drawn to that patch of brownish-red, leaning down to capture that fresh goji berry in his mouth.
Xu Yiwen’s softened legs suddenly stiffened, and the pheromones at the back of his neck were uncontrollably coaxed out.
His face flushed red, and grabbing He Xihuan’s head, he struggled to push He Xihuan away.
Then, on a sudden impulse, he proactively grabbed the hem of his top and lifted it from bottom to top.
“What are you doing?” He Xihuan caught his hand, stopping him from pulling the shirt off entirely.
“Isn’t this what you wanted?” Xu Yiwen turned his face away, a crystal-clear tear sliding down from his lower eyelid. “Our sleeping in separate rooms and the fact that I accidentally cried just now, do not tell Grandma.”
He Xihuan’s expression was terrifyingly gloomy, his brows knitting together into an almost unbreakable knot.
After a few seconds of silent staring, he cracked first, conceding defeat under the pressure of Xu Yiwen’s aggrieved yet unyielding gaze.
Since he was so afraid of making Grandma sad, why did he still insist on a divorce?
This was a complaint He Xihuan kept buried solely in his heart, leaving it unsaid aloud.
He straightened Xu Yiwen’s clothes, imprisoned Xu Yiwen securely in his arms, and pressed a light kiss to Xu Yiwen’s forehead, his impatient tone carrying an inexplicable gentleness. “Go to sleep once you are done crying. If you still want to cry, I will help you ask for leave tomorrow.”
Xu Yiwen grabbed He Xihuan’s upper arm, his lips parting and closing, but in the end, no words came out as he slowly closed his eyes.
The next morning, when Xu Yiwen woke up, his eyes felt as though they had been treated with a compress. Miraculously, they were neither swollen nor sore.
He Xihuan, who had occupied the other half of the pillow, was already gone without a trace. Xu Yiwen seized the moment to get out of bed, taking a detour to the guest room to retrieve his pillow from his own bed and move it back to the master bedroom.
On the night the two Xu brothers stayed over, He Xihuan had covertly moved his pillow back to the master bedroom. Taking advantage of He Xihuan being out, he had retrieved the pillow and taken it back to the guest room, never expecting that now, he would proactively bring the pillow back to the master bedroom once again.
Xu Yiwen had some issues with his cervical vertebrae. He had bought and tried many pillows before finally finding one this satisfactory.
He always bought these pillows in pairs. He changed his own, and also changed He Xihuan’s so that they would not look out of place when viewed on the bed.
This cervical pillow was comfortable for one person to sleep on, but lost its therapeutic effect if two people shared it. Xu Yiwen did not want to continue splitting one with He Xihuan, nor did he want to make do with an ordinary pillow, leaving him with no choice but to carry it back and forth like this.
After putting the pillow in place and finishing his routine in the master bedroom’s bathroom, he headed downstairs.
To ensure Qiu Yao’s health, Housekeeper Chang had brought a professional nutritionist over that morning to cook together.
When Xu Yiwen went downstairs, Qiu Yao and He Xihuan were already in the dining room, chatting and eating.
For some reason, Xu Yiwen felt as though his eyes were playing tricks on him. He fancied he saw He Xihuan flashing him a sweet, ingratiating smile.
Xu Yiwen paused in his tracks for a few seconds, shook his head, and massaged his uncomfortable neck. Hearing his neck let out a series of crack-crack sounds, he continued walking toward the dining room.
“Grandma, did you sleep well last night? Are you getting used to things?” Xu Yiwen asked gently, taking the seat next to Qiu Yao.
Qiu Yao retained the smile generated from chatting with He Xihuan just moments before, the corners of her mouth lifting even higher. “I slept very well, just like being at home. There is nothing I am not used to.”
“Xiaowen, have some breakfast.” Qiu Yao reached out, sliding the meal tray handed over by Housekeeper Chang a bit closer to Xu Yiwen.
“Alright.” Xu Yiwen’s smiling eyes, which had been crinkling, instantly flattened the moment his gaze collided with He Xihuan’s.
He hurriedly withdrew his sight, looking down at his food with a sense of nervous apprehension.
He Xihuan probably had not mentioned last night’s events to Grandma.
Xu Yiwen blinked and furrowed his brow, trying to erase the memory of last night with He Xihuan in the master bedroom.
Watching Xu Yiwen’s evasive behavior, the corners of He Xihuan’s eyes curved upward, and he let out a soft laugh of amusement.
After finishing breakfast and arranging for Housekeeper Chang and Auntie Hong to take Qiu Yao out for a stroll and tour around the neighborhood, Xu Yiwen got into the car of He Xihuan, who had volunteered himself to drive him to work.
Once inside the vehicle, He Xihuan radiated a full-of-energy vibe, looking as though he were anticipating Xu Yiwen to say something to him.
Adopting a strategy of out of sight and out of mind, Xu Yiwen closed his eyes to rest the moment he got in. Upon arrival, he simply dropped a farewell and hurried off to catch the elevator upstairs, stating that he would head back on his own tonight.
He Xihuan stood alone in a state of disarray before the elevator in the administration building’s underground parking garage.
What was this supposed to be? Selective amnesia?
Fine. The information overload from last night was too much. Even he, who had been receiving secondhand info from outside the door, could not digest it all at once, let alone Xu Yiwen.
Xu Yiwen acting this way could still be considered normal.
He Xihuan was not an unreasonable person. He could understand Xu Yiwen’s state of mind right now.
Ignoring him during breakfast? Understood, because Grandma was present and needed to be taken care of.
Ignoring him when going to sleep? Also understood, because he was not someone who had to force Xu Yiwen into doing such things.
Letting go of his hand immediately after the interview ended? He could not understand that, but he put up with it.
Spending hours on the airplane without uttering a single word to him? He endured that too.
Yet at this very moment, a solemn revised version of a divorce agreement sitting in his inbox made it utterly impossible for He Xihuan to endure any longer.
Xu Yiwen still wanted a divorce!
When the divorce was brought up a while ago, the physical document had been placed face-to-face across the table. Now, with only a single door separating them, Xu Yiwen chose to send it via email instead.
This trip to Spring City was meant to make up for the honeymoon between He Xihuan and Xu Yiwen. Initially, a penthouse suite on the top floor of the hotel had been booked.
Taking Qiu Yao into account, it was temporarily changed to two suites located on the same mid-high floor.
Qiu Yao and Auntie Hong stayed in one suite, while He Xihuan and Xu Yiwen stayed in another suite on the same floor.
This arrangement ensured that Xu Yiwen could promptly look after Qiu Yao while not hindering Xu Yiwen and He Xihuan from expending their energy at any time or place.
The arrangements made by He Xihuan’s parents were thoroughly thoughtful.
Unfortunately, a certain someone did not appreciate the gesture, grabbing his suitcase and walking straight into the guest bedroom instead.
He Xihuan sat on the living room sofa, neither viewing nor downloading the files in the email. He simply turned off his phone, got up, walked toward the guest room, and knocked on the door.
“Did you look at the documents? Is this version okay?” The cold inquiry from inside rang out even faster than the opening of the door.
Xu Yiwen pulled the door open and returned to the bedside as if nothing were out of the ordinary, squatting down to tidy up the open suitcase sprawled across the floor.
He Xihuan forcefully shoved the door open, stepped inside, and plopped down heavily onto the bed, staring fiercely at Xu Yiwen. “Grandma is right in the suite next door. What on earth are you trying to do?”
Xu Yiwen paused what he was doing, tilted his head to look at He Xihuan, and put on an extremely composed demeanor as he replied, “I am not trying to do anything. I just feel that signing the divorce agreement is best for both of us.”
Meeting He Xihuan’s uncomprehending and somewhat furious gaze, Xu Yiwen crossed his legs and sat directly on the floor. Fearing that He Xihuan would not understand if he beat around the bush, he laid out his reasoning in a direct, straightforward manner:
“First of all, I do not want to hold you back, nor do I want you to hold me back. There are no feelings between us.
Secondly, the marriage alliance back then was primarily due to the Xu family’s situation, and I am willing to take full responsibility.
If you feel the financial compensation is not enough and want to vent your anger, you can find someone to beat me up. I will not say a word. But it is best you do not do it yourself, in case Mom and Dad find out and it turns out poorly.
Lastly, I hope that once we sign the agreement, we can reach a consensus and remain calm enough to get through this hurdle with our respective families together.”
Having finished speaking, as if yearning for some kind of contract to be fulfilled, Xu Yiwen extended his palm, waiting for He Xihuan’s response.