Qiu Chengyue came home around noon and moved his pillow into the next room.
Less than half a day after putting it there, he brought it back again.
Shen Shuyue watched as Qiu Chengyue placed the pillow on the bed, and she couldn’t help thinking that there was definitely something wrong with this man.
On one hand, he wanted to remain faithful to Jiang Xinmei.
On the other hand, he was climbing into her bed with his pillow.
Was he really a scumbag, or was he just pretending to be one?
Shen Shuyue snorted and acted as though she didn’t care.
Whatever. Let him be a scumbag if he wanted.
At least when she had slept with him, his body had been clean.
Whether he stayed clean after that had nothing much to do with her.
Besides, considering her current relationship with Qiu Chengyue, she probably wouldn’t get another chance to sleep with him anyway.
Lying in bed, Shen Shuyue felt a little bored.
There was a handsome man lying beside her, yet she couldn’t touch him.
After hesitating for quite a while, Shen Shuyue finally decided to lie down and sleep.
Qiu Chengyue wasn’t asleep yet.
He was reading.
Shen Shuyue turned over, facing the inside of the bed and giving Qiu Chengyue her cold, indifferent back.
After all the fussing around that day, Shen Shuyue was exhausted.
Even though she had taken a nap during the day, she could still fall asleep at night.
Just as she was about to drift off, Shen Shuyue reminded Qiu Chengyue,
“Don’t kick me tonight.”
After saying that, she promptly fell asleep.
Qiu Chengyue: “……”
Did she really think he was the kind of man who went around kicking people?
Last night had genuinely been an instinctive reaction.
It hadn’t been intentional.
Shen Shuyue quickly fell asleep.
Just like the night before, once she was asleep, she barely moved at all. Even her breathing was so faint that it was almost impossible to hear.
Qiu Chengyue read for a while, but eventually he couldn’t concentrate anymore.
He put down the book and turned to look at Shen Shuyue.
She was in exactly the same position as the night before.
Completely motionless, she looked almost like a dead person.
He knew she was asleep, but his heart still tightened.
After sitting there for a long time, he finally moved quietly closer to Shen Shuyue and raised his index finger to check beneath her nose.
She was still breathing.
Qiu Chengyue’s heart finally settled back into place.
After crouching there for quite a while, he looked at Shen Shuyue’s ankle.
It was still swollen, but not as badly as before.
At the moment, Shen Shuyue was lying on her side facing inward, with her injured ankle resting on top of her other foot.
Qiu Chengyue stared at her foot for a while before his gaze shifted down to her toes.
Her toenails were painted a striking crimson, the color exceptionally eye-catching.
He stared at those delicate feet for a while.
His Adam’s apple bobbed once.
Twice.
Three times…
In the end, his mouth and throat had become so dry that he had no choice but to get out of bed and go to the living room for a large mug of cold boiled water.
He gulped down the entire mug in just a few swallows.
It still didn’t feel like enough, so he poured himself another large mug.
Only after drinking both mugs of water did he finally feel a little better.
But once he returned to bed beside Shen Shuyue, he couldn’t fall asleep no matter how hard he tried.
The woman’s scent surrounded him.
A faint fragrance kept drifting into his nose from time to time.
The heat he had just managed to suppress began rising again.
Before, it had been his throat that felt dry.
Now his entire body felt hot and dry.
Then came the heat.
His whole body felt as though he had been bewitched.
Those vivid images of his intimacy with Shen Shuyue began flashing through his mind again.
Her waist.
Her legs.
Her arms.
Her eyes.
Her lips…
Qiu Chengyue lay there stiff as a board, not daring to move.
He had no idea how much time passed before he finally flipped over, got out of bed, and hurried into the bathroom.
A moment later, the sound of rushing water came from inside.
Meanwhile, Shen Shuyue was sleeping soundly.
Qiu Chengyue had no idea how he managed to survive the entire night.
When he opened his eyes the next morning, he wasn’t even sure whether he had actually slept.
Shen Shuyue was still asleep.
But her sleeping position had changed.
Last night, she had been lying on her side facing inward.
This morning, she was facing outward.
She hadn’t deliberately moved close to Qiu Chengyue. Instead, her back was against the wall, leaving about twenty centimeters between them.
Qiu Chengyue stared at the distance between them and remembered what Shen Shuyue had said after he had kicked her instinctively two nights ago.
She had said that she deserved it.
So this was why she had kept such a wide distance from him last night?
They were clearly sleeping on the same bed, yet even while asleep, she hadn’t once tried to touch him.
Could it be…
Had his harsh words really hurt her?
Qiu Chengyue felt a pang in his heart.
And there was an uncomfortable ache inside him as well.
He remembered what he had said to Shen Shuyue after they had slept together that night.
He had called her shameless.
On the surface, Shen Shuyue always acted carefree and unserious, but deep down, she must have remembered his words, hadn’t she?
Even if she was hurt, she probably wouldn’t show it.
They had been married for half a year, yet he had never touched her. He had even insisted on sleeping separately.
Any woman would have found that unbearable.
Even when her parents came to visit her, she hadn’t told them about it.
She had been pampered by her parents ever since she was little and had never suffered any grievances.
But after coming to the family compound, she had suffered because of him, and she still hadn’t told her parents…
She had swallowed all those grievances herself.
He treated her like this, yet she still cooked for him.
She must have loved him terribly.
Was that why she had said she wanted a divorce?
Because he had hurt her again and again until she finally wanted to leave him?
Qiu Chengyue looked at Shen Shuyue, his mind flooded with thoughts.
Actually, Shen Shuyue was a pretty good woman.
……
When Shen Shuyue woke up, the sun was already high in the sky.
The other side of the bed was empty. Qiu Chengyue was already gone.
The electric fan nearby was still humming as it turned.
She glanced at her ankle.
It was still badly swollen.
She moved her foot slightly.
The pain was still sharp enough to make her wince.
The outside was quiet.
She lifted her injured leg and slowly shuffled toward the edge of the bed.
After carefully putting on her slippers, she was about to hold onto something nearby and make her way to the bathroom when she heard faint footsteps outside.
Not long after, Qiu Chengyue appeared at her bedroom door.
“Awake?” Qiu Chengyue asked.
His voice was as calm and distant as ever.
Shen Shuyue looked up at him but didn’t particularly feel like answering.
Qiu Chengyue walked over and asked again,
“What are you trying to do?”
Shen Shuyue: “……”
Hadn’t this man gone to the military unit?
Was he staying home to take care of her?
Oh?
So he finally knew how to be considerate?
Had his conscience finally awakened?
“I’m going to the bathroom.”
She answered.
If someone was willing to serve her, refusing would just make her look foolish.
Qiu Chengyue bent down and picked Shen Shuyue up again.
She was nearly 170 centimeters tall, but Qiu Chengyue lifted her effortlessly.
He didn’t even look like he was exerting any strength.
He carried her easily into the bathroom.
There was a chair inside, so he carefully set Shen Shuyue down on it and asked,
“Do you need help?”
Qiu Chengyue was unusually talkative today.
He also seemed a little more eager to help than usual.
Shen Shuyue gave him a sidelong glance.
“What? Are you planning to help me take my pants off when I use the toilet?”
Qiu Chengyue: “……”
His ears turned slightly red.
He also turned his eyes away, unable to look directly at Shen Shuyue.