During the first year of Wen Huan and Pei Jingyi’s marriage, she wasn’t actually that resistant to their intimate life.
Pei Jingyi had terrifying stamina, and she wasn’t completely unable to feel pleasure—especially since this man was more handsome than a male model and had a better physique. But later, when she discovered that Pei Jingyi rigidly treated it as a daily task, she began to dislike being close to him.
But now, with her stomach growling, Wen Huan had no choice but to think of her own health and take the initiative to lower her head.
Pei Jingyi turned off the faucet. He should have pushed her away, but in the end, he clenched his jaw and remained still.
He just looked at Wen Huan coldly and distantly: “Didn’t you refuse to eat in order to get a divorce?”
That was the truth. To leave the rental apartment and force Pei Jingyi to give in, Wen Huan had “not eaten” a single meal in the past three days.
But that was all in the past.
She tugged at the corner of Pei Jingyi’s clothes, her beautiful eyes curving into crescents: “Husband, I never said I wanted a divorce. I want to eat properly.”
Pei Jingyi looked at her for a long time before finally speaking: “I’ll go buy you a boxed meal. Wait for me at home.”
Before the bankruptcy, the Pei family had four chefs just for cooking, including a pastry chef with a French MOF certification.
After the bankruptcy, everything was gone. These past few days, Pei Jingyi had been buying boxed meals for Wen Huan from fast-food restaurants outside. When Wen Huan pretended not to eat but secretly took a few bites, she found the taste surprisingly similar to that of the Pei family’s chefs.
But this time, Wen Huan shook her head: “Husband, you’re new to being poor and inexperienced. Boxed meals are fine, but cooking yourself saves more money.”
Besides, Pei Jingyi had studied abroad before, so he must know how to cook.
Before they could rise again, Wen Huan planned to teach Pei Jingyi some survival skills for the poor.
Wen Huan smiled brightly: “Husband, I said I’d help you live a better life, and I’ll do it.”
Pei Jingyi: “Understood.”
His tone was meaningful.
As if it contained emotions Wen Huan didn’t understand.
But in the end, Pei Jingyi still went downstairs to buy vegetables and meat, entered the kitchen, tied on an apron, and started cooking.
The usually aloof and untouchable “flower on a high peak” was dressed like a househusband in front of Wen Huan for the first time.
Through the hazy steam, Wen Huan could still see the lines of his arms under his clothes as he chopped vegetables—strong and full of vitality.
Pei Jingyi was the traditional type who looked slim in clothes but had a muscular build. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to catch her with just one arm when she fell down the stairs.
But now wasn’t the time to admire him.
Wen Huan moved closer to Pei Jingyi again: “Husband, let me help you.”
Pei Jingyi narrowed his eyes because Wen Huan wasn’t the diligent type.
In the three years she had been married to him, Wen Huan’s beautiful hands were only used to dress herself up.
Today, her unusual behavior made Pei Jingyi wonder if she had hit her head when she fell—if he hadn’t been watching her the whole time.
Regardless, Pei Jingyi turned sideways to block Wen Huan: “No need. You’ll only make things worse.”
Although Pei Jingyi had brought Wen Huan to live in the rental apartment, he had no intention of turning her into a worn-out housewife.
But feeling looked down upon, Wen Huan puffed out her cheeks, wishing she could pounce on this man and bite him.
Was this something a person with a 37-degree body temperature could say?
If Wen Huan and Pei Jingyi couldn’t make it work, Pei Jingyi was absolutely to blame!
Pei Jingyi, however, remained completely unaware and coldly urged Wen Huan: “What are you still standing there for?”
Wen Huan immediately returned to the table and sat down, dropping all pretense.
After Pei Jingyi finished cooking, she didn’t wait for him to join her before starting to eat, devouring all the delicious meat and leaving only the less appetizing vegetables for him.
Once full, Wen Huan let out a satisfied burp and went to take a shower. Since the bathroom was too small for a proper soak, she simply dried her hair and walked out.
On the hard wooden bed in the rented apartment, Pei Jingyi was leaning against the headboard, scrolling through his phone.
Freed from the endless corporate duties, he was likely watching short videos on Douyin.
Wen Huan slowly climbed into bed, lying on the other side and turning her back to him.
“I’m going to sleep first. You should watch fewer short videos—they’re not good for your brain.”
Although Wen Huan enjoyed watching them herself, Pei Jingyi was a man who needed to make a comeback someday, so he should focus more on hard work and less on entertainment.
But just as she closed her eyes, ready to drift into sleep, the sound of a phone being placed on the nightstand echoed—thud—and the next moment, a man’s scorching palm gripped her waist.
Pei Jingyi turned her around, looking down at her from above. “There are some things you haven’t made clear.”
Wen Huan was confused. “What things?”
Pei Jingyi stared into her eyes, enunciating each word deliberately. “When you said you wanted to divorce me to live a better life, which man were you planning to go to?”
Wen Huan froze, her gaze flickering.
She had thought she’d already dodged the question.
But it turned out Pei Jingyi had been keeping it in mind all along.
Yet Wen Huan knew without thinking that she couldn’t tell the truth. She blinked innocently. “Husband, what are you talking about? I don’t think I understand.”
Pei Jingyi, however, wasn’t fooled by her act. “Wen Huan, if the man you’re seeing outside can give you a better life, just say it outright. I can accept an amicable divorce, but I won’t tolerate infidelity.”
Without another word, Wen Huan immediately wrapped her arms around Pei Jingyi.
The man’s sturdy, powerful body now seemed as light as paper, easily pulled onto the bed by the woman’s slender, snow-white arms.
Wen Huan clung to Pei Jingyi like a vine, repeating urgently, “There’s no better man! Husband, I only have you!”
Pei Jingyi let her hold him, but with his hand braced against the edge of the bed, he clearly wasn’t convinced.
“Really?”
“Of course, it’s true!” Wen Huan played the victim first. “You know I’ve been with you since I was twenty-one, and all my firsts were given to you. Doubting me like this really hurts our relationship.”
…Who exactly had been hurting the relationship all along?
Pei Jingyi was left speechless, but this time, his hand on the edge of the bed moved to embrace Wen Huan.
Seeing his action, Wen Huan thought he was letting it go, but to her surprise, the man who had forbidden her from lifting her skirt at the clinic earlier now pushed her loose nightgown up to her chest.
Wen Huan was confused again. “What… what are you doing?”
Pei Jingyi unfastened the clasp of her bra.
Under the fluorescent light, the woman’s skin, soft as red plum blossoms and snow, was a delicate beauty even the cheapest lighting couldn’t conceal.
Pei Jingyi’s voice grew husky. “You said it hurt our relationship. I’m making it up to you now.”
That night, Wen Huan was like a little flower caught in a storm—no matter how hard she tried to stand tall, she was battered and tossed about.
Only when the fragile wooden bed seemed on the verge of collapse did Wen Huan finally fall asleep with tears in her eyes.
When she woke again, it was already noon the next day.
The sunlight outside was bright, but the old-fashioned white floral-patterned curtains were tightly drawn, blocking the glaring rays that would have shone directly onto the bed.
Pei Jingyi had already gone to work, but the dishes on the table were all prepared: braised pork, dry-fried ribbonfish, garlic greens, and a bowl of seaweed egg drop soup—all Wen Huan’s favorites.
Wen Huan ate heartily, yet she remained clear-headed. Pei Jingyi’s actions were merely a reflection of his ingrained good upbringing.
The male lead’s love was destined for the female lead. Wen Huan, the malicious ex-wife, was nothing more than a tool for Pei Jingyi to experience the harshness of the world and discover the female lead’s genuine kindness and beauty.
It didn’t matter! As long as she stayed safe and alive, if Pei Jingyi ever grew uncomfortable with her presence, she could simply take his money and flee far abroad!
But before that, she still had to find ways to maintain a friendly relationship with Pei Jingyi.
So, supporting her sore, slender waist, Wen Huan opened the door and left the rented apartment.
“Brother Pei, there’s a woman outside looking for you!”
At the company, Pei Jingyi was sitting in his office when an employee hurried over to report.
Hearing this, Pei Jingyi’s hand holding the mouse paused slightly. Subconsciously thinking of something, he stood up and walked outside.
But when he saw the slender figure at the entrance, his steps halted.
Pei Jingyi’s handsome, stern face darkened. “It’s you?”
He had thought it might be Wen Huan, who had only slept at three in the morning last night, coming to find him after waking up. But standing before him now was Wen Huan’s best friend, Yu Mixue.
Seeing Pei Jingyi’s imposing expression, Yu Mixue nervously clenched her fingers, though a faint blush spread across her delicate face.
Pretending to be angry, she said, “Pei Jingyi, I came to find you for Huanhuan’s sake!”
In the past, Pei Jingyi was the lofty president of the Pei Corporation. As an ordinary person, Yu Mixue found it nearly impossible to meet him alone.
But after Pei Jingyi went bankrupt, he started working at this small company called Self-illuminating Technology. The company primarily focused on AI drones, though everything was still in its early stages. It was said that all employees, including the boss, numbered no more than a dozen, with some employees even taking on miscellaneous tasks like e-commerce operations and customer service outsourcing to support the company.
Pei Jingyi’s position was that of the boss’s assistant—the kind of role in novels where one has to follow the boss around and do everything.
Fortunately, the company’s boss was Pei Jingyi’s friend from before his downfall, so he didn’t treat Pei Jingyi like a workhorse. In fact, he had even given Pei Jingyi a few days off to handle family matters.
As Wen Huan’s best friend, Yu Mixue naturally knew that the so-called family matters involved Wen Huan wanting a divorce.
In truth, Yu Mixue had played no small part in this.
Ever since she first laid eyes on Pei Jingyi, Yu Mixue had regarded him as her dream husband. So, during the three years Wen Huan and Pei Jingyi were married, she had spent those years jealously sowing discord between them.
Now that Pei Jingyi was bankrupt, Yu Mixue felt her opportunity had arrived.
Unlike the brainless Wen Huan, Yu Mixue had always believed that if Pei Jingyi could rise to the top once, he certainly had the ability to do so again.
If Yu Mixue didn’t take the initiative during this period, she would likely never have another chance to marry Pei Jingyi in her lifetime.
The first step of her plan was to righteously accuse him: “Mr. Pei, are you trying to ruin Huanhuan?”
“Let me tell you the truth. Huanhuan has a childhood male friend named Feng Wen. He has always loved her deeply, not only cherishing her like his life but also now successful in his career and able to provide Huanhuan with a good life!”
“So, as Huanhuan’s best friend, I hope you can set her free and divorce her as soon as possible!”