At ten o’clock, Tong Yue’s body was exhausted, but her mind was still wide awake.
There was a man in the house now, sleeping just next door.
After all, as the old saying goes, when a single man and a single woman share a room, something is bound to happen.
She felt both expectant and afraid.
Half an hour later, He Jingchen opened the door and was stunned to see Tong Yue lying on the sofa, looking dazed and bewildered.
Tong Yue wasn’t very tall, about 1.6 meters, small and slender. Lying on the sofa, she looked like a little cat.
He Jingchen walked over and heard her murmuring something.
He leaned in closer and made out the words.
“I’m not going anymore, no more blind dates, I’ll give you your money back!”
“I don’t like him, I don’t like him!”
As she spoke, as if startled by something, her body trembled slightly.
He Jingchen was silent for a long while.
Seeing the blanket by her feet, he picked it up and gently draped it over her.
Then he returned to the bedroom without looking back.
What on earth was she muttering about? Who sleeps in the living room when there’s a bedroom?
He hoped he wasn’t overthinking it.
The next day, Tong Yue felt herself sinking slightly and abruptly opened her eyes.
She had actually fallen asleep on the sofa last night!
She glanced down below her neck—she was still wearing yesterday’s jacket, with a blanket draped over her.
She sat up, rubbed her head, and looked at the clock on the wall.
Eight o’clock.
He Jingchen walked out of the bedroom in a crisp suit.
Tong Yue’s eyes widened, and it took her a few seconds to come back to her senses.
She was married!
Rubbing her head, she went over to greet him.
“I fell asleep, I’m sorry. You haven’t had breakfast yet, have you?”
He Jingchen glanced at the time: “I’ll grab breakfast out. By the way, I have something on tonight—I won’t be home for dinner.”
Tong Yue nodded. Tonight she was going to her adoptive mother’s home to see Grandmother.
Since he wasn’t coming home for dinner, she might as well not tell him.
She didn’t want him to come into contact with that weirdo Xie Rui—she was afraid He Jingchen would look down on her for it.
He Jingchen headed off to work.
He went downstairs, found his car, and drove off.
He Jingchen was a busy man. He drove fast, and soon arrived at the company parking garage and parked.
Just then, an employee who had finished parking saw He Jingchen get out of a car worth barely 200,000 yuan—and was dumbfounded.
Within the company, the news spread like wildfire.
Rumors flew that He Jingchen’s finances must be in trouble, that the company might be about to collapse.
“Driving a 200,000-yuan car? No way. Before this, every one of He’s cars was worth over a million! Driving a 200,000-yuan car is so beneath him!”
“Oh my god, could the company’s finances really be in trouble? Is He broke? I just barely got converted to a permanent position—if the company goes under, where am I supposed to go?”
He Jingchen’s assistant, Wei Yu, overheard their gossip in the break room.
He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry—and he was furious.
He walked over and coughed twice. The gossiping employees saw him and quickly shut their mouths.
Wei Yu said: “He drives a 200,000-yuan car because a car is just a means of transportation! Even if he drove a 50,000-yuan car, it wouldn’t change his status or standing one bit!”
“This is a workplace, not a place for your gossip. If you want to chat, do it at home!”
Wei Yu carried a lot of weight with the employees, and everyone sheepishly lowered their heads, not daring to speak.
Wei Yu went to He Jingchen’s office and relayed what the employees had said.
Gu Ming was there too, and upon hearing it, he laughed until he could barely catch his breath.
“You and your antics—what a joke you’ve made of yourself!”
He Jingchen pondered for a moment.
He really hadn’t thought this through. After a moment’s consideration, he said to his assistant:
“Starting tomorrow, you’ll drive me to work. I’m not taking this 200,000-yuan car to the company anymore.”
To avoid misunderstandings—if a client saw it, it wouldn’t look good.
Why did it feel like ever since he got married, troubles just kept coming?
He Jingchen was a bit frustrated.
Wei Yu withdrew, and Gu Ming stopped laughing, teasing him: “So? Did anything happen last night?”
He Jingchen looked up, his eyes warning him to shut up.
Gu Ming shrugged.
“Let me tell you, women these days will use all kinds of tricks to spend a man’s money and latch onto him! You’d better be careful. What if she drugs your food or your drink so you can’t control yourself? What would you do then?”
He Jingchen snapped his laptop shut and stood up.
“It won’t come to that. If she dares drug me, I’ll have her thrown in prison!”
Gu Ming followed him to the window and looked outside.
Resting his hands on He Jingchen’s shoulders, he said, “With women like that, you have to be ruthless.”
He Jingchen thought back to that condom, utterly baffled.
And then there was last night—she hadn’t slept in the bedroom, but in the living room.
What exactly did she mean by that?
Was she hinting at something?
………
Tong Yue finished the laundry and went out.
She was going to visit Grandmother in the afternoon, so she bought the medicine Grandmother usually used, along with some supplements—2,000 yuan in total.
She didn’t have much money, but when it came to Grandmother, she was always generous.
After buying everything, she took a cab to her adoptive mother’s home.
On the way, Tong Yue received a call from her younger sister, Tong Yuyao.
“Sis—”
“Yaoyao.” Her sister’s voice on the other end sounded noisy.
“Yaoyao, where are you?”
“Sis, I’m out having fun with friends. Sis, did you really get married? How could you not discuss something as big as marriage with us?”
After returning to the Tong family, although Tong Yue had only spent half a year with her younger brother and sister, they were very close.
Watching the increasingly familiar streets pass by outside the car window, she said with a smile, “Don’t worry. The man I married is the one introduced by that Grandpa He I’ve told you about. His family is a normal, respectable one, and my husband is a good man.”
Tong Yuyao was still a little worried: “Sis, send me your wedding photo. I want to see what my brother-in-law looks like.”
Tong Yue agreed readily: “Okay, I’ll send it to you in a bit.”
Tong Yuyao asked again, “Sis, does our brother know? Is he still playing video games at home all day?”
At the mention of her brother, Tong Yue’s eyes dimmed a little: “Mm, I called him the day we registered the marriage, but he didn’t pick up. Don’t worry, I’ll find time to visit him and tell him about it in person.”
Tong Yue’s younger brother was Tong Shuting.
Ever since the family fell on hard times, he had developed severe depressive tencies, staying home all day playing games and never going out.
Tong Yuyao sighed. “Ah, Sis, you’ve worked so hard, having to take care of our brother too. Don’t worry—I graduate in just a few months. Once I’m back, things will get better.”
“Okay.” Tong Yue had so many worries in her heart. Her sister was studying abroad, working part-time to support herself, yet she was so strong.
Ever since the family’s troubles, the two sisters had always encouraged each other.
Tong Yuyao said, “Sis, I have things to do. I’ll hang up now. Let’s talk another day.”
Tong Yue said with a smile, “Okay, take care of yourself. Bye-bye.”
After hanging up, Tong Yuyao came out of the bathroom.
Before long, she received the photo of the marriage certificate her sister had sent.
She looked at the man in the photo.
He was quite good-looking, like a male celebrity—only, those eyes were so cold.
She hoped he would treat her older sister well.
She had barely returned to her seat in the booth when a greasy middle-aged man immediately sidled up to her.
Holding his drink, drunk and bleary-eyed, he let his lecherous gaze wander over Tong Yuyao’s chest.
Tong Yuyao shoved him away: “I charge money for drinking with you. If you’ve got no money, get lost.”
“Money! I’ve got plenty!” The man pulled a wad of cash from his pocket, and Tong Yuyao’s eyes lit up at the sight of it.
“Big brother, with money, everything’s negotiable.”
…
Tong Yue hung up the phone and opened her younger sister’s Alipay account, transferring 5,000 yuan to her.
Her younger sister was studying abroad alone, and living costs in a foreign country were high—she should send her more money so she could eat well and dress well.
The bus stopped at an intersection on the Third Ring Road. The adoptive mother’s home was in an apartment complex twenty years old.
When Tong Yue had first come to their family, they had lived in a very nice place.
Later, Xie Rui lost a lot of money playing mahjong, and they moved here, renting a place to live—right up until now.
Walking through the old streets, the buildings ahead grew more and more familiar.
Memories of the past surfaced again.
She quickened her pace, shaking off all those unhappy memories.
The adoptive mother’s home was on the sixth floor, with no elevator.
Standing at the door, she noticed it was ajar. She raised her hand and knocked on the somewhat faded green security door.
With a creak, the door opened.
In the not-so-spacious living room, at the dining table, the adoptive mother was chatting with a strange middle-aged man.
Though the man was sitting, he was as tall as Xie Rui.
By her estimate, he was exactly 1.6 meters tall, with greasy hair and black-framed glasses. The moment he saw Tong Yue, a greedy look flashed across his face.