Early the next morning, Wen Xi was awakened by the sound of knocking.
Still half-asleep, she sat up groggily and realized the other side of the bed was already empty.
There was still a faint indentation left on the pillow, but the person himself had long since disappeared.
She reached out and touched the blanket on that side. Cold.
He had been gone for quite a while.
“Miss Wen?” Butler Wang’s voice came from outside the door, gentle and restrained. “Are you awake?”
“I’m awake.” Wen Xi cleared her throat. Her voice was still slightly hoarse.
“I brought some things for you.”
Wen Xi gathered the collar of her pajamas before getting out of bed to open the door.
Butler Wang stood outside holding a tray. On it were several items—a tube of ointment different from yesterday’s, this one labeled for bruising and swelling reduction; a bottle of medicated oil that carried a faint minty scent; and a box of flesh-colored bandages that were nearly invisible.
“President Fu instructed us to prepare these.”
Butler Wang’s tone remained calm, as though he were reporting the most ordinary daily matter.
“The ointment should be applied morning and evening to bruised areas and massaged gently until absorbed. The medicated oil is for muscle soreness. It works best after bathing.”
Wen Xi’s face grew slightly warm as she accepted the tray.
“…Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Breakfast is prepared. You may come downstairs whenever you wish.”
Butler Wang inclined his head slightly before turning to leave.
Wen Xi closed the door and stood beside the bed with the tray in her hands, looking down at the items as an indescribable feeling rose in her chest.
He was not the sort of person who showed concern with warm words.
Last night, when he had casually said, “Have Butler buy some medicine tomorrow,” she had assumed he was only mentioning it in passing.
She had not expected him to actually remember.
Wen Xi placed the tray on the bedside table and picked up her phone to check the time—
Then she froze.
There was a new message on WeChat from Fu Linfeng.
No. More accurately, it was a transfer notification.
【Transfer】Fu Linfeng has transferred 200,000.00 yuan to you
Note: Living expenses. Fixed transfer on the first of every month. Additional expenses may be discussed separately.
Wen Xi stared at the number on the screen and counted the zeros twice.
Two hundred thousand.
She had never earned that much money in her life.
Her finger hovered above the screen for a long time without pressing anything.
She did not know what she was hesitating over.
This was part of the deal. She deserved it.
The monthly fee for her mother’s Rehabilitation & Wellness Center was eight thousand yuan. With this money, not only could she easily cover the expenses, she could even save a considerable amount.
She would never again have to stand in supermarkets repeatedly calculating discount prices.
Never again wear clothes until they faded white because she could not bear to replace them.
And yet…
She could not explain it.
Something about it simply felt strange.
Wen Xi took a deep breath and finally tapped “Accept Transfer.”
The moment the money entered her balance, the phone vibrated lightly and the numbers in her account jumped sharply upward.
She stared at the amount for several seconds before locking the screen and placing the phone face-down on the bedside table.
She told herself: this was salary.
She fulfilled the duties of a wife, and in return she received financial security.
A fair trade. Nothing more.
What right did she have to be conflicted?
During the day, Wen Xi wandered around the villa.
The house was far larger than she had imagined.
The first floor contained the living room, dining room, kitchen, and a tea room.
Besides her bedroom, the second floor also had three guest rooms and a small study.
She did not go up to the third floor. Butler Wang had informed her that it was Fu Linfeng’s private area, and she was not permitted there without his approval.
The garden was behind the villa.
It was not especially large, but it was meticulously maintained.
There was an old osmanthus tree, and beneath it sat a set of rattan chairs and a table.
Beside them was a small vegetable patch—not decorative, but genuinely planted with cherry tomatoes and scallions, arranged neatly enough to show that someone took great care of it.
Wen Xi sat beneath the osmanthus tree for a while. Sunlight filtered through the leaves and scattered across the back of her hand in mottled patterns.
The air carried the sweet fragrance of osmanthus mixed with the earthy scent of soil.
Birdsong drifted faintly from the distance.
It was peaceful enough to feel like an entirely different world.
She thought about the factory assembly line.
About the mold-covered walls of her rented apartment.
About the sound of the Loan Sharks pounding on her door.
Those memories suddenly felt very far away, like things from a previous lifetime.
At four in the afternoon, she called her mother.
“Mom, have you eaten?”
“Yes, yes, I have. The food here is wonderful—four dishes and a soup, and even fruit.”
Her mother sounded far more energetic than she had a few days ago.
“Xixi, are you doing well over there? How’s your living situation?”
“It’s very good. The company arranged dorm housing, and the conditions are excellent.” Wen Xi leaned against the rattan chair and looked up at the sky. “Mom, just focus on recovering. I’m doing fine.”
“That’s good, that’s good… Xixi, don’t work too hard. Don’t be stingy with yourself. Eat well and take care of yourself…”
“I know, Mom.”
After hanging up, Wen Xi held the phone tightly in her palm while watching the sunset gradually stain the sky orange-red.
Everything was fine.
At least on the surface, everything was fine.
At six-thirty in the evening, Fu Linfeng returned home precisely on time.
Just like yesterday, he changed his shoes, removed his jacket, and washed his hands with smooth, practiced movements, as though following a preset routine.
When he entered the dining room, Wen Xi was already seated at the table.
She was still wearing the same white shirt dress from yesterday.
She simply had not had the heart to wear the new clothes in the walk-in closet yet.
Fu Linfeng glanced at her once without saying anything and took his seat at the head of the table.
Tonight’s dinner included braised pork ribs, steamed sea bass, garlic broccoli, cold cucumber salad, and a pot of yam pork rib soup.
The meal was more elaborate than yesterday’s. Perhaps the kitchen had intentionally adjusted the menu.
The two of them sat across the long dining table, eating separately.
Quiet.
As always, quiet.
Wen Xi picked up a rib and nibbled on it in small bites while repeatedly rehearsing something in her mind.
She secretly glanced at Fu Linfeng.
He was drinking soup calmly, his posture composed, his gaze lowered toward the rim of the bowl. His eyelashes cast faint shadows beneath his eyes.
She swallowed the food in her mouth, gathered her courage, and finally spoke.
“Um…”
Her voice was soft, but in the silent dining room it sounded especially clear.
Fu Linfeng lifted his eyes toward her.
That single glance made Wen Xi nervous. Her fingers unconsciously tightened around her chopsticks.
“I… can I go out during the day?”
She asked cautiously, like a student requesting permission from a teacher.
Fu Linfeng set down the soup bowl and wiped the corner of his mouth with a napkin, unhurried as always.
His expression did not change.
“You can.”
Wen Xi’s eyes brightened slightly.
“A car will take you wherever you need to go,” he added evenly. “Tell the driver where you want to go. As long as you don’t do anything inappropriate, it’s fine.”
Inappropriate things.
Wen Xi understood what he meant.
No causing trouble.
No attracting attention.
No getting photographed in situations she should not be in.
The wife of the President of Fu Group Corporation could not appear in gossip headlines.
“I understand.” Wen Xi nodded, unable to hide the slight excitement in her voice. “I just want to visit my mom and maybe go shopping.”
Fu Linfeng gave a simple “Mm” before picking up his soup bowl again, seemingly no longer interested in the topic.
Wen Xi lowered her head and continued eating, but the corners of her lips curled upward slightly.
She suddenly felt that this sort of life did not seem bad at all.
Money to spend.
A place to live.
People taking care of her.
Freedom to go out when she wanted.
Except at night…
Her smile paused briefly, and her chopsticks lightly tapped the edge of her bowl.
Except at night.
After dinner, Wen Xi watched television in the living room for a while.
Fu Linfeng went to the study, busy with something unknown.
Around ten o’clock, she returned to the bedroom, took a shower, and changed into the conservative cotton pajamas again.
Sitting before the vanity mirror, she carefully applied medicine to the marks on her neck according to the instructions.
The bruises had already faded somewhat, changing from deep purple to yellow-green as the edges blurred.
She applied the ointment carefully, her fingertips moving in slow circles so it could absorb into the skin.
After finishing, she looked at herself in the mirror.
Her hair was tied into a loose ponytail, revealing her clean forehead and slender neck.
The light pink pajamas made her look almost like a high school student.
She took a deep breath, climbed into bed, and lay down on the side near the window.
Last night, he had spared her.
But tonight?
Wen Xi did not know.
She only knew that when he had rolled over and lain down beside her last night, while she had felt relieved, another feeling had quietly surfaced inside her.
A faint sense that perhaps she had gone too far.
He was her husband.
This was something she had agreed to.
What right did she have to refuse?
Just as she was thinking about it, the door opened.
Her body instinctively tensed.
Fu Linfeng walked in carrying the dry coolness of the study’s air conditioning.
He entered the bathroom, and soon the sound of running water echoed through the room.
Curled beneath the blanket, Wen Xi listened to the water and felt her heartbeat thudding steadily—not fast, not heavy, but each beat striking directly against her nerves.
This time, she did not turn her back toward him.
She lay facing the ceiling, fingers clutching the blanket tightly while staring blankly at the crystal chandelier overhead.
The water stopped.
The bathroom door opened.
Footsteps approached.
The other side of the bed sank slightly.
Then, just like last night, an arm wrapped around her waist.
But this time, she did not say “don’t.”
Fu Linfeng rolled over her, bracing himself above her body.
He looked down at her. His hair was still damp, and under the warm yellow light his eyes appeared dark and unfathomable.
Wen Xi did not avoid him.
She only whispered softly:
“Be gentler…”
Fu Linfeng did not answer.
He lowered his head, and his kiss landed lightly at the corner of her forehead.
This night was different from the first one.
He did not leave any new marks on her body.
Those kisses no longer carried the forceful intensity of biting and claiming. Instead, they became restrained and lingering.
He no longer turned her over and over until she could barely endure it.
Instead, he kept her in the same position the entire time, allowing her to grip the bedsheets, to breathe, and when the overwhelming waves rose inside her, to bury her face against his neck and release soft, broken whimpers she tried desperately to suppress.
But the number of times did not decrease.