After each round ended, he only let her catch her breath for a few moments before covering her body again.
Wen Xi no longer remembered exactly when it had finally ended. She only remembered that by the end, she did not even have the strength to lift her hand. Her whole body lay limp against the bed, her consciousness blurred as though she had sunk to the bottom of the sea.
She could feel him getting up and walking into the bathroom. She could hear the sound of running water. She could feel him returning and lying back down beside her—the mattress dipped slightly—before everything fell quiet again.
Her eyelids felt as heavy as lead. Right before her consciousness slipped completely into darkness, a vague thought drifted through her mind:
Luckily, there were no new marks on her neck. She would not need to deliberately cover them tomorrow when she went out.
Then she knew nothing more.
When Wen Xi woke the next morning, sunlight had already spread across half the room.
She opened her eyes and habitually reached toward the other side of the bed.
Cold.
He had left long ago.
Slowly, she sat up. The blanket slid down, exposing her shoulders and arms.
She lowered her head and looked.
There were faint reddish finger marks on her skin, and two shallow bruises at her waist, but her neck was completely clean.
Not a single mark remained there.
He had really paid attention to it.
Wen Xi froze for a moment before slowly leaning back against the headboard. She hugged her knees and rested her chin on top of them.
Birdsong drifted in from outside the window. The sunlight was warm, and the breeze was gentle.
Her phone vibrated once.
She picked it up and glanced at the screen.
It was a message from Fu Linfeng. Only five words:
“The driver is downstairs.”
Wen Xi stared at those words for a long time before locking the screen and setting the phone beside her pillow.
She got out of bed and stood before the walk-in closet, looking at the neatly arranged new clothes hanging inside.
Today, she could finally wear them.
She chose a light blue knit sweater and a pair of cream-colored trousers. Simple. Elegant. Not too eye-catching.
After changing, she stood before the full-length mirror and looked at herself.
The pale blue color made her skin appear even fairer. Her hair draped softly over her shoulders, making her look clean and gentle.
There were no marks on her neck anymore, and the exhaustion and paleness from the past two days had disappeared from her face.
She even looked… healthy.
Wen Xi tugged at the corners of her lips toward her reflection, forcing out a smile.
She thought to herself that Fu Linfeng was rich, handsome, gave her two hundred thousand yuan every month for living expenses, did not restrict her freedom, provided a private driver whenever she went out, let her live in a luxurious villa, and fed her delicacies every day.
He had not truly hurt her in bed either.
The first night had only gone too far because he had not known it was her first time. The second night, he had let her off. By the third night, he had already learned restraint.
So many women on the top floor had fought desperately to be chosen by him, yet she had become his wife without doing anything at all.
What dissatisfaction did she have?
She was not losing out.
In this transaction, she had profited.
The driver stopped the car at the entrance of a narrow alley.
“Miss Wen, we’re here.”
The driver, Old Zhou, turned around respectfully.
“The alley is too narrow for the car to enter. If you walk about fifty meters inside, it’ll be on your right.”
Wen Xi nodded and pushed open the car door.
The alley was narrow, with unknown climbing vines sprawling across both walls, lush and green with droplets of water glistening under the morning sunlight.
The air carried the damp scent of moss mixed with the fragrance of flowers drifting from deeper inside the alley.
She had walked this road countless times before. She could have found it with her eyes closed.
In the past, every time she came here, she rode that squeaky secondhand bicycle through half the city, pedaling for forty minutes just to arrive.
Today, she had come in a luxury car.
Wen Xi lowered her head and glanced at her light blue sweater and cream-colored trousers. Suddenly, she felt somewhat out of place.
She quickened her pace and walked deeper into the alley.
At the very end stood a tiny flower shop quietly tucked into the corner.
The storefront was small. A handwritten “OPEN” sign was taped to the glass doors, while several buckets of fresh roses and lilies sat outside, their petals still covered in dew.
Inside the display window stood a boldly colored bouquet of daisies and baby’s breath. Beside it hung a crooked hand-painted sign:
“Manman Flower Shop.”
Below it was a smaller line of text:
“Take life slowly, love you slowly.”
Wen Xi stood at the entrance looking at the sign, and the corners of her lips unconsciously lifted.
It was still exactly the same as before.
She pushed the door open, and the wind chime above rang brightly.
“Welcome—”
A girl with her hair tied in a messy bun poked her head out from behind a pile of flowers. She held a pair of scissors in one hand and several unfinished sprigs of chamomile in the other.
The moment she saw Wen Xi, her eyes widened dramatically, and the scissors nearly fell to the floor.
“Wen Xi?!”
“Lin Manman.”
Wen Xi smiled.
Lin Manman threw everything in her hands onto the worktable and rushed over in three quick strides, wrapping Wen Xi in a fierce hug.
The scent of chamomile instantly surrounded them both.
“Where the hell have you been?!”
Lin Manman’s voice was loud enough for the entire alley to hear.
“I sent you eight hundred messages and you didn’t reply to a single one! I called you and you never answered! I thought you’d been kidnapped! I was seriously about to call the police, you know that?!”
Wen Xi nearly could not breathe from the tight hug. Laughing helplessly, she patted Lin Manman’s back.
“Alright, alright. Didn’t I come here now…?”
Lin Manman finally released her and stepped back, sweeping her gaze over Wen Xi from head to toe.
Then her eyes stopped.
The light blue sweater—soft in texture and obviously expensive.
The cream-colored trousers—beautifully tailored with perfectly straight creases.
On her feet was a pair of simple pale flats with delicate leather and spotless soles, without even a trace of dust.
Lin Manman slowly raised an eyebrow.
“Wen Xi.” She placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Did you win the lottery?”
Wen Xi laughed at the expression on her face and pulled her toward the nearby rattan chairs.
“No lottery, but… some things happened.”
She took out a thick stack of cash from her bag and neatly placed it on the small round table between them.
“This is twelve thousand. I’m paying back the money I borrowed from you before, including interest.”
Lin Manman stared at the cash, then at Wen Xi. Her eyes narrowed even further.
“Wen Xi, tell me honestly. Did you do something shady?”
“What are you thinking about?!”
Wen Xi lightly smacked her shoulder. After hesitating for a moment, she finally spoke.
“I… got married.”
The air went silent for a full three seconds.
Then Lin Manman shot up from the rattan chair like a spring, her voice sharp enough to lift the roof off the shop.
“You got married?!”
“Lower your voice—”
Wen Xi hurriedly tried to cover her mouth.
“You got married and didn’t tell me?!”
Lin Manman shoved her hand away without lowering her volume at all.
“Wen Xi, do you even still consider me your friend?! You got married and didn’t say a damn thing?! What am I to you?! Aren’t I your best friend?! You got married and I’m the last person to know?!”
“Of course you are—”
Bombarded by the rapid-fire questioning, Wen Xi felt dizzy. She quickly grabbed Lin Manman’s shoulders and pushed her back into the chair.
“Sit down first and let me explain slowly.”
Lin Manman sat down with a huff, arms crossed over her chest, wearing an expression that clearly said you’d better explain everything today or I’m not letting this go.
Wen Xi took a deep breath and carefully considered her words.
“He… works at Fu Group Corporation.”
She chose that phrasing deliberately.
It was not exactly a lie. She just was not telling the full truth.
After all, the President of Fu Group Corporation technically did “work” at Fu Group Corporation.
“He holds a pretty high position, and his income is decent too. We… got our marriage certificate not long after meeting, so I didn’t have time to tell you yet.”
Lin Manman’s mouth slowly formed a huge O.
“Fu Group Corporation?”
Her voice instantly dropped into a whisper filled with unbelievable excitement.
“You mean that Fu Group? The biggest Fu Group in City A?”
“Mm.”
“Oh my god…”
Lin Manman clutched her chest dramatically.
“Wen Xi, what kind of luck is this? You casually married some executive from Fu Group? Did you save the galaxy in your previous life or something?”
Wen Xi gave a bitter smile.
“It wasn’t exactly casual…”