Wen Lan could feel her face growing hotter and hotter.
She frowned, regretting her momentary curiosity.
The lingering taste of wine in her mouth gradually deepened, sweet with a hint of spice, while the fruity aroma remained at the back of her tongue.
What a strange dish, she thought absentmindedly.
Feeling the coolness of the hand she was holding, she subtly drifted a little closer to Lu Zhixing.
Almost immediately, soothing waves of coolness eased the heat within her.
“Wife.”
“Mm?”
Slightly intoxicated, Wen Lan’s normally cool voice had become a little husky and indistinct from the alcohol.
The final syllable lingered longer than usual, carrying a faint trace of indulgent affection.
Lu Zhixing’s eyelashes trembled.
Half of his body instantly went numb.
When he looked up and saw Wen Lan in her drunken state, he found himself unable to look away.
Had she not been leading him by the hand, he probably would have frozen where he stood.
The question he had intended to ask her disappeared completely from his mind.
Wen Lan was mildly drunk.
As the corridor exit drew nearer, she had already forgotten the brief exchange from moments ago.
The cool night breeze drifted in through the open entrance, easing the heat coursing through her body.
She lingered at the corner near the doorway for a while, enjoying the wind before taking the man’s hand and leading him downstairs.
Below the long carved staircase was the bustling semi-open dining hall.
Fragments of conversation drifted into Wen Lan’s ears, though her intoxication made them difficult to distinguish.
As she descended, her right hand remained firmly wrapped around the man’s, her eyes half-lidded as she watched the steps beneath her feet.
The slight buzz from the alcohol dulled her thoughts.
She had no idea that the once lively dining hall fell completely silent the moment she appeared.
The tall woman descended the spiral staircase at an unhurried pace.
She was dressed entirely in black.
Beneath the brilliant yet gentle lights, her complexion appeared even paler, almost snow-white, possessing a fragile, sickly beauty.
Her long hair was loosely tied behind her head, giving her the appearance of a woman from another era.
Several strands cascaded over her shoulders and across her chest, flowing freely like ink in a traditional painting, wild yet elegant.
Even the loose strands framing her face carried an indescribable grace.
Most striking of all was her face.
She had clearly been drinking.
Her normally pale cheeks were now tinged with color, while her lips were vividly crimson, making her resemble a ghost suddenly infused with fresh life.
Standing above the crowd, she gazed down at everyone in the hall.
Her eyes were half-narrowed, her raven-black lashes lowered.
It seemed as though she was looking at them.
And yet, perhaps she wasn’t looking at anyone at all.
Within her dark pupils floated faint shards of icy clarity, cool and distant, creating a stunning contrast against the intoxicating beauty of her flushed features.
Like a supernatural being who had wandered into the human world, she was breathtakingly beautiful, almost unreal.
Wen Lan felt a little dizzy. The staircase was absurdly long. She also had the strange impression that Lu Zhixing’s hand beside her had grown much colder than before. Just as she was about to turn and ask him about it, she suddenly heard the faint click of a camera shutter.
Her expression sharpened at once. Had someone just taken a photo?
The lobby below was crowded, a sea of people in Wen Lan’s blurred vision. Yet, for some reason, it had fallen eerily silent. She could not tell who had snapped the picture.
Her frown deepened.
When they finally reached the bottom of the stairs, Wen Lan keenly noticed the countless gazes fixed on them. The hand she was holding was icy cold. She stole a glance at Lu Zhixing and found that he had kept his head lowered the entire time. His body seemed… unnaturally stiff.
What’s wrong?
Her head was heavy, the alcohol coursing through her system. Squinting through her drunken haze at the crowd not far away, she vaguely heard a chorus of sharp intakes of breath.
She rubbed her temple, trying to clear her mind, when Lu Zhixing’s familiar voice came from beside her.
“Wife, let’s go.”
Wen Lan nodded. She had been walking the whole time. She had only paused because she wanted to find the person who had secretly taken the photo.
In her drunken state, everyone looked blurred and doubled. All she could sense was that countless eyes were fixed on Lu Zhixing. Remembering how much he disliked being the center of attention, realization dawned on her.
Were there simply too many people staring at him, making him uncomfortable?
After thinking it over, she let go of the hand she had been holding.
“Wife?!”
For the first time, the usually steady voice of the man wavered. He had clearly never expected her to do that, and panic seeped into his tone.
Wen Lan gently patted his head to reassure him, then undid the buttons of her trench coat. Stretching out one arm, she draped the black coat over him from head to toe, completely covering him.
Unable to help herself, she smiled.
“There, it’s alright now. No one can look at you anymore.”
Lu Zhixing felt the warm fabric settle over his head and one shoulder. Hidden beneath Wen Lan’s coat, most of his body was concealed, shielding him from the gazes of everyone around them.
“It’s okay now. No one’s looking at you anymore,” Wen Lan said from above, her voice slightly hoarse but filled with tenderness. “Don’t be afraid.”
“I’ve hidden you away.”
Lu Zhixing’s entire body stiffened.
The heart that had just turned cold and dark suddenly surged back to life, beating violently in his chest as though roaring with all its strength.
His wife was such a fool.
Did she really think those people had been staring at him?
Lowering his head, Lu Zhixing looked at their hands as they intertwined once more, fingers lacing together, and slowly tightened his grip.
Those people had been looking at her.
They had looked at her with amazement, admiration, and affection, just as he did, unable to tear their eyes away.
Lu Zhixing obediently let Wen Lan lead him onward. Every few steps, he caught fragments of whispered conversations. Thinking back to how she looked when she was tipsy, he realized for the first time that his little scheme had backfired at the worst possible moment.
He had known perfectly well that Wen Lan could not handle alcohol, yet he had pretended otherwise and let her eat the Drunken Fruit Platter.
His left hand, hidden inside his sleeve, clenched tightly into a fist.
He felt like a jealous husband, consumed by envy toward anyone who might possibly come to like Wen Lan.
She was his.
His alone.
Lu Zhixing felt his mouth fill with bitterness, so sour and acrid that it was hard to swallow. Quietly, he tightened his grip on Wen Lan’s hand until the knuckles stood out pale against his skin.
The loneliness inside him threatened to drown him.
Before Wen Lan recovered, he had always hoped to help his withdrawn wife reconnect with the world.
But now…
Watching her become the center of everyone’s attention, he found himself secretly regretting it.
His heart felt blackened beyond redemption.
Wen Lan was so gentle, so kind to him, and yet all he wanted was to keep her hidden away at home forever.
“What’s wrong? You’ve been looking down this whole time.”
The cool night breeze finally cleared some of the haze from Wen Lan’s mind. Looking down at the silent man beside her, she led him to a quieter corner before taking her coat off him.
“It’s nothing.” Lu Zhixing shook his head. “There were just too many people. It felt a little stifling.”
Wen Lan studied him carefully. His expression looked the same as always, and even his voice retained its usual gentle warmth. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, she finally relaxed.
She handed him the car keys and softly reminded him, “Drive carefully.”
Lu Zhixing nodded obediently.
“Okay.”
Seeing how well-behaved he looked, Wen Lan could not resist reaching out to rub the tip of his ear.
The instant her burning palm touched his cool ear, they both froze.
Wen Lan was the first to pull her hand back.
Something was definitely wrong with her lately.
Why did she keep wanting to touch Lu Zhixing?
That wasn’t proper. It wasn’t very gentlemanly, she thought.
“Wife, get in.”
Coming back to herself, Wen Lan walked around to the other side and settled into the passenger seat. By chance, she caught sight of Lu Zhixing’s bright red ear, half hidden beneath his dark hair.
She looked at it for a moment before looking away.
Her palm still seemed to remember that cool, soft touch.
Forget it.
If she teased him, then she teased him.
After all, Lu Zhixing was her lawful principal husband.
The faint guilt that had flashed through her mind quickly disappeared, and Wen Lan happily closed her eyes.
The alcohol was still working through her body. She felt the car glide forward smoothly, while the faint fragrance of the person beside her quietly eased her heart.
Her closed eyelids fluttered once or twice.
In the end, she drifted off to sleep.
Lu Zhixing pulled the car over to the side of the road.
He had already driven for quite some time, and they were only a few minutes away from home, yet he stopped anyway.
Undoing his seatbelt, he turned to look at the sleeping Wen Lan, his gaze lingering over her flushed, drunken face.
He slowly leaned closer.
At this distance, he could easily catch the faint scent of fruit wine mingled with Wen Lan’s unique fragrance.
The calm, detached look in his eyes darkened in an instant.
There was no one around.
The night was dark, and only the dim glow of a streetlamp faintly illuminated the cramped space inside the car.
Darkness seemed to provide the perfect cover.
All the thoughts he normally kept buried now crawled out from the shadows like demons, clamoring wildly, urging him onward…
Lu Zhixing’s throat bobbed violently several times. Greedily drinking in the sight of the person so close before him, he slowly pressed a kiss to the corner of Wen Lan’s lips. It was clumsy and unhurried, filled with infinite care and reverence.
Just as he was about to deepen the kiss, a faint rustling sound suddenly reached his ears.
Lu Zhixing turned his head at once and saw Su Qing standing not far outside the car window.
Su Qing had a hand clamped over his mouth, looking at them in bewilderment.
Lu Zhixing gazed silently at the man beneath the streetlamp. His face was obscured by the shadows of the leaves, leaving only his pale chin and neck clearly visible.
Biting his lip, Su Qing trembled uncontrollably.
He felt that familiar chill again, exactly the same as the last time he had encountered Lu Zhixing.
It was like the winter sun, seemingly warm, yet cold enough to seep into one’s bones.
His heart pounded even harder.
For the first time, he found himself doubting his own instincts. Not long ago, President Lu and his wife had treated him so kindly…
Just as Su Qing was about to run away, he saw Lu Zhixing, who had been hidden in the darkness, smile.
Under the streetlamp, only the slight curve of his lips was visible. His lips carried a faint smile, while the bead of his upper lip glowed crimson like a drop of blood, eerie and unsettling.
Su Qing pressed both hands tightly over his mouth, his eyes widening in shock.
He watched as Lu Zhixing lifted Wen Lan’s chin and kissed her.
The kiss was passionate and lingering, as though he were declaring his claim, allowing no room for objection.
Su Qing stood there in a daze, the scene replaying over and over in his mind.
Those blood-red lips against skin as pale as snow somehow gave him the strange feeling that something pure had been stained.
By the time he came back to his senses, they were gone.
The car had disappeared without a trace.
Lowering his head, Su Qing stared gloomily at the ground beneath his feet, his fists clenched tightly.
His mind drifted back to the first time he had met Wen Lan.
She had seemed cold and aloof, yet unexpectedly gentle.
Did Wen Lan know that her principal husband was nothing like the person he appeared to be?