The night breeze carried the fragrance of flowers through the long corridor.
The wall lamps cast a dim, subdued glow.
Wen Lan watched the man named Lu Zhixing disappear into the darkness ahead.
After a while, she withdrew her gaze.
Closing the door behind her, she slowly walked over to the sofa and sat down.
The folded medicine paper he had given her was resting on the table.
She reached out and carefully unfolded the neat little square, revealing a white pill inside.
It looked exactly the same as the medicine that woman, Leng Feng, had been giving her.
Pouring herself a glass of warm water, Wen Lan hesitated for a moment.
Then she closed her eyes, tilted her head back, and swallowed the pill with the water.
As soon as she finished, she hurriedly popped the colorful candy beside it into her mouth.
Only after the familiar sweetness of strawberry candy filled her mouth did the slight furrow between her brows finally relax.
She lay back on the soft sofa.
Her legs were so long that she had no choice but to rest her calves over one of the armrests.
Her tall frame made the sofa seem almost too small.
Gently rolling the candy across her tongue, Wen Lan stared at the crystal chandelier overhead, her thoughts drifting aimlessly.
She had a family now.
A husband.
Well… he should count as a husband.
And a daughter who looked exactly like she had as a child.
She was now living in what appeared to be her own home.
From everything she had seen, it seemed that her principal husband was supporting her financially.
That wasn’t right.
No matter where she was, Wen Lan believed she should have a job of her own.
Depending entirely on someone else to support her was never reliable.
Casually reaching beside the sofa, she pulled a thin blanket over herself, instinctively placing it across her abdomen.
Back in her original world, she had suffered from severe menstrual cramps caused by uterine cold syndrome.
Every menstrual cycle had been unbearably painful.
As a result, whenever anything warm was nearby, she would unconsciously place it over her lower abdomen.
Whenever that happened, as long as she was home, her father would always bring her a steaming cup of brown sugar water.
Her mother would sit beside her, warming her hands.
Even the air around them had been filled with warmth and love.
Her parents had always cherished her as the treasure of their hearts.
As drowsiness gradually overtook her, Wen Lan slowly closed her eyes.
Deep down, she felt an ache of sadness.
She missed her father and mother.
She missed them terribly.
But she didn’t dare to see them.
Perhaps, deep down, she was afraid that in this world, her father and mother would no longer be the same people she knew…
This world had turned everything upside down. It was absurd and bizarre, yet it undeniably existed.
So what would her gentle, refined father and her beautiful, intelligent mother be like here?
She had no idea.
Wen Lan turned over and decided that once she had dealt with everything around her, she would go and meet the versions of her parents in this world.
She would bring that man and the little one with her. Remembering how much her parents had always loved children, Wen Lan quietly made up her mind.
Time slipped by, second by second. Wen Lan’s bedroom was kept at a constant temperature, so even though she had fallen asleep wearing only light clothing, she would not catch a cold. However, fast asleep, she seemed to have forgotten that she was now tall with long limbs. Curled up on the sofa, she looked rather cramped. One of her long, slender hands hung over the edge onto the carpet, her pale skin carrying a faintly unhealthy pallor.
After an unknown amount of time, the tightly closed bedroom door was quietly pushed open. A dark silhouette appeared through the narrow gap. The newcomer was barefoot, stepping onto the soft carpet without making a single sound.
Lu Zhixing stood not far away, gazing at his sleeping wife. An unreadable light flickered through his eyes.
A trace of blush still lingered on his fair cheeks. The bead of his lower lip looked even redder than before. Droplets of water clung to his damp hair, trickling down beside his ears and soaking into the black collar that clung to his neck. Under the warm yellow light, the sight carried an inexplicably alluring charm.
Recalling how he had fled in embarrassment earlier, the heat rushed back to his face. He quickly took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down and stop being so hopeless. But the air was saturated with his wife’s cool, subtle fragrance. Without thinking, he inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with it, and instantly felt as though his entire body had caught fire.
Lu Zhixing desperately suppressed the moan threatening to escape his throat. A crimson flush spread down to his neck in an instant, forcing him to stumble back a step until his back rested against the cold wall.
He looked at his sleeping wife on the sofa, his eyes as deep as the sea, filled with both longing and possessive yearning.
Only after he had finally subdued the storm of emotions inside him did Lu Zhixing breathe evenly again and quietly walk over to Wen Lan on his bare feet.
His gaze fell upon the colourful candy wrapper on the coffee table, and he paused in surprise. Bending down, he carefully picked it up, examined it for a moment, then thoughtfully tucked it away.
When he noticed Wen Lan’s curled-up sleeping position on the sofa, his brows knitted together. If she kept sleeping like that, she would definitely wake up with a stiff neck.
Standing before her, Lu Zhixing thought for a while before finally crouching down.
His strength was only average. There was no way he could carry his wife in his arms, though carrying her on his back might be possible.
He found himself growing nervous. It had been a long time since he had been this close to his wife.
The company had become increasingly busy, and the little one had gradually grown up, clinging to him more and more. Compared to the past, he and his wife had spent far less time together over the last few years.
Back then, when he handled work from home, he would deliberately “lure” his wife into his study. Even if neither of them spoke, he was content just having her there.
Now, things felt a little unfamiliar.
Pushing those thoughts aside, Lu Zhixing steadied himself and reached for the hand that hung over the edge of the sofa. The instant his fingertips brushed against the skin of her wrist, the tips of his ears reddened despite himself.
He exerted a little more force, intending to pull over her other hand as well. Unexpectedly, a powerful grip suddenly clamped around his wrist. Even in her sleep, the woman had instinctively seized his wrist, and her strength was astonishing.
Lu Zhixing could not help letting out a muffled groan.
The world seemed to spin. In the blink of an eye, he found himself pinned onto the sofa beneath the woman. The innate difference in strength between women and men left him completely unable to move under her overwhelming restraint. He watched as the woman above him slowly opened her eyes, traces of drowsiness still lingering within them.
While asleep, Wen Lan had sensed an unfamiliar presence approaching. Without thinking, she had immediately subdued the intruder. Only after hearing the muffled groan of pain did her awareness gradually return.
She stared at the man beneath her, momentarily unable to process what she was seeing.
Lu Zhixing?
Hadn’t he gone to bed already?
Still groggy, Wen Lan stared blankly, forgetting to release his wrist. It was only when she heard him let out another muffled groan that she suddenly came to her senses and hurriedly let go.
Under the soft lighting, she immediately noticed the ring of bluish-purple bruises around his fair wrist. There were even faint finger marks at the edges.
Wen Lan froze for a moment.
Since when had she become this strong?
“I’m sorry. Are you alright?” There was no time to dwell on it. She quickly lowered her head to look at him, her voice full of apology. Yet the moment she saw his expression, she fell silent.
Her principal husband had flushed scarlet across his fair face. Even the tips of his ears, half-hidden beneath his dark hair, were tinged pink. His features were ordinary, yet at this moment, they carried an unusual and captivating allure.
Most striking were his eyes, glistening with moisture as though starlight shimmered within them. The corners of his eyes were tinged red, his lip bead a vivid crimson. He bit his lower lip, his expression appearing almost pained, his brows drawn tightly together as he silently endured and suppressed whatever he was feeling.
The guilt in Wen Lan’s heart deepened.
She quickly helped him sit up. The sofa had little space to begin with, and the movement brought them into an embrace. Feeling how stiff the man in her arms had become, rigid as stone, she found herself growing tense as well.
“I’m sorry, just now I…”
The man kept his head lowered, preventing Wen Lan from seeing his expression. Yet instinctively, she felt that he was about to run away again.
She loosely held his wrist. A stray thought flashed through her mind. This man, Lu Zhixing, really has such slender wrists. I can wrap my entire hand around one so easily…
The thought lasted only an instant.
With a slightly more forceful movement, Wen Lan pressed him gently back onto the sofa. Crouching down, she took the hand he had hidden inside his sleeve and carefully drew it out.
Since she was no longer certain how much strength she possessed, she was as gentle as she could be.
Fortunately, the man cooperated with every movement, and Wen Lan quietly let out a sigh of relief.
“Don’t move. I’ll go get some medicine.”
Wen Lan stood up and rubbed the corner of her forehead, feeling that tonight had truly been one mishap after another.