15 – Competing with the Manly Bitch for the Fish Pond
The warm, gentle touch of her palm instantly soothed his stomach, easing the discomfort. His heart felt just as warm. After all these years of being with Yu Ai, she remained unchanged—always this tender.
Ying Yi held Yu Ai’s hand and said, “You’ve worked hard! I feel much better now. Your hand must be sore from rubbing for so long?”
Yu Ai leaned into his embrace. “I used to have stomach problems too. I’ve practically become an expert on stomach issues now.”
“Hmm? You had stomach troubles before?” How come he never knew?
“That was before I met you.” Yu Ai wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her cheek against his chest. “You know how busy my parents were with work—they never had time to take care of me, so I often had stomachaches.”
“How did you recover later?” Ying Yi gently stroked Yu Ai’s soft hair.
“Later, I started having meals at Xiao Yu’s place. His mother would often make stomach-nourishing soups for me. Whenever I had a stomachache back then, Xiao Yu would massage my stomach like this, and the pain would quickly fade.”
Ying Yi frowned, feeling somewhat uncomfortable.
“Even though you grew up with Han Haoyu, there should still be boundaries between men and women. You shouldn’t be that intimate, right?”
“What are you thinking?” Yu Ai teased. “Are you really that childish? Getting jealous over this? We were underage back then.”
Ying Yi’s furrowed brow remained tense. Regardless, they were still of the opposite sex—certain distances ought to be maintained.
Just as Ying Yi was about to say more, he heard Yu Ai’s soft, steady breathing and could only shake his head helplessly. He turned off the light and settled down to rest.
…
Meanwhile, Han Haoyu tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. He felt the lingering scent of the woman from last night still permeating his sheets, the pillow carrying Yu Ai’s distinct fragrance.
Unable to sleep, he picked up his phone. Zhou Hui was messaging him again.
Yesterday, he hadn’t brought his phone with him. When he returned home and turned it on, he discovered she had sent over a dozen messages, one every half hour. He thought something urgent had happened, but when they met during the day, she hadn’t mentioned anything.
They had just finished a phone call, and she had sent several more messages. This was the first time Zhou Hui had been so proactive, inviting him out for a meal.
After typing the last word on the screen and ending the conversation with Zhou Hui, it was already past one in the morning. With a competition the next day, he forced himself to close his eyes.
But his mind kept drifting back to the scene on the sofa yesterday—the woman’s slender waist, the soft, smooth sensation under his touch. His room still carried her scent.
“Damn it!” Han Haoyu got up and went to the bathroom, taking a cold shower.
After his shower, he realized even the towel carried that unique fragrance.
“Shit!” Yu Ai must have used his towel yesterday. Han Haoyu gritted his teeth. That woman!
He turned around and turned the shower back on.
“Ding! Master, Han Haoyu’s favorability has dropped by another two points.” 001 was growing weary of this. It was almost ready to give up on Han Haoyu’s Capture Points—another day of self-isolation in the system space.
Hearing 001’s report, the woman sleeping soundly beside Ying Yi merely curled her lips into a faint smile and continued her peaceful slumber.
Han Haoyu truly didn’t sleep all night, tormented by a series of unusual dreams, with the female lead being the woman he despised the most.
…
“Why are you up so early?” Ying Yi was surprised to see Yu Ai had already prepared breakfast.
Yu Ai handed him a bowl of freshly cooked noodles. “Husband, I made the noodles extra soft today. Your stomach shouldn’t hurt as much.”Ying Yi took it somewhat awkwardly. After a couple of bites, he still said, “Ai Ai, maybe you should just call me by my name from now on. After all, we’ve been like this for so many years while dating. I’m not quite used to it.”
Every time he saw Yu Ai, especially when she called him “husband,” he always felt a pang of guilt inside.
“Ah… you don’t like it?” Yu Ai lowered her eyes. “Then I’ll just call you A Yi from now on.”
“Mhm.” Ying Yi responded vaguely, finishing the noodles in just a few bites.
“Eat slower.” Yu Ai immediately handed over two napkins.
He took them and wiped his mouth. “I’m done. I need to get to work.”
Just as he was about to stand up, she stopped him.
“Hey! Husband… A Yi, there’s something I haven’t told you.”
Ying Yi asked, “What is it?”
Yu Ai said, “We haven’t gone on our honeymoon yet, right?”
“Mhm, I’ll make time to go with you later.”
“Um…” Yu Ai said softly, “I asked my dad to help you take some time off.”
“What?” Ying Yi stood up in agitation. “What did you tell your father?” Could Yu Ai have found out that he hadn’t gone to class at all last week?
“No, no.” Yu Ai immediately stood up to explain. “I just said you weren’t feeling well and asked Dad to help you take a few days off.”
Ying Yi immediately breathed a sigh of relief and asked, “Did he ask anything else?”
Yu Ai quickly shook her head. “No, no.”
It seemed his father-in-law still didn’t know that he hadn’t gone on the honeymoon with Yu Ai. He sat back down and said, “Why did you suddenly decide to go now? There’s no time to book a place, right?”
Yu Ai gritted her teeth, hesitated for a moment, and finally said, “A Yi, I quit my job.”
“Quit?” Ying Yi frowned, but considering the high pressure of her usual job, he said, “It’s fine if you quit. Just rest well at home.”
“I’ve already booked train tickets to Tibet. For both of us.” Yu Ai immediately opened the app to show Ying Yi.
“My dad said you have half a month of annual leave. I remember you mentioned before that you wanted to travel to Tibet, right?”
“We won’t go to the Aegean Sea. Let’s go to Tibet instead!” Yu Ai’s eyes sparkled as she said this.
Seeing that she had already arranged everything, Ying Yi couldn’t bring himself to refuse.
…
On the green train to Tibet, Ying Yi didn’t know how to describe his current feelings.
Yu Ai had packed everything in just an hour. After lunch, they caught the afternoon train.
It happened so fast that he didn’t even have time to come up with an excuse.
He spent the journey looking at the scenery outside, taking photos with his phone and sending them to Zhou Hui.
Actually, Tibet was something Zhou Hui had mentioned wanting to visit by green train. Yu Ai had been there at the time, and he had just agreed casually. He never expected Yu Ai to take it to heart and remember it all this time.
He wasn’t someone who liked to go through a lot of trouble. Compared to Zhou Hui, who loved traveling everywhere, he and Yu Ai were much quieter. Of course, he had once dreamed of going to Tibet alone to see the scenery.
But now that it was actually happening, it wasn’t as pleasant as he had imagined.
Ying Yi had never ridden on this kind of green train before. Not only was it bumpy, but the entire carriage was noisy, cramped, and crowded. The smell of cigarettes and instant noodles in the air made his stomach churn with nausea.
Yu Ai cheerfully tidied up the bunk, put away the luggage, and took out the toiletries.
“A Yi, I’m going to freshen up first. Aren’t you going?””Alright, you go ahead first.” Ying Yi was completely distracted. They had caught the train late in the evening, and he had no idea how he would manage to sleep tonight.