The dishes on the dining table had long since gone cold.
The bowl of rice in front of Su Jin Yue was still almost untouched.
Resting her chin on one hand, she unconsciously stared toward the door, as though waiting for a certain someone to appear.
But the door remained silent.
Su Jin Yue stared at it for a few more seconds before finally scolding herself inwardly.
“Su Jin Yue, are you crazy?
Why are you sitting here waiting for him?” She let out a soft sigh, reached for the glass of red wine beside her, and took a small sip.
The strong, slightly bitter taste of the wine slid down her throat, clearing her mind and making her a little more composed.
Su Jin Yue had never been the kind of woman who allowed her emotions to depend on a man.
Whether Gu Jing Shen came home or not, whether he ate with her or not, none of it should have any impact on her life.
Su Jin Yue lowered her eyes to the dishes in front of her and reminded herself, “Nothing’s going to happen just because there’s no man around.
But if I skip dinner, I’m definitely going to be hungry.” With that thought, she casually picked up her chopsticks and put a piece of food into her mouth.
She chewed slowly, savoring the taste before letting out a quiet sigh.
“The colors are beautiful, and it tastes good too.
What a shame… it’s all gone cold.” After finishing her meal, she carefully carried the dishes into the kitchen and washed everything clean.
She tidied the kitchen until every corner was neat and orderly before finally returning to the living room to sit down and rest.
At present, Su Jin Yue was unemployed.
The future ahead of her remained a huge question mark.
She had yet to figure out what kind of job she should look for next, nor did she know where the road ahead would eventually lead her.
But even if she was lucky enough to find a new job, she knew very well that with Su Zheng Ting’s personality, her powerful father would never simply allow her to make her own decisions.
He would find a way to interfere.
He would use every connection and every ounce of power at his disposal to destroy whatever opportunities came her way, forcing her to remain unemployed.
Su Jin Yue had already anticipated this outcome from the moment she decided to marry Gu Jing Shen and stand against Su Zheng Ting.
She knew the path she had chosen would not be easy.
But no matter what, she could not stay at home and live an idle life forever.
Su Jin Yue hated boredom.
In her eyes, a person who stopped learning, stopped working, and stopped exercising their mind was no different from a piece of iron abandoned out in the open.
No matter how sharp it had once been, sooner or later, it would become covered in rust.
Idleness seemed harmless at first, but if it lasted too long, it would slowly wear down a person’s will, dull their mind, and make them lose the drive to keep moving forward.
Su Jin Yue did not want to become a useless person like that.
She wanted to work.
She wanted to spend every penny she earned with her own hands.
She wanted to prove that even without the protection and support of the Su family, she could still live a life that truly belonged to her.
She picked up her phone and opened several job-search websites, looking through the available positions to see whether there was anything suitable for her.
She scrolled through one listing after another, but after a long while, she still couldn’t find anything she was truly interested in.
Su Jin Yue sighed and placed her phone on the table.
In the end, she decided to get up and clean the house instead.
It would help her pass the time and perhaps aid her digestion as well.
Holding a feather duster in her hand, she began dusting every corner of the room, carefully cleaning the bookshelf in the living room.
A thin layer of dust suddenly drifted out from one of the corners, making her cough several times before she could stop herself.
Her delicate brows drew together, a trace of annoyance appearing on her face as she muttered, “I wonder if there’s a novel here that I can read to kill some time… Or is this whole shelf just full of dry professional books?” She casually pulled a thick book from the shelf and flipped through it without much interest.
Suddenly, an old photograph slipped from between the pages and fell straight onto the floor.
Su Jin Yue bent down and picked it up.
The photograph had begun to yellow with age, but the radiance of youth captured within it remained untouched.
There were two young people in the picture.
Judging by their appearances, Su Jin Yue guessed that they were only eighteen or nineteen at the time – the most beautiful age, when youth was still brimming with vitality and innocence.
One of them was Gu Jing Shen.
The other was a young woman.
They stood side by side beneath a lush trellis covered in pink roses, the delicate blossoms forming a dreamy backdrop for what seemed like a first love.
The girl in the photograph was strikingly beautiful.
Even dressed in the simple clothes of a teenage girl, she possessed a naturally alluring charm.
There was something both sharp and captivating about her beauty, making it difficult for anyone to look away.
Standing close beside her was Gu Jing Shen at eighteen or nineteen.
He was handsome and tall back then, his sharply defined features untouched by the ruthlessness of the business world that would later turn him cold.
His eyes were filled with affection and tenderness as he looked at the girl beside him.
His hand was tightly intertwined with hers, as though he had no intention of ever letting go.
The two of them looked almost perfect together, their features and temperaments complementing each other so naturally that they resembled a picture-perfect couple made for one another.
Curious, Su Jin Yue turned the photograph over.
Several neatly written words caught her eye.
The blue ink had faded slightly with time, but every stroke remained firm and resolute: “I will protect you and keep you safe for the rest of my life.” Su Jin Yue read the words one by one.
Then the corner of her lips lifted into a calm, almost amused smile.
“Her husband’s white moonlight…” She looked at the beautiful girl in the photograph and murmured, “She really is quite beautiful.” Just then, familiar footsteps sounded from outside the door.
Gu Jing Shen pushed the door open and walked inside, looking utterly exhausted after a long and busy night.
Su Jin Yue startled.
Her fingers trembled instinctively, causing the photograph to slip from her hand and fall to the floor once again.
She awkwardly bent down to pick it up, but Gu Jing Shen had already strode over and picked up the photograph first.
“Why did you touch my things without permission?” His voice was sharp, filled with obvious displeasure.
The way Gu Jing Shen carefully protected the photograph, combined with his harsh attitude, felt like a bucket of cold water thrown directly over Su Jin Yue’s pride.
Looking at the man before her desperately protecting a memory of another woman, her heart gave a brief, sharp pang.
But that fleeting ache was quickly overwhelmed by her pride.
Su Jin Yue immediately regained her composure.
She straightened her back, calmly returned the thick book to its original place on the shelf, and replied nonchalantly, “I was bored at home, so I thought I’d do some cleaning.” Gu Jing Shen carefully slipped the photograph inside his shirt.
Then he turned to look at her, his expression darkening as he spoke in an emotionless voice, “You’re violating the terms of our contract.
You’re invading my privacy.” The moment the word “contract” left Gu Jing Shen’s lips, Su Jin Yue immediately woke from the vague illusions that had begun to take root in her heart earlier that evening.
That was right.
What kind of understanding or connection could there possibly be between her and this man?
From the very beginning, their marriage had been determined by a piece of paper covered in cold, black-and-white words.
It had been built upon calculations and mutual interests.
He needed a marital status to serve as his shield.
She needed someone to help her escape the control of her domineering father.
There was no love.
No shared past.
And certainly no room for nurturing feelings between them.
The pride that had always belonged to Su Jin Yue instantly rose like a wall of ice, concealing the turmoil inside her.
She decisively tossed the feather duster onto the table, then dusted off her hands as though she wanted to brush away every trace of dirt and every trace of embarrassment along with it.
“How was I supposed to know your private matters were hidden inside a book in the living room?” Gu Jing Shen’s gaze grew even colder.
“Anything related to me that I haven’t given you permission to touch, don’t touch it.” The boundary Gu Jing Shen deliberately drew between them did not make Su Jin Yue back down.
Instead, it only awakened the stubborn instinct within her to fight back.
She nodded in agreement, the corners of her lips curling into a faintly mocking smile.
“Fine.
Then, in this house, wherever I’m not allowed to touch, feel free to seal it off.” She raised her chin slightly, her voice calm and unwavering.
“I absolutely won’t touch it.
Not even with a finger.” With that, Su Jin Yue stood straight and looked directly into Gu Jing Shen’s eyes.
Her gaze was filled with pride and indifference, without the slightest hint of submission or any intention of hiding the mockery directed at the man standing before her.