Wu Weiwei walked into You Jin’s room and pulled open the curtains.
Bright, dazzling light flooded the clean and tidy room.
On the two-meter bed in light gray tones, You Jin lay in a proper sleeping posture, his brows furrowed from the sudden glare.
Wu Weiwei walked over and knelt by his bedside.
His body stiffened slightly, and his even breathing gradually became rapid.
Though his eyes were closed, he was already awake.
Wu Weiwei leaned in, her fingertip slowly tracing along his tall, handsome nose bridge.
You Jin suddenly raised his hand and firmly gripped that restless finger.
His eyes remained tightly shut, his chest heaving heavily.
Wu Weiwei tried to pull her finger free, but You Jin held on tightly, with no intention of letting go.
The man’s unusual behavior made Wu Weiwei’s face flush instantly—both delighted and shy. “A-Jin, time to get up.”
Hearing her voice, You Jin frowned deeply and opened his eyes.
The moment his gaze met Wu Weiwei’s, his pupils contracted sharply, and he flung her hand away as if burned.
He sat up straight, the smooth gray thin quilt slipping down to his waist. A hint of disappointment flickered across his face at having mistaken her identity. “Why are you here?”
Wu Weiwei knew about his cleanliness obsession and quickly moved away from his bed. “Last night, you left your jacket at the club, so I brought it over on my way.”
You Jin lowered his head, running his hand through his short black hair. “Take it. Throw it away.”
He must have lost his mind—he actually thought it was Song Wanxi who had entered his room and secretly touched his nose.
Wu Weiwei was utterly confused. “No one even wore it. It’s such an expensive coat—why throw it away?”
Last night, he had been blindfolded and led into the private room at the club. When he pulled off the blindfold, a dancer was gyrating against him, and her perfume had gotten on him, making him feel sick. Before he could even react, he was dragged to the sofa, and at the same moment, Song Wanxi and her friends barged in—that was the misunderstanding from last night.
You Jin had no intention of explaining to Wu Weiwei. He asked coldly, with impatience, “Do you still remember what I told all of you?”
Of course Wu Weiwei remembered. Before You Jin’s wedding, he had specifically told all his brothers that no one was to come to his house without his invitation, under any circumstances.
“I remember.”
“Then why did you come up?” You Jin picked up his phone from the nightstand and glanced at the normal signal. “Can’t you call if something comes up?”
Wu Weiwei grew increasingly uneasy. She knew You Jin was extremely perceptive—her petty little tricks were completely transparent to him.
“I was just curious. I wanted to see your place.”
You Jin paused for a moment, then threw off the covers and got out of bed. Without a word, he walked past her and out of the room.
Wu Weiwei followed behind him.
You Jin walked straight to the front door of the living room and pulled it open with one hand.
His indifferent attitude was clear enough.
Wu Weiwei pouted, refusing to move.
“You’ve seen everything you should and shouldn’t have seen. Your curiosity is satisfied. You can leave now.”
“I haven’t even had a sip of water. Is this how you treat your guests?”
“Coffee shop on the left downstairs—drink as much as you want, send me the bill.” You Jin’s eyes darkened, his tone laced with impatience. “If there’s a next time, I’ll throw you off the balcony.”
Even though they had grown up together, Wu Weiwei didn’t dare test You Jin’s authority with her willfulness. She stepped out, and by the time she turned around, the door was already shut.
You Jin went into the kitchen, poured a glass of ice water from the fridge, and took a sip—the cold cutting straight through him.
Holding the glass, one hand in his pocket, he stood by the balcony next to the dining table, gazing at the distant view outside the window.
Morning light was faint, the sky clear as washed blue.
The warm light fell across his handsome profile, softness tinged with a hint of loneliness.
He turned his head, his gaze landing on the dining table.
Beneath the transparent lid were two deep bowls—soup and tomato egg noodles separated—with a pair of chopsticks resting on a clean tissue.
His eyes dimmed. He turned to look out the window and drained the glass in one go.
Inside the house, the robot vacuum hummed quietly in its regular pattern.
The washing machine also ran in silence.
Everything felt eerily cold and still, like a pool of stagnant water.
A ten-minute walk later, Song Wanxi had just entered the Pharmaceutical Research Institute when she ran into An Xiao walking out with a panicked expression.
“Wanxi, perfect timing. Test monkey No. 9 is dead.”
Song Wanxi quickened her pace, entered the office, tossed down her bag, and pulled on her lab coat while heading toward the laboratory.
An Xiao followed behind her, her tone urgent. “All the indicators last night were fine. I didn’t expect it to die this morning.”
“The new drug still has toxins.” Song Wanxi summarized the situation, buttoning her coat as she walked.
“Liao Xue, she…” An Xiao tried to mend the rift between her and Liao Xue—after all, the three of them had shared a dorm for four years in university and built a deep friendship. She didn’t want it to end like this.
Song Wanxi cut her off. “Don’t mention her to me.”
“Then what about you and You Jin…”
“Xiaoxiao, during work hours, I don’t want to discuss personal matters.”
An Xiao sighed helplessly. “Fine, let’s talk business then. Our company is about to run out of money, and the new project can barely continue. Can you ask your filthy-rich husband to invest a little?”
Speaking of their pharmaceutical company, it was pitifully small.
There were only four people in total: one in sales, one in finance, and An Xiao, who was called the manager in name but was actually doing the work of an assistant. Song Wanxi was the legal representative of the company and the drug developer.
Since childhood, Song Wanxi had been the “good child” in everyone’s eyes—obedient, well-behaved, and exceptionally intelligent.
During her school years, she was the most dazzling and unattainable star on campus, with outstanding grades and a beautiful face.
She studied pharmacology and began researching rare disease drugs in college. To date, she held two drug patents.
She used the money earned from her patents to start a pharmaceutical company, renting this modest Pharmaceutical Research Institute to continue pursuing her dream.
Song Wanxi stepped into the laboratory and began inspecting the monkey carcass on the incubation bed, answering An Xiao absentmindedly, “Anyone but him—I’ll accept investment from anyone.”
An Xiao put her hands on her hips. “If you keep this up, you won’t even be able to pay the salesperson’s salary.”
“Worst case, I’ll take on a part-time lecturing position at the medical school to earn extra money for the salesperson’s wages.”
An Xiao raised an eyebrow. “And what about my salary?”
Song Wanxi looked up at her and smiled sweetly. “I’ll give myself to you?”
Seeing the smile finally return to Song Wanxi’s gloomy face, An Xiao’s worries eased. “That works for me.”
Evening.
The city lights were just coming on, and the neon glow was dazzling.
A light drizzle drifted through the air.
After work, Song Wanxi stopped by the supermarket, bought groceries, and went home to cook dinner for one.
After the meal, she read for a while and went to bed at 10 o’clock sharp after washing up.
Her schedule and You Jin’s rarely overlapped.
When she went to sleep, You Jin hadn’t come home yet. When she got up for work, You Jin was still asleep.
On days off, if they happened to run into each other, they would each avoid the other to spare themselves the awkwardness.
Song Wanxi fell asleep not long after lying down. In her drowsy haze, she heard her phone ringing.
She fumbled for her phone and squinted at the screen through sleepy eyes.
The name “You Jin” jolted her wide awake, and she quickly sat up.
In the two years since their marriage, that number had never once appeared on her phone.
It was so sudden that she felt a bit nervous.
Living under the same roof, a call at 11 p.m. was highly unusual. She took a deep breath, answered the call, and put it to her ear, speaking in a soft, gentle tone. “Is something the matter?”
On the other end of the line, You Jin’s low, hoarse voice was laced with grief. “Grandfather is gone. Pack your things—I’m coming back to pick you up.”
“Gone?” Song Wanxi hadn’t yet processed what he meant.