Chapter 87

Let's stop arguing, okay?

Lin Jin stared angrily at the phone screen, her eyes practically spitting fire, determined to pierce through the bastard on the other end of the line.

She thought this person would get stubborn and hang up on her, but before the second ring of the dial tone, he had already answered the phone impatiently.

Although Cheng Sangluo swiftly betrayed her true feelings, she was as stubborn as steel when it came to words, and coldly asked, "What?"

The usually assertive Lin Jin softened her voice: "Can't you speak properly?"

The question was filled with resentment, so much so that the other person instantly fell silent. "I do know how, but you didn't give me a chance to speak properly. I'm just asking you, which wild butterfly did you have a candlelight dinner with today?"

"Heh, are you jealous, or are you jealous?" Lin Jin raised an eyebrow and scoffed, then, feeling that the situation wasn't quite right, she provoked the puppy further: "Since you're so eager to know who it is, shouldn't you speak to me politely?"

"Lin Jin, have I been too kind to you?" Cheng Sangluo's good temper lasted only three seconds before she started to get angry again. "If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up, so I don't have nightmares tonight."

There's no way to treat this crazy woman well; she'll become ecstatic if you give her even the slightest bit of sunshine!

"You dare hang up the phone!" Lin Jin said sharply, threateningly, "If you dare hang up, I'll make sure you can't sleep all night. I have plenty of ways to cure you. If that doesn't work, you can try."

Cheng Sangluo knew, of course, that a crazy woman would do anything when she got angry, so she could only retort in a bad mood: "Go to your gentle paradise, why do you have to drag me along?"

"Is it so hard to get you to call me 'wife'? You stammered for ages, couldn't you even speak properly? So what if I hung up on you? I just didn't like your stuttering. Only heaven, earth, and I know what you're really thinking. You're just pretending to be confused. If you like someone, you like them; if you're in love, you're in love. There's nothing shameful about saying it. Why be so stingy?" Lin Jin was really getting impatient, so she made her point clearly.

She had exhausted all her energy to bring their ambiguous relationship to this point. If he still remained unmoved, she would buy a plane ticket tonight and fly back to get him thoroughly healed.

Cheng Sangluo fell silent on the phone.

Actually, she also felt that she was very strange. It was just a contractual relationship. Did it matter so much who the crazy woman was with? What did it have to do with her?

But she was restless all night, her mind filled with wild thoughts. Even the important clues she found at Xu Songheng's house failed to bring her any joy.

"It's the same old story. If you're too scared to face me, you just pretend to be mute. Since you like being mute so much, then stop talking about whether you miss me or not. I've heard plenty of cheesy love talk, so I won't miss a word or two from you." Lin Jin's harsh words finally hit the nail on the head. Perhaps realizing that she had gone too far, she simply stopped talking and waited to see how that bastard would handle things without responding.

“I…” Cheng Sangluo struggled for a long time before finally managing to utter a single word. Fortunately, she didn’t pause for too long. “I’ve had a very difficult time these past few days. The time has been agonizing. Even though I’ve done a lot of things, I still can’t fill the void of missing you.”

Yes, I never admit to being dependent on you, but the truth is, I depend on you more than I realize.

I walked alone on the main road, watching groups of people coming and going. I noticed that they all seemed very happy, and I realized that I couldn't fit into this society.

I had this feeling long before I was released from prison. At that time, I thought, so what if I don't fit in? At worst, I'll just live alone for the rest of my life.

Do you know what people fear most? People fear nothing more than a sudden change after getting used to something.

I never imagined that I, who hated you so much, would get so used to having you around, and that made so many things different.

Like now, suddenly there's no one to talk to, and I actually feel lonely, even though loneliness used to be the norm for me.

I truly miss you, I truly hate it when you hang up on me, and I truly care who you're with.

This lengthy explanation shattered the silence of the night, and Lin Jin became the silent one.

Her eyes were half-closed, her fine eyelashes trembling slightly. It was unclear whether it was because the person who was not good at taking the initiative or speaking had suddenly opened up, or because she was emotionally affected by the loneliness between the lines.

Cheng Sangluo waited for a long time, but seeing that she didn't get a response, she finally softened her tone and said, "Let's not argue anymore, okay? How can a wife hold a grudge overnight?"

Lin Jin suppressed a laugh and said coldly, "When I was easy to coax before, you wouldn't. Now that I'm not so easy to coax, I don't think I'll forgive you so easily."

Cheng Sangluo curled up on the bed. In a world unknown to Lin Jin, she hugged the pillow filled with the scent of cedar tightly. As she sniffed it, she felt a little more at ease. Hearing those arrogant words, she was no longer angry. Instead, her tense emotions relaxed.

Lin Jin hoped the person on the phone would be more proactive, so as to respond to the years she had waited alone. However, the silence on the phone made her heart clench, and she could only silently pray for a quick response, so that she would stop waiting in despair.

"I'm a little duck, I'm in line, but we're not in sync, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, quack quack," Cheng Sangluo pleaded in a muffled voice, repeatedly saying sorry.

"Pfft..." Lin Jin finally laughed out loud, picked up the soft pillow and fell onto the bed. The longing she had felt all night was finally relieved a little. "I forgive you, I forgive you."

"You still haven't answered me, who is Wild Butterfly?" Cheng Sangluo muttered, then realized she might have pressed him too hard, so she laughed it off: "Fine, if you don't want to tell me, then forget it."

"You actually believed me when I was just kidding? I haven't eaten anything yet, where would so many wild butterflies come from?" Lin Jin answered truthfully, and fearing that the puppy wouldn't believe her, she told her to verify: "If you don't believe me, you can ask Secretary Zhou. She wouldn't lie, would she?"

"If you say no, then no, I'll believe you this once," Cheng Sangluo said generously, then added suspiciously, "Hmm? Are you very busy? Why haven't you eaten anything yet?"

“Because…” Lin Jin buried her head even deeper, dragging out her words to whet the little dog’s appetite before explaining, “I can’t eat or sleep well when you’re not here.”

"Don't be like this." Cheng Sangluo gently advised, secretly rubbing her rumbling stomach, but she didn't tell Lin Jin that she had also been starving all night because she was anxious. "You've become as thin as a paper doll. People need to eat, right? Starting tomorrow, you have to take pictures of my three meals a day, or I'll hold you responsible."

"We've only been married a few days, and you're already acting like a housekeeper, wanting to control everything?" Lin Jin teased, but actually liked the dog keeping her in check. Having someone to keep her in check was a happy thing, at least it meant she was cared for.

Cheng Sangluo pressed on (the puppy wagged its tail anxiously.jpg): "Will you pat it or not?"

“Of course we can take pictures,” Lin Jin agreed, but then set conditions: “You have to give me something in exchange.”

"Always thinking about exchanging everything, you really are a businessman through and through." Cheng Sangluo muttered, but had no choice but to agree: "Then I'll take pictures of your three meals a day too."

“You said I’m a businessman, so of course I have to bargain.” Lin Jin wasn’t someone who was easily fooled, so she naturally wanted to get more benefits. “I think just taking pictures of three meals a day isn’t enough. You have to include some freebies.”

"Then... what do you want?" Cheng Sangluo hesitated, but not wanting to argue with the crazy woman anymore, she had no choice but to back down: "Hey, don't ask for too much."

"Then you'll have to say good morning, good afternoon, and good night to me every day, and you have to include the 'wife' prefix... or..."

Before the crazy woman could finish speaking, the puppy was already impatiently calling out, "Wife..."

Lin Jin smiled, her eyes crinkling, and murmured softly, "Spicy Bingbing, you know how to call me wife now?"

Cheng Sangluo buried her face in Lin Jin's special pillow, inhaling the familiar scent. Her eyelids began to droop uncontrollably, and her tone softened as she spoke, "Wife...you smell so good..."

"Huh?" Lin Jin was taken aback, realizing the puppy was sleepy, so she lowered her voice and asked, "What are you doing?"

"I want to sleep with your pillow..." the puppy slurred, its tongue almost lolling out, and it smacked its lips sleepily. "The pillow... isn't as soft as you..."

The red wine was starting to take effect, and Lin Jin teased him, "Do you want me?"

"I want to...I really want to..."

"Then you'd better be a good boy and bear it. You're not allowed to secretly relieve your pent-up desires by yourself. You'd better keep it to yourself."

"Six days until my wife comes home...that's six centuries of torment..." Cheng Sangluo muttered to herself for a while before finally falling asleep.

As the night deepened and the dew grew heavy, Lin Jin listened to the puppy's drowsy conversation and finally felt sleepy.

She couldn't bear to hang up, so she simply held the phone to her ear. Even just listening to the dog's even breathing through the receiver made the night less lonely.

"Goodnight, my dear dog." Lin Jin was more gentle than ever before, turning to the phone and calling softly. Even without a response, he could feel a sense of peace with his eyes closed.

As if she had thought of a good way to alleviate their loneliness, she murmured to herself into the phone, "Be good...tomorrow...I'll help you relieve your pent-up desire..."

*

The next day, early morning.

Cheng Sangluo slept restlessly that night, having many inexplicable dreams, but Lin Jin was not in them, so there was no point in trying to recall them.

She got up very early and bustled around in the kitchen preparing breakfast.

Although she was the only living person in the huge villa, she still tried her best to create a lively atmosphere.

The puppy called out to the air, "Cheng Sangluo."

"I'm here, Master. What are your orders?" The smart butler is very sensitive and responds quickly to commands.

Cheng Sangluo felt a little uncomfortable with her own voice, so she said playfully, "It's nothing, I just called you."

“Master, if you are bored, you can say to me—Cheng Sangluo, I’m so bored.”

Cheng Sangluo was cooking eight-treasure porridge in front of the gas stove, while the steamer on the other side was steaming. Thinking that she couldn't make breakfast for a while, she simply leaned against the counter and interacted with the smart home assistant: "Cheng Sangluo, I'm so bored."

"Yes, Master, I'll make you happy now."

Cheng Sangluo thought that this AI was quite human-like, even finding ways to relieve its owner's boredom. Before she could even say a few words of praise, her face quickly darkened.

"I am Cheng Sangluo, my master's most loyal dog. I love it when my master puts a sexy collar on me. I love licking my master's delicate, fair feet. Master, please whip me hard... I'll ascend to heaven on the spot..."

The smart butler used Cheng Sangluo's voice, which was laced with nauseating sweet talk and contained a string of offensive words that quickly reached her ears.

"Hey! Cheng Sangluo, shut up! I don't want to hear your voice now, no, I never want to hear it again!" The puppy hurriedly stopped, belatedly realizing why Lin Jin had used her voice to set up the smart home assistant.

Turns out there was this hidden program; what a twisted sense of humor! That crazy woman must have done countless bizarre things like this in the past!

"Master~ Was I not good enough? Why do you dislike me so much? It's all because I was naughty. Please whip my bottom and punish me properly~"

Cheng Sangluo's eyes widened in disbelief. She wondered how Lin Jin had managed to create this AI thing before, making it seem like he was training it!

She felt like she'd seen a ghost; how could this conversation go on and on? She covered her head with both hands and shoved it hard twice. "Shut up! If you say another word, believe me, I'll hang you up and beat you!"

"Mmm~ I'm even more excited now~"

Smart home assistant is truly smart!

[Author's Note]

1. My pre-order novel, "The Sinful Lover," is available for collection.

2. Follow @同心难改的胡耀耀 on Douyin (TikTok) to join the reader group.

3. Weren't these chapters fun? Looking forward to the next one!