Chapter 13 Heartbeat Thirteen "Husband"
Time to get off work.
Dong Chen and He Xuwen, who were quick on their feet, were already waiting at the door and had made an appointment to go to the newly opened Japanese restaurant in the evening.
Standing at the door, Dong Chen discussed with Wen Huai: "Sister Wen, are you really not going with us? The reviews online say it's great."
"You guys go ahead, I have a date with some friends tonight." Wen Huai packed his bag and walked out with them.
"Then let's go together another day." Dong Chen saw another secretary assistant Emily and greeted her warmly, but was also rejected.
He Xuwen laughed at the side: "Come on, I'll be the only one to accompany you to test the poison."
Dong Chen punched him, not giving up: "Sister Wen has made an appointment with a friend, and you have made an appointment with a friend too?"
Emily was about to speak when her phone rang. Seeing the note, she didn't hesitate to answer it in front of them. "I'll be right out, honey. I'm waiting for the elevator with my colleagues. Okay, thank you for waiting for me a little while. I'll be right there."
Putting her phone back in her bag, she smiled and said, "Today is my husband and I's anniversary. What a coincidence! I wanted to go with you too."
When Dong Chen heard the phone call, he was fed a handful of dog food. Now he was no longer in the mood to eat Japanese food. He said awkwardly: "You should go with your husband. We will go with Sister Wen next time and not take you."
"No, my husband also likes Japanese food. We can go together." Emily tried to ease the situation. "My husband has a great personality. I'm sure you two can get along well."
The elevator arrived and several people entered.
Dong Chen got goosebumps when he heard the name with a very high duplication rate. He said with disgust, "I really can't stand you guys who have a partner. Can't you just call each other by their names properly? You keep calling each other "husband" and "husband". It makes my hair stand on end."
Emily rolled her eyes. "Why don't you just say you're single, single guy?"
"Hey you!"
The elevator reached the first floor as the two bickered. The three of them watched Emily leave in a car. Dong Chen earnestly warned Wen Huai, "Sister Wen, promise me that if you ever get married, don't ever call your partner 'husband.' It's such a disgusting term."
"for--"
"Then let's first—"
They spoke at the same time, and Dong Chen was stunned: "Sister Wen, what did you say?"
She shook her head. "Then be careful on your way. See you tomorrow."
Dong Chen waved at her: "Okay, let's go, bye!"
He Xuwen: "See Secretary Wen tomorrow!"
The two left, and Wen Huai also went to the open-air parking lot.
The white Audi's lights flickered on, and a WeChat voice message arrived on the phone in the center console. Wen Huai fastened his seatbelt before listening.
Lu Miaomiao: "I'm at your house. The wine, skewers, and duck are all ready. The only thing missing is you!"
Wen Huai curled his lips and pressed the voice button: "Wait for me, ten minutes."
Turning the steering wheel, the white Audi swiftly rounded two bends and drove onto the road.
-
It was dinner time, and the Xu family's old house was filled with the aroma of food. The dim lights were accompanied by the shadows of bamboo, just like a Chinese courtyard ink painting rendered in ink.
A dark red hand-embroidered carpet stretched across the vast Chinese restaurant. A screen painted with an ink forest cut the restaurant in two. Near the back, the rectangular mahogany table was less than two-fifths full, and the several chairs were occupied by only two people.
The nanny laid out the dishes and placed the first bowl of chicken soup next to Li Changying. Just as she was about to serve the second bowl, she stopped her, saying, "No need to serve him."
The nanny put down the bowl and said yes.
Xu Youjing didn't get angry, he picked up a piece of bamboo shoots and put it in his mouth.
"Grandma, this stir-fried rice stem with shredded pork is the freshest of the season. Please try it and see if it suits your taste." The nanny brought the last dish and stood by with her hands hanging down.
Li Changying tasted it and found it very delicious. She said to her, "I like it. I'll add this dish to the family dinner the day after tomorrow. You've worked hard. You can go and have your meal too."
"good."
After the nanny left, only the scent of bamboo remained in the quiet house.
After a few bites, Xu Youjing put down his chopsticks and wiped his lips with a piece of paper. Li Changying saw this and put the stew pot next to him: "Try it, it's freshly made by Chef Li."
He took off the lid and found a dessert. The cloyingly sweet smell made him frown. "Master Li made it according to your taste. I won't eat it."
Li Changying: "Who said that? This is made according to the taste of Xiao Ai's hometown."
Xu Youjing looked at the stewed Gu and said, "I don't know what her hometown tastes like."
"You!" Li Changying almost fainted from anger. "You don't know your wife's taste preferences, and you think you're right, right?"
Seeing that he didn't respond, she didn't bother beating around the bush and said bluntly: "The wedding room has been decorated a long time ago. When do you plan to move in?"
"Wait a little longer."
Li Changying frowned: "Wait? Why didn't you discuss it with Xiao Ai on Valentine's Day?"
Xu Youjing lowered his eyes and remained silent.
He didn't want to lie to his grandmother, and he didn't tell Wen Huai about this. He didn't know what she thought, and he couldn't answer for her.
This look had a different meaning to Li Changying, and disappointment flashed through her wrinkled eyes. She put down her chopsticks, her tone softening considerably.
"Grandma knows you and Xiao Ai don't have any emotional foundation, so it's a bit awkward for you to live together now. But you're a legal couple. How can a legal couple be separated after marriage?"
At one side of the main seat, the man sitting on a high mahogany chair looked up. Li Changying realized that what she said was inappropriate and changed her words: "Your father and your mother are exceptions. Their marriage was not voluntary. But you and Xiao Ai agreed to your marriage yourself. Unlike your parents, right?"
The lights flickered, and the sound of bamboo leaves rustling in the wind filled his ears. Xu Youjing stared at the light reflected off the white ceramic for a long time, then nodded.
"That's right. Although you can't say you like each other, you also have feelings for each other, otherwise why would you get married." Seeing that he had given in, Li Changying continued to fan the flames, "When I introduced Xiao Ai to you, I didn't know her father was your homeroom teacher for three years in high school. Thinking about it afterwards, it was fate. Teacher Wen gave his daughter to you because she approved of you. I also like Xiao Ai and treat her as my own granddaughter. Can you promise grandma that even if you don't like her after getting to know her, don't—"
"Grandma." The man's cold voice was mixed with sandalwood, soothing and solemn. "I won't be like them."
The "they" he mentioned were his parents.
The biological parents who gave birth to their son but never gave him a moment of love and care.
Li Changying was speechless.
After a long silence, Xu Youjing finally looked away first. Li Changying looked at the man whose face was half covered by shadows, and a flash of heartache flashed in her eyes.
Perhaps it was the knowledge from childhood that he was a product of the Qiao and Xu families' illicit interests that shaped his aloof, unruly nature. Over the years, his increasingly mature face was now etched with a distinct aloofness and indifference. He spoke even less to Li Changying than before, often asking her questions and him answering them, responding to everything but never taking the initiative.
Other children were either dating or getting married, but he hadn't heard a word from her at all. She hadn't even seen him joking with a girl. Li Changying was worried that he might have problems over time, so she started arranging blind dates for him. However, he was perfunctory on the surface, but secretly didn't even go to a single blind date party.
If the old lady hadn't gotten angry, Xu Youjing wouldn't have gone to meet his blind date, nor would he have met Wen Huai, the daughter of his high school teacher. He wouldn't have learned that his mentor was dying, and he wouldn't have taken the initiative to take on the responsibility of protecting Wen Huai for the rest of her life.
That's why she said that everything is fate.
The boy's solemn promise was reflected in his brown eyes. Li Changying knew his grandson's temperament and knew he would keep his promise, which made her feel a little relieved.
"Grandma, let me ask you one more question. Did you not tell Xiao Ai about the move at all, or did you threaten her to refuse even though you didn't want to?"
Xu Youjing raised his eyebrows, "Why isn't there an option where I told her she doesn't want to."
Li Changying compromised: "Then there are this option, ABC, which one do you choose?"
Xu Youjing said decisively: "A."
“…”
"Are you trying to piss me off to death?" He slammed the table, shaking the dishes. "Call Xiao Ai now and ask her!"
I had no choice but to do as he said, but the call didn't go through.
He put down his phone. Li Changying's eyes widened. "Aren't you worried that your wife didn't answer the call?"
Then, the busy tone came again.
After a long wait, Wen Huaiya's quiet voice rang out: "Sorry, I was driving just now."
There seemed to be the sound of a door closing over there, and Xu Youjing asked, "Are you home?"
Surprise flashed through his mind, Wen Huai hummed, and then asked: "Boss Xu, what do you want to talk to me about?"
Before he could say anything, Xu Youjing noticed the glare from the person next to him and suddenly changed his mind.
He held up his phone and said casually, "The day after tomorrow we'll have a family dinner. Grandma asked about your taste."
"I'm fine with anything. I don't mind eating anything."
"Yeah." He deliberately looked at Li Changying, "Then I won't bother you anymore."
"Okay, goodbye, Mr. Xu."
“Eh——”
Before Li Changying could pick up the phone, the call was hung up.
Seeing his success in her eyes, she was furious and scolded: "You didn't listen enough at the company, and you even let your wife call you Mr. Xu in private! Do you deserve a beating?"
-
Wen Huai hung up the phone, thinking that he was simply asking about her taste, so she didn't think much about it and went upstairs with the thermos.
The lights were off at home, and the moment she opened the door, the stench of alcohol was overwhelming. Without even having time to change her clothes, she hurried to the dim living room and found Lu Miaomiao, who was already drunk.
She pressed her palm against a wet area, her heart skipped a beat, and then she saw clearly that it was her tears.
She hugged her, held her close to her, and patted her back.
"Miao Miao, cry if you want to, I'm here."
"......Um."
As the night spread, the sobs in her arms turned into unbridled crying, and her slender shoulders trembled even more violently. Wen Huai could only hug her tighter to calm her emotions.
I don’t know how much time had passed, but countless empty bottles of wine were scattered on the ground. In front of the sofa, two drunk and weak bodies were leaning against each other, their consciousness was blurred.
Compared to Wen Huai, Lu Miaomiao was much more sober.
She snatched the bottle from Wen Huai's hand. Wen Huai was not happy but couldn't get it away from her, so he could only curse her incoherently. Lu Miaomiao pretended not to hear and took a bottle of juice as a bottle of wine. After calming her down, she used her phone to check the nearest pharmacy.
They had only had a few drinks before, never this drunk. She just thought that Wen Huai's job required drinking, so naturally he could drink well.
But she didn't expect that she was wrong.
Starting from the sixth bottle of beer, when Wen Huai started to talk nonsense, she should have reacted and stopped her.
After finding out that there was one in the community across the street, Lu Miaomiao simply gave up the idea of ordering takeout and planned to go out to buy some hangover medicine.
She looked at Wen Huai, who was sleeping quietly behind the coffee table, holding a juice bottle, and thought that it would only take five minutes to go back and forth, so it shouldn't be a big deal. So she closed all the doors in the room and locked the front door before going downstairs.
The room fell into silence. Wen Huai closed his eyes, rested his head on his knees, and his mind was confused.
So many images flashed through her mind, too many to count. The last frame stopped at Emily sweetly calling "Husband" into the phone, and then her thoughts were pulled away by the noisy ringtone until her long, curled eyelashes slowly opened.
Blinded by the glare, Wen Huai couldn't open his eyes. He picked it up in a daze and swiped his fingertips across the screen until the noise disappeared and the glare turned to black.
"Did you see that?" Xu Youjing pointed the phone at his red arm. "Grandma called."
There was no response. He withdrew his hand and looked at the screen, only to find that the light in Wen Huai's camera was even darker than his.
Just as I was about to speak, I heard the person opposite me ask, "Why did grandma hit you?"
"Because the old man is in a bad mood."
Sitting down on the bench nearby, the wind in the yard was a little cool, blowing his shirt against his back, clearly defining his broad shoulders and the shape of his ribs.
Wen Huai parroted, "Why is grandma in a bad mood?"
There was a rustling of leaves in his ears, but Xu Youjing himself didn't notice it. He was extremely patient now.
Looking at the bright moonlight, he explained: "Hearing you call me Mr. Xu, I feel like calling me boss. Didn't I tell you not to call me that in private?"
The latter sentence was softened by the evening breeze.
Even through the phone, the ears of the person on the other side were numbed.
Holding the phone in both hands, Wen Huai stared blankly at the screen. He pursed his lips and a soft, soothing voice slowly fell into the empty darkness around him.
Very clear.
Xu Youjing on the other side held the phone a little stiffly, but he still asked unnecessarily: "What did you call me just now?"
The noise in my ears was amplified, but it couldn't offset the disrupted breathing.
His breathing slowed down, and the faint vibration of the receiver burned his palm.
The pair of watery eyes appeared on the screen, and then the lips, clearly visible in the moonlight, touched each other.
He heard her calling him.
"husband."
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