Intruding into forbidden area
Chi Zhuo's straightforward way of expressing himself made Lin Tingyue fall deeply in love with him.
She tried to escape through painting, and the studio became her last refuge.
She spread out a large canvas, her palette overflowing with rich, almost oppressive colors, and dipped her brush in paint, smearing it across the canvas almost as if in a cathartic outburst.
What she painted was not a figurative scene, but a jumble of lines and colliding blocks of color, expressing emotions that even she herself could not decipher.
Chi Zhuo seemed to be busier, returning home after she had gone to sleep for several days in a row, and sometimes not even coming home all night.
The apartment was large, and when he wasn't there, the space felt exceptionally empty and quiet.
Lin Tingyue found herself subconsciously paying attention to the sounds at the door, her heart skipping a beat when she heard the elevator, and then feeling a strange sense of loss when she realized it wasn't him.
This uncontrollable sense of anticipation terrified her.
That day, she received a phone call from Xia Xiaoran inviting her out.
"Come out for afternoon tea! Hurry up! You'll get moldy if you stay cooped up in that gilded cage any longer!"
Lin Tingyue really needed some fresh air, so she agreed.
In a stylish coffee shop, Xia Xiaoran looked at the faint dark circles under Lin Tingyue's eyes and the lingering melancholy between her brows, and sighed:
"Yueyue, aren't you feeling really frustrated being Mrs. Chi? You look even more haggard than before the Lin family's troubles."
Lin Tingyue stirred her latte and gave a wry smile: "Maybe I'm not used to it yet."
"Adapt to what? Adapt to living like a widow?" Xia Xiaoran said bluntly, "I always thought Chi Zhuo was no good, but he's still like this even after he got married."
Lin Tingyue felt as if her heart had been pricked by a needle. Yes, such a dazzling man, even if he was as cold as ice, was destined to be the focus of attention.
Their marriage was just a contract; he never promised fidelity, and she had no right to demand it.
"It's not real," Lin Tingyue said softly.
"What do you mean, 'really' or 'fake'?" Xia Xiaoran's eyes widened. "Yueyue, don't be silly! Now that you're married, who cares what the reason was in the beginning? You are now his rightful wife! You have to act like the rightful wife! Otherwise, won't those women take advantage of you?"
Xia Xiaoran's words struck Lin Tingyue's heart like a hammer blow.
What gives her the confidence to act so forcefully? The foundation of this marriage is so fragile that it's easily destroyed.
“By the way,” Xia Xiaoran suddenly lowered her voice and leaned closer, “I heard something, I don’t know if it’s true or not… Someone said that a few days ago they saw Chi Zhuo having dinner with a woman at that famous French restaurant in the west of the city, and the atmosphere was quite ambiguous. The woman seems to be some kind of up-and-coming painter, and she’s quite classy.”
Lin Tingyue's hand, which was stirring her coffee, suddenly stopped, and her fingertips instantly turned icy cold.
Although she kept telling herself not to care and that there was no romantic relationship between her and Chi Zhuo, hearing those words together still made her heart ache and feel bitter.
An indescribable sense of grievance and frustration welled up in my chest.
"Don't take it too seriously, it's probably just business entertainment." Xia Xiaoran quickly added when she saw Lin Tingyue's pale face, "I just heard it from someone who was spreading rumors."
Lin Tingyue forced a smile: "Yeah, I know, it's okay."
She ate her afternoon tea without tasting it.
Back in the apartment, emptiness and silence enveloped her once more. As if possessed, she walked to the door of Chi Zhuo's bedroom.
The door wasn't locked, so she gently pushed it open.
The room was decorated in a minimalist, cool color scheme, mainly black, white, and gray. It was impeccably clean and almost devoid of any signs of life, with only a faint, lingering scent of his cool fragrance in the air.
Her gaze swept across the desk, which was empty except for documents and a laptop.
Then she saw the bedside table.
On the cabinet sat an expensive watch, a metal lighter, and an upside-down photo frame.
Lin Tingyue's heart suddenly raced.
She stood there, lost in thought, wondering whose photo would be displayed there.
She walked over step by step, her fingers trembling slightly, and picked up the upside-down photo frame.
She froze the moment she turned over.
What's embedded in the frame isn't a photograph at all.
It was a small, slightly worn piece of paper with a line of words written on it in bold, youthful handwriting:
"Chi Zhuo is a complete bastard!"
At the end of the signature, there was a simple sketch of a puffed-up smiling face.
Lin Tingyue's breathing suddenly stopped, and her eyes widened in disbelief.
The handwriting... the drawing...
It was written when she was sixteen!
That year, she was a sophomore in high school and was originally selected as an outstanding student representative to speak at the school's anniversary celebration. However, just before she was to go on stage, she was told that the organizers wanted to replace her.
The other person's name is Chi Zhuo.
Later, she couldn't stand it anymore, so she angrily wrote this sentence in the school's guestbook and drew an ugly smiley face to provoke them.
At the time, she didn't know Chi Zhuo at all; she had only heard the name.
But he actually... kept it?
I also put it in a photo frame on the bedside table, upside down.
What does this mean? Is it a tribute to her childish absurdity? Or is it revenge against her?
Countless questions and immense shock overwhelmed Lin Tingyue's mind, leaving her unable to think for a moment.
My heart was pounding wildly in my chest, almost bursting out.
Just then, I heard the sound of a door opening and familiar footsteps behind me.
Chi Zhuo is back!
Lin Tingyue was so startled that her hand trembled and she almost dropped the photo frame.
She hurriedly turned the photo frame back upside down, her heart pounding, as if she had been caught red-handed as a thief.
She turned around abruptly and saw Chi Zhuo standing at the bedroom door, still carrying the chill from outside, his sharp gaze fixed on her and the photo frame she had just put down.
His eyes instantly became deep and unfathomable, and the air pressure around him seemed to drop a few degrees.
"Who gave you permission to enter my room?" His voice was as cold as ice, clearly showing his displeasure.
Lin Tingyue's face turned deathly pale. She subconsciously took a step back, her back pressed against the cold bedside table, with nowhere to retreat.
"I...I didn't mean to..." She stammered, her mind blank, feeling guilty for being caught trespassing into his private space, and also shocked by the photo frame.
Chi Zhuo approached her step by step, his tall figure casting a heavy shadow that completely enveloped her. His gaze was fixed on her, as if trying to see right through her.
"What did you see?" he pressed, his voice dangerous and low.
Lin Tingyue's heart was pounding in her throat, and she shook her head frantically:
"No...I didn't see anything..."
His fingers suddenly lifted and pinched her chin, forcing her to raise her head and meet his deep, cold gaze.
“Lying.” He uttered the two words coldly, his eyes sharp as knives. “Tell me, what did you see?”
The air seemed to freeze. Lin Tingyue could feel the power in his fingertips and the immense pressure emanating from him.
She had nowhere to escape and was forced to face his gaze.
Why are you touching my things?
Lin Tingyue was so frightened that she dared not move, but he grabbed her chin, forcing her to tilt her head back.
"I didn't mean to, I just..."
She desperately searched for a reason, determined to find a reasonable explanation.
"What is it?" Chi Zhuo pressed again, as if he wouldn't let her leave until she gave him a reason that would satisfy him.
His approach brought not only fear, but also an indescribable intimacy.
The faint smell of alcohol emanating from him, mixed with a cool, refreshing fragrance, forcefully invaded her breath.
Lin Tingyue's mind went blank; all her thoughts were occupied by the man in front of her.
"I was wrong... I shouldn't have come in... I shouldn't have touched your things..."
She finally gave in, her voice choked with emotion, and tried to end the suffocating standoff with an apology.
She lowered her eyelashes, not daring to look at him anymore.
Chi Zhuo silently watched her trembling eyelashes, her reddened eyes, and her lower lip that she was gently biting due to nervousness.
That appearance gradually calmed the dark thoughts churning in his eyes.
The fingers that were pinching her chin slowly loosened.
Losing that support, Lin Tingyue's legs went weak, and she subconsciously leaned back, her waist resting against the cold edge of the bedside table.
Chi Zhuo didn't help her up, but took half a step back, creating some distance between them again.
"Get out." He finally spoke, his voice returning to its usual cold tone, revealing neither joy nor anger.
Lin Tingyue felt as if she had been granted a pardon, but she was also stunned by this sudden act of leniency.
She dared not ask any more questions, nor even glance at the upside-down photo frame. With her head down, she almost staggered as she fled from him, rushing out of his bedroom.
She didn't breathe heavily until she ran back to her room, locked the door behind her, and slid down onto the carpet with her back against the door. Her heart was still pounding.
For a moment just now, she really thought he would get angry, or even... do something worse.
But he didn't. He let her go.
Why?
That photo frame, the words she wrote to him when she was young and ignorant, yet he still treasured it—it's too strange.
Countless questions swirled in Lin Tingyue's mind, making her head feel like it was about to explode.
Inside the master bedroom.
Chi Zhuo stood in front of the bedside table and picked up the photo frame.
My fingertips rubbed the cool glass surface, beneath which lay a slightly yellowed piece of paper.
His eyes were deep and dark, filled with complex and unfathomable emotions.
He remembers it clearly. That year, he had just returned from overseas and started to take over the group's core business, keeping him extremely busy.
During a visit to his alma mater's anniversary celebration, he was already annoyed by some people at the school when he happened to witness this girl secretly complaining about him and even writing bad things about him in private to vent her emotions.
When he discovered it, he seemed both amused and drawn to the vibrant anger.
In a world filled with scheming and self-interest, her straightforwardness seemed exceptionally pure.
For some inexplicable reason, he didn't throw it away.
Even after all these years, having changed wallets and moved several times, this note has remained with me.
After he got married, he put it in a photo frame and placed it upside down on the bedside table.
He turned his head upside down because he didn't want anyone to see it, including himself.
But when placed by the bedside, it becomes a silent companion, a secret known only to him.
He was caught off guard by her discovery tonight.
That moment of anger stemmed from the instinct of feeling one's private territory had been violated.
But seeing her eyes redden with fear, that anger was quickly replaced by another, more complex emotion.
But he seems to be increasingly dissatisfied with their relationship.
The two met again at the breakfast table the next day.
The atmosphere was awkward and delicate.
Lin Tingyue kept her head down, sipping her milk in small sips, not daring to look at the man opposite her.
Chi Zhuo, as always, looked at the financial news on his tablet and ate his breakfast with elegant manners, as if nothing had happened last night.
However, as he stood up to leave, he paused, his gaze falling on her.
"What are your plans for today?" he asked casually.
Lin Tingyue was taken aback, not expecting him to ask that, and subconsciously replied, "...Nothing, I'm probably in the art studio."
"Hmm," he replied casually, then turned and walked outside.
As he reached the door, he stopped again without turning around, simply saying, "There's a family dinner tonight, and the old man wants to see you. The driver will bring the clothes over this afternoon."
After saying that, he left.
Lin Tingyue tightened her grip on the cup.
Her heart skipped a beat again.
This is another tough battle that she needs to face as Mrs. Chi.
Moreover, after last night, she didn't know how to be in the same space as Chi Zhuo, let alone face his elders.
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