Chapter 102 (3): She developed inappropriate fantasies about Liang Huaixu.
Last night, she must have treated Liang Huaixu like a pillow. Liang Huaixu lay obediently on his back, but she wrapped her arms around his waist like a vine and even pinched his abs.
"..."
After realizing what had happened, Zhuang Fuyao quietly lifted her leg back and turned over to go back to sleep.
-
Living with Liang Huaixu wasn't as difficult as she had imagined; everything felt natural and comfortable.
Liang Huaixu lived a very regular life. He would get up early to go to get off work. If he worked overtime, he would send her a message. If he didn't work overtime, he would get home around 6:30 pm and then go into the kitchen to cook.
He has an exceptional learning ability. He not only adapted to his current lifestyle very quickly, but his previously mediocre cooking skills also improved dramatically.
In less than two months, she went from "barely edible" to craving Liang Huaixu's cooking, and after that she never ordered takeout for main dishes again.
After dinner, he has a habit of going to the gym for two hours to work out. The rest of the time he either works overtime or spends time with her.
While she was painting, he would cut up fruit and prepare water, then quietly sit on the sofa in the studio or living room.
Besides, it must be because of what she said last time that he maintained a strong sense of propriety and boundaries, rarely having any intimate contact with her, and simply sleeping under the covers in bed.
Our relationship is even better than with my college roommates.
Of course, there will be some minor surprises.
For example, last night, she was asleep and unaware of her surroundings, and accidentally crossed the "38th parallel" and touched his most aroused part in the morning.
When she woke up, she found herself face to face with Liang Huaixu. Amidst the awkwardness, the atmosphere shifted, becoming intimate and sticky. She could clearly feel Liang Huaixu's breathing become heavier...
Fortunately, she always managed to bring the atmosphere back on track.
For example, she would accidentally bump into Liang Huaixu changing clothes, and what's visually appealing is that every time she saw him, she would think that his physique had improved, his flat stomach had become firm and shapely, and his clearly defined six-pack abs were very sexy.
Liang Huaixu learned a lot of dressing tips online. He doesn't wear formal attire when he's not working, and he even got a haircut. If he were in college, he would definitely be a cool and aloof campus heartthrob. Many times, people would be impressed when they saw him.
Liang Huaixu in his youth was truly a vibrant and lifelike character.
In comparison, she was a bit down now, but after these two months of changes, she has gained a lot of positive energy.
She has been very happy and healthy during this period, and even her previously chaotic schedule has been restored. Her colleagues at the studio have all said that she looks rosy-cheeked and asked her if something good has happened.
She always just laughs it off, saying, "It's just that I go to bed early and get up early."
Despite the happiness, as they lived together longer, a voice inside her reminded her that she and Liang Huaixu were already divorced, and Liang Huaixu was unaware of this. It was time to be honest.
Zhuang Fuyao had tried many times to speak, but when she met Liang Huaixu's gaze, she found it hard to say it.
What truly made her decide was that she had two dreams that week in which a hot body covered her, causing her to tremble with pleasure...
Just as she was reaching the climax of her dream, the abnormal blush on her face caught Liang Huaixu's attention.
When she opened her eyes, she saw the person from her dream touching her forehead with a pair of large hands. The first two words that came to her mind were: "It's over."
She developed inappropriate feelings for Liang Huaixu. If this continued, something bad would happen sooner or later; she had to act decisively.
-
On Monday, her car was restricted from driving, and it happened to be a team-building day. After dinner, her colleagues from the studio drove her home.
"Yunxiang, just put me down here."
"Sister Fuyao, but it will take you another ten minutes to get in from here."
Zhuang Fuyao's current residential area is very large, with a large artificial lake in the middle. It takes about ten minutes to walk in from the main gate.
"It's nothing, I'm just taking a walk." And using the opportunity to clear my head.
Since the boss had said so, Yunxiang had no choice but to nod and put the person down.
Zhuang Fuyao slowly walked inside, but before two minutes had passed, a clap of thunder sounded, and soon it started raining again.
She found a place to take shelter from the rain, thinking she would go back when the rain subsided.
The rain just kept getting heavier and showed no sign of stopping. My clothes, which were soaked by the rain, clung to my skin and felt cool.
She hugged her arms, sneezed, and to make matters worse, her phone was dead. She could only wait alone, watching the water puddle on the ground rise higher and higher, with no idea when the rain would stop. She was starting to feel discouraged, wondering if she'd have to stand there all night.
Just then, a tall boy walked over from not far away.
He held up a large black umbrella, his face cold as he looked around. But the moment he saw Zhuang Fuyao, the coldness in his eyes vanished completely.
Liang Huaixu walked over to her in a few steps, wiped the water droplets from her hair with his sleeve, and said gently, "Why is your phone off?"
"The power's out..." She sneezed. "How did you get here?"
"I couldn't get through to you on the phone, and it was raining outside. I was worried you might get wet since you didn't drive today, so I came over to try my luck."
Zhuang Fuyao was stunned for a second, and by the time she came to her senses, he had already put his arm around her shoulder and led her under the umbrella.
On the way back, both of their shoes got wet from the puddles, but Liang Huaixu showed no negative emotions. Instead, he chatted with her about what he had seen and heard that day. Although the young Liang Huaixu was aloof in front of outsiders, he was not as rigid as the middle-aged version of Liang Huaixu. He was quite witty and humorous. When he talked about these things, they instantly became funny. The two chatted and laughed and soon arrived home.
He seems to have a kind of magic that can turn bad things into good and make her feel better.
After they got home, he urged her to take a shower. When she came out, Liang Huaixu had already finished showering in another bathroom and even made her a cup of ginger tea.
Zhuang Fuyao frowned. "I won't drink."
She didn't mind getting caught in the rain, but the ginger tea was just awful.
Then she saw Liang Huaixu looking at her with that mocking gaze and saying, "Sixteen years have passed, and you're still afraid of taking medicine? Ginger tea isn't even medicine."
"..." During this time, Zhuang Fuyao, taking advantage of her more mature mental age than Liang Huaixu, had been acting as if she were the older sister.
Provoked by his words, she felt a little embarrassed and said, "No, it's just because I brushed my teeth."
"Never mind, I'll just try again later." With that, she downed her drink in one gulp.
Ginger tea is effective; after drinking it, my stomach felt warm and my whole body relaxed, a stark contrast to the miserable state I was in when I was sheltering from the rain under the eaves.
Even without Liang Huaixu, she would definitely have found a way to go back; it was just a matter of time.
Just like many things she can do alone, it feels different when someone is with her. Although Liang Huaixu is 22 years old in his mind, he always makes her feel warm and at ease.
This made her hesitate, even though she was thinking of confessing...
After hesitating for a long time, she still didn't say anything all night. In the end, she could only place her hopes on Liang Chaoluo.
She made a special trip to the next city to find her son, saying, "Find an opportunity to tell your father that I've divorced him."
"Huh?" Liang Chaoluo's expression was subtle after hearing Ms. Zhuang's words.
He told Lao Liang about this shortly after Lao Liang woke up.
He was puzzled for a moment, then showed that look of sudden realization.
So Lao Liang was up to this sort of thing!
As a son, he naturally wouldn't contradict her, so he tried to evade the issue, saying, "Mom, how about we wait a while? It's only been two months, things aren't stable yet. I'm afraid Dad won't be able to handle such a big shock. Besides, I haven't had any holidays lately because my boss has been exploiting me. It's hard to explain over the phone..."
"That works too, but please remember this for me."
Liang Chaoluo readily agreed, "Okay!"
Since Liang Chaoluo said he would come in a while, then so be it. With that in mind, Zhuang Fuyao no longer felt burdened.
After living with Liang Huaixu for a while without feeling guilty, Zhuang Fuyao received a call from her grandmother, asking her to come over.
She hadn't been able to visit her grandmother for a long time because she was busy with Liang Huaixu's affairs, so she decided to bring her clothes and stay for a couple more days.
As soon as we arrived at the suburban house, Grandma mysteriously led me to the room, asking with a smile, "What are you doing here?"
Grandma Zhuang took out a few photos from her cabinet, put on her reading glasses, flipped to the third one, and was about to show it to her granddaughter when she withdrew her hand and looked at her granddaughter curiously for a while.
Zhuang Fuyao thought there was something dirty on her face, so she touched it and took out her phone to check, but there was nothing there.
She tugged at her grandmother's arm, "Oh dear, stop keeping me in suspense."
She didn't even realize the coquettish tone in her voice.
Hearing this, Grandma Zhuang knew that her granddaughter must be in a good mood lately, and she smiled broadly, asking her, "Has anything been wrong with you lately?"
"What...what's going on?"
Seeing her granddaughter pretending not to understand, Grandma Zhuang playfully slapped her hand, "Stop pretending to be confused!"
Zhuang Fuyao knew what her grandmother was going to say.
They're basically asking if I've had any relationship issues lately.
Many people ask her this when they meet her.
When she looked in the mirror, she noticed that her complexion had improved a lot, but what did that have to do with her relationship status? It was clearly thanks to going to bed early and waking up early.
"No, I just adjusted my sleep schedule recently." Her eyes didn't waver at all.
"Really?" Grandma Zhuang looked at it suspiciously for a while, but couldn't find anything amiss. She didn't care whether it was true or not, and took out the third photo that she had just put away again. "Take a look."
"What is this?"
The person in the photo was dressed like a typical old scholar, and Zhuang Fuyao assumed her grandmother had brought a picture of an old friend to reminisce about the past. The next second, she heard her grandmother say, "Fufu, what do you think of this young man?"
Young man?
Zhuang Fuyao's lips twitched. "Who is this?"
"Your grandfather Qin's grandson is forty years old this year. He never got married because he was too demanding and busy with work. He is currently teaching at Jiang University. He comes from a scholarly family. Would you like to meet him when you have time?"
"..."
In the past two years, her grandmother has been particularly enthusiastic about introducing her to potential partners. Recently, things quieted down for a while, and she was almost letting her guard down when another one suddenly appeared.
He was forty years old, which was only two years older than Liang Huaixu.
Considering Liang Huaixu's recent youthful appearance, she felt that the two of them could be mistaken for father and son if placed together.
"I don't--"
Before she could even finish two sentences, Grandma Zhuang launched into her dramatic performance, "Your Grandpa Qin and your grandfather were revolutionary comrades, brothers who went to the battlefield together. Actually, when you were little, our two families arranged a marriage between us. Qin Zhenglin was an honest boy and never had a girlfriend; he was waiting for you. But then you and Liang Huaixu naturally fell in love. Our family isn't the old-fashioned kind; seeing how happy you and Liang Huaixu were, and how much you loved each other, we didn't tell you about it..."
She took a deep breath and pretended to wipe away her tears. "But back then, it really delayed Xiao Qin. Now that you're single, why don't you go and meet Xiao Qin? Grandma doesn't expect you to do anything with Xiao Qin. Even if it doesn't work out in the end, it's good to be friends."
Zhuang Fuyao was stunned; she hadn't expected this.
As she hesitated, Old Mrs. Zhuang coughed a few times, "I'm old, I don't know how many years I have left to live, every day I live is one day less. My greatest wish before I die is to see you—"
"Grandma, I'll go, I'll go, okay?" Zhuang Fuyao was most afraid of her grandmother saying these things, and every time she heard her grandmother say them, she would burst into tears.
Grandma Zhuang then stopped her acting and sighed with emotion after her granddaughter left.
Actually, all the talk of arranged marriages between children is fake. Maybe someone said something like that as a joke back then, but neither family took it seriously.
She didn't necessarily want to introduce Qin Zhenglin to her granddaughter; she just wanted someone to keep her granddaughter company so she could be happier.
-
Not long after Zhuang Fuyao returned to her room, Qin Zhenglin came over and added her on WeChat.
Before they even officially started chatting, she received several of her most hated emojis. She awkwardly exchanged a few words, when Liang Huaixu called. She panicked, a feeling of guilt washing over her. After realizing what had happened, she was momentarily confused.
She was just pretending she wasn't divorced, not that she really wasn't. What was she feeling guilty about? She shook her head, answered Liang Huaixu's video call, ended her awkward conversation with Qin Zhenglin, and deleted the chat history and chat window.
When Liang Huaixu, who is the same age as her, video chatted with her, it was always from a terrible angle. If she weren't good-looking enough, who knows how deformed she would look if he zoomed in with that lens.
But when 22-year-old Liang Huaixu video chatted with her, he actually learned to find the right angle. His deep features made him very photogenic, and seeing his handsome face on the phone screen was pleasing to the eye.
"What are you doing?" The voice was low and magnetic, and incredibly pleasant to listen to.
"Nothing much, just getting ready for bed." She smiled unconsciously.
Actually, chatting with Liang Huaixu was mostly about everyday things, sharing what she did and ate that day, but surprisingly, she never felt bored. There were many moments when she had the illusion of being back in the honeymoon phase.
Just like before hanging up the phone, Liang Huaixu would say, "Wife, I miss you."
She would reply with "I miss you," only without the prefix.
Zhuang Fuyao didn't know if she had this feeling because of Liang Huaixu's youthful spirit or because of Liang Huaixu himself.
In her marriage with Liang Huaixu, there was no right or wrong, but looking back, her emotions were really bad in the period before the divorce. She was always inexplicably anxious and uneasy.
It was as if something was urging her on; she desperately wanted to live alone, didn't want to receive any external signals, and didn't want to have any emotional connection with anyone. Affected by her emotions, Liang Huaixu was also in pain.
Seeing how much pain they were both in, Zhuang Fuyao thought it best to get a divorce, let them cool off for a few years, and remarry later if necessary.
Looking back now, she doesn't know why she made such a naive decision.
But there's something quite amazing about it.
Logically speaking, someone with such a deep relationship with Liang Huaixu would definitely be reluctant to part ways even after a divorce.
She rarely thought of him, and even when she thought of the past, it all felt vague, as if veiled.
Until recently, everything that had been blurred has become clear again.
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