Chapter 19 She's determined to gradually break down his boundaries.
After spending a few days with Ms. Ji and Lao Zhuang, Zhuang Fuyao returned to Boya Bay. She figured that since she had been away for so long, Liang Huaixu would inevitably ask her where she had been and what she had done.
However, it didn't happen.
The house was quiet and deserted. She didn't see the housekeeper or Liang Huaixu. The aroma of food wafted from the kitchen. She went over and looked, surprised, and said, "Why are you cooking here?"
Liang Huaixu was wearing a gray apron and holding a spatula. Hearing the noise, he turned around and smiled, "You're back. I made you a walnut, black bean, and pork bone soup."
After the soup was cooked, Liang Huaixu ladled a bowl for her, saying, "Try it."
Not counting the shrimp fried rice from last time, this way of washing hands and cooking is nothing like Liang Huaixu, who usually upholds strict boundaries.
Something unusual must be going on.
Zhuang Fuyao gave him a strange look.
Could it be that this person doesn't want to rent the house to her anymore?
Or is it something else bad?
Zhuang Fuyao felt a pang of panic. "Is there something you want to say?"
"There's something I need to tell you, but don't rush, have some soup first."
"You go first." Zhuang Fuyao frowned. "If you keep me in suspense like this, how can I drink? I won't drink until you tell me."
"I went to Aunt Ji's place a couple of days ago, and she mentioned that you have amnesia." His tone was calm, but his eyes held a hint of darkness. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Zhuang Fuyao was caught off guard when Liang Huaixu suddenly brought this up.
Liang Huaixu: "No rush, speak slowly."
Zhuang Fuyao frowned slightly, her heart racing. This was easy to resolve. She could simply say she had amnesia, just like she had told Ms. Ji and Mr. Zhuang.
But for some reason, she was leaning toward another option, a bolder direction—why not just tell him the truth?
She actually hoped to share this secret with Liang Huaixu. After all, the matter of soul transmigration had the greatest impact on both her and Liang Huaixu.
After a few seconds of hesitation, I already had the answer in my heart.
"Do you believe in time travel? Not physical travel, but soul travel." She said lightly.
Liang Huaixu looked at her with a puzzled expression. "I've seen it in some fantasy works."
Zhuang Fuyao nodded and continued, "Actually, the me in front of you is not the me at thirty-eight years old. My soul is the me at twenty-two years old, and so are my memories."
As she spoke, she kept observing his changes in expression. If Liang Huaixu acted even slightly off, she planned to say that she was joking.
Zhuang Fuyao's imagination ran wild, and she was a little afraid that she would be sent to a laboratory for research, just like in a science fiction movie.
Liang Huaixu remained silent, lost in thought for a moment, just as Zhuang Fuyao was about to speak.
He suddenly said, "I believe it," his tone firm.
Zhuang Fuyao was stunned, and asked uncertainly, "I seem to remember that you are a materialist."
"But there are occasional exceptions in some things and with certain people."
Aren't you afraid I'm lying to you? What if it's just a joke?
"Are you lying to me?" Liang Huaixu met her gaze. "I won't send it to the lab for research."
How did he know what she was thinking?!
He saw Zhuang Fuyao's astonishment and a helpless smile appeared in his eyes. "When we watched 'E.T.' together before, you often asked me, 'If you were an alien, would I call someone to grab you and put you in a laboratory?'"
In the second semester of their senior year, they had settled their graduate school and job plans, which gave them some free time. They traveled to many places and watched many movies during their breaks, including "E.T."
That memory resurfaced in her mind. Zhuang Fuyao cleared her throat, her eyes becoming more serious. "I didn't lie to you."
Liang Huaixu smiled. "So I believe it."
Zhuang Fuyao finished the soup in her bowl as a gesture of goodwill.
Liang Huaixu continued serving her, "Is there anything else you'd like to eat? I'll make it for you."
"I'm not eating!! I can't even finish this bowl of soup." Zhuang Fuyao tried to stop him, but it was too late.
She frowned in pain; she had hated drinking this kind of nourishing soup since she was a child.
Before marriage, Lao Zhuang coaxed her; after marriage, Liang Huaixu coaxed her. Both of them put in a lot of effort.
But she really didn't want to eat such "healthy" food anymore!
She slowly pushed the bowl of soup away, blinked, and said, "I already ate something else before I came back, so I'll be too full if I drink any more."
Liang Huaixu glanced at her, and then, quite agreeably, picked up the spoon and drank the soup she hadn't finished.
"I woke up to find that my soul had traveled to sixteen years in the future. I was terrified! I thought I was still half asleep, so I slapped myself. It hurt like hell..."
After finding someone to confide in, Zhuang Fuyao started talking non-stop. While she was talking, Liang Huaixu would occasionally ask a question or two out of curiosity. The two chatted back and forth for a long time.
An hour later, Zhuang Fuyao opened the food delivery app. "I'm ordering fruit tea, do you want some?"
"No, I'll just have tea."
"Then I'll order you a cup of jasmine tea, pure tea, otherwise one cup won't meet the minimum order amount."
"…OK."
After choosing her drinks, she looked at what food was available and said, "I really want some barbecue."
Liang Huaixu looked at her, "Weren't you full?"
"Eating until you're stuffed doesn't prevent you from eating snacks."
"..."
He sighed inwardly. Just the fact that she loved junk food and had her reasons for eating it was enough for him to completely believe that she was the same person she was when she was twenty-two.
After the tea and barbecue arrived, the two chatted while eating skewers. Of course, Zhuang Fuyao did most of the eating, while Liang Huaixu only tried one bite before putting it down.
But it wasn't a complete waste of money; for example, he drank quite a bit of that jasmine tea with malt extract, and she smiled, "Isn't it delicious!"
"It's delicious." Liang Huaixu praised it enthusiastically.
Zhuang Fuyao smiled contentedly and stretched lazily.
She had a very comfortable evening, just like when they first got married. Although Liang Huaixu was less talkative than before, he still kept her company and chatted with her until late.
On the contrary, she gradually became sleepy as she spoke, and she muttered with emotion, "Liang Huaixu, it feels so good to have you by my side..."
No sooner had he finished speaking than the chattering person leaned back on the sofa and fell asleep.
Beside him, Liang Huaixu's eyes showed none of the composure Zhuang Fuyao had when she woke up; instead, they were filled with worry and helplessness.
He was already so worried when he thought she had amnesia, let alone something as unnatural as soul transmigration.
If it were anyone else, unless it were Zhuang Fuyao, he wouldn't believe something so beyond the reach of natural science.
Liang Huaixu's eyes held a rare look of bewilderment.
He never dared to dream that Zhuang Fuyao, who was still married to him when he was twenty-two, would transmigrate into this world. He was now thirty-eight years old, and his thoughts and feelings were completely different from those of his twenty-two-year-old self. He didn't know how to face her now...
After a long while, he got up, quickly removed her makeup, and then carried her to her room to rest.
Zhuang Fuyao hadn't drunk any alcohol today, so she was a light sleeper. She woke up while he was removing her makeup, and was in a half-awake state. However, she didn't open her eyes and let him pick her up.
Smelling his scent, she gently nuzzled her cheek against his neck, feeling comforted. "Liang Huaixu...husband."
The man holding her body stiffened for a moment.
-
She thought that after this all-night talk, her relationship with Liang Huaixu would advance rapidly.
But to her surprise, she didn't see him for the next three days. She asked Aunt Yuan, who said that her husband came home every day, but he left early and returned late, so they probably didn't run into each other.
Zhuang Fuyao didn't believe such a coincidence could happen. One day, she deliberately got up early to wait for him, and when she heard the door next door open, she opened her door and went out as well.
"Liang Huaixu!"
Upon hearing her voice, the man paused, a strange glint in his eyes.
Looking back, I saw her standing with her arms crossed on the doorframe of her room.
Zhuang Fuyao noticed a hint of unease in his expression. "You get up so early? No wonder I haven't seen you these past few days."
Liang Huaixu: "Yes, I've been quite busy these past few days."
Zhuang Fuyao sneered inwardly. She had never seen a 38-year-old CEO who had to get up at six o'clock every day to go to work.
If the older man isn't avoiding her, she'll immediately do a handstand to wash her hair.
"I thought you were avoiding me," she said, glancing at him meaningfully.
Liang Huaixu looked away, his eyes filled with a mixture of helplessness and embarrassment.
"Master Peng is still waiting for me downstairs. I'm going to work now."
...
He got into the car in a disheveled state, forgetting even to take the breakfast his aunt had prepared for him.
He has been very busy these past few days. First, he asked someone to contact a neurology expert to consult about "amnesia".
Following that, he also took time out of his work schedule to see a psychologist.
Years of working long hours and late nights have taken a toll on his health, leaving him in poor physical condition. Insomnia is a common occurrence, and he has also developed mild depression. His doctor's initial treatment plan is to avoid medication and focus on self-regulation and emotional healing. However, after this recent checkup, the doctor said his depression is showing signs of developing into anxiety.
Of course, I wouldn't be this busy, no matter how busy I am.
The main reason he works so hard from dawn till dusk is that he doesn't know how to face her.
-
After settling down in Jiang City, Cheng's mother and Cheng Fan went for a stroll around.
Zhuang Fuyao would come to see them when she had time. She came today, but she was noticeably quieter than before.
Cheng's mother noticed that she seemed preoccupied and assumed it was work-related, so she comforted her, "Fufu, you can never earn enough money. Don't put too much pressure on yourself. Why don't you come and stay with me in our hometown for a while longer..."
Zhuang Fuyao paused for a moment, then shook her head, "It's not about work."
"What is it?" Aunt Cheng sat down and patted her hand. "Although I haven't studied much, I've eaten rice for so many years. If it's convenient for you, you can talk to Aunt Cheng about it."
“There’s someone who’s always avoiding me. I don’t know what he’s thinking,” Zhuang Fuyao said after a moment’s hesitation.
Seeing her so worried, Cheng's mother figured out what was going on and deliberately said, "He's avoiding us, and we're ignoring him too!"
Zhuang Fuyao frowned, looking troubled. Mother Cheng tentatively asked, "Your sweetheart?"
Zhuang Fuyao looked up and nodded shyly.
Cheng's mother smiled knowingly, "What I was talking about was the kind of unreasonable person who messes with other people's feelings. It's different with your sweetheart. Just follow your heart. Let him think what he wants, and you do what you want."
"But there's one condition," Cheng's mother emphasized, "You can't do anything to hurt yourself."
Zhuang Fuyao paused, then suddenly felt as if she had been enlightened.
These principles are actually quite simple, and she can figure them out on her own when she's clear-headed. But as the saying goes, those involved are often blinded by their own perspective, and now, with a little guidance from Cheng's mother, she's come to her senses.
Now that Liang Huaixu knows that a twenty-two-year-old soul resides in her body.
They weren't divorced when she was twenty-two, so she didn't need to worry about anything. She could completely follow her heart and then gradually tear down his boundaries.
On the first day of following her heart, she changed all the conservative cotton pajamas in her wardrobe into beautiful and cool silk slip dresses.
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