Chapter 39. Expose
When she went to bed at night, Ruan Tang rolled 360 degrees on the 1.5-meter double bed but couldn't fall asleep at all.
Would it be more comfortable to sleep on the 1.8-meter bed in Feng Xue’s master bedroom?
This thought suddenly popped up in her head, and she crawled to the edge of the bed and hung her head in the air, trying to get rid of all those unfounded thoughts.
The window of the guest bedroom perfectly framed the moon hanging in the night sky. She picked up her phone and looked at the calendar. It was exactly the 16th day of the lunar calendar. No wonder the moon was so round.
I remember when I was in middle school, I followed others to read Zhang Ailing’s novel “Love in a Fallen City” and there was a line in it: I have always wanted to see the moon through your window.
Ruan Tang felt sour then, and she feels heartbroken now.
Looking at the moon from your window, without you by my side, still doesn't feel complete.
Thinking of this, she suddenly jumped up from the bed and knocked on Feng Xue's door.
He must be still awake, as a faint, warm glow from a desk lamp peeked through the crack in the door. Sure enough, when he opened the door, he was holding a book.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm a little picky about my bed and can't sleep." Ruan Tang leaned against the door frame with her arms folded, as if subconsciously looking for a place to lean on so that her tone and expression would be more credible.
He scratched his head, glanced back at his room, then looked towards the kitchen and said: How about... I cook some noodles for you?
Ruan Tang originally wanted to ask him if she could just lie down in your room and chat, but she suddenly saw a huge photo frame on the floor of the bedroom. The photo was covered with white gauze, with only a corner of the beige carved frame exposed. She knew what it was without asking.
She waved her hand and said: No, I... just want to ask if you have anything like melatonin.
"Wait, I'll find it for you."
Feng Xue knelt on one knee in front of the bedside table, searching, while Ruan Tang leaned against the doorframe, craning her neck to peer inside. He had turned on the chandelier to find something, now offering a clear view of the room. Next to the picture frame was a small dressing table, upon which lay a single bottle of men's body lotion.
He came out holding a small bottle full of English words, examining it carefully, and said with a frown: This should have been bought by her at that time, and it seems to have expired for three years.
He didn't use "my ex-wife" or call her by her name, but used the third-person pronoun "she", as if this "she" was an unspoken code between them. So, compared to you and me, who is closer, you and her or you and me?
"Ruan Tang?" He called her again. She suddenly came back to her senses, smiled faintly and said: Forget it, you should go to bed early.
In front of the room where the wedding photos were displayed, she looked like an intruder fleeing in panic.
In his love history over the years, there were many other women, including his current boyfriend's ex and his ex's current boyfriend. Women always liked to spy on each other and compare secretly, as if they could get more love by winning over the other. However, Ruan Tang felt that this inexplicable desire to win was nothing more than driving up the price of pork and giving men a reason to become arrogant.
In fact, it's not that she didn't mind, but if she cared a little, she would act very well in front of the man, and then in return she would get the latest bag or even a secondary card.
But today, she suddenly didn't want Feng Xue to see other emotions on her face.
She didn't wake up until half past ten in the morning. She tiptoed out of bed and opened the door, only to find that Feng Xue had already left.
On the dining table were whole wheat bread, tea eggs and washed apples, a perfect combination of Chinese and Western cuisine. Next to them was a piece of paper with four simple words written on it: The porridge is in the pot.
She turned on the TV while chewing an apple, and a pop-up window popped up in the upper left corner of the TV asking if she wanted to continue playing "Justice, My Foot".
Yesterday, after Feng Xue came back, he handed her a plastic bag and said that he didn't know which brand to buy, so he asked the clerk to pick out the most commonly used ones. However, he never mentioned boiling water again, and he quietly cooked millet porridge in the evening.
Thinking of this, Ruan Tang wanted to shove her head into the rice cooker. It turns out the most shameful thing in the world isn't lying, but having your lie seen through and still having the other person sympathetically play along.
Ruan Tang packed up briefly and decided to go back to the store to open for business.
As soon as she reached the entrance of the alley, she saw Zhang Haoyu wandering in front of the store with his hands in his trouser pockets and his head lowered. He was wearing a well-fitting suit, but he still looked like he was wearing adult clothes. The scene was very strange.
"What are you doing here?" Ruan Tang walked forward quickly.
Zhang Haoyu turned around and looked at her carefully. Seeing her rosy face, his brows relaxed and he asked: Is there anything I can do?
When he asked this, with such sincerity on his face, Ruan Tang actually felt a little touched, but she just turned around to open the shop door and said: All you can do is stop causing trouble for me, can you do that?
Zhang Haoyu followed her in and saw her fiddling with the tables and chairs. He wanted to help but she stopped him and said: I can't afford to pay for your clothes if you damage them.
He suddenly grabbed her wrist and said solemnly: I went back and summed it up. Regarding what you said last time about not having any feelings for me, I admit that I was rarely serious about people and things in the past. There were many things I wanted to do, but I basically didn’t insist on doing anything. I was indeed not very mature.
Ruan Tang felt overwhelmed and pushed his hand away, explaining: No...
"Listen to me," he took a step forward and looked down at Ruan Tang, as if the tip of his nose would touch her forehead in the next second. "This time I've really made up my mind to start by doing a good job and shouldering the responsibilities of a man. So I'm here to say goodbye to you today, but don't worry, I'll be there soon when you need me."
Ruan Tang stood there in a daze, watching him turn around and leave without looking back.
While eating a salad at lunch, she was browsing her social media and saw Zhang Haoyu post a puzzle of two movie screenshots. The line read: The more painful it is, the more I like danger. It only makes me love her more. There is only one thing that can make the soul complete, and that is love.
Ruan Tang sneered as she clutched her phone, then her features twitched at the unexpected bite of kale. She didn't have much time to attend to the boy's romantic thoughts. After eating, she mustered up the courage to open the social media platform, only to find that all the posts had been deleted overnight. The group's homepage was still bustling, but her presence was gone.
There was also a small group of righteous messengers who insisted on posting bad comments under her account. Ruan Tang patiently deleted and blocked them one by one, and her mood gradually became more cheerful.
However, as the saying goes, good fortune never comes alone. Her good mood hit rock bottom when she went to Feng Xue's house to pack up her things at night and saw that the wedding photo in his master bedroom was missing.
Xu Wei just called to tell her that she had found the IP addresses of the accounts that posted the messages. Ruan Tang just replied with an "oh" and then told her the whole story about the wedding photos from beginning to end.
Xu Wei laughed on the other end of the phone and said, "Isn't this a good thing? It proves that he cares about your feelings."
"I don't think so," Ruan Tang said, standing at the master bedroom door, staring at the empty space next to the dresser. "Could this be part of his elaborate scheme?" This scumbag man is like that when it comes to keeping a girl. He always goes the extra mile, covering every detail, but never takes the initiative to establish a relationship. If anything goes wrong, he always blames it on the woman's imagination. And he says he's delivering goods every day. Could he be dating other women? His house is so clean, it just proves something's up.
Xu Wei was silent for a moment, then suggested, "Why don't you talk to him openly? I don't think Feng Xue is that kind of person."
"That scumbag wouldn't have the word scumbag written on his face! The most high-end scumbags often use the simplest routine, which is to be nice to you and infiltrate your life. I think I understand." Ruan Tang hung up the phone and walked out angrily with her things.
As soon as she opened the door, she saw Feng Xue standing outside.
"Why...are you back?" she said, tapping and knocking on the door.
Feng Xue burst out laughing and asked: What are you doing?
She swallowed and said: Let's see if your door is soundproof.
He lowered his head, as if brewing something. Ruan Tang unconsciously began to imagine the plot of a perverted murderer who was exposed and killed people in anger. He also loved watching movies so much. She remembered a movie that Xiao Yang had acted in not long ago, in which he used his extensive film experience to perfectly cover up the truth of the murder.
"Come in and sit for a while, okay?" His voice sounded a little low.
"Do it?" Ruan Tang was alert. "What do you do?"
"Sit down... and chat for a while."
The two of them sat at opposite ends of the dining table, as if they were having a business meeting.
Ruan Tang ate the pig ears that Feng Xue brought back from the braised food shop at the corner of the coffee shop alley, and her tense nerves finally relaxed a little. She said: Thank you for your midnight snack, but let's maintain a partnership in the future. I will try my best to make up for the previous rent. Just tell me a specific number.
"What's the meaning?"
"What do you mean by drawing a line in the sand, Feng Xue? I'm really tired. No man has ever made me so tired. I don't know what you mean, but I don't want to guess anymore. I used to think that things between men and women were simple, but then I met you. I think it might be because there was too much money and material between me and men before. A purer love should be like this, but I still don't understand what you are thinking. You are good to me and take care of every detail perfectly, but it seems that this is the end. I wasn't so anxious when I was expelled from the hospital, because I knew I could always find a way to make money, but now I don't know what to do. I hate this feeling of being out of control." She said a lot in one breath, and the braised food was a bit salty, so her throat kept tightening, but she felt extremely refreshed in her heart.
"I'm sorry." His tone returned to its usual gentle tone, which made her feel inexplicably annoyed. She said, I clearly told you that I hate it most when men say sorry to me.
Feng Xue was stunned and asked with wide eyes: Do you still remember what happened that night?
Ruan Tang felt upset and too lazy to explain such a trivial matter in detail, so she just said "hmm" in a hurry.
"Actually... I've always been a very passive person in relationships. After going through all that, I originally thought that this was it for my whole life. But after unexpectedly meeting you and spending some time together, I admit that I'm indeed moved..."
"I know this. When you saw Zhang Haoyu that day, you deliberately didn't hang up the phone. Wasn't that the opportunity to tell me? Come on, get to the point." Ruan Tang interrupted him, her expression revealing some impatience.
This time he was only slightly shocked, and then smiled. That smile seemed to tell her that you are not too stupid, and it was full of praise. Seeing Ruan Tang glaring at him, he quickly said seriously: I used to think that I couldn’t give you the life you wanted, and that I didn’t deserve to have a normal life after all those things. Besides, I still owe a lot to my ex-wife. But just now when I was outside the door, I heard you say that, and I suddenly realized that those were not important. I don’t want you to misunderstand me. Everything I do actually represents my heart.
"So?" Ruan Tang asked with a raised eyebrow.
He shook his head and said: So I want to face my feelings, and please give me another chance.
Without waiting for Ruan Tang to reply, he stood up, went into the bedroom, took out a file bag and placed it in front of her, saying: I was kicked out of the house with nothing back then, and this house was auctioned off by the court. Yingjun bought it and kept it for me. Together with the money for opening the store, he is now my biggest creditor. However, a few years ago, I invested a sum of money in his company in the name of my father, and now it is back in my name. There will be dividends every year, and this is all my wealth.
Ruan Tang looked at the brown paper bag, subconsciously licked her gums with her tongue, and suddenly frowned and asked: So that day in the tent, I kicked you away just because you put a plaster on me?
Feng Xue: ???
"I didn't fly! I just lost my balance and fell backwards!" He hurriedly defended himself, then paused and added: And... it wasn't because of the plaster.
"Why is that?"
"Don't you remember?" If Ruan Tang saw correctly, his earlobes seemed to be slightly red.
"I remember part of it but forgot part of it. You haven't lost your memory, have you? What's the reason?" she asked anxiously.
"It's because..." He thought for a moment, stood up and walked to her, bent down slightly, lifted her chin with one hand and kissed her, and continued vaguely: Like this.
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