Violence
“Jian and I are already married. I hope you’ll have some boundaries in the future.” Deng Yi opened the window to relieve the stuffiness.
Wei Jinglin was still lying in bed, his eyes filled with hatred as he stared at the ceiling. He said disdainfully, "How dare you ask me to have boundaries? When you were trying to steal my boyfriend, why didn't you think about having boundaries?"
"Do you want me to tell you what 'stealing someone' means?" Deng Yi pushed the black chair back into the desk, his usually cold face instantly turning as cold as a frozen lake. "You like playing the victim, that's your business, but please don't drag innocent people into it."
"Innocent? Are you saying Zhou Ji'an is innocent, or you are innocent?" Wei Jing sneered, jumping up from the bed. "When you two were dating and getting married behind my back, did you ever think about my innocence?"
Deng Yi raised his wrist to check the time, walked to the window again, closed it, and said with suppressed anger, "It was your own choice not to date or marry her; I never stopped you."
“Just because I’m not dating or marrying her doesn’t mean I allow you to date or marry her.” Wei Jinglin flew into a rage and kicked over a nearby laundry basket.
As he continued searching for something to smash, his gaze fell upon a framed movie ticket with the director's autograph on the only shelf of his desk, and he suddenly calmed down.
“That’s true, but I should have known you would fall in love with her and get married. After all, although her face is just average, her figure is really good. People like you who are into the arts like to use emotions and love to package sexual impulses.” Wei Jinglin paused for a moment, observing that Deng Yi was on the verge of exploding, and continued to provoke him: “But you are really good at enduring. She has been with me for so many years, and you don’t mind at all.”
As he threw his punch, Deng Yi thought that perhaps only when the person in front of him completely disappeared could his married life be peaceful.
Zhou Ji'an pushed open the door and saw Wei Jinglin lying on the ground, Deng Yi's fist like an iron hammer, striking Wei Jinglin's face.
Without asking what had happened, she rushed over and grabbed Deng Yi's right hand.
She moved so fast that she slid to her knees on the floor, her heart pounding wildly.
Zhou Ji'an felt Deng Yi's unusual strength again, and she gasped for breath, "Stop hitting me."
Although she really wanted Deng Yi to beat Wei Jinglin a few more times, she was worried that if Wei Jinglin directly broke off relations and posted Deng Yi's "misdeeds" online, Deng Yi might be criticized.
Deng Yi stopped, her eyes gradually regaining their clarity as she stared directly at the person who rushed up to dissuade her.
Wei Jinglin took the opportunity to stand up from the ground. At this moment, his four parents downstairs had already reached the door. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and apologized to the four elders at the door, whose expressions were complicated: "It's all my fault. I went too far with my joke with Xiaoyu."
After he finished speaking, he casually straightened his clothes and apologized to Deng Yi: "Xiao Yu, I'm sorry, I won't dare to do it again next time."
"Your son Deng Yi's temper, how come he still hasn't calmed down even after getting married?" Wei Jinglin's mother said with a forced smile, while pulling her son over to check his injuries.
Wei Jinglin's father glanced at his son and deliberately said, "Men are normal to get physical."
Deng Wencheng glanced at Deng Yi expressionlessly, then his face turned icy as he glanced sideways at Shen Ruoheng.
Shen Ruoheng hid all her emotions in her eyes, but the muscles at the corners of her mouth couldn't help but twitch.
Xiaoyu? Is that Deng Yi's nickname?
Zhou Ji'an didn't have time to think about it, because she was very angry, as if she had been wronged as well.
She frowned and said indignantly, "Didn't Wei Jinglin say that he went too far with his joke? It's his fault for always making inappropriate jokes."
Wei Jinglin's expression froze, and his jealousy and hatred rekindled instantly.
Deng Yi's hands were still held tightly in Zhou Ji'an's arms, and his tormented and unsettled spirit seemed to be suddenly brought under control.
"Do you want to go home?" Deng Yi helped her up, smoothed the wrinkles between her brows, and said with a smile, "You don't need to come anymore."
Zhou Ji'an was naturally eager to leave this strange place and these strange people as soon as possible, so he nodded happily and said, "Yes."
Deng Yi led Zhou Ji'an past the five people at the door. As they walked to the entrance and put on their coats, Zhou Ji'an vaguely heard Wei Jinglin's father's voice.
"Has Xiaoyu not seen a psychologist in a long time? I'm afraid he hasn't seen one since I took him?"
Then came Deng Wencheng's cold voice: "Can a psychologist cure a genetic problem?"
Then came Wei Jinglin's mother's voice, cutting in the gap: "Sister Heng, you still need to teach Deng Yi a lesson, lest he end up in the news for domestic violence."
Shen Ruoheng did not make a sound.
Or perhaps she did say something in support of Deng Yi, but it was drowned out by Wei Jinglin's playful antics.
Deng Yi was buttoning Zhou Ji'an's clothes when Zhou Ji'an looked up at him and unconsciously raised his hand to cover his ears.
Zhou Ji'an thought that she seemed to have covered it up too late.
"I regretted bringing you back." Deng Yi looked up, removed the two hot hands from his ears, and sighed softly.
His tone was gentle, which didn't match his high brow bones and deep-set eyes. Zhou Ji'an wanted to say something, but Deng Yi held her hand and pushed the door open to leave.
Zhou Ji'an could still hear the conversation of the people in the living room. They didn't try to stop her and Deng Yi, and Deng Yi obviously didn't intend to say goodbye to them either.
That's good, so she can purely hate each and every one of them.
"What will happen to your mother?" Zhou Ji'an was really uneasy and finally couldn't help but express his concern.
"She doesn't want to break free, and no one can help her," Deng Yi said calmly, then turned and asked, "A lot of work today?"
He didn't want her to press him for details.
Zhou Ji'an had no choice but to put aside his doubts, go through his work plan, and reply, "It's alright, I can do it on Monday."
"Any arrangements?" Zhou Ji'an asked, fastening his seatbelt.
Looking at the road ahead, Deng Yi simply said, "Yes."
"Going to the supermarket," Zhou Ji'an blurted out involuntarily.
"Is there anything else you'd like to do?" Deng Yi pulled out the shopping cart, then added suspiciously, "Or do you not want to go grocery shopping with me?"
On Saturday, the supermarket was much more crowded than usual, and the smells were more complex.
Zhou Ji'an placed his hand on the shopping cart, moved slightly closer to him, and whispered, "Won't we get photographed? Are we going to have to act?"
The shopping cart suddenly stopped in the dairy section.
Due to inertia, Zhou Ji'an's stomach bumped into the shopping cart, and he growled in dissatisfaction, "Hey."
"Did it hurt?" Deng Yi withdrew his hand, which had almost reached for her stomach.
It didn't hurt, since winter clothes are thick, but it was a bit irritating. Zhou Ji'an said childishly, "Why don't you bump into it yourself and see?"
The noise of the supermarket drowned out the deep laughter.
Deng Yi placed his hand on Zhou Ji'an's hand, and Zhou Ji'an heard him say, "Let's act like this for now."
The two lingered in each area for a while, and Deng Yi, as always, spent lavishly, filling his shopping cart to the brim.
When checking out, Deng Yi didn't stop as he passed the snack section.
In the past, Zhou Ji'an had a strong appetite and, taking advantage of his youth and fast metabolism, would buy snacks every time he went to the supermarket.
After Deng Yi learned about her habit, he would always go to the snack section with her to choose snacks. Sometimes when Zhou Ji'an forgot, he would remind her.
Now, he has forgotten about her habit.
Zhou Ji'an felt a little disappointed, but then he thought about it again and realized he was being dramatic.
They were in a fake marriage, not a real one, and they didn't know why they were being so dramatic.
Back in the car, Zhou Ji'an still couldn't shake off her negative mood. Deng Yi noticed something was wrong with her. "What's wrong? Are you hungry?"
"Hmm?" Zhou Ji'an subconsciously touched his stomach.
Deng Yi dared not delay any longer, and the smile in his eyes grew even stronger. "I wanted to get you some cookies and chocolate, but I remember you said not long ago that you hadn't touched sweets for five or six years."
Zhou Ji'an's mood fluctuated wildly due to Deng Yi's words and actions, and the little temper he had when he was dating Deng Yi almost resurfaced.
She did say that, but it was something she posted on her WeChat Moments.
When Zhou Ji'an and Deng Yi broke up hastily, he didn't delete Deng Yi's WeChat account because he wanted to spy on Deng Yi's life.
Not long after, Zhou Ji'an discovered that Deng Yi, who usually posted at least four updates a month, not only stopped posting new updates but also deleted all his previous ones.
It took Zhou Ji'an several days to realize that Deng Yi had deleted her WeChat account.
She didn't have the courage to message him to confirm.
It wasn't until the night they reunited, when she received Deng Yi's message, "Will you marry me?", that she realized Deng Yi hadn't deleted her from WeChat.
Now she knows that not only did he not delete her WeChat, but he has also been spying on her life.
He seems to really dislike her, because if he liked her even a little, he wouldn't have gone so many years without contacting her, even though he had her contact information.
Zhou Ji'an, having regained his temper, shifted the focus to a more practical question: "Why did you fight with Wei Jinglin?"
The connection that held Deng Yi back then became much stronger because of Zhou Ji'an's words.
When Deng Yi is interviewed in public, he always emphasizes that his success is due to good luck. But when he sits alone in the dark, he thinks that whoever thinks he is lucky, he will give that luck to them.
From childhood to adulthood, he and Wei Jinglin argued constantly and fought frequently. However, Wei Jinglin always managed to time his attacks perfectly without retaliating, making onlookers think that he was unilaterally inflicting violence on Wei Jinglin.
Why did you hit Wei Jinglin?
Why are you bullying Jinglin again?
Why are you so cruel?
Why don't you have any manners?
Just when Deng Yi was getting tired of hearing these words and began to suspect that he really had supermale syndrome, Zhou Ji'an appeared.
When they met for the second time, she immediately noticed that Wei Jinglin was deliberately provoking him. With a look of confusion on her face, she couldn't help but mention a concept that she seemed to have only recently come into contact with and hadn't yet fully understood, while Deng Yi was already familiar with it.
She looked at Wei Jinglin strangely and said, "Are you using the gaslighting effect? I feel like I've seen this kind of behavior somewhere before."
This time, she witnessed his violent side firsthand, and she still asked him why he and Wei Jinglin fought, instead of asking why he hit Wei Jinglin.
Deng Yi suddenly realized that he was indeed quite lucky.
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