Chapter 2: Let Him Stay in Our Marital Home  

Since their marriage, Gu Huai had never stayed out overnight, no matter how busy he was.  

But after that day, he began staying out all night.  

Three weeks into his continuous absences, the entertainment headlines blared with a glaring title: “Mystery Woman Spotted Late at Night with Gu Family’s Powerholder, Holding Hands Sparks New Romance Speculation.”  

In the photo, he was wearing the dark gray coat she had personally chosen for him, his fingers intertwined with Jiang Sesè’s wrist.  

At six in the morning, her mother-in-law’s call came right on schedule.  

Lu Zhenzhu stared at the dark circles under her eyes in the mirror, listening to the concerned inquiries on the other end, her nails digging deep into her palms. “Xiao Huai has been saying he’s working overtime these past few days… You two haven’t been fighting, have you?”  

“Mom, he’s just been busy lately,” she replied dismissively, her voice icy.  

She turned and pulled out a long-neglected photo album.  

The plastic cover made a soft sound as she flipped it open. Most of the photos were landscapes from her solo travels, with only a few scattered shots of Gu Huai’s profile—frowning during meetings, dozing off on the couch—but not a single one of him smiling at her.  

She should have realized it sooner—if he truly “loved” her, why wasn’t there a single photo of them together?  

Looking back now, perhaps he was afraid of seeing a photo that would remind him of someone else.  

On the last page, she found a blurry photo.  

Her gaze fixed on the faint scar on the back of his hand in the picture—a mark left when he shielded her from broken glass while taking a drink for her. Now, that same hand was holding another woman’s.  

“Zhenzhu?” Her mother-in-law’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts.  

Gritting her teeth, she selected a photo from the night before their wedding and sent it.  

“You’re always so understanding,” her mother-in-law sighed. “Xiao Huai, that child, is just stubborn with his words…”  

Lu Zhenzhu listened to the static on the line and whispered, “Mom, I’m tired.”  

After hanging up, the photo album slipped from her hands, scattering pictures across the floor.  

Her eyes landed on one—taken on her birthday. Gu Huai was lowering his head to cut the cake, his lashes casting shadows under his eyes, the corners of his lips slightly upturned.  

Back then, she had thought that smile was for her. Only now did she realize he must have been thinking of someone far away.  

After Gu Huai’s mother posted a statement debunking the rumors, the comments section flooded with messages like “Mrs. Gu is so sweet” and “Mr. Gu has such great taste.”  

Lu Zhenzhu stared at the blurry paparazzi photo, her finger hovering over the screen until a new notification popped up—Gu Huai had reposted Jiang Sesè’s morning tweet: “Our relationship is not to be tarnished.”  

His caption was as sharp as a knife, piercing straight through her heart.  

The comments instantly shifted, with insults like “homewrecker” and “attention-seeker” flooding in. Some even dug up comparisons between her and Jiang Sesè’s similar features, mocking her as a “low-quality stand-in.”  

As she scrolled through the comments, the sound of keys turning in the front door echoed through the house.  

Gu Huai walked in, his usual gentle smile freezing the moment he saw what was on her phone. His eyes turned cold. “Why are you looking at this?”  

He reached for her phone.  

“Just browsing.”  

His fingertips brushed the back of her hand, carrying his usual tenderness. “The online rumors are just competitors setting us up. Sesè is only—”  

Listening to his placating tone, Lu Zhenzhu scoffed inwardly. “Yeah, I know.”  

She cut him off and began folding sweaters into a suitcase.  

Gu Huai watched her indifferent demeanor, an inexplicable irritation rising in him. “A-Zhu, are you really okay?”  

She smiled faintly. “What’s there not to trust? Isn’t mutual trust what marriage is about?”  

With that, she stood up and walked away.

Gu Huai watched her retreating figure with an indescribable feeling in his heart, though it was quickly overshadowed by a sense of relief.

The first thing Lu Zhenzhu did the next day was apply for a visa.

She intended to fulfill her mother’s unfulfilled wish—to travel the world.

To save up enough money, she contacted the organizer who had previously handled her art exhibitions, asking if they could continue to arrange shows for her.

After finishing these tasks and returning home, she began sorting through old mementos of her time with Gu Huai.

The floor-to-ceiling windows in the master bedroom let in the early spring sunlight. As she gazed at their wedding photo, she suddenly recalled his words: “Sunlight only looks beautiful when it falls on my wife.”

“The floor-to-ceiling windows in this room are perfect, Ah Huai! I want to live here!”

Jiang Sesè’s voice came from behind. She shuffled into the master bedroom wearing Lu Zhenzhu’s slippers, her hospital gown hanging loosely off her shoulders.

Lu Zhenzhu turned and fixed Jiang Sesè with an icy stare.

Jiang Sesè shrank back, startled, before quickly hiding behind Gu Huai.

“Sesè is now a business partner of our company. She’s been ill lately with no one to care for her, so I brought her home,” Gu Huai said calmly, as if merely informing her.

Hearing this, Lu Zhenzhu nearly laughed in disbelief. “So you brought her into our home? Let her stay in my room? Gu Huai, do you even remember this used to be our marital bedroom?”

Her voice trembled with suppressed emotion. The abdominal pain from her recent miscarriage felt like a needle stabbing her heart with every breath.

“I didn’t know this was Sister’s room…” Jiang Sesè ducked her head, fingers brushing the curtains. “But the doctor said I need three hours of sunlight every day…”

She suddenly broke into a cough, her face flushed. “If there were any other way…”

“Enough,” Gu Huai finally interjected. “Sesè needs this room. You can move to the guest room on the second floor.”

“The guest room has heating,” he cut her off, reaching for the storage box in her hands. “Don’t be difficult. Sesè’s health is more fragile than yours.”

Lu Zhenzhu felt as though she’d heard the most absurd joke.

Yet all she said in the end was, “Fine.”

Before she could finish, Jiang Sesè interrupted, “Ah Huai, maybe I should just stay in the living room… I don’t want to trouble Sister…”

Her fingers lightly tugged at the hem of his suit jacket.

Gu Huai’s tone softened instantly. “The guest room is too damp. Take the master bedroom—be good.”

The air grew unbearably still.

Lu Zhenzhu’s eyes locked onto the faint lipstick stain on his suit—the same shade featured in Jiang Sesè’s morning Weibo post.

Her throat burned as if she’d swallowed glass. She wanted to demand, “Why?” But then she saw Jiang Sesè leaning against the window, lips curling into a faint smirk.

Lu Zhenzhu could only muster a bitter smile.

Why?

Because of Gu Huai’s love.

“Mm,” she heard her own hollow reply. As she turned, she accidentally knocked over the vase on the nightstand.

Amid the shattering glass, Gu Huai frowned while Jiang Sesè gasped and threw herself into his arms. “Ah Huai, broken glass scares me…”

Lu Zhenzhu bent to pick up the shards, her fingers nicked and bleeding.

Gu Huai’s footsteps passed behind her without pause. “The guest room is upstairs. Have Aunt Zhang help you move your things,” he said flatly.

Jiang Sesè’s laughter mingled with the breeze from the window. “Ah Huai always takes such good care of me…”

The guest room’s small window let in only a sliver of sunlight, casting a pale stripe across the faded bedsheets.

Lu Zhenzhu stood at the door hugging a pillow, watching as the bedroom curtains fluttered in the breeze. Jiang Sesè’s silhouette swayed momentarily in the play of light and shadow, strikingly reminiscent of that year when Gu Huai had hung the curtains for her upon her first arrival.