◎Afterwards◎

You Lexin had never imagined that, from Xu Tiancheng’s perspective, their love story would look like this.

She was completely shocked, immersed in his love-struck past. “So… it sounds like I had you wrapped around my finger?”

Xu Tiancheng stiffened, half embarrassed and half proud, as he pretended to scold her. “Good that you know.”

You Lexin gleefully pounced on him, clinging to his neck with a mischievous grin. “And yet you still like me this much—”

Xu Tiancheng tried to keep a straight face, waiting for her to get tired of playing around and let go of him. But when she didn’t, he scratched his reddening ear awkwardly.

Curled up on the sofa, You Lexin opened the Xiaofanshu app for the first time in a while.

After they officially started dating, Xu Tiancheng deleted his account. Seeing all his accumulated followers go to waste, You Lexin had even felt a little regretful. “You didn’t even take any brand sponsorships.”

But Xu Tiancheng had been firm about it. He said the account had already served its purpose and should fade into history.

She had no choice but to let him be.

A few days later, when You Lexin returned from a business trip, Xu Tiancheng had cleared his work schedule in advance just so he could leave work early.

He drove to the train station to pick her up, but just as he reached the front desk, a receptionist stopped him. Another pretty girl had specifically requested private training lessons with the boss.

In the past, Xu Tiancheng would have used a bit of salesmanship to at least secure a contract before figuring out the details. But now, things were different. From the start, he politely declined, making it clear that he didn’t take on clients himself.

But this girl wasn’t easy to dismiss. She even pointed out that she had seen him personally training an old member before. “I saw you giving someone a lesson last time while I was running. Come on, since you’re already training one person, you might as well train me too.”

Xu Tiancheng glanced at his watch—he was running out of time.

You Lexin was independent. If he told her he was going to be late, she would simply reply, “It’s fine, take your time,” and get a taxi herself. She never even gave him a chance to prove himself.

“I have something urgent to attend to, so how about this? I’ll find you a trainer, and you can try a session with him. Consider it a free trial on me. He’s very professional, I guarantee you’ll be satisfied,” Xu Tiancheng said hastily, skipping his usual sales pitch. As he spoke, he turned around to look for someone. “Where’s David? Go get David.”

As soon as he picked up You Lexin, he couldn’t wait to tell her what had just happened, then obediently waited for her praise.

Situations like this were nothing new to You Lexin; she’d witnessed them several times herself. Those female members—even sometimes male members, which was even more ridiculous—clearly had intentions beyond just taking a class.

She used to get jealous over things like this, but now she was completely at ease. Given the environment he worked in, where good-looking and well-built women were the norm, if he really had a wandering heart, there was no way she could stop him.

The reason she had no worries at all was simple—she truly couldn’t see it. Xu Tiancheng was actually a massive hopeless romantic. He was a textbook example of a devoted boyfriend, so much so that it often made You Lexin feel guilty in comparison.

According to Xu Tiancheng himself, he’d never been like this before. It was only after meeting her that he discovered this hidden potential.

Fine, since he said so, she would reluctantly believe it.

Ever since getting into a relationship, Xu Tiancheng had become incredibly clingy. Even while stuck in traffic, he couldn’t resist leaning over to kiss her, calling her “wife” effortlessly with every sentence. “Wife, don’t worry. Wife, I didn’t agree. Wife, I rejected her very firmly!”

“Oh? Then who did you assign her to?”

You Lexin asked casually.

Xu Tiancheng mentioned the name of a well-known trainer at the gym.

You Lexin absentmindedly responded with an “oh” and didn’t ask further—nor did she praise him.

Not receiving the enthusiastic reaction he expected, Xu Tiancheng paused, narrowed his eyes, and studied her. “You’re… not happy?”

Without even looking up, You Lexin replied, “It’s fine. You could’ve trained her yourself. Just don’t actually cheat.”

She was busy replying to work emails and didn’t see Xu Tiancheng’s expression darken.

For the rest of the drive, he barely spoke to her. Even after they arrived home—their newly purchased home after getting their marriage certificate—he remained quiet. When they had bought the house, Xu Tiancheng had insisted on paying in full, saying it was the man’s responsibility. You Lexin had strongly opposed this, calling it outdated and old-fashioned. They had even cold-warred for a few days over it. In the end, of course, Xu Tiancheng had backed down, and they bought the house together.

After parking the car in the garage, Xu Tiancheng habitually got out first to open the door for her. However, when their eyes met, he turned his head away with a pout and even let out a little “hmph.”

Only then did You Lexin belatedly realize—he seemed to be upset.

Although she had been working for about the same number of years as him, Xu Tiancheng had come up in a much harsher environment. As a result, he was very good at hiding his emotions.

For example, if he didn’t say anything, You Lexin usually couldn’t tell when he was in a bad mood.

But this time, his sulking was obvious. After thinking it over, You Lexin decided that the best way to coax him was through… a physical approach.

She pulled out every trick she had—manual control, footwork, everything. By the time they were done, she was exhausted. But when she turned her head to check, he was just staring blankly at the ceiling, still looking unhappy.

You Lexin was stumped. When she was frustrated, she had a habit of kneading his muscles for stress relief. Her fingers roamed over his body, and suddenly, she had a thought. “With your build, you’d look great with a tattoo.”

Xu Tiancheng, who had been brooding, suddenly brightened up. He grabbed her hand. “Should we get one together?”

You Lexin hesitated. “I’m a good girl.”

Whether or not she truly counted as a “good girl” was debatable, but Xu Tiancheng countered, “Who says good girls can’t get tattoos?”

“Fair point,” You Lexin conceded, but after thinking for a moment, she still shook her head. “I’ll pass. I’m scared of the pain.”

She had only been joking, but over the next few days, she noticed that Xu Tiancheng was actually browsing tattoo designs in his free time. She was surprised. “You’re serious about this?”

Xu Tiancheng looked equally puzzled. “Didn’t you tell me to get one?”

You Lexin’s expression changed instantly. She put her hands on her hips and accused him, “Your body is already perfect! Now you want to add a tattoo on top of that? Be honest, are you trying to attract attention?”

Xu Tiancheng couldn’t follow her logic at all. A few days ago, she had acted indifferent when he was around female clients, and now she was suddenly accusing him of seeking attention.

But there was no need to overthink it—if You Lexin was unhappy, then it must be his fault.

Xu Tiancheng spent a long time trying to decipher her mood before cautiously suggesting, “Then… I’ll get it somewhere only you can see?”

You Lexin was startled. Her gaze instinctively dropped downward, and she stammered, “No way… that would hurt so much…”

“What are you thinking?!”

Xu Tiancheng was both amused and exasperated. He flicked her forehead.

It didn’t hurt, but You Lexin still clutched her head and dramatically cried out in pain.

To be fair, Xu Tiancheng was extremely disciplined when it came to “men’s virtue.” Even when swimming, he wore a full-body wetsuit that covered him from neck to ankle. Theoretically, as long as he didn’t tattoo his face, anywhere else would be visible only to You Lexin.

After getting her opinion, Xu Tiancheng finally chose to tattoo his chest—a small red heart with four black limbs, like a little heart dancing with joy.

You Lexin had accompanied him to the tattoo parlor but hadn’t dared to watch the process. Instead, she waited at a nearby café, so she only saw the finished tattoo later that night at home.

Fascinated, she traced the tattoo with her fingers and murmured, “I feel like… this looks like me.”

“Of course. Who else would it be?”

Xu Tiancheng responded matter-of-factly.

At first, You Lexin was delighted with the tattoo, but a few days later, she suddenly woke him up in the middle of the night. In a sorrowful tone, she sighed, “I feel so lonely…”

“What?!”

Xu Tiancheng was so startled that his sleepiness vanished instantly. He thought she was getting bored and was about to divorce him.

He shot up from the bed, turned on the light with a loud snap, and stared at her, barely able to catch his breath. “What… did… you… just say?!”

“Why are you overreacting like that? You scared me.” You Lexin rolled her eyes at him, then reached out to lift his shirt, pointing at his chest.

“I’m talking about this me. It looks so lonely.”

“Oh… this?”

Xu Tiancheng wiped the cold sweat off his forehead. “Then I’ll go get one of me tattooed tomorrow.”

You Lexin let out a few hums, putting away her aggrieved expression. “Now that sounds more like it.”

He turned off the light and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, coaxing her softly. “Go to sleep.”

“Mm.”

Feeling satisfied, You Lexin closed her eyes.

The next day, she accompanied Xu Tiancheng to the tattoo shop again.

On his firm, sculpted chest, there were now two little dancing hearts, one big and one small, holding hands.

°.✩┈┈∘*┈˃̶୨୧˂̶┈*∘┈┈✩.°

📢 Author’s Note:

That’s it! This time, it’s really the end!