Chapter 23: Mr. Qi, Have You Ever Been in Love?

“Zhixian had a crush back then, lowering herself for him,” Song Kairui remarked.

“I’m suddenly reminded of that line: ‘Seeing him, she became very low, low down into the dust,’” he mused, then added, “But the next line doesn’t really apply to them.”

“Yeah, Zhixian was hurt by someone she liked, so there was no joy in it, and Gu Yuchen was just… well, like that,” she noted. In fact, she suspected that Zhixian’s swift decision to marry someone else was partly due to Gu Yuchen.

Zhixian was someone with firm boundaries, and perhaps she feared that for Gu Yuchen, she’d lower those boundaries too far — so she made the final break instead. In the end, that seed was transplanted into other soil, and there it blossomed.

Song Kairui clicked his tongue, “If Gu Yuchen finds out, there’ll be drama. He’s a big problem.”

“Remember how Li Chaomu gave up the job Gu Yuchen arranged just to pursue her young love, and she left him without a second thought for another city? Even then, all Gu Yuchen did was wallow in his own misery without bothering her.”

She paused, “Actually, when you think about it, it’s pretty pitiful that Gu Yuchen ended up being someone’s replacement too.”

“Pitiful? Not at all.” Despite their friendship, he had to be fair. “It’s just like that saying about the dragon slayer eventually becoming a dragon himself. Li Chaomu treated Gu Yuchen as a substitute, but wasn’t it because Zhixian’s visit to the bar that winter — so much like Li Chaomu’s first time meeting him — that Gu Yuchen decided to be with her? He inflicted the same wound on Zhixian that he once suffered.”

A former victim, now mistreating someone who genuinely loved him. He fell for her yet kept his distance, high and mighty, and now he was facing the consequences.

Qin Zhaoli nudged him. “How do you know all this? And why didn’t you say anything sooner?”

“Once, when Gu Yuchen got drunk, he let it slip,” Song Kairui sighed, clearly exasperated. “How could I have said anything then? But now that they’re separated, I suppose it’s alright to bring it up.”

Qin Zhaoli remained silent. It was karma.

After sending Qin Zhaoli and Song Kairui off, Zhixian closed the door and explained, “My friends didn’t mean any harm.”

“I know. They didn’t ask anything inappropriate; it’s fine.” Compared to the person they saw at lunch, they hadn’t come close to crossing any lines.

He glanced toward the bathroom. “It looks like the clothes are done washing.”

“I’ll hang them up,” she replied. After all, those were her clothes.

Zhixian hurried over to check the now-empty laundry basket, and was suddenly quiet… her underwear was missing.

She resignedly opened the washing machine. Did Qi Yanjing really throw her panties in there?

They were married, but overall, they were still pretty unfamiliar with each other.

She wondered what Qi Yanjing’s expression had been as he put her panties into the washing machine — was he embarrassed, or did he remain composed?

One by one, she took the clothes out, but her underwear wasn’t there.

Huh? Did Qi Yanjing throw them out?

She even checked the trash bin, but still nothing.

Her gaze fell on the small washing machine beside her, the one she specifically used for her delicates.

Oh, there they were.

She hadn’t expected Qi Yanjing to separate her clothes for washing — quite impressive domestic skills.

After hanging up the laundry, it was already half-past nine when she finally went into the bedroom.

To her surprise, Mr. Qi was already lying down.

His schedule was so… disciplined.

Seeing him lying in her bed, she realized how small it was; she hadn’t noticed when she was sleeping alone.

The noise woke Qi Yanjing, and he opened his eyes.

Once on the bed, Wen Zhixian noticed he was awake and casually struck up a conversation. “Do you usually live alone? Do you wash your clothes yourself?”

“Yeah, I use the washing machine. If something’s hard to wash, I send it to the dry cleaner.” He looked at her. “Did I wash something wrong just now?”

Wen Zhixian choked up slightly, “…No, not at all. You did everything right.”

“It’s not a matter of right or wrong.”

Qi Yanjing seemed to understand what she was thinking. “This is normal. I didn’t marry you just to play around for a few days; there’s a long road ahead.”

That made sense — she’d just have to get used to it.

She lay down as well and turned off the light.

After a moment, she spoke up. “Mr. Qi, have you ever been in love?”

She hadn’t asked if he’d had a past relationship before. It wasn’t until Song Kairui mentioned exes earlier that it even crossed her mind. She didn’t want to be married to someone who might end up like Gu Yuchen — saying nothing about exes but secretly clinging to memories.

Qi Yanjing answered frankly, “Once, during college. It didn’t go well.”

He hesitated, worried she might misunderstand, then added, “Our relationship was more like classmates getting along. We held hands, but that was all.”

In the dark bedroom, his confession drew a quiet laugh from Wen Zhixian.

She hadn’t expected him to be so open about something so personal.

“It’s hard to imagine how someone with your personality would end a relationship.”

But he didn’t respond, and she would have wondered if he was reminiscing about his past if he hadn’t already said it was an unhappy memory.

“No need to push yourself,” she quickly reassured him.

Qi Yanjing replied, “We had different goals. She wanted me to go into business after graduation, but I wasn’t interested.”

Zhixian responded, “Just follow your own path and do what you enjoy. You’ve achieved a lot already.”

Her words were comforting, giving him a sense of permission to be himself.

He turned to hold her, letting sleep settle over him.

After their closeness the previous night, Wen Zhixian didn’t feel as uneasy and soon fell asleep within ten minutes.

Qi Yanjing listened to her soft breaths, a bit envious. He tightened his embrace slightly, and not long after she fell asleep, his own thoughts gradually faded into sleep.

In the early hours—

Wen Zhixian awoke to find that Qi Yanjing seemed restless, as if caught in a nightmare.

She turned on the soft, warm light by the bed, and Qi Yanjing jolted awake from his dream.

Seeing her worried gaze, he took a deep breath and shielded his eyes from the light with his arm.

Wen Zhixian leaned in close, her voice gentle. “Did you have a nightmare?”

Qi Yanjing pulled her down to lie beside him, giving a simple “I’m fine.”

“You go back to sleep; I’m just going to the bathroom to wash my face.” He slipped out from under the covers and got out of bed.

Watching him leave, Wen Zhixian went to the freezer and found a packet of calming tea, took a bit to brew a cup, and brought it back to the bedroom.

“Here, drink this,” she offered, handing him the glass.

Though unsure of what it was, he drank it and placed the glass on the bedside table.

“When I was studying, the pressure kept me up all night, so my mom arranged for a skilled traditional Chinese doctor to get this tea for me. It really helped.”

“Thank you.”

Turning off the light, she lay down again, this time wrapping her arms around Qi Yanjing, thinking he might be stressed from work. Soon enough, she fell asleep again.

The next morning, when she woke up, Qi Yanjing’s spirits seemed fine.

Since she had woken up early, she decided to make breakfast.

“Mr. Qi, do you usually sleep poorly?” she asked.

He noticed her continuing to address him formally but chose not to correct her — some things should come naturally.