Chapter 3: Preposterous

The boy’s body gleamed under the dim yellow light, his lines smooth as a fine sculpture.

The fan blades were still spinning with a creaking sound, blowing up the wispy hair on his forehead. He looked so good it was ridiculous.

This very monster had taken her life! Had cost her everything!

Only when he got closer did Xia Wu notice that Xu Ying was sweating a lot.

Sweat dripped down his slender neck, all the way to the thin muscles of his chest.

His skin leaned toward a cool white, but he didn’t look frail. Put clothes on him and he stood tall like green bamboo.

As for the sweat, it must be from the summer heat. It couldn’t possibly be from running all the way to buy a lightbulb.

Xu Ying casually draped the handcuffs he’d just unlocked over his wrist and spoke slowly:

“I have work tomorrow, can’t stay up too late. Let’s make this one a bit quicker.”

Click. The cuffs snapped shut, and Xu Ying lay down on the bed.

Xia Wu jumped off the edge in fright, hopping several steps away.

She stammered, “N… no need. You should go. I… I’ll sleep by myself. Tomorrow I’ll pack your things. Just go say hi at that shop in town and buy a ticket back to Sucheng for the day after. I won’t see you off.”

Xu Ying sat up and raised an eyebrow, his expression unreadable.

He said flatly, “You’re serious?”

“Serious! More serious than gold!” Xia Wu hurried to answer.

Afraid Xu Ying wouldn’t believe her, she added another sentence:

“Don’t worry, I absolutely won’t go looking for you at the shop, and I won’t ask around either. You don’t need to tell me which shop you went to. Once school starts, I’ll register on my own. I won’t cause you any trouble.”

Xu Ying stared at Xia Wu for a moment, then undid the handcuffs. Hard to tell if he believed her or not.

He only murmured, “It’s late. Sleep.”

Then he lay back down, leaving the left side of the bed for Xia Wu.

“You don’t need to keep me company. I’ll sleep alone.” Xia Wu pinched the hem of her skirt, speaking softly.

Xu Ying had a place to stay in Shiqiao Town too. The woman who brought him here had given him a place.

As for why he lived with Xia Wu—that went back three years. After graduating high school, Xu Ying was short on tuition money.

He’d scraped some together working over the summer, but it still wasn’t enough.

Xia Wu didn’t have much money either. What she had was left by her parents, kept by her grandmother.

She didn’t want to ask her grandmother for it, but she couldn’t bear watching Xu Ying beg others for the rest.

She secretly went to sell blood. At that moment, she was endlessly grateful her parents had given her a rare blood type.

A full four hundred milliliters drawn, traded for Xu Ying’s tuition.

Back then, Xu Ying looked at the pale-faced Xia Wu. This man who usually showed no expression at all had gone red-eyed, roaring at her.

“Who told you to do this?! You think doing this will make me like you?! Keep dreaming! Xia Wu, you just want me to owe you, so you can control me for the rest of my life, don’t you!”

“Xia Wu, you scare me. This isn’t love at all! Do you even know what liking someone means? Do you know how to love someone?!”

It was the sweltering height of summer, but a draft blew through the room, and Xia Wu shivered all over.

She lowered her eyes, her voice so soft it seemed ready to scatter with the wind.

“Yeah, I want you to owe me. As for whether you like me or not, does it matter? I can learn. As long as you stay with me, I don’t care if you love me. I love you, and that’s enough.”

Xia Wu stared at the floor and asked, “This blood, in exchange for you being with me. Deal?”

Right now, she really wanted to ask: Xu Ying, do you know what love is?

All those years of entanglement and obsession—in the end, it was just her wishful thinking.

Too bad the wind leaves no trace, and falling leaves make no sound.

Only the scorching sun bore witness to the start of this ugly relationship.

In the end, Xu Ying moved in with her. And he stayed for three years.

She thought he’d get up and leave right away.

After all, she knew exactly how unwilling he’d been to share a bed with her these past three years.

But Xu Ying just rolled over and said without a hint of emotion, “It’s too late. Don’t feel like walking. Going to sleep.”

Frog croaks came in waves from outside, riding the hot wind into the room—the signature sound of summer.

Xia Wu gently lay down on the left side, scooting as far to the edge as she could, and closed her eyes.

But her brain was still racing at full speed, unable to stop.

She felt like she could hear Xu Ying’s heartbeat. It had been so, so long since she’d slept next to him.

Probably since the time she drugged him in her past life. After that, he never spent the night at their home again.

Yes, Xia Wu had drugged Xu Ying.

In her past life, even after they married, Xu Ying held himself back to the extreme.

It was always her climbing onto him, trying to seduce him, before he finally gave her a token response.

Yet even at the peak of pleasure, he could still control himself.

Xu Ying had always been such a rational, ruthless, and stingy man.

So stingy he refused to give her a child that belonged to them both.

Xia Wu let her thoughts run wild like this until she fell asleep to the creaking of the fan.

As she slept, Xu Ying reached out, pulled Xia Wu closer, and wrapped her in his arms.

He lowered his eyelids, staring darkly at the person in his embrace.

Xia Wu was acting strange. He’d noticed, but he didn’t know what was wrong.

Today, even though he’d been extremely resistant—even disgusted—at first, he’d gone along with her in the end.

Letting her leave mark after mark on his body.

Was it because he’d left her home alone too long while buying the bulb, so she got mad?

He’d been fast. He ran there, and sprinted back.

He’d even braced himself for her to act spoiled and clingy, demanding he coax her.

But she hadn’t said a word. She’d even considerately suggested he go back to Sucheng—and meant it.

Since when did she learn to be considerate?

She watched him like a dog on a leash.

How could she feel safe letting him go somewhere she couldn’t see him for two whole months?

Still, a Xia Wu like this fit better with what he imagined a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship should be.

If she didn’t throw tantrums, he’d try to spend time with her. Over time, they might even treat each other with polite respect.

He couldn’t handle her passion, but he didn’t want them to become a bitter couple either.

This was fine.

Thinking so, Xu Ying closed his eyes and drifted off.

Only those lean, knuckle-defined hands still gripped tightly around Xia Wu’s waist.