Volume One, Chapter Three: Probably Lost His Mind

Wu Weiwei entered You Jin’s room and drew back the curtains. Bright, dazzling light flooded the clean and tidy room. On the two-meter bed in soft gray tones, You Jin lay with a proper sleeping posture, his brows furrowed tightly, dazzled by the sudden brightness.

Wu Weiwei walked over and knelt by his bedside. His body stiffened slightly; his steady breathing gradually grew rapid. Though his eyes remained closed, he was awake.

Wu Weiwei leaned closer, her fingertips slowly tracing the high, handsome bridge of his nose. Suddenly, You Jin raised his hand and grasped the restless fingers firmly. With eyes tightly shut, his chest rose and fell heavily.

Wu Weiwei withdrew her fingers slightly, but You Jin held on tightly, showing no sign of letting go. His uncharacteristic act made Wu Weiwei flush instantly, her heart blooming with joy as she shyly called out, “A Jin, it’s time to get up.”

You Jin frowned, opening his eyes. The moment their gazes met, his expression darkened abruptly, and in anger, he shook off Wu Weiwei’s hand. Sitting up straight, the silky gray thin blanket slipped down to his waist.

“Why are you here?” he asked.

Wu Weiwei knew of his obsession with cleanliness and quickly moved away from the bed. “Last night, you left your coat at the club, so I brought it over on my way.”

You Jin lowered his head, ruffling his jet-black short hair. “Take it and throw it away.”

He must have been out of his mind to think that Song Wanxi had entered his room and was sneakingly touching his nose.

Wu Weiwei was puzzled. “No one wore it, and it’s such an expensive piece. Why throw it away?”

Last night, he had been blindfolded and taken into a private room at the club. When the blindfold was removed, a dancer was circling around, touching his body and exuding a scent that made him sick. Before he could react, he was dragged to sit on the sofa, just as Song Wanxi and her friends burst in.

You Jin had no intention of explaining and spoke coldly with impatience, “Do you remember what I told you all?”

Wu Weiwei certainly remembered. On the eve of his wedding, You Jin had specially warned all his brothers never to come to his home uninvited.

“I remember.”

“Then why did you still come up?” You Jin picked up the phone on the bedside table, glanced at the signal bar, and continued with a hint of annoyance, “If there’s something, why not call?”

Wu Weiwei felt increasingly guilty. She knew You Jin was incredibly sharp; her petty tricks were completely transparent to him.

“I was just curious and wanted to see your home.”

You Jin paused briefly, threw back the covers, got out of bed silently, and passed by her, leaving the room.

Wu Weiwei followed behind him.

He strode straight to the living room door and opened it with one hand.

His indifferent attitude was clear.

Wu Weiwei pouted and stood still.

“You’ve seen what you shouldn’t and what you should. Now that your curiosity is satisfied, you can leave.”

“I didn’t even get a sip of water. Is this how you treat guests?”

“Turn left downstairs to the café. Drink as much as you want; send me the bill.” You Jin’s eyes darkened slightly, his tone edged with impatience. “Next time, I’ll throw you off the balcony.”

Though they had grown up together, Wu Weiwei dared not challenge You Jin’s authority with her whims. She left, and as she turned around, the door was already closed.

You Jin entered the kitchen, poured a glass of ice water from the fridge, and took a sip, the coldness chilling him to the core.

Holding the glass in one hand, he slipped the other into his pocket, standing by the balcony beside the dining table, gazing out at the distant view.

The morning light was faint and the sky a clear blue.

The warm light illuminated his handsome profile, soft yet tinged with a trace of loneliness.

He turned back, his eyes falling on the dining table.

Under a transparent cover were two deep bowls, one holding broth, the other tomato egg noodles, with a pair of chopsticks resting on a clean napkin.

His eyes dimmed; he turned to look out the window again and finished the water in big gulps.

Within the room, the sweeping robot moved silently and rhythmically.

The washing machine operated quietly as well.

Everything felt exceptionally cold and still, like a stagnant pool of water.

—

A ten-minute walk from the drug research institute, Song Wanxi had just entered when she ran into An Xiao, who emerged looking flustered.

“Wanxi, just in time. Experiment monkey number nine has died.”

Song Wanxi quickened her pace, entered the office, dropped her bag, and pulled on her work coat while heading toward the lab.

An Xiao followed closely, urgency in her voice. “All the indicators were fine last night. Didn’t expect it to die this morning.”

“The new drug still has toxins,” Song Wanxi summed up as she buttoned up on the move.

“Liao Xue…” An Xiao tried to mend fences, hoping to repair her relationship with Liao Xue since the three of them had shared a dormitory for four years in college and forged deep friendships. She didn’t want them to fall apart like this.

Song Wanxi cut her off. “Don’t mention her to me.”

“What about you and You Jin…”

“Xiao Xiao, this is work time. I don’t want to talk about personal matters.”

An Xiao sighed. “Fine, let’s talk business. Our company’s funds are nearly depleted, and the new project is about to fall apart. Can you ask your rich husband to invest a bit?”

Their pharmaceutical company was pitifully small.

Only four people in total: a marketing salesperson, an accountant, An Xiao, who was nominally the manager but actually worked as an assistant, and Song Wanxi, the company’s legal representative and drug developer.

—

Song Wanxi had always been the model child in others’ eyes—obedient, clever, and brilliant.

During school, she was the brightest and most unattainable star, excelling academically and stunningly beautiful.

She studied pharmacology and began researching rare disease drugs in college, holding two drug patents to date.

She used the money from the patents to start the pharmaceutical company, renting the modest drug research institute to continue pursuing her dream.

Song Wanxi entered the lab and began inspecting the dead monkey on the incubator, casually replying to An Xiao, “Besides him, you can look for investment anywhere.”

An Xiao put her hands on her hips. “If this goes on, we won’t even be able to pay the salesperson’s salary.”

“If worse comes to worst, I’ll teach part-time at the medical school to earn extra money to pay the salesperson.”

An Xiao raised an eyebrow. “What about my salary?”

Song Wanxi looked up at her and smiled charmingly. “I’ll offer myself?”

Seeing the dark expression on her face finally break into a smile, An Xiao’s worried heart was at ease. “Sounds good to me.”

—

As dusk fell, the city’s neon lights dazzled brilliantly.

A fine drizzle hung in the air.

Song Wanxi returned home with groceries and prepared dinner for herself.

After eating, she read for a while and washed up promptly at ten to sleep.

Her schedule rarely overlapped with You Jin’s.

When she went to bed, You Jin had not yet returned home; when she left for work, he was still asleep.

On rare days off when they met, they would avoid each other to prevent awkwardness.

Song Wanxi had barely fallen asleep when her phone rang.

Groggy, she reached for it and glanced at the screen.

You Jin’s name lit up, instantly waking her. She sat up quickly, her heart inexplicably pounding.

In the two years since their marriage, this number had never rung on her phone.

The sudden call made her nervous.

Living under the same roof, a call from him at eleven at night was highly unusual. She took a deep breath, answered, and put the phone to her ear, her voice soft and drowsy. “Is something wrong?”

On the other end, You Jin’s voice was sorrowful and urgent. “Grandpa passed away. Pack a few sets of clothes. I’m coming to get you now.”

“Passed away?” Song Wanxi hadn’t yet grasped the meaning.