If not for suddenly falling ill, Zheng You’an wouldn’t have returned to China ahead of schedule.

She came back in a hurry without telling anyone. Only her assistant accompanied her, and since she was the type who packed everything when traveling, she had stacked two carts with large and small boxes. Her assistant Pei Qing couldn’t manage it all, so she lent a hand. They made their way out of the airport, and she finally sighed with relief when the driver came to meet them.

The airport remained brightly lit even at three in the morning. Zheng You’an sat in the car, her arms too sore to lift. She put on her eye mask, preparing to continue sleeping.

Pei Qing took out her medicine, twisted open a bottle of mineral water, and said, “An’an, time for your medicine.”

Zheng You’an’s arms were too sore to lift, so she simply responded with a sound and opened her mouth.

Pei Qing placed the medicine in her mouth and advised, “Swallow it yourself; that’s something I can’t help you with.”

Zheng You’an didn’t say anything. After quite a while, Pei Qing finally saw her throat move.

After the car left the airport, the driver turned around and asked, “Where to?”

Zheng You’an kept her eyes closed and weakly asked, “What time is it now?”

“Four o’clock.”

“Four already… let’s go to Bocui Tiancheng.”

The apartment at Bocui Tiancheng was a gift from Zheng Taichu to Zheng You’an in the year she got married.

At first, Zheng You’an didn’t understand why he had given her a suburban apartment, but after a year of married life, she understood its deeper meaning.

“Wait,” Pei Qing looked at her phone and said, “The heating at Bocui Tiancheng is broken. The property management sent me a message last night saying they won’t fix it until noon today.”

The driver stepped on the brake, and the car fell silent for a few seconds.

“An’an? An’an?” Pei Qing shook Zheng You’an’s arm. “Are you asleep?”

“Hmm…?” Zheng You’an drowsily yawned. “Oh, I heard just now. Then let’s go to my parents’ home.”

The driver stepped on the gas, and from behind came another languid voice.

“Never mind. Let’s not disturb them.”

“Then…?”

The driver slowly looked up at the rearview mirror.

Pei Qing waved her hand, “Let’s go to Hongzhaowan.”

The villa at Hongzhaowan was the marital home of Zheng You’an and Yan An.

However, the number of times she had stayed there could be counted on one hand.

Probably the same for Yan An too.

Five in the morning is the darkest time of the day.

The black business car slowly stopped at the entrance under the harsh white streetlights. A man and a woman got out of the car and opened the trunk, moving carefully and silently, looking as if they were thieves.

“Don’t move everything yet,” said Zheng You’an. “Just give me my items. You both go rest first. Tomorrow, send the things to Bocui Tiancheng first, then come pick me up.”

Yan An came out after showering. The sky had brightened, but the blackout curtains in the bedroom were drawn, blocking out all light.

He had returned from Europe in the afternoon, hadn’t adjusted to the jet lag, had a few drinks with some friends, and inadvertently chatted until this hour.

The room was quiet, as usual.

The moment he lay down on the bed, Yan An sensed a faint, delicate fragrance around him.

But with alcohol clouding his mind, he didn’t think much of it, assuming it was just his imagination.

The curtains were impenetrable, isolating the shifting of light and shadow outside, making the passage of time imperceptible.

When the bedside alarm went off, he still didn’t know what time it was.

Until two pairs of eyes opened, meeting each other’s gaze.

The indoor heating was ample, making even one’s breath scorching, not to mention the body heat transmitted from the other under the blanket.

After three seconds of confusion, a scream pierced the silence.

“Ah!—”

Not only did she scream, but Zheng You’an instinctively kicked the person into the bed before stumbling and falling out of bed.

Yan An let out a muffled groan, half-propping himself up, and looking at the person before him in disbelief.

After another few seconds of silence, Zheng You’an calmed down, realizing that the man before her wasn’t a thief or a strange man, but her husband.

“When did you get back?”

They asked in unison.

Yan An rubbed his temples, which were throbbing painfully from her reaction. “Why didn’t you tell me in advance?”

“You weren’t here when I came back either.”

Zheng You’an hadn’t noticed that her answer was irrelevant. She looked down and saw that she was wearing a lace spaghetti strap nightgown, while Yan An in bed was bare-chested. As for whether he was wearing anything on his lower half, the blanket covered it, so she couldn’t see. But from the feel of her kick just now, it seemed like he wasn’t wearing pajama pants.

This scene reminded her of the night before she left the country.

That unexpected incident had nearly led their “marriage of convenience” astray.

Fortunately, Zheng You’an decisively packed her luggage and left for North Africa the next morning before Yan An woke up, bringing things back on track.

Thinking of this, Zheng You’an felt pleased with her cleverness.

“I thought you were staying at the Mingchen Apartment.”

“I am, but this house needs some human presence occasionally.”

Yan An wanted to get up but remembered he wasn’t wearing much. He pointed to the bathrobe on the coat rack behind her, gesturing for her to hand it to him.

Zheng You’an followed his finger and looked back, understanding. She took down the robe and wrapped herself up tightly.

Yan An watched her entire smooth sequence of actions and took a deep breath.

Fine then.

Yan An hooked his chin and glanced at her, then directly got out of bed and walked into the dressing room in front of her.

When he came out again, they were both properly dressed.

But sitting face to face, they didn’t know what to say.

“Weren’t you supposed to come back next month?” Yan An asked while using his phone to order food. “What do you want to eat?”

“Anything is fine.” After Zheng You’an spoke, she remembered that Pei Qing was about to come pick her up.

But Yan An had already arranged lunch and placed his phone on the table.

Zheng You’an thought for a moment and sent Pei Qing a message: Don’t rush to pick me up, let me have lunch first, come at two.

“I wasn’t feeling well, so I came back to rest,” Zheng You’an said plainly.

“Not feeling well?” Yan An looked up. “What’s wrong?”

“I might have a cold.” As Zheng You’an spoke, she yawned. “I feel like I can never get enough sleep.”

“Have you seen a doctor?”

“Yes, it’s nothing serious, probably just too tired lately and not resting well.”

“Then take a good rest at home during this time.”

“Mm, I will.”

Such conversations often occurred between them.

Zheng You’an remembered that when she was sick and hospitalized before, Uncle Yan brought Yan An to see her, and he also said, “Rest well.”

After all, Zheng You’an had known Yan An since she was twelve. She was just starting middle school, while Yan An had already graduated from high school. They were from completely different worlds.

She admired and looked up to adult life, while Yan An naturally saw her as a little sister.

After the meal, right at two o’clock, Pei Qing didn’t come in but sent Zheng You’an a text.

“I’ll be going then,” Zheng You’an stood up to leave but suddenly remembered something and turned around. “Oh right, I brought you a gift, but my luggage has been sent to Bocui Tiancheng. I’ll have someone send it over to you later.”

Yan An put down his knife and fork and looked up at her.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going back to Bocui Tiancheng.” Zheng You’an explained, picked up her bag, and waved to Yan An. “Enjoy your meal.”

But just as she turned, her wrist was grabbed.

“Didn’t I tell you to rest at home?”

“Hmm?”

Zheng You’an turned to look at Yan An, gradually understanding his meaning from his expression.

“Stay here?”

Yan An said, “Where else?”

Zheng You’an thought it made sense. She had come back while ill, and if she went to stay at Bocui Tiancheng alone, her family would worry if they found out.

“Alright, I’ll have them send my luggage over.”

After saying this, she took her phone and went upstairs. Yan An watched her retreating figure, his eyes dim and unreadable.

He didn’t quite understand what Zheng You’an was thinking.

After that night, he woke up to find his wife had already flown out of Asia, which made him quite angry.

He even wanted to check if the woman had left any “payment” on the bedside table.

In fact, before that, they had hardly ever lived together.

Coincidentally, every time they returned to the villa, it was at different times. Last night was the second time they had shared that bed.

“By the way,” Zheng You’an stopped halfway and looked back from the spiral staircase, “Yan An-gege, which room are you sleeping in? I’m sick, so let me have the master bedroom. I feel like the sunlight in other rooms isn’t as good as in the master bedroom.”

Yan An tilted his head, chin raised, and looked at her for several seconds.

Zheng You’an felt uneasy under his gaze and touched her cheek. Just as she was about to speak, she heard him say, “Whatever you want.”

Naturally, Zheng You’an took the master bedroom.

But in the evening, as she lay in bed playing with her phone, Yan An, dressed in his pajamas, walked in.

Zheng You’an sat up with a jolt. “You—”

Yan An asked, “Have you taken your medicine?”

Seeing the water and medicine in Yan An’s hand, Zheng You’an was stunned for a moment before saying, “Oh, I forgot.”

She took the glass from Yan An’s hand, and just as she swallowed the medicine, she felt the other side of the bed sink. A glance from the corner of her eye nearly made her choke.

“You—cough, cough, cough…”

Yan An had to sit up again to pat her back.

“Nobody’s going to fight you for the medicine.”

“It’s not that—” Having finally caught her breath, Zheng You’an’s face had turned red from coughing. “Are you sleeping here tonight?”

Yan An’s hand on her back froze, and his expression seemed to show that he didn’t understand what she was saying. “Am I not allowed to sleep here?”

“Of course… you can. Your name is on the property deed.”

Zheng You’an didn’t know what was wrong with her words, but Yan An didn’t say anything more. He simply turned his back to her and went to sleep.

She turned off the floor lamp and lay down too, but remained awake for a long time.

Fortunately, Yan An hadn’t asked her why she suddenly left that day. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have known how to explain.

Unless she came up with an urgent mission like aliens landing and needing her to save the Earth, she probably couldn’t come up with a convincing reason.

She couldn’t tell him she panicked, could she?

Counting back, they had been married for a year, diligently playing the game of being plastic husband and wife.

That day was their wedding anniversary. She joked, “Why don’t we have a drink to celebrate?”

Yan An agreed and opened a treasured bottle of red wine.

They drank while chatting casually.

They talked about everything from when they first met until now, neither ever imagining they would appear on the same certificate.

What Yan An didn’t expect was that Zheng You’an’s alcohol tolerance was limited—after three glasses, her eyes became hazy, and she leaned on his shoulder acting silly.

But this little sister was quite cute when tipsy.

One moment she wanted to dance on the bed, the next she wanted to go downstairs to the lawn to catch crickets.

Of course, he wouldn’t let her go downstairs late at night. Unable to stop her, he simply carried her to the room, closed the door, and let her shower and go to bed.

As for what happened afterward, Zheng You’an’s heart would race just thinking about it.

The reason for her anxiety was that she clearly understood her position in this marriage.

Once she developed feelings, she would be finished.

Ironically, that night, her last shred of rationality preserved the heartbeats of the entire night until dawn.

As an adult, she sometimes couldn’t distinguish between sex and love.

Precisely because of this, she knew what the enjoyment and indulgence of that night might mean if they continued.

So, the next morning, panic mixed with some clarity, she sat at the bedside and booked herself a ticket to Morocco.

YES! Visa-free too!

At least these three months apart would, she felt, restore their relationship to what it was before.

A harmonious facade of a married couple. She happily spends money on cameras, and he freely keeps other women. Delightful.

But clearly, someone didn’t think so.

As she turned over, her leg accidentally touched the person beside her. Seconds later, the warmth at her side grew closer.

When she opened her eyes, she saw Yan An propped up on his arm, looking at her.

The night was like water, but his eyes were bright.

“Why did you suddenly leave that day?”

The deep voice now reminded her exactly of when he had spoken into her ear that night.

Zheng You’an blinked, a flash of inspiration hitting her.

“Because you were bad at it.”