Chapter 4

Chapter 4

After that day, my life continued in its monotonous routine.

Most of the time, I stayed on the second floor with my daughter, doing my best to avoid my mother-in-law’s snide remarks and my sister-in-law’s sarcastic tone the moment she opened her mouth.

The trivial details of caring for a child consumed all my time and energy. It was dull and repetitive, yet it felt safe.

It spared me from having to face reality, from thinking, and from making a change.

What brought me joy was watching my daughter grow day by day.

In two months, she would be two years old.

One night as we were getting ready for bed, Lu Huaixu seemed to suddenly remember something and mentioned it casually.

“Our gallery is organizing a photography exhibition for Qin Shuang. I might be a bit busy for a while.”

It took me a moment to process the logic behind his words.

Over the past two years, I had become like this-slow-witted and clumsy with words.

If he said they were organizing it, it meant they had already gone through the entire process of contacting each other, discussing terms, and finalizing a plan. As the gallery director, Lu Huaixu must have met with Qin Shuang at least ten times by now.

I remained silent for a moment. With all the emotions that had been piling up lately, I finally couldn’t help but speak up.

“Why does it have to be her exhibition? You know exactly what she wants from you. She’s been sending gifts to our house every now and then for years. Shouldn’t you be avoid-”

“That’s enough!”

Lu Huaixu cut me off harshly.

“What nonsense are you talking about? Qin Shuang has won international awards. Every gallery is fighting to work with her right now. It’s just work! Zhining, how did you turn into one of those shrewish women on TV who gets jealous over nothing?”

His expression was one of utter disappointment. As he spoke the last sentence, his cold gaze swept over me.

I froze instantly.

Subconsciously, I looked at myself in the nearby mirror.

My figure was bloated, my face weary.

There was a yellow stain on my loose pajama pants-poop from when my daughter accidentally brushed against me earlier. I hadn’t even had the chance to change yet.

Insecurity and embarrassment washed over me in an instant. My momentum vanished, and I wanted nothing more than to shrink under the covers and hide myself completely.

But I stood my ground. I didn’t push the issue he had just raised; instead, I asked a different question.

“You promised me before that we would move out once our daughter turned two. Does that still stand?”

Lu Huaixu’s brow furrowed at the question. His face immediately clouded with irritation as he spoke impatiently.

“I really don’t understand why you can’t just live your life in peace. Isn’t it great that my mother, my sister, and the nanny are all here helping you with the baby?”

I shook my head and said slowly,

“The nanny only handles the cooking. Your mother only holds her for ten minutes when you come home. And your sister gets annoyed the second she hears the baby cry.”

Lu Huaixu’s voice darkened.

“Li Zhining, are you seriously badmouthing my family to my face? You don’t have to do anything right now except breastfeed and play with her. For a mother, isn’t spending every day with her child the greatest happiness?”

I stared at the floor and fell into silence.

After a long while, I whispered,

“It’s happiness, but it isn’t joy.”

Lu Huaixu didn’t hear me; he had already walked into the walk-in closet to change.

When the lights were out and we were lying down, he spoke coldly into the darkness.

“You should know the situation with Qin Shuang very well. If anything was going to happen between us, it would have happened long ago. It wouldn’t have been your turn.”

“Also, I don’t want to hear you badmouthing my family again. They don’t owe you anything.”