Chapter 1

Chapter 1

My wife’s name is Si Han, and she is an impeccable, perfect wife.

In the beginning, she actually had her flaws, but I managed to train them all out of her, one by one.

For example, she used to love bossing me around, asking me to mop the floor or fold the clean laundry.

She was perfectly capable of doing those little things herself; I have no idea why she felt the need to bother me with them.

So, to teach her some self-reliance, every time she called for me, I would pretend to be on a work call, wearing my headphones and acting like I couldn’t hear her.

When the baby was first born, I simply stayed out of the house, killing time at a bar or an internet cafe. If she called to check on me, I’d just say I was working overtime.

I wouldn’t head home until my wife and the baby were already asleep.

At first, she would complain and lose her temper, but I’d just pour her a glass of warm water or give her shoulders a quick rub, and her anger would vanish.

Over time, my wife started doing everything herself and stopped calling for me altogether.

Now, when I come home, the house is always spotless, and the table is set with a variety of delicious meals she’s prepared.

When my buddies come over to watch a game, making a racket until the middle of the night and scattering sunflower seed shells everywhere, she doesn’t get angry. She just drops the baby off with the downstairs neighbor for a bit, comes back to clean up our mess, and even picks up some beer and chicken feet on her way.

Because of this, all my friends tell me:

“Where on earth do you find a wife as good as Si Han? Cheng Nian, you must have saved the world in a past life!”

“Sister Han is so gentle and capable. She’s nothing like my wife; mine can’t do anything right and is a total drama queen.”

“Cheng Nian, you better cherish Sister Han, you hear me?”

In those moments, I would proudly wrap my arm around my wife’s shoulders and tell my friends, “Well, she’s my wife, so you guys can just stay jealous.”

But later, in the silence of our bedroom after everyone had left, I would look at Si Han after her shower and simply roll over under the covers. “I’m tired and don’t feel like doing anything, let’s just go to sleep.”

Si Han would lie down beside me, and a moment later, the sound of steady breathing would fill the room.

In the darkness, I opened my phone to a message from Qian Qingqing.

[Brother Cheng Nian, it thundered tonight and I’m a little scared.

[Are you asleep? Can you talk to me for a while?]

It was followed by a cute, coquettish emoji.

My heart, which had been stagnant for so long, skipped a beat.