Chapter 5
When I returned to Huo Zheng’s room.
He was already awake.
He stared at the window with a dark expression.
As though looking at a mortal enemy.
Spotting me out of the corner of his eye, he paused.
Some complicated train of thought seemed to pass through his head.
Then he suddenly spoke.
“Yining, call me your husband. Let me hear it.”
“…”
I was a little embarrassed.
That intimate form of address was something I only used at night when pleading with Huo Zheng.
But he was watching me so expectantly.
Was he feeling fragile after his injury? Did he need some comfort?
The words caught in my throat. I forced them out. “My… husband.”
As soon as I said it, images of our nights together flooded my mind.
My face burned.
Huo Zheng raised an eyebrow and curved his lips, answering with unrestrained delight.
“My wife!”
He looked close to tears of joy.
“I’m finally official!”
…What, had you been an unlicensed husband before?
Huo Zheng wasted no time. He discharged himself that very day.
His astonished doctor declared it a medical miracle.
But the moment we got home, Huo Zheng’s expression darkened.
He scrutinized every corner.
Finally, his gaze settled on the bed.
And he suddenly went berserk.
“Get someone to throw this bed out!”
“The sofa, too!”
“Smash all the mirrors and get rid of them!”
Then his eyes landed on me.
I backed away in alarm.
“A-am I getting thrown out, too?” I stammered.
Instead, Huo Zheng pulled me into his arms.
There was an odd note of hurt in his voice.
“Wen Yining, let’s make a proper life together.”
My heart gave a jolt.
As I was trying to work out what exactly he meant.
Huo Zheng kissed me by the ear.
“I know I wasn’t a good person before. I only had money and a good family background, and got lucky enough to marry you. Strip those away, and I’m nothing but an arrogant, insufferable bastard without a single redeeming quality.”
Apparently satisfied with that tirade against himself, he cleared his throat.
“But from now on, I’ll turn over a new leaf and be a good husband. No womanizing.”
“When I said we should have our own fun, I was out of my mind. That doesn’t count anymore. From now on, we’ll build a good life together.”
I could hardly believe it. Tears of gratitude filled my eyes.
I threw my arms around him.
My voice caught.
“All right.”
Meanwhile, a rather inappropriate song started playing in my head.
You wanted us to part, so part we did. Now you’re trying to win me back with true love. Love isn’t something you can buy whenever you please!
Men and their promises.
Hear them out and leave it at that.
He must have been upset by the girl he kept on the side and come to me for comfort.
I’d be the fool if I took it seriously.
But since that was what he was saying, of course I would go along with it and give him the emotional support he wanted.
Such a perfect wife.
For some reason, though, Huo Zheng reacted strangely.
He stiffened slightly, his eyes unreadably dark.
“So as long as I’m willing to come back to you, you’ll love me.”
I made my expression even more sincere.
“I’ll love you even if you don’t.”
His voice grew colder.
“Oh, really?”
“Of course.”
After a long silence, he let out a breath.
“Never mind.”
Before I could ask what he meant.
He was already kissing me.
Never mind.
I wouldn’t ask.