Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Every profession has its specialists, and Rong Zheng moved fast.

“Ye Chun is back in the country. You know, that singer who’s been really popular these past two years. Sister Chengjing bought his physical album last year.

“I heard his team is in talks with our production crew. He wants to sing the theme song.

“But I don’t want to hear him sing. Blacklist him.”

The moment I saw the message from Rong Zheng, my heart tightened.

But reason told me it was fine.

Back when my wife broke up with Ye Chun, she had said to him, “I don’t need to know your reasons. From now on, we part forever.”

My wife always meant what she said.

Ye Chun was my wife’s second boyfriend, after she had broken up with her first love half a year earlier.

At the time, I thought it over and over, and could only reluctantly conclude that she had chosen to date this utterly useless man-who had no real talent for singing and looked insufferably smug-because she had been very lonely during that period.

But if she was lonely, why didn’t she come to me?

Probably because I was too busy.

Ye Chun, on the other hand, was not.

He had far too much free time. Even when he tried to be ambitious, he could not figure out how. Every day, he had plenty of time to cook delicious food for my wife, who only knew how to make congee.

She was also very busy with work. So much creative work took a great deal of mental energy, and eating more good food was the only way to have the strength for it.

Learning from that lesson, after my wife and I got married, I trained myself into an excellent cook. I personally made all three meals a day, even though she rarely ate with me.

But what I made was definitely better than what Ye Chun made.

Ye Chun was a shrewd man.

I contacted an entertainment company and had them extend an olive branch to him, promising him the chance to study music abroad and crafting a brand-new public image for him. The most important part of that image was that he had to be single.

He signed the contract without a second thought.

Before Ye Chun left, he stood downstairs from my wife’s building for an entire day.

I sat in the car and sneered.

Pretending to be devoted. What a cheap bastard.

Toward evening, she came downstairs to throw out the trash, and Ye Chun finally managed to wait her out.

But never in a million years did I expect that when Ye Chun opened his mouth, it would not be to repent or ask her to take him back.

Instead, he said, “The stray cat we fed together is at your place, isn’t it? Let me take it with me. All my fans know I keep it. My public image can’t collapse.”

I am not exaggerating. I was so stunned I choked on my cigarette smoke, then hurriedly forced the cough back down.

This incomprehensible cheap bastard.

My wife clearly felt the same way. She flung every bit of trash in her hands onto Ye Chun.

He took a deep breath. “It’s just a stray cat. It’s not like you raised it from birth. What right do you have to keep it by force?

“You’re always this domineering, but have you ever asked what the cat wants?

“Is it willing to be domesticated by you?”

While they were locked in a standoff, the cat wandered out.

Perhaps it had sensed the gunpowder in the air, because it let out a bewildered meow.

Its name was Tuantuan. It looked like a little snowball.

Ye Chun half-crouched down. “Good baby, come here. Come with Daddy.”

My wife kicked him, then forcefully scooped Tuantuan into her arms.

Tuantuan was frightened by the two of them. It jumped out of my wife’s arms, and perhaps because it had caught my scent, it actually walked toward me with elegant catlike steps.

I instantly rolled up the car window.

So it wagged its tail and scratched at the door.

I had no choice but to open the window a crack and let it squeeze in.

Outside, everything stayed quiet for a long while.

I saw my wife say a few words to Ye Chun.

His figure immediately stiffened for a moment, and very soon, he left.

She, however, did not go upstairs.

Her gaze seemed to pierce straight through the barrier between us and land directly on me.

Then she loosened up her hands and feet, picked up a stick from the roadside, and slowly walked toward me.

Her steps were exactly the same as that snowy night when she had carried a chainsaw over her shoulder.

Before the stick could come crashing down, I wisely opened the car door.

Feigning calm, I got out, stood still, and stuffed the cat into her arms.

At the same time, I prayed in my heart: Lord Tuantuan, I’m begging you. Please cooperate a little. Do your absolute best to occupy both her hands.

My wife’s gaze was very calm.

But it was so cold it seemed covered in a layer of ice.

Before I could even say the word sorry, she spoke first.

“Was it you?”

I froze.

The corners of her mouth lifted, but she was not smiling.

“Was it you who interfered with my life and directed the plot of my story?

“But my life can only have one director, and that director is me.

“Mr. Rong, you crossed the line.”

It was as if I had fallen into an icy abyss.

I panicked. I wanted to explain, but I had no idea where to begin.

She turned and left.

Snowflakes suddenly began to drift down from the sky.

That winter, before I had even fallen in love, I had already fallen out of it.