Lu Jin’an lowered his eyes, scrolling through Gu Nianyi’s social media feed. “Pretty good. Something you’d never experience.”
Damn, he thought. Showcased again.
Zhou Ziyu recalled the scene he had witnessed: the girl rushing right up to the man, her petite frame blocking all the danger as tough words spilled from her lips.
“My husband just finished an eight-hour surgery and hasn’t eaten yet. We’re heading out first.”
Then she dragged Lu Jin’an away without another word.
What a domineering line. What a domineering move.
Even a straight guy like him had been utterly touched.
Zhou Ziyu turned to him. “Dr. Lu, you didn’t do anything to show your appreciation last night?”
Lu Jin’an lifted his eyelids and shot him a sidelong glance but said nothing.
He hadn’t done a thing!
Zhou Ziyu wanted to curse him out. If a girl pulled something like that for him, he’d marry her on the spot.
But Lu Jin’an? He just carried on like nothing had happened.
As cold and detached as an ice sculpture from the north.
Lu Jin’an scooped up his car keys. “I’m heading out. Taking some annual leave.”
Zhou Ziyu: “…”
Outrageous. His vocabulary failed him; that was all he could muster.
Of course he was envious—drool pooled uncontrollably at the corners of his mouth.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, and fallen leaves danced on the breeze.
It wasn’t even noon yet when Lu Jin’an arrived home. Getting off work this early was a rarity, and the lethargic Nian Gao perked up at the sound, bounding over to rub against his legs.
Her little head nuzzled him insistently, her stubby legs hopping with excitement. “Meow, meow.”
The man crouched down and stroked her head. “I’ll feed you some treats.”
She knew it—Lu Jin’an was a pushover when it came to extra snacks.
Way easier to sweet-talk than Mom.
As the sun dipped low in a blaze of gold, Lu Jin’an took Nian Gao downstairs for some playtime. He had promised Gu Nianyi that if he fed her treats, he’d take responsibility for the cat’s exercise.
He was a man of his word.
After their evening stroll, Lu Jin’an entered the elevator from the first floor and bumped into Gu Nianyi, who had just gotten home from work.
He stepped inside and stood beside her, glancing at his watch. It was already past seven.
“Working late today?”
Gu Nianyi froze for a moment. “Yes. Dr. Lu, you got off early today?”
Her tone was polite and distant, just like it had been right after they got married.
Lu Jin’an nodded. “Yeah, it wasn’t too busy.”
Gu Nianyi didn’t know how to reply, and an awkward silence settled in.
Other people were in the elevator too. Gu Nianyi turned her back to him, her fingers absently picking at the wall.
This was painfully awkward.
She glanced up, and through the elevator’s mirrored wall, she unexpectedly locked eyes with Lu Jin’an. His dark gaze was deep and inscrutable, swirling with emotions she couldn’t quite read.
He wasn’t in his usual formal attire but a set of black sportswear that lent him an air of lazy casualness.
She quickly looked away. Nian Gao chose that moment to clamber onto her, all but confirming how close-knit they really were.
A married couple of more than three months. Bedmates for over a month. And here they were, encountering each other in the elevator like strangers.
Their exchange sounded like two customer service reps: question, answer. Zero warmth.
It was a thousand times more awkward than running into a coworker on the subway.
Even the neighbor downstairs was baffled. The building featured spacious flats with one elevator per unit, and there was only one floor above theirs.
These two had to be family—maybe even a married couple. So why did they seem so utterly estranged?
The vibe was just too strange. Was this some trendy new role-play thing?
Kids these days really knew how to have fun.
The neighbor stepped out, leaving just the two of them. The air in the elevator car grew thinner by the second.
Lu Jin’an broke the silence. “I’m heading to North City the day after tomorrow. Training for a week.”
Gu Nianyi turned to look at him. “Is it a suspension?”
“No,” Lu Jin’an said. “Just training.”
He didn’t want her getting the wrong idea.
Out of politeness, Gu Nianyi asked, “Do you need me to pack your luggage?”
It was one of a wife’s duties, wasn’t it?
Lu Jin’an had helped her out of her troubles, and she wanted to return the favor—even if there wasn’t much she could do.
“No…”
He changed course, his eyes flickering. “Actually, yes. I don’t go on business trips often.”
It was sort of true, even if his leisure travels were another story entirely.
He kept quiet about how he’d been traveling solo since junior high, hitting up countries all over the world and always packing his own bags.
Gu Nianyi followed him into the house. “I don’t travel much either. I’ll look up some guides.”
Lu Jin’an caught her arm as she headed upstairs. “Dinner first.”
With her mind occupied, Gu Nianyi wolfed down her meal and dashed up to start sorting things out based on the travel tips she’d found.
North City was already dipping into autumn, cooler than South City, so she packed a few jackets.
The air there was drier too—moisturizing spray was a must.
Worried he might have trouble adjusting to the local water and food, she threw in some everyday meds: cold remedies, fever reducers, throat lozenges.
Lu Jin’an pitched in with the packing.
One last thing remained, though—something she couldn’t bring herself to touch. Even a glance would feel like poking her own eye out.
Gu Nianyi squatted on the floor and scratched at her temple. “Dr. Lu, I’ve got everything else packed. Your underwear—you’ll have to handle that yourself.”
Underwear?
Lu Jin’an got it. “It’s in the dresser drawer.”
Gu Nianyi: “…”
Of course she knew where it was.
In the end, she handled it like a hot potato, steeling herself to stuff it into the bag.
The suitcase she’d organized was a model of efficiency: neatly folded clothes grouped by function, plus a shaver, charger, power bank, document pouch—everything she could think of.
So thoughtful. So considerate. So heartfelt.
For a fleeting moment, a wild notion crossed Lu Jin’an’s mind: Why not take Gu Nianyi to North City with him?
Pack her up and bring her along.
The absurd idea vanished as quickly as it had come.
He must be losing it.
That night, with the lights off, the darkness amplified every little rustle.
Lu Jin’an asked, “Have you ever been to North City?”
Gu Nianyi shook her head. “No.”
She’d wanted to go as a kid but couldn’t afford it. As an adult, she wanted to but never had the time.
“Would you like to?”
“I do. But I have work—tons of reports still unfinished.”
North City was the capital, a place everyone dreamed of visiting since childhood. She longed to go, but her workload was crushing.
Besides, she didn’t have the money for a plane ticket or a hotel.
She still needed to save up to pay back what she owed Dr. Lu.
The IOU might be torn up, but she kept it etched in her heart.
“Next time, maybe.”
Lu Jin’an’s low voice lingered in the midnight hush.
Would there be a next time?
She wasn’t sure.
Before long, Lu Jin’an boarded his flight to North City, a curving contrail arcing across the sky behind him.
The first day of training wrapped up, and through the home monitors, he watched Gu Nianyi.
Just as he’d expected, she was thrilled.
It was a smile he’d never seen from her before.
She scooped up Nian Gao and danced around, then raided the liquor cabinet.
The girl who’d once called wine bitter and astringent had clearly forgotten all about that.
Like a kid whose parents were away, finally free to cut loose.
Gu Nianyi had discovered a whole new world. She plopped down cross-legged in front of the sofa rug and sipped slowly, savoring each taste.
It wasn’t great at first sip, but the finish was smooth, laced with notes of grape and malt.
Best of all, she loved that tipsy floaty feeling.
Her soul drifted weightless in the air, unburdened by real-world worries.
She wasn’t anyone’s daughter. She wasn’t anyone’s wife.
Just Gu Nianyi—herself.
Lu Jin’an pinched the bridge of his nose and reminded her helplessly, “Go easy on that.”
A cold voice suddenly echoed through the room. Gu Nianyi jolted, and Nian Gao leaped from her lap.
She scanned for the source.
Looking up, she spotted the red light on the ceiling and realized where it was coming from.
She muttered under her breath, “Dr. Lu, you’re in North City—why are you still haunting me?”
The tipsy girl had dropped her polite facade, coming across as unexpectedly adorable.
This was how a girl her age was supposed to be.
Leaning back on the sofa with his legs crossed, Lu Jin’an’s lips quirked up. “I leave for one day, and the house sprouts a drunkard.”
His tone was lazy, laced with an indulgence he didn’t even notice.
Gu Nianyi pouted. “I’m no drunkard.”
She was only drinking tonight—not every day. And not that much, either.
Lu Jin’an cautioned her. “Even so, take it easy. Red wine has a nasty kick later on.”
“Got it. Just a little.”
Clutching her glass, she headed upstairs to the second floor—out of camera range.
The second night of training passed uneventfully at home. The cameras showed the girl and the cat playing innocently.
What they didn’t capture was Gu Nianyi grabbing a bottle of wine and taking it upstairs to sip.
She’d dodged the lenses on purpose.
She knew her limits—no overindulging. Just enough to drift off to sleep.
But Lu Jin’an, far away in North City, lay awake. He’d never been one to have trouble sleeping in new beds, but this was a first.
Missing one person felt like this.
He didn’t have any melatonin; his sleep had always been solid before.
He toughed it out until the wee hours before finally nodding off.
On the third day of training, Lu Jin’an was at a dinner with colleagues when Xie Yunting sent him a video midway through the meal.
A bar pulsing with neon lights and strobing colors amid blaring music.
There, in the frame: Gu Nianyi, tucked into a corner booth.
Several half-filled glasses of vibrant, multicolored drinks sat in front of her…
Soda? Or cocktails?
Lu Jin’an set down his chopsticks, snatched his coat from the chair back, and said his goodbyes.
“Dr. Lu, what’s the rush?”
Long strides carried him toward the door as he pulled up flight options on his phone.
“The kid back home’s acting up. I’ve got to go deal with it.”