After getting in the car, Sun Jingcheng asked her, “What are you doing here?”
“Came to eat.”
“Came all this way to eat?”
“The food here is good.”
…
Sun Jingcheng didn’t ask further. He turned up the music volume, and the two had nothing to say. The atmosphere in the car set Zhou Yu’s thoughts racing. She asked him, “What are you doing here too?”
“Having dinner with someone.” Sun Jingcheng’s tone lacked its usual vitality and casualness, and had none of his nonsensical humor or sharp wit. It was just lifeless and bland.
Before marriage, Feng Yiqun had chatted with her, saying Sun Jingcheng was a very simple person—not scheming, easy to get along with. Whether happy or unhappy, his thoughts were all displayed on his face. Moreover, he had an upright temperament, wouldn’t be moody or take his anger out on others—living with him, you wouldn’t suffer pointless grievances or silent losses.
Based on Zhou Yu’s two years of experience getting along with him, Sun Jingcheng’s emotions weren’t expressed on his face but in his voice. Casual meant his mood was average; sharp-tongued meant it was okay—he was in the mood to banter with you; lively and nonsensical meant pretty good—he’d ramble nonsense with you; silence naturally meant anger, and the ultimate contempt for someone was to think “you can be stupid all you want, I’m not dealing with you.”
“School’s winter break is coming up soon, right?” Sun Jingcheng asked.
“After exams next Thursday, we’re off.”
“Then Friday let’s go to the Housing Authority and transfer ownership of the house.”
“I was joking that day. I don’t want the house.”
“Then what do you want?” Sun Jingcheng looked at her.
“Must I want something from you?” Zhou Yu asked back.
“I don’t have cash on hand, only two houses.”
“Then keep them. You can sell them later to save your company,” Zhou Yu replied.
“Go transfer ownership on Friday,” Sun Jingcheng repeated.
“I don’t care for your shabby house. Think one house will make me help you maintain your fake righteousness?”
“Let’s be clear—who’s being fake?”
“You! You’ve wronged me in this marriage, and giving me one house makes you feel at ease that we’re even?” Zhou Yu looked at him. “Later you’ll have a reputation for being honorable and righteous, while I’ll look like I got a great deal, as if I was after your house.”
Sun Jingcheng gave up. “Why are you so ungrateful? I’m thinking after divorce it’ll be hard for you as a woman alone…”
“Thanks, but no need. You should worry about your company…”
“Who are you looking down on?” Sun Jingcheng pulled over and stopped the car.
“Whoever knows who I’m looking down on,” Zhou Yu replied lightly.
“Zhou Yu, you’re fucking heartless!” Sun Jingcheng cursed at her.
“You feel guilty and blame me? Aren’t you heartless too?” Zhou Yu glared at him.
“You only show your claws in front of me! Outside you’re docile like a little white rabbit, but back in the nest you transform!”
“What about you? Why don’t you act tough in front of your dad!” Zhou Yu blurted out.
Sun Jingcheng looked at her with reddened eyes, got out of the car, and walked away.
Zhou Yu stared at his back, regretting it to death—why did she have to be verbally aggressive? They’d agreed to be dignified—agreed to be dignified.
Sun Jingcheng was furious with her and walked along the sidewalk back to the new district. He turned around to see the car behind him and quickened his pace. The faster he walked, the faster he went, until he simply started running. The car behind chased closely, even rolling down the window to curse at him—cursing fiercely! To shake her off, he turned around and ran against traffic. Only when he couldn’t see her car anymore did he take another route back to the new district.
He ran for nearly an hour before arriving at the new district out of breath. The anger in his body also gradually subsided with the sweat. He first went to the convenience store to buy water, only to discover he hadn’t brought his phone and had even left his jacket in the car. Only then did he understand why that goose in the car had been stretching her neck and wailing at him.
By the time he’d completely calmed down, it was an hour later—after he’d played tennis with someone at the residential complex sports center. He was exhausted and walked back slowly, thinking as he walked that he was really pathetic. She’s just a woman—why stoop to her level? In the end, he’d run back like a stray dog while she sat comfortably in the heated car. And tomorrow he’d still have to go back to her to get his phone.
Thinking this, he went upstairs. Coming out of the elevator, he was startled by the person at his door. Zhou Yu threw his clothes at him, stuffed his phone and car keys in his arms, and was about to leave. Sun Jingcheng instinctively grabbed her. “You came specially to bring me my phone?”
“I don’t have the energy to fight with you. I have class tomorrow,” Zhou Yu was also quite listless.
“Don’t go back. I’ll take you back to school first thing in the morning,” Sun Jingcheng blurted out, completely lacking the fierce but cowardly manner from two hours ago when they were fighting.
Zhou Yu also felt she was in the wrong, so naturally she took the offered way out and went back to the room with him. Sun Jingcheng said while changing shoes: “From now on when we fight, let’s save it up and fight on Friday nights and Saturdays, so neither of us affects our work.”
“Okay.” Zhou Yu agreed wholeheartedly. If they made such a fuss like tonight, there’d be no way to work tomorrow.
“I didn’t lose the argument tonight—I just don’t stoop to a woman’s level,” Sun Jingcheng salvaged some dignity for his stray dog behavior.
“Mm, thank you,” Zhou Yu replied.
This “thank you” left Sun Jingcheng speechless. After a while, he felt her tone was wrong—as if she was the one not stooping to his level?
Zhou Yu opened the door to the secondary bedroom. Sun Jingcheng said: “The bed’s never been made up. Sleep in the master bedroom.”
Zhou Yu went to the master bedroom, preparing to take off her jeans. Sun Jingcheng looked at her. “Aren’t you going to wash up?”
“You’re the only one who knows about cleanliness. I’ll take off my outer clothes then wash,” Zhou Yu said, going to the bathroom in her pink thermal underwear.
Sun Jingcheng found her a toothbrush. As she washed her face, she asked: “Do you have a new bath towel?”
“No new ones. They’ve all been used by me.”
Zhou Yu reluctantly waved her hand, telling him to go get one.
“Always ordering me around.” Sun Jingcheng muttered as he went to get it, bringing back men’s underwear and a thermal set. “All new—make do with these after your shower.”
…