Su Mu erged from the washroom nearly an hour later, by which ti she had passed out completely in sleep, while Fu Shinian seed completely refreshed, showing none of the restraint he had exhibited earlier in facing her.
What had transpired during that hour was unknown to anyone, though one might glean so hints from Fu Shinian’s satisfied expression, but he was never going to reveal it.
Even after airing out the room, there was still a lingering odor, and the bedroom was still a ss. So, Fu Shinian first laid Su Mu down on the sofa before heading back to clean up the bedroom. He was very tired himself and wished to just hold Su Mu and sleep, but unfortunately, there were only two bedrooms in the apartnt—one of which Qiqi was sleeping in, and the other had been thoroughly trashed by Su Mu.
He was even tempted to use his keys to rest in the room across the hall for the night, but he dreaded the storm that would erupt if she found out he was the true buyer of the apartnt; thus, he resigned himself to the cleanup. It took another half-hour to tidy up before Fu Shinian went back to carry Su Mu into the bedroom.
Su Mu had drunk far too much and was exhausted, so she showed no signs of waking the entire ti, until Fu Shinian also lay down on the bed. Then, she turned over, clung tightly to him, found a comfortable position in his embrace, and continued to sleep.
Fu Shinian looked down with a slight smile at her posture in his arms.
Sotis you had to admit, alcohol was indeed a fine thing; it could reveal one’s truest self.
The next day, Su Mu woke with a splitting headache as if her head was about to explode. She swore never to drink again—the pain was intolerable. After easing herself out of the hangover on the bed for a good while, Su Mu finally realized she had not returned to her studio but was in an entirely unfamiliar place.
She instinctively checked her clothes, which were no longer the ones she had worn but a man’s shirt. Having wriggled her way through the fashion industry for years, she could recognize designer brands at a glance, especially one she was very familiar with years ago. A bad feeling instantly washed over her as she scanned the room—it resembled his style.
When she looked beside her, even though he was no longer there, there was a clear indication soone had shared the bed. At that mont, Su Mu felt the urge to die; she had shared a bed with Fu Shinian twice in a week—frequency unheard of, even during the early days of their marriage.
But she did not react hysterically as she had the last ti. She calmly accepted the reality because crying would solve nothing and history could not be rewritten. When she was about to get out of bed, the bedroom door was gently pushed open from the outside. Su Mu instinctively glanced over, her eyes locking with Fu Shinian’s. He seed pleasantly surprised and smiled.
"Awake? I thought you’d sleep until afternoon."
Su Mu averted her gaze and didn’t look at him again:
"What ti is it?"
Fu Shinian glanced at his watch. "It’s noon."
Su Mu frowned and then flipped the covers aside to get out of bed, but she paused when she beca aware of sothing, imdiately covering herself again with the blanket and warily watching Fu Shinian. He had observed her actions and now, facing her gaze, he smiled and pointed in the direction of the bedside table:
"There are clothes there."
Su Mu looked back and saw a neat pile. She turned to Fu Shinian:
"Aren’t you taking this a bit too far?"
", taking things too far?" Fu Shinian said with a slight smile. "Su Mu, do you want to clarify the situation? Did I make you drink? Did I beg you to co to my apartnt? When you were so drunk you were unconscious, vomiting everywhere, didn’t I clean up after you? I haven’t even accused you of using alcohol to feign madness, yet you’re saying I’ve gone too far? Your little creation from last night is still lying in the laundry basket—would you like to dig it out for you to see?"
Su Mu couldn’t recall exactly how she had behaved the previous night, but based on her years of drinking experience, she likely had vomited. It was just that she didn’t know if she did so last night. She was sowhat inclined to believe Fu Shinian wasn’t lying, but that entirely missed the point of her argunt:
"Even if what you’re saying is all true, you still shouldn’t have treated this way."
"How have I treated you?" he asked.
"Did you bathe ?"
Fu Shinian nodded unabashed: "I know you would prefer it was soone else, but it was already midnight when you ca back, and Qiqi was fast asleep. Even if she weren’t, do you think I would allow her to see you in that state? Or would you have preferred it?"
Suppressing her anger, Su Mu pressed on:
"So why didn’t you dress ?"
Fu Shinian smiled slightly:
"Su Mu, aren’t you wearing my shirt?"
Su Mu glared at him, opening her mouth as if to say sothing, but in the end, she said nothing. Fu Shinian, in turn, smiled slightly:
"I see, you an underwear, right? You did move quite a lot of stuff into my apartnt, but you didn’t leave a single piece of clothing. In the middle of the night, where would I find you clean underwear? Are you going to bla that on as well?"
"I would rather you had left to fend for myself, ignoring everything."
Fu Shinian smiled again:
"Do you really think I could have done that?"
"You..." Su Mu found it hard to broach the subject but ultimately asked, "Did you do anything to ?"
Fu Shinian laughed:
"Su Mu, are you suggesting I did sothing to you? I’ve been celibate for three years. If I’d touched you last night, even if I was careful not to leave any marks on you, wouldn’t you at least feel so discomfort? Do you?"
Su Mu fell silent; she indeed didn’t, but that didn’t an Fu Shinian hadn’t taken advantage of her. Yet asking such questions only invited embarrassnt. Better not to ask at all.
Fu Shinian seed to know what Su Mu was really asking but didn’t spell it out, instead only smiling slightly and not saying anything further before speaking up: "Knowing you’re embarrassed, I’ll step out. I’ve made so light dishes. Co eat sothing when you’re up. Qiqi is waiting for you."
He then proceeded toward the door, but before closing it, Fu Shinian’s gaze fleetingly fell upon Su Mu’s lips. Initially, Su Mu hadn’t felt anything in particular, but his mischievous smile made her uneasy, although she couldn’t quite put her finger on what was wrong.
After changing clothes and heading to the restroom to freshen up, Su Mu indeed found the linen and her own clothes in the laundry basket. She closed her eyes and swore that if she ever drank like this again, she’d rather die—particularly since she had once again ended up at the rcy of Fu Shinian. It felt like walking straight into a tiger’s den.
The restroom was equipped with brand-new toiletries. Rembering what Fu Shinian might have done the night before, Su Mu brushed with extra vigor, anger fueling her actions. Perhaps she wasn’t careful enough, because it wasn’t until after she finished brushing that she felt a slight pain at the corner of her mouth and, upon closer examination, noticed a small cut.
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