Chapter 5 — After Marrying, I Was Pampered

A strong wind suddenly blew, sweeping away the words behind. I stood by the window, my hand on the door frame. But what is it? Just a transaction? Just a replacement? Just a chess piece? It's not important at all. I've known for a long time. I close the window. Continue going out. High heels clicked on the stone path. Clack. The pace is very steady. When he returned to the car, Bui Tu was sitting in the back seat. I don't know when he got ahead of me. His expression was still cold as usual, no emotions visible. I got in the car and closed the door. Car starts. All the way no one said anything. As he neared the villa, he suddenly spoke up.

“Tonight, thank you.”

I turned around. He looked out the window, his profile face divided by the streetlight into two halves, light and dark.

“Thank you for what?”

“Join me in attending the party.”

I spread my hands.

"That's what I should have done. We already agreed."

I don't speak anymore. But I noticed his hand placed on his knee, his fingertips lightly tapping twice. A very small movement. Don't know what it represents. After returning home, he went straight to the office on the third floor. I returned to the master bedroom as usual. Take a shower, put on a mask, lie in bed and scroll on your phone. While surfing, my phone showed a WeChat message. It's Bui An.

— Duong, you performed very well tonight.

She started calling me by my first name.

— My younger brother doesn't know how to talk, but his actions of protecting him tonight were seen by the whole table. Don't worry, your position in the Bui family is secure.

— That's right, tell me a secret.

I type: What's the secret?

— My younger brother has never served food to others before. From small to large. Even her mother has not enjoyed this treatment.

— Tonight's piece of pine mushroom... Um.

— Feel it yourself.

I put the phone down. Staring at the ceiling. Remember when the piece of pine mushroom fell into the bowl, almost without making a sound. As natural as breathing. Um. Felt. Feel the emptiness. Don't think too much. He just felt like he owed me a piece of pine mushroom. Correct. That's all. I turned around. Close your eyes. The fir-scented pillow is still very pleasant to smell. In my dream that night, someone filled a bowl of food for me. In my dream, I ate happily. 【Chapter 6】 Three days after the birthday party, an uninvited guest appeared. That afternoon, I was lying by the swimming pool, studying an introductory economics book from Bui Tu's office. Actually, it's used to lull you to sleep. The notification sound from the gate rang out. I thought it was a delivery person. Last week I ordered a box of instant noodles online. Everything in this villa is good, just no snacks. I need snacks to balance my life. But when the door opened, the person standing outside was not the delivery staff. Which is a woman. Young, beautiful, tall, with long, straight black hair covering her shoulders, delicate facial features like she just stepped off a magazine cover. She wore a milky white dress with a cold aura. Like the first snow of the season. Like the bright moonlight in my heart. Like… The kind of ex-girlfriend the male lead should have. She looked at me, tilting her head slightly.

"Hello. Is Bui Tu at home?"

I leaned against the doorframe, assessing her from top to bottom. Over my swimsuit, I put on one Bui Tu's t-shirt. It's your stuff again. My hair was soaked, water was still dripping down, and there was still an unpeeled sunscreen sticker on the bridge of my nose. Standing next to her, we were like two different creatures.

“No.”

I said:

“Who are you?”

She smiled. A standard smile, the corners of the lips raised fifteen degrees, both polite and restrained.

"My last name is On. On Di Ninh. I'm... Bui Tu's friend."

That pause. The pause before the word "friend". The alliteration has been stretched to its limits.

“Oh.”

I said:

“Friends.”

"Yes. I just returned from abroad and want to find him to catch up on old stories. Can you tell me where he is or how to contact him?"

I looked at her face. So beautiful. Not a dazzling beauty, but an elegant beauty that creates a feeling of distance. Making people feel as soon as they look:

“This person is very clean.”

But I noticed that when her eyes stopped on the t-shirt I was wearing, her pupils shrank slightly. Very quickly restored to normal. But I still caught it.

“If you're looking for him, you can call.”

“I called. He didn't listen.”

“Then you can contact assistant Luc Hanh.”

“I don't have Luc Hanh's phone number.”

She stood outside the door, her posture soft, her voice gentle. But decided not to go. My eyes silently observed the space behind the door — a corner of the living room, my slippers on the shoe rack, my coat hanging at the entrance.

“May I ask, are you…?”

She finally asked. I remember the last time Bui An came, I said I was "Mrs. Bui", causing her to almost ascend to heaven on the spot. This time I decided to speak more discreetly.

“People live here.”

Her ability to control her expressions is very good. Only my eyelashes trembled.

“Living… here?”

“Yes.”

"You are... Bui Tu's..."

“Guess what?”

She doesn't guess. But smiled again. The smile was a little deeper than before.

"Okay. Then I'll trouble you. If Bui Tu comes back, please pass on the message and tell On Di Ninh to find him."

After speaking, he turned around. Leave. High heels clicked on the driveway, the footsteps never stopped. Very solid. Very leisurely. Even the back is extremely elegant. I close the door. Lean against the door and stand for a moment. On Di Ninh. Just returned from abroad.

Bui Tu's "friend".

Know the address of this villa. There is Bui Tu's phone number. But there is no contact information for Luc Hanh, proving that she knew Bui Tu before Luc Hanh became his assistant. In other words, she knew the "before" Bui Tu. Alright. The moonlight shines in my heart. Full configuration. But I'm not panicking at all. Why? Because this marriage is inherently a transaction. Who do you love? Who do you not love? What does it have to do with me? What I want is Wi-Fi, swimming pool and cherries. Not men. I returned to the pool and continued to lie down. Open your economics book. Read three lines. Lost sleep. In the evening, when Bui Tu returned, I was cooking instant noodles in the kitchen. Beef flavor, add an egg, and add two pieces of cheese. The fragrance covers the entire first floor. As he entered, his steps stopped. Nose slightly moved.

“What is that smell?”

“Instant noodles. Want a bowl?”

He looked at the noodles boiling in the pot and the yellow-orange soup. There was a trace of hesitation in his eyes that he didn't even notice.

“No need.”

He opened the refrigerator. Take a bottle of mineral water. Leaning on the kitchen table to drink. Don't leave. I bowed my head and stirred the noodles. Wait thirty seconds. Speak up:

“Someone came to look for you today.”
\deer?"

“Wen Dining.”

His hand twisting the bottle cap stopped for a moment. Just one beat. Then continue to open the lid and take a sip.

“What did she say?”

"Said I just came back from abroad and wanted to find you to catch up on old stories. You didn't answer the phone."

“Yes. I know.”

End. Just that short. No explanation of "who she is", no addition of "what relationship do we have", and no "don't think too much" which is full of hidden meaning. Just one sentence:

“I know.”

I took the noodles into a bowl, carried the bowl past him. As I was about to walk out the door, I stopped.

“Ah yes.”

“Yes?”

“She is quite beautiful.”

I don't turn around. But I could feel the eyes behind me suddenly change. Don't know if it's hotter or colder. In short, it's different. That night. The office lights were on until three in the morning. The next morning, the milk in the refrigerator was still gone. But the cup is not washed. Just put it on the kitchen table. Next to it is another piece of paper. The handwriting is very neat, strong and regular.

“Thank you.”

Two words. I stuck the piece of paper in my economics book as a bookmark. Continue to live peaceful days. Or at least the days that I thought were peaceful. 【Chapter 7】 The second time Wen Yingning appeared was five days later. Not at the villa. Which is in the shopping mall. That day Bui An invited me to go shopping. That's right, the relationship between Bui An and I has developed to the point where we can meet to go shopping. She said:

“My sister-in-law stays at home all day and will get moldy.”

I said:

"I'm not moldy. I have Wi-Fi."

She said:

“Take me out to eat Japanese food, three thousand yuan per person.”

I said:

“What time does it depart?”

Japanese food at three thousand yuan per person is really delicious. After eating, Bui An pulled me to the shopping center next door. Said he wanted to buy me some clothes.

“You can't keep wearing my brother's t-shirt forever.”

She said as she walked:

“Even though you dress quite nicely, you have to have your own clothes.”

I feel like what she said makes a lot of sense. So happily agreed. We stayed in a designer store on the third floor for more than an hour. Bui An's aesthetic taste is very good, choosing for me a few casual outfits and a few outfits for formal occasions. I tried on clothes, she commented. They work together as well as sisters who have known each other for ten years.