RITM - 43

Chapter 43: The Fourteen-Sided Mirror - Cohabitation (3)

After that day, Luo Wei moved into He Yingze’s house as agreed. The villa was absurdly large, reminiscent of Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch, which reportedly cost millions annually to maintain. For someone living inside, going out felt akin to a king leaving his castle to enter the city. The interior walls were painted deep red and gold-brown, adorned with artworks and antiques. Anyone with a sense of taste would be captivated by its beauty. On the day they both moved in, as soon as Luo Wei entered the main hall, she saw the housekeeper directing people to arrange fresh flowers bought from Luoshui Avenue into a massive vase on the coffee table. A lion specimen near the entrance was so lifelike that it nearly startled her into jumping onto him. However, given the sheer size of the place, she felt relieved—if they lived on separate floors, they might only see each other a few times a week, making cohabitation less awkward.

He Yingze was incredibly busy, often leaving early and returning late, barely managing to have breakfast at home. Being alone in such a large house sometimes led her to overthink—was he in meetings or entertaining clients? Was he overworking himself, affecting his health… or perhaps spending time with Ni Lei? Though he didn’t belong to her, her feelings for him remained selfish. She tried to adjust her emotions, focusing on work, commuting honestly, and shifting her attention elsewhere. She bought many books on marketing, advertising, business strategy, and biographies of famous people. She also studied how other companies promoted their products and collaborated with her studio colleagues on new plans. During this time, she found that ideas popped into her mind regularly, far more than during her design work. Sometimes, overexertion wasn’t beneficial; taking a different path could yield twice the results with half the effort. Her mood improved significantly, and she spent more time exercising and cleaning the house, balancing work and rest.

One day, He Yingze returned home earlier than usual. After taking off his coat and entering the master bedroom suite, he was drawn to the noise coming from inside. In the main bedroom, he saw Luo Wei pushing a vacuum cleaner. He said something to her, but due to the loud noise, she didn’t hear him. Judging by his expression, he seemed to be scolding her for entering his room without permission. She turned off the vacuum cleaner, ignored his words, and walked straight toward the bathroom: “Come here for a moment.”

Everything in the bathroom had been meticulously cleaned, shining brightly even without the lights on. He looked around for a long time before finally saying, “...What did you do?”

“Where did you hire your maid? Definitely not from Zhenji Wangcheng. Look at this.” She pointed to a water stain on the mirror, “I left this one on purpose. Before, the entire mirror was covered in these. There were even hairs on the carpet.”

He Yingze didn’t respond. She sprayed cleaner on the water stain and quickly wiped it away: “Do you know? Every morning when you use the bathroom, it’s like a dolphin surfacing—it’s no wonder the maid gave up on cleaning.”

He sighed: “I understand. I’ll change the maid today.”

She raised an eyebrow, silently staring at him. Initially indifferent, he grew impatient under her prolonged gaze: “I understand. I’ll be more careful next time.”

“Change the carpet to white. That way, the maid won’t be able to slack off.” She wiped her sweat and added, “By the way, when you came in earlier, what did you want to say?”

“Nothing.” He quickly walked out of the bathroom.

At five o’clock, He Yingze was reading the newspaper in the living room. She was preparing dinner in the kitchen when she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. It was the first day of her period, which explained her irritability. Clutching her stomach, she squatted on the ground, waiting for the pain to subside. A moment later, He Yingze entered the kitchen to fill his glass with water and happened to see her: “What’s wrong?”

She stood up, enduring the pain: “Can you help me with something?”

“What?”

She handed him a carrot from the cutting board: “Rinse this under cold water and peel it for me.”

Her audacity repeatedly tested his limits. He didn’t take the carrot, instead looking at her incredulously. Slowly, she walked over to him, frowning and tugging at his sleeve: “My period just started, and my stomach hurts so much. If I touch cold water now, I’ll definitely end up bedridden tomorrow and won’t be able to cook for you.”

“Stop cooking. I’ll go find a chef.”

She rubbed her eyes, looking as if she was about to cry: “But... I want to eat the radish that Xiao Ying peeled. You’re so capable and brilliant—surely the radish you peel will be sweet, and eating it will make me feel better… Otherwise, I won’t have the mood to cook ever again.”

He silently stared at her, then shifted his gaze to the radish. In the end, he peeled it. After the meal, under her relentless persuasion, he even washed the dishes.

As the release date for the new product drew closer, she devoted all her free time to work. Many nights, she failed repeatedly, discarding countless planning proposals. During these moments, she particularly disliked her slow pace, which only made her slower and increasingly drowsy. By eight o’clock, she was curled up at the head of the bed like a turtle, feeling wave after wave of intense pain. If this had happened to a friend, she would’ve gone to fetch hot water, mix brown sugar water, or fill a hot water bottle for them. But doctors can’t heal themselves—already in so much pain, she lacked the energy to get out of bed. Suddenly, the door to her room opened, and He Yingze walked in. She lay there limply and said, “No midnight snack, stomach hurts.”

He didn’t respond but directly walked over to the bed and scooped her up. After spending so much time with him, she felt like she was becoming a masochist. Her first reaction upon being treated this way was relief—he hadn’t slung her over his shoulder like a sack of rice, which was a huge surprise. But as he carried her upstairs and kicked open the door to his bedroom, she couldn’t help shivering: “What do you plan to do?”

Still silent, he placed her on the bed and began taking off his coat.

“Wait, wait, what are you doing…?” Seeing that he showed no signs of stopping, she exclaimed anxiously, “He Yingze, you know my situation, and yet... you’re such a beast! Or do you have some special preferences during this time?”

With a look of mockery in his eyes, he tossed his coat aside and entered the bathroom. Not long after, the sound of running water echoed from inside. She didn’t understand—had he brought her here just to listen to him shower? Or did he really have some unusual preferences? Within a minute, He Yingze returned to the bedroom holding a towel. Perhaps because he always kept people at a distance, when he lifted her shirt to expose her stomach, she still hadn’t realized what he intended to do. It wasn’t until a scorching heat source was placed on her abdomen that she understood. The warmth seeped into her belly, and within seconds, most of the pain subsided. He folded the hot towel to make the heat more concentrated. She found it incredibly soothing—so much so that her eyes grew slightly moist.

“Are you feeling better?” He Yingze asked indifferently, staring intently at the area covered by the towel, as if he could truly gauge its level of pain.

She bit her lip and nodded forcefully: “...Thank you.”

A faint smile appeared at the corner of He Yingze’s mouth. His smile was always like this—confident and bold, without much variation. Yet, for some reason, she had the illusion that he had become gentler. She gave him a thumbs-up: “You understand women so well—it’s hard to believe you’re known as the most ruthless man.”

“Being ruthless doesn’t mean not understanding women. But I really don’t understand you—if big-breasted and brainless is the rule for women, you certainly don’t fit the mold.”

“...”

“Ah, I get it now.”

“What? Finally willing to admit that my brain works decently?”

“This rule doesn’t apply to boys.”

“...”

He changed the hot towel for her four or five times. As the abdominal pain disappeared, she started to feel sleepy, struggling to keep her eyes open as she gazed at him. Exhausted, everything seemed close enough to touch. His face was unusually near. He Yingze had always been a man with a strong presence. This palace-style master bedroom, built like a king’s chamber, perfectly matched his status. But now, that distant aura had vanished. Wearing a simple shirt with his sleeves rolled up, he bent down to warm her stomach, resembling an ordinary, handsome boyfriend.

How nice it would be if things were truly like this. If she hadn’t left Gongzhou, and he hadn’t left Beidao, perhaps all of this could’ve been real.

Gradually, her consciousness began to blur, and the scene before her changed: the background transformed into a modest 100-square-meter apartment; he became an ordinary office worker earning a similar income to hers, her childhood friend who loved, cared for, and protected her. In this picture, there was no King commanding storms, only Xiao Ying, who belonged solely to her and their little circle of friends. This Xiao Ying, so close to her, would take her to the mall on weekends for shaved ice and movies, give her bright roses, proudly wear the sweaters she knitted for him, and boast about them. In this vision, she couldn’t see the women who schemed tirelessly to win his affection, nor Ni Lei, whose impeccable manners made others feel inadequate. She wouldn’t have to suppress her emotions or force smiles. She could kiss him whenever she wanted, hug him, cry or laugh freely. Even if he got angry with her, he’d still stay by her side, holding her tightly, never leaving...

Eventually, she woke up smiling from this dream.

She had expected to feel empty due to the stark contrast between fantasy and reality, but when she slightly moved her body, she realized someone was holding her tightly from behind. A steady breathing sound came from behind her. She turned her head slightly and found herself still lying on the velvet bed. Only the bedside lamp was on, casting a dim light. He held her in his arms, already fast asleep, yet his large hand remained firmly pressed against her abdomen. He didn’t seem approachable, but his body temperature was surprisingly high. Perhaps it was because women’s body temperatures tend to drop during their period—being held like this made her feel as though she was enveloped by a giant heater. Her heart pounded rapidly and intensely, causing a slight ache in her chest. Following the arm he had draped over her neck, she reached for his hand. Gently prying open his long fingers, she slipped her hand inside, closed her eyes like a child who had done something wrong, and timidly held his hand. Her heartbeat was fast, but she didn’t dare squeeze too hard. Just holding hands like this made her feel incredibly happy.

In his embrace, she couldn’t fall asleep for a long time. Looking around, she noticed a thick stack of contracts on the bedside table—the top one was still open. He must have fallen asleep halfway through reading it. Suddenly, she felt guilty for being so careless. He Yingze was a man who prioritized his career, already exhausted from work at the company. Yet in the afternoon, she had made him handle trivial household chores, acting childish.

She sighed in self-reproach, but the cold air she inhaled tickled her nasal cavity, making her want to sneeze. His breathing was heavy and steady, and she didn’t want to wake him. So, even though the itch felt like tiny bugs crawling inside her nose, she suppressed the urge to sneeze.