#2 (Husband)

Wen Di regretted buying such a spacious sofa back then, allowing Yan He Yu to settle scores with her in various ways without having to return to the bedroom. He laced his fingers with hers, holding her hands above her head.

“Can you let go of my hands?” Her arms ached from being held up for so long, so she pleaded.

Yan He Yu did not commit.

Wen Di found an excuse: “I’ll unbutton your shirt for you.”

Yan He Yu said, “No need.”

Wen Di insisted: “I want to unbutton it.”

Yan He Yu remained unmoved.

Wen Di struggled for a bit, the consequence being that he pressed deeper into her, and she temporarily quieted down, no longer provoking him.

Yan He Yu finally released both her hands. He propped one arm beside her, and with the other hand, he picked up his phone, shaking the screen in front of her to show her what time it was.

Wen Di was too lazy to look at the time and retorted, “Even two more hours wouldn’t bother you.”

Yan He Yu was looking at her. With just one glance from him, she knew a storm was brewing. Wen Di wasn’t one to suffer immediate losses. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed against him.

Yan He Yu leaned down and lightly bit her lip.

Wen Di liked it when he kissed her; her heart softened with the touch of their lips.

In the throes of passion, she called out, “Husband.”

It wasn’t the first time Wen Di had called Yan He Yu “husband,” but every time she did, Yan He Yu inexplicably relished it. That single word, “husband,” reduced the intensity with which he was handling her from a ten to a three.

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Everything settled down, Wen Di returned to the master bedroom, leaving the outer bathroom for Yan He Yu.

By the time she emerged from her bath, Yan He Yu had already left for the company. He had picked up the scattered throw pillows from the floor and placed them back on the sofa.

Soon after he left, Aunt Cui arrived as scheduled, asking what she wanted for lunch.

Wen Di wasn’t particular about food and told Aunt Cui, “Just make me some soup, whatever you like.”

Aunt Cui was Yan He Yu’s family housekeeper and had worked for his family for many years. Since Wen Di and Yan He Yu got together, Aunt Cui often came over to cook and tidy up her house.

Apart from her best friend, no one else knew she was dating the second-generation heir of the Yan family, so having Aunt Cui come over was more convenient than hiring other housekeepers.

Wen Di had nothing planned for the morning, so she found a book and went to the terrace to read.

She had just finished a new script, and Qu Pei wasn’t in a hurry to find her new work. As several of her works became huge hits, she also gained recognition, having the opportunity to participate in several variety shows, accumulating popularity and good reputation. She was dubbed “the most beautiful screenwriter” by netizens.

While she was deeply engrossed in writing her new script, many fashion brands invited her to make appearances, but Qu Pei turned them all down. Qu Pei’s intention was for her to take a good vacation, as her body had been severely overdrawn these past few months.

As a boss, Qu Pei was absolutely competent.

About a third of the way through the book, Wen Di received a deposit notification: a large sum of money had been added to her account.

Yan He Yu always acted decisively. He had said he would add his name to the property deed, and before noon, the money had already arrived.

Subsequently, a message from Yan He Yu came in: “Transfer the house payment to your parents. Consider it as if you sold your house.”

Wen Di looked at the string of zeros. She and Yan He Yu should be able to get married. A man like him wouldn’t act on a whim; if he didn’t have long-term plans, he wouldn’t easily share a property deed with a woman.

Regardless of what the future held, having his name on the same property deed as hers was the beginning of a good ending.

Her property deed wasn’t in Beijing. Her parents had bought the house when she first started college, paying for it in full at the time. After obtaining the deed, her parents took it directly back to their hometown, Jiangcheng.

She explained the situation to Yan He Yu: “The property deed is in Jiangcheng, so I can’t complete the handover right now. How about next week?”

Yan He Yu: “No rush. I’ll give you a month’s deadline. You’re not allowed to give me the cold shoulder this month.”

Wen Di couldn’t guarantee she wouldn’t give him the cold shoulder, so she replied with a smiling emoji.

Yan He Yu didn’t reply again.

Wen Di flipped the book in her hand face down on the table, leaned back in her lounge chair, and called her father.

Wen Changyun answered his daughter’s call immediately, asking, “Not busy today?”

Wen Di: “Not busy. Dad, I’m coming home in a couple of days.”

“No one will be home when you return. Your grandparents have gone traveling, and your mother and I both have business trips.” Wen Changyun told his daughter, “I’ll come see you when I’m not busy.”

“Then have someone send my property deed to me.”

“Which property’s deed?”

“The one I’m living in now.”

Before her father could inquire further, Wen Di briefly explained the situation to him in a few sentences, then asked him for his account number: “I’ll transfer all the money to you. After this, the house is ours to do with as we please.”

Wen Changyun knew his daughter had a boyfriend, though he had never met him in person, only occasionally hearing his daughter mention him. He and his wife never interfered in their daughter’s relationships, but now it seemed good things were on the horizon.

He first congratulated his daughter, then inquired with concern, “Both your names are on the same property deed. When are you planning to bring him home?”

“Not for a while.” It wasn’t that Wen Di was unwilling to bring Yan He Yu to meet her parents; it was that she wasn’t sure she could persuade him to come, so she simply didn’t ask. Even if they were to get married, he would have to propose first, and she would certainly not hint at it.

Wen Changyun fully respected his daughter’s decision and didn’t nag. He had no intention of taking the house payment. “Keep it as pocket money. You keep half, and return the other half.”

“If I return it to him, he won’t take it. You don’t know him; he never takes back money he’s given away. It’s fine, I’ll find an opportunity to give him a gift. The set of jewelry he gave me for my birthday this year is enough to buy a house.”

“That generous.”

“Not exactly. In business, he’s stingier than you are. He’s only generous to me.”

Wen Changyun smiled; his daughter’s words clearly conveyed a sense of satisfaction.

Wen Di spoke of her small happiness: “I’m also generous with him. All the money I earn, I spend on him.”

Wen Changyun checked his watch. His secretary was waiting to report on work. He said into the phone, “Di Di, Dad won’t talk anymore. I have things to do here. If you’re not in a hurry, your mother will go to Beijing at the end of the month and can bring all the documents for you then.”

“No rush. Then let Mom bring it to me.” Wen Di said goodbye to her father and quickly hung up the phone.

She lay in the lounge chair, the deep winter sky a brilliant blue, dotted with a few wisps of thin clouds.

A message came in on her phone; Qu Pei had sent her the hotel address for Director Ruan’s birthday dinner tonight.

________________________________________

Wen Di woke up from her nap and began to put on makeup. She found an unworn smoky blue evening gown and changed into it. None of the handbags she tried seemed to match. She went to the living room and unboxed the bag Yan He Yu had brought her that morning, the one he had won from playing cards.

Upon opening the box, she was pleasantly surprised; it was a large-sized bag, just like she adored.

Wen Di left two hours early, but only remembered her car was still at the 4S shop for repairs when she reached the door. She knew she’d inevitably be drinking tonight, so she called Yan He Yu, planning to have his driver pick her up and drop her off.

Yan He Yu answered: “What is it?”

Wen Di was brief: “My car broke down. It’s Director Ruan’s birthday dinner tonight. Lend me a car.”

Yan He Yu: “From now on, just contact Assistant Kang for this kind of thing.”

Before hanging up, Yan He Yu added, “Send me the hotel and banquet hall name. I’ll send you a bottle of wine.”

Wen Di didn’t understand his train of thought, but since he was rarely proactive in showing goodwill, she forwarded the hotel address Qu Pei had sent her.

Half an hour later, Wen Di was picked up by Yan He Yu’s driver, who arrived in a low-key commercial vehicle.

But even with its low profile, as the car drove into the hotel’s underground garage, someone still recognized its license plate.

“What are you looking at?” Ding Yi saw Tian Qinglu, in the driver’s seat, staring intently at the front windshield, even forgetting to reapply her makeup.

Tian Qinglu said, “That’s Yan He Yu’s car. He has an engagement here tonight.”

Ding Yi lamented, “You’re hopeless.” Everyone in their circle knew Tian Qinglu liked Yan He Yu, but it was unrequited love. However, the Tian and Yan families had decided to arrange a marriage alliance.

Tian Qinglu was still looking at Yan He Yu’s car. The car stopped, but the person who got out was not Yan He Yu, but a seductive female figure. A form-fitting dress perfectly outlined her sexiness.

Just as the woman turned to close the car door, even with sunglasses perched on her nose, Ding Yi and Tian Qinglu simultaneously recognized her as Wen Di.

Ding Yi’s focus was: “That color dress is very difficult to pull off; only Wen Di’s face can manage it.”

Tian Qinglu said nothing, glancing at her best friend. Half of Wen Di’s tens of millions of fans were drama fans, and half were fans of her looks. If it weren’t for her being a love rival to Wen Di, Ding Yi probably would have become one of Wen Di’s beauty fans long ago.

Ding Yi suddenly frowned, puzzled: “Wen Di’s bag?”

Tian Qinglu also noticed the limited-edition bag on Wen Di’s shoulder. Both she and Ding Yi were at the club last night and knew Yan He Yu played cards until 1 AM to win that bag.

The club’s major shareholder was a lady who wasn’t particularly interested in bags herself. Her husband and Yan He Yu were friends and had business dealings. When rare new models became available, she would have someone buy them and send them to Yan He Yu’s private room, to add some fun to their card games, as a subtle way of giving back and thanking Yan He Yu and his friends for their long-standing patronage of the club.

Last night was the first time Yan He Yu had played cards seriously. Tian Qinglu thought he won that bag to give to his mother or sister, and probably all his close friends thought the same.

Who knew that bag would appear on Wen Di’s shoulder today.

Ding Yi was quick to speak: “See? This is the man you want to get engaged to. He doesn’t take you seriously at all.”

Tian Qinglu threw her lipstick and compact mirror into the armrest, glaring at her: “If you can’t speak like a human, then shut up!”

Ding Yi unhurriedly said, “Plenty of people suck up to you; if you want to hear nice things, go find them.”

The two had known each other since childhood, and bickering had become commonplace, never harming their friendship.

As an outsider, Ding Yi knew that Yan He Yu was not an easy person to deal with. Marrying such a man was no different from jumping into a pit of fire. She didn’t know how many times she had tried to persuade Tian Qinglu, but Tian Qinglu wouldn’t listen to a single word; she was like she was possessed.

“Yan He Yu doesn’t like you at all. Are you sick or something, throwing yourself at him?”

Tian Qinglu felt another stab of pain in her heart.

Ding Yi pointed in the direction Wen Di had left: “No matter what, Wen Di has been with him for several years. Don’t tell me you’re going to fight for that scumbag? Aren’t you embarrassed enough?”

Tian Qinglu scoffed, “Me, fight with her? Yan He Yu is just playing around with her; he won’t marry her. Do I need to fight? Besides, the marriage alliance is a decision made by our elders, not my idea.”

Ding Yi sneered, “Just keep deceiving yourself. If you really don’t want to marry him, I don’t believe Uncle Tian will hold a knife to your throat and force you to marry Yan He Yu!”

She slapped the car window twice with the back of her hand, growing more annoyed as she thought about it, then turned to Tian Qinglu again: “You can’t control Yan He Yu. If you really get engaged, you’ll have plenty of days to cry later.”

Tian Qinglu couldn’t stand it anymore: “Can you stop bothering me!”

“Bang!” Ding Yi slammed the car door shut.

Both were filled with anger. They rode the elevator upstairs in silence, neither speaking to the other.

When they reached the door of the private room where they were meeting their “plastic” sisters, both of them simultaneously put on expressions of deep sisterly affection, setting aside their grudges and linking arms as they stepped into the room.

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At this time, in the banquet hall on another floor, Wen Di was being pulled by Qu Pei to meet people from film and television companies. After a round of socializing, the smile on her face was almost frozen.

Qu Pei patted Wen Di’s shoulder, “Find a seat and rest.” She then turned to greet other guests.

“Miss Wen.” The hotel head waiter, who was in charge of the banquet hall tonight, found her.

Wen Di smiled slightly: “Hello, can I help you?”

The head waiter lowered his voice: “Mr. Yan sent you a bottle of wine. When you take your seat, look carefully at the wine glass. I will personally pour your wine. Please set aside any wine poured by others.”

Wen Di expressed her thanks, curious as to what Yan He Yu was up to.

Most of the guests had arrived and were finding their seats after exchanging pleasantries with those they knew.

Qu Pei had arranged for her to sit at Director Ruan’s table, the guest of honor. There were too many VIPs, so with her status, she could only sit in the most inconspicuous seat. She had no idea how many toasts she would have to make tonight.

When the head waiter poured the wine, Wen Di glanced at the bottle in his hand; it was no different from the other wine bottles.

Taking the first sip, she frowned slightly. Yan He Yu hadn’t sent her wine; he had sent a bottle of cooled boiled water with a hint of alcohol flavor. Tonight, she no longer had to worry about feeling uncomfortable from drinking too much.