CM - 54

Just as Zhou Shuirong got home, Shen Tingwen sent her a picture: a close-up selfie of himself. How confident was he? He dared to take a selfie with the front camera, and what was with that terrible angle?

And yet, despite being a picture that violated every rule of good photography, why wasn’t it ugly?

She cleared the chat history. Her first reaction to anything that affected her was to erase it; it was a habit of hers.

Shen Tingwen asked her, “Is one picture enough?”

Zhou Shuirong’s heart was a little shaken, but she needed time to process things. During this time, it was best for Shen Tingwen not to provoke her, as it would severely affect her ability to think clearly. So she was honest with him and said, “Could you please not contact me for a while?”

“I can agree to it, but I can’t do it.”

“Then you didn’t agree to it.”

“If you don’t want me to contact you, I can only agree to it. But whether I can actually do it is not up to me.”

“You can’t even make your own decisions?”

“I can make decisions for my actions, but not for my heart.”

Zhou Shuirong’s heart started to pound again, and her mouth felt dry. It took a great effort to calm herself down. “Since you can’t do it, I will. From now on, I will stay as far away from you as possible.”

Shen Tingwen wasn’t happy about it. “You said you’d give me a chance if I took your last name. Now I’ve changed my name, and you’re saying you’re going to stay as far away from me as possible?”

Zhou Shuirong pursed her lips, forcing herself to say, “Yes.”

“Why do you have to be so contradictory? Is it so embarrassing to like me? Would you die if you admitted it, Zhou Shuirong? Or do you really not like me? If that’s the case, then I’ve been a fool. I’m sorry to have bothered you, Zhou Shuirong.”

Zhou Shuirong stared at the message, her fingers clenching the phone so tightly the screen felt like it would break. But when she looked up, her expression hadn’t changed much. It was as if the dry mouth and tense lips weren’t hers at all.

________________________________________

The house was a gift from Shen Cheng to Wen Huo for their fifteenth wedding anniversary a couple of years ago. A lot of money was spent on the house and its renovations. The walk-in closet alone was over 100 square meters. Shen Cheng truly treated Wen Huo like a queen, if you ignore the “game rooms.”

The game rooms were filled with little games to enhance Shen Cheng and Wen Huo’s relationship: handcuffs, hammocks, waterbeds, whips...

Shen Tingwen didn’t come here unless he had to. This was their private space, and when he did come, he was just subjected to public displays of affection. He wasn’t a masochist. This time, Wen Huo was unhappy about the name change and told him to get back here immediately.

In the living room on the first floor, Wen Huo asked him, “Is Zhou Shuirong the only thing you can see?”

Shen Tingwen wasn’t surprised Wen Huo knew about Zhou Shuirong. As long as Wen Huo wanted to know, Shen Cheng would tell her anything. He said, “It’s my name. Why can’t I change it?”

“I’m not saying you can’t change it. It just doesn’t sound good,” Wen Huo said.

Shen Tingwen thought it sounded great. Seeing his name was like seeing Zhou Shuirong.

Wen Huo was about to say something else, but Shen Cheng stopped her. “Is your soup ready yet?”

Wen Huo suddenly remembered she had soup on the stove and ran to the kitchen barefoot.

Shen Cheng grabbed her by the waist, then took off his shoes and put them on for her.

After Wen Huo left, Shen Tingwen looked at Shen Cheng’s bare feet. He thought he could definitely be just like him, loving and protecting his partner.

Shen Cheng sat down, his hands folded on his lap. He looked up at his son. “Do you know what the name Shen Tingwen means?”

“Shen Cheng hears Wen Huo,” Shen Tingwen said.

“Then why did you change it?”

“I’m not a symbol of your love. I’m a life you wanted to create and nurture. You wanted to give me a chance to be in this world. You taught me that. And if you want to express how much you love my mom, you should be the one to change your name.”

Shen Cheng leaned back on the sofa. “You remember that, but you can’t remember when I told you not to worry your mom.”

“I’ll be fine,” Shen Tingwen said.

Shen Cheng looked at him. “Your business is your own to handle, but don’t let my wife worry too much.”

Shen Tingwen knew he couldn’t come back without some kind of emotional provocation. Zhou Shuirong was trying to stay away from him, and he was back home watching Shen Cheng and Wen Huo’s love for each other, which was as strong as it was twenty years ago. He didn’t want to stay. “Tell my mom I had to leave.”

“Son,” Shen Cheng called out to him.

Shen Tingwen turned around.

Shen Cheng said, “If you can’t solve it, I will.”

“Okay.” Even though Shen Tingwen didn’t need his help.

When Wen Huo came back, Shen Tingwen was already gone. She angrily slapped Shen Cheng’s arm. “You’re spoiling him! You’re going to ruin him!”

Shen Cheng wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her down to sit on his lap. “Shen Tingwen wasn’t the name I gave him. We named him Shen Yu’an. But those weren’t the names he wanted. If he didn’t want them, what’s wrong with him changing it?”

“Nonsense! He changed his name; who knows, he might run away with someone one day. I only have one son! If he’s gone, will you pay me back?”

Shen Cheng changed his grip to hold her hand and kissed her collarbone. “I’ll pay you back.”

Wen Huo was ticklish and pushed him. “I’m not against him dating, and I don’t care who it is. But I just want my son, do you understand, Shen Cheng? A woman’s intuition is the most accurate. I feel like I’m going to lose him.”

Shen Cheng pulled away from her. “You’re only afraid of losing your son, not me. If I had known you would be so attached to him, we should have had a daughter.”

Wen Huo tilted her head and looked at him. “Mr. Shen, are you jealous of your son?”

Shen Cheng didn’t admit it. “No, I’m not.”

Wen Huo sat back on his lap, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed his cheek. “I’m not going to lose you. I stole you from someone else; who could steal you from me?”

“That’s because before you stole me, you were the only one in my heart.”

Wen Huo rested her head on his shoulder and played with his ear. “I actually hope he finds a girl he loves that much, but as a mom, I’m always worried about my child’s safety. Si Wen is like you, and yet he’s not. He spent half his life walking on a knife’s edge, while you’ve licked the blood off and lived a stable life for half of yours. It’s like he has 70% of the aggression, and you only have 30%. When my child goes to mess with the 70%, I can’t help but worry.”

“My son isn’t alone. He still has his dad, doesn’t he?”

Wen Huo sat up and looked at him. “What are you going to do?”

“It’s fine if he’s just in a relationship. But if my son gets involved in anything else...” Shen Cheng only said half the sentence.

Wen Huo hugged his neck tightly and fell silent. She could always trust Shen Cheng.