Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

  What all he wanted to eat now?

  He wanted a bowl of noodles cooked by Xia Ruoxin. He was willing to exchange all the delicacies in the world for that, but was she still willing to make him one? He laughed bitterly. There was no way.

  “Lui, I want to go. The company won’t collapse from just one day of your absence. It’s been a long time since we’ve spent time together. Just this once, okay?” Li Manni hugged Chu Lui’s arm tightly as she looked up at Chu Lui in anticipation. Her gaze resembled her so much it made Chu Lui’s heart waver. In a daze, he placed his hand against Li Manni’s cheek.

  It was like deja vu. There was a woman who pleaded and looked at him like that once, too.

  She still existed, but she was gone.

  “Let’s go.” Chu Lui put on his suit. Li Manni’s hand never left his body, even when he was wearing his clothes. When he put his hand through the sleeve, he had to wait for her to grab on to his other hand before he could put his other hand through the sleeve.

  After paying the bill, Li Manni hugged Chu Lui’s arm again tightly. She wanted to let everyone know that he was her man, her husband, and no one could snatch him away. All those women were desperate and thirsty and looked as if they wanted to eat him up, but when they saw her, they could only shrink back. At times like these, she was extremely gleeful.

  This was all hers. Only hers.

  The last rays of the setting sun illuminated the stream. The water wasn’t completely clear, but it still reflected the light and glittered like the stars. In the distance, a young couple was having their wedding photoshoot. The young and stylish photographer asked the man to kiss the woman. The man kissed her shyly and moved away quickly. Everyone smiled. The groom’s face turned redder.

  A pure and simple love. As time passed, some things were buried in the river of the past, and some moments they once had were forgotten.

  “Lui, look how happy they look.”


  Li Manni held Chu Lui’s arms and laced their fingers together. She was looking earnestly, but Chu Lui was distracted. Li Manni didn’t bother anymore and continued yapping by his ear.

  Chu Lui had a short temper, but Li Manni knew him well enough to know that towards a pregnant woman like her, he needed to be patient. A mother’s honor would increase as her son’s position rose.

  However, she placed her hand on her stomach and bit her lip lightly. The trace of pain made her come to her senses.

  “Lui, let’s go.” She smiled, hiding the coldness behind it. In the distance, the photographer pointed his camera to the sky as clear as a flower and captured the moment with a compatible couple in his shot. The man was tall, handsome, and extremely sophisticated. He was dressed in a fitting suit with a hand in his pocket, his eyes calm and his features prominent. His every movement was filled with maturity and a compelling force.

  As for the woman, she was donned in designer clothes and bathed in a golden aura. Her meticulously set hairdo shone like gold leaves under the setting sun, the reflections making it look like that of linen color. Her skin was beautiful and white, and though her facial features were not to be considered beautiful, the clothing she donned certainly made her look so. It was good photography material.

  He looked at the camera again and zoomed in to the picture. Weird. He looked closely at the picture in question.

  They looked close, but their hearts were apart.

  That was the conclusion he came to after a while.

  Yes, that was it. Both of them had problems. The problems of rich people sometimes surpassed those of the common people, and they might not have as much freedom. They were flaunting their love now, but who knew how many people they were cheating on each other.

  The photographer pressed quickly and deleted the photo in the camera. It wasn’t aesthetic at all. What a waste of a beautiful face.

  When Chu Lui took Li Manni back home, he glanced at the clock. It was time for him to go to work.

  “Where are you going?” Li Manni asked suspiciously. She walked over and blocked Chu Lui’s way. She was about to interrogate him when she caught herself and hugged his waist instead. Her eyes glittered with tears.

  “Liu, stay with me today, okay? Just one day. I’ve never asked you for anything much before. Just this once?”


  Chu Lui clenched his fist, but at last, he loosened his grip. He raised his wrist to look at the time. He had already been away for too long. Any later and he would leave a handful of people waiting for nothing.

  “I have a meeting. You can do a check.”


  He pushed Li Manni away and pulled her hand, leading her to the sofa. Then, he took the blanket from the side, covered her knee, and stuffed the remote control to the television into her hand.

  “I’m going to the office.”


  Li Manni was about to speak, but Chu Lui interrupted her. “I said that you could check up on me. Anytime.” His lips twitched slightly in self-mockery. “Manni, I don’t want to repeat that a third time. Don’t do these things anymore, okay?” His hand rested gently on Li Manni’s cheeks. “I liked the you from the past, when you were simple and innocent. Now, something’s changed.”


  Li Manni gripped the remote control in her hand, not taking in whatever was playing on the television.

  It was until Chu Lui left that she threw the remote on the floor with a loud thud. “Like?” She laughed coldly, so cold her heart ached. “All you felt towards me was ‘like’? I don’t need you to like me. You like the simple me, but I liked the Chu Lui from the past, too. You used to have only me in your eyes, but now, there’s someone else. I can tolerate anyone, but never Xia Ruoxin. Chu Lui, why do you have to force me, why?”


  She questioned why continuously, but no one could give her an answer. At the same time, the woman on the TV was questioning the man. She was hysterical and unreasonable, and everything she did became a joke. Her face was contorted, and her heart was ferocious. Abruptly, Li Manni walked forwards suddenly and turned off the TV.

  She covered her face. Suddenly, almost, she thought she had become the woman on the TV. No matter how much of a fuss she made, the man would leave her in the end, and the woman would be left with a tragic end.

  She placed her hand in front of her chest, the cold making her shiver profusely.

  At that moment, the doorbell rang. The door would open soon.