Chapter 5.

Under Chen Yuzhou’s icy, suffocating glare, Xu Chen finally turned his face away in humiliation.

Chen Yuzhou gripped my hand tight and pulled me out of the club without saying another word.

Sitting in the passenger seat, I timidly buckled my seatbelt. His face was completely expressionless, but the speed of the car was fast enough to send my heart racing with every beat.

Several times I parted my lips to speak, but the dark, brooding storm on his face scared me into silence.

Late into the night, Chen Yuzhou pulled me into his arms. Even in his foul mood, he didn’t forget to tuck the blanket snugly around me, terrified I might catch a chill.

I rubbed my tired eyes, my voice thick and nasal from sleep. “Hubby, I want to tell you about tonight…”

He pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead, his voice low and steady. “It’s okay. Go to sleep.”

Listening to the steady, rhythmic beat of his heart against my ear, I drifted off to sleep in no time. Whatever it was, it could wait until tomorrow…

—

That night, I dreamed of a stranger chasing me. Terror seized me, making me bolt upright with my heart hammering in my chest. Instinctively, I reached out to the space beside me… only to touch a cold, empty mattress.

Chen Yuzhou had been out of bed for a long time. Panic washing over me, I threw on my slippers and hurried to look for him.

I found him in the home theater. He was sitting on the carpet with his knees pulled up to his chest, looking like a quiet, abandoned child. When he looked up and saw me, a flash of shame flared in his eyes, mixed with a pitiful vulnerability.

“Can’t sleep?”

Chen Yuzhou raised his head, his voice raspy. “Yeah.”

“Why didn’t you turn the sound on?”

“I was afraid of waking you.”

I grabbed his hands—hands that were usually so warm, but now felt ice-cold, and felt my heart wrench painfully.

“Next time you have insomnia, wake me up, okay? I’ll stay with you.”

He nodded obediently. “Okay… Anything Tangtang wants, I’ll agree to.”

Then he wrapped his arms around me tightly, his shoulders trembling softly.

“Is there something you want to tell me?”

We leaned against each other in the dark. After a long silence, I heard his trembling voice cut through the quiet.

“Tangtang, I’m sorry… I know there’s nothing between you and Xu Chen, but I couldn’t control my temper. I’m so petty… I can’t even stand seeing you stand next to another man. I used to think as long as you were willing to be with me, it would be enough. But now… I’ve grown greedy. I want you entirely for myself. I’m scared this toxic, twisted love of mine will terrify you.”

His voice grew quieter until it caught in his throat. A hot tear spilled onto my shoulder, burning my skin and tearing my heart apart.

This man, so deeply solitary and sensitive, handled me like the most delicate glass, refusing to throw a single word of blame at me even when he was in agony.

I pulled back from his embrace and gently wiped away the tears from his face.

“Tangtang, don’t ever leave me… okay?”

In all my memories of him, he had never cried, not even when his father beat and cursed him. Yet here he was, shedding tears simply out of fear of losing me.

Without a second thought, I leaned in and kissed his lips. Chen Yuzhou froze for a split second before responding fiercely, pulling me deep into the kiss.

When we finally broke apart, I toyed with his hair, my voice soft and tender. “Chen Yuzhou, you don’t ever have to walk on eggshells around me. Whether you’re happy or sad, you can share it all with me. From the day I decided to marry you, I chose to spend the rest of my life with you. No matter how many times you ask, my answer will always be the same… I love you, and I will always stay by your side.”

Tears spilled from his eyes again, but this time, they were born of pure bliss.

“Tangtang, remember what you just said. Never lie to me… otherwise, I really will go insane.”

I didn’t know who initiated the next kiss, but soon we were tangled up in each other, melting into a night overflowing with raw passion. After showering and climbing back into bed, he kept kissing me passionately, whispering against my lips:

“Tangtang, do you love me?”

I smiled softly. “Chen Yuzhou, I love you.”

—

Time flew by, and before we knew it, we had been married for over six months.

Lately, I had been feeling frequent waves of nausea, so Chen Yuzhou immediately rushed me to the clinic.

Holding the test results, the doctor smiled warmly. “Congratulations. You’re more than four weeks pregnant. The baby is developing healthily.”

Chen Yuzhou and I looked at each other, the sheer joy in his eyes overflowing.

Becoming a father for the first time, he became meticulously cautious: hiring help, learning to cook specialized meals himself, and working from home most of the time just to take care of me.

My morning sickness was so severe that he lost weight even faster than I did.

He was, without a doubt, the perfect husband.

“Darling, do you want a boy or a girl?”

He offered a gentle smile. “Boy or girl, I love them either way.”

Yet when we went shopping for baby clothes, I noticed he picked out quite a few little baby dresses. I made a move to put some back, but he insisted on keeping them. “It’s fine. Even if the baby can’t wear them… we can keep them as keepsakes.”

A few months later, our little princess was born. The moment he met our daughter, Chen Yuzhou’s eyes flushed red, his voice trembling violently. “Tangtang, thank you… You went through so much for us.”

He named her Chen Zhuangyu, saying she was bound to look more like me.

—

Many years later, I leaned back in his arms and asked, “Why did you fall for me back then?”

He smirked playfully. “Because you were pretty.”

I lightly swatted his shoulder. “Be serious.”

He kissed my forehead, his voice dropping into a warm, low tone. “My mother died when I was eight. She found out my father was having an affair and got into an accident. I used to hate my father, hated my whole life. All I did was get into fights and skip school. Until you showed up… For the first time in my life, I found a girl who made me want to change… a girl I wanted to protect for the rest of my life.”

I let out a soft, contented sigh. “I’m sure your mother is looking down from heaven, seeing that you’re married and have a little princess, feeling so happy for you.”

He pulled me tighter against his chest. “Yeah… Tangtang, thank you for coming into my life. Thank you for choosing me.”

I smiled, nestling my head into the crook of his shoulder. “Chen Yuzhou, I’m the one who should be thanking you… for loving me this much.”

We sat in the glow of the evening sunset, wrapped tightly in each other’s arms, feeling the world around us… stay impossibly warm and bright.

THE END