Shi Che arrived home when it was already past twelve. The night was deep, and their villa was in the suburbs, making the surroundings seem exceptionally quiet.
The car had been parked at the doorstep for a while. Shi Che remained seated there, motionless, and the silence inside the car was eerily oppressive.
Old Zhu had taken some liberties this time, so at this moment, with Shi Che making no movement, he did not dare speak recklessly, only held his breath, waiting for Shi Che to make a move.
Shi Che slightly lifted his dark eyes, letting his gaze slowly drift towards the house. The house was shrouded in darkness, with no lights on. His gaze moved upward, landing on the second-floor window of their bedroom, which was equally enveloped in darkness.
Shi Che stared fixedly at that dark window, suddenly curling his lips into a cold smile.
He didn't know how other people's married lives were, but he knew that no wife's husband would be treated like this.
They had been married for so long. No matter what he was doing outside, she never inquired, no matter how late he came home, she never called to ask, or even... left a light on for him.
This place was supposed to be their home, yet to him, it felt more like a hotel? No, perhaps not even that. The times he came back here were fewer than his visits to a hotel.
Unconsciously, Shi Che took out his phone. He carried two phones, one for public use, which had many missed calls, texts, and so on; the other phone only stored two numbers, Ling Chuxia's and their home number. But this phone remained quiet, empty, with nothing on it.
Since he left home last time, it had been fifteen days and eight hours, and she had never made a single call or sent a single text.
Shi Che's hand suddenly tightened around the phone, veins bulging on the back of his hand, and he squinted deeply.
-
Ling Chuxia didn't know why, but she just couldn't sleep tonight, tossing and turning without finding sleep. She had gone to bed at ten, yet now she was still not the least bit sleepy, though usually she'd be deeply asleep within thirty minutes.
Ling Chuxia turned over once more, but no matter how she lay, she felt uncomfortable. Helplessly, she sat up, turned on the lamp by the bed, pulled away the covers, let her feet hit the ground, slipped into her slippers, and decided to go downstairs to make a warm cup of milk, hoping it would help her sleep.
The house was very quiet, and as Ling Chuxia descended one step at a time, she could clearly hear the sound of her slippers on the wooden floor. Ling Chuxia had always been timid, especially scared of being alone in the dark, always feeling that a monster could jump out at any moment to devour her.
However, after three years of marriage, she had transitioned from initial fear to calm composure. Even if she was the only person in this huge house, she no longer felt afraid.