Heavenly Match - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

After I recovered from my illness, I originally wanted to just lie back and enjoy a quiet retirement. Yun Chu, however, couldn’t sit still. He insisted on making up for everything-another wedding ceremony, a honeymoon trip, and even a brand-new ring. After all that tossing and turning, half a year had already passed.

My mother-in-law had returned from yet another trip, bringing back a pile of strange and exotic plants. I spent my time in the yard tilling the soil and planting them.

After a busy afternoon, I pounded my lower back, stood up to wipe away my sweat, and surveyed the garden with satisfaction.

Life was truly peaceful.

The osmanthus tree I planted in the summer was now lush with foliage, filling the entire yard with its fragrance. The sunflowers I had painstakingly maintained were about to bloom. For some reason, the peach tree I bought online was sprouting small white flowers out of season, and the chives were ready to be harvested again…

I cut a few roses to bring inside for a vase. Turning around, I saw Yun Chu leaning silently against the doorway, watching me. When our eyes met, he blinked as if waking from a dream and flashed a smile.

He was wearing a domestic knit sweater, looking soft and comfortable.

I walked over and tucked the flowers into his arms. He caught them instinctively, nearly dropping them.

“Ah, thorns!”

I smiled. “What are you thinking about?”

“You’ve taken such good care of the yard.” He followed me into the house, holding the leaves at a distance. He tried to mimic me by poking the stems into the floral foam, his hands twitching every time he got pricked. “It was just a patch of dirt when we first arrived. Who knew it would become this beautiful?”

“Why the sudden sentimentality?”

He leaned against the glass and opened his arms, gesturing for me to come over. Once I did, he pulled me into his embrace, rubbing his arms against my waist as if making up for something.

“The villa in the north of the city is ready. Suddenly, I’m a bit reluctant to move.”

“Then we won’t move.”

“But the yard over there is bigger than this one,” he coaxed softly behind my head. “We can build a greenhouse, and since it’s by the river, fishing will be very convenient…”

I changed my mind. “Then we’ll move.”

He rubbed his head against my hair playfully. “Teach me how to fish tomorrow.”

“Don’t you have to work?”

“I took some time off. I want to spend more time with you,” he said earnestly. “Two people are better than one. In case you get dragged into the river by a fish, where would I find a second Wifey as good as you?”

Sigh. I hadn’t even done anything, and I’d already become a “good wifey.”

The chef was on leave, so Yun Chu helped me make dumplings.

“These are yours, and these are mine.” Once they were cooked, I plated them into two servings and brought them to the table.

“Cooking really isn’t easy.” He wiped his forehead and sat down. It was only when he reached for his bowl that he noticed his hands were covered in flour. Instinctively, he wiped them on his sleeves, leaving white streaks everywhere, before frantically trying to brush it off in a panic.

“How did this happen? I clearly washed my hands.” He sneezed amidst the flying flour dust, looking a bit disheveled.

“It was on your apron. You didn’t notice when you took it off.” I helped him pat down his clothes. “Go wash up again.”

He came back from the sink and froze. “Where’s my plate of dumplings?”

“I threw them out,” I said, my conscience getting the better of me. “Those were the wild mushroom fillings your mother brought back. They didn’t look right to me.”

“So I spent all that time making them for nothing?”

“Consider it practice.”

He stood there for a moment before resignedly sitting down to share a plate with me.

He seemed to harbor a deep sense of grievance, because that night he was very aggressive, looking for any chance to pounce on me.

I pushed his head away. “Wait until I finish this episode.”

He leaned over to take a look and scoffed. “This is your new Hubby? He’s not as handsome as me.”

“He’s the intellectual type. You’ll get it if you watch a few more episodes.”

“I can’t stand even one look.” He picked up the tablet and tossed it onto the bedsheets.

Fine, then.

Since I couldn’t watch my show in the evening, I had to watch it in the middle of the night.

“Why are you like this? Go to sleep early. Staying up late is bad for you,” he said helplessly.

“I’m watching at triple speed. It’ll be over soon,” I replied perfunctorily. I tucked him in, patted his messy hair, closed his eyes that were reflecting the night light, and turned away.

When the breathing behind me became steady and slow, I exited the video and opened my messages.

Father: I received news today that the core sectors the Yun Group has focused on in recent years are about to face an industry-wide shock. It’s almost unavoidable. They’ve already been notified. You should be careful too.

I reached out and typed: The physical industries they started with are also shrinking. They’ve closed several old factories recently and are facing labor disputes. Yun Chu is planning to move to hide away for a while.

My father was likely scratching his scalp in an all-nighter, as he replied quickly: That’s dangerous. Hurry home.

I paused for a moment, then pulled up the keyboard again to type: Divorce?

A hand reached out from behind me and gripped mine. A warm body enveloped me, and a heavy voice landed right on my neck: “Divorce?”

His grip was a bit too tight. I frowned and turned to look at Yun Chu. His eyes reflected the dim glow of the screen, cold as ice.

“You’re joking, right?” He chuckled low, intimately rubbing his nose against my hair. “Chuchu, speak to me.”

A new message from my father popped up: Evaluate the situation yourself. If it’s not working, you definitely have to pull out. You can’t just hold on and die with them. Don’t worry, Dad can find you someone better. You just focus on being a lady of leisure…

I took a deep breath. “Yun Chu, I believe you can pull through.”

The tablet screen went dark. Without any light, I could no longer see Yun Chu’s expression.

After a long silence, he asked back, his voice devoid of any emotion, “And if I can’t?”

I didn’t change my mind. “I’m sure.”

In the darkness, he stroked my hair, his voice calm and soothing. “Mm, alright.”

“Chuchu, I’ll hold on. Don’t worry.”

I reached out to touch his face, but his eyes were already closed. He caught my hand, brought it to his side, and held it tight.

As my eyes gradually adjusted to the dark, the moonlight traced the silhouette of his body. He looked like a range of rolling mountains, motionless, as if he were being crushed by something heavy.

When I woke up the next morning, the side of the pillow next to me was empty.

Walking out, I saw the butler hauling luggage, preparing to take me to the new house.

“Did Yun Chu head over first?”

He seemed surprised that I didn’t know. “Mr. Yun is away on a business trip. He’s expected back in three months.”

I walked back to the room. There was no note. I checked my phone-no missed calls, and our message history ended at yesterday’s meaningless exchange of blowing kisses when I asked him to bring home soy sauce.

I stood there for a moment, then walked out and told the butler, “I’m not going anymore.”

He had been silent last night, but in the end, he was still angry.

But what could I do?

I might as well go traveling.

He was very angry. By the time he called me again, a month had passed, and I was dancing with a group of seniors under the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda.

“…Have you… played enough…”

“Huh? What did you say?” I shouted, plugging my other ear. “I can’t hear you!”

He hung up. My dance partner was calling me again, so I gave the phone a helpless look and tossed it back into my bag.

Another month passed before he called again. I was surfing in Sanya.

His businesslike tone pulled me from the waves back to the city. “I’m home early.”

I walked into the shade of a thatched pavilion. “Okay.”

He paused. I could almost see the way he was pursing his lips. Suddenly, he said, “There are still a lot of clothes in your closet that you haven’t taken.”

“I couldn’t possibly carry that many. Besides, they aren’t for this season.”

He paused again, his tone softening significantly, though he sounded a bit awkward. “The season is about to change. What are you going to wear?”

“I can buy things anywhere.”

He hung up. No manners at all.

When he called a month later, I was admiring the snow and eating barbecue at Changbai Mountain.

Dance music was blasting in the courtyard of the guesthouse, and a bonfire was roaring. The noise was deafening. I rubbed my ears and headed back to my room with my skewers.

Yun Chu’s background was very quiet. His voice was cold, devoid of any emotion.

“Where’s the divorce agreement?”

I stopped, leaning against the door. “Are we getting a divorce?”

“Yes,” he said curtly.

I opened my mouth to speak.

He suddenly started yelling, “Divorce! You said it, so we’re doing it! What do you take me for? Are you even human? *Urgh…*”

“Are you okay? Why are you throwing up…”

There was a heavy echo; he seemed to be in a bathroom. After he finished vomiting, his voice was extremely raspy. “I can still drink. I can save the group… but it’s not for you anymore, Yue Chu.”

“You don’t have to do it for me,” I said softly.

“Right, I… I’m doing it for my Wifey.” As he spoke, he started cursing again. “It’s true that if you don’t work hard to make money, your wife will run away… It’s actually true. Yue Chu, you have no conscience. You’ll regret this…”

I moved the phone away. I could hear him sniffing, starting to cry in a incoherent mess. “How could you do this to me? How could you… leave me just because of this? You can’t leave me. Come back… I miss you so much, Chuchu…”

I slowly sat down on the edge of the bed.

“Yun Chu, I miss you too.”

Silence on the other end.

I didn’t know if he had passed out or not, so I continued, “I retraced the route of our honeymoon. I didn’t feel much the last time we came, but this time, I realized I was thinking about you every second. I kept thinking about how lively it would be if you were by my side…”

Holding hands and jumping around aimlessly in the square, crashing into each other while surfing, getting IV drips together in Chaoshan, sharing oxygen tanks on the plateau, kissing by a bonfire and getting burned…

“Yun Chu, I love you,” I said calmly. “But I needed to think clearly about just how much I love you. If you really went bankrupt, if all your companies went under and you didn’t have a penny left, if you were in debt, living on the streets, and had your legs broken by enemies-would I still be willing to stay with you?”

He seemed to still be there. His breathing was ragged. He wanted to say something, but I interrupted him.

“Just now, I suddenly understood.”

To be precise, it was when he said he missed me. I looked out at the courtyard. Frost flowers had formed on the glass windows, and all sorts of people were gathered around the bonfire, singing and dancing.

“Life has ten thousand different paths. Life and feelings can always continue. We could start from scratch, find jobs, or I could become a food blogger while you do mukbangs. Or we could rent out the vacant villas and use the extra sports cars to do ride-sharing…”

“No matter what kind of life it is-for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health-I want to be with you.” I took a deep breath, my voice trembling slightly. “I’m sorry, Yun Chu. I might be a little late… are you still willing?”

Sobs came before words. Yun Chu was already weeping uncontrollably. “I am…”

“I will always be willing.”

(The End)