When I Stopped Acting Spoiled, My Arranged Husband Fell Apart - Chapter 5
Chapter 5
I had always believed I would become the kind of good wife my father described.
Graceful. Capable. Always putting advantage before emotion.
Now I had to admit I wasn’t that woman. At least, I could never be her in my marriage to Zhuo Zhishu.
You couldn’t play dumb when you loved someone.
I stopped pressing Zhuo Zhishu to answer my messages. I no longer interrupted him at all hours or lost my temper with him over trifles.
It was all to make the divorce go more smoothly.
Zhuo Zhishu seemed to notice something was wrong.
The fourth time I refused his offer to buy me jewelry, he locked both arms around me and resorted to shameless pleading.
“There’s a banquet the day after tomorrow. Everyone else will bring a date, so as my wife, you obviously have to come, right?
“Which means buying you some jewelry is absolutely necessary. Right? Right?”
I had no choice but to agree.
At the banquet, Zhuo Zhishu stayed glued to my side.
A young heiress came over to greet him.
“Mr. Zhuo, I hear you’re expanding into AI. I have a cutting-edge project in hand. Would you be interested in discussing it over a drink?”
Her intentions were anything but innocent.
Zhuo Zhishu declined on instinct. “I’m sorry. My wife hasn’t been feeling well, so I need to stay with her. Or perhaps the three of us could talk together?”
The woman’s smile faded.
I had no intention of forcing him to stay with me the way I once would have.
“It’s fine. You two talk,” I said with an easy smile. “I was just about to get some dessert.”
Then I walked away without hesitation.
With his excuse gone, Zhuo Zhishu had no choice but to remain behind and discuss business.
After two little cakes, I found them too sweet. I took a glass of red wine onto the balcony for some air.
“Zhizhi. What a coincidence.”
The familiar voice made me turn.
Fu Xun stood before me in a bespoke white suit, smiling gently.
“Fu Xun? What a surprise. You’re back?”
“I am. I only returned recently and haven’t had a chance to contact you. I didn’t expect to run into you here.”
Until I was twenty, I had assumed I would marry Fu Xun.
His father and mine had worked together for years. Our families were evenly matched and knew each other well, so Fu Xun and I saw each other often.
Then he went abroad for two years after graduation. By the time he returned, Zhuo Zhishu and I were holding our wedding.
He even sent us a wedding gift.
After that, he was constantly traveling to the company’s overseas branches, and we met less and less. It had been almost three years since I last saw him.
“It’s been a long time,” I said.
“People always tell me you’ve changed over the past few years—that you control Mr. Zhuo too much. But you don’t seem so different to me.
“You’re still as gentle as ever. The rumors must have been wrong.”
Fu Xun rested one hand on the railing, tapping it twice with his fingertips.
I joked, “They weren’t rumors.”
“Mm. You do seem livelier.”
His eyes curved with his smile.
I didn’t understand what that look meant.
A gust of wind tossed my hair. As I raised a hand to smooth it back, Fu Xun spoke again.
“Which is why I still like you.”
I was speechless.
“I know your agreement only lasts four years. That’s why I came back this time. Zhizhi, I still want to marry you.”
His expression was sincere, yet something was missing.
Something I had learned only after being with Zhuo Zhishu.
Love.
I shook my head and smiled.
“You don’t like me, Fu Xun.
“You like an obedient, undemanding partner in an arranged marriage. You like the perfect wife someone deliberately trained me to be. But that isn’t me.
“I told you. The rumors were true.”
Fu Xun stared, unable to hide his surprise.
“You really have changed.”
“I have, so you wouldn’t like me.” I raised my glass to him. “But I still hope you’ll congratulate me. I’ve grown a great deal.”
“Then congratulations, Zhizhi.” Fu Xun smiled in acceptance and lifted his glass toward mine.
Before they could touch, however, Zhuo Zhishu snatched my glass away.
“Honey, you shouldn’t drink too much.
“You must be Mr. Fu. I remember you—you sent Zhizhi and me a wedding gift. I’ll drink this on her behalf. Bottoms up for me; whatever you prefer for yourself.”
Zhuo Zhishu drained the wine in one gulp.
Without giving Fu Xun a chance to speak, he continued in a strangely frantic tone.
“Zhizhi and I have something to do, so we’ll excuse ourselves. We can talk another time. When you get married, Zhizhi and I will be sure to send a very generous gift.”
Then he grabbed my hand and dragged me away.
I couldn’t make sense of his furious stride. Trying to fill the silence, I asked, “Did you finish your discussion over there?”
Zhuo Zhishu stopped dead and stared at me.
If anything, he looked even angrier.
A full minute passed before his tightly pressed lips parted.
“Yes, I finished. I finished, I finished, I finished!”
What on earth was wrong with him?
