The bright red lipstick mark on Cheng Jun’s hoodie was very eye-catching, making Ruan Jiujiu feel somewhat embarrassed.
She vigorously tried to wipe it off with a tissue, but no matter how hard she rubbed, it wouldn’t come off. Instead, it smudged into a big pink stain.
Ruan Jiujiu: “… Let’s leave it at that.”
Cheng Jun didn’t mind walking around with a smudge of pink on his hoodie. He carried the bag of stiffened pastries, chilled by the cold wind, and they went back home.
In the end, they didn’t eat out. Fortunately, there was leftover curry sauce in the kitchen’s refrigerator. Ruan Jiujiu cooked up a pot of rice, generously spooning extra sauce onto Cheng Jun’s plate to compensate for her lipstick mark embarrassment.
Cheng Jun ate slowly, and Ruan Jiujiu couldn’t help but feel that, perhaps, it was her imagination, but Cheng Jun seemed even quieter than usual.
Ruan Jiujiu hesitated to speak and, in the end, didn’t say anything at all.
After dinner, she sat on the couch watching TV and randomly switched to a channel. Surprisingly, they were replaying “The Legend of White Snake.”
Since there wasn’t anything else to watch, Ruan Jiujiu watched while peeling a banana.
The TV show depicted the separation of Bai Niangzi and Xu Xian as she was about to be imprisoned beneath the Thunder Peak Pagoda. Their separation was heart-wrenching as both human and demon cried, trying to hold onto each other but were helpless.
Old dramas had a way of being moving, and even though she knew what would happen next, Ruan Jiujiu watched with teary eyes, dabbing away her tears with a tissue.
Cheng Jun, passing by, saw this scene.
Ruan Jiujiu was sitting on the couch, emotionally moved by the tragic love story on TV, and the separation of the human and demon lovers.
“…”
Suddenly, he walked over and turned off the TV.
Ruan Jiujiu, who was engrossed in the show, was taken aback when the TV abruptly went black, leaving her puzzled.
She asked with red-rimmed eyes, “What’s wrong with you? Why did you turn off my TV?”
Cheng Jun stared at her in silence, not uttering a word.
Ruan Jiujiu: “?”
Under her perplexed gaze, Cheng Jun slowly walked up to her, crouched down, and looked into her eyes.
“I haven’t asked you yet, what did you wish for at the temple?”
Ruan Jiujiu had tensed up, thinking Cheng Jun was going to bring up something important. She had been waiting for his words, but she didn’t expect it to be about this trivial matter.
Somewhat bemused, she said, “I thought it was something serious. I just wished for your good health and well-being, and for everyone to be happy.”
“Do wishes made at the temple always come true?”
“I think they definitely will.”
They would all lead peaceful and happy lives.
“Do you know what wish I made?”
Cheng Jun asked.
“Huh? What wish?”
Ruan Jiujiu suddenly realized and said with a flash of understanding, “You didn’t wish for me to cook a lavish feast for you, did you?”
This man! He kept circling back to food!
Cheng Jun shook his head. “No.”
“Then what was it?”
Cheng Jun looked at her and said, “My wish was that you would never leave me.”
“…”
“…”
The room suddenly fell into a silence as deep as death.
Ruan Jiujiu stared at Cheng Jun in a daze. He was sitting alone on the floor, like a large dog about to be abandoned. He didn’t dare to get too close to Ruan Jiujiu, afraid of scaring her away. Even his words, spoken without thinking, were followed by lowered eyelids.
After a while, Ruan Jiujiu sighed softly.
With her elbow resting on her knee, she hunched forward, reducing the distance between herself and Cheng Jun.
Speaking softly, she asked, “Why do you think I would leave you?”
“Because…”
Because he knew she wasn’t the same “Ruan Jiujiu” anymore.
Going back to when Cheng Jun printed the divorce agreement and returned home, the moment he pushed the door open and saw Ruan Jiujiu, he knew that this woman was no longer the previous “Ruan Jiujiu.”
In terms of language, demeanor, actions—everything was vastly different, as if she were a stranger wearing the face of his wife.
After ruling out the possibilities of a split personality or identity swap, Cheng Jun was left with the conclusion that there was no scientific explanation for the person living with him.
Cheng Jun never cared about others; he didn’t even care about himself. Whether the person cohabiting with him was a human or a ghost, there was no difference to him.
Moreover, Ruan Jiujiu was an excellent cook.
He had never shown any difference in his attitude towards Ruan Jiujiu, whether she was the old her or the new her.
Initially, it was out of indifference, and later, it was because he couldn’t afford to reveal any change, fearing that Ruan Jiujiu would notice that he had discovered she wasn’t his original wife.
In legends and stories, once someone discovered the true identity of a supernatural being, that being would vanish without a trace. They would leave behind something symbolic, like endless rice from the snail lady or a piece of clothing from the grateful crane.
Regarding Ruan Jiujiu’s origins, Cheng Jun had no clue.
If he were to reveal that he knew from the beginning that Ruan Jiujiu was a ghost, a monster, or some kind of unexplainable entity, what if, just like in the legends, Ruan Jiujiu disappeared from the human world, leaving no trace?
Perhaps Ruan Jiujiu wouldn’t leave, but he couldn’t bear the possibility of any other outcome.
Ever since they entered the temple, he had been afraid that Ruan Jiujiu might suddenly disappear, especially when the fortune teller mentioned exorcism.
Ruan Jiujiu didn’t take it seriously, but Cheng Jun was genuinely upset.
If it weren’t for these mysterious and unfounded fears, he would have continued to act as if he didn’t know.
“Because… I always make you angry.”
He swallowed the words he was about to blurt out.
For a moment, Ruan Jiujiu almost thought Cheng Jun was going to say something earth-shattering.
She had relaxed her tense nerves slightly and let out a sigh. “You still remember that I often get angry with you? Well, it’s a good thing I’ve gotten used to it.”
Occasionally, she even found Cheng Jun’s behavior rather endearing.
Ruan Jiujiu thought that maybe she was going crazy.
Ruan Jiujiu was someone who preferred gentle persuasion over force. Seeing Cheng Jun’s forlorn and dejected look, her heart softened considerably.
She playfully ruffled Cheng Jun’s hair as if she were coaxing him and said, “I won’t leave you.”
Cheng Jun asked, “Are you sure?”
Ruan Jiujiu replied, “Absolutely not lying to you.”
With this assurance from Ruan Jiujiu, this little episode came to an end.
Since the time she told Cheng Jun that she wanted to give their relationship a try, she gradually stopped thinking about leaving Cheng Jun.
It was quite strange when you thought about it, but in the past half-year, she had become accustomed to living in this world and had developed an intimate relationship.
So much had happened in the past year.
Even Ruan Jiujiu couldn’t predict how the future would unfold.
The next day, when Cheng Jun went to work, everything returned to normal.
As slow and languid as ever, as straight and stubborn as a typical man, making Ruan Jiujiu want to knock some sense into him.
“Don’t steal my mushrooms! You still have a whole portion for yourself!”
Cheng Jun shrugged, unapologetic. “Yours taste better.”
Ruan Jiujiu: “?”
They were all cooked in the same pot, so how could they be treated differently?
Ruan Jiujiu seriously suspected that Cheng Jun was just making excuses to eat more. As it turned out, she was right. When Ruan Jiujiu wasn’t paying attention, Cheng Jun picked up her chicken cutlet.
Ruan Jiujiu: “This is my chicken cutlet, put it down.”
Cheng Jun: “Just one bite.”
Ruan Jiujiu hesitated for a moment. “Okay, but take a small one. What are you doing?”
Under her stunned gaze, Cheng Jun opened his mouth and, astonishingly, stuffed a large piece of the chicken cutlet in, without leaving even a crumb.
Ruan Jiujiu, exasperated, pressed down on Cheng Jun’s face. “Spit it out!”
Cheng Jun’s cheeks were bulging as he chewed, and despite Ruan Jiujiu’s anger, he refused to open his mouth and forcibly swallowed it.
Ruan Jiujiu slumped into her chair, deflated. She felt truly foolish.
She knew Cheng Jun had a good appetite, but she didn’t expect him to take such a huge bite.
Cheng Jun picked the mushrooms from his own bowl and put them in Ruan Jiujiu’s bowl. “Compensation.”
Ruan Jiujiu chuckled sarcastically. “Do you think I’m that stupid?”
Cheng Jun nearly blurted out “yes.”
It took a knock on the head to make him quiet.
Ruan Jiujiu couldn’t believe she had agreed to have lunch with Cheng Jun and even work with him occasionally. After lunch, she was still fuming over half of her meal being eaten. When she turned back again, she found that Cheng Jun had fallen asleep.
He was sitting in the chair with his head resting against the armrest. Even in his sleep, he had a furrowed brow and looked quite serious.
His mouth moved, and Ruan Jiujiu couldn’t hear clearly.
“Don’t…”
Ruan Jiujiu moved closer until she could almost count how many eyelashes he had.
Just as she was distracted, his tightly closed eyes suddenly opened, and in his dark irises, he could see Ruan Jiujiu’s almost approaching face.
Cheng Jun: “You…”
She awkwardly waved her hand. “I just wanted to call you…” She was about to finish her sentence but was interrupted by Cheng Jun.
“You’re not trying to steal a kiss from me, are you?”
Ruan Jiujiu blushed deeply. “You wish!”
They had shared a few kisses, but it didn’t mean Ruan Jiujiu considered it a daily occurrence.
Suddenly lifted by Cheng Jun, scenes of him kissing her flooded Ruan Jiujiu’s mind, along with that wet rainy night when their lips interlocked passionately. She shook her head to dispel the daydreams.
No, they were all wrong; Cheng Jun was asexual.
Ruan Jiujiu silently brainwashed herself.
From the moment Cheng Jun snatched her food, Ruan Jiujiu resolutely and without hesitation returned to her office to work.
Even at a time like this when she didn’t leave Cheng Jun with any food, Ruan Jiujiu truly appreciated her own kindness.
*Knock, knock, knock*
The door was knocked a few times, and Mr. Meng walked in, moving a chair to chat with Ruan Jiujiu.
As soon as Mr. Meng mentioned that the flowers outside the company were blooming, Ruan Jiujiu remembered the visit to the temple and casually mentioned a few words about it.
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