Chapter 23

Lin Jinshen clenched his jaw, fingers burning as if seared, awkwardly handing it to Lu Yi and very deliberately avoiding her gaze.
Lu Yi took it in silence, flushed to the tips of her ears, crimson as spilled wine.
It was one hundred percent Lin Jinshen’s fault: he was the one who wouldn’t let go of her lips, yanked at it a few times and didn’t stop, held her hands above her head, so that’s probably when it got stuffed under the pillow.
Better damaged than missing, at least.
Just like right now, Lin Jinshen’s was right there, two steps from the door.
Lu Yi hid under the blanket, dressing slow as a sloth. Luckily, her slip dress was on her side of the bed. Unluckily, the strap on one side had also snapped, so when she put it on, she had to hold the neckline up with one hand or it would fall right off.
“I’ll shower first.”
Lu Yi grabbed some clothes from the walk-in closet. She walked stiffly past, and on the way her eyes caught on a pair of black men’s underwear. She snapped her gaze away, face straight ahead, not daring to look back until she was safely locked in the bathroom.
She set down her clothes, braced one hand on the sink and covered her face with the other, a splitting headache that was both bodily and existential.
Between the hangover and the craziness, Lu Yi felt like she’d been up all night.
Thank god she’d requested personal leave for Monday ahead of time, knowing she’d have to drink last night, otherwise she’d be explaining to her boss why she was still in bed at noon.
After wallowing in regret for a while, Lu Yi shrugged off the slip dress and brushed her teeth. One glance up and the mirror showed her: bruises everywhere, outrageous, if she didn’t remember last night, she’d think she got mugged. Even her waist was marked with finger-shaped purple blotches, faded from angry red.
Not because Lin Jinshen had grabbed her on purpose.
After she pushed him over, she’d run out of energy. He’d had to hold her up, both of them swept out on that wild tide.
“…”
She desperately wanted to delete the whole memory of last night.
Eventually, after dragging it out forever in the bathroom, she emerged, only to find Lin Jinshen fully dressed, crisp shirt tucked neat into suit trousers, looking all cold composure, as if last night’s chaos belonged to someone else.
She didn’t dare look long. Head down, she hurried downstairs.
Aunt Fang was already here, hadn’t seen anyone when she came in, so she busied herself cleaning as usual and made Puff’s cat food on schedule. Puff was a little piglet in a cat body, eating everything happily, never aggressive, so Aunt Fang rewarded her with head scratches as she watched her eat.
Hearing footsteps from upstairs, Aunt Fang looked up, startled to see Lu Yi: “Didn’t see you this morning. I thought you’d already headed to work.”
“No, I called in sick for a day. Not feeling well.”
“Too much to drink, huh? I’ll make you some porridge in a bit, settle your stomach.” Aunt Fang went on, “I came early today to tidy up, but turns out it’s all done already. Next time just leave it. I’ll handle it.”
Aunt Fang didn’t work for just this one family. With twenty years’ experience, she’d seen everything. This was her cushiest gig, decent money, easy chores, nobody messing with her pay, she was happy to go the extra mile.
“It’s fine, just tossed the trash. The others were on their way out, so they did it.”
Lu Yi poured herself some water, gulped two glasses before her dry, scratchy throat started to feel better. She sipped the third slowly.
Aunt Fang stood up, asked, “When I came in, I saw Mr. Lin’s clothes. Did he come back, too?”
“...Yeah.” She almost forgot, they’d started last night on the ground floor.
“I saw his shirt and tie scattered all over. Gave me a fright, I was worried something had happened. Don’t worry, I cleaned up. I’ll have them laundered for you.”
Lu Yi felt guilty, didn’t know how to respond. She took a sip of water, then composed herself: “It was Puff. She dragged the clothes down from upstairs.”
Hearing her name, Puff paused mid-bite and looked back at Lu Yi: “Meow meow?”
Lu Yi felt even more guilty, making a mental note to give her an extra freeze-dried chicken fillet later.
Aunt Fang glanced at the cat, surprised, “Well, that’s strange, Puff usually avoids upstairs.”
Because upstairs smelled like Lin Jinshen.
“Maybe there were too many people yesterday. She got spooked upstairs, then played fetch with the clothes.” Lu Yi tapped an anxious rhythm on her glass, trying to look calm as she changed the subject: “What’s for lunch today?”
“Up to you. Everything’s fresh from the market.”
As they spoke, the bedroom door opened again upstairs.
Lin Jinshen came down.
Lu Yi clung to her cup, immediately turning away, out of sight, out of mind. She pretended she was just enjoying her water.
“Good morning, Mr. Lin,” Aunt Fang greeted with a sunny smile.
Lin Jinshen nodded politely, “Aunt Fang.”
“Madam and I were just deciding what to eat for lunch. What would you like, Mr. Lin?”
“I’m good. Don’t mind me, I’ll eat at the office.” Lin Jinshen came downstairs in a few strides, fastened his suit jacket, and headed to change his shoes by the door.
Aunt Fang looked from one to the other. Something was seriously off. They hadn’t exchanged a single look, let alone a word. Remembering the clothes from last night, she wondered if Mr. Lin had come home, there’d been a misunderstanding, and now they’d had a fight?
Sounded more likely than Puff dragging clothes, frankly.
“Mr. Lin, is your cold better?” Aunt Fang raised her voice just enough for Lu Yi to hear, hoping maybe a little concern would thaw things out. “Better watch your health.”
Lin Jinshen’s tone was even: “I’m fine now.”
Aunt Fang almost groaned. Of all the times for a quick recovery, why now? She could only add, “But still, take care. You’re still recovering. Rest when you can.”
No response. He just finished changing his shoes and acted like he couldn’t hear their conversation at all.
“All right, don’t let us keep you.” Lin Jinshen straightened, glanced quickly at the figure standing at the kitchen island, back straight as a board, and silently pushed open the door.
With a bang, it shut behind him.
Aunt Fang stood there, heart heavy. Her gut told her this wasn’t just a spat, it was bad.
Lu Yi’s cup had been empty for ages. If Lin Jinshen hadn’t left, she’d just stand there forever clinging to it. She quietly exhaled, went over to scoop up Puff, and snuggled her little pig-cat in relief.
Aunt Fang hesitated, then cautiously asked, “Xiao Yi, did you two have a fight?”
“Nope.”
Lu Yi grabbed some freeze-dried chicken breast and set it out as a snack for Puff.
The air had been so weird just now, Aunt Fang didn’t believe it. She tried to reassure her, “Even if you did argue, it’s normal! Every couple has some friction, that’s what marriage is. And you two just got married! Trust me, there’s still plenty of friction ahead.”
Lu Yi realized Aunt Fang was dead serious.
She thought, It wasn’t a fight. It was a full-on brawl. An absolutely catastrophic mess. Last night will go down in history for both of us, as the night we lost every ounce of dignity.
All Lu Yi could do was play along, nodding with an easy smile and saying it was nothing really.
Turns out Aunt Fang wasn’t the only one who assumed they'd fought. Her friends from last night’s dinner were asking too, especially Yu Yin, who blew up the group chat and then started DMing her.
Yu Yin: [You two okay?]
8 a.m.
[Did Boss Lin survive the night or what?]
[Girl, you were savage last night, I didn't even have time to cover your mouth.]
[Was that just the liquor talking or what?]
10 a.m.
[Still not awake? Things go down that... passionately?]
[Did Lin Jinshen go full beast mode on you?]
11 a.m.
[If you don’t reply, I’m calling the cops!]
[And an ambulance!]
"..."
Lu Yi finally replied, assuring her she was alive and neither police nor EMTs were necessary.
Yu Yin: [Need a divorce lawyer then?]
Cut to the chase, straight to the split. If there’s a divorce, Yu Yin would buy fireworks to celebrate!
Honestly, Lu Yi had thought about the D-word herself before.
But she’d only heard of couples splitting up over a dead bedroom, never because things were too good in bed.
After she relayed the whole messy saga, Yu Yin was cackling so hard she could barely breathe. “You two sound like you hooked up drunk, woke up the next morning, and had to seriously consider whether to leave some cash behind as a thank-you for services rendered.”
"..."
Lu Yi’s brain short-circuited for a second. “Pretty sure I didn’t pay him…”
Yu Yin nearly passed out laughing. “If you had,” she managed to gasp, “and I were Lin Jinshen, I’d show you what ‘can’t get out of bed’ really means.”
Lu Yi choked, completely at a loss.
Her headache only got worse from the laughter thundering in her ears.
Too bored to stay home, which led to way too much overthinking, Lu Yi decided to go into the office. Her team just finished a big project and had nothing new assigned yet, so things were slow, and PTO was easy to come by.
People rarely showed up at work after taking half a day off, but she did anyway.
She knocked on her boss’s door, Li Wei, an OG partner since the company’s founding, near forty now, divorced, raising a kid solo, and dating guys younger and younger with every new boyfriend.
Li Wei looked as relaxed and youthful as a college kid.
“Aren’t you supposed to be off today? What are you doing here?” Li Wei set down her paperwork and smiled.
Lu Yi stepped in. “Boss Li, I’m hoping for a business trip. Any out-of-office projects need staff? I’ve got nothing on my plate and I’m ready for anything.”
Li Wei gave a low chuckle. “In all my years working, never saw anyone beg to go on a business trip before.”
“Is it possible?”
“You just finished two assignments back-to-back. Not tired? And we’ve got no new projects on the horizon, every other team’s caught up. Where am I supposed to conjure up a business trip for you?”
She folded her arms, eyeing her with pointed curiosity. “Are you hiding from debt collectors? Emotional or financial?”
Lu Yi stopped breathing for a second.
Li Wei saw right through her. “So… emotional, then?”
“If it’s love trouble, all I’ll say is, don’t bother running. Sooner or later, you’ll have to face it.”
Lu Yi left her office, glum. No chance at a work escape. Would it be too obvious if she just took a vacation? The struggle was real. To her immense relief, good news came from the Lin Jinshen front: he didn’t come home that night.
Jiang Xun reported Lin Jinshen was “busy with work, making up for lost time after being sick.”
The next night, same story.
And the night after that.
A whole week passed, Lin Jinshen stayed at a hotel the entire time.
Lu Yi tamped down her glee, doing her best to sound regretful: “Oh, it’s fine, work is important. Tell Boss Lin not to burn himself out.”
“And you too, ma’am. Take care, physical and mental health both matter.”
After Jiang Xun checked in, he headed off to handle the boss’s meals and daily routine. Lately, the boss was all business: work late, sleep at the hotel, back to his pre-marriage grind.
But that was exactly the issue.
Not so long ago, Lin Jinshen would at least squeeze in a trip home. Now, he didn’t even mention it.
Jiang Xun had every reason to believe something was off between the “happy couple,” and since he’d pledged his fealty to Lu Yi, he decided to brief Madam Qin, hoping she’d intervene and drag the boss back home more often.
Madam Qin showed up at the hotel that very day.
She checked the whole suite first, making sure nobody else had been staying there. Then she shook herself and set the fever meds on the table. “How’s your cold?” she asked.
Lin Jinshen’s tone was steady as ever: “If you’d come earlier, maybe I’d have needed those pills.”
Madam Qin was far less collected than him. Squaring off against his unreadable, bottomless gaze, she spoke her piece.
“You’ve got a home but you’re holed up in a hotel. Is this really appropriate?”
“Or… did you two have a falling out?”
“Did you make Xiao Yi cry?”
Lin Jinshen: “…”
At last, a crack showed in his impassive mask, his fingers curling, rapping the pearwood tabletop with ill-concealed impatience.
Well, if you wanted to get technical, yes: he made her cry. More than once.
Madam Qin read him loud and clear despite his silence, her voice trembling with fury. “You’re going to apologize to Xiao Yi right this second!”
“...She might not accept it.”
“Then apologize harder! That’s not an excuse to give up. Girls don’t just get over things on their own. Xiao Yi is a wonderful girl, how could you be such a jackass to hurt her like this?”
"…"
Draped in dark patterned pajamas under the lamplight, Lin Jinshen sat in silence, massive and unmoving, like a mountain casting a shadow that wouldn’t budge.
Madam Qin, fuming, pressed her fingers to her temples and insisted she was coming too. If her son turned out this way, she shared the blame for not raising him right.
In the end, she shot Lin Jinshen a glare sharp enough to cut: “Can you promise you won’t ever make Xiao Yi cry again?”
Lin Jinshen: “…”
He was silent a moment, then replied in a low, steady voice, “I can’t promise that.”