Reaching their apartment, Shen Peichuan unlocked the door while Sang Yu waited behind him. Just then, her phone vibrated in her pocket. She fished it out and saw that it was Wang Tingxue so she accepted the call.
“Sang Yu, when are you coming back?” Sang Yu had brought some of her belongings over to the dorm, saying she wanted to stay a few days. Now it was nearly ten o’clock but she had yet to return. Worried for her, Wang Tingxue decided to call and ask.
Sang Yu entered the apartment and raised her eyes to look at Shen Peichuan, who was staring at her. Pursing her lips, she whispered, “I’m not going back tonight.”
“Why?” Wang Tingxue did not know that Shen Peichuan was back. She distinctly recalled Sang Yu telling her he had gone outstation recently and was not home much.
“My husband is back.”
“Oh.” Wang Tingxue grinned and replied, “Then I won’t disturb you anymore.”
With that said, she hung up and sat on her bed. Admiration and envy toward Sang Yu shot through her. She hasn’t even graduated yet but she’s already found and married a good man. Not only is he influential in society, but his friends are all really wealthy too. I mean, just a present from one of them costs more than ten thousand!
She sighed loudly. It was pointless to be jealous of others. All she could do was work hard for herself.
Sang Yu ended the call and tucked her phone back into her pocket. Shen Peichuan instantly questioned, “Who was that?”
She walked toward the table and poured a glass of water, she replied, “A friend.”
She drank the water thirstily. Twisting her head around, she spotted Shen Peichuan still standing in the same spot. His gaze was locked on her and she self-consciously reached up to touch it. “Is there something on my face? Why are you staring at me?”
He did not respond.
Mentally shrugging, she turned to the laundry basket and noted it was full of Shen Peichuan’s clothes. Picking the basket up, she placed the dirty laundry in the washing machine. Other people’s husbands would bring their wives a little souvenir when they return from outstation. Mine only brings home his dirty clothes.
She sighed mournfully.
Returning from the washing machine, she saw that Shen Peichuan was still rooted to the spot while gazing at her. She blinked. “Aren’t you going to take a shower? Or should I use the bathroom first?”
Silence greeted her words. A few seconds later, he queried, “The one who called you earlier, was it male or female?”
So that’s what he’s agonizing over.
She deliberately said, “Not all my friends are female, you know. I have some male friends too.”
He stalked closer to her and muttered, “Could you not be so close to your male friends?”
It was obvious he was jealous. Sang Yu bent her head so he could not see her expression. “But it’s not like there are only females in my class. I’m bound to have some interaction with my male classmates. Besides, your workplace is not all males either. You have female coworkers too, don’t you?”
She was right. He did have female colleagues. It was unavoidable that he would have to interact with them due to work. “We’re just colleagues.”
She nodded. “I know. My male classmates and I are only classmates too.”
He had nothing to say to that.
“If you’re not going to shower then I will. I’m tired and I wanna sleep.” With that said, she entered their bedroom and opened the closet to get her clothes.
Shen Peichuan followed her and took the clothes out of her hands. “Wait a moment.”
He tugged her over to the bed and sat down, guiding her to sit in his lap. She did as bid, settling herself comfortably on his legs. “What’s wrong?”
“I have female colleagues but we’re just coworkers. Nothing more,” he explained.
“I believe you,” she answered with a nod.
He held her hand in his and spoke lowly, “We’re not the same. You’re still young and inexperienced. You haven’t seen enough of the world and the people that inhabit it yet. Maybe someday, you’ll meet someone around your age that…”
She jumped to her feet and exclaimed, “You don’t trust me, do you?”
“That’s not true!” He rushed to clarify, “I just want to tell you that at my age, I’ve already seen and been through everything. I won’t stray so easily.”
Biting her lip, her eyes were red-rimmed as she stated, “I might not have experienced as much as you, but that doesn’t make me a promiscuous woman liable to change her mind at any moment!”
His hand flew up to cover her mouth. “Don’t speak such nonsense!”
“But that’s exactly what you’re implying! You feel like you’ve seen so much that you’re able to withstand temptation. But for me? I’m too young, which means I’ll betray you in the future when I’m faced with temptation!”
Shen Peichuan did not deny it. After all, Sang Yu had not even graduated from university yet. Once she actually got a job, she would be surrounded by men her own age and with similar education. It was only natural that he would worry.
He had never thought of it before tonight. But what happened earlier was forcing him to consider this matter carefully.
Like Lin Xinyan had said, Sang Yu was beautiful and young. What if she met another man more suited to her?
“If you don’t trust me then why did you marry me!” Sang Yu’s breath heaved with the force of her anger. “Fine! I’ll go and find a more suitable man right now!”
She spun around and strode for the door. Shen Peichuan was quick to grab hold of her. She struggled furiously while pounding his chest with her fists.
“Why did you marry me when you don’t even trust me? Why?” she screamed herself hoarse as her tears spilled over.
“I was wrong.” He swiped at the tears rolling down her cheeks. “I believe you. I trust you. You’re a wonderful woman.”
Her eyes glistened as she cried out, “You were clearly doubting me!”
His voice was low when he answered, “I wasn’t doubting you. It’s just that I’m not confident in myself.”
She finally stopped struggling and stared at him. “You’re an outstanding man! Why would you have no confidence in yourself?”
He chuckled bitterly. “We have a huge age gap.”
“But you’re not that old.” She held his cheek while she scrutinized his face closely. No matter how she looked at him, she thought he was very handsome. Lifting her head, she pressed a kiss to his jaw. “You’re finally home after so long and the first thing you do is make me angry.”
The couple stared into each other’s eyes for a long moment. “Let’s not get angry anymore, okay? Let’s trust each other from now on.”
Shen Peichuan nodded. His large hand cupped the back of her head as he cradled her against his chest. “It’s my fault this time. I’ll try harder in the future.”
Sang Yu smiled in response. Her eyes were still misty as she rubbed her cheek against his chest. “You’ve been gone for almost a month now…”
