Zhong Yiwuxin replied, “It’s nothing. I saved the address. If I can’t remember it, I’ll just use navigation.”
Zhou Shiyi spoke softly, “Who opens navigation to go home?”
Zhong Yiwuxin didn’t argue. She opened her canvas bag and pulled out a colorful diamond strawberry hair clip, handing it to him directly. “Hold onto this for me.”
“Bought in Jiangcheng?”
“Chencheng gave it to me.”
“…Why would you want a kid’s hair clip?” Zhou Shiyi looked at her. “Want me to buy you one?”
“I take her on the boat every day. Kids want to express their feelings too. Not accepting Chencheng’s gift would only make her unhappy. Besides, she can’t really use any pretty hair clips now,” Zhong Yiwuxin said, still grateful.
Zhou Shiyi examined the delicate strawberry hair clip carefully before pocketing it inside his suit jacket.
Adding it to the cherry hair clip he already had, that made two in total.
“What about my cherry hair clip?”
Zhou Shiyi replied evenly, “It’s inside.”
Even though he knew she didn’t actually use them, he carried them with him.
He turned back to look out the window on his side, while Zhong Yiwuxin occasionally glanced at his profile.
Only when the car entered the villa district did Zhong Yiwuxin take in the scenery on both sides of the road.
Five minutes later, the car stopped in front of a French-style villa.
She was very familiar with that lawn—last time she had sat there for an entire afternoon.
Zhou Shiyi pushed the door open and got out. Zhong Yiwuxin intended to say goodbye, but the man moved quickly and had already closed the car door.
She wondered why the driver hadn’t started the engine when her side door was suddenly pulled open.
Zhou Shiyi raised his chin toward the villa. “We have time. Let’s go inside and take a look.”
This would be where she would live permanently from now on. Zhong Yiwuxin wasn’t upset by the lack of hurry. She got out and followed him inside.
***
After returning to China, Zhou Shiyi spent most of his time in Shanghai, flying around the world the rest of the year. At most, he stayed two months in Beicheng.
He stayed so briefly that he had even forgotten the layout of the rooms on the third floor.
Entering, he gestured for her to look around freely. “Let me know which rooms you want to change. There should be enough time to decorate before the wedding.”
“I’ll be living on the second floor.” He added casually.
Zhong Yiwuxin studied the vintage crystal chandelier hanging three stories high and, a beat late, responded, “I know.”
On the day they registered their marriage, he had stood on the second-floor terrace, asking if she wanted coffee.
What?
Zhou Shiyi took off his suit jacket and draped it over the sofa, rolling up his shirt sleeves as he gestured toward the stairs. “Go upstairs and see if there’s anything else you want to add.”
With that, he sat down and returned a work call.
Zhong Yiwuxin could tell he was deliberately giving her space to get familiar with the place.
She said nothing more and headed upstairs directly. The master bedroom door was tightly shut; she just glanced at it as she passed, then walked toward his study.
She didn’t feel comfortable entering his bedroom uninvited, but the study was different.
The study smelled faintly of cedarwood.
She looked around. The style was completely different from the study they had shared back in Boston. Everything felt unfamiliar.
Back then, his study had been nearly overwhelmed by her belongings.
On the desk beside the computer was a velvet box. Judging by the logo, her first thought was that it contained the family heirloom ring. She wondered if the plain ring inside would match the one she had chosen.
Since rings weren’t a secret after their marriage registration, she opened the box without hesitation.
At the moment she opened it, she paused, surprised.
She had never expected a pair of rings inside—the men’s was a simple plain band, and beside it was a uniquely designed rare diamond ring.
It felt like peeking into someone else’s secret. She didn’t have time to think it over and immediately closed the box.
Zhong Yiwuxin thought back to selecting her diamond ring only an hour earlier. She wondered, if the family had prepared a wedding ring for him, why didn’t he just give it to her directly? Why go through the trouble of commissioning another?
If it wasn’t meant for her, then why was the ring in his study?
Just as she set the velvet box down, footsteps came from the hallway outside.
Zhou Shiyi had been on the phone in the living room. Suddenly remembering the rings he had ordered two years ago were on the study desk, he had taken a quick look before leaving for Jiangcheng but forgot to put them away.
He ended the call briefly and got up to go upstairs.
Zhong Yiwuxin turned around to see the man standing at the doorway.
She pointed at the velvet box. “Sorry, I thought it was your plain band and opened it without permission.”
“It’s fine.” Zhou Shiyi said nothing more. He took a file from the drawer. “Keep looking around.” He took the file and left without lingering.
Zhong Yiwuxin asked directly, “If you already have the diamond ring, why order another?”
Zhou Shiyi replied, “That one’s old. It doesn’t suit me.”
No further explanation. He turned and left the study.
Maybe he didn’t want to use the heirloom ring, feeling it wasn’t truly his since he hadn’t paid for it himself.
That was the only explanation she could think of.
A pile of documents sat on the desk beside the computer. On top were certificates related to the diamond ring and the original contract for its customization, though she didn’t notice them.
She left the study and hurriedly toured the third floor.
Almost time for the meeting, Zhong Yiwuxin went downstairs.
Zhou Shiyi sat with his legs crossed on the sofa, flipping through the files he had taken from the study. Hearing her, he looked up. “Seen everything?”
“Yes. Nothing else to add.”
He knew exactly what style she liked. Bringing her here was out of respect. After all, this was their home after marriage—not just his.
Zhong Yiwuxin grabbed her bag. “You’re busy. I’m heading to the company.”
After the car left the yard, Zhou Shiyi returned upstairs to the study, placing the velvet box beside the computer.
Without looking inside at the diamond ring, he closed the box and put it into the drawer.
Inside the drawer was an opened pack of cigarettes—only two or three had been smoked.
He took one out, placed it between his lips, and suddenly remembered the study had no lighter.
Because he was trying to quit smoking, he had his housekeeper collect all the lighters at home.
He had never smoked before. After returning to China, he started at social events where cigarettes were offered. Thinking no one at home would smell the smoke on him anymore, he began smoking.
One day, feeling it pointless, he tried to quit.
Jì Fánxīng had complained to him more than once, saying quitting smoking was very hard.
For him, it wasn’t so difficult. He hadn’t smoked a single one this month.
But it wasn’t easy. Just a moment ago, he suddenly wanted one.
***
On the way back to the company, Zhong Yiwuxin received a call from her father.
Jiang Jingyuan had heard from his nephew that his daughter was already off leave and would be attending a meeting at the company that afternoon.
“Taking a break, and you’re already rushing back to work?”
Zhong Yiwuxin replied, “It’s boring at home.”
“Your mother just finished filming and won’t take any more jobs in the first half of the year. Aren’t you staying home to keep her company?”
“You should spend more time with her.”
Jiang Jingyuan was self-aware. “She wants to see you the most, then me second.”
Zhong Yiwuxin teased, “If I’m not home, doesn’t that make you number one?”
Jiang Jingyuan laughed, “Then Dad will bask in your glory.”
He reminded her to get off work early. “Your mother and I will wait for you to eat.”
“Aren’t you and Mom going to Beicheng next week?”
“They changed to an afternoon flight.”
He had originally planned to stay longer in Shanghai to take his wife to a private dinner hosted by a friend, but Zhong Zhuohua refused to go, saying she didn’t want to be the center of attention.
Of course, that was just an excuse.
The years of conflict between them couldn’t be resolved just by showing up at a film set once.
“What about Mom? I want to talk to her.”
Jiang Jingyuan said, “She’s taking a nap.”
He had finally persuaded her to rest.
A few minutes earlier, he had reminded his wife of something they had talked about before: “Back then, wanting to see you so much was about using your influence to climb up, not about love.”
He told her not to say such harsh words anymore; they hurt the relationship.
“That’s not anger. It’s the truth,” Zhong Zhuohua said calmly.
He told her to rest well and cool down.
“Go to sleep.” He hugged her, not arguing anymore about who was right or wrong.
While his wife rested in the bedroom, he went out to the terrace to call his daughter. Hearing her voice finally eased him.
His wife was right—without the child, they wouldn’t have split up and gotten back together so many times.
“Our family of three hasn’t eaten together in a long time. Come home early. Oh, your mom wants to see your wedding photos. If they’re on the computer, remember to bring it home.”
The wedding photos were still in fragments.
After hanging up, Zhong Yiwuxin messaged Zhou Shiyi: 【How’s the restoration of the wedding photos going?】
Zhou Shiyi: 【You can ask Níng Quē at the company.】
Zhong Yiwuxin hadn’t expected him to ask Níng Quē for help.
【There are other photos on the computer besides the wedding photos.】
The so-called others were photos of her and Lù Chéng together.
If Níng Quē recovered the files, she would see them too.
Zhou Shiyi: 【I know.】
Before handing the computer to Níng Quē, he surely had considered this.
He added: 【The wedding photos are important to me.】
Zhong Yiwuxin’s eyes lingered on that last sentence as the car stopped below her office building. She then exited the chat.
Returning from a month’s leave, before the meeting started, Níng Quē had arranged a special welcome ceremony for her, met with enthusiastic applause.
Having someone active and capable made everyone happy.
“Kuncheng Project is still stuck at a bottleneck with no progress.”
Ning Quē’s gaze swept toward Zhong Yiwuxin.
She only focused on the projection, showing no reaction to her superior’s look.
Níng Quē had only notified her to attend a meeting—didn’t say it was about Kuncheng Motors.
Reducing energy consumption by 50% in training was no easy task.
Every meeting, the two of them stayed until the end. Today was no different.
“Is your ex-boyfriend Lù Chéng?” Níng Quē asked bluntly.
Zhong Yiwuxin was not surprised. “You saw the photo?”
“Yeah. Only that one was recovered.”
Níng Quē closed her thermos. “Zhou Shiyi definitely recovered that photo on my computer before deleting it, but he didn’t erase it as thoroughly as you did.”
Zhong Yiwuxin thought about how much Zhou Shiyi wanted to recover the wedding photos and fell silent for a moment. Then she said, “Give me the laptop.”
“It’s on my desk. Go get it yourself.”
Níng Quē had no time or energy to deal with it. It was better for Zhong Yiwuxin to take it—who better to solve the problem than the person who created it?
After the meeting, Zhong Yiwuxin took the laptop on her way back.
In her office, she leaned back in her swivel chair and looked around.
She had rushed into the meeting right after putting down her bag and hadn’t paid much attention to the new office.
Someone had left a book on the corner of the desk beside a small pot of greenery.
She picked up the book, and a bookmark slipped halfway out from the title page, revealing two names.
‘Zhou Shiyi’ and ‘Zhong Yi.’
She couldn’t remember when she wrote it.
But when she did, she must have been leaning against his chest.
After a moment’s contemplation, she slid the bookmark back into the book and turned her gaze back to the laptop.
She clearly remembered when the photos were deleted and how long she had practiced headstands that night.
It was a family dinner, all at Grandpa’s house. Her cousins were there too. Someone mentioned Zhou Shiyi.
At that time, no one in the family knew she and Zhou Shiyi had once been a couple, so they spoke without restraint.
“Zhou Shiyi isn’t coming tonight,” Min Ting said after reading the group chat.
Jiang Yanfeng asked, “What is he up to again?”
“No idea.”
Jiang Lao Yeye interjected, “I heard Old Zhou’s introduction this time was pretty suitable.”
Jiang Yanfeng, “Yeah, pretty suitable. He thinks so himself.”
Jiang Lao Yeye, “You all should learn from Zhou Shiyi. If it’s time to get married, then get married!”
“Put the cards down and eat!” Grandma spoke.
They never made Grandma angry, so everyone put down their cards and moved to the dining room. The topic of Zhou Shiyi ended there. It was good that he had found someone suitable.
She never asked her cousin whether they were already in a relationship.
That was one of the few pieces of news about him after their breakup.
For some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to bless him the way she had for Lù Chéng.
***
That night, after returning home, she struggled for a long time but still couldn’t bring herself to delete their wedding photos.
She gave herself a day’s deadline.
On the third night, working late, she knew she couldn’t delay any longer.
After yoga practice, she sat in front of the computer for half an hour and finally shredded all their wedding photos.
She knew the day would come sooner or later, but when she emptied the folder, at that moment, she missed him terribly.
It was already past midnight. She sat in the study for two hours staring at the darkened computer screen.
So even after registering their marriage, she never had the energy to restore the photos.
Coming back to reality, Zhong Yiwuxin sent a message: 【I’ve taken the laptop back from Níng Quē.】
Zhou Shiyi: 【Not restoring it?】
Zhong Yiwuxin: 【I will. Didn’t you say the wedding photos are important to you? I’ll try restoring them myself.】
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