Four Years Ago, Her Husband Cheated on Her Body - Chapter 31

“Ah…”

—So I used to have that kind of wish.

Before coming to the real world, in Jia Qiao’s cognitive system, “being killed” was a part of successfully completing a mission.

It meant clocking out, graduating, and finishing one’s duty.

As the final boss of an infinite dungeon world, the world never seemed to set a second ending for him.

If he couldn’t be finished off, Jia Qiao would have to stay at that fixed respawn point eternally, dully, and endlessly.

It was too boring.

So, every day, he looked forward to someone killing him quickly.

Later, for some unknown reason, Jia Qiao came to this “real world” and became an ordinary person with a very weak constitution.

Even though Jia Qiao was somewhat naive, he knew that his former mode of survival went against the common sense of this world, so he never spoke a word of it.

He never expected that Zhu Nanyu had actually seen him.

And… well… as an opponent, he was weak as hell, getting taken out in thirty seconds.

Jia Qiao suddenly felt a delayed sense of nervousness. He subconsciously pursed his lips, trying hard to recall that process.

He didn’t have the habit of sadistically killing his opponents; he always used the neatest methods that caused the least pain. The death experience should have been… acceptable, right?

If he had known earlier, he should have asked the players he killed back then: are you satisfied with the way you died?

Wait, wait.

After all these years, Jia Qiao, whose head was relatively not that bright, finally realized:

The way Zhu Nanyu confessed so frivolously and requested to spend the rest of their lives together the moment he saw him—thinking about it carefully, it didn’t actually make sense.

While there is indeed the saying of “love at first sight,” and many people feel their hearts flutter because of a face.

But Zhu Nanyu wasn’t that type of person.

From beginning to end, he held idealistic fantasies about love, believing that people who love each other should stay together until their hair turns white.

How could someone like Zhu Nanyu decide to get married immediately and without hesitation just because Jia Qiao was beautiful?

Thinking it through and eliminating all impossibilities, Jia Qiao reached an absurd but logical conclusion:

“Could he be…” Jia Qiao murmured, “Could he have fallen in love with me at the moment I killed him?”

The voice was very light, dissipating into the air almost as soon as it left his mouth.

But the space was too quiet.

The moment his words fell, almost imperceptible footsteps sounded from behind, gradually approaching.

“Why wouldn’t he?”

There was actually a second person here?

Who was it?

Had they been following him all this time?

Jia Qiao’s brow furrowed slightly as he suddenly turned around and saw the person standing behind him—

Zhu Nanyu.

The man looked no different from the image in his memory; four years of time had left no trace on him.

Zhu Nanyu stood there, his figure appearing ethereal and his face pale, like a phantom that could vanish at any moment.

Only his gaze was burning, the look in his eyes bordering on madness, surging as if to swallow Jia Qiao whole.

.

Backtracking to October 14th, the day of Zhu Nanyu’s funeral.

Inside the silent hospital room, Zhu Nanyu clicked on that video for the countless time, still moved by Jia Qiao amidst the rain of pure white roses.

He was so clean and pure, making Zhu Nanyu feel even more cowardly.

Even through the screen, he was so ashamed that he didn’t dare look into his eyes.

Outside the window, a fine rain fell diagonally, blown into the ward by the autumn wind, landing on Zhu Nanyu’s shoulder.

Even though he was caught in the same rain as him, yet…

“What on earth am I doing?”

The words he uttered were almost a sigh. Zhu Nanyu placed the screen face down on the windowsill and closed his eyes weakly.

Due to family reasons, Zhu Nanyu had been more mature, sensitive, and even suspicious than his peers since childhood.

Thanks to his two “good uncles,” he knew about the wickedness of the human heart as soon as he reached an age of understanding.

To protect himself and the people important to him, he had to plan every step carefully and calculate every move.

Just like his father, who, even at the end of his life, had secretly and thoroughly planned everything.

For the past twenty-odd years, Zhu Nanyu had practiced his own survival strategy, treating human nature as a puzzle game, and everything had gone smoothly.

Until he met Jia Qiao.

He had been over-cautious, thinking he had paved a foolproof way out and was being moved by his own one-sided devotion.

Even though he didn’t have the courage to let Jia Qiao see him in his weak and wretched state, he still deliberately tested him, for fear that Jia Qiao might develop feelings for someone else during that time.

He even fought imaginary enemies, secretly planning a thousand ways to “reclaim Jia Qiao.”

However, he had considered so much, yet overlooked the most obvious possibility.

It wasn’t until Jia Qiao blew up the funeral that Zhu Nanyu realized—

Trying to analyze Jia Qiao using military tactics or psychology was completely futile.

His lover’s heart was pure; what he expressed was exactly what he was thinking, without any twists or disguises.

Jia Qiao thought he was dead, so he moved out of the marital home where the couple should theoretically live together, and began to live a life of few desires, growing out his hair to observe mourning.

He discovered he was still alive, so he personally destroyed the funeral that represented “finality,” denying this death in the most straightforward way.

Before this, Zhu Nanyu had thought of many possibilities, guessing how Jia Qiao would be angry, settle scores, retaliate, or even leave him after his unannounced four-year disappearance.

But he never thought…

Maybe, Jia Qiao was just…

Always, always, always…

Waiting for him to come back.

Jia Qiao’s emotions were too faint, and he wasn’t very bright; it seemed he hadn’t even learned how to hold a grudge.

It was only himself who was despicably testing him, like a stingy and cautious gambler who refused to throw his chips until he rolled the perfect die.

Yet he failed to notice that the person sitting opposite him had revealed all his cards from the very beginning.

In fact, at the very start of this relationship, Zhu Nanyu had set a safety range.

Jia Qiao was so beautiful and so powerful; it was enough as long as he could have him.

Even if Jia Qiao never fell in love with him, it didn’t matter.

As long as he didn’t care about the other’s feelings, he wouldn’t be hurt because of it.

Zhu Nanyu had always thought this way, so he missed it.

Actually, he had already opened the door to Jia Qiao’s heart.

Because it was too easy, the feedback came too quickly.

So he didn’t notice, and the other didn’t notice either.

“Handle the discharge for me.” Zhu Nanyu wiped the cold rain from his face and calmly contacted Lanner. “I’m going to find Jia Qiao.”

“Huh? Zhu Nanyu, what kind of madness are you having in the middle of the night!” Lanner couldn’t understand Zhu Nanyu’s logic.

Logically speaking, if he had immediately broken down, clung to him, and knelt down without any dignity to confess everything to his wife the moment he regained consciousness.

Perhaps little Jia Qiao would have reluctantly forgiven him out of sympathy.

Now that he had dragged it out for so long, Jia Qiao was so angry that he blew up the funeral, and only now did he have a sudden realization and plan to go find the guy?

Wasn’t he afraid that in a fit of anger, Jia Qiao would really blow him into a coffin?

“Little Zhu-zhu, I should remind you. Although you can stand up now, you’re still far from being able to escape from Jia Qiao’s hands!” Lanner confirmed again, “Are you sure you want to go? Aren’t you afraid of dying?”

“Yeah. If I die at his hands, I deserve it.” Zhu Nanyu instructed seriously, “Remember to step forward at that time and prove that it was a suicide.”

“You lunatic! I can’t be bothered with you!” Lanner gave a long sigh, “Where are you going to find little Jia Qiao? At home? Or at the company?”

“No.” Zhu Nanyu lowered his eyes and looked at the special alert he had just received. “The indicator I set four years ago has been triggered. He should be going to that place.”

.

The entire underground structure was incredibly silent, as if the air had solidified.

Jia Qiao stared straight at Zhu Nanyu, who was a few steps away, seemingly seeing an illusion, and slowly blinked his eyes.

Then he tilted his head slightly to the left, then to the right, holding his chin as he fell into deep thought.

“…” Although Zhu Nanyu held the resolve that ‘dying here would be deserved,’ being scrutinized so up and down, so carefully by Jia Qiao still made his heart feel a bit uneasy.

Although he had seen him several times through the screen, truly seeing Jia Qiao made the suppressed fervor and obsession almost uncontrollable.

Perhaps it was because the underground structure reconstructed by Zhu Nanyu based on his memory was too realistic.

The scene of seeing Jia Qiao for the first time appeared before his eyes once again.

Before retiring, Zhu Nanyu had seen too many grand, brilliant, and wonderful worlds, and had encountered many incredible characters.

To those characters, Zhu Nanyu was like a high and mighty “savior.”

In Zhu Nanyu’s eyes, they were just certain “so-and-so’s” who turned into pale text once the book was closed.

Until he met Jia Qiao.

He was so powerful it was astonishing.

Even though his heart had been pierced, before death, Jia Qiao’s beautiful eyes only reflected him.

Even though his beautiful face was lifeless, Zhu Nanyu couldn’t stop himself from falling completely for him.

Jia Qiao had guessed correctly.

Zhu Nanyu indeed fell in love with him passionately and without turning back the moment he was killed.

“You…” Jia Qiao finally ended his long scrutiny and spoke softly, “Are you also a part of the landscape creation?”

Jia Qiao wasn’t good at analyzing other people’s mental processes, especially someone like Zhu Nanyu whose mind was deep and full of twists and turns.

After all, Zhu Nanyu had hidden secretly for so long and played some “body double” game in a secretive manner; he clearly didn’t intend to show his face.

He had heard Lanner mention before that Zoa was recovering and probably wouldn’t be well for a while.

Regarding this, Jia Qiao actually didn’t have much of an opinion.

Being human, falling ill and being hospitalized was a very normal thing. He had a weak body himself and knew that “recuperating” was a difficult and boring thing.

When they lived together, Zhu Nanyu was responsible for taking care of him; Jia Qiao had no experience in taking care of people at all.

So, it was understandable if he didn’t want to come home to recuperate.

—The moment he knew Zoa was Zhu Nanyu, Jia Qiao had silently convinced himself.

Therefore, seeing Zhu Nanyu now, looking no different from four years ago, he concluded: After all that going around… in the end, did he still send an inflatable doll?

That pervert.

“…What?”

Zhu Nanyu didn’t react for a moment. Jia Qiao took a few steps forward and naturally threw himself into his arms, wrapping his arms around Zhu Nanyu’s waist.

“Ah.” Jia Qiao felt the warm body, lowered his head to listen to the thumping heartbeat against his chest, and whispered to himself, “He’s actually alive.”

Why did Zhu Nanyu stop playing dead?

Jia Qiao didn’t understand, and he was too lazy to think about it much.

Since the household registration cancellation hadn’t been processed yet, they were still husband and husband.

Mhm, right.

No different from before.

Jia Qiao looked up, gazing at the close-at-hand Zhu Nanyu, and said the words he had prepared to welcome him four years ago:

“Honey, why did you only just come back?”

Zhu Nanyu’s heart skipped a beat.

Sure enough, Jia Qiao’s emotions were too faint; his joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness couldn’t be deduced by common logic.

Clearly, at this moment he should be angry, resentful, and doing his best to vent his grievance and anger at the culprit who made him wait for four years.

But Jia Qiao acted as if he were simply clicking play on a video that had been paused.

Zhu Nanyu sighed and hugged him, stroking his smooth long hair. “I’m back, Jiao-jiao.”

—If things continued smoothly like this, without the need for laborious explanations or desperate remedies, the two could slowly return to their previous mode.

It would be very easy, requiring no cost; he could completely spend the rest of his life with Jia Qiao according to the original script.

But… in that case.

Zhu Nanyu realized that he would never be able to feel Jia Qiao’s emotions again.

People are indeed greedy and prone to pushing their luck.

Even if it meant pushing himself into hell, he wanted to extract Jia Qiao’s feelings.

Zhu Nanyu leaned on Jia Qiao’s shoulder, his voice faint as if he were about to expire. “Jiao-jiao, I’m very weak now and I’m about to faint. Are you willing to take me home?”

“Otherwise, just pretend you haven’t seen me today.” Zhu Nanyu cupped his face, his thumb lightly pinching his earlobe. “How are you going to choose, Jiao-jiao?”

“…”

Why did he have to choose? So bothersome.

Jia Qiao silently scrutinized Zhu Nanyu again, confirming he was a living person and not an AI in a Zhu Nanyu shell.

However, the Zhu Nanyu before his eyes had become a bit strange.

When they were together before, things big and small were all arranged by Zhu Nanyu; Jia Qiao didn’t need to make choices based on his own will at all.

Now, it felt like a dating sim game, with two options appearing out of thin air in front of him.

“Are there only these two options?” Jia Qiao confirmed the game rules.

“Yes.” Zhu Nanyu tightened his arms, pressing almost half his body weight onto Jia Qiao, trying his best to play the weakling. “Right now the whole world thinks I’m dead, and it’s not convenient for me to show my face. If you won’t take me home, I can only find a place to hide… and I don’t know how long I’ll have to hide. What if my enemies find me?”

Jia Qiao thought of the previous kidnapping.

Zhu Nanyu had an unexpectedly large number of enemies; no wonder he had been hiding and refusing to show his face.

He was so weak, taken out in thirty seconds; he wouldn’t be safe no matter where he hid.

“Then, you hold onto me.” Jia Qiao said plainly, then placed Zhu Nanyu’s hand from his waist onto his shoulder, bending down to wrap his arm around the back of his knees…

“Jiao-jiao!” Zhu Nanyu hurriedly called out to him. “What are you planning to do?”

“Carry you.” Jia Qiao looked up. “Aren’t you very weak? It’s faster to take you home this way.”

“…” Zhu Nanyu was speechless.

Did it have to be a bridal carry?

.

The sky was getting dark, and Jia Qiao had gone somewhere and hadn’t returned for a long time.

Lu Min was worried something had happened to him again and was pacing circles in the living room in a panic.

When the time passed eleven o’clock, Lu Min heard a car driving towards the villa from a distance and immediately ran out to meet it.

Seeing the familiar headlights piercing the dark night from afar, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Before the car had even come to a full stop, Lu Min rushed over and pulled open the door, prepared to help Jia Qiao out of the car.

Who would have expected that after the car door opened, a face so handsome it made one’s breath hitch would be revealed.

Lu Min froze on the spot, not having reacted yet.

Jia Qiao went around from the other side and naturally took the man’s hand, calling out in a familiar and intimate tone:

“Honey.”

Lu Min: Ahhh what the hell!!!

If he weren’t a mute, he would be letting out a sharp screech right now, so loud that the chickens for miles around would wake up to crow.

He never expected that what came next would be even more terrifying.

“Are you okay? Do you want me to carry… why are you avoiding me? Do you hate the bridal carry that much?”

As soon as Jia Qiao reached out, Zhu Nanyu avoided him as if he were a scourge, performing a medical miracle on the spot.

Before preparing to enter the house, seeing Lu Min standing nearby with his mouth wide open, Jia Qiao pointed to the man beside him and casually instructed, “By the way, he’ll be living here from now on. Don’t tell anyone you’ve seen him.”

Lu Min stiffly, inch by inch, twisted his neck to clearly see Zhu Nanyu’s face.

Th-th-this… isn’t this the little trophy husband from the wedding photo?

Wasn’t he dead!!!

Lu Min was terrified, his mouth open wide enough to fit an egg, letting out fearful gasping sounds. His mind suddenly went to the various soul-summoning rituals that were currently popular on the internet.

Could it be that Jia Qiao had really hired a high-level Taoist priest to bring back Zhu Nanyu’s ghost?

Master, wake up, the worlds of the living and the dead must remain separate!!!

The loyal little butler was just about to remind Jia Qiao when the “male ghost” he was supporting turned back eerily and gave Lu Min a gloomy glance.

This was the person who had been by Jia Qiao’s side during the four years he was gone, the person for whom he even risked his life to save.

“!!!”

Meeting the “little trophy husband’s” terrifying gaze, which was comparable to a top-tier cursed spirit, Lu Min felt a chill run down his spine.

Master, you’re inviting a ghost into the house!

Tomorrow I’ll get the most powerful talismans and stick them in every corner of the house.

I must cross this male ghost over!!

The author has something to say:

Zhu-zhu: Jealousy makes a ghost’s face unrecognizable.