Four Years Ago, Her Husband Cheated on Her Body - Chapter 32.1

“Dear, take off your clothes first.”

Jia Qiao had just showered. His fair skin was flushed with a soft, moist red, and a faint fragrance emanated from his body.

He wore only a loose bathrobe, revealing his collarbones. The belt at his waist was tied in a casual slipknot that looked as though it might come undone with just a few more steps.

His long, loose hair dripped with water, and his entire being exuded a natural, effortless seduction.

He walked to Zhu Nanyu’s bedside, sat on the edge of the bed, and naturally leaned in, arching his waist.

His slender, elegant fingers reached out, skillfully unbuttoning Zhu Nanyu’s shirt and pulling at the collar to strip it off.

Zhu Nanyu’s breathing slowed for a few seconds. He caught Jia Qiao’s wrist, lowered his head to kiss the fingertips, his expression somewhat subtle.

“Jiao jiao, do you… know how to do this?”

“It’s fine, I’ve watched many times before,” Jia Qiao stated calmly. Simultaneously, he twisted his hand to break free from the grip, efficiently undid all the remaining buttons, and left the shirt hanging loosely off Zhu Nanyu’s shoulders.

And then…

Under Zhu Nanyu’s nearly losing-control gaze, Jia Qiao reached into the backup medical kit left at the house by the private doctor, Zhou Chuanbai. He pulled out a stethoscope and pressed the cold metal chest piece against the location of Zhu Nanyu’s heart.

Zhu Nanyu: …?

What was I just expecting?

Although Jia Qiao hadn’t studied much medical knowledge, he knew a little bit about the heartbeat of a normal human.

Zhu Nanyu’s heartbeat was originally quite steady, but the moment Jia Qiao leaned in to listen, the rhythm suddenly became erratic—fast one moment, slow the next, occasionally even skipping a couple of beats.

Jia Qiao knitted his brows.

It seemed his husband hadn’t lied. With a heartbeat this chaotic, he was indeed quite ill.

Zhu Nanyu looked down to see Jia Qiao’s head buried against his chest.

After four years, the short, fluffy hair Jia Qiao once had had grown down to his waist.

The semi-damp long hair, not yet fully blown dry, brushed against his chest, arms, and lower abdomen, carrying a slight moisture… Even a test for a secret agent wasn’t this cruel.

“Jiao jiao.” Zhu Nanyu reached his limit of endurance. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and his voice took on a raspy edge, wanting to “confess” the truth to him.

In reality, there was nothing wrong with his body; he was still as healthy and physically fit as he was four years ago. It was simply because he had been “out of use” for too long that it took time to retrain his limbs.

However, before Zhu Nanyu could speak, Jia Qiao pulled back slightly and nodded with great gravity.

“It sounds quite serious. You need to rest well.”

Having said that, Jia Qiao took off the stethoscope, tucked a stray lock of hair behind his ear, and looked down to meet the gaze of Zhu Nanyu, who was half-reclining on the bed.

Seeing Jia Qiao’s solemn appearance, Zhu Nanyu was struck by his cuteness again. He smiled and replied, “Okay.”

In the living room, the low chime of the antique clock signaled the hour; it was already past eleven at night.

The villa Jia Qiao currently lived in had only one floor, but the space was vast, containing several bedrooms. Zhu Nanyu was arranged in the room on the east side of the master bedroom.

The room was tidied very cleanly, but since no one had lived there for a long time, the air held a lingering, desolate chill.

Over the past few years, because Jia Qiao often caught colds—and because his illnesses would drag on without healing—he had gradually developed a sensitivity to the cold.

“So cold.”

Feeling a chill in the room, Jia Qiao’s shoulders shivered slightly.

He thought back to the day of the funeral, when he had been caught in the cold autumn rain. Though he luckily didn’t catch a fever, his immunity was certainly lower; he couldn’t afford to catch another chill.

“Move over a bit.” Jia Qiao said casually. He very naturally lifted Zhu Nanyu’s quilt, kicked off his slippers, and prepared to crawl in.

Just as his body neared the warmth of Zhu Nanyu, wanting to lie in his arms, the other man reacted as if he had been burned. He immediately sat up to maintain distance, as if avoiding a flood or a savage beast.

“…”

Jia Qiao lay alone in the covers, blinking in confusion. He slowly raised his head to look at his husband, his eyes full of bewilderment.

—This Zhu Nanyu is indeed very strange.

Could it be… his soul was swapped?

Zhu Nanyu met his gaze but quickly looked away, forcing himself to maintain basic human decency.

Jia Qiao’s “throwing himself into his arms” came too easily, nearly making Zhu Nanyu forget his original plan.

He shouldn’t be forgiven so easily.

Or rather, in Jia Qiao’s cognition, the concept of “forgiveness” didn’t really exist. Even though Zhu Nanyu had done such an awful thing, Jia Qiao didn’t hold a grudge.

However, that didn’t mean the damage didn’t exist or that it could be brushed aside so lightly.

“Aren’t you going to sleep?” Jia Qiao turned on his side and patted the empty space beside him, signaling for Zhu Nanyu to come sleep.

Zhu Nanyu closed his eyes and sighed in near despair, expressing a deep inability to understand all those “scumbag leads” in stories who end up in a “crematorium” chasing their wives.

At least they had a clear track to run on.

To obtain Jia Qiao’s true forgiveness, Zhu Nanyu first had to pave a track for himself, and then build the crematorium himself.

It was truly a hell-level difficulty.

“Jiao… Jia Qiao.”

Zhu Nanyu bent his knee against the edge of the bed in a nearly half-kneeling posture, leaning over toward Jia Qiao.

The distance was so close he could almost count his thick, long eyelashes and smell the faint, cool fragrance on him.

Jia Qiao stared fixedly, almost thinking the man was going to kiss him. Hearing Zhu Nanyu suddenly change the way he addressed him, his chest felt as if it had been struck by something—a dull sensation, hard to define.

“I vanished for four years without a word, then appeared without warning, and even used another identity to test you…” Zhu Nanyu gazed at him without blinking, his speaking pace slow, each word clear. “Regarding these things, do you have nothing to ask? Nothing you want to hear me explain? Nothing you want me to do?”

“No,” Jia Qiao answered immediately, his voice devoid of ripples.

Since Zhu Nanyu was back now, wouldn’t it be fine if they just went back to the way they were before?

Zhu Nanyu always liked to complicate things with meaningless “formalities.” Why make it so troublesome?

“Isn’t this good?” Jia Qiao said as a matter of course. “Just like before.”

Zhu Nanyu seemed to smile, yet his eyes were colder than the night outside the window.

“If you have no thoughts at all, does that mean…” Zhu Nanyu spoke each word with intentional cruelty, as if deliberately trying to provoke him. “In the future, I can use the same method to disappear at any time? And it won’t matter if I don’t come back?”

Hearing this, Jia Qiao’s eyes, which had been somewhat drowsy, instantly sharpened with wakefulness.

The same method…

Recalling the past four years—that emptiness, the boredom, the day-after-day endless waiting.

Jia Qiao pursed his lips, unconsciously biting down on his lip.

Indeed, Jia Qiao had originally felt it didn’t matter. He was good at staying in one place and waiting; most of his life had been spent in passive waiting.

But he didn’t want to wait hopelessly again for a person who might never come home.

Thinking that such a thing might happen again, Jia Qiao finally felt a sliver of grievance and… resentment, which had quietly taken shape in the deepest part of his heart at some unknown point.

He had originally thought that with Zhu Nanyu’s return, everything could be restored to how it was. However, those past four years were like a rift between them that could not be easily repaired.

“Have you finally realized it?” Zhu Nanyu reached out, wanting to stroke Jia Qiao’s slowly tightening face.

The moment his fingertips touched the skin, a sharp sound echoed in the silent room.

‘Slap—’

Jia Qiao abruptly raised his hand and slapped his hand away. His eyes were covered in a layer of frost, and his voice carried a chilling frostiness.

“If there is a second time, I will kill you.”

Leaving this statement behind, Jia Qiao lowered his head, wrapped his bathrobe tightly around himself, and walked out without looking back, his silhouette carrying an unprecedented decisiveness.

Just as he reached the door, an urgent knocking came from outside. Listening closely, one could distinguish Lu Min’s hurried “aba aba” sounds.

Jia Qiao pulled the door open, intending to ask Lu Min what the emergency was. Before he could speak, Lu Min immediately stood on his tiptoes and shoved a spiral notebook in front of Jia Qiao’s face.

By the light of the hallway, Jia Qiao saw pages filled with exclamation marks and a crying little bunny.

‘Master, wake up! Humans and ghosts shouldn’t be intimate!!!!’

‘I’ve looked up the data! This phenomenon is called possession/soul-borrowing; he will suck away your Yang energy! It’s extremely dangerous!!!’

After showing it to Jia Qiao, Lu Min didn’t forget to turn around and give Zhu Nanyu a fierce glare. He took out his pen and flew across the paper to write four large characters:

EVIL! SPIRIT! BE! GONE!

Although Jia Qiao had returned to his own room, the spot where he had lain still carried his clear and pleasant scent.

Zhu Nanyu spent the night restless and unsettled, his mind distracted. Every time he closed his eyes, his brain would replay the scene of him “suffering for no reason.”

As the sky turned slightly cool and birds chirped outside, Zhu Nanyu crawled out of bed half-dead, lamenting that this wave of misery was entirely self-inflicted. If he hadn’t sought trouble, he could have been rightfully holding his fragrant and soft wife to welcome a beautiful new day.

When they arrived at the villa last night, it had been pitch black, and Zhu Nanyu hadn’t clearly seen the interior decor. Now, stepping out of the room, he realized the villa was very elegant, a classical style that Jia Qiao wouldn’t have spared a glance for in the past.

The living room featured several landscape paintings, and the courtyard had carved railings, painted pillars, small bridges, and flowing water—a very serene environment.

Only…

Zhu Nanyu raised his eyes to look around. Everywhere he looked—on tables, chairs, stools, or the corners of pillars—yellow paper talismans with cinnabar seals were pasted, giving the place an atmosphere of “Chinese horror.”

The little butler, whom he had glared at earlier, was holding a black dog meant for guarding the house and warding off evil. He glared back at Zhu Nanyu warily, mouthing incantations like “Supreme Lord Lao Zi, let the law be obeyed instantly.”

Zhu Nanyu, still mindful of the fact that the butler had let Jia Qiao put himself in danger, made a threatening gesture to scare him. The little mute jumped in fright and, clutching the black dog, ran off in tears to complain to Jia Qiao.

To his surprise, Jia Qiao—who used to sleep past lunch—had woken up earlier than him. After drinking half a bowl of porridge, he had entered the study to begin remote work.

Zhu Nanyu followed behind Lu Min. He saw Jia Qiao wearing a gray trench coat, his hair tied back with a pure white silk ribbon as usual.

That ribbon looked ordinary at first glance, but close observation revealed fine silver-thread embroidery. The slightly longer left end was adorned with two mint garnets, clear and bright with excellent color.

“This stitching… did my mom embroider this?” Zhu Nanyu looked a few more times, recognizing Chi Jinran’s needlework.

Jia Qiao didn’t even lift his eyes. He stared straight at the screen and gave a nearly imperceptible nod.

It seemed he was truly angered by yesterday’s events and had finally started to throw a tantrum.