My Husband's Eyes Have Been Looking Different Lately After Our Marriage of Convenience - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: “I’m sleepy, I’m going home to find my husband.”

“Has the Madam not returned yet?”

Lu Tingyun couldn’t count how many times his wife had come home late; he had practically come to accept it as the norm. However, tonight was exceptionally late. Seeing the hands on his wristwatch approaching midnight, he finally spoke up to ask.

The butler standing aside wiped sweat from his brow and replied, “Yes…”

The young CEO, who had just inherited the family conglomerate, appeared gentle and humble on the surface. But once he started working, he donned a completely different mask—vigorous, resolute, and merciless. In daily life, he was famously stoic and somber; he was not an easy man to serve.

Fortunately, after receiving the answer, Lu Tingyun didn’t say much more. He simply instructed, “Give him a call and ask.”

If an accident happened, it would be difficult to give an account to the Song family.

The butler bowed his head. “Understood.”

After respectfully seeing Lu Tingyun off to the elevator, the butler immediately dialed the number.

…

At the same time, inside J-City’s largest and most luxurious nightclub, Song Ai was gathered in a VIP suite with a group of rich playboys. Each of them was clutching a tablet—

They were in the middle of a gaming marathon!

“Get back and defend the base, Big-Voice Li! You’re the Jungler, why are you camping in the woods?! Do you think the jungle is your backyard?!”

Big-Voice Li, playing Jungler for the first time: “Oh, oh, oh! Coming!”

“Can the Support give me? No—Old Wang, where’s your Ultimate??”

Old Wang looked apologetic. “Sorry, Brother Ai, I just lost ten HP, so I… I used it.”

“You did what???”

Just as Song Ai stared in disbelief, his screen turned gray. His team’s crystal shattered completely, and the voice announcement echoed in his ears:

“Defeat!”

Song Ai’s soul shattered along with it. In utter despair, he collapsed backward onto the sofa.

Big-Voice Li and Old Wang looked at each other.

Old Wang was the first to reflect. “This round is all on me. It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t used the heel early, we might have turned it around!”

Big-Voice Li shouted, “Right, right! It’s all Old Wang’s fault!”

Song Ai: “…”

He should have known better. Teaming up with these silver-spoon playboys who had everything handed to them was never going to end well.

A friend watching from the side thoughtfully handed him a glass of ice water to cool his temper. Song Ai took it, drank it down, and exited the lobby to check his record for the night—15 consecutive losses!!

Song Ai felt like the sky was falling. Just as he was about to throw a minor tantrum, his phone vibrated.

It was a call from Butler Wu.

The image of a kind old man with white hair, white eyebrows, and a white beard surfaced in his mind. Song Ai didn’t want to earn a reputation for bullying the elderly, so he calmed his breathing and answered with a grin.

“Hello, Uncle Wu? Why are you still up so late?”

Hearing the noisy background music over the phone, Butler Wu lowered his volume and asked softly, “Madam, uh… it’s like this. Mr. Lu asked me to inquire when you would be coming home?”

The “Mr. Lu” the butler referred to was Song Ai’s husband, Lu Tingyun—the man he had married “prematurely” at the age of 22.

Years ago, when Song Ai returned from studying in the UK, he was ready to conquer the world. But a second before he could step out the door, his mother grabbed him by the scruff of his neck.

Madam Song’s original words were: “Our Song family has had only one child per generation, and you’re the only male in yours. Now that the family is in trouble, our only hope is a marriage alliance with the Lu family. If not you, then who?”

What a “Who else but me.”

Under the pressure of bloodline suppression, Song Ai married the equally singular heir of the Lu family—Lu Tingyun—whom he had never even met.

Fortunately, Lu Tingyun was a cold, detached man with no desires. Rumor had it he’d been a nerd since childhood and a workaholic as an adult. In short, he wasn’t interested in men or women.

Song Ai was very satisfied with this. Naturally, Lu Tingyun couldn’t find any fault with him either.

However, since the two had zero emotional foundation, on their so-called “wedding night,” they simply stayed up all night in the same room until both their eyes were rimmed with dark circles. There were no “love at first sight” or “burning passion” tropes from an idol drama.

The next morning, Song Ai proposed a “Three-No” Agreement:

1. No sharing a bed.
2. No interfering in each other’s business.
3. No talking about love or hate!

The time limit was set for three years. Once the three years were up and both families were stable, they would divorce peacefully.

Since they were “not interfering in each other’s business,” Lu Tingyun naturally had no right to care when Song Ai came home.

So, Song Ai casually brushed him off: “In half an hour.”

Having a definite deadline, the butler breathed a sigh of relief. “Alright, alright. Sorry to disturb you. Have a pleasant night, Madam. Goodbye.”

Beep—

After hanging up, Song Ai spaced out for a long moment.

Big-Voice Li leaned in curiously. “What’s up, Brother Ai?”

“Nothing.” Song Ai sighed. “Coming out of a toxic, high-stress competitive gaming environment and suddenly receiving such a polite phone call… I’m having a hard time adjusting.”

Big-Voice Li: “…” So you’re pretending you weren’t the one cursing the loudest during the game just now?

Old Wang also put down his tablet and leaned in with a sharp gaze. “So, who was on the phone?”

Song Ai answered lazily, “Butler Wu.”

Old Wang hit the nail on the head. “Was he nagging you to go home?”

“…” Song Ai felt frustrated. “If you put this much sharpness into practicing how to heal your Main Carry, I wouldn’t have died such a tragic death just now!”

Old Wang immediately raised his hands. “Brother Ai, I was wrong!”

At that moment, the door to the VIP suite creaked open. Someone had entered uninvited.

The lights were too bright; Song Ai squinted for a long time before he recognized who it was. His arch-rival—Zhou Jibai.

This guy had been at odds with Song Ai since they were kids. For twelve years, from elementary to high school, they were in the same school! Because their families were of equal status and their parents were business rivals, Zhou Jibai had to compete with him over everything—he even competed to see who could score the lowest on exams.

In summary: a total idiot.

“Oh, quite a crowd here, huh?”

Zhou Jibai had apparently lost his mind and dyed his hair bright red; it stood up in the air like a dancing turkey. He scanned the room, his gaze finally landing on Song Ai. He said sarcastically, “Why is there a married man here? Tsk, tsk. Aren’t you afraid your husband will find out? It’s almost midnight; hasn’t your husband called you home yet?”

Song Ai: “…”

“Oh! Right—” Zhou Jibai paused intentionally. “I forgot your husband is Lu Tingyun, J-City’s famous ‘Brother Abstinence.’ Why would he be in a hurry to call you home? You’ve been married for half a year, and you probably haven’t even exchanged more than a few sentences, right?”

Song Ai: “…”

“Married, yet you can’t sleep with your husband, and you can’t sleep with anyone else.” Zhou Jibai burst out laughing, sounding quite manic. “Do you know what that’s called?”

“—That’s called living like a widow! Hahahaha!!”

Facing this mockery directly to his face, Song Ai didn’t say a word the entire time.

Zhou Jibai, who had been doubled over laughing, suddenly noticed something was wrong. Since when has Song Ai become so calm and rational? Was he planning some dirty trick?

Zhou Jibai’s laughter died down. He frowned. “Why aren’t you saying anything? Are you a mute?”

Song Ai still ignored him, just staring at him quietly. Zhou Jibai began to feel his skin crawl under the stare.

Finally, Big-Voice Li, who was sitting next to Song Ai, couldn’t help but shout: “WHAT! DID! YOU! SAY? I CAN’T HEAR YOU!! THE MUSIC IS TOO LOUD IN HERE—”

“…………”

Now it was Zhou Jibai’s turn to be speechless. Damn!

So he hadn’t heard a thing! All that effort was spent thinking up insults, and not a single word had reached Song Ai’s ears!!

Feeling the awkwardness of swallowing a fly, Zhou Jibai’s ears turned red. He shouted at the DJ irritably, “Turn the music off!”

The innocent DJ blinked. Who was this guy? What was he here for?

Seeing the DJ had no reaction, Zhou Jibai was fuming. He looked like he was about to rush up and kick the guy. “Are you fucking deaf too?!”

Suddenly, Song Ai spoke: “It’s too noisy, turn it off.”

The DJ immediately complied, flicking a switch to cut all the music in the suite.

He didn’t know the red-haired freak, but how could he not recognize the boss who was paying the bill?

Zhou Jibai, with one leg hanging in mid-air: “?”

He snapped back to reality and cursed, “You’re doing this on purpose to mess with me, aren’t you? You dead midget!” (Note: “矮冬瓜” literally means “Short Winter Melon/Midget”)

Hearing that nickname again after several years, Song Ai was beyond annoyed. He had only grown slower than others during middle school. This idiot had been chasing him with that insult ever since—but didn’t he eventually hit 1.8 meters (5’11”) later on?!

Midget my foot!!

Zhou Jibai was clearly here just to pick a fight. But Song Ai had plenty of ways to “handle” idiots. He intentionally elongated his words so everyone in the room could hear:

“What kind of fit are you throwing now? Zhou—Ji—Ba—” (Note: “Jiba” is a Chinese slang for penis/dick).

After saying it, Song Ai smirked triumphantly. Wasn’t this attack power a hundred times stronger than “Short Winter Melon”?

Those three syllables accurately stabbed Zhou Jibai’s vital spot. He suddenly screamed like a crazed marmot: “AAAAAAAAH! SONG AI, I’LL FUCK YOUR MOTHER!!!”

Tsk. Too vulgar.

Thinking back to the “polite triple-threat” Butler Wu used earlier when saying goodbye, Song Ai suddenly felt a desire to go back.

Nothing about the Lu family was good. Their family style was rigid, their relationships were cold, and there were too many restrictions… but they had one advantage: they were civilized and high-class.

Song Ai’s grades had been poor since childhood, and his heart wasn’t in his studies. Therefore, most of the people he hung out with were idiots like Zhou Jibai—people with nothing to do who just provoked others.

Although he had spent a few years studying abroad and his “delinquent” aura had faded a bit, he still ended up hanging out with this crowd upon returning. It wasn’t that Song Ai looked down on them, but perhaps because he’d stayed in a “gentleman’s country” for a few years, his mind and body had been somewhat purified. He wanted to be polite.

They weren’t wrong. It was just that Song Ai himself had changed.

“Alright, alright.” Song Ai stood up listlessly. “Stop throwing a fit. I don’t have the energy to argue with you. I’m going home.”

Zhou Jibai froze, looking incredulous. “What did you say?”

Song Ai walked up to him, patted his arm with the back of his hand, and said lazily, “I said, I. Am. Going. Home. Please move; don’t block the way.”

At this, Big-Voice Li and Old Wang both stood up.

Old Wang spoke hesitantly, “Brother Ai, you… you aren’t staying a bit longer? Why the sudden urge to go back? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”

Song Ai turned around, scanned the room, and thought for a moment before reassuring them: “I’m fine, just a bit tired. You guys keep playing. I’m heading back first.”

For once, a trace of exhaustion appeared on his face. Big-Voice Li wanted to persuade him further, but seeing his expression, he opened his mouth and said nothing. In his memory, Ai-Ai rarely looked like this.

As a result, everyone fell silent in unison. The atmosphere plummeted to freezing point.

Even Zhou Jibai felt at a loss. He scratched his face and head, not knowing what to say.

Song Ai didn’t care what he had to say; he walked straight past him to push the door open. Suddenly, Zhou Jibai “flashed” in front of the door, blocking it.

He couldn’t help but ask, “…Why do you suddenly want to go home?”

Wealthy playboys like them rarely had a sudden urge to “go home to mama.” They were rich and free; as long as they didn’t cause trouble, they could wander the world, and their families wouldn’t care. It was incredibly carefree. Very few people, in the middle of a fun night, would suddenly say, “I’m going home.”

Unless they were unhappy or had been wronged. Those were the two common reasons. Zhou Jibai even wondered if it was because his uninvited presence had ruined Song Ai’s mood. But he hadn’t meant to…

However, Song Ai just lowered his eyelids as if thinking about something, but without reaching a conclusion. His whole body seemed set to 0.5x speed; even lifting his head was slow. His eyes narrowed into slits at some point, looking like a baby otter that had just woken up.

Under everyone’s gaze, he said word by word:

“I’m sleepy. I want to find my husband to sleep with. Is that a problem?”