My Husband's Eyes Have Been Looking Different Lately After Our Marriage of Convenience - Chapter 11

Chapter 11: “Who brought me back yesterday?”

The sweltering molecules in the air seemed to grow even more intense.

Closing his eyes, the man pushed away Song Ai’s restless hands and grunted, “No.”

“How is there ‘no’…”

Song Ai preferred to trust his own senses. He wanted to reach out and touch again to verify, but the man simply grabbed his hands, flipped them behind his back, and clamped his wrist with a single palm, effectively tying him up.

The man’s strength was terrifying.

Song Ai was immobilized. Though his hands were now behaving, his mouth was not. He started squawking, “What are you tying me up for? Aren’t you just in he—”

Before he could finish, the man covered his mouth as well.

“Mmph! Mmph!…”

Fortunately, since he was drunk, his struggling looked more like flirting than fighting, so it didn’t attract much attention from others.

The man half-pushed, half-pulled him up the stairs.

By the time they reached the booth, Song Ai’s legs were so weak he couldn’t stand at all; the second the man let go, he nearly slid onto the floor.

The man managed to steady him. “You’re his friends, right?”

Li Shang, seeing this, nearly dropped his jaw in disbelief. “This is… Ai-ge?”

Are you sure this isn’t just a pile of mud??

Wang Ruijing observed closely, squinting. “It’s him. The clothes are the same.”

Li Shang had a sudden realization. “Oh, right, right.”

As the man tried to set Song Ai down on the sofa, Li Shang hurried over to help. With one person taking the arms and the other the legs, they finally managed to press him into the cushions.

“Thanks, man!” After a casual word of thanks, Li Shang couldn’t help but mutter: “What’s up with Ai-ge today? He clearly didn’t drink that much. Being this drunk is a bit an exaggeration, isn’t it? Don’t tell me his tolerance is failing as he gets older…”

Since someone was taking care of him, the man’s job was done.

Just as the man turned to leave, he was suddenly grabbed around the thighs by a “dying” Song Ai, who had crawled back up.

It was one thing to grab him, but his fingers were restless.

The man looked down and saw that Song Ai could barely keep his eyes open, yet he hadn’t forgotten the promise he made earlier—”Buddy, I haven’t given you your tip yet!”

“…” The man was speechless. “I said it’s not necessary.”

“How can that be? Your line of work isn’t easy.” Song Ai shook his head and pulled out his phone, insisting: “Here, show me your QR code. I’ll scan it.”

The man: “…”

He tried to pull his leg away, but despite two attempts, there was no movement. The guy looked thin and frail, so how did he have so much strength when acting like a brat?

The man frowned and looked up, realizing the two friends were staring at him strangely, and a few glances were drifting over from the surroundings. Meanwhile, Song Ai looked like he was ready to “write his name backward” if he didn’t give the tip today.

…

Left with no choice, the man pulled out his phone.

However, the man underestimated Song Ai’s persistence.

Initially, he didn’t even light up the screen. After ten seconds of stalemate, he realized the grip on his leg hadn’t loosened a bit, so he helplessly opened WeChat.

Only after hearing a definitive “beep” did Song Ai let go with satisfaction and collapse back.

The man finally escaped the entanglement.

But after taking two steps, he paused, stopped, and suddenly turned back. “I heard him say earlier that he’s married.”

Li Shang was already dazed by the whole ordeal. “Ah… so?”

The man: “Since he’s married and it’s this late, his family is likely waiting. It’s better to send him back early.”

Li Shang blinked. What does that mean?

But the man didn’t seem to have much patience; he turned and walked away without looking back.

Only after the man had completely disappeared from sight did Li Shang realize a very important question—who was that guy??

He wanted to ask Ai-ge, but Ai-ge was unconscious.

Li Shang couldn’t make up his mind and turned to Old Wang.

At this point, Wang Ruijing was still staring at the spot where the man had vanished, lost in thought with a complex expression.

Snapping out of it, he noticed Li Shang questioning him with his eyes.

Wang Ruijing smacked his lips, seeming somewhat reluctant, but forced to say:

“Send him back to the Lu family home.”

…

The Next Day.

The near-noon sun refracted through the window, nearly roasting Song Ai.

A cheerful ringtone sounded.

Song Ai reached out groggily and felt the cold phone screen by his pillow. He grabbed it and looked—

Incoming call: Ms. Song.

Song Ai gave an annoyed “tsk,” pressed answer, and spoke with the displeasure of someone whose sleep had been interrupted. “What?”

“What are you doing all day? I called you several times and you didn’t pick up. Do you think your wings have grown strong just because you got married?”

—Another head-to-toe scolding.

Exasperated, Song Ai simply hung up.

He didn’t need to guess what his mother was calling about.

It was undoubtedly to ask how he performed at the old residence yesterday, what the Old Lady said, and what gift he gave.

If he truthfully said he only gave a fountain pen worth a few tens of thousands, she would probably go insane. In that case, it was better to avoid her for a few days and wait for the matter to blow over.

With that thought, Song Ai drifted back to sleep.

When he woke up again, it was two hours later.

Song Ai had finally had enough sleep. However, it was only then that he began to realize something was wrong.

How did I get back??

Ghostly.

Did he black out again?!

Song Ai immediately opened his phone and asked in the group chat: 【Who brought me back yesterday?】

The other two “dogs” in the “Three Men are Dogs” group seemed busy; no one responded.

After scrolling for a long time without a reply, several possibilities began to surface in his mind:

Loud-mouth Li and Old Wang brought him back;

He came back by himself;

A stranger brought him back.

…

Probability 1 was the highest. 2 was unlikely—he drove there yesterday, and since he blacked out, it was highly improbable he could drive himself back in one piece. As for 3… if it was 3…

To attract business, M&C was located on the busiest street, surrounded by similar clubs and nightlife spots. Consequently, there were many “body-pickers” (people who take advantage of intoxicated people) lurking nearby.

Song Ai couldn’t guarantee that a stranger wouldn’t take advantage of his looks. After all, his face was quite “authoritative” in that regard.

Thinking back to his first blackout experience two days ago… Song Ai sucked in a breath of cold air and immediately exited the chat, planning to make another appointment with dermatology for a check-up.

But a second after exiting, his finger froze.

On the familiar message page, a new line appeared: 【You have successfully added L. Now you can start chatting.】!!

Song Ai’s brow furrowed.

Who was “L”? When was this added?

Following the timeline, it should have been yesterday.

Song Ai’s eyelid twitched. Was it this stranger who sent him back? And they added him as a friend in the process? Or was it… added after a fcking one-fcking-night stand??

The moment this slightly “green” (cuckold) thought popped up, Song Ai’s mind snapped into focus.

No, surely not…

Just as his guilt was about to boil over, the “Three Men are Dogs” group got a new reply.

【Li Shang (Business): What’s up, Ai-ge?】 【Li Shang (Business): Old Wang and I sent you back.】

Song Ai: “…”

Thank goodness. Song Ai breathed a sigh of relief. Although his moral ceiling wasn’t very high, he still had basic principles.

The tips of his fingers became light as he typed.

【It’s fine, I’m quitting alcohol from now on (smile).】

Li Shang must not have left the chat, because he immediately replied with three question marks.

【Li Shang (Business): Why? Didn’t you just drink yesterday? Is this the loss of humanity or the distortion of morality…?】

Song Ai stared at the word “yesterday” and gave a cold “Heh” laugh.

Talk about hitting a sore spot.

A “single dog” like Li Shang wouldn’t understand the sorrow of a married man like him.

Although Song Ai felt nothing for Lu Tingyun and they were only in a contract marriage, a contract marriage was still a legal marriage. They were a couple protected by law, and Lu Tingyun was usually quite decent to him. Especially since two days ago, by a twist of fate, some… well, slightly “yellow” (erotic) memories had occurred…

In short, he couldn’t have an over-the-line relationship with anyone else before divorcing Lu Tingyun.

He, Song Ai, couldn’t do such a thing.

Not even when blacked out!

Explaining all this was too much effort, so Song Ai didn’t bother. He backed out again and started studying the friend “L” who had appeared out of thin air.

L’s profile picture was a tree, with a patch of lush green grass below and a blue sky in the background. It revealed no information and was so bland it was almost boring.

Song Ai wanted to click the avatar to see more details, but his hand slipped, and he tapped an extra time…

【I poked “L”】

Song Ai’s brain stalled on the spot. His face turned pale, then red shortly after—a truly colorful transformation.

Fck.*

I should just chop my finger off.

Once again, the desperate thought of self-mutilation arose. Fortunately, the new version of WeChat allowed for withdrawals. However, just as he was about to poke the avatar twice more to try and fix it, the other party replied.

【L: ?】

A soulful interrogation.

Song Ai was numb.

His eyes rolled back, and he almost fainted. Fortunately, his strong willpower saved him. Since he had already been seen by this “L,” he might as well go all the way and ask clearly.

Song Ai tapped out two words:

【Who are you?】

“L” went silent. Although WeChat doesn’t have an “offline” status, Song Ai felt as if the blue sky in the profile picture had turned black.

Two agonizing minutes passed.

“L” finally replied:

【You said yesterday you wanted to give me a tip.】

The light in Song Ai’s eyes shattered. He recalled fragments of memories from yesterday.

A bolt from the blue—

This is that “model” from yesterday??!

Didn’t he scan the payment code?? How did it become a friend code?? Why did this “Model Bro” act one way and do another??

Song Ai was about to interrogate him. But then he thought better of it; he couldn’t entirely blame the Model Bro. After all, he was dead drunk yesterday. There was no sense of proportion in transferring money—whether it was too much or too little, it wouldn’t be a good thing for the Model Bro.

From the Model Bro’s perspective, it was indeed better to add him as a friend first and wait until he was sober the next day to bring it up.

Makes sense.

Song Ai quickly reasoned it out and didn’t mention why they became friends. Instead, he generously sent a transfer of two thousand yuan.

Model Bro had stayed with him yesterday and sent him back to the booth; he hadn’t lusted after his beauty or touched him inappropriately, nor had he taken advantage of his drunkenness to scam him. In all fairness, Song Ai should transfer this much to show his gratitude.

Can’t let a good person lose out.

After finishing the transfer, his stomach growled.

Song Ai didn’t worry about anything else, tossed his phone aside, and got out of bed to head downstairs for break—uh, lunch.

He didn’t even notice that the Model Bro had not accepted the payment for a long time.

“Butler Wu, is there anything to eat now?”

As soon as he dashed downstairs, Song Ai caught the passing Butler Wu and asked.

Last time, because he was starving, he had a meal at the Lu house and discovered their chef was actually quite skilled—the food really suited his palate. So, he didn’t bother going out to find food this time.

Butler Wu was stunned. Perhaps he didn’t expect someone to ask him that at 2:00 PM; he didn’t react for a moment.

“Yes. There’s quite a bit of Pig Stomach and Chicken Soup left from lunch.”

“Then that’s the one. Please serve me a bowl.”

“Certainly, Madam.”

After saying that, Butler Wu walked into the kitchen.

Song Ai nodded contentedly, planning to find a spot to enjoy the delicious soup, when he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, making him nearly shiver.

It felt like he was being watched by something… “dirty.”

Dangerous, cold… and mixed with a bit of inexplicable… Resentment??

Song Ai felt a bad omen. He turned his head and, with the person sitting on the living room sofa—

Locked eyes.

The moment their gazes crossed, Song Ai felt as if Lu Tingyun’s eyes wanted to eat him alive.