My Husband's Eyes Have Been Looking Different Lately After Our Marriage of Convenience - Chapter 26

Chapter 26: If You Don’t Want To Either…

The spring sun was warm and bright.

Outside the car window, dappled light fell on the young man’s face, which flickered between flushed red and pale white.

Song Ai was truly experiencing the meaning of “trouble comes from the mouth.”

If he had known this would happen, he should have just kicked Lu Tingyun awake last night.

“So you did damn well know, didn’t you?” Song Ai snapped, finally realizing he’d been played.

“Know what?”

“Know that yesterday you…”

“Me?”

A simple counter-question left Song Ai, who had finally gained the upper hand, speechless again.

With the tips of his ears quietly turning red, the youth dryly ended the conversation.

“…Nothing.”

Fortunately, Lu Tingyun didn’t push the subject. He knew the value of biding one’s time; now that he had obtained the promise he wanted, he could collect at any time, as long as the person didn’t forget.

As the car crossed a large bridge, the scenery outside became exceptionally fresh.

After a brief silence, Song Ai’s phone vibrated.

He flipped it open to find several WeChat messages from Wang Ruijing.

【You weren’t seeing things that day.】

【That kid Zhong Shaoxuan is definitely gay.】

【A close friend’s younger brother happened to be in the same major as him. He said Zhong Shaoxuan had plenty of boyfriends in college. He’s as gay as they come.】

Learning this gossip didn’t cause much of a stir in Song Ai’s heart. He just felt a bit of pity for the girl from the Shen family.

【Got it. Noted.】

Just as he was about to turn off the screen, Song Ai remembered something and started typing: 【By the way, you left in such a hurry last time. Did something happen?】

This time, Old Wang was slow to reply.

So slow that the car had completely cleared the bridge, and the phone still hadn’t buzzed.

With limited patience, Song Ai turned off the screen.

Looking up, he immediately collided with Lu Tingyun’s gaze, which had been lingering on him for who knows how long.

“Who are you chatting with?”

Caught in the act, Lu Tingyun didn’t look guilty at all; instead, he was the first to ask.

Song Ai replied casually, “A friend.”

“What friend? Surname Wang? Li? Or Zhou?”

“…” Song Ai looked at him with a face full of black lines. “Are you interrogating a criminal suspect?”

Realizing he had overstepped, Lu Tingyun nonchalantly withdrew his gaze and didn’t ask further.

Finally, Song Ai’s phone vibrated again.

【My mom is in the hospital.】

Song Ai’s eyes widened the moment he saw the message.

He quickly asked: 【What happened? Is it serious?】

【The doctor said the situation is a bit critical. I’ll probably be staying at the hospital to look after her for a while.】

Song Ai lowered his eyes, involuntarily thinking back to the longest time he had ever spent in a hospital as a child.

It was the same situation—a close relative seriously ill. Even though he couldn’t fully grasp the weight of the word “death” back then, seeing his father lying lifeless on a hospital bed had wrapped him in endless sorrow and pain.

Wang Ruijing was likely feeling even worse now than Song Ai did then.

However, since he had very little contact with Wang Ruijing’s family, his sympathy was strictly for Wang himself. He didn’t offer to visit the hospital, only saying: 【Call me anytime if you need anything.】

Old Wang replied with a simple 【Okay】.

Perhaps because of a vague premonition that the road ahead would be difficult, both were feeling a bit down and tacitly stopped chatting.

It seemed the “Three Musketeers” wouldn’t be meeting for a while.

Since there was no fun to be had, Song Ai decided to start the task Song Huaiwan had assigned. He put down his phone and turned to ask, “Do you have any plans to return to the old family estate soon?”

Lu Tingyun shook his head honestly and asked, “You want to go?”

Song Ai thought for a moment and decided there was nothing to hide. He laid it all out: “My mom thinks the gift I gave was too poor, so she wants me to buy something new to give to the Old Madam.”

Lu Tingyun asked, “What did you give her?”

Song Ai pinched his earlobe. “A fountain pen.”

Lu Tingyun didn’t quite understand. “Is that very bad?”

Song Ai didn’t really understand either. From his perspective, anything a friend gives is a gesture of heart. Why was it that in his mother’s eyes, gifts were categorized by price?

He spoke gloomily: “I don’t know. My mom said it wasn’t good enough. Maybe she thinks the Old Madam has seen so much of the world that receiving a ‘shabby’ fountain pen for a major birthday would make her think the giver lacks sincerity.”

Lu Tingyun looked at him thoughtfully and asked, “Why did you choose that?”

Song Ai thought back and explained, “There wasn’t really a deep reason. That day I heard you mention it was her birthday, so I wandered around the mall for a bit. I really couldn’t think of what to get… Then I passed a shop selling couplets and remembered she has beautiful calligraphy. There happened to be an Italian fountain pen collection shop nearby, so I… bought one.”

“Then it wasn’t a lack of sincerity,” Lu Tingyun said slowly. “The Old Madam isn’t a snob. The painting I gave her is worth millions, but she values the art, not the price. Your fountain pen is likely the same. If she knows you remembered her calligraphy, she will probably like that pen very much.”

The man’s tone was devoid of emotion, like he was mechanically reciting a set of facts.

He was likely trying to comfort Song Ai, but he clearly wasn’t good at it.

Yet, hearing such rigid words made Song Ai feel strangely satisfied. See? His gift wasn’t bad at all; even Lu Tingyun said the Old Madam would like it.

Thinking this, he suddenly called out: “Lu Tingyun.”

“Hmm?” The man looked over.

Song Ai turned his face away, his gaze drifting out the window, his voice sounding very dry: “You… sometimes you’re… quite decent.”

Lu Tingyun was stunned for a moment.

Usually, when he interacted with people, he concealed his sharp edges. He appeared non-threatening on the surface, but his indifferent and cold nature would inadvertently leak out.

Consequently, no one ever told him he was a “good person.” The evaluations he heard most were that his grades were good, his looks were good, his abilities were good… things like that.

The description “decent” or “good” might apply to most people, but coming from Song Ai, it was truly rare.

Lu Tingyun stared at the person who had just praised him for the first time. His gaze landed on the other’s collarbone peeking from beneath his collar, and he suddenly felt a bit of dryness in his throat.

…Forget it.

This wasn’t the right place.

Lu Tingyun withdrew his gaze, rolled down the car window slightly, and said out of the blue, “It’s Qingming (Tomb-Sweeping Day) in a few days.”

Song Ai turned his head. “Huh?”

“It’s a good time to head back.”

…

Half an hour later, the car stopped at the villa entrance.

Lu Tingyun was about to get out, but before his shoe could touch the ground, his sleeve was caught.

He turned back to see his “wife” half-leaning over the seat, looking up at him. The loose collar draped down naturally, offering a faint glimpse of a pinkish hue.

Song Ai called to him: “Wait a second—”

Lu Tingyun’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly. The spot where his sleeve was being held felt as hot as if it had been brushed by fire. Pulling his leg back into the car, he asked, “What is it?”

Song Ai coughed, explaining the reason for his action: “Regarding… last night. I think we need to renegotiate.”

Lu Tingyun looked at him, puzzled. “Hmm?”

Recalling the scene from last night made Song Ai’s face feel a bit hot. He said seriously, “Even though you were the one with the fever, my sleep was seriously affected. This can’t go on forever; we need a more permanent solution.”

Lu Tingyun: “What solution?”

“Make Cheng Chao go back to his own house.”

Lu Tingyun hesitated for a rare moment. “That wouldn’t be very nice…”

“It’s perfectly fine. Cheng Chao doesn’t live here anyway.”

Afraid he wouldn’t listen, Song Ai added a threat: “If you don’t want to catch another fever, you’d better do as I say.”

“Is it absolutely necessary?”

“Absolutely necessary.”

Lu Tingyun stared at his wife’s determined expression. After a long silence, he gave in with a helpless sigh.

“Alright.”

And so, that evening, Cheng Chao was taken back by his mother.

“Taken” wasn’t quite the right word—more like “dragged.”

The scene could only be described as “pitiful,” but the cousin and cousin-in-law both tactfully chose to turn a deaf ear to the commotion.

Song Ai wore a smile; Lu Tingyun wore a look of “regret.”

In the end, they both watched as the youth was dragged away.

…

The next few days passed quickly.

Song Ai occasionally went out with Li Shang or stayed in his room playing games. Aside from Old Wang being absent, life was as mundane as ever.

The only slightly abnormal thing…

…was that Lu Tingyun was spending more and more time at home.

For example, one day Song Ai woke up at noon. When he opened his door wearing short pajama bottoms, he happened to run into Lu Tingyun coming upstairs. Lu Tingyun’s gaze swept over his legs before he coolly said “Good morning.”

Or another time, when Song Ai came home late after a night out. Feeling hot from the excitement, he pulled open his collar and ran to the fridge for a soda, only to turn around and find Lu Tingyun sitting on the sofa. His face was lit with a ghostly blue light from his laptop screen, looking for all the world like a malevolent spirit. It gave Song Ai a huge fright.

…

Song Ai couldn’t take it anymore and demanded to know why he was playing ghost in the middle of the night to scare people.

He said hoarsely that he couldn’t sleep.

Song Ai was quite speechless. He told him if he couldn’t sleep, he should go upstairs and exercise to burn off his energy so he could sleep.

As a result, the man’s voice got even hoarser, and he asked back: “What kind of exercise?”

“…”

Song Ai turned and ran.

After a few days of living like he was seeing ghosts, the Qingming Festival—which Song Ai was looking forward to—finally arrived.

Butler Wu arrived at the door early as usual, directing the servants to neatly pack the gifts into the trunk.

Song Ai woke up early and carried the jade bracelet he had bought for 500,000 downstairs, asking Butler Wu if there was still room.

Butler Wu seemed to have been in high spirits lately. He smiled and nodded. “Yes, Madam, there is.”

Song Ai handed the item to him. Lu Tingyun, who happened to be coming out behind him, witnessed the scene and guessed it was the new gift for the Old Madam.

“You bought it after all?” Lu Tingyun asked, stepping closer.

Song Ai reflexively turned around and almost walked straight into the man’s solid chest.

Do you have to stand so close to talk??

He took two steps back, offering a perfectly logical reason: “The money was already transferred. Might as well buy it.”

Lu Tingyun looked down at his wife but didn’t say much.

The two got into the car, one after the other.

Same car, same seats, same destination. In less than a month, the awkwardness that used to fill the space between them seemed to have weirdly vanished.

Song Ai didn’t press himself against the door like last time; instead, he sat with his legs wide open. He didn’t even notice when his knee accidentally brushed against Lu Tingyun’s.

The other man glanced down, his Adam’s apple bobbing. He suddenly spoke: “Today is Qingming. According to tradition, we will be paying respects to ancestors, burning incense, praying, and eating vegetarian meals. It’s a significant day for the family… so, my father will definitely be there.”

Song Ai ignored the first part, but those last few words made him freeze unexpectedly. He gave the other man a strange look.

…This guy actually remembered what he had said last time.

With a memory like that, no wonder he went to a top-tier school.

But fine, if Lu Haichuan is there, he’s there. He had a mission today; no one was going to stop him.

Song Ai gave an indifferent “Oh.”

Seeing that he had listened, Lu Tingyun added, “Most likely, my paternal aunt will be there too. She’ll definitely bring Cheng Chao, though my uncle probably won’t come.”

Song Ai: “Mhm.”

Lu Tingyun continued: “I have a distant uncle who comes every Qingming. This time should be no exception. You haven’t met him; he might look a bit fierce on the surface, but he has a very kind personality.”

Song Ai was struggling to remain patient. “Fine.”

Lu Tingyun wanted to list more: “Also—”

“Stop.” Song Ai couldn’t take it. He gritted his teeth. “If you’re planning to recite the entire family tree to me, you’d better shut up right now, or I’ll really…”

Midway through the threat, Song Ai’s brain glitched for a second. What would he do? Punch him? Hit him? Kick him?

Sigh… none of those seem very threatening.

Lu Tingyun, intrigued by that one-second pause, looked at him with interest. “Or you’ll what?”

Song Ai frantically searched his internal dictionary, his eyes darting around, until he finally squeezed out three words: “I’ll kill you.”

Teeth bared, claws out.

Fierce and menacing.

Absolutely adorable.

Lu Tingyun stared at him in silence. Instead of fear, a dark, churning tide seemed to well up in the depths of his eyes.

Song Ai: “…”

This is bad.

He quickly retracted his “fangs,” pulled out his phone at top speed, and opened Candy Crush. The strange atmosphere seemed to settle quickly amidst the sounds of “Unbelievable!”

But beneath the silence, a more violent storm was brewing.