Mysterious Beautiful Wife at Home (GL) - Chapter 14

This slap not only stunned Zhang Yuning, but even Chi Nian showed rare surprise. However, when she realized her bag had indeed been tampered with, she was furious.

“Instead of being a decent person, you’d rather be a thief, is that it?” Chi Nian’s words were cutting, deliberately harsh. But Zhang Yuning, holding her cheek, wasn’t angered. She merely scoffed lightly. “Miss Chi, let’s get one thing straight. If it weren’t for this thief prying open the Chi family’s door, would you even be out here?”

Chi Nian’s expression froze, like an iceberg in the depths of an arctic world, layer upon layer of ice sealing her in, impenetrable and unyielding, impervious to even the fiercest sunlight. Her aura turned frigid, an unassailable chill piercing straight into Zhang Yuning’s core.

“Let me say this one more time.” Chi Nian stood up, and Zhang Yuning rose with her, her face alternating between pale and flushed whether from the force of the slap or sheer fury was unclear.

She met Chi Nian head-on, refusing to back down. Even if she felt guilty, she wouldn’t tolerate being insulted.

The two faced each other like sworn enemies, tension thick in the air. Chi Nian spoke halfway, but Zhang Yuning glared back, unwavering. At this moment, there was no distinction between employer and bodyguard both were fueled by the same stubborn defiance.

“You are not to touch my bag. Ever. This bag must not be lost. Protecting me means protecting it too.” Chi Nian treated it as though it were her very life. Zhang Yuning glanced at the bag on the ground. Worth over a hundred grand, but surely not that precious.

She smirked dismissively. “More important than your life?”

“Yes.”

What had been an offhand question was met with solemn conviction. Chi Nian repeated, “More important than my life.”

Zhang Yuning’s smile faded. She could tell Chi Nian meant it, this wasn’t an exaggeration. Unable to hold back, she asked, “What’s even inside?”

“None of your business. Don’t indulge unnecessary curiosity.”

“I’m not curious about the bag. I’m curious about you.” Zhang Yuning answered bluntly, frowning. “You were in a car accident, yet there’s no scar on your head. You were held captive by Chi Jing, yet you’re not afraid of being taken again. If I say you’re not Chi Nian, you own luxury cars and properties. If I say you are Chi Nian, you’re nothing like the Miss Chi I knew.”

She spilled all her doubts in one breath. Now that things had escalated to physical confrontation, there was no point hiding anything. This wasn’t just an argument. It could easily turn into a fight.

Who would’ve thought Chi Nian would resort to violence? If it had been anyone else, Zhang Yuning would’ve retaliated instantly. But this slap, she’d remember it.

“You doubt me?”

“It’s hard not to.”

“Yet I’ve never doubted you.” Chi Nian stepped closer, closing the distance. Zhang Yuning lowered her gaze slightly, meeting those striking features; those penetrating eyes always carried a trace of sorrow.

The depths of those pupils seemed wounded, fractured, scarred. Chi Nian was only 26, the heiress of a billionaire family. How could she be like this?

Zhang Yuning could never reconcile her with the Miss Chi from before.

Yet she claimed she’d never doubted her?

“What would you doubt me for? That I’m a thief, did you know that?”

“Promise me.” Chi Nian didn’t answer. Instead, she took two more steps forward, leaving almost no space between them. Zhang Yuning retreated slightly with her right foot, creating distance. “Promise what?”

“Don’t touch my bag again. I’ll forgive you this time.” Chi Nian’s tone was firm, her warning laced with an unyielding attitude that only provoked Zhang Yuning’s defiance. With a light scoff, Zhang Yuning retorted, “Forgive me? You hit me too. I didn’t see anything; what’s there for you to forgive?”

The sting on her right cheek still burned, the heat making it feel swollen. Zhang Yuning touched her face, her anger unmistakable. But it wasn’t just anger, it was frustration. She couldn’t retaliate, not because of their difference in status, but because she knew she could never bring herself to lay a hand on Chi Nian.

That realization was deadly.

Chi Nian’s gaze softened instantly, her eyes lingering on Zhang Yuning’s face. Her expression shifted, something between regret and heartache, impossible to decipher.

The world in her eyes was mysterious, a blend of singular sorrow and complex emotions, ever-changing.

A sliver of sunlight seeped through the curtains, faint but enough to highlight the red mark on Zhang Yuning’s face. Chi Nian reached out, but Zhang Yuning slapped her hand away. “Don’t touch me.”

It was a spiteful rejection, yet Chi Nian’s eyes brimmed with sadness. Still, she insisted, stepping closer. “Let me see.” She tried again to touch Zhang Yuning’s cheek.

“What are you doing?!” Zhang Yuning shoved her back forcefully, causing Chi Nian to stumble and fall. In the chaos, Zhang Yuning stepped on the newly bought gift box, and a sharp crack echoed through the room.

Oh no. Dread washed over her. Had she crushed it? She’d completely forgotten about the unopened lamp on the floor. Chi Nian’s expression grew even stranger. She wasn’t angry about being pushed. Instead, she stared at Zhang Yuning’s feet, her pupils dilating as she asked urgently, “The moon lamp, is it the moon lamp?”

She was frantic. But how could she recognize it so easily in the dim light, with the packaging barely visible?

Zhang Yuning watched her silently, then calmly crouched to inspect the damage. The box was completely flattened. Chi Nian scrambled over on her knees, desperation in her voice. “Is it broken?”

Strange. There was panic in her eyes, she didn’t even care about her dignity, lunging forward without hesitation.

Zhang Yuning was baffled by the odd behavior. Slowly, she opened the crushed box. The packaging had a layer of foam, with the moon lamp and its base stored separately. Her foot had landed squarely on the exposed lamp head, shattering it under the sudden, heavy pressure.

“It’s broken… it’s broken…” Chi Nian’s voice was hollow, as if the shattered pieces weren’t just glass but her heart.

“Just buy another one,” Zhang Yuning said dismissively. It wasn’t some rare limited edition, plenty were available online. She couldn’t understand Chi Nian’s reaction.

And honestly, Chi Nian cared about too many things and in the weirdest ways. It was impossible to predict what would set her off.

The room fell silent again. Chi Nian stared at the broken lamp, devastated. After a long pause, Zhang Yuning sighed. “I’ll clean this up and get you a new one.”

“Broken is broken, it can’t be changed.” Chi Nian murmured dazedly, her gaze vacant and even glistening with tears. She stared at Zhang Yuning, her right hand lifting slightly—perhaps to touch her face or something else before dropping back down in sorrow. That pained expression soon melted into a weak, bitter smile. “Can nothing be changed at all?”

“What?” Zhang Yuning didn’t understand her words. Chi Nian lowered her head, her disheveled hair cascading down, nearly covering her entire face. Was she crying?

Zhang Yuning’s heart softened. No matter how strange, no matter how inexplicable, no matter how absurd, Chi Nian’s grief at this moment didn’t seem fake.

Had she gone too far? Rifling through her bag, saying harsh words, even shoving her apart from touching that bag, Chi Nian had never spoken harshly to her, never held grudges, never lashed out in anger. Instead, she had always been tolerant.

But this couldn’t go on. She couldn’t keep being like this. Zhang Yuning refused to be fooled by a woman’s tears, nor would she indulge Chi Nian’s so-called sorrow. Who knew if it was an act? Even if it was real, she’d treat it as fake.

Perhaps Chi Nian was trying to compose herself. She knelt on the ground for several minutes, hands pressed against the floor, before slowly lifting her head. After a fleeting look of despair, she regained her composure. “Xiao Zhang, get me a calendar.”

Zhang Yuning didn’t respond. She remembered there was one at home and went straight to the study to search for it. After digging through a pile of scattered papers, she finally found it. When she returned to the living room, Chi Nian was gathering the shattered pieces of the moon lamp.

Her movements were slow, as if she wanted to piece them back together perfectly, not missing even the tiniest fragment. The curtains had been drawn open, and the light fell on Chi Nian’s kneeling figure, her frail back making Zhang Yuning’s heart ache uncontrollably.

“Let me do it,” she said, stepping forward with reluctant sympathy. “Here’s the calendar.” Seizing the moment to hand it over, Zhang Yuning grabbed a trash bin to clean up, but Chi Nian refused. “It can’t go in the trash.”

“It’s already broken. I can replace the bulb.”

“No.” Chi Nian shook her head, carefully placing every fragment back into the packaging box. Zhang Yuning noticed her finger had been pricked. “Your hand’s bleeding.”

“It’s fine.” She meticulously collected all the pieces, her cut finger oozing blood. Zhang Yuning frowned and went to fetch a band-aid from the first-aid kit. “Put this on first.”

When Chi Nian didn’t react, Zhang Yuning shoved the band-aid into her hand and tried to take the moon lamp away, but Chi Nian stopped her.

“I promise I won’t throw it out.”

Only then did Chi Nian relent. She glanced at the band-aid in her hand, her brows furrowing, then extended her hand with a pitiful look. “You put it on for me.”

Now she was acting like a spoiled young lady; that expression, that vulnerable tone, even carrying a hint of coquetry.

Zhang Yuning silently took it and gently wrapped the cut. In those brief seconds, Chi Nian’s gaze remained fixed on her. Zhang Yuning avoided meeting her eyes; it was pointless, meaningless.

“It’s going to rain tomorrow, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, the forecast says so.”

The sudden change of topic caught Zhang Yuning off guard. Chi Nian withdrew her hand, picked up the calendar, and stared at it intently before instructing, “Don’t go out tomorrow, understand?”

“Whether I go out or not isn’t up to me anyway.” She was the boss; Zhang Yuning was just the bodyguard. Wherever she went, she followed orders.

“Good. Then listen to me.”

“Mm.”

Chi Nian was muttering to herself as she held the calendar, marking several dates with a pen. It was just the beginning of April. No special holidays were coming up. Tomb-Sweeping Day was approaching, so rain was expected, but did Chi Nian have something else in mind?

“Xiao Zhang,” Chi Nian suddenly turned around, her face half-lit by sunlight and half in shadow, an extreme contrast flickering in her eyes.

“What?”

After a pause, she flashed a bright smile. “Sleep with me tonight.”