Mysterious Beautiful Wife at Home (GL) - Chapter 20

Chi Nian was acting mysteriously, so Zhang Yuning didn’t press further. However, she noticed that Chi Nian was becoming increasingly drowsy. Her daily naps now required an alarm to wake her, and occasionally, Zhang Yuning had to rouse her manually in case she missed it.

During her breaks, Zhang Yuning worked on repairing the moon lamp. The last few pieces were particularly fragmented, requiring extra care to piece together.

Will tomorrow be sunny?

The rain had lightened after a week of nonstop downpour. At dusk, a rainbow arched in the distance, heralding the arrival of clear skies. The earthy scent in the air had finally given way to the freshness of green leaves, and the wind carried a hint of the sea. It was said that the heavy rains had caused the tides to rise, submerging nearby beaches.

By evening, the long-absent moon finally peeked out, as if rewarding the world below. Coinciding with the clearing weather, Zhang Yuning completed the repairs on the moon lamp.

She tested it. The light worked fine. Aside from some visible seams, it didn’t affect its function as a nightlight. She then aligned the base and the lamp with the magnetic field. After some adjustments, the bulb hovered steadily, spinning gently with the slightest touch.

The slow rotation didn’t diminish its effect. The simulated lunar surface, illuminated, rivaled the soft glow of the real moon in both dreaminess and warmth. Zhang Yuning suddenly realized, this was like plucking the moon from the sky and bringing it home.

So this was what people meant when they jokingly said, “Reach for the moon in the heavens.” Giving someone the stars and the moon with enough effort, even the impossible could be achieved.

Carefully carrying the lamp, Zhang Yuning walked to the bedroom. Chi Nian was no longer on the balcony; instead, sounds came from the kitchen. She set the moon lamp to night mode and placed it on Chi Nian’s bedside, letting it spin freely.

It was only 5:30, was she already cooking? Zhang Yuning slid open the kitchen door to find Chi Nian chopping mushrooms, her hair loosely tied back in a simple ponytail. Her knife skills were practiced, almost professional.

This was baffling. Chi Nian should have grown up never lifting a finger. How could she know how to cook? With a household full of maids and butlers, why would she do something so ordinary?

Was she even Chi Nian? Zhang Yuning’s suspicions resurfaced. If she wasn’t, all the oddities would make sense. An imposter heiress, hence the massive wealth? Or was someone targeting the Chi family for some scheme? Maybe she was even working with Chi Jing, the two pretending to feud while he took control of his sister’s shares.

Had the real Chi Nian already died?

But then why involve Zhang Yuning? What use was she? She was just a nobody. Whether Chi Nian sought hackers or turned to the dark web for her own team, it had nothing to do with Zhang Yuning. Was it simply because she had shown up on her own?

Zhang Yuning couldn’t make sense of it. Her gaze lost focus as she stared at Chi Nian, her mind drifting far and wide, yet arriving at no concrete answers.

Chi Nian was like a complex scientific formula, filled with indecipherable data. No matter how deeply Zhang Yuning probed or how much she pondered, she couldn’t crack it.

Frustration gnawed at her. She still hadn’t decoded those records. If they turned out to be some unbreakable cipher, it would be laughable. She was in IT, after all. Whatever form the content took, there had to be a way.

Then again, those might just be Chi Nian’s unique way of keeping notes. If she wanted to guard her secrets, no one would ever uncover them.

“Either come help or go sit down. What are you just standing there for?” Chi Nian sensed her gaze but didn’t look up.

“Let me handle these things. How can we have the boss cooking?” Zhang Yuning rolled up her sleeves to help, but Chi Nian cast her a gentle glance: “Tonight, you’re having Western food with me. Since you don’t know my taste preferences, I’ll take care of it.”

“What’s the occasion for Western food today?”

Chi Nian paused her busy hands and looked at Zhang Yuning, a faint smile curling her lips: “Every day is a good day.”

Unsure what she was hinting at this time, Zhang Yuning prepared to leave the tiny kitchen.

“Put the moon lamp on the bar counter.”

“You’ve got sharp eyes.”

Chi Nian began plating the food, her expression enigmatic, as if weighed down by thoughts: “No candles tonight. We’ll let moonlight stand in for candlelight.”

“Are you sure today isn’t some special occasion?” Zhang Yuning still found it odd. Chi Nian rarely ate these kinds of meals at night, let alone prepared such a romantically Western-style dinner.

“I just said every day is a good day.”

Her answer remained unchanged. Zhang Yuning gave a soft “Mm” and didn’t press further. She carefully carried the moon lamp to the bar counter. Once plugged in, the lamp continued its slow rotation, like a silent hourglass slipping time away unnoticed.

The exquisite plates held steak, garnished with broccoli and cherry tomatoes. After arranging the meal, Chi Nian opened a bottle of red wine, pouring half a glass into each of two goblets, fussing over it for quite a while.

Zhang Yuning sat waiting at the table, not looking up at the sound of pouring wine. She often liked to gently nudge the moon lamp. Too hard, and it would fall, reattaching to its base, so only the lightest touch would do.

“Western food pairs well with red wine,” Chi Nian finally brought over the wine.

“I’m allergic to alcohol, can’t drink.” Zhang Yuning had virtually no tolerance for alcohol, having hardly touched it her whole life. How bad was it? Once, after a single beer, she broke out in red splotches and slept for a full day and night.

“What kind of allergic reaction?”

“Skin condition.”

Chi Nian’s gaze held a mix of skepticism and amusement, but she still pushed the glass toward Zhang Yuning: “Then just take one sip with me.”

“Your idea of ‘one sip’ wouldn’t mean downing it in one go, would it?”

Chi Nian removed her apron, letting her long hair cascade down. She tilted her head slightly, brushing her hair to one side, then adjusted the plates. When she looked up, her eyes gleamed whether from the lamp’s glow or some inner light, her gaze burned briefly before sweeping over the table, sending a warm current through Zhang Yuning’s heart.

“Try the steak. Cooked to your preference, medium-well.” Chi Nian rested her chin on interlaced fingers, in no hurry to drink.

“My preference, medium-well.” Zhang Yuning disliked undercooked meat, preferring her steak well-done, with no trace of pink.

But how did she know that? She couldn’t have mentioned it before.

The steak tasted bland to Zhang Yuning whether due to differing tastes or something else, she couldn’t discern its flavor, merely chewing mechanically. Still, she said, “It’s really good.”

“Eat up.” Chi Nian lowered her head to cut her own steak, but with every bite, her eyes flicked to the moon lamp.

The way she looked at the lamp mirrored how she gazed at the moon as if pouring out all the tenderness in her heart.

“Does the moon hold special meaning for you?” Zhang Yuning asked offhandedly.

Chi Nian turned to her: “Yes, it does.”

“Human or object?”

“Why are you curious about that?”

“If you think I shouldn’t ask, I can drop it.”

Chi Nian smiled faintly: “Since when have you ever been interested in other people’s affairs?”

“Only because you’ve been acting all mysterious and cryptic.” Zhang Yuning hated herself for this. She’d always been emotionally detached, indifferent to worldly matters. After all, she was an abandoned child who’d never received any care from this world. Why should she care about others?

The Third Young Miss had shown her kindness, but theirs was at most an employer-employee relationship without any emotional connection. Yet Chi Nian was the only one who genuinely cared about her, though it was hard to tell whether that care was real or feigned.

Suddenly putting down her knife and fork, Chi Nian gazed at Zhang Yuning with tender, earnest eyes: “Just remember this, I would never harm you.”

Their eyes locked. If sincerity could be conveyed through a gaze, then Chi Nian’s expression made all words unnecessary, rendering disbelief impossible. Yet when rationality returned, Zhang Yuning still preferred to believe that all the beauty in this world had nothing to do with her.

“Mmm.” She lowered her head to eat. Chi Nian raised her wine glass: “A sip?”

Zhang Yuning wasn’t afraid of alcohol. After clinking glasses, she took a big gulp. As she lifted the stemmed glass, Chi Nian’s reflection appeared on the transparent surface. In that instant, she looked so sorrowful, as if all the grief in the world had pooled in her eyes.

The soft yellow glow of the moon lamp illuminated Chi Nian’s profile, transforming that sorrow into color. Zhang Yuning suddenly understood. Sadness wasn’t exclusive to a world of black, white and gray. The world was full of sorrowful hues, each person carrying their own shade of grief, creating a spectrum of sorrows.

The wine’s warmth spread from her throat through her entire body. Unaccustomed to drinking, Zhang Yuning felt like even her breath carried the scent of alcohol, leaving her uncomfortable all over. Yet Chi Nian downed her glass in one go, her expression unchanged, as calm as if she’d merely drunk water.

But soon Zhang Yuning’s vision began to blur, her head growing heavier. Surely she couldn’t be drunk after just one sip? She pressed her fingers to her temples, supporting her forehead.

“What’s wrong?” Chi Nian set down her glass and came to her side. The room seemed to spin, and even Chi Nian appeared slightly intoxicated, her eyes soft and luminous, as if they could speak.

“I…” Zhang Yuning couldn’t believe such a small amount of alcohol could affect her like this.

“Let’s get you to rest.” Chi Nian lifted Zhang Yuning’s arm over her shoulders. Zhang Yuning’s legs felt weak, but she clung to Chi Nian’s arm until they reached the bed.

Before Chi Nian could lower her, Zhang Yuning lost her balance and collapsed heavily onto the mattress, pulling Chi Nian down with her.

Something was wrong. This weakness throughout her body didn’t feel like drunkenness. It felt more like she’d been drugged.

As Chi Nian lay beside her, Zhang Yuning mustered her strength to roll over and grab her throat, but her fingers lacked strength. “Why did you drug me?” she demanded. “Was it you who drugged me in the basement too?”

Chi Nian’s silence felt like admission. Zhang Yuning wanted to force answers from her violently, but her body had become completely limp, devoid of any aggression. In her blurred vision, Chi Nian’s eyes held nothing but anguish.

She was like fish on a chopping block, completely at another’s mercy.

Yet Chi Nian’s eyes grew moist. As Zhang Yuning squinted at her through half-lidded eyes, she suddenly felt herself being kissed deeply, while buttons began slipping open one by one.

Zhang Yuning’s eyes widened, her entire body stiffened, and her consciousness began to blur, making it hard to distinguish between reality and dreams.

Chi Nian’s kiss transitioned from fierce to tender. As a needle-like pain pierced her skin, Zhang Yuning struggled to open her eyes and saw Chi Nian holding a syringe, injecting something into her. She couldn’t resist, only feeling her body grow weightless until a drop of warm rain touched her cheek.

No, that wasn’t rain.

It was Chi Nian’s tears.