Trapped in Tenderness - Chapter 4

Jiang Man leaned against the head of the bed, watching the lead-grey clouds outside the glass window; the air, soaked with dampness, was the precursor to a torrential downpour.

Two hours ago, she had regained consciousness. When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the stark white ceiling of the hospital room. After waking up, she was rushed through a battery of tests. Afterward, the doctor informed her that aside from a concussion and some soft-tissue injuries, there were no other issues.

The only thing missing was nearly four years of memory.

Her memory stopped four years ago when she was only nineteen, a dancer with the ABT (American Ballet Theatre). She had started pointe work at age four and, after graduating from the middle school affiliated with the dance academy at seventeen, she had joined the ABT—one of the world’s top ballet troupes as a professional dancer.

In her mind, she was still intensifying her practice for a performance at Lincoln Center in a few days, and she had planned to go to that nearby Georgian restaurant after work to eat her favorite boat-shaped cheese bread.

But the reality was that four years had passed; she was now twenty-three. This was not New York, USA, but Huaicheng, China.

After regaining consciousness, the first thing she did was call her mother. From her mother, she learned that she had resigned from the ABT a year ago to return home for her career, and she was now the principal dancer of the Huaicheng Ballet Troupe.

Furthermore, she was married.

Her husband was from the top wealthy family in Huaicheng and the absolute person currently in power at the Qiheng Group. Even though she never involved herself in the business circle, she had heard the name Qi Zhicheng on the front pages of business sections in financial news and through her father’s occasional remarks.

Thirty years old, young and promising. After taking control of Qiheng, he had completed the integration of multiple industries within a few short years. The market value of the listed companies he controlled was so massive it was hard to estimate, such that even her father, who had spent over twenty years rising and falling in the business world, had to look up to him.

Jiang Man had never imagined that she would become involved with such a powerful figure.

Just then, the door to the ward was pushed open gently.

She looked up and couldn’t help but freeze.

The man had a lean, trim waist, and his sharply tailored suit hung straight and perfectly. His features were deep and sharp, radiating the aura of a business elite. Thin-rimmed gold glasses made him look exceptionally refined; the eyes behind the lenses were gentle, and a faint smile played on his face, making one feel an instinctive closeness to him.

“Manman, you’re awake.”

“You are…”

“I am Qi Zhicheng, your husband.”

Jiang Man’s mind went momentarily blank. The word “husband” was far too unfamiliar to her; for a moment, she didn’t know how to express herself. Her lips moved, and she instinctively nodded at him. “…Hello.”

The man was clearly stunned for a moment, and then, as if he had heard something incredibly interesting, he lowered his head and laughed. Laughing and shaking his head, he walked to the bedside, his laugh carrying a touch of intimacy.

“Manman,” he said, as if helpless. “Saying ‘hello’ to your own husband? It seems you really have forgotten me completely.”

He leaned over and naturally tucked a pillow behind her waist. “You being so polite to me makes me feel a bit awkward. You are my wife; there is no need for us to be so distant, and there’s even less need to call me ‘formal you’.”

Jiang Man remained in a state of system failure. Her fingers under the quilt curled up tightly, feeling somewhat embarrassed. Suddenly acquiring a strange husband, she didn’t know how to interact with him.

“It’s okay,” the man said gently. “It doesn’t matter if you can’t remember now. I will accompany you as you slowly find your past memories.”

He took a ring from his pocket. “Do you remember this?”

Jiang Man stared at it blankly.

He placed the ring back into her hand. “It fell off when you had the car accident. Now, I am returning it to its rightful owner.”

The ring featured a unique dual-track structure; the outer track was embedded with a ring of tiny micro-gears, each tip and groove crafted with immense precision a testament to its complex manufacture.

Jiang Man couldn’t help but admire it: “Such a special design.”

Qi Zhicheng raised his hand, revealing the matching ring worn on his ring finger.

“This is our wedding ring. When we chose this ring, you loved its design. Its cleverness lies in the fact that when the two rings meet, they can fit together perfectly.” He lowered his head and slowly rotated the band. “Every raised gear tooth can fall precisely into the groove of the other ring, inseparable.”

“Manman, it’s just like you and me.”

Jiang Man noticed a French phrase engraved on the inside of the ring.

Ne jamais lacher.

Never let go.

A strange feeling rose in her heart. What a heavy vow.

“I’ll put it on for you.”

Qi Zhicheng reached out naturally to take her hand. Jiang Man instinctively avoided him.

His hand stopped in mid-air.

Jiang Man said: “Sorry… I’m not quite used to it.”

Qi Zhicheng pulled back his hand and retreated slightly, giving her a suitable sense of distance: “Manman, no need to apologize to me. I know I am completely a stranger to you now. I understand perfectly; we can take it slowly.”

“Thank you.”

Jiang Man did not put the ring back on. She was at a loss; she simply couldn’t accept the fact that she was married in such a short amount of time, nor did she feel that this ring belonged to her.

Qi Zhicheng showed great tolerance toward her, gentlemanly enough not to pursue the topic, only asking with concern about her physical condition and calling for a meal. The food trolley held several exquisite soups and salads. He told her these were all things she used to like eating.

Jiang Man had little interest, lamenting that even her taste buds had changed quite a bit over the past four years, and she only took a small bowl of scallop and shredded chicken porridge.

Qi Zhicheng: “The doctor says you can be discharged after two days of observation if there are no problems. Perhaps when you get home, you might remember something.”

Home.

Her home with this strange man.

The massive amount of information and the void in her memories formed a powerful sense of internal conflict. Jiang Man, who was just scooping a spoonful of porridge, paused slightly, and a few drops of porridge landed on the back of her hand. Qi Zhicheng reached out as if to help her wipe it off but stopped in time before making contact.

His fingers curled in mid-air. He withdrew his hand, took a napkin from the side, and handed it to her. He maintained a social distance that wouldn’t make her feel uncomfortable throughout.

“Once you get home, there will be a professional nursing team coming over regularly. You just need to recuperate well.”

Jiang Man didn’t speak; her mind was a mess, and she was completely bewildered.

“I think you should want some time alone now.”

Qi Zhicheng placed the tissue box beside her and tucked in her quilt. “Get some rest.”

Two consecutive days of torrential rain made the air exceptionally damp. On the day of Jiang Man’s discharge, the rain still hadn’t let up. The soundproofing inside the Bentley was excellent; the dense raindrops hitting the roof sounded only like a muffled hum.

The car stopped slowly, and Jiang Man looked out the window. Through the misty rain curtain, an unfamiliar courtyard villa appeared before her eyes.

Qi Zhicheng stepped out with his long legs, and a servant, who had already been waiting at the porch, immediately opened an umbrella and hurried over. He took the umbrella handle himself, came to Jiang Man’s side, and opened the door.

“It’s raining hard, and there’s water pooling on the ground.” He extended his palm toward her. “If you don’t mind, you can lean on me.”

The mild concussion often left her feeling dizzy. Jiang Man hesitated for a moment before placing her hand in his palm.

Almost immediately, his fingers closed, clasping hers in return. The man’s palm was dry and warm. With his support, Jiang Man leaned forward and stepped out of the car. At the same time, the large black umbrella tilted entirely toward her side.

His sense of boundaries was handled quite well. After Jiang Man stood steady, he released her hand and did not linger.

“This is Songyuan.”

“It’s very quiet here; there’s not much traffic, very suitable for your recovery.”

The villa before her had white walls and black tiles, with the trees and flowers in the courtyard scattered in an orderly fashion, and water systems circling both sides of the porch—it was architecture in the style of the Huizhou school. The distance from the car to the porch was only a few steps. Jiang Man walked cautiously. After reaching the porch, the accompanying servant immediately took the umbrella from Qi Zhicheng’s hand.

“Come, let me show you our home.”

Jiang Man followed Qi Zhicheng inside. The interior continued the simple elegance of the exterior Huizhou architecture, and the entire villa was dominated by a large area of pure white.

“This wool blanket was purchased by you at a winter market in Brooklyn. You liked it very much; usually, we would cover ourselves with this blanket on this sofa to read and chat together.”

Jiang Man listened blankly, then followed him to the open-concept island. Qi Zhicheng walked in front.

“You used to complain that the island surface was too high and inconvenient to operate, saying you wanted to change to a lower one.”

“I… know how to cook?”

Jiang Man was surprised. In her memory, she had never stepped into the kitchen.

Qi Zhicheng stopped and turned around, smiling slightly: “Not often, but you would occasionally bake some cookies for me.”

“I don’t remember.”

“It doesn’t matter. Take your time; you’ll remember it eventually.”

He pointed upstairs. “There is a dance studio for you on the third floor. Do you want to go see it?”

“Okay.”

The dance studio was the same pure white, with a wall of floor-to-ceiling mirrors and the familiar barre. Jiang Man scanned this white space and gently brushed her fingers over the barre, unable to recall a single image of herself dancing here.

She lowered her gaze despondently. Her sight fell on the floor, which was as clean as new.

“Do I dance here often?” She looked up, puzzled. “But why aren’t there any scratches on this floor? If I danced here often, my pointe shoes should have left some marks on it at least…”

The smile on Qi Zhicheng’s face did not change. He walked calmly to her side and scanned the exquisitely decorated studio.

“You really don’t dance here often.”

“Usually, you like to practice in the troupe’s rehearsal hall. You said you could hear the footsteps of other dancers there, sweat together with them, and you like the atmosphere there.”

He shrugged helplessly: “You complained to me before that this place was like a pretty showroom.”

After speaking, Qi Zhicheng ended the topic at the right moment: “I’ll take you to see the bedroom. You must be tired; you can sleep there for a while.”

The elevator car’s four walls were so shiny they reflected their figures. The two stood side-by-side, separated by a distance that was neither too close nor too far. The elevator ascended slowly; the two didn’t speak, making the car feel even quieter. Jiang Man looked at the man’s reflection in the mirror; his figure was tall and straight, and the dark grey suit outlined his superior shoulder line. The brows and eyes behind the lenses were sharp and hard, but when they looked at her, they carried a gentle smile—he was a person caught between refinement and coldness, making him impossible to see through.

Qi Zhicheng seemed to notice her gaze. He lowered his eyes slightly and met her eyes in the mirror.

“What’s wrong?” He asked with a smile.

“Mr. Qi.”

“Mr. Qi?” He let out a faint chuckle. “After being married for so long, this is the first time I’ve heard you call me that.”

“Then what do I usually call you?”

“Husband.”

Jiang Man was speechless for a moment. She cleared her throat awkwardly and asked: “Were we… very close in the past?”

“Of course.”

Ding.

The elevator door opened.

“Outsiders all envy our relationship.” He stepped out of the elevator. “Every night, we sleep in each other’s arms in this bedroom.”

The bedroom was on the second floor, with an open layout. The walk-in closet was so large it occupied an entire wall, filled with current-season clothing arranged by color, and the central island’s glass cabinet held all kinds of jewelry.

On one side sat a leather sofa and coffee table. Jiang Man saw a photo frame on the table. It was their wedding photo. In the photo, the two were nestled together intimately. She was leaning in the man’s arms, a faint, gentle smile on her lips. They looked very happy.

Jiang Man looked away, scanned the room, and still felt it was unfamiliar.

Qi Zhicheng introduced: “This is the master bedroom; you can go inside and rest for a while.”

Jiang Man followed his gaze. Behind the frosted glass partition, she could faintly see the outline of dark bedding.

It was a very private space.

“Your daily necessities are all in their original places; I’ll take you over to have a look.”

Qi Zhicheng was about to head inside when Jiang Man called him: “Wait a moment.”

Qi Zhicheng turned his head to the side: “What is it?”

“Are there any other rooms?”

“Are you not satisfied with this bedroom?”

“No, this place is great, just…” Jiang Man took a light breath. “Although we are husband and wife, but… for the person I am now, you are a complete stranger to me. I have no way of sleeping in the same room as a stranger.”

The moment Jiang Man’s voice fell, the gentle smile on Qi Zhicheng’s face paused for a second. His fingers curled in his pocket, his fingertips pressing into his finger bones.

Hearing no response, Jiang Man raised her eyes to look at him.

Under his wife’s gaze, Qi Zhicheng stiffly pulled at the corners of his mouth.

“It’s okay.”

Exposing a gentle smile, Qi Zhicheng lowered his eyes and nodded. “Manman, I understand completely. Don’t have any psychological burden; I will fully respect your rhythm.”

“However, you don’t need to change rooms. The view and sunlight of this master bedroom are the most comfortable; you can live here with peace of mind. I’ll go to another room.”

He walked to the main control panel, pressed the switch, and the curtains closed slowly, the light in the room becoming soft. “Now, get some rest.”

Jiang Man didn’t expect him to respect her wishes to such an extent; it completely exceeded her expectations. Her initially restless heart was smoothed out, and a hint of good feelings toward this strange husband arose.

“Thank you.” She smiled at him.

“If you have any needs, you can find me at any time.”

He appeared infinitely reasonable and took the initiative to exit the room. “Sweet dreams.”

“Mm.”

Jiang Man nodded. Under his gentle gaze, she gently closed the bedroom door.

Click.

The door lock fell.

Isolating the two worlds inside and outside.

Outside the door, the smile on Qi Zhicheng’s face vanished completely.