By the time everything had ended, Su Mu was so exhausted that she didn’t even want to move her toes, and Fu Shinian, surprisingly lax, didn’t immediately head to the bathroom. They lay naked on the bed, one leaning back and smoking, the other curled up by his side like a languid cat. It was a state they had never experienced before, and to Su Mu, it felt like the most heartwarming moment.
If possible, she wished time could stand still, and dying at this moment would leave her without regrets.
She had married Fu Shinian hoping for just a sense of peace, and at this moment, she had what she desired.
As the scent of nicotine gradually filled Su Mu’s senses, she couldn’t help but look up at him. In the past, he would have immediately gone to the bathroom, without a trace of warmth, so this was also the first time Su Mu saw Fu Shinian smoke after such an event. She had seen such scenes in novels and movies, where the image was beautifully rendered to the extreme, but it was only now, watching Fu Shinian in this way, that Su Mu felt the beauty was not only aesthetic but also incredibly seductive. She couldn’t help but let her gaze linger on his face.
Fu Shinian, aware of her gaze, tilted his head down slightly to look at her:
"What is it?"
Su Mu pursed her lips and asked, "What does the cigarette taste like?"
Fu Shinian chuckled softly, "Want to try?"
Without waiting for Su Mu’s response, he brought the cigarette to her lips. Su Mu, as if under a spell, opened her mouth and took a light drag, then began to cough desperately, as if she were trying to expel all her internal organs. Watching her like this, Fu Shinian ultimately couldn’t bear it and stretched out his hand to pat her back to help her breathe:
"Spineless."
The harsh taste took a while for Su Mu to recover from her coughing, but that taste lingered in her mouth for a long time. Looking at Fu Shinian, she said,
"It’s not good at all, how can you like this strange taste?"
Fu Shinian laughed again without answering, apparently finding her words insubstantial.
He was likely aware that smoking was harmful to health, and it wasn’t his intention to learn, but there were too many sudden changes at home back then, and he desperately needed a way to vent. Drinking would let his grandmother notice, so on the advice of Ji Nanfeng, he learned to smoke. Later, when all was resolved, smoking had slowly become a habit. Since he wasn’t addicted and only smoked occasionally, he didn’t particularly try to quit.
But now it seemed that Ji Nanfeng really wasn’t a good friend. All the bad habits he had were learned from him.
It was rare for the two of them to have such peaceful moments. Most of the time, they went about their separate lives, and the little time they spent together was often split between arguments and physical intimacy. It was during this moment that Su Mu truly felt that they were like a real married couple.
She carefully reached out and wrapped her arms around his waist. Sensing that he did not sarcastically comment, Su Mu breathed a sigh of relief.
Time passed in silence for a long time, so much so that her nose could no longer smell any hint of tobacco, but her mind remained clear, probably because she had slept the entire afternoon in the film city. Thinking of today’s harrowing incidents in the film city, Su Mu couldn’t help but voice her doubts:
"Shinian, why did you rescue me?"
Their relationship had been merely a compromise, and considering they had been cold-shouldering each other for four days before this encounter, Su Mu thought he wouldn’t have intervened. He had never shown any care for her in front of others, but this time, it was truly unexpected.
Fu Shinian had been resting with his eyes closed, but upon hearing her, he slowly opened his eyes. Looking down at her with the same gentle expression, he said,
"What? Should I not have come to rescue you?"
"I didn’t want you to be the one to rescue me."
Fu Shinian’s voice turned cold, "Then who did you want to rescue you? Wei Shaoqin? He would have sold you off if anything."
Su Mu shook her head:
"I just don’t want you to get hurt because of me. What happened today was too dangerous. If something were to happen to you because of me, I’m afraid I’d never be able to forgive myself."
"Are you afraid something will happen to me?"
"Yeah." Su Mu looked up at him from his embrace, "I want you to be healthy and live a long life."
"What if I died?"
Without a second thought, Su Mu blurted out, "I’d die with you."
That determined look in her eyes, her resolute tone, and her stubborn expression undoubtedly conveyed a message to Fu Shinian: Su Mu wasn’t lying. If something really happened to him, she truly would die with him.
Fu Shinian didn’t say anything for a long time. He thought about Su Mu’s Weibo, about the passionate, intense feelings she had for another man.
If the person who saved her today had been the one in her heart, would she also be able to say such words? Fu Shinian didn’t know, nor did he want to know.
Su Mu had said she liked him, and seeing her like this, Fu Shinian felt he believed her, believed that she did have feelings of affection for him. However, he couldn’t measure the extent of that affection, yet he saw very clearly the affection she had for another man.
If the Su Mu of that moment and the Su Mu of her Weibo weren’t lying, then Fu Shinian didn’t understand. Didn’t understand how a person could truly fall for two people at the same time? Or was it that after not receiving a response from that person for so long, and not finding a resolution, she transferred her affections to him?
——
The next day, Fu Shinian insisted on going to the company. Su Mu was worried, and when Song Yi came to pick up Fu Shinian, she quietly instructed him a lot, until Fu Shinian discovered it and looked at her indifferently:
"With all the energy you have to fuss here, you’d be better off improving your own physical strength. It’s seriously lacking."
Su Mu felt confused, wondering why he was suddenly complaining about her physical strength. She hadn’t needed to use much strength recently, and just as she was about to ask, the memory of their harmonious activities in bed the night before inexplicably popped into her mind, which indeed seemed to be related to her physical strength.
Her face slowly turned red, and she cast him a shy, reproachful glance, which elicited a slight raise of an eyebrow from Fu Shinian before he stepped away and left.
After sending Fu Shinian off, Su Mu called Jiang Bei, who immediately scolded her upon hearing her voice, "Has Fu Shinian put some kind of spell on you? It’s only been a day, and you’re scurrying back. You’re so easily swayed."
Yet, Su Mu felt there was nothing wrong with it. Between husband and wife, there was no absolute standard for being together. As long as she felt comfortable, even showing weakness was no big deal.
The conversation then turned to Wen Shaoyuan. Su Mu mentioned that she seemed to have already missed a week’s worth of classes. Hearing this, Jiang Bei let out a sigh:
"I heard from my dad that Shaoyuan’s grandmother seems to be planning to stay with the Wen Family for a long time."
Since it was the Wen Family’s family affair, Su Mu could not say much, "Shaoyuan has always been alone at home. He’s had little time with his grandparents. Having another elder around isn’t so bad, is it?"
Jiang Bei huffed:
"Susu, do you really think that if Shaoyuan’s grandmother were so easy to get along with, Wen Han would have called you to stay away recently? She’s worried you’d be put at a disadvantage by that old lady. Moreover, Shaoyuan has never liked his grandmother, and that old lady has never cared for Shaoyuan. In her eyes, the Wen Family is nothing more than a shining gold mine!"