Marriage First, True Love Later

Anran stared out the window the entire way with a blank and vacant expression in her eyes.

Su Yicheng glanced at her without speaking, then freed a hand to hold on to her hand tightly. Tonight’s situation surprised him a little, but it also made him understand one thing. In terms of marriage, it wasn’t that she didn’t have anyone suitable around her, but instead, she had been waiting for that special person in her heart for six years, and he reappeared right when she finally decided to give up.

He thought, “If it hadn’t been for the fact that she had found the wrong address that day, and had mistaken him for another man, perhaps she would already be another man’s wife now.” With his thoughts on this, Su Yicheng felt a dull aching pain inside and had an inexplicable feeling within him. His grip on her hands strengthened without him realizing.

Anran cried out in pain and turned her head to look at him.

Realizing that he was hurting her, Su Yicheng was surprised by his momentary loss of control and smiled at her apologetically as he rubbed her little hand with his big palm. With a faint smile on his lips, he said, “Sleep for a little while. I’ll you when we get there.”

Anran stared at him for a while before nodding, then she leaned back against her seat and slowly closed her eyes.

Su Yicheng adjusted her seat to make her feel more comfortable lying there.

The car drove steadily, and Anran laid on her back while covered with Su Yicheng’s suit blazer. Her breathing was peaceful and tranquil.

The car slowly drove into the community parking garage. Su Yicheng switched off the car engine and stared at Anran lying against the back of the chair with her eyes closed. He knew she was actually awake. Although her breathing was slow and even, the slight tremble of her eyelashes sold her out.

Su Yicheng stared at her quietly for a while. Then, instead of waking her up, he opened the door to get out of the car, then went around the car to her side. He carried her out of the car and into the house, then finally entered the bedroom and laid her down on the bed.

Anran feigned sleep the entire way, but Su Yicheng didn’t expose her and treated her as if she had really fallen asleep. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he stretched out his hand to brush away the fringes of hair on her forehead to reveal her beautiful eyebrows, and started rubbing it gently to smooth out the wrinkles from her frown. Then, he got up and went into the bathroom. When Su Yicheng came out of the bathroom while twisting a hot towel, he saw Anran lying in bed with her eyes still closed, yet now there were tears at the corner of her eye. As he stared at the streak of tears at the corner of her eyes, he felt something inexplicable inside him.

As he watched the tears stream down her face, Su Yicheng finally realized that the inexplicable feeling inside of him was heartache and sorrow.

He still didn’t wake her up and used the towel to wipe away the tears in the corner of her eyes, and the dust and fatigue on the face. He went into the bathroom again to rinse the towel, then came out again, grabbed her hand, and started wiping her fingers, one by one.

Anran’s eyelashes quivered, and her hands even jerked slightly. Su Yicheng looked up at her face and stared for a while but saw that still, she didn’t open her eyes. Without saying anything, he pulled over her other hand and started to wipe each finger again in the same manner.

As Su Yicheng stood up to place the towel back into the bathroom, his phone started to ring at that time. After turning his head to have one final look at her, Su Yicheng took his phone and headed out of the bedroom.

Anran opened her eyes as he went out and stared at his back as he walked out of the door and closed the door as he passed by, but he didn’t use enough strength, so the door didn’t close completely.

She could clearly hear him talking on the phone and guessed that it was probably Su Yijiao who had called. From the words he was saying, she could also guess the purpose of Su Yijiao’s phone call. It must have been about that farce at Youran Cuisine’s entrance that night.

Anran didn’t know how Su Yicheng answered Su Yijiao because he deliberately lowered his voice and walked further away from the door with his phone.

Anran lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling with her eyes wide open. Tonight, Mo Fei seemed like a total stranger, and she was completely unable to match him with the person from her memory six years ago.

He used to be so gentle and cheery. He would always smile when he saw her. He never appeared sullen or sulky. Even when he turned his back on her on that fateful day, he still had a smile at the corner of his mouth, despite the fact that it was a guilty smile. The Mo Fei she had seen today had no trace of the warmth and gentleness from six years ago but appeared much more frightening. Furthermore, there was a streak of ruthlessness in him that she had never seen before.

Time really changes everything and peels off the facades to reveal the true colors of people. When they met again years later, he was already beyond recognition and had not the slightest hint of familiarity.

Yet what surprised her most was Su Yicheng not asking anything. She really couldn’t fathom that man’s mind, but she was grateful that he didn’t pry. Tonight was truly a farce. Even if he had asked, she wouldn’t know where to start.

Some scars wouldn’t stop hurting even after they healed.

Hearing the sound of his footsteps, Anran slowly closed her eyes and turned her back to the door.

Su Yicheng stared at the figure with her back to him and quietly watched her for a while without speaking. Then, he took his pajamas from the closet and went into the bathroom.

When Su Yicheng stepped out of the bathroom after taking a shower, Anran still maintained the same position as before and lay there motionless.

After wiping his damp hair, Su Yicheng put the towel aside and lay down beside her, then switched off the lamp. As usual, in the dark, he reached out to bring her into his arms so her back was on his chest. Then, his hand went over her waist to grab her hand, and he clasped her fingers together.

He heard her slightly irregular breathing and felt how unnaturally stiff her body was. In the dark, Su Yicheng moved her body closer to his and lowered his head to plant a kiss on the center of her head. Then, his low magnetic voice sounded above her head in a whisper, “Sleep…”

Turning her back to him in the dark, Anran opened her eyes, clutched his hands more firmly, then slowly closed her eyes again.

Not long after, in the room illuminated by the moonlight, only long and steady breathing was heard. Su Yicheng held Anran in his arms with a faint smile on his face. This time, he was certain that she was really asleep and no longer merely pretending.

Then, holding on to her tender and soft body, Su Yicheng slowly closed his eyes as well and slept with her. Soon, their slow and steady breathing overlapped and combined to create an interesting rhythm in the night.