Jealous Again

The lazy afternoon sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, bathing the living room in a warm golden glow. Gu Yue had just brewed a pot of Lapsang Souchong in an exquisite purple clay teapot. The fragrance of tea drifted through the air as she carried some snacks to the coffee table, just as the doorbell rang.

"Ding-dong—"

"It should be Xiaoyan." Gu Yue glanced toward the kitchen. There was no response from Tang Wulin, only the sound of water rinsing cups. She went to answer the door.

Sure enough, Xu Xiaoyan stood outside. Dressed in casual sportswear with her hair in a high ponytail, she looked full of energy. "Sister Yue! I'm here! I also brought some new pastries from the supermarket downstairs. They're supposed to be pretty good." Grinning, Xu Xiaoyan handed over a paper bag and slipped inside after changing her shoes like it was her own home.

"You're being too polite." Gu Yue accepted the bag and led her to the living room sofa. "I just brewed some tea. This is perfect timing—have a taste."

"Wow, it smells amazing!" Xu Xiaoyan leaned close to the delicate teacup and took a deep breath. "Sister Yue, your tea is always so good. Oh, right, I had something to take care of at a nearby bank. Since I was close to your place, I decided to stop by for a while."

Whenever two girls got together, there was never any shortage of topics, however trivial. From which newly opened milk tea shop was best, to which character in the dramas they had been watching was the most captivating, to all the mundane gossip at work, they soon chatted animatedly. Gu Yue rarely relaxed like this. A faint smile rested on her lips as she chimed in now and then, while more than half the snacks on the coffee table disappeared.

However, that pleasant atmosphere did not last long. The sound of water in the kitchen stopped, and Tang Wulin came out after drying his hands. He had originally wanted to see what snacks were on the table, but when his gaze landed on Xu Xiaoyan sitting beside Gu Yue, his steps paused almost imperceptibly.

The mood in the living room instantly became a little awkward. Gu Yue and Xu Xiaoyan did not stop talking, but Tang Wulin could clearly feel that he had become an unnecessary background decoration in this space. Xu Xiaoyan was Gu Yue's best friend, and they had endless things to talk about. Aside from knowing Xu Xiaoyan, he could not join in on most of what they discussed. More importantly, Gu Yue's attention was entirely on her guest right now, as though he did not exist.

He stood at the boundary between the kitchen and living room, his face dark as he watched in silence for several minutes. Gu Yue sat with her side turned toward him, smiling as she listened to Xu Xiaoyan tell an amusing story. That smile... seemed far more genuine than the one she had given him that morning.

A familiar sour feeling began to rise from the depths of his heart. Tang Wulin pressed his lips together, feeling that if he stayed any longer, he might do something childish. He turned around and walked back to the bedroom without a word, stirring up a faint breeze as he passed through the living room.

Xu Xiaoyan had been speaking excitedly when she suddenly sensed an empty space beside her. Her words came to an abrupt stop, and she blinked in confusion. "Huh? Where's the boss?"

Gu Yue was also briefly stunned. She turned toward the bedroom and vaguely heard the sound of a door closing. With a helpless sigh, she lifted her teacup and took a sip before explaining to Xu Xiaoyan, "It's nothing. He probably just went back to his room."

"Back to his room? Why didn't he say goodbye?" Xu Xiaoyan looked puzzled, then seemed to realize something. She lowered her voice in sudden understanding. "Sister Yue, you two... haven't made up yet, have you? His expression didn't look right."

Gu Yue rubbed her temples. Remembering Tang Wulin's resentful look that morning, as well as how she had been forced to "give in," she could neither laugh nor cry. She briefly told Xu Xiaoyan about the string of jealousy, cold war, and how she had ultimately been "forced into confessing"—first over a game the previous night, then over being "ignored" that morning.

Naturally, she filtered out details such as how she had used "seduction" and "AI advice," saying only that they had resolved the matter through normal communication.

After hearing everything, Xu Xiaoyan's mouth fell open wide enough to fit an egg inside. She looked at the tightly shut bedroom door, then at Gu Yue's helpless expression. Her face gradually shifted from shock into a complicated mixture of sympathy and... admiration?

"My god..." Xu Xiaoyan murmured. "Sister Yue, this is... practically a textbook husband-taming scene. But honestly," she paused, genuine emotion showing in her eyes, "isn't the boss's possessiveness a little... over the top? Just because I came over and sat here for a while, he felt neglected and went straight back to his room to sulk?"

Gu Yue smiled bitterly. "Yeah, I didn't expect him to react so strongly either. It's like whenever my attention leaves him even a little, he starts feeling insecure."

Xu Xiaoyan could not help shaking her head, her tone carrying a hint of sympathy. "Actually, I can understand him pretty well now. Think about it—he cares about you so much, then he sees you playing games with another guy. That feeling of having you 'shared' must have been awful. And today, you were chatting with me, so he felt excluded. That sense of being left out..." She shrugged. "His way of handling it is a little childish, sure, but from another perspective, having someone who is so completely devoted to you, someone whose eyes hold only you, is actually kind of enviable. It's just... the price is a bit steep. You have to constantly stay within his 'radar' range."

As Gu Yue listened to Xu Xiaoyan's analysis, her gaze drifted unconsciously toward the bedroom door. Xu Xiaoyan's words touched a small corner of her heart.

She had always felt that Tang Wulin's jealousy was troublesome, something that needed to be managed and corrected. Yet she had rarely considered it from this angle—behind those actions lay his unreserved dependence and undivided attention.

Perhaps, to her, that intense and even somewhat excessive possessiveness was itself a weighty, one-of-a-kind expression of love.

"Forget it, let him be." Gu Yue withdrew her gaze and smiled again, pushing a pastry toward Xu Xiaoyan. "Even food can't shut you up. Here, try this."

Xu Xiaoyan accepted it with a smile, though her eyes could not help glancing toward the bedroom again.

The girls' laughter and conversation returned to the living room, but beneath it seemed to be an added layer of unspoken warmth and understanding.

Meanwhile, in the bedroom, Tang Wulin hugged the enormous body pillow printed with Gu Yue's chibi portrait and buried himself in the soft blankets. Listening to the faint sounds of Gu Yue and Xu Xiaoyan laughing outside, the sourness in his heart slowly fermented, strangely mingling with a small expectation. She must be wondering why I went back to my room now.