Misjudgment

The afternoon sunlight gradually slanted westward, and the warm golden glow that had originally bathed the living room was unknowingly tinged with the orange-red hues of sunset.

Before leaving, Xu Xiaoyan deliberately cast a meaningful glance toward the bedroom and lowered her voice as she said to Gu Yue, "Sister Yue, if the boss still doesn't come out, I'm going in to 'rescue' him. Wouldn't want him to suffocate in there."

Gu Yue merely smiled helplessly as she saw off her best friend, who loved nothing more than stirring up trouble.

The lock clicked shut, and the living room fell completely silent. The rich fragrance of black tea and the sweetness of pastries still lingered in the air, but an invisible, tense silence now permeated the room. Gu Yue cleared away the mess on the coffee table, the crisp clink of porcelain sounding especially jarring in the quiet space.

She had just carried several empty plates into the kitchen and turned to head back to the living room when faint footsteps suddenly sounded behind her.

Gu Yue knew who it was without even turning around.

Tang Wulin had somehow already appeared in the kitchen doorway. His tall figure blocked most of the light, and the shadow he cast enveloped Gu Yue. There was little expression on his face, but complex, indecipherable emotions churned in his eyes—lingering bitterness, a trace of barely perceptible grievance, and a few... eager, probing impulses.

The fingers holding Gu Yue's dishcloth tightened slightly. She kept her expression calm as she turned to pass him. "Move. You're in the way."

Tang Wulin did not move.

Just as Gu Yue brushed past him, he suddenly reached out. Rather than pulling her back, he naturally took the purple clay teacup that still contained half a cup of black tea from her hand. It was the cup Gu Yue had used earlier, and the rim still bore the faint imprint of her lips.

Gu Yue: "...?"

The next second, Tang Wulin tipped back his head, his Adam's apple bobbing as he drained the remaining black tea in one gulp. The motion was clean and decisive, carrying an almost provocative air. The cool bottom of the purple clay cup landed on the coffee table with a soft tap.

"Your jealousy covers way too much, doesn't it?" Gu Yue crossed her arms and leaned against the cabinet, glaring at him irritably. This guy even had to fight over the last half-mouthful of tea in a cup. He was simply unreasonable.

Tang Wulin licked his lips, seemingly savoring the lingering sweetness. At her words, a sly gleam flashed through his eyes as he retorted with complete confidence, "Didn't I learn it from you?"

He stepped closer, narrowing the distance between them. His voice lowered, carrying a nostalgic tone. "Back at Shrek Academy, didn't you ignore me for an entire week just because I said a few extra words to another girl? Who was it that said, 'Tang Wulin, is forging the only thing in your eyes?'"

Gu Yue was instantly speechless, her cheeks warming slightly. He had dredged up an old score, and it was even the jealousy rules she herself had established. Now they had become his excuse for copying her.

"Stop!" Seeing that he was about to give more examples, Gu Yue hurriedly rushed forward and firmly covered his mouth with her slender hand. His warm breath brushed against her palm, along with the curve of his half-smile, making her hand tingle. "Didn't we agree not to bring up the past? Dragging up old scores is the most pointless thing!"

With his mouth covered, Tang Wulin could not speak, but his eyes curved into crescents, gleaming with the light of success. He seized the wrist of the hand covering his mouth, then wrapped his other arm around her waist. With a slight exertion of force, the world spun, and Gu Yue found herself completely pinned onto the soft sofa.

"Mm!"

Caught off guard, Gu Yue sank back into the sofa cushions. Tang Wulin's heavy body pressed down on her, restricting her movement. She struggled to get up, but he held her firmly in place.

"Fine, we won't talk about the past." Tang Wulin released her wrist and braced both hands beside her ears, looking down at her with a dangerous yet serious gaze. "Then I'll inspect things now and see whether someone's phone has hidden traces of any 'game friends' or 'late-night chats' again."

As he spoke, one hand accurately reached toward the phone Gu Yue had left in the corner of the sofa.

Gu Yue panicked at once. It was not because there was anything shameful on her phone, but because the humiliation and suffocation of being searched like this hit her at the same time. Her limbs flailed wildly in the air as she tried to push the "mountain" pinning her down away, protesting indistinctly, "Tang Wulin! Let go! You're invading my privacy!"

Yet what she considered fierce resistance looked like nothing but obvious guilt to Tang Wulin.

"Oh? Such a big reaction?" Tang Wulin raised an eyebrow, moving even faster as he easily unlocked Gu Yue's phone. The password was his birthday, something that had never changed. His fingers swiped across the screen and directly opened WeChat.

Gu Yue was still squirming and struggling when Tang Wulin suddenly stopped moving.

He stared at the lit screen, his brows knitting slightly. At the top of WeChat were several pinned work group chats, their red notification dots constantly flashing. Scrolling down, aside from Xu Xiaoyan, there were only Tang Wulin, Ye Xinglan, and a handful of contacts labeled "Shrek So-and-So." Her most recent messages, other than a few exchanges with Xu Xiaoyan about afternoon tea, were all work-related.

It was excessively clean.

There were no flirtatious nicknames, no private late-night chats, and even game invitation records were scarce. All of her social activity was open and aboveboard, like a clear mirror reflecting the regular, simple path of its owner's life.

Tang Wulin froze.

The "evidence" he had expected never appeared. There were no unfamiliar profile pictures to set his jealousy boiling, no intimate forms of address to make alarm bells ring. There was only an ordinary truth that left him somewhat at a loss.

The weight pressing down on Gu Yue seemed to vanish in an instant. She finally broke free, violently shoved him away, and sprang upright from the sofa, gasping for breath. Her chest rose and fell sharply, while her cheeks flushed an alluring red from lack of oxygen and struggling.

"Were you trying to crush me to death so you could live without worries?" she glared at him weakly. There were still unshed physiological tears in her eyes, making her look both disheveled and captivating.

Tang Wulin stood frozen in place, still holding her phone like an elementary school student caught red-handed after making a mistake. Looking at how badly Gu Yue had been tossed around, then at the unmistakable "innocence" displayed on the screen, his previously inexplicable momentum instantly deflated.

The air froze for several seconds.

"Wife..." Tang Wulin's voice was dry, and he softened his posture with utter sincerity. "I was wrong."

Gu Yue gave a humph and straightened her rumpled collar, too lazy to acknowledge him.

Seeing that showing weakness worked, Tang Wulin hurriedly pressed his advantage. He leaned closer, wanting to touch her shoulder, only for Gu Yue to slap his hand away.

"Get lost! You idiot!"

The scolding was soft and sweet. Rather than anger, it sounded more like a coquettish complaint. Tang Wulin knew he had truly messed up this time. If he kept pestering her, he would probably invite an even fiercer storm. He withdrew his hand resentfully, his face filled with dejection.

He slowly climbed off the sofa, and his tall body actually seemed somewhat hunched at that moment. He did not try to argue further. Instead, he silently walked to the bedroom door, bent down to pick up the enormous pillow printed with Gu Yue's chibi portrait, and hugged it like his last lifeline as he shuffled back toward the bedroom, looking back every step of the way.

Bang.

The bedroom door closed once more. This time, the sound was much softer, carrying a pitiful, aggrieved feeling.

The living room finally returned to silence.

Gu Yue sat on the sofa for quite a while before her breathing calmed. She rubbed her slightly sore shoulder, then looked at the tightly shut bedroom door and sighed helplessly.

The last traces of sunset disappeared below the horizon. Darkness gathered, and the room gradually dimmed.

"This guy..." Gu Yue murmured softly, but the corners of her lips rose uncontrollably into a curve she had not even noticed herself. "When will he ever become more mature?"

She stood up without immediately turning on the lights. Instead, she walked to the window and watched the lights of countless homes gradually brighten outside. Tang Wulin's stunned expression as he looked through her phone, as well as the sight of him fleeing into the bedroom with that pillow, involuntarily surfaced in her mind.

It had clearly been such a childish, ridiculous act, yet somehow... she could not bring herself to hate him for it.

Perhaps it was because beneath that excessive possessiveness lay a sincere, burning heart he had never tried to hide.

Just as Xu Xiaoyan had said, having someone who was so wholeheartedly devoted, someone whose eyes held only her, really was... rather reassuring.

Still, if they had another cold war over something so absurd next time, she absolutely would not "confess under torture" again!

Gu Yue encouraged herself inwardly, then turned toward the kitchen to make something simple to eat. As for the "giant baby" who had locked himself in the bedroom?

Before dinner, she would consider whether to save him a bowl of noodles.

Tang Wulin hugged the enormous pillow and buried himself in the soft bed, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

In the end, what had been confirmed was only his own stupidity.

Her phone was utterly clean. Apart from work, there was only family. Gu Yue's life was disciplined and dull. Most of her time was spent commuting between the company and home, and her only entertainment was probably playing games with him or watching dramas.

She simply had no extra interest in attracting bees and butterflies.

"Wife..." Tang Wulin buried his face deeper into the pillow and called out in a muffled voice, but no one answered.

He suddenly regretted it. If he had not been so impulsive just now, could he have stayed sprawled on the sofa and cuddled with Gu Yue a little longer? Instead of being shut away now like a child being punished.

His stomach growled uncooperatively.

Tang Wulin sighed and pricked up his ears, listening carefully to the sounds in the living room.

Faintly, he heard running water and the clatter of bowls and chopsticks.

Was she cooking?

Tang Wulin's eyes lit up, and he rolled over on the bed while hugging the pillow.

Maybe... maybe if he behaved more obediently at dinner, he might be forgiven?

After all, he was quite skilled at "admitting his mistakes."

But this time, he needed to think carefully about how to express his jealousy in a more mature way next time—one that would not make Gu Yue angry.

After all, pinning his wife down until she could not breathe was something that only needed to happen once.

He really did not want to be sent to sleep on the sofa.