Wei Zijin noticed something was off with him.
She drew her feet back from his lap and shifted positions, turning onto her side with her cheek against a cushion.
"Honey."
Her voice softened by more than a notch.
"Isn't this just how social obligations work? Why overthink it? Just treat it as another side gig. They're paying pretty well, too."
The money.
Wang Xiaoliang's mouth twitched, but he said nothing.
He couldn't quite say what felt wrong. He just felt everything was being pushed along. By money, by connections, by favors. Every decision he and Zijin made-was it something they wanted to do, or something they had no choice but to do?
"I'll empty the water."
He bent down and picked up the foot spa. The water sloshed a few times, nearly spilling out. Wei Zijin opened her mouth, watching his back disappear through the bathroom doorway, then swallowed her words.
She leaned back against the couch and reached for her phone.
She didn't want to remove her makeup, wash her face, or brush her teeth.
But scrolling on her phone for a while was fine.
Wei Zijin had bought this foot spa. A major brand, fully equipped: heating, sole massage, water jets, everything. When Wang Xiaoliang first unboxed it, he had even remarked that it looked expensive.
It worked well, but it had even more problems.
It was dead heavy, used lots of water, and worst of all, was impossible to clean properly. After he emptied it, water always lingered in the nooks and crannies at the bottom. He hadn't paid attention the first time, but the second time he opened the lid, a stench shot straight up his nose.
Wang Xiaoliang had given Wei Zijin a sidelong look. "Those designer leather shoes of yours aren't made of fake