She didn't expect him to show up and didn't want him to see her.
Quickly, she wiped her face with the quilt, calmed her breathing, and then spoke.
"How shameless. Didn't we make things clear? Why are you here again?"
"Who let you in? My brother? How did you find him?"
Lu Mingzhe didn't answer her questions. He casually touched her face, finding some traces of moisture still there.
"All alone, crying at this hour? What for?"
"Who's crying?"
"Not crying? Then your face must be sweating."
Crazy. They had already broken up. What did it have to do with him whether she cried or not?
Xiang Wan wanted to break free from his embrace, but Lu Mingzhe wouldn't let her.
Xiang Wan kicked his leg.
"I'm not feeling well, let go."
He leaned in closer, his chin resting on her face. "What's wrong? Where do you feel unwell?"
"Do I need to report this to you?"
Lu Mingzhe thought she was genuinely experiencing stomach pain.
He released her, sat up, swung his legs off the bed, and turned on the light.
"Do you not eat properly usually? Have you developed a stomach ailment? What kind of medicine do you usually take? Find it yourself. I'll go get you some water."
He handed her the bag of medicine and turned to leave.
Xiang Wan found it inexplicable.
Suddenly giving her so much medicine, running to hug her, helping her get water – was this person schizophrenic?
So distant and yet so close, so cold and yet so warm.
What exactly did he want?
Soon, Lu Mingzhe came back with a cup of warm water.
He squatted down in front of Xiang Wan.
"Drink it. It's warm."
Xiang Wan looked at him coldly.
"Lu Mingzhe. Are you getting married?"
Lu Mingzhe met her gaze, his expression indifferent.
"Where did you see that?"
"It seems to be true. Someone about to get married running to take care of me behind his wife's back, you're quite something."
"So, are you going to drink it or not?"
Lu Mingzhe nudged the teacup closer to her.
"Whether I'm married or not. As long as I'm still me, the same as before, when I face you, isn't that enough? Why worry about anything else?"
What kind of twisted logic was this?
Xiang Wan snatched the teacup from his hand and placed it on the bedside table.
"Please leave."
"I don't care how lightly you men view the word 'loyalty' in your world. For us women, being unmarried and married is worlds apart."
"When unmarried, you belong to no one, and any form of interaction between us is not immoral."
"But once married, the nature of things changes. Don't expect the red flag at home to stay upright while colorful flags fly outside. I won't cooperate with that. Get out now."
Speaking with such vigor, it seemed her stomach didn't hurt anymore.
Lu Mingzhe stood up and sat beside her.
"Alright. I admit my sense of morality is weaker than yours."
"But I don't want to leave today..."
"You!"
"Let me finish speaking."
He held her fingers.
"First, my marriage is just a formality, unrelated to emotions. Therefore, there's no question of morality or loyalty."
"Second, you're not feeling well today, and I want to stay and keep you company."
Xiang Wan knitted her brows, preparing to delve deeper into the meaning of his words.
Lu Mingzhe kissed her lips.
"Don't ask too many questions. Knowing too much isn't good for you."
"I promise you, this is absolutely the last time. Consider it a perfect ending to our more than four years together."
"After tonight, I will definitely not come to find you again, okay?"
Although he had said this many times before, like the boy who cried wolf, it wasn't trustworthy.
But Xiang Wan, lacking backbone, ultimately let him stay.
Because in the quiet of the night, people always feel exceptionally lonely.
She was no exception.
Everyone craves a warm embrace to accompany them, even if only for a moment.
Cherish every moment.
Xiang Wan stopped trying to drive him away and turned to get off the bed.
"Alright then. I'll go remove my makeup and take a shower."
"Can I join you?"
On this matter, they had repeated the action too many times.
There was no point in feigning modesty and refusing now.
Xiang Wan tacitly agreed.
Naturally, it was another familiar, exhilarating experience.
Afterward, lying in bed, Xiang Wan inwardly despised herself while also feeling curious.
"You're getting married soon, why aren't you being intimate with your wife?"
"Are you planning to save it for your wedding night, or do you think I'm easy to bully?"
Lu Mingzhe hugged her from behind and chuckled softly.
"What? Are you jealous?"
Xiang Wan was stubborn.
"It's not worth it. I just see you as a tool. I resolve needs when necessary, and never overthink it."
"Then why were you crying earlier?"
"I wasn't crying for you. I said I wasn't feeling well."
"Then why didn't you take your medicine?"
"I didn't want to. Don't I have this freedom?"
"Alright, alright, you do. Honestly, are you still feeling unwell? You should still take your medicine."
Xiang Wan remained silent.
Lu Mingzhe inhaled the scent of her hair, held her slender wrist, and genuinely enjoyed being with her.
After some thought, he began to regret their arrangement and tried to negotiate with her.
"Can we not break up? Let's continue like this from now on."
"Even after I get married, I'll still be the same me, and you'll still be the same you. As long as you haven't found a boyfriend, we'll continue like this."
Xiang Wan wanted to turn and hit him, but he held her down.
She cursed, "Is this interesting? One woman isn't enough for you, why are you so greedy?"
"Do I have to spell it out for you?"
Lu Mingzhe really didn't want to bring up his messy situation with Chen Jiaojiao, but he couldn't just leave it unexplained.
"Fine, then I'll tell you the truth. I won't touch her even after we're married."
"In fact, over these past few years, you're the only woman I've been intimate with."
Xiang Wan was very surprised and turned to look at him.
"What do you mean? It's an arranged marriage, you don't like her?"
She didn't understand the affairs of wealthy families.
Her only impression came from television dramas.
Lu Mingzhe didn't deny her words and looked into her eyes.
"Just answer me, yes or no. Be honest, I quite like the way we interact. Since you said you wanted to separate, I've been very uncomfortable."
"I won't stop you from finding a boyfriend. As you said, I'll just be a tool. I'll be there when you need me, and I'll leave when you don't. We won't interfere with each other, okay?"
Xiang Wan suddenly felt he was quite pitiful.
He couldn't even make his own decisions about marriage.
"If you marry a wife but can't touch her, then what's the point of marrying her? Don't you plan to have children?"
Lu Mingzhe retorted, "What about you? Do you plan to have children?"
"I'm asking you."
"I definitely don't plan to have them with her. We'll deal with future matters later."
"Your wife must be very sad to marry you."
"She brought it upon herself. Can we stop talking about her?"
Xiang Wan sighed, "Lu Mingzhe, I have to say, you're quite a scumbag."
"Indeed. I'll find a way to compensate you in the future. Can we not break up? I'm begging you."