Returning to the villa, Li Yan parked the car and opened the door to go inside. The environment here was indeed nice, very tranquil. However, the whole villa was occupied by only three people—just the couple and their full-time nanny, Aunt Liu, which felt somewhat empty.
"Mr. Li is back. Miss Zhang is upstairs, and you'll have dinner in a while," Aunt Liu, busy in the kitchen, came out to greet him, then returned to her cooking.
Li Yan felt a bit puzzled—are we eating at home today? Changing his shoes, he headed straight to the second floor. Zhang Yurong was a workaholic, so she had a dedicated office at home to handle business conveniently.
Opening the office door, he immediately heard George Winston's piano music. Expecting to see Zhang Yurong busy at her computer, Li Yan was surprised to find her asleep at her desk!
The office was quite large and comfortable, with a spacious leather sofa on the side. If she was truly tired and just wanted a short nap without heading to the bedroom, the sofa would have been quite comfortable. Seeing her directly slumped on the desk, it was clear she was too exhausted to resist taking a nap, and unexpectedly fell asleep.
Li Yan was stunned by the scene. Since their marriage, or even since knowing her, this was the first time he saw this side of her. Normally, whether at the company, at home, or at her father's house, she was always energetic and never showed even a hint of weariness.
He couldn't help but laugh, thinking it was perfectly normal. Everyone gets tired, so why pretend to be a superhero?
After laughing, he sighed a little. They both left the company one after another, accounting for the time delayed by taking Huang Ying to the hospital and returning, plus the speed of the car, meant Zhang Yurong arrived home just over an hour earlier. Usually, she could work for several hours without issue, but having fallen asleep barely after more than an hour today showed she had indeed been very tired.
After getting married, the couple moved to live separately, but Zhang Yurong's father, Zhang Tianyi, insisted they must visit once a week. They usually worked during weekdays and spent romantic weekends together, but decided to dine at her parents' house on Friday nights. Lack of emotional foundation made them a couple without having consummated the marriage, making this weekly dinner the only time they truly interacted; other times, they minded their own ways.
Earlier, at the parking lot, likely Zhang Yurong thought he was flirting with Huang Ying, reminding him not to forget tonight. She didn't usually bother him except when they weren't dining at her parents' house, which might raise suspicion.
On Fridays, when they left home, Aunt Liu only needed to prepare food for herself. But observing her busyness and words earlier, it seemed tonight they were dining at home. Li Yan had come upstairs intending to ask why and unexpectedly saw his strong wife's gentle side.
Seeing her like this, he certainly wouldn't disturb her. Anyway, for Li Yan, dining once a week at her parents' house was quite a burden; not going was preferable. He lightened his steps, lowered the sound of George Winston's music to keep the soothing piano playing, then returned to the room, fetched a towel blanket, and gently placed it over Zhang Yurong, before closing the door and heading downstairs.
...
When Aunt Liu finished preparing the meal, Li Yan was ready to eat alone but noticed Zhang Yurong had come downstairs. He shook his head inwardly, thinking she had only slept for about ten minutes. She had more than enough money to last generations, why work so hard?
"Aren't we eating at your parent's house tonight?" Li Yan asked the question he was about to ask.
Though Li Yan felt the weekly family dinner, where they had to fake that everything was fine was a burdensome chore, referring to them as "your parents" behind their back didn't change the fact they were his in-laws. Out of respect for them, he should try to meet this small requirement.
Seeing Zhang Yurong eating as usual without any expression, Li Yan thought she had specially reminded him earlier, so should he explain it was a simple misunderstanding instead of appearing as if he was intentionally wasting time.
"Huang Ying's mom was in the hospital. She couldn't find a ride, so I took her there. On the way back, I got into a car accident and fought with a group of people, that's why I'm late," he explained.
Zhang Yurong slightly frowned. She had guessed the first part thus didn't care whether he used the excuse of hospitalization, confirming he didn't deceive her. But the latter part about an accident and fight was clearly nonsense.
"It's not about you; they're not home," she replied.
Li Yan nodded, relieved since it wasn't his fault. He understood it might be more exhausting, stressful for Zhang Yurong, but she was extremely willing to go for her sick parents.
Their meal was usually consumed like this, just directly saying a sentence or two if needed, otherwise barely any interaction. So Li Yan specifically added a TV in the dining room to break the silence through news sound.
"Why didn't you wake me up?"
While eating and watching the news, Zhang Yurong suddenly spoke, causing Li Yan to doubt he heard correctly.
"Seeing me asleep, you should have woken me up. It's possible you're delaying something by not doing so!" Zhang Yurong spoke while eating.
Though aware that was typical of her personality, the indifferent tone made Li Yan reluctant to respond, and he casually said, "I didn't know what you were talking about, I've never seen you asleep."
Zhang Yurong frowned; when they were home, Aunt Liu definitely wouldn't come upstairs, tidying was done when they were out. Given her strong work ethic, she only took a nap when desperately tired, but remained very alert. So, when Li Yan covered her with the towel blanket, she had already woken but chose not to move, feeling an unfamiliar silent concern from someone other than her parents.
Realizing Li Yan was unwilling to discuss, especially the part hinting they've been sleeping in separate rooms since marriage, she didn't want to further dwell on the matter. Due to his recent small gesture, she had wanted to say more to him.
"If you have nothing to do at work... why not try playing online games?"
Li Yan again wondered if there was a problem with his hearing.
After marriage, he was arranged by his father-in-law into the company, supposedly to train and eventually manage with Zhang Yurong. But since he was too lazy, lacking ambition, even as an assistant to maintain business connections, he was unfit, ultimately getting a laid-back office clerk role. They rarely interacted alone, mostly with Zhang Yurong urging pressure on this aspect, but recently seemed she had given up completely.
Seeing Li Yan silent, vigorously rubbing his ears, Zhang Yurong showed a doubtful expression.
"You've always encouraged me to study, improve, why are you concerned about me today, actively suggesting games?" Li Yan put down his bowl, inwardly thinking, just because I covered you with a blanket?
Zhang Yurong coldly snorted, "Hmph! I beg you, if you play games, can you not play such low-level ones? Only playing 'Lian Lian Kan', even cited as a negative joke at meetings, aren't you afraid of being ashamed, but I am!"
No matter how devoid of sentiment, he was still her husband. Being mocked as a buffoon during meetings by subordinates felt like a slap to her face, provoking both anger and embarrassment. Yet, due to an undisclosed relationship, she couldn't say much, but he was inept, providing no chance to defend.
Li Yan found it amusing, "So it's because of that, Ye Jiahong likes to ridicule me behind my back? Honestly, I don't think it's shameful. I play games out of boredom or relaxation, why should I exert brainpower? Games requiring no thinking are perfect."
Zhang Yurong was at a loss, indeed unable to deal with him.
You barely observe the environment! Wearing slippers, even the most comfortable in drowsiness! Could you do that at the company? Either don't play, or don't make people feel you can't do your job and even games!
She still worried about Li Yan's self-esteem, leaving these unsaid, letting him continue.
Seeing her helpless, Li Yan sighed, "Alright, I'll try to save your dignity. I won't play 'Lian Lian Kan' anymore; I'll switch to Russian... hmm, Tetris!"
Zhang Yurong's chopsticks fell onto the table...