Chapter 4

Something she ate triggered it. Wen Yi suddenly felt nauseous and rushed straight to the bathroom. She leaned over the toilet, vomiting up everything she had just eaten until her stomach was empty. After finishing, she pressed a hand to her chest, still feeling overwhelmingly sick.

“Is it really bad?” The man behind her crouched down, handing her tissues.

Wen Yi could not speak. She nodded. When she tried to stand, another wave of dizziness hit. Qin Nanshan caught her in time, supporting her out and helping her lie down on the bed. He tucked the blanket over her, then brought the trash bin over and placed it by the bedside.

As Wen Yi recovered a bit, she wanted water. “Can you get me a bottle?”

The water was the complimentary one from the hotel, on the table where they had eaten earlier. Qin Nanshan fetched it, twisted off the cap for her, and waited until she took two sips before taking it back and screwing the cap on.

“Should we get something lighter? I’ll order some porridge for you.”

“No need. Don’t bother. Whatever I eat comes right back up.”

The man’s brows furrowed. Wen Yi said, “I’m fine. You should head back. Tomorrow I’ll go home and tell my mom. I’ll contact you when we decide on a time.” Then remembering something, she added, “Let’s add each other on WeChat first. It’ll be more convenient.”

Qin Nanshan paused slightly. They truly did not even have a proper way to contact each other.

That night, after everything, both had fallen asleep from exhaustion. Around one or two in the morning, the person beside him woke up, rustling as she dressed and then slipping away quietly. Clearly, she had no intention of making him take responsibility.

For adults, a one-night stand ended best with a clean break. That was the truest form of responsibility. He had wrestled with hesitation from the moment she woke until she left, right up to the soft “thud” of the door closing, marking the end of that night.

Qin Nanshan took out his phone and added her on WeChat. Then he asked, “Do you throw up everything you eat? How can your body hold up like this? Do you live alone?”

Wen Yi’s eyes curved slightly as she joked, “What, are you going to come take care of me?”

He shook his head and said seriously, “I have classes, plus administrative and research work. I can come over when I have free time, but not every day. If you don’t mind, you could stay at my parents’ place. They would probably be happy to help. But considering you’re not familiar yet, we could hire an experienced auntie to cook for you first. What do you think?”

She had tossed out a casual joke, and he responded with a whole string of utterly formal suggestions. Wen Yi found it dull. Her expression turned listless. “Not great. I don’t need someone to look after me yet. I still have work. Morning sickness usually ends around twelve weeks. It’ll pass then.”

Qin Nanshan stood by the bed and let out a soft sigh.

Wen Yi heard it and grew unhappy. “Why are you sighing? I’m the one suffering.”

He said, “Let’s get married sooner. I’ll take care of you.”

Wen Yi looked up at him for a few moments, then closed her eyes without a word.

The air fell quiet again.

He remained standing, fiddling with his phone for a bit before sitting on the edge of the bed. “Is there anywhere else that’s uncomfortable?”

Wen Yi said, “My chest hurts. It’s swollen and aching.”

Qin Nanshan visibly froze, even asking aloud, “Where?”

“My chest! The place you’ve touched!”

The man’s face turned a subtle red. He paused again, this time for quite a while. Wen Yi watched him, figuring he could not come up with anything to say, and huffed at him. “So what if you know where it hurts? You can’t help me anyway. In marriage, women are always the ones who suffer the most. Pregnancy, childbirth, raising the child—we endure all the hardships. You men just reap the benefits. Some who can’t control themselves even go out and cheat. Truly despicable.”

“You can’t generalize like that.”

“Isn’t it true? You men are creatures who think with your lower half. Pants off, and anyone will do.”

“……Wen Yi, I apologize again for that night.”

“I wasn’t talking about that night.” But now that it was mentioned, Wen Yi remembered something. “You said you were drunk. Did you know it was me back then?”

Qin Nanshan looked a bit pained. “Isn’t it a little late to ask that now?”

Wen Yi pouted. “See? I wasn’t wrong. Anyone would do.”

“If I remember correctly, you were the one who made the first move with your hands and mouth.”

“……” Wen Yi stubbornly retorted, “You carried me to the bed and pinned me down without caring who started it.”

Qin Nanshan refused to discuss the matter further. He felt the person before him had not changed at all, still insistent on winning every verbal battle. He knew he could not outtalk her and changed the subject. “How bad is the pain? Do we need to see a doctor?”

Wen Yi smiled. “A bit more painful than when you pressed there that night.”

The man stood up abruptly with a “whoosh,” his face inexplicably darkening. “I ordered porridge for you. I’ll go check why it hasn’t arrived yet.”

With that, he strode away and opened the door to leave.

Wen Yi watched the door close mercilessly, her lips twitching.

Boring.

About ten minutes later, the doorbell rang. Wen Yi got out of bed to open it for him.

Qin Nanshan cleared away the previous dishes, opened the porridge. “Try it. If you don’t throw it up, eat more.”

The little tenant was probably asleep. Wen Yi managed to finish a bowl smoothly. After eating, she touched her belly and asked, “Aren’t you going back?”

Qin Nanshan collected the bowls and chopsticks, replying casually, “Tomorrow is Saturday. I’ll stay.”

“Ah? But this is a king-bed room. Are you going to sleep with me?”

Qin Nanshan’s dark eyes rarely showed emotion. He glanced at her. “I just went downstairs and booked another room. What time do you finish tomorrow? I’ll go back with you.”

“Noon.”

He picked up a large bag of trash. “Rest early. If you feel unwell, call me.”

“Oh.”

The door closed once more. Wen Yi sat dazed in the chair for a while, suddenly unsure what to do. Her phone on the table caught her eye. She picked it up, opened WeChat, and found the new contact she had just added.

Back in high school, full-screen smartphones were not yet common, and there was no WeChat—only QQ. As the social butterfly and class monitor, Wen Yi naturally had the QQ numbers of everyone in class. Everyone except Qin Nanshan. He was the only exception.

She had intended to peek into his past life through his Moments, but upon opening it, she was stunned. Blank. Not the kind of blank from visibility restrictions, but truly empty—not a single post.

She went back to check his profile picture: a dog.

Wen Yi worked in sales and, in her free time, enjoyed studying psychology and zodiac signs. It helped her actively bridge distances with people and read them. Not one hundred percent accurate, but close enough in many cases.

One topic she had studied was “How to discern someone’s personality from their WeChat profile picture.” The article was well-reasoned, and she had tested it later—surprisingly accurate.

Concepts like projection and reflection from psychology were mostly forgotten now. She only remembered what each type represented. For example, cartoon images usually indicated an immature psychological age, with an inner longing for attachment and innocent love.

As for animals… if she remembered right, “Animal images generally express some inner traits of the user,” and dogs represented loyalty.

Wen Yi felt reassured.

This emotionless arranged marriage suddenly gained an intangible layer of security.

She rolled over, exited the chat, and messaged Qiao En. The reply came quickly: [What’s up, Manager Wen.]

Wen Yi disliked typing for chats. She called directly. After a few pleasantries, hugging the blanket, she got to the point. “Do you still remember Qin Nanshan?”

“Of course. The monster genius, right?”

Wen Yi’s brows knitted. She said gravely, “I told you not to call him that.”

“I didn’t call him that. You just asked if I remember him. The first impression in my mind is that phrase.”

Qin Nanshan was extraordinarily good at science subjects, especially math. From the moment Wen Yi knew his name, every single one of his math exams had been perfect. No exceptions.

He was indeed a genius, but he spoke little and was handsome. People always wanted to get close, only to be rebuffed. The “defeated” ones, unwilling to accept it, called him a monster. Fearing the term sounded like bullying, it gradually evolved into “monster genius.”

Wen Yi thought it was unkind and never joined in. With her many friends back then, she had advised against it a few times, but some dismissed it. Those people had slowly drifted out of touch.

Wen Yi pulled herself from the memories and continued asking, “What do you think of him?”

Qiao En had a keen nose like a dog. “Why suddenly ask this? Did you two hook up?”

“……”

Qiao En laughed. “Don’t you dislike that type? I remember clearly. At the graduation party, when everyone discussed partner preferences, your voice was loud enough for the world to hear: humorous and witty, bold and spirited, positive and upbeat. Remember?”

Wen Yi fumed. “I still do now!”

“Then why ask about Qin Nanshan?”

Hearing her past ideals recited back, Wen Yi felt deflated. Unwilling to admit defeat to reality in front of her best friend, she saved face. “Nothing. Just ran into him by chance.”

Suddenly bringing up someone buried in memory could not be nothing. Qiao En thought for a moment and said, “Yiyi, you two might not be very compatible, right?”

She said this for good reason.

Wen Yi and Qin Nanshan had completely opposite personalities. One was a carefree and enthusiastic girl. The other was an introverted boy buried in studies. Like the equator and the North Pole, with no point of intersection.

During the start of senior high school, the school organized an autumn outing to a forest park in the suburbs. Qin Nanshan usually had almost zero presence. Only when gathering to leave did they realize he was missing. The teachers wanted to go back and search. As class monitor, Wen Yi insisted on going in despite the teachers’ objections.

As the sky darkened, the forest park turned pitch black. They could not find him. The teachers came out one by one. When roll call was taken, Wen Yi was also missing.

The teachers called the police. At midnight, the two missing people emerged from the other side. Their faces showed no panic. Instead, it was as if they had formed some deep grudge. Standing together, each found the other utterly distasteful.

When Qiao En asked her what had happened back then, Wen Yi paused upon hearing it, stunned for a moment before replying after a long while, “We probably had an argument at the time.”

“Huh?”

Wen Yi shook her head again, saying vaguely, “But we did not really argue. You know what I mean? Like punching cotton. No reaction at all.”

It was too long ago. Wen Yi’s memories were fragmented.

Back then, she held a flashlight and walked deep into the forest. After going far, she finally found him in a small pavilion. As soon as Qin Nanshan saw her, his face darkened. He asked why she had come. Wen Yi grew angry, saying she had kindly come to find him yet he was ungrateful.

She turned to leave. He remained still, saying wandering randomly could easily lead to getting lost. It was best to wait for rescuers. Wen Yi was confident. Since she had found him, she was sure she could lead them out.

Qin Nanshan stayed immovable like a mountain. Wen Yi no longer wanted to bother with him and walked out on her own. He had no choice but to follow. As expected, the two got lost again in the forest. This time, there was not even the shelter of the small pavilion.

Wen Yi grew scared. Just then, he muttered that she should not have acted rashly. She ignited instantly. In truth, she wanted to distract herself by talking. Later, it became her ranting unreasonably and making a fuss, saying ten sentences while he responded with one word.

That was the scene Qiao En remembered.

Qiao En pondered thoughtfully. “Looking at it that way, he was quite tolerant of your bad temper.”

Wen Yi stared at the ceiling above, thinking about the possible future. She felt somewhat despairing. “But how boring. I actually wish he would argue with me. In a life together, what’s the point if only one person performs?”

……

The next day at noon, Wen Yi finished her meeting and returned to the hotel to pack her luggage. Qin Nanshan messaged saying they could leave after lunch. He would wait for her in the hotel restaurant.

She could only eat bland food now and not much at that. Lunch was settled simply.

Wen Yi got into his car, a Volkswagen Passat. Indeed a practical commuter model.

The car matched its owner: clean and tidy. The only miscellaneous item was a pack of tissues.

Wen Yi did not like flashy decorations either, but after driving a car for a long time, there would always be traces of use and some commonly kept items by the owner. She looked around and asked him, “Is your car new?”

“No. Bought it two years ago.”

Wen Yi clicked her tongue inwardly. Given how pristine the car was, he probably would never need to replace it in his lifetime. She pointed to the glove compartment in front of the passenger seat. “Can I open it? Will there be a woman’s things inside?”

Qin Nanshan glanced at her, then turned back and started the car. “Go ahead.”

The contents surprised her. Besides a reflective vest, there were actually cigarettes and a lighter!

This man smoked! How rare! Qin Nanshan was the model good student.

She asked, “You smoke?”

The man focused on driving and simply nodded.

Wen Yi instructed, “You can’t smoke in front of me from now on. I can’t inhale secondhand smoke.”

“Okay.”

She could not sit idle. Like a legitimate wife checking the passenger side or a scheming mistress causing trouble, she opened the center console one moment, adjusted the seat the next, checked the mirror, and when closing it, deliberately left a small gap as if on purpose.

After finally being quiet for two minutes, she grew bored again. “Play some music.”

His phone was connected to CarPlay for navigation. “You can play it yourself.”

Wen Yi picked up his phone. The lock screen lit up. It was the default wallpaper. Face ID failed, bringing up the passcode keypad. She asked, “What’s the password?”

“123456”

“…….”

Wen Yi had no habit of prying into others’ secrets. After unlocking, she went straight to the music app and casually selected the daily recommendations on the homepage to play.

When a piece of pure violin music gently flowed out, Wen Yi frowned and skipped to the next. The next was pure jazz. By the fourth song, Wen Yi decisively connected her own phone, played her favorited playlist, skipped a few more, and finally stopped.

The woman’s restless fiddling caught his peripheral vision. Qin Nanshan did not quite understand why listening to music had to be so complicated. After a while, he reminded her, “Navigation.”

Wen Yi opened the maps app and set the destination to Yuting Fu. Then she turned off the phone screen and said solemnly, “I don’t like listening to those. From now on, prenatal music has to be what I like.”

Qin Nanshan listened to the intense rock music blasting from the car speakers and frowned slightly.

Wen Yi noticed and said unhappily, “We have to satisfy Mommy first. Only when Mommy is happy in body and mind will the baby like it.”

Qin Nanshan could only helplessly agree.