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墨書 Inktalez
When Li Li returned home, Li Ming had already been picked up by Sun Bai, and the four who went to the city to celebrate Li Weimin's birthday had not yet returned.
Li Li walked over to the pile of garbage on the left side of the kitchen, moved aside a woven bag filled with bottles and jars, revealing a wooden plank underneath. He lifted the plank, uncovering a hole about one person wide. He glanced towards the yard gate, saw that the latch was secured, crouched down, and jumped into the hole.
As winter turned to spring and spring quickly faded into summer, Liu Wenyi had been living in the Li Family residence for over a year. She and Li Cheng had maintained this absurd and unclear relationship for more than a year as well. First love is the most memorable but also the most fragile; it exists beautifully in memory but can be shattered by reality—interests, desires... any one of these can bring it crashing down.
If the initial motivation for her and Li Cheng's reconciliation was their feelings from high school, now that innocent flavor had long dissipated. What Li Cheng enjoyed now was the prestige and pleasure of polygamy. Liu Wenyi had never actively suggested that Li Cheng divorce and remarry; she was waiting for him to bring it up. Or perhaps she understood that from the moment they got back together, they had become just another ordinary couple caught in the widespread issue of adultery in society.
Liu Wenyi grew weary of this hidden relationship, and her reason for continuing to live in the Li Family home was merely for a comfortable life and free housing.
Having long passed work hours, Liu Wenyi sat at her computer, reluctant to leave. Most colleagues had already left, leaving her alone in the quiet and empty office feeling lost.
"Liu, still not off work?"
Liu Wenyi was startled by the sudden voice. She turned to see her portly supervisor approaching, his suit jacket draped over his arm, his face flushed—he must have just come from a drinking session. He struggled to loosen his tie as he walked toward her.
Liu Wenyi hurriedly stood up, gripping the edge of her desk, slightly flustered as she said, "Supervisor, why are you back at this time?"
"Oh, I remembered there was a document I hadn't reviewed. I passed by the office building and thought I'd take it home to handle it. Are you working overtime?"
"Yes, just familiarizing myself with client information."
The supervisor glanced at her computer screen behind her before shifting his gaze back to her face. "Haven't had dinner yet? Come on, I'll treat you."
"Oh no, that's too much trouble. I'm about to leave," Liu Wenyi quickly shook her head.
The supervisor took a couple of steps forward, his bloodshot eyes lingering on Liu Wenyi for a long moment. "Liu, don't be so reserved. How long have you been with the company? Two years now? I haven't treated you poorly during this time, have I?"
"Of course not," Liu Wenyi replied with a formulaic smile.
"Right, I consider myself someone who values you highly. Yet here you are, not giving me any face."
Liu Wenyi slightly raised her head but quickly met his intense gaze and lowered it again. After hesitating for a moment, she said, "I wouldn't want to impose on you."
The supervisor grinned widely. "It's not imposing; it's just a meal—what's that? Come on, my car is parked downstairs."
Around ten o'clock at night, Liu Wenyi walked out of the hotel, brushed her slightly disheveled hair back, and let out a long sigh. She still couldn't do it; just thinking about Li Cheng... Li Cheng was a shackle on her heart; as long as they hadn't broken up, she couldn't betray him.
Liu Wenyi didn't know how other women felt, but her heart was small enough to hold only one person. As long as that person remained in her life, both her body and soul belonged solely to him.
For a woman approaching thirty, it was rather childish.
As she took a taxi, she pulled out her phone from her bag and saw a message from Li Chengfa. "Get to bed early tonight, I won't be coming over."
Liu Wenyi scoffed lightly; just as she had prided herself on her loyalty, reality dealt her a heavy blow.
"Have you gotten in the car?"
Sitting in the front passenger seat of the taxi, Liu Wenyi looked at the message from her supervisor, and memories of their dinner at the hotel restaurant flashed through her mind. Her supervisor had taken out his room key and asked her meaningfully, "Want to come up for a bit?"
After hesitating for a while, she nodded.
Once inside the eighth-floor room, her supervisor casually tossed his jacket onto the bed and said directly, "I'm going to take a shower first."
Listening to the sound of running water from the bathroom, Liu Wenyi could no longer sit still. She grabbed her bag and fled.
Leaving her supervisor alone in the hotel room, he sent her a message of "concern." Liu Wenyi felt anxious; thinking about having to go to work tomorrow made her ponder for a moment before replying, "Sorry, something urgent came up at home. I forgot to let you know."
Her supervisor quickly responded, "You're a good girl; I won't force you."
Girl—Liu Wenyi smiled bitterly.
Before long, her supervisor sent another ambiguous message: "We have plenty of time ahead."
Liu Wenyi frowned slightly and replied with a simple "Okay" after a few seconds.
Li Cheng couldn't provide her with the sense of security she desired; she could only fight alone in this cold society.
On a night two months later, Li Weimin walked out of his room with his pants in hand and saw Liu Wenyi standing outside smoking alone. He grinned and stuck out his tongue, making an obscene gesture.
Liu Wenyi shot him a disgusted glare, dropped her cigarette butt, and stormed back inside, slamming the door behind her.
Li Li was curled up in the bedding on the floor, sitting cross-legged and motionless, facing away from Liu Wenyi. His long hair obscured his expression, but from that sparse figure, Liu Wenyi inexplicably sensed a deep sadness.
"Hey, idiot, are you okay?" After saying this, Liu Wenyi chuckled to herself; how could an idiot have any problems? Indeed, when Li Li heard her words, there was a moment of stiffness that was almost imperceptible before he turned his head and grinned at Liu Wenyi, saying, "Candy—sweet—want more—"
Liu Wenyi scoffed, "How can candy be sweet? It's bitter, fishy, or even painful."
Li Li blinked, looking confused.
"Idiot," Liu Wenyi huffed, and just then her phone in her pocket rang. She shot a glance at Li Li, took out her phone, and swayed her hips as she walked to the bed and sat down.
"Hello, darling, did you miss me so soon..."
Liu Wenyi spoke to Liu Cheng in that tone. Seeing this, Li Li immediately joyfully shouted into the phone, "Brother—Brother—"
Liu Wenyi was startled and quickly covered the receiver, pulling the phone away from her ear as she whispered threateningly, "How many times have I told you? He’s not your brother! Don’t shout that out, got it? If you ruin my plans, just wait and see how I deal with you!"
Li Li was frightened and quickly shut her mouth, looking pitifully at Liu Wenyi as she continued to sweet-talk on the phone.
"…Yeah, I’m staying at my relative's place; it’s really uncomfortable. You know my salary is barely enough to buy a piece of clothing…" Liu Wenyi pouted and said with a sense of grievance, as if the person on the other end could see her situation.
Whatever the person said made Liu Wenyi very disappointed; she rolled her eyes dramatically but still spoke softly, "Yeah, um—do you have time tomorrow? Come shopping with me? Haven't you noticed I haven't had any clothes to change into these past few days?" After pausing for a few seconds to listen to the other person, Liu Wenyi immediately put on a smile, "You promised; no backing out… Ugh, annoying! Didn’t you say your wife is coming back tonight? Just hug her like you would hug me… I miss you too…"
After chattering for half an hour, Liu Wenyi finally hung up. Without the phone by her ear, she seemed to transform instantly. Looking at Li Li, she said somewhat melancholically, "Silly girl, do you think I'm pretty?"
Li Li took a moment to respond and nodded repeatedly, "Pretty, pretty."
Liu Wenyi touched her own face and sighed, "What good is being pretty? I'm still just a toy for men; they play with me but won’t pay any price."
"Um—" Li Li elongated her tone to indicate she didn’t understand.
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