Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Qi Yuwen returned home to find the lights still on. You Nan had dozed off on the sofa while watching TV.

The television continued to play, its sound now just background noise. You Nan’s cat was curled up beside his head, master and pet nestled together in slumber.

Qi Yuwen hung his coat by the door. He didn't try to be quiet as he entered, but You Nan, who had been waiting for him to return, was a light sleeper on the sofa and stirred at the slight sound.

He pushed himself up and saw the man at the doorway. "You're back," he mumbled, his voice still thick with sleep.

Qi Yuwen poured a glass of warm water and handed it to him. "Why did you fall asleep on the sofa?"

You Nan took a few sips from the glass, moistening his lips. He felt a little embarrassed at being waited on like this. "I wanted to wait for you to come home."

Qi Yuwen acknowledged this with a nod. On his way back, he had made a detour to the night market and bought You Nan his favorite oden. He took You Nan’s hand and pulled him up. "I brought you something to eat."

You Nan hadn’t expected Qi Yuwen to be so thoughtful. His sleepiness vanished immediately, and his eyes lit up.

Before Qi Yuwen mentioned it, he hadn’t felt particularly hungry, but as soon as the oden and snacks were laid out before him, You Nan couldn’t resist. His stomach rumbled, demanding to be filled.

He picked through the oden container, found the yuba that Qi Yuwen liked, and offered it to him first. "You like this—have the first bite."

You Nan had a habit of always giving the first bite to others, though no one knew how he’d developed it. Qi Yuwen had mentioned it once but dropped the subject when it didn’t change anything. He appreciated You Nan’s thoughtfulness.

Only after seeing Qi Yuwen take a bite did You Nan start eating his own favorites, sharing the rest with him—one skewer for him, one for himself.

After all, he hadn’t bought these himself, so it seemed polite to share.

Qi Yuwen ate a few skewers before stopping, leaving the rest for You Nan to finish.

You Nan sat on the sofa for a while, and Qi Yuwen stayed with him, watching TV. Soon, the sleepiness from being full washed over You Nan again.

He placed the TV remote he’d been holding on the coffee table next to his phone. "I’m going upstairs to take a shower."

Qi Yuwen acknowledged but didn't move.

Only when he heard the sound of running water did Qi Yuwen move. 007 quietly stood up, watching him intently. To its surprise, Qi Yuwen didn’t reach for the items on the coffee table. Instead, he opened the drawer beneath the remote and took out a small bag of catnip.

The moment 007 saw the catnip that could send it into ecstasy, its thick tail shot up, and it let out a series of pleading meows aimed at the man.

Half a minute later, a small cat lay behind the sofa, completely absorbed in the catnip, its body twisting contentedly.

You Nan’s phone password was easy to figure out—he always used his own birthday.

Qi Yuwen tapped a few times on You Nan’s phone screen. With a click, the unlock sound echoed, and all the contents of You Nan’s phone were exposed before Qi Yuwen.

The slight noise didn’t distract 007, who was too focused on the catnip to notice.

This was the first time Qi Yuwen had looked through his wife’s phone. He swiped his finger across the screen, and the notification bar showed a message from Yao Xianqing sent twenty minutes earlier.

At that time, You Nan was watching TV with him, and the sounds from the television had drowned out the phone’s sound. Neither of them had heard it.

Qi Yuwen tapped on the message. The entire chat history between the person he loved and his nominal wife appeared before his eyes.

Sitting on the sofa, Qi Yuwen felt sudden anger flare up within him, burning through him and threatening to consume all his rationality.

He saw that in many of the conversations, his wife had been the one to initiate contact with Yao Xianqing.

He wanted to take the phone upstairs and confront You Nan, demanding an explanation—if he was being unfaithful.

But gradually, his rationality returned and gained the upper hand.

Qi Yuwen took out his own phone, opened the camera, and took pictures of all their chat history.

He also found the order for the milk tea from that night in You Nan’s delivery app.

The address, flavor, phone number—it all matched.

Qi Yuwen closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

He put You Nan’s phone back in its place. With a loud crash, the container of oden You Nan had been eating from earlier was thrown to the floor. The savory, orange broth splattered everywhere, splashing the white walls.

The sound startled 007, who was still lost in the catnip. It let out a frightened yelp and leaped up, tucking its tail and scurrying under the cabinet in the entryway.

As soon as it squeezed its rear in and turned around, its wide eyes stared fearfully at Qi Yuwen, who seemed like a completely different person in the living room.

The cat was too shocked to comprehend what had happened.

What… what happened?

Why did he get so angry all of a sudden?

007 glanced upstairs, afraid to make a sound, silently pleading for You Nan to come down quickly.

The commotion downstairs was loud enough for You Nan to hear from upstairs. Thinking Qi Yuwen might have fallen, he quickly turned off the shower, hastily dried himself, put on his pajamas, and rushed to open the door.

When he saw the chaotic scene downstairs, You Nan froze for a moment.

But the moment his eyes met Qi Yuwen’s upward gaze, he felt a chill down his spine. He hurried downstairs and asked softly, with concern, "What’s wrong? Did something happen just now?"

As he spoke to Qi Yuwen, You Nan quickly tried to mentally ask 007 what had happened downstairs, but 007 hadn’t been paying attention.

"Qi Yuwen gave me a pinch of catnip, so I…" 007 said guiltily.

Its unfinished sentence spoke volumes.

You Nan closed his eyes. As expected, he couldn’t rely on this cat.

It had noticed nothing.

You Nan crouched down to clean up the mess, but Qi Yuwen grabbed his wrist and placed a phone in front of him. On the screen was the chat history between You Nan and Yao Xianqing.

You Nan was stunned. It had never crossed his mind that Qi Yuwen would go through his phone.

He looked up nervously, meeting the man’s gaze. In that instant, he knew he wouldn’t easily get through tonight.

"Didn’t I tell you before," Qi Yuwen said, his tone calm, even gentle, "not to have any contact with my friends?"

You Nan felt no reassurance in his words. This was the calm before the storm. The angrier Qi Yuwen was, the gentler he sounded.

You Nan’s body stiffened. Crouched on the floor, his eyes filled with panic and helplessness.

Qi Yuwen tightened his grip, hurting You Nan. "Speak."

You Nan frowned, wincing with a sharp, pained inhale. "Yes, you did say that."

"Then why didn’t you listen?"

Qi Yuwen bent down, lifting You Nan’s chin with his fingers. Their faces were so close that You Nan could clearly see the bone-deep coldness hidden beneath those usually gentle eyes.

You Nan didn’t dare defy him. He remembered he was supposed to be in love with Qi Yuwen. In a panic, he reached out to grab the man’s wrist, his mind racing to come up with an excuse. "I... I..."

"It wasn’t me who added him. Your friend added me." Fearful, You Nan blurted it out, mentally apologizing to the male lead, Yao Xianqing, and feeling a wave of guilt toward him. "I’m your wife. I’ll definitely meet your friends sooner or later, so it was inevitable anyway."

You Nan’s chin was gripped hard, and Qi Yuwen’s gentle voice murmured in his ear.

"You didn’t listen. I’m going to punish you."

A loud crack!—the sound of something shattering exploded next to You Nan’s ear the next second.

You Nan felt a sharp pain and yelped, wrenching free from the man’s grasp.

007, hiding under the cabinet, let out a startled gasp, its fur standing on end.

It never occurred to anyone that Qi Yuwen, in his rage, would directly shatter You Nan’s phone. Shards of the screen flew everywhere, cutting You Nan’s face.

A long, thin cut also appeared on Qi Yuwen’s arm, quickly welling with blood, but the man paid it no mind.

You Nan sat on the floor, scrambling back as he stared at the man in fear.

Tears welled in his eyes, frightened out of him.

Qi Yuwen crouched down and took You Nan’s hand. You Nan gasped, startled, but couldn’t shake him off.

Qi Yuwen took a tissue and gently wiped the blood from You Nan’s face, his voice soft and his eyes filled with an unexpected tenderness. "I didn’t mean to."

"You didn’t listen to me, and I lost my temper. I’m sorry, Xiao Nan. This time, it’s my fault." Qi Yuwen stared into You Nan’s eyes, his expression as profound as an abyss. "So next time, don’t contact my friends anymore, okay?"

You Nan stared at Qi Yuwen’s face, his blood ran cold. The plot had never shown this side of the protagonist. What was going on?

You Nan’s eyelashes trembled slightly. He avoided Qi Yuwen’s gaze and nodded almost imperceptibly. Only then did Qi Yuwen seem satisfied.

The man suddenly swept You Nan up into his arms, carried him carefully upstairs, laid him on the bed, and pulled the covers over him.

Qi Yuwen smoothed back the stray hairs from You Nan’s forehead and tucked them behind his ear. "You’ve had a shock today. Get some rest at home tomorrow. I’ll send a leave notice to your department head on DingTalk later."

You Nan didn’t respond, only tugging the blanket higher. His slender fingers gripped the edge, his nails neatly trimmed and rounded.

Qi Yuwen dabbed the cut on his face with iodine. "Tomorrow I’ll buy you a new phone."

"Do you like the latest model on the market? I’ll get it for you."

The phone had just been released and cost over twenty thousand—five months of You Nan’s salary. To Qi Yuwen, it was nothing. He could buy it on a whim.

Qi Yuwen continued to ramble on, seemingly in high spirits even though You Nan didn’t respond.

Seeing that it was getting late, he made sure You Nan was settled before leaving. He even said goodnight gently and closed the door softly.

The moment the man left, You Nan immediately pulled the blanket over his head, burying himself completely.

Under the covers, he shook uncontrollably.

What should he do? Would the protagonist kill him?

You Nan was terrified of death. Anyone who died in this small world would actually die, never returning home.

Today, Qi Yuwen’s anger over his private contact with Yao Xianqing had truly frightened him.

For a moment, he thought the man was going to kill him.

He didn’t want to do this mission anymore.

You Nan cried under the blanket, his tears staining the pillow with dark patches.