Chapter 20

Chapter 20

You Nan stayed home all day, returning to work the following morning.

Wang Yuanyuan, seeing him arrive early, offered him some small cakes she had baked for her child. "Why did you suddenly take leave yesterday? Where did you go?"

You Nan took a small piece. His face was pale, utterly drained of color under the office's fluorescent lights. He thanked Wang Yuanyuan softly, his voice weak and lacking energy. "I wasn’t feeling well yesterday."

He offered a vague excuse, his eyelids fluttering slightly.

Wang Yuanyuan, noticing his condition, didn't press further. Concerned, she quickly urged You Nan to sit down. "What’s wrong? You can take a couple more days off. Give me your leave form—write it for three days. I’ll get the supervisor to approve it for you later."

Hearing this, You Nan managed a faint smile. "It’s alright. I’m feeling much better today. It’s nothing serious."

He skillfully sidestepped her earlier question.

Wang Yuanyuan let out a soft "Hm?", understanding his reluctance. She simply advised You Nan to let her know if he felt unwell.

You Nan obediently agreed.

Engrossed in his work all morning, You Nan didn’t realize it was already noon until he finally looked up.

Brother Li came over to his desk, waiting for him to pack up so they could go together. "Did you finish that report from yesterday?"

Noticing You Nan’s poor complexion and the slight dark circles under his eyes, he reached out to touch them. "Why do you have dark circles?"

You Nan immediately recoiled before Brother Li could make contact, his sudden reaction startling Brother Li.

Brother Li felt rejected and wronged. "What's your problem? I didn’t pick my nose today!"

It wasn’t about Brother Li picking his nose. You Nan had been frightened by Qi Yuwen again the previous night. The command that he wasn’t allowed to interact with others was practically etched into his mind.

You Nan hadn’t meant to step back. Before he could even react, his body had already sprung away from the chair.

You Nan stood still. "I’m not rejecting you."

Brother Li approached again, generously forgiving You Nan, and reached out to drape his arm over You Nan’s shoulder. "Then let’s hurry up and go. Otherwise, all the good food in the cafeteria will be gone."

As soon as he finished speaking, his hand found empty air.

The person who had just denied rejecting him had betrayed him again.

Brother Li was displeased. You Nan preempted him, "Just walk properly. Why do you have to keep touching people?"

A girl nearby couldn’t help but laugh. "Exactly, Brother Li, you need to lose weight. Your arm must weigh at least five or six pounds."

Brother Li was unfazed by You Nan’s comment, but being teased by a pretty female coworker was another matter. His face instantly flushed, and he stammered, "Alright, alright. It’s just because You Nan and I are close that I act like this."

You Nan’s eyes crinkled with a smile. "I know."

Soon, everyone in the office noticed a change in You Nan.

Previously, the men in the office had gotten along well—slapping each other on the back, goofing off together, even going to the bathroom in groups. They were incredibly close.

But now, You Nan seemed to be having an aversion. He hardly chatted anymore, gradually eating alone, and would instinctively shrink back whenever someone tried to approach him.

He maintained an invisible distance from everyone.

This was very unusual.

"Ms. Wang, why hasn’t Xiao Nan been talking lately?" The girl took advantage of You Nan’s absence—he had gone to the bathroom—to come over and speak with her. "Since the day he came back from time off, he’s been like a different person. He doesn’t smile anymore. Could it be that his health…"

She left the rest unsaid.

Wang Yuanyuan actually had her own suspicions. It might be related to You Nan’s health.

She had asked him that day, but You Nan hadn’t answered and had changed the subject instead. Clearly, he didn’t want to talk about it, so she hadn’t felt it appropriate to ask again.

"Don’t spread this. It’s just between us," Wang Yuanyuan reminded the girl. If an employee had a serious illness or major health issue, the company would basically ask them to resign.

The girl didn't quite get it but nodded obediently.

Since Qi Yuwen had revealed his true self to You Nan, You Nan had been riding exclusively in Qi Yuwen’s car.

Qi Yuwen parked at the supermarket, and You Nan got out of the car with him.

Qi Yuwen was handsome, tall, and with long legs. He wore a smile and seemed approachable. Walking beside him, You Nan was a head shorter, with fine, handsome features and fair skin. Though he wasn’t smiling, he was still hard to look away from.

The two of them walking together always made people do a double-take.

Qi Yuwen pushed a cart to checkout, filled with ingredients for that night’s dinner, including a pineapple.

Qi Yuwen paid for the groceries and loaded them into the car. You Nan only needed to walk beside him.

"Anything you’d like to eat tonight?" Qi Yuwen asked You Nan while driving but got no answer.

"Hm?" The smile on Qi Yuwen’s face faded somewhat.

You Nan turned to look out the window on his side, watching the passing scenery. "Anything is fine."

That evening, Qi Yuwen made a whole table of dishes You Nan disliked.

This wasn’t the first time. You Nan knew Qi Yuwen was being deliberate.

Qi Yuwen pulled out a chair for him and set down a bowl of rice in front of him. "Try today’s dishes. See if you like them."

Before You Nan were pineapple and taro.

He didn’t like either. He had said the first time Qi Yuwen made them that they made his mouth uncomfortable.

Qi Yuwen had remembered.

"I don’t like eating these," You Nan said, unsure how many times he had repeated those words.

He understood the intention of Qi Yuwen, that madman Yao Xianqing. Just because Yao Xianqing remembered what he liked to eat and always ordered it for him, Qi Yuwen couldn’t stand it.

So he deliberately made what You Nan disliked and made him eat it.

Qi Yuwen’s voice was gentle, his eyes full of affection. The man softened his approach to coax his partner into taking a few bites, acting entirely for his benefit. "Xiao Nan, I worked hard to make this. Just try a bite."

"Besides, if you eat what you like too often, won’t you get tired of it?"

You Nan didn’t want to listen to Qi Yuwen. He felt upset.

After that day, You Nan no longer wanted to do the tasks. No matter how much 007 tried to persuade him, saying, "They’re all fake, don’t take it to heart," You Nan remained unmoved.

The Energy Points he had now were much more than what he had earned before. He could completely avoid contact altogether with Qi Yuwen and Yao Xianqing.

He could just quietly be cannon fodder and wait for the grand finale.

Having reasoned it out for himself, You Nan no longer thought about actively contacting Yao Xianqing to get closer. He had given up on the mission, and the efforts he once made to please Qi Yuwen he stopped doing altogether.

Still, being treated this way, You Nan couldn't help but feel wronged.

His heart aching and eyes stinging, You Nan raised a hand to cover his eyes. Warm, glistening tears seeped through his fingers, his voice trembling with emotion as he called out, "Qi Yuwen."

He spoke the other's name. "Let's get a divorce."

Qi Yuwen remained unresponsive upon hearing this.

You Nan didn't want to wait any longer. Even though it was still early before his exit from the plot, he truly didn’t wish to stay any longer. He couldn’t bear the thought of enduring years of emotional coldness from the other.

He simply couldn’t take it.

He had never liked Qi Yuwen to begin with.

"I know you don’t like me," You Nan sniffed, "but I don’t understand why you chose me in the end. I have nothing. When you confessed to me, it felt like a dream I hadn’t woken up from."

"I thought, maybe I should just go along with it. The chance to be with you only comes once, and I wanted to seize it. Even if you didn’t like me now, it didn’t matter. Maybe someday I could win you over, and then you’d come to like me."

You Nan lowered the hand covering his eyes, revealing slightly red and swollen eyelids. He kept his gaze down, avoiding the man sitting across from him, his tone calm as if he had thought it over for a long time. "But it’s just so exhausting. Trying to make you like me is too difficult."

"Because there’s someone else in your heart, and I can’t find a place there."

These words from You Nan made Qi Yuwen’s lips quirk, though he couldn’t quite form a smile.

He reached up and touched his face. After two or three seconds, his expression returned to normal, and the smile You Nan had once loved reappeared on his face.

"What are you talking about?" Qi Yuwen’s voice was barely a whisper, as if afraid of upsetting You Nan in his unstable state. "How could I not like you? Is it because you don’t like these dishes? If you don’t like them, I’ll make something else for you."

"We’ve only been married for four months, not even six months. How can you already want a divorce?"

As he spoke, Qi Yuwen stood up, took all the dishes You Nan disliked into the kitchen, and soon the sound of the stove igniting could be heard. Qi Yuwen had started cooking again.

Every move between You Nan and Qi Yuwen was watched by a pair of round, gleaming cat eyes peeking out from under the sofa.

007 couldn’t help but snort in disdain inwardly. Serves him right!

Qi Yuwen was acting like a psycho. You Nan had politely told him he didn’t like the food, yet Qi Yuwen insisted he eat it. When You Nan refused and tearfully suggested divorce, Qi Yuwen, who had been so stubborn moments before, immediately got up without a word to cook something else.

What a real nutcase.

007 couldn’t understand it. It was a fact that Qi Yuwen didn’t like You Nan. Now that You Nan was the one to bring up divorce, shouldn’t Qi Yuwen be thrilled? A divorce would let him pursue Yao Xianqing.

So why didn’t he want to divorce You Nan?

The little kitten lay on the floor, stretching its jaw in a big yawn, watching as Qi Yuwen prepared dishes You Nan liked and placed them in front of him, encouraging him to taste them.

The scene felt familiar, reminiscent of when You Nan used to cook for Qi Yuwen, except now their roles seemed reversed.

You Nan stared at the two dishes in front of him, tears still on his face, not saying a word.

Qi Yuwen, frustrated by his silence, had a hint of frustration in his eyes, but he restrained himself and gently asked You Nan, "Are you still angry with me?"

"How could you think about divorcing me? Don’t you like me anymore?"

Qi Yuwen reached out to touch You Nan’s cheek, but You Nan immediately flinched back. The other’s swift avoidance left a rare look of astonishment on the man’s face.

007 watched with satisfaction, flicking its tail.

Serves him right!

You Nan’s tone was resolute and blunt. "That was all in the past."

Qi Yuwen looked down at You Nan, then suddenly dropped to one knee, grabbing You Nan’s hand and pressing it to his own face. The man apologized sincerely, "I was wrong. I shouldn’t have treated you like this, Xiao Nan, please forgive me, alright?"

You Nan wanted to say no, but on the other side, 007 let out a shocked "meow" at the sudden notification that popped up.

"This cheapskate actually sent 100 Energy Points this time! Wow, this is the highest amount ever!"

You Nan’s refusal was cut off by the unexpected generosity from Qi Yuwen, and he couldn’t voice it immediately.

This gave the man kneeling beside his chair the perfect opportunity. Qi Yuwen pulled him into a hug, his words earnest and filled with regret. "Xiao Nan, don’t leave me."

"Alright? You’re the only one I have."

Qi Yuwen buried his face in You Nan’s abdomen.

Unconsciously, he didn’t notice himself greedily inhaling the comforting scent that emanated from the other.