Five years into our marriage, my wife’s assistant, Evan, posted a screenshot on social media of a transfer of 521,314 dollars. The caption read: “Having a CEO big sister like this makes work so sweet!” I had just commented, “Work hard,” when I realized my account had been blocked by him. My wife called, launching into a furious tirade. “I just advanced an employee a bonus for his birthday, why would you message him and yell at him? My leniency isn’t a license for your unreasonable behavior!” Through the phone, I clearly heard the entire company comforting Evan and his feigned strong sigh. Before I could explain, the call was cut off and I was blocked. Immediately after, the assistant ostentatiously posted another photo of a million-dollar transfer. I knew that was Willow’s compensation to him. But this time, I didn’t care anymore. 1. When Willow stepped through the door, I had just tossed out the empty container of cheap takeout. After the removal of a malignant tumor in my stomach, the doctor said I needed to eat bland food this month, but I hadn’t listened to the advice. Simply because it was our fifth wedding anniversary, I had checked out of the hospital early to come home. I had even booked a hotel, intending to have a candlelight dinner with her. I had waited all day for her to reply to my messages. If I hadn’t seen Evan’s social media post and received that phone call just before leaving, I would probably still be sitting in the hotel like an idiot. Willow glanced at the empty dining table as she entered, her brows furrowing with displeasure. “Not cooking tonight?” I nodded calmly, my fingers scrolling on my phone screen. “You already ate out.” In the past, no matter how busy I was with work, I would always come home early to prepare dinner for her. If her brow so much as creased, I felt like the sky was falling. A humble posture inevitably fails to win equal love, a truth I unfortunately only understood now. Willow didn’t even notice my unusual behavior. She walked directly up to me and opened the packaged cake in her hand. “I specifically brought this for you. It’s almost our anniversary, right? You don’t even like sweets, so this is just a gesture.” Soon, a cake that had clearly been picked over appeared before me. Its indentations and small holes showed where several pieces of fruit had once been, now scooped out. She never knew that I disliked sweets. Yet, I cherished the small cakes for each of our anniversaries, because they symbolized our happiness. The cakes she would taste and then declare unfit to eat for the past few years had all ended up in my stomach. But this time, I merely glanced at it before my attention returned to my phone. She was surprised by my cold attitude, and her brows furrowed impatiently. “Chris, what is your problem? I went all that way to bring this back for you, and now you’re starting another fuss? Is this never going to end?” “I don’t want things others have touched. I find them dirty.” As I spoke, her phone chimed with a message notification. Willow looked down, a barely perceptible smile playing on her lips. I didn’t need to guess who the message was from. When she looked up, her expression was cold, yet her eyes held a hint of delight. “Fine, fine, I’ll go buy you a new one, okay? You don’t even like sweets, what’s there to be picky about? I’m so busy with work, and I come home to your cold face. I must owe you something!” With that, she turned to leave the house. I remembered I had been too hasty checking out of the hospital today and hadn’t picked up my medication yet. So I also stood up to change my shoes and followed her out. Meeting Willow’s subtly irritated gaze, I said in a low voice: “You go buy things, drop me off at the pharmacy along the way. I need to pick up some medicine.” At this, she bristled like a porcupine, instantly becoming wary. “You’re following me to buy a cake? Are you sick? Why don’t you just tie a leash around my neck?” I understood her annoyance. In the past, whenever she went out at night, I would always ask endless questions, uneasy. But this time, she was really overthinking it. I sighed and explained, “There’s a pharmacy just a block from the apartment. You can just drop me off there; I have no interest in stalking you.” As soon as I got in the car, I saw her hastily ordering a blueberry cake online. Perhaps she had forgotten that, initially, she was the one who loved rituals, saying every anniversary needed cake and candles. I fulfilled her requests every year, but in the end, it became a burden for her. At the pharmacy entrance, I got out directly. Behind me, her eyes showed a hint of surprise. When she spoke, her earlier rage was gone. “Wait for me here after you’re done, I’ll pick you up.” As she finished speaking, her car sped past me, splashing mud on my legs. I irritably wiped it off twice and walked into the pharmacy. After buying my medicine, I waited outside for two hours. My body gradually stiffened, but I didn’t see a trace of her. A sudden clap of thunder in the night sky startled me awake. Before I could even hail a taxi, a downpour drenched me completely. Remembering the doctor’s warnings, the incision in my abdomen throbbed faintly. I quickened my pace, running into a convenience store to buy an umbrella. But it was still too late. A cramping pain in my stomach made me involuntarily crouch on the ground, utterly pathetic. If not for a passing car spotting me and kindly taking me back to the apartment, I would probably have ended up in an ambulance. Back home, I had just dried myself and disinfected the incision. After taking my medicine, Willow slammed the door shut, making a deafening sound. “Why didn’t you tell me you were back? Do you know how many times I circled in the downpour? I looked for you for a whole hour! Is it fun to mess with me?” 2. The movement of me putting down my water glass halted. My face was utterly perplexed. She had blocked my number; now she was blaming me for not contacting her? I had waited two hours, and I had just gotten home, yet she claimed to have looked for me for an hour? I couldn’t be bothered to expose her lie. My face darkened, and I said coldly, “For me to contact you, you’d have to unblock me first.” At that, she pressed her lips together, taking a deep breath to quell her anger. She walked into the living room and placed the cake, soaked by the rain and stripped of its packaging, in front of me. “It’s too late; they didn’t have any packaging left. I had to go to quite a few shops to find this.” My gaze fell upon the matcha cake, and I felt only exhaustion from her string of clumsy lies. Forget it, I don’t even like sweets anyway. Stripped of its meaning, the cake’s cloying sweetness was nauseating. On my phone screen was Evan’s latest social media post, a photo of a blueberry cake. The caption read: “I don’t like sweets, but I like sweet you.” I felt a sarcastic laugh bubble up, but I had no strength to pull back my lips. A mouthful of words reached my tongue, only to be reduced to: “Hmm, thanks for the trouble. Throw it away.” Her features abruptly contorted, her eyes red with rage. “Are you sick?! I ran all over the place for you, and you tell me to throw it away?” “Are you playing me like a dog? Is this because I advanced an employee’s salary today? How long are you going to keep this up? I’m the boss, don’t I have that right? I haven’t even settled the score with you for privately messaging him and yelling at him, and now you’re getting all high and mighty!” I reached up and pressed my throbbing head, dulled and aching from the rain. I spoke weakly, “You’re overthinking it. I truly didn’t mean that, nor was there any need, nor did I have the time. At that moment, I was—” Mid-sentence, she interrupted furiously: “Enough! Stop talking! You’re always like this. I’ve never seen a man so jealous. Can’t you spend this time focusing on your career? Your heart is as small as a needle’s eye, it’s disgusting! Marrying you was the biggest mistake of my life!” In the past, I had countless arguments with her over such trivial matters. Humble and desperate, I longed to hear her say she would only love me. But now, I no longer thought that way. We were both adults; if love needed constant questioning, did it still have a purpose? I knew she wouldn’t believe me if I said I wasn’t making a fuss, so I simply said, “If that’s what you want to believe, there’s nothing I can do.” This was the first time in five years that I chose to deal with things coldly. With that, I stood up and walked directly towards the bedroom. She ignored me, throwing the cake on the table into the trash can before sitting down to scroll on her phone. From time to time, stifled laughter escaped her. Then she went to the bathroom, seemingly busy on the phone. I rearranged a set of bedding and moved it to the second bedroom, bumping directly into Willow as she emerged from the bathroom. Her impatient gaze fell on my hands, her lips tightly pressed. After enduring for a while, she finally said angrily, “What do you mean? You want to sleep in separate beds?” “I haven’t even complained about you looking greasy in middle age, what are you fussing about with me? Do you still think you’re Chris Zhang, the campus heartthrob from your early twenties? There are tons of young, fresh faces out there!” “If you can’t sleep, don’t send me messages!” I didn’t reply to her, walking into the second bedroom on my own. The act of moving the bedding pulled at my surgical wound, twisting my face in pain. Every night in the past, when she didn’t come home, I would toss and turn, unable to sleep. I’d call her, send her messages, only for her to slam a bottle of sleeping pills in front of me the next day. Later, I got used to taking medication to sleep. But I never expected that this time, fearing drug interactions might affect wound recovery, I would fall asleep naturally and soundly. What I once thought was insurmountable now seemed not so difficult when I looked back. After searching all day, I finally contacted a reliable divorce lawyer. Meanwhile, Willow’s company account posted a celebration video. In the video, someone raised a champagne bottle. As the liquid sprayed into the air, Willow was firmly shielded behind Evan, the man’s back soaked. Evan’s jacket looked remarkably familiar; upon closer inspection, I realized it was a gift she had given me last year for our wedding anniversary. Now, the gift no longer belonged to me, and neither did she. 3. Just as I was about to turn off my phone, Willow called. “I sent you the address. I’ll pick you up in a bit; there’s a surprise.” A sarcastic smile played on my lips; she had given me enough surprises already. Before I could refuse, she hung up. I didn’t expect to be unblocked by her before the divorce. While I took some medicine and disinfected my wound, Willow’s car had already pulled up downstairs. I received her message and went out wearing casual sportswear. Willow’s smiling gaze unexpectedly fell on my unshaven face, and instantly turned cold. “Aren’t you going to clean yourself up or change clothes? Are you deliberately trying to embarrass me? Look in the mirror, what’s the difference between you and a homeless man right now?” As she spoke, Evan in the passenger seat, wearing the suit Willow had once custom-made for me, rolled down the window. A youthful, flamboyant face appeared. “I’m so sorry, Ms. Willow, I forgot to inform Chris… I couldn’t reach him.” Remembering my blocked account, I smiled nonchalantly. “It’s fine. Given our relationship, I don’t think my appearance affects you anymore.” “Besides, having such a young and handsome assistant is proof enough of your capabilities.” Willow’s scolding words were choked back in her throat. I glanced at Evan in the passenger seat. Seeing no intention of him moving, I simply got into the back. Along the way, Evan enthusiastically chatted with me, constantly talking about the birthday celebration the company employees held for him. His tone was full of regret. “Chris, if only you had been there, I really wanted you to see how much Ms. Willow dotes on her employees! I’m so envious of you!” Willow’s face was grim. She tried to speak to me several times, but I simply ignored her. At the hotel, Evan got out of the car and walked directly to Willow’s side. I glanced at them, then followed behind. The waitstaff all assumed they were a couple. Willow started to explain, then her gaze fell on my weary face behind her, and she ultimately remained silent. Her expression was comically amusing. The company employees were all crowded at the elevator entrance, waiting. When the elevator doors opened, seeing Willow and Evan standing in front, everyone’s expressions froze. A hint of awkwardness flashed across their faces. Old Mr. Wang, a company shareholder and my close college friend, quickly spoke up when he saw the situation: “Mr. Zhang, you’re finally here! If it weren’t for you brokering this project, it wouldn’t have been signed! Today, our entire company owes you a big thank you!” I knew he was trying to save face for me. So I smiled gratefully, “What ‘Mr. So-and-so’? Who knows what position I’ll be in when I come back from overseas.” At that, Willow, who had been walking ahead, suddenly stopped. She turned, her brows furrowed, her gaze full of questions. “Overseas? You’re going abroad? How come I don’t know? When did I agree to this?”
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