Chapter 3
Edward Quan ·
He was holding a document bag.
Inside were bank statements, property-transfer papers, and personal information about Chen Jinyan.
I looked at Xu Xingzhi with tears in my eyes. “Isn't he my older sister's boyfriend? What does he have to do with me?”
27
He took out my phone.
Opened my alternate account.
The chat between Chen Jinyan and me was still sitting on the picture he'd sent, along with my question asking if he was well.
Everything else—
Gone.
I'd always had the good habit of deleting every bit of inappropriate chat history.
I looked at Xu Xingzhi with calm innocence. “Can't I have friends? You're going to accuse me based on that little bit of chat history? Aren't you making a mountain out of a molehill? We met on a blind date and got married, but you don't even trust me this much?”
Unable to help myself, I said in a wounded voice, “Look at me. Because I love you, I can quietly put up with you having another woman. But the moment I do something even slightly suspicious, you look at me like you want to kill me. That just proves you never really loved me.”
Two clear tears slid down from the corners of my eyes. “This marriage has no meaning anymore. I know you like Bai Shuangshuang. You've always wanted to catch me doing something wrong so you can divorce me and marry her.”
I sniffled, putting on a brave face. “I'll set you free. I, Zhou Giajia, can love wholeheartedly and let go just as wholeheartedly. Let's get divorced. What's the point of a marriage without trust?”
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He looked at me coldly, unmoved. “Anything else?”
“That’s all. From here on, talk to my lawyer.” I thought for a moment. “If you want to keep the divorce quiet, I can cooperate.”
Mainly, I was afraid my parents would beat me when I got home.
Maybe I should sneak abroad and wait until they couldn't reach me before announcing it.
He nodded.
He lowered his eyes and thought for a moment, then laughed.
He asked, “Before we got married, you knew Bai Shuangshuang existed. You never asked me about her. Were you certain I was going to cheat on you?”
I put on the look of someone heartbroken beyond repair. “There's no point in saying anything now. From this moment on, I won't answer any of your questions. If you need something, contact my lawyer.”
“Oh? I've had someone take Chen Jinyan in. His phone's here, too. Want to see it?”
He looked at me. “He doesn't have the habit of deleting chat history.”
I couldn't help glancing at him, still trying to argue. “I wasn't the one talking to him.”
He laughed.
At first it was a low chuckle. Then his chest began to shake with it.
When he'd laughed enough, he took out Chen Jinyan's phone.
Then he opened the chat history.
And read every message, one by one.
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It felt as if needles were pricking my back.
I couldn't help shifting, wanting to get away.
But he immediately held me in place.
“You said the alternate WeChat account on your phone wasn't his, right? Then if I have him thrown into the river, you won't object either.”
A chill ran down my spine.
He opened a phone-monitoring app and showed it to me.
On the screen, Chen Jinyan was beaten within an inch of his life, coughing nonstop.
He kept crying for help.
My heart seized. I looked at Xu Xingzhi in terror. “You'll get a murder charge for this!”
He smiled calmly. “So what?”
“Who knows I did it?”
“Where's the evidence?”
“I don't know him.”
“Clearly, he borrowed from loan sharks and they're after him.”
He said all this slowly, then stroked my face and asked, “Tell me, isn't that right?”
“Wouldn't that be more exciting?”
“What fun is cheating? Your husband will teach you how to play for real.”
He leaned close to my ear and whispered, “You steal a man, I kill a man.”
A chill rose from the bottom of my heart.
Slowly, it spread across my skin.
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His face was usually so unsmiling. Now it was utterly calm.
There was even a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.
Under his gaze, I slowly said, “Don't kill him. Tell me what you want.”
He smiled.
But there wasn't the slightest trace of amusement in his eyes.
He stared at me.
I stared back.
“How long has it been?”
“One month.”
“Have you slept together?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I never wanted to sleep with him. I just wanted somewhere to spend money. It was basically like sending money to an idol. Sometimes I made a few dirty jokes, but they were just crude jokes between adults. It was only to keep the mood light.”
He let out a cold laugh.
The air turned suffocatingly still.
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Chen Jinyan was taken to the hospital.
Xu Xingzhi still didn't say what he planned to do about it.
He just sat across from me, staring at me without a break.
My scalp prickled.
“Why did you cheat?”
“I didn't cheat. I didn't do anything.”
“Don't make me ask twice.”
“…I thought you were cheating on me. It hurt so much I felt like I was going crazy. But I didn't want you to hate me, so I didn't want to act like some hysterical woman and make a scene. I could only try to distract myself. Then I found that spending money on my idol was pretty good at taking my mind off things. So I started wanting to spend money on him. I didn't do anything. It was no different from keeping a virtual pet on my phone.”
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All my electronic devices were confiscated.
Xu Xingzhi asked me, “Any objections?”
I looked at his gloomy face. He was frightening enough when he didn't smile. Now he was scowling as if he could strangle me at any moment.
I shook my head.
Tears welled in my eyes.
He dragged me into the bathroom and started undressing me. “I used to worry about frightening you, so I always treated you gently. Now it seems that being gentle really won't soothe your promiscuous heart.”
Me: …
I looked at him pitifully through my tears. “No matter what you misunderstand, I won't blame you. I love you, and I'm willing to pay any price… sniff… any price…”
“Easy… please… honey, I'm begging you…”
“To the bedroom… please…”
“I was wrong… sniff… I won't… do it again…”
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Xu Xingzhi really was no human being.
He was worse than a beast.
I looked at the blue and purple bruises on my body, then at how much it hurt even to walk. I felt like I might not have much longer to live.
On Monday morning, I'd barely been asleep for a little while when someone slapped my face awake—not gently at all.
“Get up.”
I opened my eyes and begged him, “Honey, let me sleep a little longer. Please.”
He gave a cold laugh. “You're coming on my business trip. Hurry up.”
In the car, I caught up on sleep.
On the plane, I caught up on sleep.
At the hotel, I caught up on sleep.
By the time I'd slept until late afternoon, Xu Xingzhi came back.
My stomach was rumbling with hunger.
That woke me right up.
I picked up the room phone and called room service.
It couldn't be helped. He still hadn't given me my phone back.
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He asked, “You're awake?”
I lowered my eyes and said nothing, looking like a little wife full of grievances.
But he no longer fell for that act.
Then he started taking off his tie and clothes.
I couldn't help shrinking away. “Don't. Don't do it again. My body's still sore.”
“Oh? And what does that have to do with me?” he asked coldly.
He treated me like a tool now.
He spoke to me with terrifying coldness.
Whenever he felt like it, he took me without stopping.
In the end, I developed a high fever.
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When I woke up, it was the next day.
I was alone in the hospital room.
An IV was still running into my hand.
Xu Xingzhi, you lunatic.
One day you'll torture me to death.
And he still had the nerve to get angry with me.
He was insane.
The nurse came in to change my medication.
I asked her, “How much longer do I need the IV?”
“When this bag is finished, you can be discharged.”
She looked at me as if she wanted to say something but hesitated. “You shouldn't always put up with men. It's your body.”
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After she left, I pulled out the IV needle myself. I couldn't even be bothered to change clothes; I just walked straight out.
I really had no strength left, and my body felt even worse.
Downstairs at the convenience store, I was going to borrow the clerk's phone to call my sister.
But when I looked up, I saw Xu Xingzhi standing there, staring at me expressionlessly.
I shot him a cold glance and dialed 110.
He snatched the phone away.
Then he picked me up and carried me off.
I didn't even struggle.
After I ate breakfast and had a little strength back, I said, “Let's get divorced.”
He spat out two words. “Keep dreaming.”
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There's always someone more perverse.
That pervert Xu Xingzhi had locked me up.
I looked at the iron chain around my ankle and said furiously, “You dare lock me up? Just you wait! My family will report you to the police. They'll deal with you!”
He laughed ominously. “You're on vacation right now. Do you think they'll interfere?”
Then he showed me his phone.
His social feed was full of pictures of delicious food and scenic views I'd supposedly “posted.”
There were even a few selfies of me.
I'd never taken them. They could only be composites.
His feed had a few similar pictures, too, proving that we'd gone on vacation together.
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“You can't keep me locked up forever.”
He said darkly, “Who says?”
“If you try to run away or bring up divorce again, your lover can choose how he dies: a car accident or an overdose.”
“As for you…” He looked at my legs. “I think you'd be better off disabled.”
He traced a finger along my neck as he spoke. “Even though your deep devotion is all an act, don't worry. Unlike you, I won't get tired of you. I'll take care of you for the rest of your life.”
He stroked my legs again.
I shuddered.
He smiled at me like a madman. “It would be a different kind of fun in bed if you were like this, don't you think?”
“Besides, there are all kinds of drugs that can make people lose their minds now.” He spoke leisurely. “They'll leave you mentally unstable for a while. Your family will think you're losing it because you're paralyzed.”
“Then I'll take good care of you. They'll come visit you for a year or two and feel reassured. After that, I can do whatever I want with you. What do you think?”
“From now on, whenever I go to work or travel, I'll take you along. When I feel like it, I'll * you.”
“Everyone will praise how devoted we are and say I'm faithful to you.”
My whole body trembled.
He could do it.
That madman really could do it.
Terrified, I started crying and trembling as I said, “Xu Xingzhi, you're sick! You can go out and fool around, so why can't I? Let me go! Let me go!”
“What did I do?”
“Don't pretend! Don't think I don't know!”