Look at Yours

Xu Zhitong looked completely harmless.

She bent down to pick up the damp inner layer, holding it by one corner as she glanced at the time. “We’ve got time. Go change; I’ll clean up.”

Lin Yang bit her lip and said nothing.

At times like this, Xu Zhitong was very considerate.

She lifted her face with a bright smile, leaned in to kiss Lin Yang’s cheek, then turned and carried the clothes into the bathroom.

Leaving Lin Yang alone to calm herself down.

Before long, the sound of water and Xu Zhitong’s cheerful humming drifted out from inside.

Lin Yang looked at Xu Zhitong’s back in the open sink area, and little by little, the heat of her embarrassment and irritation eased.

She let out a soft sigh and went back into the bedroom to get herself together.

Since she was going out to meet someone, Lin Yang tidied herself from head to toe; her makeup and hair were all in place.

When she stepped out of the guest room, the dining area had already been cleaned spotless by Xu Zhitong.

Even the floor had been mopped until it gleamed.

Xu Zhitong was sitting in a chair, playing on her phone. When she heard movement, she looked up, and her eyes immediately lit up.

Lin Yang was dressed more formally than usual: an A-line pleated skirt, a shirt with a slightly casual feel, the collar layered outside a blazer; the blazer was a long fitted style that nearly covered the skirt entirely.

She slipped on a pair of kitten heels and glanced at Xu Zhitong, who had followed her over.

Xu Zhitong immediately praised her in a soft, obedient voice, “So pretty.”

Lin Yang lifted a hand.

Xu Zhitong understood at once and handed over the small bag with her documents from the entryway cabinet behind her.

Her eyes practically stuck to Lin Yang. A little sourly, she said, “You really can’t take me with you?”

Dressed up so nicely, going out to a gathering with other people...

She really wanted to draw a line around Lin Yang and tell the whole world: this wife is hers.

Don’t disturb.

Lin Yang soothed her, “You can chat with me on WeChat.”

Xu Zhitong pouted. “Fine...”

What was the appeal of online dating compared to sticking to your wife?

She still couldn’t bear to let go, staring fixedly at Lin Yang.

The two of them held each other’s gaze for a moment before Lin Yang gave in first. She stepped closer and coaxed her with a kiss.

“Just a meal and some chatting with them. I’ll be back tonight. You can do your own thing, okay?”

Xu Zhitong immediately pushed her luck, circling her arms around Lin Yang’s waist and licking the fresh, mirror-bright gloss off her lips.

When she let go, she even tugged at Lin Yang’s belt. “You’re not allowed to cinch it that tight.”

Childish.

Lin Yang let her loosen the belt as she wished, then wiped her lips in the mirror and said, “All right. If we don’t leave now, I’ll be late.”

Xu Zhitong looked aggrieved. “Okay... see you tonight.”

Lin Yang said, “See you tonight. Bye.”

No matter how reluctant they were, it wasn’t possible for the two of them to stay together every single day.

Lin Yang sat in the back seat and let out a quiet breath, then touched up her lipstick in the mirror.

Chu Ling’s private residence, or perhaps it could be called an estate, was named Hidden Islet. It was on the outskirts of the city; far away, but with excellent scenery.

Driving there took nearly an hour.

Just as the car left the neighborhood, Lin Yang received a photo from Xu Zhitong.

ZZZ: [image]

It was a zoomed-in shot of her car.

ZZZ: Car’s broken; I’m taking you away with me TT

ZZZ: Safe trip. Are you thinking of me!

ZZZ: [tail wagging.jpg]

Lin Yang smiled.

Y: I am.

Y: What are you going to do?

ZZZ: [image] x2

It was a picture of her sitting in front of a big TV screen with a game controller in her hands.

There was also an open cartridge storage binder, with Xu Zhitong’s finger pointing at one of the cards inside.

ZZZ: Playing this game series.

Y: Okay.

ZZZ: [image]

It was another page of cartridges.

ZZZ: The guide says this game series has a two-player mode. When you’re free, do you want to play together?

Y: [Okay~.jpg]

ZZZ: How long until you get there?

Y: Another 65 minutes.

ZZZ: You live so far away [yellow bean eye-roll.jpg]

Y: Be good.

ZZZ: You live so far away [yellow bean cute.jpg]

Even jealousy looked kind of cute.

Lin Yang knew Xu Zhitong wasn’t really jealous of Chu Ling over some imaginary thing.

But she also couldn’t deny that she didn’t dislike it... in fact, she rather liked seeing Xu Zhitong express these things.

The amnesiac Xu Zhitong, as her lover, cared about her; only cared about her.

Lin Yang looked at the chat history and smiled.

Scrolling further up were little everyday snippets from their lives.

Xu Zhitong would see something interesting online and want to share it with Lin Yang.

If she saw a funny post, she’d forward it; if she saw a game suitable for couples, she’d want to try it; if she saw clothes or accessories that seemed suitable for Lin Yang, she’d buy them all and bring them home.

There were also ordinary things, like not knowing where the shampoo was stored, or that the milk at home was about to run out, or that the hair ties she’d gathered from the bed had all been put into the box by the entryway...

It really did feel like a pair of lovers who had been together for a long time and were happy.

On the car ride, Lin Yang handled work intermittently; whenever her phone chimed with a message, she replied to Xu Zhitong.

Xu Zhitong mainly complained that the game just now had been too hard, or not very fun.

In between, she’d also squeeze in a line or two, saying that her own taste used to be a little off.

Aside from her baseless jealousy over Chu Ling and the others, she also seemed to hold a bit of hostility toward the version of herself from before the amnesia.

How did her brain even work?

As the car neared Hidden Islet, there was a long stretch with no messages from Xu Zhitong; probably she’d found a game she liked and gotten absorbed in it.

Lin Yang put down her phone.

Chu Ling had arranged a small private gathering with them, without many attendants. After a relatively simple lunch, the three of them didn’t get straight to work; they went first to the entertainment room to play Texas hold’em.

It had been a long time since they’d last met, and Lin Yang had prepared herself to be teased a couple of times by Chu Ling now that she was in a relationship.

Sure enough, as soon as the cards were dealt, Chu Ling glanced at her hole cards, set them casually on the table, and said leisurely, “I thought there would be four people at this get-together.”

Lin Yang paused and rolled the chips in her hand.

Before she could say anything, she heard Yan Ci beside them say, “Ah, my wife’s at work.”

Chu Ling: ?

Lin Yang: ?

The two of them almost simultaneously looked over at Yan Ci in disbelief.

Hearing the words “my wife” from Yan Ci was no different from seeing a ghost in broad daylight.

Chu Ling said, “Is there some word that sounds like wife now?”

Lin Yang said, “You got married?”

Yan Ci asked back in confusion at the same time, lifting a hand to show off the glittering ring on her ring finger. “Hm, I got married.”

Chu Ling said, “Lya, did they spike the food just now? I think I’m hallucinating.”

Lin Yang said, “When did you get the marriage certificate?”

Yan Ci gave a date: the day after the National Day holiday ended.

Lin Yang said, “When’s the wedding?”

Yan Ci said, “She’s busy with work. We’ll do it after the New Year.”

Chu Ling: “...So who exactly is this ‘she’? Since when did you start having a romantic entanglement with a real-life woman?”

Lin Yang said, “Got any photos?”

No one had expected the youngest of the three, Yan Ci, to be the first to get married.

Her partner had been introduced through a matchmaking arrangement and worked as an art teacher at a tutoring institution.

They all admired the wedding certificate photo of Yan Ci and her partner together. Honestly, judging by appearances, they were extremely well matched.

Still feeling like there had to be more to it, Lin Yang didn’t press further. She wasn’t much of a gossip; she was just astonished that Yan Ci had gone off and done a blind-date shotgun marriage without a word.

It was fair to say she was shocked.

She had once seriously believed the three of them would all end up alone.

For that reason, she had even carefully planned for retirement in her investment portfolio and shared that plan among the three of them.

Still, it was fortunate that this explosive piece of news had shifted Chu Ling’s teasing away from her.

Because of that, Chu Ling even forcibly changed the stakes to making the loser answer questions.

At least they managed to wring a few things out of Yan Ci.

A few rounds later, with wins and losses mixed, they moved into the conference room.

The matter of sharing medical data with the Chu family was raised by Yan Ci.

Lin Yang wisely went out to ask the attendants for some afternoon tea snacks. When she returned, as expected, Chu Ling was already somewhat angry and pounding the table, ready to argue with Yan Ci.

They argued for half the afternoon. In the end, annoyed beyond reason, Yan Ci said, “Then what do you want me to do? If you won’t discuss cooperation, should I just hack into your company’s system?”

Chu Ling laughed. “Fine. Go ahead and do it; I’ll tell you the internal control procedures.”

Yan Ci looked at her for a while, then said, “That’s not ethical.”

The two of them still had to argue. Chu Ling didn’t indulge Yan Ci’s stubborn one-track mind in work matters either; she gave a cold snort, sat down on a single sofa, and lit a cigarette.

Yan Ci sat on the sofa opposite, wearing a dark face and sulking in silence.

Two stubborn donkeys.

Yan Ci had never quite understood the oddly strained relationship between Chu Ling and the enormous family business she was about to inherit. So whenever that subject came up, conflict was inevitable.

Lin Yang didn’t want to listen to them argue, and she wasn’t going to play peacemaker either. “I’m going out to get some air.”

She pushed open the nearly transparent glass door outside the conference room and stepped out onto the open-air balcony.

In front of her lay a wide, beautiful lake; this estate had its own private lake view.

The mountain wind brushed past, and the air was fresh and pleasant.

Leaning against the marble railing at waist height, Lin Yang took out her phone, snapped a photo for Xu Zhitong, and sent it.

Y: [image]

Xu Zhitong replied instantly.

ZZZ: Any more? Preferably with my wife in the frame too.

Y: ?

ZZZ: Requesting camera reversal! I miss Lin Little Sheep TT

ZZZ: [puppy begging.jpg]

Lin Yang laughed softly.

She glanced toward the room; the two of them were still seated far apart.

She sent over a selfie.

ZZZ: [lick lick lick.jpg]

ZZZ: [image]

Xu Zhitong actually returned the favor and sent a selfie of her own.

In the frame, she was wearing only the top half of her underwear; the fabric was black with thin straps, revealing a beautiful stretch of her abdomen, and below that, the edge of a pair of long pants could be seen at an angle.

It looked like she was changing clothes.

ZZZ: Getting ready to change and reshoot some close-ups, wife.

Y: ...

Lin Yang stared at the photo for a long time.

In broad daylight, no less.

She actually felt a guilty, self-conscious twinge, as if she were looking at indecent material; even with the cool breeze blowing over her, her face still felt a little hot.

Y: Why send this?

ZZZ: Do you like it [yellow bean eyebrow raise.jpg]

Lin Yang pressed her lips together and followed her heart.

Y: [transfer 5200]

Like.

A few minutes later, Xu Zhitong accepted the transfer, then sent another picture.

A closer mirror selfie.

She had already put on the shirt she was going to shoot in, lifted the hem, and pressed one hand against the waistband of her pants. The phone camera and her whole body were both much closer to the mirror now.

The lines of her body were even clearer; paired with the rather atmospheric lighting, it was almost as if one could see the rise and fall of her breathing through the image.

It was highly suggestive.

As if she’d secretly learned a whole set of borderline-explicit photo techniques.

Seeing that Lin Yang still wasn’t replying, Xu Zhitong sent another emoji.

ZZZ: [spinning proudly.jpg]

Lin Yang studied it for quite a while, then couldn’t help but transfer some money to Xu Zhitong.

Y: [transfer 5200]

This time, Xu Zhitong didn’t accept it.

ZZZ: ?

ZZZ: Are you sneaking around outside on the side or something, suddenly keep sending me money!

ZZZ: Requesting a spot check.

Y: ...

Y: I looked at yours; giving you a little reward. Don’t want it?

ZZZ: Got it

ZZZ: Look at yours

ZZZ: [transfer 52000]