Chapter 3 Is It So Hard to Add Her Into Your Contacts?

• There were twenty days left before her father’s verdict was released, and if she could not get the money to pay them, it would be many years before she could see her father again.
• Investor? Lu Yao was thinking about what President Ji said. She hesitatingly took out her phone and scrolled down her contacts to look at that number she had memorized.
• She started off by noting Shao Yunchen down as 'Hubby', and she even added an 'A' before his name so it would pop up on the first spot of the contacts every time she turned on her phone.
• But Shao Yunchen rarely called or texted her over these three years, and she eventually changed 'Hubby' back to 'Shao Yunchen', never disturbing him when there was nothing she needed.
• Lu Yao called him and threw her cigarette into the lavatory before going out to gargle.
• She was hoarse after smoking, so she was worried that, if she did not resume her normal voice, Shao Yunchen would be irritated if he found out that she had been smoking.
• “Hello, who is this?”
• The call was picked up quickly, but it scared Lu Yao. The one who answered the call was a woman, whose tactical way of asking questions gave the impression that she had answered a lot of similar calls for Shao Yunchen.
• When Lu Yao kept quiet, she asked again, “Hello?”
• Lu Yao snapped out of it after a while, and she sounded awful as she spoke, “I’m looking for Shao Yunchen. Is he there?”
• “Yunchen is in a conference.” The woman addressed Shao Yunchen by his first name, sounding like she was his actual partner. “Please tell me your name and who you might be. Your number is not saved in Yunchen's phone…”
• Lu Yao hung up before she could finish. Her hand kept trembling, and her phone suddenly fell down with a thud, which she quickly picked up.
• Lu Yao gazed at her tear-streaked reflection on the cracked screen, which looked like someone who lost his family and was overwhelmed by wretchedness.
• It had been three years since she and Shao Yunchen got married. If it was everyone else, they would have been like an old couple, but he had never added her number into his contacts.
• Is it that hard to add my number into his contacts?
• And that woman...
• Lu Yao shivered when she recalled that call a moment ago.
• With Shao Yunchen’s indifference toward her, Lu Yao did suspect him of having a mistress. However, since they did sign a contract, he had to leave this relationship without a penny on him if he had an extramarital affair.
• Lu Yao had always trusted him, but that woman’s overly intimate way of addressing her husband in the call today changed her mind. That subtle crack of suspicion within her became not so subtle anymore. She did not care if it was not Sunday today, or if he would not return home. She clocked off work at five thirty sharp and bought some fresh fruits and vegetables when driving past a supermarket.
• She had good cooking skills, which she learned from her mother. She even varied her dishes for Shao Yunchen. Nevertheless, since Shao Yunchen only came back once a week according to the contract, no matter how well she cooked, she would have to finish the dishes on her own.
• As time passed, Lu Yao stopped cooking altogether. If Shao Yunchen came back on the weekends, one of them would cook, while the other would do the dishes. If he was not home, she would order food delivery; she would only cook for fun if she felt like it.
• Music was blaring in the living room, so the busy Lu Yao did not hear the door opening from the kitchen as she worked hard to tackle the fish lying on the cutting board.
• “Ah!” She gasped in surprise and pulled back her bleeding finger that was injured while cleaning the gills. Before she realized what was happening, someone came from behind her and grabbed her finger before putting it under the running water to clean it, and his warm hand made Lu Yao’s heart skip a couple of beats.
• Aside from his lips, every part of the man felt warm. “Why didn’t you ask the seller to handle it for you when you bought the fish?” Shao Yunchen cleaned the wound on her finger before he put a band-aid on it. He might be gentle, but he still looked cold.
• Lu Yao muttered, “I was in a hurry when I bought this, so I forgot…”