His Wife Suddenly Didn't Want Him Anymore

An idealistic girl who puts her principles first x a stiff, proper man who went mad with obsession after being abandoned

SC, HE

[Can love that begins with a misunderstanding really bear fruit?]

*

"You're saying you want a divorce because I yawned?"

Pei Ying gazed at the grim-faced man across from her, her fingertips curling slightly.

"We haven't been married long, anyway, and we haven't even had the wedding..."

"I don't agree."

Liang Chi's lower lip trembled almost imperceptibly.

"Pei Ying, you'd better not joke about this again."

He left her with those cold, hard words, then slammed the door on his way out.

Staring at the suddenly empty room, Pei Ying thought back to the day they had first met, many years ago.

She fell in love with him in a single moment.

At university, medication for an illness had left her swollen and dark-skinned. Her family was poor, and she was at the lowest point in her life.

During a class presentation she had been forced to give, her classmates whispered that she was a fat pig. Only he sat among the crowd, lips slightly parted, eyes glistening as he looked at her intently.

She mistook that small act of kindness for a spring in the desert, and it carried her through the hardest days of her life.

Later, she finally recovered and found the courage to approach him. She tried with all her might and finally won him over, believing he was a gift from fate.

But at a dinner a few days ago, when they talked about how they first met, Liang Chi had casually said, "That day? I'd stayed up all night writing a report and yawned through the whole class..."

Pei Ying's face stiffened. So, for eight years, she'd loved someone who existed only in her imagination.

*

Pei Ying was determined to get a divorce. She wouldn't settle for the wrong person.

She had already accepted that Liang Chi would never understand her. Even though their marriage was happy and he catered to her every whim, practically the perfect husband everyone talked about, she figured that someone as composed and rational as him would eventually agree to a clean break if she gave him time.

For the first few days, he acted as if nothing had happened, even preparing more surprises for her. At night, when Pei Ying refused to play along, he simply nodded and went to sleep in the study.

Pei Ying didn't want to drag it out any longer. She packed her things and drew up a divorce agreement to give him.

That day, for the first time in front of her, Liang Chi's eyes reddened. Torn scraps of paper fluttered across the floor.

"Settling? The wrong person?"

"Pei Ying, don't say things like that again. It hurts me too."

After that day, he confiscated her ID card and called her countless times every day to ask where she was. He even began waiting outside her workplace when she got off, and canceled meetings to accompany her whenever she went out. When she woke in the middle of the night, she would see his eyes watching her from the darkness. Finally, she found a tracking device Liang Chi had planted on her.

Pei Ying had never seen Liang Chi like this before. She began to feel afraid, and her determination to divorce him grew more urgent.

Later, she finally got the chance to leave. She found a new job, moved to a new place, and blocked all of his contact information.

She thought she had finally escaped. Until one evening, three months later, someone knocked on her door.

When she opened it, Liang Chi was standing outside, pale and terrified. The instant he saw her, his eyes turned red.

Before Pei Ying could say a word, he hoisted her up and threw her onto the bed. His tall frame pressed down on her by force, nearly drowning out her breath.

During a pause, he rested his damp forehead against the tip of her nose, his voice hoarse.

"Honey, have you forgotten the way home?"

His tears fell on her face.

"Pei Ying, what did our eight years mean to you?"

"You were the one who fell for me first."

*

Bonus Scene: Liang Chi's Diary

October 1, 2013: The girl who spoke in class inexplicably asked if I was crying and wanted my contact information. I turned her down.

January 12, 2014: She's so loud and annoying. How can anyone talk this much and have such a wild imagination? But why have I been dreaming about her lately?

May 20, 2014: She said she likes "ceremonies" and "holidays," so today I confessed to her. We're together now. She was so happy, her eyes were bright, and she kissed me.

May 20, 2022: I finally married her. We're married. We have a home.

August 16, 2022: She seemed upset today and said she wanted a divorce. I knew she didn't mean it, so I told her not to say that. She said I didn't understand her.

October 16, 2022: She really wants a divorce. What should I do?

November 18, 2022: I called her thirty-seven times. She didn't answer. I went to her office, but the security guard said she left through the back entrance.

December 10, 2022: She really doesn't want me anymore. How can she not want me, or our home?

Theme: The essence of love is being seen.