The Lover by My Side

Chi Shuyu and Pei Qingxi have been married for eight years. They sleep in the same bed, but have never touched each other.

Their marriage is just a business arrangement. Chi Shuyu dislikes women like Pei Qingxi, who is as bland as a glass of tasteless, colorless water: docile, quiet, and utterly dull.

Pei Qingxi doesn't like her either. Still, she is considerate enough to leave a cup of warm milk by Chi Shuyu's pillow every night. She has done so for eight years without ever forgetting.

Chi Shuyu thinks they'll go on treating each other with polite respect forever. But on their eighth wedding anniversary, while Chi Shuyu is away on a business trip, she dies in a flash flood.

Chi Shuyu assumes that her death must be a relief to Pei Qingxi. But when her spirit drifts home, she sees her usually unfeeling wife curled up on the floor, clutching her photograph and weeping as if her heart has been torn apart.

Chi Shuyu doesn't leave. She watches Pei Qingxi grieve day after day, grow old, and eventually die of illness.

As she closes her eyes for the last time, she is still clutching Chi Shuyu's yellowed photograph.

Chi Shuyu is reborn. The moment she opens her eyes, her wife, still young, walks to her bedside in her nightgown and quietly sets down a cup of warm milk.

Chi Shuyu begins to cry. She suddenly grabs Pei Qingxi's hand, ignoring her startled expression, and smiles through her tears. "Honey, will you sleep in my arms tonight?"

Many years later, Chi Shuyu and Pei Qingxi have a proper wedding. On their wedding night, Pei Qingxi scratches red marks down Chi Shuyu's back. Her voice is soft and seductive, and with tears in her eyes, she whispers "Xiaoyu" in her ear over and over.

It turns out her wife isn't tasteless, colorless water. She's a rich, fragrant wine.

Day after day, Chi Shuyu will drown completely in her arms.

● A gentle homemaker who has secretly loved her for years x a CEO who isn't domineering

● A story that suddenly came to mind, written as a way to relax; focused on the romance

Theme: Treasure the person by your side