Slow to mature after marriage

After taking a shower, Mu Siwan lay down on the bed and closed her eyes.

Consciousness sank, sank.

Then she saw the door.

The attic door was closed.

She stood outside the door, trying to push it open, but she couldn't lift her hand.

The door opened by itself.

It wasn't an attic. It was the Mu family's living room. Mu Cheng sat on the sofa, clutching the job offer letter in his hand, his face grim.

"Forensic medicine? What the hell did you study? We were supposed to study medicine, but you secretly minored in forensic medicine?"

Xu Ruolin stood to the side, gently advising, "Wanwan, we raised you all these years, not so you could do those dirty and tiring jobs. If you do this job, how will you get married? How will you contribute to the Mu family?"

She stood still, calm and indifferent, without moving.

"Change it." Mu Cheng stood up. "Change your major, change your job. Our family can't afford to lose face like this."

She still didn't move.

Mu Cheng walked over and raised his hand—

It's black in front of you.

When I opened my eyes again, I was in the attic.

The familiar, dimly lit, cramped attic.

She curled up in the corner, hugging her knees, counting the days until dawn and dusk outside the window.

One day, two days, three days...

I don't know how much time has passed.

The door opened.

Xu Ruolin stood at the door, backlit.

"Wanwan".

She looked up.

"You're lucky," Xu Ruolin said. "The Bo family has taken a liking to you; Bo Yan specifically asked to see you."

He paused for a moment.

"Dress up nicely, act like a lady, don't embarrass the Mu family."

-

The ringing of her cell phone pulled her out of her dream.

Mu Siwan opened her eyes, staring at the ceiling, her heart still pounding.

The phone screen is lit up.

It was Bo Yan who sent their first WeChat message in three years.

[Bo Yan]: Are you home?

She picked up the phone and started typing.

"exist."

The response was very quick.

"Want to see Grace? Want to turn on a video?"

"it is good."

Mu Siwan pressed the video call button.

The screen lit up.

Bo Yan's impeccable face appeared in the video.

Behind the man was the bright sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows of New York City. He leaned back in his chair, his shirt collar slightly loose, suggesting he had just finished a long negotiation.

The light over there was too bright, making her side appear even dimmer.

"The lights aren't on?" he asked.

"Just woke up."

Bo Yan lowered his eyes and stared at the screen.

The dim light from the phone illuminated her face, blurring her features, but revealing only her eyes—bright, serene, like two pools of clear water.

After dealing with those shrewd people all day, my mind was filled with numbers, terms, and endless wrangling. But seeing those eyes now, I suddenly felt the tension that had been building all day finally ease.

His gaze shifted downwards.

The woman's white pajamas had the neckline slightly open, revealing glimpses of her collarbone.

The kiss marks he left have disappeared.

Without showing any emotion, Bo Yan looked into her eyes again and asked, "Did I wake you up?"

"fine."

As she spoke, she turned the camera around. Only a blurry shadow remained on the screen.

Bo Yan frowned slightly, almost imperceptibly.

Where are you?

"Didn't you want to see Grace?" Her voice was softer than usual, probably because she had just woken up. "Here, I'll show you."

The phone shook slightly, and the camera turned to focus on Grace.

The stupid snake, coiled on the bedside table, was startled by the light and flicked its tongue.

Bo Yan stared at the snake on the screen, expressionless.

—Who wants to see it?

After staring at the silly snake on the other end of the video for about a minute, Mu Siwan asked him, "Have you seen enough?"

"...That's enough."

"Okay, I'll hang up then."

Just as she was about to hang up, Bo Yan suddenly spoke, his tone very serious.

"I'd also like to see those bone jars at home. Can you show them to me?"

Mu Siwan didn't really want to go downstairs.

"The bone jar is downstairs."

The thin inkstone surface remains unchanged.

"Yes, thank you for your help."

"..."

Mu Siwan stared at the self-righteous face on the screen and remained silent for two seconds.

"...Are you serious?"

Bo Yan leaned back in his chair, his expression unchanged.

"What do you think? I can't sleep because I'm thinking about it."

Sometimes when she couldn't sleep at night, she would get up and go to the study to look at the canned goods.

Mu Siwan accepted this explanation.

"Wait."

She threw off the covers, got out of bed, and walked outside barefoot.

-

The camera shakily as they went downstairs, flashing images of stair railings, corners of walls, and ceiling panels. Bo Yan stared at the screen, his brow furrowed slightly.

"Turn the camera back."

Mu Siwan stopped in her tracks.

"What?"

"It's making me annoyed."

She glanced at her phone screen, frowned, and turned the camera back to face her.

"so?"

She held up her phone, the camera pointed at her face. She had just woken up; her hair was a little messy, but her eyes were clear and bright.

Bo Yan looked at that face and hummed in agreement.

"How have you been these days without me?"

Mu Siwan nodded: "It's fine."

pretty good.

Bo Yan rested his cheek on his hand and remained silent.

Why didn't you answer "It's alright"?

It directly becomes "pretty good".

Out of politeness, Mu Siwan asked him, "And you? How have you been these past few days?"

He leaned back in his chair, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down with remarkable clarity.

"Not very good."

He paused, looked up at the screen, and a slow smile crept onto his face.

Are you trying to comfort me?

Mu Siwan looked at his face and gave it a careful assessment.

The difficulty of coaxing people is unknown.

And she wouldn't.

"No," she said.

Bo Yan stared at the self-righteous face on the screen for a long time without moving.

"……OK."

As soon as he finished speaking, his face disappeared from the screen.

The phone hangs up.

Mu Siwan stood in the study, holding her phone, and looked up at the rows of glass jars on the bookshelf, her face blank.

Didn't you say you wanted to look at the bones?

Why did it hang up?

-

It's daytime here in New York.

Bo Yan stared at the black screen and tossed his phone onto the table.

He leaned back in his chair and pinched the space between his eyebrows.

That "no" still echoes in my ears.

They were perfectly justified, without even a hint of ambiguity.

If a human-machine interface is this bad, anyone who falls for it is doomed.

Fortunately, there's nothing like that between them.

There was a knock on the door twice.

"Come in."

Wang Jin pushed open the door and came in, holding a few sticky notes in his hand.

"Mr. Bo, things here are almost settled. We've booked flights for three days from now."

Bo Yan hummed in agreement.

Wang Jin stood still, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

Bo Yan looked up at him.

"Is there anything else?"

Wang Jin handed over the note in his hand.

"My wife... asked me to pick up some things. I'd like to take half a day off to go to the mall."

Bo Yan took it and glanced at it.

The sticky note was covered with the brand, color code, and size—all items for women.

He suddenly remembered that Mu Siwan had never asked him to bring anything.

I never asked him to bring anything, never sent him any messages, and never asked him when he would be back.

I didn't ask anything.

He probably married a wisp of air.

Bo Yan returned the note to Wang Jin.

"Go."

Wang Jin took the note but didn't leave immediately.

"Mr. Bo, would you like to bring something for your wife as well?"

Bo Yan looked up at him.

Wang Jin felt a chill run down his spine from his gaze and quickly explained, "It's just... my wife is always very happy when she receives a gift."

"Need not."

Bo Yan returned the note to him.

She wasn't even willing to coax him, so why should he go out of his way to give her gifts?

Are you deliberately trying to be a fool?

"it is good."

Wang Jin dared not ask any more questions and was about to leave the office.

"etc."

Wang Jin stopped in his tracks and turned to look at him.

Bo Yan leaned back in his chair and tapped his fingers on the table.

"Buy two copies of the exact same thing on the note, and send one to Muyan Garden."

He paused for a moment.

"I'll treat you to yours."

Wang Jin paused for a moment, then nodded and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Isn't this a gift for my wife?

Mr. Bo is really... all talk and no action.

"Okay, thank you, Mr. Bo."

The door closed.

The office fell silent.

Bo Yan thought expressionlessly: What other wives have, his wife should have too.

That's it.