Fortunately, the waiter quickly brought the dishes, which rescued the two from their awkward silence.
Shen Keqin had never imagined that she and Jian Mubai would reach a point where they had nothing to say to each other.
The Jian Mubai of the past wasn't much of a talker either; it was always she who spoke, and he who listened. Their time together used to be quite comfortable.
Unlike now, where he had to think about whether a word should be spoken before speaking, which was very annoying.
Despite the delicious Western food, Shen Keqin found it as bland as chewing wax.
Jian Mubai noticed her unhappiness. He should have tried to appease her and make her happier, but things had turned out this way instead.
After lunch, as they walked out of the restaurant together, Shen Keqin hesitantly asked, "Will you come on my birthday?"
Jian Mubai didn't agree directly, nor did he refuse, giving her an ambiguous answer, "We'll see then."
Shen Keqin, already in a bad mood, felt even worse upon hearing this. "If you don't want to come, then don't. It's not like I absolutely need you to be there."
Shen Keqin stormed off angrily. This time, Jian Mubai had no reason to stop her.
His phone suddenly rang. Seeing the caller ID, Jian Mubai hesitated for a moment before answering.
"Everything is ready. Tomorrow is the day the legal world's titan, Shen Zhengcheng, makes his exit."
Jian Mubai remembered that Shen Keqin's birthday was in three days and debated for a few seconds, "Can we wait a few more days?"
"Wait? Do you think Shen Zhengcheng is some minor figure? Every minute we delay now carries a risk. If Shen Zhengcheng reacts, it will be as difficult as climbing to heaven to bring him down. What are you thinking?"
Jian Mubai let out a heavy sigh and supported his forehead, groaning, "I'm sorry."
"Mubai, you and Zhuyin have sacrificed so much for this. You know better than anyone. It wasn't easy for us to reach this point. Shen Zhengcheng has the support of the Shen family behind him; we cannot afford any slip-ups."
Jian Mubai irritably lit a cigarette. "I know. Let's proceed as planned."
At this point, they had no turning back.
...
Shen Liubai distinctly felt that Lin Zhuyin had been unusually enthusiastic lately and was quite clingy.
They had been married for many years, and their relationship was stable, but it lacked a bit of passion.
Given their personalities and Shen Liubai's busy schedule, their interactions were like those of an old married couple.
Shen Liubai didn't see any problem with this dynamic; in fact, he found it quite comfortable.
Until one time when he went to a colleague's dinner party. They had a very late night, and after ten o'clock, colleagues' phones started ringing one after another.
Most were wives calling to ask when they would be home.
When on the phone, those men acted like submissive servants, fawning and begging, coupled with coaxing and deception.
After hanging up, they would revert to acting like masters and complain about their wives.
Colleague A: "You guys don't know, my wife is like Tang Sanzang. If I'm even a little late, she can nag me half the night. My ears are almost calloused."
Colleague B: "It's good that she just nags. My wife doesn't let me drink or smoke. If I do, her dog nose can smell even the slightest trace, and she'll whip me with a feather duster, not even sparing my dignity in front of the kids."
Colleague C: "Heh... you guys are all better off than me. If I have a dinner party, I have to be home by ten o'clock, or I have to sleep in the hallway."
Colleague D: "What's this? In front of my wife, I can't snore, fart, pick my nose, or even laugh loudly. Otherwise, a slap to the face is a light penalty, and divorce is a severe warning."
Finally, someone said that it's best not to provoke women during their period, and everyone felt a sense of shared suffering, looking at each other with pity.
"Ah, Engineer Shen is so fortunate. His wife is so understanding; no matter how late he gets home, she never calls to rush him. I'm so envious of you."
Shen Liubai thought about it. Lin Zhuyin rarely called him. No matter how late he returned home at night, she never contacted him.
She didn't nag him either, nor did she interfere with his smoking or drinking.
He hadn't thought there was anything wrong with this before. Later, he overheard two colleagues discussing him in private.
"Why do I feel like Engineer Shen's wife doesn't care about him at all? No matter how understanding she is, isn't she worried that other women might covet him when he's out?"
"Yes, if you truly love someone, how can you be out so late without even a phone call?"
Because of this, Shen Liubai was distracted all day.
That evening, after much hesitation, he recounted the colleagues' complaints about their wives to Lin Zhuyin. After listening, Lin Zhuyin looked at him quietly and asked, "Are you hoping I'll call you when you're at a party?"
Shen Liubai was suddenly speechless.
Isn't it normal for a wife to check up on her husband?
Why did it seem like he was assigning her a task?
"It's not that, I just..."
Shen Liubai suddenly didn't know what to say. Thinking about it carefully, they had never argued or raised their voices in all their years of marriage.
Besides, every couple had their own way of interacting; they didn't need to be like everyone else.
After that, he stopped dwelling on the matter. Until now, when Lin Zhuyin suddenly seemed like a different person, making Jian Mubai feel both a sense of unfamiliarity and an immense enjoyment of her clinginess.
Every day when he returned home, she would be waiting for him, giving him a kiss hello.
When they left home together in the morning, she would also give him a kiss goodbye.
When they were together, her words had also clearly increased; she would remind him not to drink too much coffee, to drink less alcohol, not to stay up late, and to eat and exercise well.
Shen Liubai finally understood what his colleagues meant by "loving nagging" and "sweet burden."
Especially today, Lin Zhuyin called him for the first time, saying she wanted to have dinner with him and had already booked a restaurant.
Shen Liubai was so happy that he was floating all afternoon.
In the afternoon, after handing over his work to his assistant, he tidied up and prepared to leave.
His colleagues saw his joy and smiled, asking him, "Engineer Shen is so happy, are you going on a date with Mrs. Shen?"
Shen Liubai smiled and generously admitted, "Yes, I've already ordered afternoon tea for everyone; it'll be delivered soon."
"Wow, thank you, Engineer Shen..."
Shen Liubai was extremely happy. On his way to see Lin Zhuyin, he felt as buoyant and excited as he did on their first date.
On the way to the restaurant, he glanced at himself in the rearview mirror. The man in the mirror was smiling like a young boy.
He couldn't help but hold his forehead. They had been married for seven years, not seven days, so why was he still acting so foolishly?