4
I stood stunned in the living room for a moment.
I could clearly hear that besides the pitter-patter of water in the bathroom.
There seemed to be a few muffled, desperate sobs.
Worried about Adrian, I walked over and knocked on the door.
“Adrian, what’s wrong? Are you crying? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”
After a moment of dead silence, his calm voice came through: “You heard wrong. I’m
fine.”
Hearing him say he was fine, I returned to the sofa, reassured, to continue watching my
drama series.
Adrian came out after his shower.
He stood silently in front of the full-length mirror not far from me.
Carefully matching his clothes and tie.
Hearing the movement, I glanced at him instinctively: “Aren’t you off work tomorrow? Why bother with a tie? It’s such a hassle and a waste…”
Upon hearing this, Adrian’s fingers suddenly froze in mid-air, his knuckles turning an
unnatural white.
I rubbed my eyes: “This tie style is a bit outdated. I’ll go pick a new one for you this
weekend.”
Adrian didn’t say anything, slowly lowering his hand. The tie slipped from his grasp, falling silently to the floor.
“Is it just… the tie that’s outdated?” he murmured, his voice barely audible.
I leaned closer to him, catching a whiff of his pleasant, faint cologne: “Adrian, what are
you saying?”
Adrian suddenly turned around, his bathrobe stirring up a damp breeze.
I was startled.
I could now clearly see his reddened eyes.
His tightly bitten lower lip.
And the somewhat inappropriate lace pajamas he was wearing – the ones I had deliberately bought for him when we first got married.
He had refused to wear them back then, but now…
As I had imagined, a straightlaced man wearing such clothes indeed had an impact.
My breathing became irregular, and I struggled to look away: “Haha, well, you’re certainly still young at heart…”
However, as soon as I said this, Adrian seemed to have been struck, shuddering violently:
“Young…?”
I nodded with a red face, taking the initiative to hook my fingers with his: “Well, it’s getting late, shall we…”
Adrian froze for a few seconds, then jerked away from me as if electrified. He bit his lip,
his voice choked.
“I… I need to handle something in the study. You should go to bed early.”
