Pain.
That was the first thing Xia Weiwei felt when she opened her eyes.
It was not the unbearable pain she had experienced when she fell from the cliff in her previous life. Neither was it the emotional pain of watching Mo Shian die in her arms.
It was a dull, persistent pounding inside her head, as if a group of tiny construction workers had decided to renovate her brain without first asking for permission.
Weiwei frowned and attempted to raise her hand to massage her temple, only to discover that she could barely move.
Something heavy was wrapped around her waist.
She lowered her eyes and found a strong arm holding her tightly. Her back was pressed against a broad, warm chest, and a familiar scent surrounded her.
She immediately relaxed.
It was Mo Shian.
Judging from how tightly he was holding her, one would think she had tried to escape during the night.
Weiwei carefully turned her head and looked at the man sleeping behind her. His eyes were closed, and his usually cold features appeared softer in his sleep. His long lashes cast faint shadows beneath his eyes.
He was so handsome that her headache seemed to improve simply from looking at him.
At least, she had excellent taste in husbands.
She continued admiring him until fragments of the previous evening began appearing in her mind.
She remembered leaving the auction house and discovering Mo Shian waiting for her in the parking lot. She remembered suggesting that they go out for dinner to celebrate.
She also remembered drinking a glass of wine.
After that…
Nothing.
Her memories ended there as if someone had taken a pair of scissors and cut the rest of the evening out of her mind.
Weiwei's expression gradually became serious.
She knew that she could not hold her liquor, but she had only drunk one glass. Surely, she had not done anything too embarrassing.
Had she?
She tried to move Mo Shian's arm away from her waist so that she could sneak out of bed and question Aunt Wu. However, the moment she touched his arm, it tightened around her.
"Where are you going?" a deep, slightly hoarse voice sounded behind her.
Weiwei froze.
"You're awake?"
"I woke up when you started staring at me."
Mo Shian opened his eyes. There was an unusual light inside them and a faint smile played on his lips.
He had always looked good, but his appearance at that moment was almost criminal. His hair was slightly messy, his voice was low from sleep, and he was smiling at her as if he had discovered the world's most interesting secret.
Weiwei narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"Why are you smiling like that?"
"Am I not allowed to smile?"
"Of course you are allowed to smile. You should smile more often." Weiwei paused before adding, "But that smile looks suspicious."
Mo Shian's smile widened.
Weiwei's suspicion became stronger.
Something had definitely happened last night.
She sat up carefully and held her aching head.
"Why does my head hurt so much?"
"You drank wine."
"I only had one glass."
"You also stole mine."
Weiwei turned to look at him in disbelief.
"I did?"
Mo Shian sat up and leaned against the headboard. He looked unusually pleased with himself.
"You did."
Weiwei searched her memory again, but nothing appeared.
"What happened after I got drunk?"
"Nothing important."
His answer came too quickly.
Weiwei knew her husband well enough to tell that he was hiding something. More importantly, his expression was far too cheerful for a man who claimed that nothing important had happened.
"Shian."
"Mmm?"
"What did I do last night?"
"You had dinner with me."
"I remember that part."
"You drank my wine."
"You already told me."
"You climbed onto the table."
"What?"
Weiwei's voice rose so high that she almost worsened her headache.
Why would she climb onto a dining table? Was she a three-year-old child?
Mo Shian's shoulders trembled slightly as he held back his laughter.
Weiwei pointed at him accusingly.
"You're laughing at me."
"I'm not."
"You are clearly laughing!"
"I was simply remembering how adorable my wife looked."
Weiwei did not believe him at all. "What else did I do?"
Mo Shian looked thoughtful, as though considering how much he should reveal.
"You told me that I was handsome."
"That isn't embarrassing. It is the truth."
"You said I looked like your husband."
Weiwei blinked.
"Aren't you my husband?"
"Apparently, I was only a handsome man who looked like him."
Weiwei stared at him blankly.
Mo Shian could no longer hold back and laughed softly.
It was rare for him to laugh so openly. Normally, even when he was happy, he would only smile slightly. Seeing him laugh should have made Weiwei happy, but at that moment, all she wanted was to find out how badly she had humiliated herself.
"What do you mean I thought you looked like my husband?"
"You refused to believe that I was Mo Shian because I was smiling."
Weiwei's mouth fell open.
She vaguely remembered telling someone that her husband never smiled and always had a cold face.
That someone could not have been Mo Shian, could it?
Her face immediately heated.
"What else did I say?"
"You repeatedly informed me that your husband was more handsome than I was."
Mo Shian still did not know whether to feel proud or insulted by that statement. After all, both people were him.
"You also refused to let me touch you."
The amusement disappeared from Weiwei's expression.
She hurriedly turned to him.
"I pushed you away?"
Even though she had been drunk, she did not want Mo Shian to think that she was rejecting him again. They had only started rebuilding their relationship. She could not allow one drunken episode to reopen his wounds.
Mo Shian noticed the worry in her eyes and knew what she was thinking.
Before she could explain herself, he continued, "You said that only your husband was allowed to touch you. Since I was not your husband, I was not allowed to take advantage of you."
Weiwei froze again.
Mo Shian's eyes curved with amusement.
"You even walked by yourself because you did not want another man helping you."
Xia Weiwei wanted to disappear.
She lifted the quilt and covered her face.
She had lived for two lifetimes, yet she had been defeated by one glass of wine.
What kind of humiliation was this?
She had mistaken her own husband for someone else, repeatedly praised her husband in front of him, and then accused him of trying to take advantage of her.
Could she pretend that she had never woken up?
Mo Shian pulled the quilt down slightly so that she could breathe.
"Don't hide. You might suffocate."
"I would rather suffocate."
"Why? I thought my wife behaved very well."
"You're only saying that because you found the whole thing entertaining."
"I'm saying it because you refused to allow anyone except your husband to touch you."
His voice softened toward the end.
The laughter remained in his eyes, but beneath it was something deeper. Something vulnerable.
Weiwei stopped struggling with the quilt.
"What happened after that?"
"You met Li Pei."
Weiwei's eyes widened again.
She remembered seeing Li Pei, but the memory was blurry. She had known him for years as one of Mo Shian's closest childhood friends, yet she could not remember what she had said to him.
"Did I embarrass myself in front of him?"
"You asked him to call your husband and tell him to come and pick you up."
"But you were already there."
"You did not believe that."
Weiwei closed her eyes.
This was getting worse.
Mo Shian continued mercilessly, "You told Li Pei not to snitch on you because I was only escorting you home as your husband's reliable friend."
Weiwei grabbed a pillow and pressed it against her face.
"Stop talking."
"You asked."
"I regret asking."
Mo Shian reached out and removed the pillow. He did not want her hiding from him again, even if it was only because she was embarrassed.
Before either of them could speak, his phone vibrated on the bedside table.
Mo Shian picked it up and saw Li Pei's name on the screen.
The message read:
[Your wife has completely changed my understanding of marriage. Tell her that her husband's reliable friend reached home safely despite being ordered around like a driver.]
Another message arrived immediately.
[Also, remember that you owe me dinner. A very expensive dinner.]
Mo Shian's face became expressionless as he typed a reply.
[You have shares in Chenua Restaurant. Feed yourself.]
Li Pei replied almost immediately.
[Capitalist.]
Weiwei leaned over curiously.
"Who is it?"
"Your husband's reliable friend."
"Shian!"
Mo Shian laughed again.
Weiwei tried to grab his phone, but he lifted it beyond her reach. She moved closer, stretching across his body as she tried to take it.
"Give it to me. I want to see what he said."
"There is no need."
"Why?"
"Because I have already dealt with him."
"You threatened him, didn't you?"
"I only reminded him that some things should not be repeated."
"That sounds like a threat."
"It was friendly advice."
Weiwei stopped trying to reach the phone and looked at him suspiciously.
"Did he take any photographs?"
"No."
"Videos?"
"No."
"Recordings?"
Mo Shian paused for half a second.
That pause was enough.
"Mo Shian!"
"There is no recording."
He was telling the truth. Li Pei had not recorded her. However, Mo Shian did not think it was necessary to explain that the business partner they had encountered had also witnessed everything.
Some details were better revealed slowly.
Weiwei glared at him before lying back against the pillows.
"I am never drinking again."
"That would be a pity."
"Why?"
"You were very honest."
Weiwei turned her head to look at him.
Mo Shian's smile gradually faded.
He remembered how she had called him her husband, how she had refused to let another man touch her, and how she had used his birthday as the password to her phone.
A drunk person's words were supposed to reflect the thoughts hidden inside their heart. He wanted to believe that everything she had said was true.
However, after the pain of the previous two months, part of him was still afraid.
He reached for her hand and gently intertwined their fingers.
"Weiwei."
"Mmm?"
"Last night, you said that only your husband was allowed to touch you. You also said that you would never betray him."
His blue eyes remained fixed on her face.
"Did you mean it?"