"Aunt Zhang? Aunt Zhang?" Gu Yunci called as he kicked off his shoes.
He called a few times, no answer. Then he noticed Meng Shutang standing in the living room.
Only one wall lamp was on, casting a dim yellow glow over her tall, slender figure.
He froze for a second.
"Aunt Zhang's son is home. She took the night off." Meng Shutang stared at him, her voice steady.
Gu Yunci's gaze drifted from her to the birthday cake on the table. His Adam's apple bobbed. He stumbled over and sat down at the table.
"How long have you been waiting?"
"Not long."
In the warm lamplight, she saw the lipstick stain on his collar again.
That bright red burned her eyes. For a split second, her chest felt tight, heavy and aching.
She thought back to their first year of marriage, on her birthday. He'd canceled every meeting and flown her to Jeju Island. He'd put on a drone show with fireworks just for her, and yelled in front of everyone, "My girl's another year older!"
He'd put a one-of-a-kind diamond necklace around her neck and spun her around, laughing.
That night, drunk, he'd whispered to her over and over, "This is the first year I've caught the moon."
Now?
He'd forgotten her birthday. He'd come home with another woman's mark on his shirt.
"It's late. Come take a photo for Grandma." Gu Yunci saw her standing there, staring into space, and called her over.
So he'd remembered. He just didn't care.
Meng Shutang walked over and sat down across from him, next to the cold cake and cold dinner. Right before he hit the shutter, she turned to him, blew him a playful kiss across the table.
Gu Yunci froze, staring at her.
Meng Shutang smiled calmly. "Just to make Grandma happy."
Grandma was sharp. She'd found out about the divorce the second he'd filed the papers. They had to look close to fool her.
The alcohol hit him hard, a sharp pain throbbing in his temples. He pressed his fingers to his eyes, his brows furrowed, all his usual sharp, dominant energy gone.
The act was done. Meng Shutang planned to grab her things and head upstairs. But when she saw him hunched over the table, she stopped.
She'd heard stories of people dying in their sleep after getting blackout drunk, with no one there to give them water or look after them.
She set her things down. "Come on. I'll help you upstairs."
Gu Yunci didn't fight her. He leaned on her as they stumbled up the stairs to his bedroom, his steps unsteady.
She laid him down on the bed. She'd planned to change his clothes, but the lipstick stain on his collar made her stop.
"Wait here. I'll make you hangover soup."
Aunt Zhang had taught her the recipe, back when she'd been head over heels for Gu Yunci. She'd learned it perfectly, even better than Aunt Zhang.
Ten minutes later, she brought up a bowl of kudzu hangover soup. Gu Yunci took a sip, then set it down.
He slouched against the pillows, fast asleep.
Meng Shutang stared at his face, even in sleep still handsome enough to take her breath away. Once, she'd thought that face held nothing but warmth for her.
Even now, a part of her still thought, for a split second, that Gu Yunci must have loved her once.
That was why, even when she knew she was just a tool for his revenge, she'd held on for so long.
She wanted to shake him awake, scream at him, ask him why he'd been so cruel to her.
He'd only taken one sip of the soup. Just like he'd only ever given her a sliver of his affection, only when she was useful to him.
He'd always been a cold man. That one sip of warmth was only ever because she had something he needed.
She was nothing special. She'd end up poured down the drain, just like the cold soup.
She poured a glass of water and set it on his nightstand. "Gu Yunci."
The man slowly opened his eyes, saying nothing. He just stared at her.
Her eyes were clear and bright, like cool autumn water, soft and clean, like her. The way she looked at him was warm, tender, full of a love she'd hidden for years.
He hadn't seen that look in a long time.
Or maybe, she'd never looked at him like this at all.
She never took off that pearl necklace around her neck. There was no trace of him in her studio.
He'd never been the hero of her love story.
But even so, that look sent a faint, unfamiliar warmth through his cold, empty chest.
"Staring at me like that. Do you have something to say to me?"
"I'm leaving."
Meng Shutang smiled faintly before she turned to go, the smile polite, distant, nothing more.
He watched her leave, the smile fading from his face. He stared at the empty doorway for a long, long time.
He didn't remember when he fell asleep. He woke up thirsty in the middle of the night.
He sat up and downed the entire glass of water on the nightstand. He called for Aunt Zhang, then remembered she was gone. He called for Sister Li. No answer.
He stumbled downstairs to get more water.
The house was deathly quiet. It reminded him of the day his mother fell down the stairs. All he could hear was his own heartbeat.
He drank the water and went back upstairs. When he showered, he saw the lipstick stain on his shirt collar.
He ripped it off and threw it straight in the trash.
Up in the attic, Meng Shutang pulled out a small desk calendar from her nightstand.
Every page had the days crossed out with gold marker.
On today's page, she'd written: Divorce Countdown: 41 Days.
The next morning.
Meng Shutang woke up early and made breakfast.
Gu Yunci heard the noise and came downstairs. He walked toward her through the morning light, his aura cold and distant, all traces of last night's drunkenness gone. He was sharp, handsome, untouchable as ever.
He sat down across from her. "Last night, I was out with Shen Duan and the others. That stain on my collar was an accident. It was crowded, I didn't notice."
Meng Shutang didn't look up at him. "What kind of person would rub up against your collar by accident?"
Gu Yunci froze, then forced out, "It was just an accident. Don't overthink it."
He rushed to change the subject. "Aunt Zhang went home. Where's Sister Li? I don't see her anywhere."
"I fired her."
"Why?"
Meng Shutang looked up at him, her eyes cold. "She was bad at her job, and she was getting on my nerves. If you have a problem with it, you can hire her back once the divorce is final."
Sister Li had started at Repulse Bay the same month Bai Cixian had come back to the country.
That was when Gu Yunci had started growing cold toward her.
For six months, Sister Li had sniped at her, subtle and not-so-subtle. She didn't believe Gu Yunci had no idea.
She didn't believe he didn't know Sister Li had been calling Bai Cixian, gossiping about her every day.
She'd put up with it, because he'd paid for her mother's medical bills for three years.
But she would not put up with a maid thinking she could walk all over her.
Gu Yunci said nothing.
After a minute, he stood up. "I'm done eating."
He turned and walked out the door.
Meng Shutang left a little while after he did.
In the park down the street, Sister Li waited until she was sure Bai Cixian was awake, then called her, sniffling, to tell her she'd been fired.
Bai Cixian wanted to scream at her for being an idiot, for not being able to do one simple thing right.
"Did you say anything when you left?"
Sister Li said quickly, "Don't worry, Miss Bai. I didn't say a thing. She has no idea you sent me there."
"That's not what I'm asking. Does Yunci know you work for me?"
"No. I always called you when he wasn't around."
"Good. I'll send you the money. Lay low for now. I'll call you if I need you."
"Thank you, Miss Bai."
Bai Cixian hung up, and turned around—and froze.
Her mother, Bai Lianyue, stood right behind her.
"Mom! When did you get here?"
Bai Lianyue's voice was sharp. "You were too careless. Your father's home, and you're saying that woman's name out loud?"
Bai Cixian sneered. "It's been years. Dad never mentions her or her daughter. He's forgotten all about them, don't worry."
She glanced down at the bracelet in her mother's hand, and grabbed it. "What's this? It's pretty!"
Bai Lianyue said softly, "This is the piece Meng Shutang won an award for. She's even better than her mother, Zhou Xingfan, was. You've got a very dangerous rival, daughter."
Bai Cixian tossed the bracelet back on the table, scowling. "It's nothing special. Just plain and boring."
Bai Lianyue smiled. "You have to face your rival to see her strengths and her weaknesses. Don't turn your nose up at her work. Know your enemy, and you'll win every battle."
Bai Cixian picked the bracelet up again, stared at it for a minute, then tossed it back down, frustrated.
She knew how good Meng Shutang was. She'd seen it when Starlight Studio beat out dozens of other firms to win the cultural town project.
She'd done everything she could to make sure Starlight lost that bid.
But in the end, Gu Yunci had made the final call. He'd chosen Meng Shutang.
Bai Lianyue brushed her daughter's hair back, sighing. "Tell me, why did you leave in a fit of rage three years ago? You could have had it all, but you made it so much harder for yourself. You're walking the same path I did, all over again."
Bai Cixian stared at the bracelet on the table.
"Mom, you beat her mother. I'll beat her."
Bai Lianyue smiled. "That's my girl."
She'd thought she'd won the war against Zhou Xingfan years ago. But could her daughter really beat Meng Shutang, when the man they both wanted had already chosen her?