In Li Cheng's office, the air was thick with the scent of expensive cologne and the faint rustle of paperwork. Li Cheng leaned back in his chair, his brows furrowed in frustration as he looked across the room at Liu Chen, who was lounging on a couch, casually munching on chips.
"Liu, I think my wife's angry with me," Li Cheng sighed, rubbing his temples. "She's been acting strange lately, and I don't know why."
Liu Chen burst into laughter, nearly choking on his chips. "Hahaha! Seriously? When did you start caring about people being angry with you? The only person I know you can't stand being upset with you is your mother! Man, you really amaze me." He shook his head, still chuckling, as he crossed his legs and continued eating.
"What do you mean?" Li Cheng shot back, his tone defensive. "I get what you're saying, but… but she's my wife, man. I don't think I can handle her being angry with me at all."
Liu Chen's expression shifted from amused to intrigued. "Oh, Mr. Lover Boy, when did you start calling her your wife? I thought this whole thing was about revenge or something like that. Do you even care about women at all?"
Liu Chen stood up, strolling over to where Li Cheng sat, his gaze probing. "Look, it's normal for couples to have arguments or for your wife to get mad at you. The key is to figure out what's wrong. You need to ask her directly or think back on what you might have done to upset her."
"Yeah, I've tried that, but I can't remember doing anything to make her angry. Everything was fine until she came back from the mall yesterday. I even asked her about it, and she said nothing's wrong. Like, what the hell is that?" Li Cheng threw up his hands in exasperation.
"That's why you need to calm down and think," Liu Chen advised, returning to his spot on the couch. "You know how women can be—they won't tell you anything until it's too late. If you want to know what's bothering her, you'll have to use your brain."
"My brain?" Li Cheng echoed, sounding a bit puzzled.
"Yes, your brain. Think about all the possible scenarios. It could be something that happened at the mall, or maybe someone called and gave her false information about you. Or… maybe she caught you with another woman. One of those things is probably what happened," Liu Chen suggested, ticking off possibilities on his fingers.
"No, no, that third one's not true," Li Cheng said, shaking his head emphatically. "I haven't touched any other woman since I married her, so it can't be that."
"Oh, really?" Liu Chen raised an eyebrow, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "You haven't touched any woman in how many months now? And you're still alive? Wow, she must really have a good influence on you. I'm surprised, amazed, fascinated, shocked! If I heard this from anyone else, I wouldn't believe it. You deserve a round of applause," he said, clapping his hands mockingly.
"Come on, what do you take me for? As long as I have a wife, why would I cheat? It's not right."
"But you told me you haven't even slept together. How are you still sane?" Liu Chen asked, genuinely curious now.
"I actually don't know. It's like she's cast a spell on me or something," Li Cheng admitted, his voice tinged with bewilderment.
"And you're sure you didn't try to force yourself on her?" Liu Chen's tone was half-joking, but there was a serious edge to his words.
"Come on, why would I do that to my wife? I've never done that, and I never will."
"Okay, the Lord is clearly on your side," Liu Chen said, picking up his phone and scrolling through it. "But you're on your own now. My brain hurts just from thinking about all this."
"That's all you have to say?" Li Cheng asked, a bit annoyed.
"Yes, of course. What else do you want me to say? I've done my part. You figure out the rest," Liu Chen replied, not even looking up from his phone.
"You're a bad friend, a really bad friend. Don't ever talk to me again," Li Cheng grumbled, leaning back in his chair.
"Sure, I'll happily do that. In fact, I need to be somewhere else anyway—it's almost time. Bye, I'll see you later," Liu Chen said, standing up and straightening his clothes before waving at Li Cheng and heading for the door.
"I'll see you later," Li Cheng muttered, more to himself than to Liu Chen.
"Are you really going? What kind of friend are you? You can't even help me out. LUI CHEN, GET BACK HERE!" Li Cheng shouted after him, but the door had already closed behind Liu Chen.
"Argh, God, why do I have people like this in my life? Especially that brat. When will he ever change?" Li Cheng groaned, slumping back in his chair, feeling more confused and frustrated than ever.