The afterglow of the sunset dappled across the windowsill, its crimson hues slipping through the gaps of the blue curtains and settling onto the soft bed.
Su Qing leaned against the bed with her phone in hand, watching her one-year-old son diligently stacking blocks, his tiny fingers carefully placing each piece. On the other side of the bed, a phone vibrated several times, the chimes of WeChat notifications rising and falling in succession. Su Qing glanced toward the bathroom, listening to the sound of running water inside. She crawled to the other end of the bed and picked up the phone resting on the nightstand.
She tried one password—it didn't work. She tried another—still locked. Finally, she entered a string of numbers and unlocked the WeChat app. It seemed Xiao Ji had even removed her fingerprint access.
Sweetheart:Why aren't you here yet? I'm all ready and waiting for you at home.
Sweetheart:I booked a nice Japanese restaurant. Let's eat first, then catch a movie. I'll be waiting, mwah!
Su Qing quickly took out her own phone, snapped a photo of the messages, silently exited the chat, and returned to lying on the bed, pretending to scroll through her phone.
But she couldn't focus on a single word. A storm of emotions surged inside her, twisting her stomach into knots. She pressed a hand to her chest, forcing the feelings down with a deep breath.
The sound of a hairdryer came from the bathroom. About ten minutes later, Xiao Ji emerged, fully dressed, and spent a solid three minutes admiring himself in the mirror.
He grabbed his phone from the nightstand and said hurriedly to Su Qing, "I have to go out for a bit. Won't be home for dinner. The boss called me in for overtime. Might be back really late, so don't wait up. If it's too late, I'll just crash at the office. You sleep well."
Su Qing fixed him with a deep stare. "But it's the weekend. Overtime?"
Xiao Ji chuckled. "Boss's last-minute decision. How should I know? We're just working homo sapiens—when the boss calls, we jump. Can't afford to slack off, or I'll lose my job."
Su Qing took a sharp breath. "Fine. Go ahead."
Their son, still happily playing with his blocks, blinked his big, watery eyes and waved clumsily at Xiao Ji. "Bye-bye!" He was just learning to talk and could only manage two-word phrases at most.
Su Qing stayed half-reclined on the bed, staring at her phone. Though her eyes were fixed on the screen, her mind had already drifted far away—back to the day before their son was born.
Her due date was just two weeks away, and she remembered there were still things she hadn't bought for the delivery. Her phone was about to die, its battery nearly drained. Xiao Ji was in the study, absorbed in a video game, while his phone charged on the nightstand.
She picked up his phone, intending to order a few things on Taobao. She entered the password—once, twice, three times—but each attempt triggered an error message. Had he changed it?
She considered asking Xiao Ji, still engrossed in his game, but seeing his excited, laser-focused expression, she decided against disturbing him.
At some point, she had added her fingerprint to his phone. She unlocked it with her thumb and opened Taobao. Just as she started browsing, a WeChat notification popped up. She tapped it—and instantly felt all the blood in her body rush to her head. Her heart pounded violently, as if trying to escape her chest.
Truthfully, since marrying Xiao Ji, she had rarely checked his phone. In fact, she was the one who had bought it for him. Back then, he had mentioned wanting a new phone, and since she had just gotten her paycheck, she'd gotten him the latest model.
While setting it up, she had glanced over and noticed he seemed to be using her solar and lunar calendar birthdays as the passcode.
But now, the two lines of text on the screen felt like poison, each word a dagger stabbing into her eyes.
Sweetheart:Come over early tonight. I've got a surprise for you, mwah!
A moment later, a young, beautiful, and flirtatious female homo sapiens appeared in a video—wearing a sheer red nightgown, swaying seductively, her eyes half-lidded as she crooked a finger invitingly.
Trembling with rage, Su Qing stormed into the study and slammed Xiao Ji's phone onto the desk.
Her face flushed red with anger, her pregnant belly heaving.
"Explain. Now."
Xiao Ji pulled off his headphones, saw the fury in Su Qing's eyes, and picked up his phone. The moment he saw the WeChat messages, his face paled—he knew she had uncovered his infidelity.
He scrambled up, wrapping his arms around her shaking form. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I messed up, I was out of my mind! Qingqing, please forgive me. I'll never do it again. Hit me, yell at me—just give me one more chance. I swear I'll never betray you again. I'm so sorry."
Su Qing stared at Xiao Ji's pleading, nervous expression, tears of fury welling in her eyes.