Morning came slowly.
The hospital corridors were already alive with movement—nurses pushing carts, doctors speaking in low voices, the distant beeping of machines reminding everyone that life inside these walls was fragile.
Xiaoyu had barely slept.
She sat beside her mother's bed, watching the gentle rise and fall of her chest. The surgery had gone well, the doctor had said. Recovery would take time, but the worst part had passed.
For the first time in months, the crushing weight on Xiaoyu's shoulders had loosened.
Yet something else had taken its place.
Her thoughts kept drifting back to Lu Shen.
Not to what he said.
But to what he didn't say.
He had arranged everything so quietly—doctors, treatment, the private room. He had even stayed late into the night without drawing attention to himself. There was no announcement, no reminder that she owed him.
That made it harder.
If this had been a clear transaction, Xiaoyu would have known how to behave.
But this… this felt different.
And she didn't know how to respond to something she didn't understand.
She sighed softly and stood, stretching her stiff shoulders.
"Xiaoyu?"
Her mother's weak voice pulled her back.
She quickly stepped closer. "Mom, you're awake."
Mrs. Lin looked pale but calm. "You stayed all night again."
"I'm fine."
Her mother studied her quietly, the way only mothers could—seeing things others missed.
"That man came again last night," Mrs. Lin said.
Xiaoyu froze.
"You saw him?"
"He stood outside the room," her mother replied gently. "He didn't come in. Just spoke with the doctor."
Xiaoyu lowered her gaze.
"He's your husband," her mother continued softly. "But you two don't look like newlyweds."
The words carried no accusation—only quiet curiosity.
Xiaoyu forced a small smile. "We're… complicated."
Her mother chuckled weakly. "Marriage always is."
But Xiaoyu knew their situation was different.
Their marriage wasn't built on love.
It was built on a contract.
And contracts weren't supposed to feel this heavy.
Across the city, Lu Shen sat inside his office.
The morning sunlight stretched across the glass walls of the skyscraper, painting long reflections across the polished floor.
His desk was filled with documents.
Reports.
Financial statements.
Emails demanding immediate decisions.
Normally, he would have finished half of them already.
But today, his attention kept drifting.
His assistant, Chen Wei, noticed immediately.
"Sir," Chen Wei said carefully, placing another file on the desk, "this proposal needs your approval."
Lu Shen glanced at it but didn't open it.
"Later."
Chen Wei hesitated.
That was unusual.
Lu Shen was not a man who postponed decisions.
"Is there a problem?" Chen Wei asked cautiously.
Lu Shen leaned back in his chair, his expression calm but distant.
"Chen Wei," he said after a moment, "how long have you worked for me?"
"Seven years."
"And in those seven years," Lu Shen continued, "have you ever seen me interfere in someone's personal matters?"
Chen Wei blinked.
"Not really, sir."
Lu Shen nodded slightly.
"That's what I thought."
Silence settled in the office.
Chen Wei considered asking more questions but decided against it.
Working for Lu Shen had taught him one thing—his boss rarely spoke without reason.
So if he was asking something like this…
It meant he was thinking about something deeply.
Back at the hospital, Xiaoyu stepped outside to get some air.
The rain from the previous night had left the city fresh and cool. The sky was pale gray, the kind that promised another quiet day.
She walked slowly toward the small garden behind the hospital.
Few people were there.
Just a few patients and their families sitting on benches, enjoying the rare calm.
Xiaoyu sat down and closed her eyes for a moment.
Peace.
It had been a long time since she felt anything close to it.
"You should be resting."
The familiar voice made her eyes open instantly.
Lu Shen stood a few steps away.
He was dressed in a dark suit as always, looking completely out of place in the quiet hospital garden.
Xiaoyu frowned slightly. "Shouldn't you be at work?"
"I was."
"And now?"
"I finished."
She raised an eyebrow. "That quickly?"
Lu Shen didn't answer.
Instead, he sat down on the bench beside her, leaving just enough distance between them.
The silence that followed wasn't uncomfortable.
But it was heavy.
"You don't have to keep coming here," Xiaoyu said after a while.
"I know."
"Then why do you?"
Lu Shen looked ahead at the garden.
People walked slowly across the paths.
A nurse laughed quietly with a patient.
The world moved forward as usual.
"I prefer knowing the situation myself," he said calmly.
"That sounds like a business answer."
"It is."
Xiaoyu turned to look at him.
"You treat everything like a business."
"It's efficient."
"Even marriage?"
He finally met her gaze.
"Our marriage started as a business arrangement."
She couldn't deny that.
But something about hearing it stated so clearly made her chest tighten.
"Yet you keep doing things outside the contract," she said.
Lu Shen didn't respond immediately.
For a moment, his expression shifted—just slightly.
Then it returned to its usual calm.
"Sometimes," he said quietly, "circumstances change."
"And when they do?"
He stood up.
"Then new terms appear."
Xiaoyu watched him carefully.
"You're very good at avoiding direct answers."
"And you're very good at asking difficult questions."
He adjusted his watch, glancing toward the hospital building.
"You should go back inside," he said. "Your mother will wake soon."
"And you?"
"I have another meeting."
Xiaoyu almost laughed.
"You already finished work."
"That was the morning."
"So you came here during your break?"
Lu Shen looked at her again.
For a brief moment, there was something almost amused in his eyes.
"You analyze things too much."
"And you hide things too well."
Neither of them spoke after that.
Finally, Lu Shen stepped away from the bench.
"Rest today," he said.
"And you?"
"I always work."
He walked away without waiting for another reply.
Xiaoyu watched his figure disappear around the corner of the building.
Her thoughts felt strangely tangled.
The contract between them was supposed to be simple.
But every day, it seemed to grow more complicated.
And the most dangerous part was—
Neither of them had tried to stop it.