In the past, Han Jingnian would often take his time to respond to Assistant Zhang’s inquiries. However, this time, as soon as Zhang finished speaking, Han Jingnian nodded slightly and said, “Alright.” 

Assistant Zhang, who had narrowly escaped the “beauty is a curse” scenario, immediately walked toward the bedside. 

He had just reached out to grab the phone Xia Wan’an had left behind when he felt a cold glint, as sharp as a knife, shooting toward him. He immediately stopped and discreetly touched his slightly aching wrist. “Mr. Han, don’t forget to take Madam’s phone.” 

Han Jingnian ignored him and walked leisurely to the bedside, picking up Xia Wan’an’s phone. 

On the way back home, sitting in the backseat, Han Jingnian looked out the window as the scenery receded. Suddenly, scenes from the previous night flashed through his mind. 

After finishing work last night, he walked to the elevator and remembered that it was undergoing maintenance that day. He chose to take the stairs instead. However, halfway up, all the lights in the stairwell went out. 

The stairwell had small windows that faced a less-traveled side, and no light penetrated the darkness. He found himself in total darkness. 

Darkness was his greatest weakness in life, and it wasn’t something he was born with. It had developed when he was very young due to an incident he dared not think about but couldn’t help thinking of whenever he was surrounded by complete darkness. This incident had left him with a deep fear of the dark. 

In medical terms, he had “scotophobia.” 

So, over the years, he had never placed himself in situations without light. Even when he slept, he always kept a bedside lamp on… 

Last night, when he found himself in the pitch-black darkness, those familiar symptoms had instantly overwhelmed him. His heart raced, he broke into a sweat, had difficulty breathing, shivered uncontrollably, and felt weakness in his limbs… 

It was the most agonizing moment for him, near death, yet desperately struggling to survive. It was when he was closest to death that he saw the light… and he saw her. 

“Mr. Han, we’ve arrived.” 

Assistant Zhang’s voice, interrupted Han Jingnian’s reverie. He looked out and realized that they had already arrived home. 

Did he just… daydream about her the whole way here? 

His fingertips, clutching her phone, trembled slightly. 

… 

After leaving the company, Xia Wan’an realized that her face was covered in tears at some point. 

She casually reached into her bag, found a tissue, and wiped her eyes. When she saw an empty taxi passing by, she quickly raised her hand to hail it. 

As she got into the taxi and gave her destination, she turned to look out the window. 

Her ears seemed to be under a spell, echoing his faint voice repeatedly, “When did she enter Han Corporation?” 

Her eyes welled up, and tears flowed uncontrollably. 

The taxi driver noticed her crying and handed her several tissues. “Miss, each day, life gets a day shorter. Life is often more bitter than sweet, so try to make yourself happy as much as possible. Wipe away your tears and don’t cry.” 

Xia Wan’an politely thanked the taxi driver and took the tissues. As she wiped her tears, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of bitterness in her heart. Even a stranger would offer her comfort when they saw her upset, but he… He had never put her in his eyes, not to mention, the bottom of his heart.  

— 

One second after Xia Wan’an closed the door, she heard the sound of someone entering their password from behind. 

Instinctively, Xia Wan’an turned her head and saw Han Jingnian, dressed in a suit and leather shoes, walking in.  

Han Jingnian probably didn’t expect her to be right inside the door because he froze at the entrance. 

Neither of them spoke a word; they just stood there quietly in the entryway.  

In the past, Xia Wan’an would have greeted Han Jingnian when she saw him, even though he usually either ignored her or responded with indifference. However, today, Xia Wan’an was in a negative mood. She thought that even if she spoke to him, he might not respond, so she decided to act as if he didn’t exist, pulled her gaze away, and opened the closet to take out her slippers. 

After changing her shoes, she stood up and walked towards the bedroom as if he didn’t exist. 

“Wait a moment.” 

To Xia Wan’an’s surprise, Han Jingnian behind her actually spoke up. 

Although taken aback, Xia Wan’an stopped but didn’t turn to look at him. 

Han Jingnian took a few steps forward and stood in front of her. “This is for you.” 

Xia Wan’an tilted her head slightly to take a glance. It was her phone, the one she had left in his office’s resting area. 

She took it and, seeing that he didn’t say anything more, continued walking towards the bedroom. 

Last night, she hadn’t taken a shower. When she reached the bedroom, her first action was to charge her phone. Afterward, she went to take a shower. When she came out, she found that Han Jingnian had also taken a shower and changed into casual home clothes in the adjacent bedroom. 

It was barely noon… Did he intend to stay at home all day? 

Xia Wan’an was puzzled, but she still maintained her dignity. She walked to the bedside to pick up her phone. 

Because she had turned off her phone at some point last night, she had quite a few unread messages on WeChat. 

She dealt with them one by one and came across a message from Song Youman that morning: “Wan’an, it’s the weekend today. How about going shopping in the afternoon? SKP has received a lot of new arrivals this week, and many sales assistants have messaged me.” 

In the two years since she had married Han Jingnian, she had often hoped that he would come home. Today was the first time he had stayed at home during the day in his entire history, but she didn’t want to spend time with him. 

Because when she saw him, she thought of the sentence she had heard in his office… 

After hesitating for a moment, Xia Wan’an replied to Song Youman: “Sure, let’s meet at SKP later.” 

After receiving Song Youman’s “OK” reply, Xia Wan’an immediately went to the dressing room to change into casual clothes for going out. 

With her bag in hand, ready to go out, Han Jingnian asked, “Are you going out?” 

Xia Wan’an paused as she changed her shoes and replied, “Yes.” 

Today, he seemed to be more talkative than usual… Thinking this, Xia Wan’an added, “I have plans with a friend.” 

Han Jingnian simply said, “Oh,” and didn’t speak further. 

After changing her shoes, Xia Wan’an pushed open the door and left. 

In the afternoon, around six o’clock, Xia Wan’an and Song Youman started discussing where to have dinner. 

After making their decision, they didn’t forget to call Han Zhijin and ask him to come over and pay the bill. 

… 

Han Zhijin, who had no idea that his purpose was to pay the bill, answered Xia Wan’an’s call with excitement, “Young  Aunt, what’s up?” 

“Dinner? Now? Alright…” 

Han Zhijin was about to hang up the phone but suddenly thought of Han Jingnian, who had just come over. He quickly added, “Uh… Young Aunt, Uncle just came over, and Grandma, my mom, and everyone else are not at home. Should I invite Uncle to join us for dinner? Oh, never mind, okay then. You guys wait for me, I’ll be there in a moment.” 

After hanging up the phone, Han Zhijin immediately went to his dressing room to change his clothes, not realizing that Han Jingnian was standing at the door of his bedroom.