Chapter 14 The Wedding Home Designs
I stood outside Xie Yiheng's door for a long time.
Exhaustion and worry clung to my face and would not leave.
I sighed and typed in the passcode.
It was Xie Yiheng and Wen Yu's wedding anniversary.
The place looked exactly the same as it had five years ago.
Fresh flowers sat in the vase, newly changed.
An unfinished chessboard rested on the table.
In the walk-in closet, Wen Yu's clothes still hung in neat rows.
Every season, Xie Yiheng bought her new pieces.
It looked like he still naively believed she would come back someday.
But she was about to remarry.
What was he still clinging to?
I went straight to the study.
Xie Yiheng had the desk lamp on and was bent over his drawings. He did not even glance at me.
The wastebasket was full. Several crumpled drafts had spilled out onto the floor.
Cold food sat at the corner of the wooden desk.
He had not touched a bite.
He stayed in that study day and night like this.
I finally snapped.
"You won't go to the firm. You won't eat. What exactly are you doing?"
Dark circles sat heavy under Xie Yiheng's eyes, yet he did not seem tired at all.
His voice came out rough.
"I'm designing my Wedding Home with her."
I froze.
I remembered the day I had just gotten my Divorce, full of grievances and no one to tell them to.
By the time I came back to myself, I had already called Xie Yiheng.
To me, he had always been my harbor.
I had always known Xie Yiheng liked me.
I could not answer that feeling, so guilt toward him never left me.
When Wen Yu appeared, I truly wished them well.
I showed Wen Yu the photo albums of us growing up.
I shared secrets that belonged only to the two of us, helping her understand Xie Yiheng better.
To push them together, I even invited them on a trip with the four of us.
But when I actually heard they were together, the smile on my face felt forced.
A voice at the bottom of my heart told me it should not have been like this.
That strange feeling peaked on their wedding day.
I saw the simple post on his social feed and something stuck in my throat.
A question rose out of nowhere.
Could Xie Yiheng really fall for someone else?
Would he still take care of me the way he always had?
I got the answer in that phone call.
His voice was as concerned as ever.
One word from me, and he would drop everything to come to my side.
I let out a breath.
A smile slipped onto my face before I caught myself and realized it was wrong.
Xie Yiheng was already married.
I was absolutely not the kind of woman who wrecked other people's homes.
I just needed something to lean on.
To me, Xie Yiheng was family.
Wen Yu could not marry him and then demand he erase all those years between us.
Nothing between Xie Yiheng and me had ever crossed a line.
I told myself that, and it settled me.
So I became his assistant with a clear conscience.
I let him design a new house for me.
Sometimes I even went to their place to drop off files and talk through the details of the house.
Wen Yu stayed as gentle with me as always.
I never saw a single forced smile in those clear eyes of hers.
But that very attitude made me more uneasy.
It felt like she saw straight through everything, and I did not know where to put myself.
I asked Xie Yiheng without thinking.
"Will Wen Yu mind that I'm around?"
Xie Yiheng stared at the photo on his desk for a long time and said nothing.
My heart slammed hard against my ribs.
I had a feeling the answer coming next would not be the one I wanted.
He said, "Soon it will be my wedding anniversary with A Yu."
"Your Ex Wife should stop harassing you now. Resign on your own."
A buzz filled my head.
The days of coming and going with him had pulled me back into the time when we had been inseparable.
Only now did I understand how precious his liking had been.
I did not want to let go anymore.