Campus Ace Girl

In his anxiety, King Jingyao’s voice came out a bit stern, and Lin Hua froze for a moment on the spot.

She looked at King Jingyao in startled confusion, a faint shimmer in her eyes, but she only quietly glanced at him a few times, then picked Little Wang Yue up in her arms.

King Jingyao grew a little anxious. "What are you doing?"

Lin Hua said softly, "It’s still better for him to sleep on his own."

"You’re just saying that because you’re angry." His hand moved, wanting to rest on her shoulder to soothe her, but Lin Hua avoided him, climbed off the bed with their son in her arms. "I’ll take him back to the nursery."

King Jingyao was a bit angry. "Lin Hua, it’s the middle of the night. Don’t be willful."

She said nothing, only cuddled and kissed her son, then left without looking back.

The door closed softly, like a stab to King Jingyao’s heart. Feeling annoyed, he slowly lay back down, waiting for Lin Hua to return so he could talk things through with her. A husband and wife needed communication; he would talk her around.

He, and his mother, and several generations of the Wang Family had all been raised this way. It hadn’t done them any harm, had it?

But he lay there waiting for a long time, and Lin Hua never appeared.

King Jingyao closed his eyes to rest, but in the end he simply couldn’t take it anymore. He threw back the covers, got out of bed, and walked to the nursery. Under the dim light, he went over to look at his son, only to find the little bed empty—no sign of Little Wang Yue at all.

"You’re really getting out of hand," he muttered, then started searching the second floor, going from bedroom to bedroom. The door of the last room was locked. He pushed at it, but there was no movement inside.

"Lin Hua." He leaned his forehead against the door and spoke softly. "You’re going to ignore me over something this small?"

Inside, Lin Hua didn’t respond. King Jingyao pressed his ear to the door and listened quietly for a while. Realizing she was not going to open up, he had no choice but to return to their bedroom alone.

The spacious bedroom felt empty and echoing. In his foul mood he couldn’t sleep, so he went to sit on the sofa in the sitting area, poured himself a glass of red wine, and after downing it and still feeling restless, he poured a glass of liquor.

Yet the more he drank, the worse he felt.

King Jingyao sat there with his glass, reflecting on himself in the dead of night.

His ex-wife had been a good woman, very virtuous, asking nothing of him at all. But he hadn’t treated her especially well. He was always busy, and as a young couple they drifted farther and farther apart until they no longer had anything to talk about.

Then she left, without giving him a chance to make amends.

But Lin Hua was different from her. Lin Hua did have expectations of him. She wanted him home early, forbade him from drinking too much, and wouldn’t allow him to fool around outside—even though he himself had never had such intentions.

Suddenly the liquor in his glass lost its flavor. He set it down, went downstairs, and woke the servants, asking for the key.

The servants were terrified when they saw him like this and hurried off to find the key and bring it back to him, all the while carefully watching his expression. King Jingyao wasn’t the type to take his anger out on others. He said mildly, "It’s fine. Go back to sleep."

With that, he took the key upstairs. In truth, he hesitated a bit before unlocking the door. Reason told him he ought to leave Lin Hua be for the night, let her cool off and have some private space. But his inner turmoil gnawed at him—he wanted to see her right away. So he opened the door after all.

The room beyond was pitch dark. It took him a few seconds to adjust to the lack of light, then he made her out accurately.

Lin Hua was lying on her side on the luxurious bed, her arms wrapped around little Wang Yue.

Wang Yue usually slept flat on his back, very steady, but right now he was curled into a tiny ball in his mother’s arms, his small palm pressed flat against her body. Though he couldn’t see clearly, King Jingyao could almost picture how cute that little pink hand must look.

Though King Jingyao could be stern, he was human after all. Faced with this scene, his heart softened. He watched silently for a while, then left without saying a word, returning to his own bedroom.

As soon as he walked away, Lin Hua opened her eyes.

She had genuinely been asleep before, but after all this time married, whenever he came home late she would wake quickly; perhaps, subconsciously, she was waiting for him.

When he came just now she had clearly woken up, yet she didn’t know why she pretended to be asleep—maybe because she didn’t want to face things right now. She felt tired, not tired of him, but of her own helplessness within his family.

She wanted to raise Wang Yue with her own hands, wanted him to sleep with her at night, so that when he cried she, as his mother, could soothe and comfort him, and when he fell and hurt himself she could hold him close—instead of having him told, every time he was in pain: "How can a boy cry?"

Lin Hua’s heart ached. She hugged her son more tightly.

Early the next morning, after getting up she took care of Little Wang Yue herself, mixing his formula and feeding him, then changing his diaper. Little Wang Yue expressed great satisfaction, giggling away, but the poor little fellow had no idea such happy days might last only one day.

Lin Hua reluctantly but helplessly took the child back, and when she was done and returned to the master bedroom, King Jingyao had already gotten up and gone. She washed up, changed into a pale purple wool dress, and slowly went downstairs, her face slightly pale.

On her way down she paused on the stairs, watching King Jingyao sit at the dining table reading the newspaper.

He looked the same as always: crisp white shirt, black suit pants, an air of sharp elegance.

She couldn’t help thinking that out in the world, he must be quite a draw for young girls...

Perhaps her odd gaze caught his attention, because King Jingyao looked up at her, then said evenly, "Sit down and have breakfast. What would you like?"

His tone was so calm it was as if nothing at all had happened the night before. Lin Hua couldn’t very well bring it up either. She only smoothed her skirt and sat down. "I’d like some fried bacon."

Unexpectedly, he set down the newspaper, and his hand brushed lightly over the back of her neck. "I’ll go make it for you."

On an ordinary day she wouldn’t have thought it strange, but given this particular morning she felt a bit pressured. Lin Hua pressed her lips together. "Let the auntie make it, it’s fine."

King Jingyao’s gaze grew deep. "You’re so mad at me you won’t even eat something I make?"

He bent down and kissed her forehead. "Don’t sulk anymore. In a few days I’ll find time to take you and Xiao Yue out for a day."

Lin Hua lowered her head slightly. He smiled again. "I’m already trying to coax you. Still not happy?"

"No." Lin Hua’s voice was a little hoarse. "I’m not unhappy."

It was just that some things didn’t align with his way of thinking, and these weren’t things that would vanish just because he said a few nice words. Lin Hua knew that either she endured them, or she learned to let go, but right now she couldn’t, especially knowing that Wang Yue was destined to follow his old path.

King Jingyao seemed to sense how she felt and didn’t say anything more, going straight to the kitchen to make her breakfast.

Listening to the sounds coming from the kitchen, Lin Hua thought silently to herself: he really was very good to her. For someone in his position to be willing to coax her; to be so considerate, always bringing gifts at every holiday... he truly was a husband one in ten thousand. What more could she possibly want?

She asked herself this, yet inside she was perfectly clear on the one thing she couldn’t accept.

The maid saw her expression and said softly, "Madam, I’ll pour you a glass of milk. Sir instructed us to warm it for you."

Lin Hua gave a faint smile. "Okay."

Just then, King Jingyao came over, carrying a small plate with several bacon rolls on it, stuffed with bean sprouts and enoki mushrooms, fried until golden and appetizing.

He sat down, set the plate in front of her, and smiled. "This took twelve parts of my effort. After you eat you’d better give me some praise."

Lin Hua smiled lightly again and began to eat.

His cooking was indeed delicious; she nearly finished it all. King Jingyao smiled. "Tell me in advance what you want tomorrow and I’ll make it for you."

Such kindness, Lin Hua felt almost unable to bear.

She lowered her eyes and took a sip of milk. "You don’t have to go out of your way."

He joked, "It’s a blessing others couldn’t get even if they begged."

Lin Hua gave a faint smile, and as he watched that smile, he couldn’t shake the feeling that his wife had grown far more distant from him. He couldn’t even tally how many times she’d said thank you to him this morning.

He was displeased, but didn’t show it. After a few more words, he was about to head to the office.

Lin Hua spoke softly. "Jingyao."