Whilst speaking, the alcohol gradually overwhelmed her senses as she staggered with every step.
The stranger quickly picked up on Lin Ruoxiâs remark, smirking in glee as he patted Yang Chen on the shoulder. âYour excuse is terrible, acting all friendly when the lady is wasted. On public grounds, our opportunities are equal. If youâre confident, make her willingly leave with you.â
Yang Chen ignored the man as he went ahead and held onto Lin Ruoxiâs hand. âYou oughta stop drinking if you canât take it. You should stop when youâre just about to pass out. Câmon, letâs go home.â
âLet me go...who the hell are you...goshâŠâ
Lin Ruoxi coyly stuck her tongue out, drunkenly attempted to shake loose his grasp.
But Yang Chen was firm and unyielding.
Watching as the âsurprise packageâ of the night was about to be taken away by Yang Chen, the stranger came to her defense. âLet go of her. She doesnât even know you. Who are you to decide whatâs best for her?â
If it was before, this man would have been ground into a pulp before he uttered his first word. But these days, Yang Chen had matured in personality and had chosen to avoid unnecessary physicalities with common people.
âIâm her husband. No more. If you insist Iâm going to have to act,â Yang Chen solemnly declared.
âHer husband...what nonsense!â
Yang Chen grunted at the fact that truth was always the least convincing.
âMove.â Yang Chen was done talking as he lifted the man by the collar, and like an inflatable toy tossed him to the diner couch at a distance!
The manâs shriek left the crowd in terror.
Yang Chen embraced the disoriented Lin Ruoxi and left the bar.
Out the door, it was already in the wee hours of the night, the streets emptied and desolate, howling cold winds rustled through the leaves.
Excluding the street vendors were the occasional night owls, wrapped in thick clothing, brisk walking passed rows of street lights.
Presumably invigorated by the chilly air, Lin Ruoxiâs head seemed to clear a little as she lifted her head, quickly focusing onto Yang Chenâs face.
âYou asshole! Damn you Yang Chen...let go of me! I...Iâll stab you, rip you into piecesâŠâ
Amidst the nagging and venting, Lin Ruoxiâs hands feebly punched onto his face and chest.
Squeezing his nose, pinching his face, pulling his hair, and clamping on his shoulders. She was throwing a tantrum befitting of a five-year-old
Yang Chen with his wife behind his back strolled towards the direction of the parking lot, tolerating her endless barrage of torment.
After a long night of hard drinking, he finally managed to calm himself down.
Deep down he knew full well that nothing could have happened between Lin Ruoxi and Li Jianhe. But what got him furious before was that his trust for her had been betrayed when she chose to lie to their faces.
But when he started thinking for her point of view, it was only reasonable that she chose to avoid the mention of her encounter.
Recalling the previous incident where he got physical at her in her office, even when the dust was settled and everything turned out fine, the process itself must have left her traumatized.
It was his fault that he was irrational and volatile, but her distrust for him was also to blame.
And by adding fuel to fire, Guo Xuehuaâs impulsive decision to snap her photo in secret must have struck down her pride like an arrow to the chest. It was hardly any doubt to him now for her explosive reaction earlier tonight.
As mutual misunderstanding stacked up brick by brick, Yang Chen at that point no longer had any interest in the incident. All his anger had subsided.
All of a sudden, Lin Ruoxi stopped all vigorous flaunting of her limbs and started pouting. Her bubbly eyes seemingly in distress as she paused at her spot.
âUghâŠâ
Yang Chen instantly snapped out of his thoughts. âRuoxi, whatâs going on? Are you okay?â
Lin Ruoxiâs face once again blushed red as a tomato, seemingly disinterested in tormenting Yang Chen any longer as she coyly pouted. âI...I need to peeâŠâ
âPee?!â
Yang Chen was dumbfounded, but he took no time to comprehend the situation. She had consumed large amounts of liquid and it was a particularly chilly day. It was only a matter of time.
âThis...is an open street⊠there are no public bathrooms aroundâŠâ
Yang Chen frantically looked around, noticing the confusion in the eyes of the passersby.
âI...canât hold it any longer...I need to peeâŠâ
Mostly still under the influence of alcohol, Lin Ruoxi ran to a junction by a merchandise corner shop, and started slipping her fingers into the coat to unbutton her trousers!
Yang Chen was stupefied. He then held onto her in a flurry of panic. âYou...canât pee here! There are people watching!â
âUgh...I donât care...I really, really need to pee..â
Lin Ruoxi squabbled and sulked, seemingly at her limits.
Yang Chen had never seen this blatant and ludicrous side of her, clenching his teeth, he pushed Lin Ruoxi to the back, behind a dumpster.
âYou can pee behind that. Iâll block the front. Hey, hey thereâs wind by this corner if you pee here youâre gonna reek of piss after this.â
After Yang Chen arranged their positions, he turned away from her, blocking the curious gaze of bystanders.
All thanks to the colder weather, the smell of the dumpster was relatively mild. Otherwise, in the heat of summer, the entire alleyway would have been engulfed by its revolting smell.
As for Lin Ruoxi at the back, she couldnât care less about the âscentâ as she started relieving herself from the burden she had been carrying.
Yang Chen heard the sounds of water discharge as he started sniffling from laughter.
Never did he once think that one day he would be shielding a woman from public urination. Especially not his own wife, the great and graceful Lin Ruoxi.
An image like this was a once in a lifetime memory.
Subsequently after, the sounds of clothes brushing onto one another were heard from the back.
Whatâs next once again left Yang Chen in utter confusion!
Lin Ruoxi burst into tears!
âHmphâŠâ
Yang Chen instantly turned himself around only to see Lin Ruoxi standing upright with her palms onto the wall and her shoulders shuddering as tears dripped down from her cheeks onto the puddles below.
âRuoxi...IâŠâ
Before Yang Chen could say much, Lin Ruoxiâs cries grew louder as she was ready to vent out all her dissatisfactions.
âLook at the sorry state that Iâm in right now. Accused by my mother in law, doubted by my own husband, despised by all of you. What did I do wrong to end up like this?! Out in the middle of the night, afraid to even return home!
Out here drinking on my own, drunk and wasted. I feel like a felon, banished from home, disgraced, even publicly peeing by the street.
Since I got married to you, I felt like a psychopath, an idiot. A complete, utter worthless idiot...
On one hand, I worry about you, and the other pissed off. I feel like I am not in control but just a puppet on a string.
Qianni is right. Iâm no longer who I once was. I donât even know who I am anymoreâŠ
I...I cannot live like this any longer, like a lunatic! Iâm Lin Ruoxi goddammit! Iâm not your vessel of love Yang Chen! Even less so a trash can, craving for your pity!
Iâll tell you now...if I keep being this paranoid with my emotions all over the place, I donât think I can last much longerâŠâ
Yang Chen froze at his spot, unable to reach for her no matter how much he wanted to at that instant.
Lin Ruoxiâs feet were contrastingly agile as she staggered and fell onto his torso, like a koala onto its faithful tree, seemingly ready to slip to the ground at any minute.
âHubbyâŠâ Lin Ruoxi tilted her head up, on her rosy red cheeks was disillusionment.
âIâm here.â Yang Chen held her into his embrace, keeping her at bay.
Lin Ruoxi coyly giggled, her eyes still red from all the tears shed. Yet her mood flipped a complete one-eighty from the alcohol as the next moment she seemed enthusiastic, mumbling her words she said,
âIâm telling you here and now that I did meet with Li Jianhe. But he came looking for me for a collaboration. He was begging and pleading and he held my hand...but I shook him off...
Back in the day, I did have some feelings for him. But is it so wrong even though nothing happened?
Youâre the first man that I truly fell in love with. Even, even when you couldnât be just mine, I could tolerate that, because youâre the man that had single-handedly pulled me out from hell and back up to heaven. I love you like crazy.
I know it might be a selfish thought to want you all by myself, but I made mistakes in the past. I was lost...so I can take that, and I chose to forget about the things that made me unhappy.
But...if you truly love me, why couldnât you just bear some trust for me?â
Yang Chen, with trembling hands, held her tight in his arms, bringing his lips close to her ear. âI trust you...and itâs my fault, Iâm so, so sorryâŠâ
And whilst that happened, Lin Ruoxi collapsed onto his chest, mumbling as she dozed off.
Yang Chen let out a sigh, amidst an aching heart. He stood up, clamped her legs onto his waist, and piggybacked the woman towards the direction of the car.
Lin Ruoxi meanwhile, noticeably exhausted both physically and emotionally was finally at peace.
Deep in the windswept night, it seemed as if they were alone in the world, gradually making through the streets, one step at a time.