My Wife Always Wants to Run Away - Chapter 24

Tang Jinzhi leaned closer to Jie Xiangyi, studying her expression. Only when she was certain Jie Xiangyi wasn’t too upset did she pull back slightly.

She murmured reassuringly, “Don’t overthink it. He probably yells at everyone, not just you. Just let it go in one ear and out the other.”

Jie Xiangyi released the breath she’d been holding and nodded. “Yeah, he yells at my junior every day. I’m actually doing okay compared to her.”

Tang Jinzhi’s eyelashes fluttered, and her fingers tightened around her chopsticks.

She opened her mouth, testing the waters. “Junior?”

Jie Xiangyi didn’t notice anything amiss. “Yeah, she shares the same advisor as me. Every time he yells at her, she comes to my place to vent about him.”

So complaining about her advisor at home shouldn’t be a big deal.

She hadn’t even yelled.

Tang Jinzhi lowered her gaze, nodding with an unchanged expression. She began to suspect that Jie Xiangyi’s “junior” might be the True Daughter. Though her face remained calm, her heart grew anxious.

The True Daughter has appeared so quickly, and I haven’t even made enough money yet!

As Tang Jinzhi pondered how to subtly extract the junior’s name, she asked, “Sounds like you and your junior are pretty close?”

“We’re alright,” Jie Xiangyi replied.

Tang Jinzhi racked her brain for a long time, trying to figure out how to ask for the junior’s name without sounding suspicious.

“Is that junior of yours Doctor Xiao Song?” Zhang Yueqi suddenly interjected, his head buried in his rice bowl. Tang Jinzhi’s eyes lit up at the mention.

But the light quickly faded.

Jie Xiangyi nodded. “Yes, it’s her.”

So her surname is Song after all, Tang Jinzhi thought to herself, clicking her tongue inwardly.

If Zhang Yueqi knew about the True Daughter, how long before her own identity was exposed?

Jie Xiangyi glanced at Tang Jinzhi’s troubled expression, puzzled. She reached out and patted Tang Jinzhi’s arm. “What’s wrong? You don’t seem very happy.”

Tang Jinzhi turned her head, teasing Jie Xiangyi with mock narcissism, “You noticed? Are you that concerned about me?”

Zhang Yueqi made a gagging sound. “Ew~”

Jie Xiangyi cleared her throat, her gaze drifting. “I just noticed you seemed a bit distracted.”

Distracted? Tang Jinzhi thought wryly. What else could it be? I’m broke.

She replied slowly, “Just didn’t sleep well.”

Which wasn’t entirely untrue.

Sharing a bed with Jie Xiangyi, she had slept, but uncomfortably. Every morning, she woke up perfectly still in her original position, unlike her usual restless sleep when alone.

It must have been her subconscious reminding her to sleep properly and stay still; otherwise, how else could they have woken up in such orderly positions?

Sleeping so stiffly had exhausted her, and her second nap hadn’t been long enough. She decided to take an afternoon nap.

After lunch, Jie Xiangyi pushed Tang Jinzhi back to her room to rest. Jie Xiangyi and Zhang Yueqi took care of the dishes in the kitchen. Tang Jinzhi didn’t bother being polite and immediately lay down to sleep.

In the kitchen, Zhang Yueqi grumbled while washing dishes, “This kitchen has everything except a dishwasher. Can you buy one? I hate washing dishes!”

Jie Xiangyi took the plates Zhang Yueqi had rinsed and began washing them properly. “Okay, I’ll look into it.”

Zhang Yueqi asked, “Aren’t you going back to the hospital? Aren’t you in a hurry?”

Jie Xiangyi shook her head. “Not right now. I’ll go after we finish cleaning up.”

Even doctors need to eat.

Zhang Yueqi glanced at the recently closed bedroom door and nudged Jie Xiangyi with his elbow. “My mom wants you two to come over for dinner. She knows you’re busy, so she said you can come whenever you have time. She mainly wants to meet Tang Jinzhi. Sigh, but I doubt your wife would want to go.”

Jie Xiangyi pondered, “I’ll ask her. It’s normal not to want to meet elders.”

Zhang Yueqi blinked. “That’s not what I meant. I mean, your wife, Tang Jinzhi, is resisting leaving the house. She refuses to step outside this door.”

“I’ve been chatting with her these past few days, and every time I suggest going out, she refuses. I thought she was just a homebody, but she said she isn’t. She told me that unless there’s a special reason, she won’t cross the threshold.”

“She emphasized it very seriously. She said that just standing at the door and thinking about going out makes her feel physically uncomfortable.”

Jie Xiangyi frowned deeply. She’d been at the hospital and hadn’t had much time to talk to Tang Jinzhi. Hearing Zhang Yueqi’s words, she realized something was wrong.

Tang Jinzhi was resisting leaving the house?

After cleaning up the kitchen, Jie Xiangyi returned to the bedroom, tiptoed to the bedside, and studied Tang Jinzhi’s face.

Tang Jinzhi wasn’t fully asleep. She opened her eyes halfway and asked, “Finished washing up?”

Jie Xiangyi murmured an affirmative and sat on the edge of the bed. “Are you feeling unwell anywhere?”

Tang Jinzhi paused, her mind struggling to process the sudden question. Why is Jie Xiangyi asking me this?

“No, I’m fine.”

Jie Xiangyi said, “Give me your hand.”

Tang Jinzhi roused slightly, propping herself up to look at Jie Xiangyi. Obediently, she extended her hand, though puzzled. After a moment’s thought, she asked, “What’s this for?”

Her confusion quickly vanished.

Staring at the fingers resting on her wrist, she exclaimed in surprise, “Ah, you studied traditional Chinese medicine?”

Jie Xiangyi chuckled softly. “Yes, I did.”

She had been reproaching herself for not paying enough attention to Tang Jinzhi, but now it seemed the feeling was mutual. Her wife didn’t even know what she had studied.

And here I was, chatting with Zhang Yueqi for half a month, and we never even talked about her!

“You…” Jie Xiangyi began to ask Tang Jinzhi something, but her words were interrupted by her phone ringing.

Frowning slightly, she pulled out her phone and checked the caller ID. It was the hospital.

“I’ll check you again when I get back,” she said.

Tang Jinzhi looked utterly bewildered. “Is something wrong with me?” Why is she suddenly taking my pulse?

Sensing her worry, Jie Xiangyi reassured her before closing the door, “Nothing’s wrong. I just heard you haven’t been wanting to go out lately. I’ll check you when I get back.”

With that, she closed the door and left.

Tang Jinzhi was even more confused now. Do traditional Chinese medicine practitioners even treat people who don’t want to go out?

Of course not. Jie Xiangyi simply felt she had been neglecting Tang Jinzhi and wanted to check on her, if only to ease her own mind.

Tang Jinzhi’s afternoon nap was restless, and it was all Jie Xiangyi’s fault.

Not because Jie Xiangyi had suddenly barged in and disturbed her.

It was because a self-proclaimed rival for Tang Jinzhi’s affections—a wealthy heiress—had suddenly arrived, claiming she was there to see Jie Xiangyi.

Tang Jinzhi found the situation amusing. I have a rival now? How rare.

Zhang Yueqi stood on the sofa, arms crossed, glaring down at Guan Qianqian and snapping, “Guan Qianqian, are you out of your mind?”

Guan Qianqian retorted, “Standing up there to make yourself feel brave?”

Zhang Yueqi sneered. “Just making it easier for you to look down your nose at people.”

Not only had they failed to stop Guan Qianqian from entering, but they’d also let her wake Tang Jinzhi. Zhang Yueqi was furious.

They’d been arguing for nearly an hour; it was impossible for Tang Jinzhi to remain asleep.

Her head throbbed painfully. Now, past five o’clock, she stood near the entrance of the living room, waiting for Jie Xiangyi to return, unwilling to engage with the two women.

“Why are you so afraid to speak!” Guan Qianqian’s voice rang out arrogantly.

Tang Jinzhi glanced at the belligerent Guan Qianqian before quickly shifting her gaze back to the door.

Jie Xiangyi had returned.

A sudden smile bloomed on Tang Jinzhi’s usually expressionless face, her voice softening. “Honey, you’re home from work?”

Jie Xiangyi froze, momentarily hesitant to enter.