My Wife Always Wants to Run Away - Chapter 27

That evening, the two women surprisingly didn’t bother Zhang Yueqi, as if they had agreed to forget the incident. All three remained silent.

Zhang Yueqi spent the night in nervous anticipation, but when she realized they wouldn’t punish her, her boldness returned.

She glanced at the staff bustling around the room, measuring Jie Xiangyi for her dress, then stealthily sat next to Tang Jinzhi and, with reckless audacity, asked, “Did you two kiss yesterday?”

Tang Jinzhi, who had been deliberately avoiding the topic, jerked her head up to glare at Zhang Yueqi before lowering her head again, her cheeks flushed crimson.

Yesterday had been so awkward, and then she had to share a bed with Jie Xiangyi that night. Heaven knew how agonizing the night had been. They lay in bed without uttering a word. The only interaction they had was over the unbearably bitter tea in front of her.

Jie Xiangyi had claimed it would help with her “liver fire” and restless dreams, but Tang Jinzhi had only seen her casually toss some of the herbs into a cup and pour hot water over them.

So casual, it seemed almost unreliable.

“Why does this stuff taste so bitter?” Tang Jinzhi muttered, frowning and deliberately ignoring Zhang Yueqi’s question.

Jie Xiangyi had just finished having her measurements taken by the staff and sat down. Hearing Tang Jinzhi’s complaint, she pushed the sugar on the table closer to Tang Jinzhi’s hand. “Gentiana tea is naturally bitter. Don’t worry, your constitution can handle it.”

Tang Jinzhi’s forehead creased with black lines. “But my tongue says it can’t!”

Jie Xiangyi chuckled softly. “It’ll help you feel better. If it doesn’t, I’ll bring you some Tranquilizing Pills when I get back. You can just swallow those directly.”

Though she doubted Tang Jinzhi’s condition required such drastic measures, a little coaxing seemed effective. Sure enough, Tang Jinzhi obediently picked up the cup and drank.

Resigned, Tang Jinzhi held her breath, intending to gulp it down in one go. But halfway through, she couldn’t bear it any longer. Shuddering, she set the cup down, wanting to declare she couldn’t drink any more. But when she met Jie Xiangyi’s encouraging gaze, she swallowed her protest and finished the rest in one breath.

Forget blushing—her face was now pale from the bitterness.

Accepting the sugar Jie Xiangyi unwrapped, Tang Jinzhi popped it into her mouth and leaned back with a sigh. “Where did you get all this sugar?” she asked casually.

Jie Xiangyi had given her some to coax her into drinking tea the night before too.

Tang Jinzhi was certain she hadn’t bought any sugar when she stocked up on snacks.

Jie Xiangyi awkwardly tilted her head, her voice muffled, “I bought them for my colleagues. There were some left over…”

Tang Jinzhi wanted to ask why she was buying candy for her colleagues in the first place. Usually, people treat their colleagues to meals or bubble tea, right? But then she remembered Jie Xiangyi had a junior at the hospital.

Wait a minute… why did Tang Jinzhi suddenly feel like she was being cuckolded?

Were they planning to sneak around behind her back during their wedding?

Jie Xiangyi wasn’t that kind of person, was she?

Tang Jinzhi eyed Jie Xiangyi suspiciously before bluntly asking, “Did you buy these for your junior?”

Jie Xiangyi felt a chill under Tang Jinzhi’s intense gaze. After a moment’s hesitation, she confessed, “Well, yes and no. A nurse I’m close to found out about the wedding and asked for wedding candy. I brought some for them, and these were left over…”

As Jie Xiangyi’s voice trailed off, Tang Jinzhi realized she had misunderstood. Feeling embarrassed, she didn’t press further. Let her be shy if she wanted to—Tang Jinzhi felt awkward too.

She licked the crushed candy fragments in her mouth. So she was eating her own wedding candy. It was surprisingly sweet.

Zhang Yueqi tugged at Tang Jinzhi’s sleeve. “I want some too.”

Tang Jinzhi gave one of her remaining two candies to Zhang Yueqi and stood up to inspect the clothes she had selected.

Two rows of mobile clothing racks stood in the living room. One row contained the clothes Tang Jinzhi had previously chosen and had delivered, while the other row held samples brought specifically for them to choose from.

Since someone else was paying, Tang Jinzhi didn’t hold back. She dragged the other two people in the room along and picked out several outfits before finally stopping.

The staff member assured them the selected clothes would be delivered within the next two days and left cheerfully.

Jie Xiangyi helped Tang Jinzhi stuff the clothes into the closet, one by one. Looking at the suddenly full closet, she felt a strange mix of unfamiliarity, satisfaction, and a sense of groundedness.

It felt as though Tang Jinzhi had officially moved in with her.

Jie Xiangyi closed the closet door and suddenly suggested, “Let’s eat lunch out today.”

Tang Jinzhi instinctively shook her head. “Let’s stay in.”

Facing her, Jie Xiangyi said earnestly, “I asked Doctor Qiu about this. Is your reluctance to go out because of your amnesia? Do you feel unsafe in the outside world?”

Tang Jinzhi opened her mouth to speak, paused for a moment, and replied, “That’s one way to think about it. But a more accurate way to put it is that the entire world feels foreign to me. I feel like I’ve been dropped here.”

“How do I put it? It’s like the discomfort a shy child feels when a stranger tries to touch them.”

Jie Xiangyi summarized, “So you feel like a child abandoned in a strange world?”

That sounds so pitiful.

Tang Jinzhi clapped her hands. “Exactly! You get it!”

“Then let’s not go out. I don’t like the outside world. You have your graduation exam in a month, right? Don’t waste time going out—stay home and study.”

Jie Xiangyi smiled. “Does being in a strange world mean I can’t make new friends? Would you still be scared if I went out with someone familiar?”

She added, “I’m off work today. I don’t want to study.”

Her tone was strangely willful.

Tang Jinzhi fell silent, then sighed softly in compromise. “You have a point, but you have to stay within my sight. No, you have to stand right next to me.”

She had tried it before—the moment she stepped outside, she felt uneasy, filled with suspicion toward the world.

She couldn’t understand why her experience differed from the transmigration stories in books. Perhaps it was because she had transmigrated physically, or perhaps something was wrong with her mind.

But Tang Jinzhi felt perfectly healthy. She believed she was simply deeply insecure.

And this situation wasn’t hopeless.

Jie Xiangyi stared blankly for a long moment before finally asking, “Is it… that you can’t be apart from me?”

This wasn’t narcissism or deliberate teasing; it was a genuine question.

Tang Jinzhi thought for a moment and nodded, her brow furrowed. She struggled to explain why Jie Xiangyi made her feel more secure.

She hesitated to mention the USB drive, fearing Jie Xiangyi would laugh. But admitting it was because Jie Xiangyi was her wife felt too intimate, even though that was partly true. Tang Jinzhi refused to acknowledge it, even to herself.

Avoiding Jie Xiangyi’s gaze, she turned to leave, mumbling vaguely, “…You just seem reliable.”

The unreliable one, of course, was the little tagalong who had followed them out.

“Great! You wouldn’t come out with me, but you’ll go with Jie Xiangyi, huh?”

Faced with Zhang Yueqi’s questioning, Tang Jinzhi simply moved to the other side of Jie Xiangyi, avoiding walking next to him and choosing to ignore his questions.

Zhang Yueqi, hands on his hips, trailed behind them, sizing them up with a few glances before striding forward. Under their bewildered gazes, he grabbed their hands and pressed them together. “Hold hands properly now. Don’t let go. You’ve already kissed, what’s the big deal about holding hands?”

Tang Jinzhi turned to say something, but a surprised voice suddenly called out from nearby, “Huh? Senior!”

Jie Xiangyi snapped out of her daze and looked ahead, her face lighting up with recognition. “Xiaoci?”

“And this is…?” Song Xiaoci jogged over, a teasing smile freezing on her face as Tang Jinzhi turned around. The words she was about to say caught in her throat.

Tang Jinzhi’s expression was equally stiff.

“This is my wife, Tang Jinzhi,” Jie Xiangyi announced, her voice ringing in their ears.

Tang Jinzhi withdrew her hand and forced a polite smile at Song Xiaoci.

“Hello.”