Five years without pregnancy means you're too weak; I remarried a powerful man and had triplets

People really do change.

The favoritism I used to think was very important, the careful efforts I made to please it, have, after a period of reflection, made me want nothing at all anymore.

Shen Zhiyi, who used to compromise herself for a single word from him, has died in that marriage.

However, after thinking about it, she realized that she hadn't eaten durian in a long time.

Since he doesn't like it, she's even more determined to eat it.

She solemnly wrote in her phone's notepad: Remember to go to the supermarket to buy durian tomorrow.

Then, just as I was about to scroll down, my finger somehow slipped.

A line of small text suddenly popped up on the screen:

"You have liked Su Manman's post."

Shen Zhiyi: "..."

She stared at the like icon, her pupils dilated, her finger hovering above the screen for a full three seconds, only one thought in her mind:

It’s over.

She tried to cancel, but then she realized that even if she canceled, the other person would still be able to see the message that she had liked the post.

After agonizing for a long time, she decided to ignore it. Since she could see it anyway, she might as well be open and honest.

Meanwhile, Su Manman froze for a moment when she saw Shen Zhiyi's like notification.

She originally posted this on her WeChat Moments for two reasons: first, to show how comfortable and wonderful her life was now; and second, to make Shen Zhiyi feel annoyed, to see that she could eat as much durian as she wanted, and that she had the man she couldn't please completely under her control.

Who knew that instead of getting a ticket, the other party actually gave her a thumbs up?

What does this mean?

Don't think she doesn't know; Shen Zhiyi used to refuse to eat durian at home for Xu Zhesheng's sake!

He actually liked her durian photo? Is it showing off? Is it mockery? Or... has he finally let go?

Su Manman stared at the liked profile picture, her face turning pale and then red, before finally angrily turning off her phone screen.

Meanwhile, Xu Zhesheng stood in the city night, carrying his suitcase, unsure of where to go.

Come back home?

Su Manman, her mother, and that bastard child have taken over his home. Just thinking about that face makes him feel annoyed.

Go to Zhang Feng and Xu Zhi's parents' place?

The moment he walked in, he was bombarded with nagging: when he would finalize his divorce with Shen Zhiyi, when he would marry Su Manman, and what he planned to do with the child…

To be honest, he was completely confused and didn't know what to do. He didn't even have the energy to listen to a single word of their nagging.

After thinking it over, he dragged his suitcase and knocked on Ai Junyu's door.

Ai Junyu's home is very small, a one-bedroom apartment, so cramped that even turning around feels crowded.

When Xu Zhesheng arrived, Ai Junyu was wearing wrinkled pajamas, looking like she had just woken up from a nap.

His hair was a mess, sticking up everywhere. He rubbed his eyes and saw Xu Zhesheng standing at the door with a suitcase. Scratching his head, he asked in confusion, "Zhe? You... ran away from home?"

Xu Zhesheng was too exhausted to say a word. He walked straight in and slumped heavily into the single sofa: "Junyu, I might have to stay here for a while."

Hearing this, Ai Junyu looked at his single bed with some difficulty, then at the sofa: "But I only have one bed. Can you really make do with sleeping on the sofa?"

Xu Zhesheng closed his eyes.

Even sleeping on the sofa is better than going back to hear Su Manman's screams and the children's cries.

He nodded in a hoarse voice: "Mm."

That evening, the two of them each squatted in front of the coffee table and ate a bucket of instant noodles.

After finishing his meal, Ai Junyu went into his room to play video games, leaving Xu Zhesheng alone on the sofa in the living room.

Without the lights on, he covered his face in the darkness, lost in silent contemplation.

Ai Junyu's sofa wasn't soft; in fact, it was a bit hard. It was also quite short. Xu Zhesheng, who was over 1.8 meters tall, couldn't even straighten his legs while lying on it, and he could easily roll off if he turned over.

Even though he was sore all over and exhausted from being beaten by Lu Zichuan today, he just couldn't fall asleep.

And he didn't know if it was just his imagination, but he always felt itchy all over when he slept on this sofa.

Something was poking him, making his back ache and his whole body feel uncomfortable.

He tossed and turned several times without being able to fall asleep. Finally, he couldn't stand it any longer and got up to examine the sofa carefully by the cold light of his phone screen.

Then he saw Ai Junyu's smelly socks, crumpled up and stuffed into the gap of the cushions; crumbs of leftover potato chips covered the sofa surface with a thin layer of oil; and some white stains of unknown origin were mottledly imprinted on the fabric. There were even a few wads of used restaurant paper in the corner.

For a single man living alone in a rented apartment, these things are actually quite normal.

When Xu Zhesheng and I shared a dorm room, the environment was pretty much the same.

The problem is, he has obsessive-compulsive disorder about cleanliness.

Moreover, Shen Zhiyi has kept her home spotless over the years.

The floors are always spotless, there isn't a single hair on the sofa, the sheets and blankets are changed every week, and even the air smells faintly of laundry detergent.

He had long been spoiled and developed the most discerning senses; he hadn't lived in such a dirty place for many years.

He stared silently at the trash, feeling disgusted even to try and clean it with his hands.

But now, what right does he have to be picky?

Having a place to stay is already a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.

He didn't want to go to the hotel.

His card was linked to Su Manman's phone number, so she would receive text message alerts whenever he made any large purchases.

He didn't want to give her any more leverage over him, and he didn't want to cause her any more trouble.

He gritted his teeth, pulled a jacket out of his suitcase, spread it on the sofa to try and keep the dirty things away, and then lay down again.

Even so, the itching sensation all over my body, like needles on my back, still lingered.

He was in so much pain that he didn't know where to put his feet, so he could only lie awake in the dark, waiting for sleep to come.

However, Ai Junyu's house was not soundproof. Several times, just as he was about to fall asleep, he heard Ai Junyu's excited voice playing games inside.

"Go for it! Are you saving that skill for the New Year?!"

"Holy crap, don't feed! The enemy jungler's about to become a god!"

"Damn it, support, can you please stop wandering around?! Am I a frontliner?"

As Xu Zhesheng listened, a sense of powerlessness quietly rose from the bottom of his heart.

His life... was originally a harmonious and warm family life, so why did it turn out like this?

He counted the days on his fingers. Fifteen days had passed since he and Shen Zhiyi went to process the divorce agreement. There was still half of the one-month cooling-off period for divorce left, but he felt that these fifteen days were longer than fifteen years.

That night, even though he tossed and turned on the sofa, he still couldn't fall asleep.

Those moments with Shen Zhiyi seeped into his mind like an all-pervasive wind, and details he had previously overlooked gradually surfaced in his mind.

A tear slid down the corner of his eye to his temple and then disappeared into the part of his hair.

He has no way out but to move forward...?