Love in the Midst of Mistaken Identities

She went into the market. After a long time, there was only a bunch of vegetables in her basket. In the end, she sighed softly. If they only ate the bunch of vegetables, they would definitely starve to death.

She turned around and walked to the left. Unknown to her, a black sedan was parked at the market entrance; and a man was sitting inside. He was staring at her, eyes unblinking. There wasn’t an ounce of emotion on his face. He just stared at her as she walked into the shopping mall again. Then, he took out a stick of cigarette.

“Brother, I heard you are intending to give Li Manni a house?” Du Jingtang couldn’t read Chu Lui’s mind. If he knew his cousin’s usual character, Chu Lui would have skinned her alive for all the pain she had caused him. However, he was going to give her a house so that she wouldn’t have to roam the streets.

“You have something to say?” Chu Lui simply asked Du Jingtang.

Du Jingtang stuck out his tongue and pretended to be a ghost who had died from strangulation.

“Of course, I don’t. It’s yours; not mine. You are free to give it to whoever you want.”

Chu Lui pulled the drawer, retrieved a packet of cigarettes, and threw it on the table. Du Jingtang ran over to him quickly. First, he took out a cigarette, and then he lit it for Chu Lui. He was serving his cousin as though the latter was his ancestor.

Chu Lui spat out a mouthful of smoke. The smoke circulating in his lungs numbed the frustration in his heart.

Beneath the calm demeanor, his heart remained so rigid and cold that nothing would be able to grow in there.

“Jingtang, tell me. If you have a house, but you have a son and a daughter. Who will you give it to?”

“Definitely to my son.” Du Jingtang replied without a second thought. That was what everyone would do. If a normal family had a house, it would naturally go to the son because the daughter would have to marry an outsider. How could the house go to the daughter?

Suddenly, a thought flashed in his mind. He turned around and stared in shock at Chu Lui who was blowing smoke out of his mouth.

Goddammit. Was he still human? He had this planned out all along for them to fall in. He thought his cousin was leaving a way out for the Li family, but what kind of leeway was this? He downright wanted the Li family to fight day and night.

Excellent. What a devious plan. He couldn’t help but stick his thumb up at Chu Lui. However, when he thought of his cousin’s health, that mood evaporated in an instant. What would his auntie’s family do in the future? What would his cousin do?

He opened the door gently and left.

“Deputy...”

The secretary outside was going to call out for Du Jingtang. However, he put a finger against his lips in a hurry. Then, he pointed towards the office and made a signal to her with his finger running along his neck.

Quiet. They were both dead if the noise got to that person inside.

The secretary quickly covered her mouth. She didn’t dare to breathe too loudly afraid that she would antagonize the dragon. That would really cause her death.

In the office, Chu Lui was acting exactly as Du Jingtang had said. He stood by the window, chain-smoking one stick of cigarette after another. The whole office was billowing with smoke. Everything in there was a blur including that person and his emotions. Everything.

Night came. The wind was so cold; an indicator that it was late autumn. Indeed, winter came early this year. Normally, around this time of the year, people would still be wearing sweaters; but this year, they were preparing to put on their cotton-padded clothing.

Chu Lui opened his car door. The autumn breeze blew at his fringe on his forehead making it looked like a tight nest. His fringe blocked his perspective and vision. He could only see through the seams, the occasional light. He shut the door. All of a sudden, he had no idea where he was going.

It would be better if he didn’t go to his parents’. They would be reminded of the sad and helpless things when they see him. The dim, warm street lights shone on his face as he sat in his car with his back against the driver’s seat. It made his features stood out, unlike the flat face of an Asian’s. He had the looks of one with mixed blood. His eyes were deeply set with fine-looking eyebrows. However, there was an aloof disposition about him that distant himself from the others, especially now. As the autumn breeze blew at his locks, they formed a layer of loneliness.

Finally, he blew a mouthful of hot air into his hands, having no idea how long he had sat or waited there. That instant warmth made him smirked.

Chu Lui, perhaps this is the type of life you should be living.

At times, an approaching car’s headlights would shine on him. He would frown, and his train of thoughts would become lonely in solitude and helplessness.

The wind blew longingly. He returned to his little villa and opened the door. It was filled with desolation without the Li family or Li Manni.

Chu Lui had someone cleaned up the place. Everything was wiped clean of human existence. Even the bedroom wall was bare; there was no wedding portrait of him and Xia Yixuan or him and Li Manni. It was just a white wall without colors. However, time had passed, and the wedding photo frame had clearly left its mark. Exactly, what else was left in this house over a period of four years? Whatever it was, it had also left an indelible scar on him. Those wounds were unable to erase in this lifetime.

He finally remembered he had forgotten his dinner as he rubbed his stomach. How long had it been? Even he couldn’t remember. This time, he was craving for a bowl of porridge or noodles cooked by Xia Ruoxin many years ago. It was the best meal he had throughout all this time.

He opened the fridge. The Li family had left their things in there, and the maid had forgotten to clear them out. There were noodles, eggs, and meat.

He wasn’t a person who could cook. All he could do was throw all those things in a pot. The taste... would be awful. That was why he had been unwilling to step into the kitchen. He felt as though the god of kitchen had a vendetta against him.

He took out the noodles and an egg from the fridge. When he came out of the kitchen, he was covered in oil and soot. His face, too. He held the bowl with some unknown black thing inside.

He set the bowl down and had a mouth of the noodles that he had cooked.

Salty. Did he put too much salt?

What should he do when it was too salty? He thought carefully about what he should do to make the noodles less salty? Yes, pour some water in. He took some water, but he was in a dazed, and he took some tap water by accident.