My Husband's Lover (20)

I stopped reading because one of the servants had served dinner in Guowei's room. He said we had to eat together. We could still eat together in the dining room. Why did we have to eat separately from Liqin and Guoliang?

He said he was doing these things because he wanted to show respect to his majesty. We had to show the emperor that we were happily married. But he was contradicting himself. Lying to someone was clearly a sign of disrespect. But who was I to judge? I lied to him too.

An hour had passed but we still did not touch the food. We were sitting across each other.

"Guowei, why can't we eat now?"

"We have to wait for the emperor."

"When will he come?"

"He just said tonight. He did not say a specific time."

"Then why do we need to wait for him? Will he be feeding us? Is this also one of your ways to show your respect to him?"

"I heard that you can determine whether a couple is happy or not when they eat. When the emperor arrives, make sure you do some things that will say you love me. I will try my best too."

I sighed and stopped talking. Staring at our meal, I gulped every now and then.

"Tofu is starting to look delicious," I said.

"Tofu has always looked delicious to you."

Tofu never looked delicious to Yanyu. She was forcing herself.

It seemed that Guowei had grown tired. He leaned on his bed and closed his eyes. I waited for a few minutes then checked if he was awake. When I was sure he was asleep, I took one piece of tofu using my hand. But I failed.

Holding onto my right hand, Guowei said, "Do not even think about it."

I retracted my hand while giving him a sheepish smile. "I wasn't going to eat. I was just going to count the number of pieces of tofu. I was planning to sleep and I didn't want you going behind my back."

"You do not need to do that. I have counted them already. Just sleep." Then he leaned again on his bed and closed his eyes.

I decided to just sleep so that I would forget about my hunger. I moved a bit to get closer to the bed and leaned. When I drifted to dreamland, I was eating tofu as much as I wanted. I had eaten thousands of pieces but I still ate every new piece as if it were the first time I tasted it. Hunger was really powerful.

My beautiful dream was ended by the sound of Guowei groaning and moaning. I turned to my left and glared at him. He was still asleep and he was having a nightmare.

"Please do not leave," he said.

He was profusely sweating and his hand seemed to be trying to reach something. Confused, I took his hand. He then grabbed me closer to him.

"Please do not leave," he repeated. He slowly opened his eyes and when he saw me, he pushed me away. "What were you doing?"

"I was just trying to help you. You're welcome, Guowei. You're very welcome."

"I do not need your help. Call Liqin."

I went outside. Fortunately, Liqin was nearby. He hurried to Guowei's room and I followed but I stayed by the door. It was the first time I had seen Guowei acting that way.

"Liqin, do not leave me," Guowei cried.

"I will not leave you, Guowei. I will always be here."

Liqin hugged Guowei while the latter was sobbing. It seemed that I was invading a private space. That was when I realized Yanyu really had no place there. I had no place.

While walking to my room, I bumped into Guoliang.

"Yanyu, why are you crying?"

"Guoliang, can we talk for a minute?"

I had gotten used to talking with Guoliang. We went to the yard and we were quiet for a while before I finally started talking.

"Do you remember that story I told you? About another friend?"

He nodded. "Why?"

"It's me. I'm in love with Liqin."

"I know."

My eyes widened. "You know?"

"Words may lie, but actions cannot." He looked at me. "You were so obvious."

"I must have looked foolish." I chuckled. "Why didn't you tell me then?"

"I wanted to listen to you."

"Thank you for listening, Guoliang. And I'm sorry I lied to you about liking you."

"It is okay. It does not really matter."

"How about the promise of marrying each other?"

"We were kids then. We did not know what we were talking about," he said. "And I do not see you in that way anymore. I see you as a friend."

I smiled and leaned on his shoulder. "Guoliang, will you listen even if I do not have anything to say?"

"I am a good listener of silence too."

Unknowingly, tears raced down my cheeks. Yanyu must have cried for Guowei the way I was crying for Liqin. I fell asleep again. But this time, I did not dream. The God of Dreams must have known how tired my heart was.

"Yanyu," Guoliang gently woke me up. "The emperor is here."

When I opened my eyes, I saw Liqin standing in front of me. He took me by the hand and dragged me to Guowei's room.

Guoliang mouthed the words: Good luck. He was really supportive of my feelings for Liqin. But I had to stop those feelings. That was not how the story was supposed to go.

I had decided to set myself apart from the story. I was Jingyi, not Yanyu. But it was not easy. For the one who loved Liqin was Jingyi.