"Honey, I transferred the 5,800 to you, hurry and pay the tuition fees."
"Love you, hubby, make sure to take care of your health at work."
"Alright, I won't delay your studies any longer, hurry and get to class." With that, I happily hung up the phone.
My name is Sun Qiang. After graduating with a diploma, I returned to my hometown to work, while my girlfriend Wang Xiaoying took the Specialized Subject Exam in her third year and got into a bachelor's program.
I pay for her tuition and living expenses; my friends all call me foolish, but I think they don't understand love at all.
I am willing to give everything for Wang Xiaoying, and indeed, my sacrifices have paid off. We got our marriage certificate this year, and she is pregnant with my child.
When we registered, I bought a marital house in her hometown, and now it's fully renovated. Once the pandemic is over, we'll hold the wedding ceremony.
Everything is getting better and life is heading in the direction I'm striving for, but unexpectedly, today, a chat record shared by a childhood friend shattered all my happiness.
That day after work, I started to eat ramen at the noodle shop by the company entrance, planning to drive for ride-sharing and earn money later.
Then my phone rang, I picked it up and saw it was a call from Yu. I slid the screen to answer.
"What's up, Yu?"
"Qiang, I think you should reconsider your marriage with Wang Xiaoying."
"Huh?"
Yu's words left me a bit dazed.
"I'll send it to you right now; you better see it for yourself."
After hanging up, Yu forwarded a WeChat chat record to me.
I hesitated for a moment, then clicked to open the chat record.
Woman: I'm so tired; I tried on the wedding dress today.
Man: Hehe, I want to play with you once you're in the dress, is it a Chinese-style wedding dress?
Woman: Western-style, why don't you come to my house then?
Man: I definitely have to come and try it out.
Woman: Sure, I'll be waiting at home for you.
Then the chat record ended, followed by a screenshot of the man speaking in a group chat. This was from over a month ago. Now this little tramp is pregnant, and nobody knows whose seed it is. Who's been having more thrilling fun than me? Share it with us.
The last part included a few photos of the woman, and I instantly recognized them as my wife Wang Xiaoying, and she was wearing the wedding dress we chose for the ceremony.
I felt my vision blur, and a sharp pain hit my chest like being struck heavily.
My hands trembled as I picked up the phone intending to call Wang Xiaoying to ask her what was going on, but after pressing the dial button, I hesitated for a moment and hung up.
Though the photos were of Wang Xiaoying, the chat record's avatar wasn't hers.
This could possibly be someone trying to attract attention, maybe the photos were randomly chosen.
Even though I constantly comforted myself this way, once such a thought emerged, my mind couldn't help but wander uncontrollably.
After all, Wang Xiaoying is not by my side but studying out of town, coupled with the timing of the chat record matching our marriage and her pregnancy.
I must investigate this matter clearly.
Then I phoned Yu.
"Yu, where did these things come from?"
"I was in a group earlier and saw a guy boasting about sleeping with a bride. He followed up with these things, and I thought the woman resembled Wang Xiaoying, so I sent them to you."
"Can you add me to the group?"
"Sure, there's someone called Suiyu in the group; that's him."
"Okay."
Soon Yu added me to a group chat called Battle for Love. After finding that guy Suiyu, I requested to add him as a friend.
But for a long time, there was no response. After much hesitation, I finally called Wang Xiaoying.
"Honey, what are you doing?"
"I'm having dinner with classmates." Wang Xiaoying replied.
"Xiaoying, whose phone call is that?"
Even though it was noisy over the phone, I could vaguely hear a man's voice coming through.
"Nothing." Wang Xiaoying replied, followed by saying, "If it's nothing else, I'll finish eating first and talk once I'm back."
After saying so, Wang Xiaoying hung up the phone.
This made my heart uneasy. Connecting it with the chat record and photos I saw earlier, a thought rose in my mind.
Could the woman in the chat record really be Wang Xiaoying? Did she really betray me?
At this moment, my heart was extremely tormented. After much deliberation, I decided to go to Wang Xiaoying's school myself to see if she really betrayed me.
I took a bus and arrived at her school the next day around eleven in the morning. Following her previous directions, I found her dormitory building.
Sitting nearby on the steps, at this time, she should be about to finish class. If she betrayed me, I should be able to find out by following her.
After twenty minutes, that all too familiar figure appeared in my field of view. I quickly got up to hide and watched her closely.
After returning to the dorm, she went out to eat, stayed in the dorm in the afternoon, and also did the same the next day.
There was no trace of a man beside her, only female classmates, which slightly relieved my heart.
After all, if she betrayed me, there should be a man by her side, which I haven't seen for more than a day now, so maybe I was overthinking.
I was secretly relieved that I was cautious. If I really confronted Wang Xiaoying, maybe I'd just end up angering her.
It appears I can go back tonight. But just then, I saw a boy carrying a bouquet of roses appear below Wang Xiaoying's dormitory building.
Then Wang Xiaoying walked downstairs.
The boy saw Wang Xiaoying, then handed the roses over.
"Xiaoying, these are for you."
Right before my eyes, Wang Xiaoying accepted the roses and embraced the boy, looking at the scene before me, I clenched my fists.
I wished I could go up and make things clear to Wang Xiaoying, what's the meaning of being a married woman yet unclear with another man.
Just as I was considering how to question her, they had already left.
I followed closely behind them.
They had a meal, then entered a budget hotel together, embracing each other.
I rushed to the second floor, stopped at their room's door, and listened to Wang Xiaoying's increasingly rapid breathing from inside.
Anger instantly surged in my chest, and I raised my fist to strike the door.
But at the last minute, I lowered my arm.
I decided to swallow this incident.
Because at that moment, I thought of all the good times before, and even more, about the child in her womb. I hesitated.
I feared causing a scene might affect her pregnancy, as long as the child is born, naturally her heart would return.
After all, this confirmed she wasn't the protagonist of that chat record.
I turned downstairs to smoke some sullen cigarettes, planning to take the train back later.
But I never expected Wang Xiaoying to be a different kind of woman than I thought, as I snuffed out the second cigarette, my phone chimed.
I picked it up to see Suiyu approved my friend request.