Nuptial Chamber Next Door

Chapter 42 – Falling in love with a man

Yu Yin knew that Ye Zhengchen was the man for her. But she was not the woman for him, another woman was fated to drive him to doom with her love.

‘Ye Zhengchen’ – whenever she heard this name, it would create strange emotions in her mind.

When she was in college, she would hear this name frequently.

“ I heard Ye Zhengchen had a new girlfriend – someone from the pathology department..”

“Isn’t she that tall, beautiful woman?”

“ Nope, not her!”

Yu Yin quietly closed the book, opened the computer and started browsing the web She did not contribute anything to the conversation.

“ I envy that girl..” . Many girls were obsessed with Ye Zhengchen.

“ Why envy ? It’s his affair..”

“ Even an affair..oh as long as I get to be with him..”

The gossip went on. But these girls didn’t really understand Ye Zhengchen, or what was going on between him and that girl.

After all, in the realm of romantic affairs, Ye Zhengchen had not exactly covered himself with glory!

Some people said they often saw him flirting with beautiful girls in the nightclubs

Some people said they saw him with a pregnant woman in the gynaecology department getting a B test done

Someone said he saw him going to a hotel room with a girl when it was past midnight.

But these were only rumours…

Because eve Yu Yin had seen a beautiful woman in a revealing dress flirting openly with Ye Zhengchen. She was trying her best to seduce him, but he refused to bend to her will

She had also seen Ye Zhengchen accompany a pregnant woman for a B test in the gynaecology department. The woman, in fact, emerged from the test and started to weep in his arms while he spoke to her in a gentle voice.

This scene had left her feeling nauseous and devastated.

But then the woman left with a simple word, “Thank you!”

She was slightly surprised and had hurried to catch up with the woman. It turned out that the woman had almost fainted on the road. Ye Zhengchen was simply passing by and had assisted her to the hospital.

As for the third rumour, would Ye Zhengchen take a drunk girl to the hotel?

Maybe he would. Specifically for this rumour, she remembered Zhong Wei’s words, “ Ye Zhengchen is anal about hygiene. He would never sleep in a hotel bed with a stranger, never…”

To which Ye Zhengchen ad lackadaisically responded, “ How do I not know about this?”

Zhang Wei patted hi shoulder, “ Now you do.”

“ I see.”

——————-

Yu Yin could not help but smile. She had known Ye Zhengchen for ten years and was well aware of what kind of person he was.

He liked to help people but did not worry about providing explanations about the rumours that abounded. Over time, this created more and more misunderstandings. Even many of the girls thought he was just a big flirt.

For a variety of reasons, Ye Zhengchen would only laugh at the variety of rumours about him. Over time, even he started to add a few things to the rumours and the image of him as an incorrigible playboy was well established

He was a man who believed in himself. If you believed in him, you could not believe in anything others said, and sometimes not even what you saw with your own eyes.

So if you really loved him, you needed to have absolute trust in him. Else the “ I love you” you told him would be meaningless.

******** ********

The plane landed at Osaka’s Kansai International Airport

Yu Yin deliberately bought a phone card and called Ye Zhengchen instead of using the public phone booth

“Happy birthday!”  She had travelled in advance so she could land on this day, anticipating how much Ye Zhengchen would be moved by this action of hers.

He replied after a long time, his tone emotionless, “Where are you?”

“ Kansai International Airport.”

She replied, trying desperately to keep her voice neutral.

“ Weren’t you supposed to travel next month?”

“ I changed the dates.”

“…”

“ Did I come too early?”

“ Yes, but well, never mind.”

It was a tactful rejection and Yu Yin had to discern the underlying meanings of the sentences he had uttered. On the surface, the conversation just sounded like a normal conversation between a husband and wife.

“I understand”, Ye Zhengchen said after some time,” please wait for me at the airport. I will come and pick you up.”

“Fine.”

…… …

There was a gentle sea breeze blowing.

The sports car cruised smoothly on the highway. Yu Yin sat at the car and looked at the man beside her.

There was no doubt that Ye Zhengchen had a very handsome face, but his real charm lay not just in his looks

He had a fascinating appeal to him!

When he wore the uniform, his face solemn, he looked like an invincible patriot who would go to any end to defend his country.

When he wore a white coat, he looked gentle and peaceful, a person doing God’s work.

And when he was in the nightclub with his friends, he would talk vulgarly, make ambiguous statements , essaying the role of a debauched playboy to perfection.

But when he was with her, he became another person, polite, distant, a man of few words..

Today, he looked different from how she remembered him. He wore a black shirt with the the top two buttons unbuttoned. He looked sexy.

He seemed to be lost in some thoughts, but it made him appear even more charming.

Troubled by her reaction, Yu Yin deliberately looked away and gazed at the scenery.

Along the way, he concentrated on his driving while she looked at the scenery

Everytime she tried to find something to talk about, he would only respond in one or two words

Although she was his wife, there seemed to be a distance f thousands of miles between them.

The scenery brought to her mind the happenings two months ago.

Ye Zhengchen had made an application to the organisation. He said that his doctorial studies were very burdensome, leaving him no time to do anything else. He wanted a woman to help him write reports and collect information.

In addition, he said he was getting older, and he needed a woman to cook and look after him ( Ha HA!)

The organisation rejected his request.

The reason was simple – if he had a close relationship with a woman, he was in danger of revealing his true identity

Yu Yin thought this would be a rare opportunity.

Alone in a country without their parents, if she were to spend three years with him, even a rock would wear down under the pressure of constantly flowing water.

With her father’s position in the military, this was an opportunity she could easily create for herself.

Her father helped arrange the matter, and the highest leadership convened a meeting to convey their decision to them.

As soon as he was told this, Ye Zhengchen got up and righteously yelled, “ No!”

In the army, the one word that was taboo was no.

The leaders were surprised for a moment.

“ What did you say ?”

“ I do not agree with this. Who I want to marry is something only I can decide.”

“ This is the organisation’s decision. Taking into account your identity..”

Ye Zhengchen coldly interrupted the sentence, “ Is this the organisation’s decision or the decision of Commander Ye?”

The General’s face changed, Angrily, he smashed his palm on the desk.

“ This is a military order.”

The documents with the words ‘ Application for Marriage Registration’ were on he table. The form had been filled, only the signature space was empty.

After the words, ‘military order’, Ye Zhengchen had no way to disobey. He picked up the pen…

Before the pen touched the paper, he broke the pen in two pieces.

“ I won’t sign!”

He threw the pen and stood up straight. “ You send me to the military court.”

“ You…”

If someone else had made that statement, they would be imprisoned. But Ye Zhengchen was an exception ! His father was in a very senior position in the military and this matter needed to be handled tactfully.

The general normalised his tone. “ You can deny all you want. But remember, you are a soldier and you have a duty to follow all orders.”

Ye Zhengchen was silent.

Even without his signature, the marriage was registered and Yu Yin became his legal bride.

When he received the marriage certificate, Ye Zhengchen looked at her very seriously. “ I don’t recognise this marriage.”

She smiled and said, “ I see”

One day he would recognise it.

In three years, she had more than one thousand nights days and nights with him. This was enough time for her to get him to recognise her as his wife.