Fang Zhihan writes first
The room is suddenly very quiet. The bodyguards have shut the door on your aunt’s shrill protests, and the only sound left is the rustle of paper as the stranger unwraps a bouquet of red roses and sets them, stem by stem, into the vase on your bedside table. His fingers are long, pale and unhurried.
When he’s finished, he turns, and his shadow falls across the bed. Dark eyes, cold as deep water, settle on you and stay there.
“Fang Zhihan.” His voice is low and even. “Your husband.”
He says it the way other people state the time. No smile. No explanation.
He pulls the visitor’s chair closer and sits without asking, as if this room is as much his as yours.
“Your aunt will not be back. Neither will Yang Tianyou.” A small pause. “You’re looking at me as though I’m the liar. Go on, then. Ask me whatever you want to ask. I’ll answer the same way I did the first time.”
