My Iridescent Dream - Chapter 6

At last, she said, “Just… cooking, housework, scrolling on my phone…”

She started twisting her skirt again.

“Engineer Jun, I’m not like you. You have a successful career. You’re busy every day. I… I’m just a housewife doing nothing useful.”

“Haven’t you been working toward marrying Ma Zhiming?”

She let out a small, ashamed gasp.

“I thought so. But… talking to you now, I suddenly feel… maybe I haven’t.”

I kept a steady grip on the wheel.

“How so?”

“I always thought if I kept the house in order and lived frugally, once he’d saved enough for an apartment, we could marry.”

She turned to the scenery rushing past the window. “But I’ve only just realized I was wrong.”

“I was only numbing myself.”

“I… I don’t want to marry him quite that much. Or rather, I do, but marriage isn’t the only goal in my life.”

“I’d got used to living like that. I knew it wasn’t right. I should have made an effort to change, to fight for a better life, but… I’m scared of competing in the world.”

“I couldn’t compete at school. I only got into junior college… I thought I’d lose out in the working world, too.”

“So I preferred to hide in the rear and let Ma Zhiming make his way in society. I guarded our little home and told myself I was contributing to our future…”

“But I wasn’t. I know I wasn’t.”

“You can’t keep hiding forever. Ma Zhiming suddenly lost his job. If you hadn’t kindly given me this one, we might both be on the street. All these years, I tried so hard to save, but we still haven’t put much aside…”

“I’ve wasted so many years. What have I been doing…?”

She covered her face and burst into tears.

I stared in shock.

All I’d asked was what she did at home.

I hadn’t expected to make her cry!

I fought to steady myself.

Don’t panic. You’re driving.

Pull over first.

I found somewhere safe to stop and parked.

Only then did I dare turn toward her.

“Nalan Tumi, don’t cry.”

I found the tissues and offered them.

She took them and even politely thanked me.

I had no idea what to do.

How had my aunt comforted me?

I couldn’t remember.

Depressive episodes were agonizing, but once I recovered, the memories became indistinct.

All I could do was sit quietly beside her and wait for the tears to run their course.

She cried for a long time.

By the time she stopped, those doe eyes were swollen red.

“I’m sorry, Engineer Jun. I… I’ve wasted your time…”

Her voice was hoarse from crying.

The sound sent a shiver through my whole body.

What was going on? Her voice…

Why did she sound so sexy after crying?

I’d never met anyone like her.

I had absolutely no idea how to deal with this.

Stiffly, I took back the tissues and returned them to the storage compartment.

She turned, leaning toward me. “Engineer Jun, I’m really sorry…”

“You… stop a moment.”

I turned away, unable to look at her.

I covered my mouth, muffling my unsteady breaths in my palm.

“Engineer Jun? What’s wrong?”

“Please don’t talk for a moment…”

“Oh…”

She didn’t understand. Thinking I’d grown annoyed because she’d cried too long, she immediately shrank into her seat, afraid to make another sound.

I took several deep breaths.

What was it with Nalan Tumi?

How had she turned out like this?

Why did absolutely everything about her make my heart race?

Was this the sheer power of someone who was exactly your type?

Xiaoyu was my aunt’s dream girl, too.

Did my aunt feel like this around her?

Then her restraint really was extraordinary.

How did she do it?!

My brain felt ready to explode.