Sweet slice-of-life love story: Wife, Let's love again
Chapter 158 - 156: Is There Anyone at Home?

Chapter 158: Chapter 156: Is There Anyone at Home?

The sky was faintly dark.

Refusing Yu Le’s offer to escort her home, Sun Wen alighted from the taxi alone, swaying slightly as he fished out his wallet to pay. Then he froze, looking around in bewilderment.

"Why did you bring me here?"

"Isn’t this the place you mentioned?" the driver asked in return.

"Is it?"

"Nonsense, why else would I have brought you here?"

The driver was visibly annoyed, hating to deal with drunkards who didn’t even know their own home, "What? Do you want to go somewhere else?"

"Um..." Sun Wen hesitated for a moment, then decisively took out the money and handed it over, "No, keep the change."

After paying and watching the taxi drive away, he stood there hesitantly for a while, wanting to see if she was at that familiar place, yet somewhat afraid to approach.

We’ve already broken up, why come here?

He patted himself down; he hadn’t brought any cigarettes. After taking a couple of steps towards the convenience store, he stopped, steeled his heart, and turned towards where they used to live.

We’ve broken up before, and we’ve always gotten back together, right? Maybe just seeing her and having a chat could lead to a reconciliation...

Sun Wen shook his head, trying to walk more steadily. The electronic gate of the apartment complex was unlocked, wide open as if waiting for his return.

Supporting himself on the stairway, he climbed to the second floor and stood in front of the door he had lived at for nearly two years, raising his hand but unable to knock.

He lowered his head to smell his collar, a strong scent of alcohol that could knock someone out.

She didn’t like the smell of alcohol...

Leaning against the wall by the door, he slowly slid down to crouch on the ground. Sun Wen gently banged his head against the hard wall behind him, his heart in turmoil.

To knock, or not to knock, that was the question.

Today, emboldened by alcohol, he had made it this far, but once sober, he wasn’t sure if he would come again.

But if he did knock on the door, and she saw him in this drunken state, would she just shut the door in his face again?

Difficult...

After pondering for a moment, he straightened his legs, took out his wallet, and found a one-yuan coin, examining it in his hand.

Heads, he would knock.

Tails, he wouldn’t.

Having made up his mind, Sun Wen brought his hands together in prayer in front of his forehead, shook them a few times, and then flicked the coin into the air.

The coin tumbled through the air before he caught it in his hand.

Flipping a coin was useful when one was indecisive because, regardless of the outcome, it could at least clarify one’s true desires—if you hoped for a different result, the urge to toss again was strong. At that moment, there was no need for another flip; you knew what you wanted.

Flipping again would just be self-deception.

Sun Wen stared at the coin in his palm and naturally thought about the best of three because it had landed on tails.

"Hey, Sun Wen?"

As he was about to flip for the second time, someone interrupted him.

"What are you doing here?" The bespectacled landlord descended from upstairs and was startled by the towering figure in the dim hallway. It took him a moment to recognize the former tenant.

"Landlord." Sun Wen stood up, leaning against the wall, and offered an awkward smile, "I... I’m looking for Yueyue."

"Oh, looking for Yueyue, huh." The landlord glanced at the door number next to him and shook his head, "She’s already moved out, didn’t she tell you?"

"Ah?"

Sun Wen was stunned.

She moved out?

"When did she move?" He came back to his senses as his heart continued to sink.

He always thought that they had not drifted far apart, that if he tried a little harder, came back, and coaxed her, they would likely reconcile.

But now he suddenly realized, they truly had no connection anymore.

This apartment they had shared for two years, filled with memories, was soon to have new tenants moving in, erasing all traces of their past.

"The day before yesterday... oh no, it was the day before that, she moved out." The landlord frowned as he caught a whiff of Sun Wen’s alcoholic stench.

No wonder she moved out in such a hurry, if this drunkard came knocking for a confrontation, who could stand it?

"Oh... thank you."

Sun Wen turned his head to look at the room door, then turned around to walk outside, taking two steps before stopping. "Landlord, is this room rented out to someone now? If it’s vacant, I..."

"There’s already a tenant, they just paid the deposit yesterday, haven’t moved in yet." The landlord waved his hand. "If you’re looking for a place to stay, there’s a vacant room on the fifth floor."

"...Thank you, no need."

Sun Wen thanked again, leaned on the wall as he descended the stairs, and slowly walked onto the street. As he looked around, the familiar environment came into view, giving him a feeling as if he were in a different world.

There was a convenience store on each side of the road, the one on the left didn’t have strawberry-flavored yogurt, and she only liked the strawberry one, so he always went to the one on the right.

The fried skewer stall at the street corner wasn’t set up yet; she often craved chicken cutlets and fried hot dogs in the middle of the night, and then she would send him down to buy them.

And there was the fruit stand across the street...

Looking at these familiar places, Sun Wen’s mind was filled with images of the two of them holding hands and strolling down this street.

He wandered over to the convenience store, "A pack of Nanjing cigarettes, a lighter..." He paused, then took a box of yogurt out of the fridge next to him, "How much?"

"Sixteen in total."

After paying, Sun Wen pulled the straw out and inserted it into the box, sipping as he walked out of the store. He stood outside for a moment, then lit a cigarette and pulled out his cell phone to find the number labeled Yueyue in his contacts.

He dialed.

Beep... Beep...

Hung up.

He sighed, stretched out his hand to hail a taxi that was coming by, and pulled the door open to get in.

"Where to?" the driver asked.

"Go to..." Sun Wen leaned back in the rear seat, pondering.

Where could he go?

...

South Fly Road.

The taxi came to a steady stop at No. 315.

"We’re here, is this the place?" Jiang Lingling hopped out of the taxi, opened the other door, and asked Qin Guanglin.

"Oh... we’re, we’re here, huh?" Qin Guanglin looked around drowsily as he climbed out of the car, and no sooner had he stepped out than he fell down on the roadside.

"Hey, be careful." Jiang Lingling got a shock and hurried over to help.

"Don’t, don’t touch me, I can manage..."

"..."

"I’m very sober..." Qin Guanglin struggled to his feet, swaying over to lean on the wall.

Jiang Lingling paid the driver and turned around to find he was already out of sight. She hurried into the stairwell and saw him staggering upward.

"Boss, slow down." She quickened her pace to catch up, "Is this your home? Which floor do you live on?"

"..."

"It’s close to the office from here; no wonder you make it in so early every day..."

"..."

"Boss, are you okay? Do you need help?"

"..."

Qin Guanglin shook his head, leaning on the stair railing as he moved upwards. When he reached the third floor, he stopped to fumble with his keys for quite a while without success.

"So this is your place, boss?" Jiang Lingling saw him leaning against the door side and asked, "Is there anyone at home? Or do you live alone?"

"..." Qin Guanglin’s key-fiddling stopped, he tilted his head to look at the door, then began to knock.

"Open the door..."

Jiang Lingling looked at him, somewhat helplessly drunk, "You might have gotten the wrong door, don’t knock on a stranger’s door."

Creak.

The door opened.

"You didn’t bring the key..." He Fang was muttering as she opened the door when her words suddenly stopped.

Four eyes met.

Both were stunned.