Extra 3
Wen Ci learned the price of the butterfly bracelet on her wrist from Yang Yunfei.
The two of them were eating together in the canteen when Yang Yunfei noticed her phone wallpaper and exclaimed,
“I knew it! There was definitely something going on between you two! I could tell the moment I saw you together. Then when I asked, you said there wasn’t!”
“There genuinely wasn’t at the time.”
Although, strictly speaking, they had hardly been innocent back then either.
Feeling guilty, Wen Ci placed one of Yang Yunfei’s favourite lion’s head meatballs into her bowl as an apology.
“Hmph. Still, I genuinely didn’t expect it.”
Yang Yunfei sighed emotionally.
“You’re actually the type to use your boyfriend’s photograph as your wallpaper.”
She had always assumed Wen Ci would be relatively reserved in a relationship.
Wen Ci felt too embarrassed to admit she had copied Zhou Wu. It sounded a little like she was showing off their relationship.
So she only smiled without answering.
They were seated beside the canteen window.
The warm winter sunlight struck Wen Ci’s bracelet and reflected into Yang Yunfei’s eyes.
“Oh, right, Wen Ci. Where did you buy that bracelet? I want one too.”
“I can’t afford the genuine version, but I could buy a replica. Yours looks extremely convincing. It hardly looks different from the real thing.”
“My boyfriend gave it to me.”
Wen Ci looked up.
“How much does the genuine one cost?”
“There are too many zeroes. I’ve forgotten.”
Yang Yunfei raised her phone and searched for a long time.
“I saw it on a short-video platform before. Wait—here it is.”
She handed the phone to Wen Ci.
Wen Ci leaned closer while biting her chopsticks.
The bracelet displayed in the video was identical to the one on her wrist.
The caption beneath it read:
**Item No. 078, Jiali Auction, Singapore. Starting price—**
Once she saw the amount, Wen Ci felt slightly dizzy.
Yang Yunfei put away her phone.
“Even a replica probably costs several thousand yuan. Ask your boyfriend to send me the link, would you? I— Hey, why are you suddenly taking the bracelet off?”
“N-nothing.”
Wen Ci said, “The link… I’ll ask him for you when I get home.”
…
The moment school ended that day, Zhou Wu could tell something was wrong with his girlfriend.
Wen Ci walked quickly towards him after leaving the school gates.
Zhou Wu took her bag and smiled.
“Why are you walking so quickly? Shall we go eat—”
Before he could finish, Wen Ci hugged his arm and pulled him along, her expression hurried.
“Let’s go home first.”
She kept her head lowered like a thief throughout the journey.
The moment the door to the rented flat closed behind them, Wen Ci released a heavy breath.
Seeing her like that, Zhou Wu wanted to laugh even more.
“What’s wrong?”
Wen Ci caught his wrist.
Then she removed the bracelet from her pocket and placed it in his palm.
Zhou Wu raised an eyebrow.
“What does this mean?”
During this period, Zhou Wu had given her other things as well.
Dresses, bags, hair clips…
Wen Ci recognised many of the brands.
They were all designer labels, with every item costing at least tens of thousands of yuan.
Zhou Wu had excellent taste, and she liked every single thing.
Perhaps she only liked them because Zhou Wu had given them to her.
At first, Wen Ci refused to accept them.
But Zhou Wu merely raised an eyebrow and said they could not be returned even if she did not want them.
Then he kissed her and told her he liked seeing her wear them because she looked beautiful.
After he coaxed her several times, Wen Ci eventually accepted them.
She did not accept them without intending to repay him.
Wen Ci recorded the price of every gift and planned to save money so she could return them one by one in future.
Although it might take a very long time.
Her salary genuinely was not high.
But the price of this bracelet was not something she could ever save enough to match.
“I checked it. There aren’t any scratches.”
Wen Ci sighed and explained,
“This is too expensive, Zhou Wu.”
“It isn’t expensive.”
Zhou Wu caught Wen Ci’s hand in return and placed the bracelet back around her wrist.
Wen Ci tried to move her arm, but naturally, she could not pull it away.
Zhou Wu held her still.
“Don’t move, Teacher Wen.”
His voice was quiet and lazy, almost as though he were coaxing her.
“It genuinely isn’t expensive.”
“Without the design, it’s only a few worthless gemstones. It has no real value by itself.”
He continued,
“But when I saw it, I thought of you.”
Wen Ci raised her eyes.
She stopped struggling and quietly watched him.
“The same is true for everything else I gave you.”
After fastening the bracelet again, Zhou Wu leaned lazily against the wooden door.
He smiled carelessly while holding her fingers, pressing them with gentle, measured pressure.
“I thought they would suit you.”
“The moment I saw them, I imagined what you would look like using or wearing them.”
“Then I felt happy.”
“You’re the one who gives those things their value.”
“Teacher Wen, buying things for you is my hobby.”
“I’m only satisfying myself. Don’t feel burdened by it.”
Wen Ci still did not speak.
Her beautiful eyes remained fixed on him as though she were thinking.
Except—
“Baby, your face is extremely red.”
Zhou Wu laughed.
“I know.”
Wen Ci calmly released a long breath.
“All right.”
“But you should still have told me in advance. I’ve been wearing this while teaching, attending meetings and doing deep cleaning…”
The more she spoke, the closer she came to collapse.
Zhou Wu laughed uncontrollably and lowered his head to kiss her—
“But this is still too expensive. If we break up in future, I’ll return it to you,” Wen Ci promised.
The kiss became a bite.
Wen Ci was pinned against the wooden door.
Faint teeth marks appeared on her lips, the tip of her nose and her chin.
Zhou Wu held her jaw and corrected her coldly,
“We aren’t going to break up.”
“Mm, mm, mm. I know.”
Wen Ci said, “I only mean if—”
Zhou Wu laughed from irritation and continued biting her.
Zhou Wu genuinely hated hearing those two words.
That evening, he nearly bit every inch of Wen Ci’s body.
Whenever she was hovering just short of climax, he continued tormenting her and demanded that she repeat what she had said earlier.
Wen Ci held him tightly.
Her entire body was slick with sweat as she moved towards him and pressed herself against his neck.
“We won’t break up.”
“We’ll never break up in this lifetime.”
“Zhou Wu… faster, please…”
Afterwards, Zhou Wu went onto the balcony to smoke.
When Wen Ci had chosen the rented flat, she had deliberately searched for one with a balcony for his convenience.
Several small succulent plants sat outside.
With a cigarette between his teeth, Zhou Wu glanced at the ugly yet oddly adorable little things.
He decided he should ask Wen Ci to place some at his home too.
Once the smell of smoke had dispersed, he returned inside.
The moment Zhou Wu sat on the bed, Wen Ci shifted over and hugged him.
He laughed.
“Wait. I’m cold.”
The December wind was bitter.
Zhou Wu had stood outside for a while and carried the chill on his body.
He had not even touched the blanket because he was afraid of bringing the cold into the bed.
Wen Ci ignored him.
She lifted the blanket and wrapped it around him.
Then she felt around behind herself for a while, pulled out a small box and presented it to Zhou Wu.
For once, Zhou Wu froze.
Then he said,
“I do.”
“…”
“…”
One looked down while the other looked up.
They stared at each other wordlessly for a long time.
Zhou Wu opened the box and found himself face-to-face with a tie.
“It isn’t a ring…”
Wen Ci murmured awkwardly.
“It’s my return gift for the hair clip.”
It was the first gift she had managed to save for.
Zhou Wu hummed.
He picked it up and examined it very seriously.
Then he smiled.
“How is your taste this good, Teacher Wen?”
“Mm.”
Wen Ci blinked several times.
For no reason, she began feeling slightly guilty, as though she had allowed Zhou Wu to become excited for nothing.
“Sorry.”
Zhou Wu laughed.
Of course he had known the box could not contain a ring.
The dimensions were wrong.
He had only spoken on impulse to tease her.
“No, just now I—”
“If you like rings, I’ll save money and give you one next time.”
“…”
“All right?”
“All right.”
There was no possible way to refuse.
Zhou Wu raised his eyes towards the old ceiling of the rented flat and sighed.
He needed to hurry the jewellery designer along.
He absolutely could not lose to Teacher Wen.
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