Exley's quality of sleep was always poor. Not long after he lay down, the sound of something being smashed downstairs woke him up.
Porcelains shattered into pieces on the ground with a sharp and piercing sound.
Alongside the noise of the smashing, there were familiar curses. "This is my house; get out of here—quickly clear it and get lost! Take your filthy hands off me! Who gave you permission to touch me? You think you're something special?"
Exley raised his hand to pull away the eye mask but did not open his eyes; a throbbing pain began in his temples.
"Master Ye, I prepared some soup for hangovers. Drink some of it." It was Ah Fang's voice, meek and submissive. "You drank too much alcohol..."
An unknown object was smashed again, producing a dull sound, then the person cursed even more intensely: "I told you to get out! All of you, get lost! You scum—don't you understand human speech?"
"Oh, how could I have forgotten? Where's my place in this house now, when certain people with no last name Zhong think they can do as they please?"
...
Exley tossed and turned. Finally, he sat up irritably and cursed, "Piss off."
Three years.
This drama had been playing out for three years.
Three years ago, Gu Xuelan married businessman Zhong Guofei in City A, a scandal that spread like wildfire throughout the city. Not only was Gu Xuelan suspected of it, but Exley also fell under suspicion due to his reputation as a troublemaker.
The rumors seemed all too real.
The crowd, who liked to stir up drama without getting involved, wrote countless versions of their lives. The most talked-about ones were about being a third wheel and having illegitimate children.
If not for the years of debt evasion, hunger, and financial struggles that Exley had personally experienced, he would almost have believed those lame stories.
For Zhong Jie—Zhong Guofei's biological son—the fact didn't matter which version their mother was in; it was impossible for him to accept. He did not care about the truth either.
All he knew was that after his mother's death, someone was trying to seize everything he had, including something as crucial as inheritance rights.
After a long time, the noise downstairs finally subsided. It seemed they managed to persuade the eldest son to return to his room. Exley leaned back and clearly heard their closing of Zhong Jie's door and the light sigh as they passed by his door before walking down again.
Exley kept his eyes open, unsure what he was thinking.
He suddenly felt thirsty for no reason at all.
It was as if a flame had spread from his stomach to his throat.
Gu Xuelan sat on the sofa in the living room with a desolate look. Her white cotton nightgown hung down to the ground. She only slightly raised her head upon seeing Exley, looking tired: "Why are you up? Did I disturb you?"
Exley had guessed she would be here and intended to say, 'I've told you many times, let him go crazy if he wants to—this is none of your business.' But seeing her like this, he held back and only said three words: "Feeling good?"