Episode5

The office was filled with the soft tapping of keyboards, occasional murmurs, and the buzz of printers. Li Wei sat quietly at his corner desk, eyes on his screen but heart elsewhere. The morning light filtered in through the blinds, striping his face with warm lines.

It had been a week since the wedding.

A week since Zhao Yan left for a business trip and never called. No messages. No updates. Not even a “how are you?”

Li Wei's fingers hovered over his keyboard as he stared blankly at the open spreadsheet. He hadn’t told anyone at the company. Not because it was a secret—but because he didn’t know how to explain being married to someone who treated him like air.

“Weiwei!”

A cheerful voice snapped him out of his daze. It was Fang Ting, his coworker and long-time friend—bright, talkative, and the complete opposite of Li Wei's soft-spoken nature. She plopped down on the edge of his desk, holding a bubble tea in one hand.

“I’ve been waiting for you to spill. Tell me! You disappeared for a few days and came back with a gold ring on your finger. Are you—?”

Li Wei glanced down at his left hand.

Ah. He had forgotten to take it off today.

Fang Ting leaned closer, eyes wide. “You’re married?!”

Li Wei flushed and nodded shyly. “...Yes.”

She gasped dramatically. “And you didn’t tell me?! You traitor!”

He smiled weakly. “It all happened so fast. My parents arranged it.”

Fang Ting blinked. “Wait, wait. Arranged marriage? Still happening in this era? So... who is he?”

Li Wei hesitated, then softly replied, “Zhao Yan.”

Her jaw dropped.

“As in Zhao Yan? CEO of Zhao Group?! Are you serious?!”

Li Wei nodded, voice barely above a whisper.

Fang Ting looked like she might faint. “Girl, you actually married your type! You’ve been into tall, cold-faced, sharp-jawed types for years! You got the boss-level version.”

Li Wei gave a dry chuckle, eyes lowering. “Maybe... but I don’t think he likes me.”

Fang Ting frowned. “What do you mean?”

“He hasn’t come home since the wedding,” Li Wei said, voice softer now. “He left that night for a business trip. No messages. No calls. It’s like I’m not even real to him. I just go home... to a house that feels like someone else’s.”

Fang Ting’s teasing expression faded. She leaned forward and gently touched his shoulder. “Wei… I’m so sorry. That’s awful.”

Li Wei smiled faintly. “I don’t blame him. It’s not like he asked for this either. I knew from the start—it was just a contract. Three years, and then it ends.”

Fang Ting’s brows furrowed, clearly upset. “Still. That doesn’t mean you deserve to be treated like furniture.”

She stood up abruptly. “Come on. Lunch is on me.”

“Huh?”

“No arguments. We’re getting your favorite noodles, and I’m dragging your lonely little heart out of this gloomy hole.”

---

The small local noodle shop near the office was warm and lively, filled with the scent of broth and the sound of clinking chopsticks. Fang Ting ordered for both of them and sat across from Li Wei, eyes full of determination.

“You know,” she said between bites, “maybe this marriage thing is just a chapter. Doesn’t have to be the whole story.”

Li Wei stirred his noodles silently.

She leaned closer. “What I mean is… who says you can’t still find love? You should go on a blind date.”

Li Wei nearly choked on his soup. “Ting!”

“I’m serious,” she laughed. “I know you’re married on paper, but your heart’s still yours. If Zhao Yan doesn’t want to see what he has… someone else will.”

Li Wei looked down at his bowl, unsure how to feel. “But wouldn’t that be… wrong?”

“No,” she said firmly. “What’s wrong is you waiting around for someone who doesn’t even care if you’re eating or sleeping. You deserve to be happy too.”

Li Wei didn’t respond right away, but something in her words clung to him. Maybe it was the warmth. The reminder that someone did care, even if it wasn’t the man he married.

He smiled softly. “Thank you, Ting.”

She grinned. “Of course. I’ll even screen your blind dates for you. Only the top-tier gays, I promise.”

He laughed—a real one this time.

And for a moment, the heaviness in his chest felt just a little lighter.

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