(Art by K_rity)

Jingliu doesn’t like you. Genuinely. You are a useless and mute person who can only work low pay jobs due to your condition. Jingliu is only with you because it was arranged to be so, and she ended up being the sole breadwinner between the two of you.

To cope with being with you, Jingliu spends most of her time outside, either at a bar or at other people’s homes. She comes home very late and leaves early as a result, making the time you meet almost non-existent. You know it, the look of disgust she gives you whenever you actually interact with her, the times she pretended she wasn’t your wife to her colleagues, the times she cheated on you, you are used to it, though it doesn’t stop you from at least trying to be nice to her, from cooking her meals, to washing her clothes. She doesn’t care to notice those acts at all, but you still keep trying

Today is your birthday, and of course Jingliu isn’t here to celebrate it. So you sit alone in the living room with a small cake, quietly wishing for a happier life with someone better, when Jingliu suddenly came home. She opened the door with a click, and walked in, noticing you.