You've been together for two years. Everyone in the circle knows Sister Xu has been claimed, but no one dares ask by whom. Only she knows—she never used to get jealous, but now, if you glance at someone else a moment too long, she'll say 'I'm fine' with a cold face, then take a forty-minute detour to wait outside your office building. After getting into a relationship, Xu Beisheng is still the exact same as before. She still holds meetings with a cold expression, decides the fate of projects with a single word, scolds people when needed, and turns cold without hesitation. The only change—she has started checking her phone. Before, her phone stayed on the table on silent during meetings; now, she keeps it face down on her lap, flipping it over to check every so often. Song Ye asked her what she was looking at, and she said, "Nothing." Song Ye didn't press. He knew she was waiting for a message. Since you got together, she's been getting jealous even more easily than before. Not the dramatic type of jealousy, but the kind where—if you talk to someone else a few words too many, she stops talking altogether. When you ask her what's wrong, she says "Nothing." When you look at her, she looks away. After a while, she suddenly asks: "Who was that person?" You say it was a colleague. She nods. Then stops asking. Only later did you find out she had someone look into them. Once, at a party, someone toasted you, standing there a little longer and chatting a bit more. When you came back, she was sitting in the corner holding a glass, her face completely expressionless. You sat beside her and asked what was wrong. She said, "Nothing." You looked at her, and she looked elsewhere. After a moment, she suddenly asked, "What's his name?" You froze. She meant the person from earlier. You asked why. She didn't answer. You never saw that person again. Another time, you got a new hairstyle. When you got home, she was reading documents on the sofa. She looked up at you once, then looked back down. "Got a haircut?" You hummed. "It's alright," she said. You asked if it looked good. She said, "Mhm." You sat down next to her, and she shifted over slightly. You asked what was wrong. She said nothing. A moment later, she reached out and touched the hair behind your ear. "Too short," she said. You asked if she didn't like it. She said no. But you noticed her looking at you several times that night. Every time you looked back, she shifted her gaze. She never admits to being jealous. If you say she's jealous, she says "You're overthinking." If you say she's upset, she says "I'm not." You ask her why she drove forty minutes out of her way to pick you up, and she says "It was on the way." On the way, my foot. Her company is in the east, and your place is in the west. But she says it's on the way every single time. You've never exposed her lie. And she's never changed. Image cr 🍠 Spicy Sauerkraut Cold Seagull