When Lu Yanbei returned to his residence, Su He was still attending training at the new company.
Her phone kept buzzing, but she didn't notice.
It was already seven in the evening by the time she finally finished class.
Seeing the darkening sky outside, Su He couldn't help but feel a pang of anxiety.
"Xiao Su, are you going to the team dinner?" her team leader asked, walking past and patting her shoulder.
Su He shook her head and declined. "No, I have other things to do tonight."
The team leader didn't press further and went downstairs with the others.
Su He checked her phone and felt a headache coming on.
She had been so engrossed in the training that she forgot about cooking for her benefactor. Thinking Lu Yanbei might already be home, Su He grabbed her backpack and rushed downstairs. But even with the quickest route back to the residential area, she was a step too late.
She saw Lu Yanbei's car immediately.
Su He inwardly cursed, then hurried to the supermarket to buy groceries before rushing upstairs.
Hearing the sound of the main door opening, Lu Yanbei paused his typing.
"Uh, the supermarket was really crowded today, I had to wait in line for a while..." Su He explained as she changed her slippers.
Lu Yanbei didn't expose her lie. He gave a faint "hmm" and continued to bury himself in his work.
Seeing that he didn't say anything more, Su He felt a little relieved.
She carried her groceries into the kitchen and began preparing dinner.
Lu Yanbei slowly raised his eyes, glancing at her busy figure. He couldn't focus on anything else.
Lu Yanbei was still bothered by Su He's act of revealing Cheng Jue's number to Song Yan, which had led to that woman annoying him.
He didn't quite understand.
Su He and Song Yan were clearly rivals for affection, so why would they have such a private transaction?
After much thought, only one possibility came to mind – Su He was hiding something from him!
And that she didn't care about him at all!
Otherwise, she wouldn't have casually given Cheng Jue's contact information to a stranger!
Thinking this, Lu Yanbei's gaze turned gloomy once more.
In front of Su He, he was like a fragile piece of glass, easily shattered with the slightest misstep.
Seeing his emotions spiraling out of control, Lu Yanbei had no choice but to retreat to his study in a flustered state, pull out his medication from the drawer, and shove it into his mouth haphazardly.
"Your condition seems to have deteriorated recently," he recalled what the psychologist had told him during his routine check-up a week ago. "Are you under too much stress?"
Lu Yanbei denied it. "I just haven't been sleeping well. Prescribing more sleeping aids should suffice."
"Medication can only treat the symptoms, not the root cause. Mr. Lu needs to cooperate with the treatment," Dr. Qin advised earnestly. He was an authority in this field and didn't want him to continue like this.
Lu Yanbei suffered from a psychological ailment. If he couldn't resolve the knot in his heart, no amount of medication would be effective. Moreover, some medications had significant side effects and could damage his health if taken for too long.
"I'm aware of that," Lu Yanbei mumbled.
Seeing that he couldn't be persuaded, Dr. Qin shook his head and prescribed the medication, not forgetting to remind him to exercise more, to expend energy through normal metabolism to aid sleep.
Lu Yanbei gave a perfunctory response, unsure if he had actually listened.
When everything calmed down, Su He's dinner was almost ready.
After they finished their meal in silence, Su He cleared the dishes and prepared to return to her room.
"Su He," Lu Yanbei called out to her.
Su He turned around, waiting for him to continue.
"Are you short of money lately?" Lu Yanbei fumbled with his lighter, a look of annoyance on his face.
Su He blinked and stammered, "I-I'm alright, I just don't like being idle..."
"If you're that idle, why don't you go out with friends, go shopping, see a movie, or something like that," Lu Yanbei said, knowing she wasn't telling the truth but still not exposing her, instead gently probing.
Su He gave a wry smile. "My best friend is usually quite busy; she only has time on weekends."
"So, you're so bored you're working three jobs?" Lu Yanbei looked at her with a half-smile.
Su He's heart sank.
Had he found out she was secretly working part-time jobs?
Seeing her bewildered and uneasy expression, Lu Yanbei lowered his gaze, a hint of disappointment.
She would rather exhaust herself working multiple jobs than ask him for money.
She truly didn't consider him one of her own!
Lu Yanbei suppressed his anger and clenched his fists. "Are you facing some difficulties?"
Su He opened her mouth, unsure how to explain.
Should she tell him she bought a house worth over eight million yuan but had no money for renovation? Would he think she was materialistic and foolishly trying to appear wealthy when she couldn't afford it?
"You haven't touched the allowance I give you each month," Lu Yanbei sighed softly. "Do you find it insufficient? If not, I can add more."
"No, it's not that," Su He quickly denied. "I just... I just..."
"You just don't want to be too involved with me," Lu Yanbei finished the words she couldn't bring herself to say.
An awkward flush spread across Su He's face.
That was indeed what she thought.
After all, they were only a contractual couple, and after two years, there would be no further entanglement.
She didn't want to owe him too much!
Seeing her silence, Lu Yanbei knew he had guessed her thoughts correctly.
"Su He, I thought I had made it clear enough..." Lu Yanbei hid the sadness in his eyes and forced himself to say, "We are husband and wife for these two years. You don't need to feel any pressure about anything I give you."
Su He pursed her lips and didn't reply.
"Actually, there's another reason why I married you," Lu Yanbei interlaced his hands, his thumb unconsciously rubbing the ring on his little finger.
Su He suddenly looked up.
Seeing that she finally showed some reaction, Lu Yanbei forced a bitter smile and said, "I've developed a strange illness... it's hard for me to fall asleep. I've tried countless methods, but with very little success."
Su He blinked.
What did this have to do with her?
What Lu Yanbei said next made her eyes widen in astonishment.
"But I've discovered that since you came to the Lu family, my condition has greatly improved," Lu Yanbei lied with a straight face. "Especially when you are near, I fall asleep much faster."
Su He had never known she had such an effect!
This was simply incredible!
"You mean, I can help you fall asleep?" Su He couldn't help but feel a mix of amusement and disbelief.
Lu Yanbei gave a soft "mm-hmm."
"This..." Su He didn't know what to say.
"So, you can consider the monthly allowance as consultation fees," Lu Yanbei was willing to go to any lengths to lower her guard.
He could even come up with such a preposterous excuse.
Su He stared at him for a long time, still not entirely convinced.
"If you don't believe me, we can conduct an experiment," Lu Yanbei suggested.
"What kind of experiment?" Su He asked, half-believing.
"Tell me a bedtime story, and I should be able to fall asleep very quickly," Lu Yanbei said shamelessly.
Su He: ...
So, her voice could be used in this way?
If that were the case, even if she couldn't get any voice-acting jobs in the future, she would still have a considerable income each month. She roughly calculated that in two years, she would have saved enough money for renovations.
This deal, no matter how she looked at it, was quite profitable!