The footsteps faded into the distance in the corridor; she didn’t take the figurine or the bouquet of flowers with her.

Qin Moling took off his watch, stood in front of the bedside table, and bent down twice to put it down, but couldn’t. Suddenly, Qin Moling straightened up and strode into the dressing room.

Walking to the wardrobe, he put the watch back on his wrist and fastened the clasp.

He opened the wardrobe door; Jian Hang’s clothes were all there, including the ones she brought when she moved in.

Qin Moling gripped the wardrobe doorknob, seemingly letting out a sigh of relief.

The bedroom door opened again, and someone came in.

It certainly wasn’t Aunt Geng, and the other workers in the house wouldn’t go up to the second floor so casually.

Qin Moling didn’t even have time to close the cabinet door before rushing to the door of the dressing room.

Jian Hang returned, picked up the bouquet of flowers and hugged it to her chest, turning to him and saying, “I forgot to take it earlier.” She repeated, “Go to sleep early.”

Qin Moling took two of his T-shirts from the closet, two shirts more that she used to wear, and quickly folded them. He knew the walk-in closet very well, but today it took him several seconds to remember where he had put his tote bags.

Qin Moling rummaged through the bag, packed the four pieces of clothing inside, and handed it to Jian Hang.

He also packed up the figurines he had given her. “Take all of these with you,” he said.

Qin Moling stood there for a moment, then followed her out.

Jian Hang planned to use the car Qin Moling had given her. She put her suitcase and handbag in the trunk, and placed the roses in the passenger seat.

Sensing someone coming out of the villa, she turned around and saw Qin Moling.

Qin Moling came to deliver milk to her. He opened the trunk and said, “There’s still half a case left, enough for you to drink for a week. I’ll have Aunt Geng buy some more and send it to you in a few days.”

Jian Hang looked at the boxes of milk; they got these the first time they went to the supermarket together, and he had been holding her hand the whole time.

She stood in front of the driver’s side door, and he was at the back of the car. They were only a few meters apart, very close enough to see each other clearly, yet they felt very far apart.

“I’ve been reflecting on what I did wrong outside of work that made you want to separate from me.” Even in terms of work, he still didn’t think he did anything wrong.

Jian Hang said, “It’s not that you did anything wrong. Haven’t I already explained?”

Qin Moling didn’t speak but turned his head to look at the garden.

“Qin Moling, I don’t want to argue with you at home because of work, and I don’t like having a cold war after I come back from the company. People aren’t like cell phones; cell phones can be reset to factory settings with one click, and all the previous traces are gone. People can’t be like that. If we argue, it will stay in our hearts, and if we have another conflict, it’s easy for us to bring up the old grievances again.”

Jian Hang took his left hand and squeezed his ring and middle fingers.

She held his wedding ring tightly in her hand.

Qin Moling knew that she would never compromise on the company’s bottom line. “You already separated from me after the first argument. If we argue again, are you planning to get a divorce?”

Jian Hang said firmly, “No.”

She squeezed his hand again. “If we get divorced, just wait two years, and you’ll definitely have your own life without me. By then, you’ll belong to someone else, and you won’t have anything to do with me anymore.

“You know I’m possessive,” she said, “so I won’t get a divorce.”

Qin Moling’s left hand was held in hers, and he raised his right hand, put his arm around her shoulder, and pulled her into his arms.

Having failed to kiss her in the bedroom, this time, Jian Hang was caught off guard and he successfully kissed her.

He bit her lip with a little force.

“If I force you to stay, you’ll blame me for not considering your feelings. If I don’t stop you, I don’t know if you’ll think that my feelings for you aren’t that deep, which is why I didn’t stop you.”

No matter what he did, it would be wrong.

Qin Moling released her and pulled his hand away from hers. “Drive carefully. Let me know when you get home.”

He went straight into the house without watching her car drive away.

Qin Moling went up the stairs and then down again, went to the kitchen to leave a message for Aunt Geng, saying that she didn’t need to make their breakfast for the next two months.

He put down the pen, looked at the message, and felt that something was missing.

He added, [Will be at the apartment I lived in before the marriage with Jian Hang.]

She moved out. Qin Moling didn’t want to live in the villa alone, so he went upstairs to pack his suitcase and moved back to his own apartment.

… … translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

The apartment’s living room, small dining room, kitchen, study, and even the small conference room—everywhere you looked, there were traces of their lovemaking.

Qin Moling put down his suitcase and then regretted moving in.

He poured a glass of red wine and took it to a small conference room, turned on the projector and computer, and automatically played their wedding photos, taken in the town of Oia, on a loop.

Qin Moling leaned against the conference table, sipping his red wine while looking at photos of himself and Jian Hang.

His phone vibrated. Jian Hang had messaged him: [I’m home.]

Qin Moling: [I just arrived too. I’ll be living in my apartment for the next two months.]

Jian Hang: [Then you can tidy things up first.]

Qin Moling: [There’s nothing to tidy up.]

He told her: [I’m looking at our wedding photos.]

Jian Hang stared at her phone’s keyboard, her fingers hesitant to move, unsure of what to type. All the intimacy she shared with Qin Moling on the night they chose their wedding photos flooded back in her mind.

Qin Moling sent another message: [During this separation, to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings, whoever goes out to dinner with a friend of the opposite sex should inform the other in advance.]

Jian Hang arranged the fresh flowers in a vase. [Who are you going out to eat with?]

Qin Moling: [I don’t have anyone I absolutely need to eat alone with.]

Jian Hang: [I don’t have any either.]

Qin Moling took a sip of red wine and quickly typed with one hand: [Jian Hang, we can have work, we can have arguments, but we can’t have people between us.]

Jian Hang: [I know.]

She sent a photo: [The flowers you bought are now in a vase.]

Qin Moling typed a few words, then deleted them, because as they chatted, the more he wanted to ask her how she could bear to separate.

[Get some rest.] He tossed his phone onto the conference table beside him.

… …

After arranging the roses, Jian Hang cleaned the house. Since she moved to the villa, her mother would come over regularly to clean, but she had obsessive-compulsive disorder and couldn’t sleep without wiping down the furniture.

After cleaning up, it was almost midnight when she went to take a shower in her pajamas.

After much deliberation, she chose Qin Moling’s T-shirt as her pajamas.

At 12:30, Qin Moling asked her, “Have you finished cleaning?”

Jian Hang: “…”

He now understood her obsessive-compulsive disorder so well.

[Yes. I just dried my hair.]

Qin Moling sent the message to explain something: [I had a social engagement tonight. Did you think I deliberately didn’t come home and was giving you the silent treatment because we argued earlier?]

[The dinner was arranged last week; it has nothing to do with the argument], he added.

Jian Hang: [I don’t think you’re that petty.]

Qin Moling: [You say I’m not that petty. Didn’t you used to look in the mirror and not even see a bit of my heart?]

Jian Hang: “…”

After saying goodnight, Jian Hang put her phone on the bedside table, turned off the light, and habitually lay down on her right side. Only after settling down did she realize that Qin Moling was not beside her.

Qin Moling placed his phone next to his watch, glanced at the empty pillow beside him, turned off the light, and subconsciously lay down on his left side, facing the direction of Jian Hang’s pillow.

Marriage First, Love Later translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

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Here are this story’s scheduled postings for the various Patreon Tiers:
… Devoted 2nd Male Lead
Chapter 60.3 — Moving Back to Her Own Apartment
Chapter 61.1 — Dreaming
Chapter 61.2 — Dreaming
Chapter 61.3 — Dreaming
… Awakened Villainess
Chapter 62.1 — Striving
Chapter 62.2 — Striving
… Unattainable White Moonlight
Chapter 62.3 — Striving
Chapter 63.1 — Difficulties