CHAPTER 382: CHAPTER 382; JUST A WIFE

He was methodical, gentle. He shampooed her hair twice, working his fingers through the dark strands until the water ran clear. He washed her face carefully, removing the blood and what remained of the theatrical makeup or mask residue. He cleaned her arms, her hands, paying special attention to her hands, where the blood had dried under her nails.

Through it all, Tang Fei remained limp, unresponsive. The perfect picture of exhausted sleep.

But Huo Ting Cheng noticed things. The way her breathing hitched slightly when his fingers brushed certain spots. The almost imperceptible flutter of her eyelashes when he washed her face. There was a tension in her shoulders that never quite released.

She was awake. Very much awake.

When he was satisfied that all the blood was gone, he turned off the water and reached for a towel. He dried her carefully, then wrapped her in a large, fluffy bathrobe.

He carried her back into the bedroom and set her on the bed. Then he returned to the bathroom, stripped off his own soaking wet clothes, and took a quick shower of his own.

When he emerged, wearing just sleep pants, Tang Fei was still lying where he’d left her, the robe wrapped around her, her damp hair spread across the pillow.

He went to her dresser and pulled out one of her favorite silk pajama sets, soft pink with delicate embroidery. He’d bought it for her on their last anniversary.

He returned to the bed and began dressing her. He was as gentle and respectful as possible, even though part of him was still reeling from everything he’d seen tonight. The carnage. The blood. The cold, lethal efficiency with which his wife had killed.

Who was she?

He pushed the question aside. Not tonight. Tonight, he just needed her safe.

Once she was dressed in the pajamas, he dried her hair with a towel and then used the hair dryer, running his fingers through the dark strands until they were mostly dry. He was careful not to use too much heat.

Finally, he pulled back the covers and tucked her in, making sure she was comfortable.

For a moment, he just stood there, looking down at her. Her face was peaceful now, all traces of blood gone. She looked like his wife once again, the woman he’d married, the mother of his child. Not the lethal killer he’d seen in that building.

His phone buzzed with a message notification from the doctor.

("I’m outside, sir. Ready when you are.")

Huo Ting Cheng typed back quickly.

("Too late. My wife is asleep. I won’t wake her up. Come back tomorrow morning at 8 AM.")

(But sir, I should check....)

(Tomorrow. 8 AM. That’s an order.)

He put the phone on silent and set it on his nightstand.

Then he climbed into bed beside Tang Fei and reached for her, pulling her into his arms. She came willingly, her body fitting against his like it always did, her head tucking under his chin.

He felt her relax slightly in his hold, though she still maintained the pretense of sleep.

"I know you’re awake," he murmured into her hair, his voice so quiet that it was almost inaudible. He could feel and he knew, she was awake.

Tang Fei didn’t respond, didn’t move. But her breathing changed, just slightly.

Huo Ting Cheng tightened his arms around her.

"We’re going to talk about this," he continued, his voice still soft but carrying an edge of steel. "Tomorrow. After the doctor checks you over. After you’ve had time to rest and gather whatever story you’re planning to tell me."

Still... There was no response.

"But tonight..." His voice softened again, becoming almost tender. "Tonight, you’re just my wife. And you’re safe. And that’s all that matters."

He felt her hand move slightly, her fingers curling into his chest. Such a small gesture, but it told him everything. She was listening. She heard him.

"Sleep," he ordered gently.

Slowly, gradually, he felt the tension begin to leave her body. The act started to fade. Her breathing deepened, became more natural.

She was finally letting go.

Huo Ting Cheng pressed a kiss to the top of her head and closed his own eyes.

Questions could wait until tomorrow.

Answers could wait until tomorrow.

Tonight, they would just be husband and wife, holding each other in the darkness, pretending that the world outside their bedroom didn’t exist.

That the blood, the violence, and the secrets didn’t exist.

That they were just two people who loved each other.

Even if that love was built on lies they both knew were there but hadn’t yet acknowledged.

Tomorrow, everything will change.

But tonight...

Tonight, they would sleep.

Tang Fei lay in her husband’s arms, feeling his steady breathing against her hair, his heartbeat beneath her palm.

She wasn’t asleep.

Not yet.

Her mind was still racing, replaying everything that had happened. The brothel. The victims. The blood. The killing.

Lin Yue and Mei Fang.

Her old comrades, alive.

How was that possible?

And Huo Ting Cheng had seen everything. Seen the aftermath, at least. I saw what she was capable of.

She’d played her part, acted traumatized and confused, but would it be enough?

Did he believe her?

Or did he know?

His words echoed in her mind: "We’re going to talk about this."

Yes. They would.

And she would have to be very, very careful about what she said.

Because Huo Ting Cheng was not a man easily fooled. He was intelligent, perceptive, and he’d just seen enough to start asking the right questions.

Questions she wasn’t ready to answer.

Not yet....

Maybe not ever.

But for now, in this moment, wrapped in his arms and surrounded by his warmth, she could pretend.

Pretend to be just Tang Fei. But why does she have to pretend when she was actually Tang Fei?

Not Assassin Ice.

Not a killer.

Just a wife. A mother and a normal woman.