Dangerous Period

The sound of rushing water echoed from the bathroom.

Fallon walked out onto the balcony, carrying a laundry basket, and stuffed the dirty clothes into the washing machine.

As she picked up her husband's shirt, she paused.

She shook out the white button-down and carefully inspected the collar and front. No lipstick stains, no strands of long hair, but the cuffs were a bit dirty with some dust and grime, like they had been picked up while moving boxes.

She then picked up the khaki casual pants and reached into the pocket.

She felt a slip of paper.

Her heart raced as she quickly turned to look down the hallway, seeing the half-closed door to the master bedroom.

She used her fingertips to pick up the note, which turned out to be a receipt. Fallon unfolded the receipt, illuminated by the moonlight, to read the contents.

It was a typical Hong Kong style lunch from a local restaurant- baked pork chop rice, a cup of hot milk tea, and stir-fried vegetables.

The restaurant was called Wing Kee, located near the bridal street where Luis had taken her once after their marriage.

The environment was old and dilapidated, with worn-out leather chairs and greasy glass tabletops. The clientele wasn't exactly high-class, with people smoking and tapping their feet. The tiles on the floor had blackened over the years, and the service was poor - the waiter almost dipped their thumb in the soup when delivering the food.

Fallon didn't like the restaurant, nor did she appreciate how Luis always seemed to be attached to "The Big Day"

"The Big Day" was left to Luis by his deceased parents. His father had a fascination with Eastern culture and settled in Hong Kong early on, where he married a local woman and had a son. They opened a modest wedding shop in a hidden alley, with few customers ever venturing in.

If it weren't for the loyal regulars, this old-fashioned shop that refused to change with the times would've been swept away by the currents of modernity.

Fallon had suggested to Luis that they rent out the shop and find a smaller location near the nearby wholesale market for wedding supplies by the subway station. This would bring in more customers, especially those from overseas. As for the old building, it might be demolished in a few years, given that the surrounding areas had already been developed with skyscrapers, apart from the traditional bridal street.

However, Luis didn't seem too happy about the proposal, and his smile faded as he immediately rejected it. It was the first time Fallon felt that Luis might be angry.

She sighed and folded the restaurant receipt, feeling embarrassed for having nervously rummaged through her husband's belongings.

After all, Luis was known to be a rare good family man, so how could he possibly be cheating?

The washing machine rumbled as she leaned against the glass railing of the balcony, her hands spread out. Despite a few scratches, her platinum plain ring on her ring finger still shone with a faint glimmer.

She remembered the first time she met Luis.

Ten years ago, at the age of 23, after graduating from university, she joined a small company owned by one of her father's friends, where she worked as a receptionist and simply passed her days.

Her boyfriend at the time was someone she met in school who was not from Hong Kong, and they broke up after graduation.

Fallon had a "looking for a needle in a haystack" mentality, but with the dull and uneventful life she had, there weren't many chances to meet new people. So she registered as a member on several matchmaking websites, searching for a suitable marriage partner.

Luis was the third person she met on the website. The first two men had posted heavily edited and fake photos, and were of average economic means. They also complained about Fallon's low income.

Compared to those two men, Luis was simply perfect. He was handsome and refined, with a gentle and caring personality. The sunlight at that time shone like gold between his brows and eyes through the gaps in the trees outside the coffee shop.

Not to mention his financial situation - he had a house, a car, and an old family business, and although the watch on his wrist wasn't particularly expensive, it was at least a basic model of a Rolex.

His parents had passed away early, so she didn't even have to face the worldwide tricky problem of a mother-in-law relationship.

At that time, Luis was 28 years old and made it clear that he was looking for a serious relationship with the intention of getting married.

Her family and friends all said that she had lucked out and found herself a good man, and she had always believed that to be true.

Luis was a good person, gentle and perfect for marriage...

After they got married, Fallon was happy. Luis provided enough money for their household so that she didn't have to take the subway to work every day and could sleep in until she woke up naturally. Whenever she found something she liked on Amazon, she just had to ask Luis to pay for it.

But at some point, Fallon began to feel that this kind of life was dull and uneventful, and couldn't elicit any excitement.

Luis was too perfect, without any flaws.

Sometimes, when he came home late, Fallon would start to overthink things and imagine scenarios where he might be having a seven-year itch, or if a mistress were to show up on their doorstep, how she would tear her apart.

She complained to her mother, but her mother scolded her, saying she was crazy and that she should be grateful for her comfortable life and not go looking for trouble.

The night wind blowing through the high-rise made her feel a headache. She rubbed her temples and walked to the bedroom.

When she returned to the room, Luis had already finished his shower and was leaning against the headboard reading a book.

His long legs were crossed, and his linen pants were a bit loose, revealing his handsome ankles. The fingers turning the pages of the book were also beautiful. The first time Fallon brought Luis home to meet her parents, her mother said he looked like an aristocratic gentleman.

Fallon walked over to the bed and handed him the receipt: "Luckily, I checked your pocket before putting it in the washing machine. Otherwise, I would have had to fish out small pieces from the whole machine again. Here's your receipt."

Luis looked up and said, "Oh, I forgot. It doesn't matter though, receipts are useless. Just throw it away."

Fallon had an idea and suggested, "You always eat out at restaurants, which isn't very healthy since the chefs use a lot of salt and oil. How about I pack your lunch for you? Besides, the coffee shop is doing well recently, so I don't need to be there all the time."

Luis quickly shook his head and said with a smile, "It would be too much work for you. You have to pick up Daisy from school and cook. If you also have to make me lunch, you would be exhausted."

Fallon pouted and said coquettishly, "I won't be exhausted."

"I'll eat at the restaurant with Liang for lunch," Luis said sincerely. "If you get too tired later, my heart will break."

His words made Fallon happy. "Okay, then remember to tell the chef to use less oil and salt when you eat out, okay?"

"I will," Luis replied.

Fallon crumpled up the receipt and threw it in the trash. She took off her slippers and climbed onto the bed to look at the book Luis was holding.

One page was a black and white ink painting, depicting a terrifying monster with the face of a monkey, the body of a tiger, and a long snake tail, looking ferocious and menacing. The other page had text with a bold and enlarged title in Chinese that she couldn't read.

She asked, "How do you pronounce these characters?"

"It's pronounced 'Yip' in Chinese," Luis replied.

Luis suddenly remembered the "advice" Liang had given him not long ago.

He hadn't used this code name to call Yamilet in a long time. Over the years, he mostly called her Yamilet, or Yami. But "Yip" was originally given to her by him.

Fallon read a few lines of the explanation.

Yip was first recorded in an ancient Chinese book and later used in Japanese folklore as a creature similar to the Western "Chimera." It can judge the goodness and evilness of humans. "Good people" will be protected by Yip, and those judged as "evil" will be killed in extremely cruel ways.

She reached out and snatched the "Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters" from her husband's hands, slammed the thick book shut, and threw it aside.

She was a bit nervous and didn't notice the sharpness in her husband's eyes as he looked at her.

She climbed on top of him, her arm hanging over his shoulder, and said with a hint of expectation in her tone, "Honey..."

"Hmm?"

"I'm in my dangerous period today..."