Lu Beicheng curled his thin lips slightly and shot him a cold glance. Through gritted teeth, he said, “What happened? Your daughter knows better than anyone what she did!”
Beside him, Zhao Qiaoyun reacted quickly. Seeing her daughter’s disheveled clothes, she immediately turned around and slammed the door shut.
No matter what had happened, the situation before them would be extremely damaging to her daughter’s reputation if word got out.
At this point, all she could do was try to salvage as much of the situation as possible.
Outside the door, although the crowd of onlookers could no longer see inside, their gossip continued unabated.
Their voices, far from hushed, drifted clearly into the room:
“Did I see that right just now? Wasn’t that the Shen family’s boy and the He family’s girl in there?”
“That’s right, you didn’t see wrong it was those two. Tsk, tsk. Who would’ve thought those youngsters would be so bold, doing that sort of thing in broad daylight?”
“Well, just look at the state they were in. It’s really hard to look at.”
“Exactly! I even saw scratch marks all over that Shen boy’s body one after another. Quite fierce, I’d say.”
“That’s right, and the marks on that He girl too… Oh dear, even an old woman like me feels embarrassed talking about it.”
Inside the room, He Ruchu listened to the endless gossip and felt like crying.
She secretly glanced at Shen Siyuan, whose face was ashen and whose expression was colder than ice.
The white shirt he wore had indeed been torn to shreds.
It hung loosely from his body, the collar and chest completely open.
Faint scratch marks could be seen everywhere, making it look exactly as the gossipers described.
As for herself…
Lowering her gaze, He Ruchu looked down at her own clothes. Her dress was just as wrinkled and battered.
The exposed skin on her arms and neck was covered with red marks, patch after patch.
But all of those injuries had merely been left behind during the fight between the original owner of this body and Shen Siyuan.
They were not what those people imagined at all.
He Ruchu wished she could bury her head in the ground.
If she tried to explain now, would anyone believe her?
Outside, the gossip continued:
“Young people these days, honestly… They’re not even engaged yet, and they’re already acting like this. They really don’t care about propriety anymore.
Back in our day, if something like this happened, we’d have ended our lives rather than live in disgrace!”
Inside the room, Zhao Qiaoyun feared those sharp-tongued women might drive her daughter to despair.
Unable to endure it any longer, she yanked open the door and forcefully chased the gossips away.
As the crowd dispersed, the door closed once more, and the room fell into dead silence.
Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Zhao Qiaoyun grasped her daughter’s hand. Her eyes reddened as she asked with concern,
“Ruchu, tell Mom what exactly happened?”
Although she asked the question, she already had a vague answer in mind.
She couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
Her daughter had been so foolish.
For a moment, He Ruchu was speechless.
She couldn’t exactly say:
Your daughter drugged the male lead and tried to force things between them, but failed, which is why everything ended up like this.
Seeing her remain silent, Zhao Qiaoyun became even more worried.
“Chuchu, what happened? Say something!”
Her voice trembled with tears, and she looked as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.
“That’s right, Ruchu. What happened? Tell us.”
He Yaoguang was no different.
His eyes were filled with concern as he looked at his daughter before glancing at Shen Siyuan.
“No matter what happened, speak freely. Your father will definitely stand up for you.”
“Dad, it’s not it’s not what you’re thinking.”
Hearing his words, He Ruchu quickly spoke up.
Looking at her parents, she forced an awkward smile.
“Mom, Dad, it’s all a misunderstanding. Nothing happened just now. There is nothing between Shen Siyuan and me…”
He Yaoguang and Zhao Qiaoyun exchanged glances.
The concern and heartache in their eyes only deepened.
They simply didn’t believe her.
Based on what they had seen with their own eyes, there was no way nothing had happened between their daughter and Shen Siyuan.
Who knew what that Shen boy had done to her, making her so frightened that she would say such things?
With that thought, both of them turned to look at Shen Siyuan.
He Yaoguang’s face darkened, his sharp gaze fixed on him. He opened his mouth, intending to speak.
But Shen Siyuan didn’t give him the chance.
Parting his lips, he said directly:
“Don’t worry. I will marry your precious daughter.”
“…Wait!”
The moment He Ruchu heard those words, scenes from the novel flashed through her mind the original owner’s tragic death.
Instinctively, she blurted out, trying to stop this terrifying idea.
“No, no… Shen Siyuan, you don’t have to marry me…”
“Heh.”
Shen Siyuan cut her off coldly. Turning his head to look at her, his gaze was as sharp as a blade.
Didn’t have to marry her?
How ridiculous.
This shameless woman had deliberately orchestrated everything and brought all those people here precisely to force him into marriage.
What now?
Now that she’d achieved her goal, she was acting again?
His eyes swept over her delicate face.
Honestly, with her superb acting skills and stunning beauty, it would be a waste if she didn’t go to Hong Kong and become a movie star.
Seeing his expression, He Ruchu felt that even if she jumped into the Yellow River, she would never wash away the suspicion.
With helplessness written across her face, she met his gaze directly.
“Shen Siyuan, really. You don’t need to marry me.”
Shen Siyuan paused and stared back at her.
Her eyes were dark and bright, filled with sincerity and determination.
As she looked at him so intently, it almost felt as if she wanted to draw him into those deep black eyes.
Confusion. Doubt.
For the first time, Shen Siyuan experienced emotions tinged with uncertainty.
Could it be that she truly didn’t want to marry him?
But if that were the case, how could he explain all her previous pursuit of him, today’s drugging incident, and the people she’d drawn here?
Silently, he withdrew his gaze and lowered his eyes in thought.
He ignored her words.
No matter what, given the current situation, he had no choice but to marry her.
And she had no choice but to marry him.
“Ruchu!”
He Yaoguang glared at her and scolded sharply.
This foolish girl!
A young woman’s reputation was incredibly important.
Even if her parents could ignore everything, what about her?
If she didn’t marry Shen Siyuan, how would the people around them talk about her?
How would she face the endless rumors and gossip?
Just imagining it made his heart ache.
His precious daughter, whom he’d cherished in the palm of his hand why should she have to endure all this?
With that thought, he turned his anger toward Shen Siyuan.
“You’d better remember what you just said!”
Marry his daughter.
Otherwise, no matter how powerful the Shen family was, he would risk his life and do everything possible to seek justice for her.
Beside him, Zhao Qiaoyun had countless things she wanted to say, yet didn’t know where to begin.
Looking at Shen Siyuan, she finally said only:
“Comrade Shen, with those words from you, I can finally be at ease.”
Shen Siyuan said nothing more.
He merely nodded indifferently to the couple and left.
The drug still affecting his body and the injuries he had sustained both needed urgent treatment at the hospital.
He had no time to waste here any longer.
“Hey, Shen Siyuan, wait!”
Seeing him leave, He Ruchu immediately moved to chase after him.