"Yan-ge…"
Su Wei, reckless in her desperation, grabbed Shen Yan's hand.
Shen Yan shook her off as if she'd touched something filthy, his voice twisting with rage.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Su Wei was genuinely a little scared, but the arrow was already nocked—there was no turning back now. She could only steel herself and press on.
"Yan-ge, I'll change. You have to believe me."
She spoke with heartfelt sincerity, but Shen Yan didn't believe a single word.
Su Wei was the type whose tears fell on command—a master of pretense. She'd put on a flawless act in front of his mother before, even going so far as to swear a poisonous oath: if she treated Shen Yan badly, may she die a miserable death.
And yet here the venomous woman was, still alive and well…
Clearly, oaths meant nothing.
In the end, Shen Yan never said whether he believed her or not—because he didn't say anything at all. He just stared at Su Wei with wide eyes, the same way one might watch a fool, a clown, a jumping jack.
So Su Wei stopped pledging her loyalty, because she too genuinely wanted to smash the bowl in front of her against Shen Yan's cold, sneering face…
What sin had she committed to have to warm her face against his cold ass?
For a brief moment, Su Wei wanted nothing more than to turn around and walk away with some dignity.
But she held back.
She had nowhere to go. She had no choice.
She looked up, meeting Shen Yan's disgusted gaze, and suddenly understood: Shen Yan hated her, but he too was enduring her out of sheer necessity.
Su Wei suddenly felt happy.
Better one person suffer than everyone suffer together…
After Shen Yan finished his meal, Su Wei suggested he move to a different room. Shen Yan didn't refuse—after all, the room he was in had no windows, and staying there was just making himself miserable. He had no idea what scheme the venomous woman was cooking up, but he had no other choice.
How ridiculous. This was his own home, and yet he had to swallow his pride and endure for the sake of an outsider!!
In the end, he moved into the room Mother Shen had once occupied.
Normally, when an elderly person died in the countryside, their clothes, blankets—everything they'd used—would be thrown away. But the Shen family was poor. When they'd been kicked out, they'd barely taken anything with them, and now they had even less. Throwing things away meant having nothing left to use. Besides, the original owner of this body had been so fixated on those ten taels of silver that Mother Shen's room remained largely as it had been, filled with traces of her life everywhere.
Su Wei watched Shen Yan. He could indeed walk now, but he hadn't fully recovered—he needed to brace himself against the wall and moved very slowly. Just now in the courtyard, he'd refused Su Wei's help, fallen, and when he got back up, he looked like a disheveled vagrant, utterly pathetic. Su Wei couldn't bear to watch and wanted to help him into the room… but he shook her off…
Seeing the room stirred up Shen Yan's grief for his mother.
So Su Wei said, "How about you just stay in your original room instead?"
Now that they'd talked things out a bit, she found looking at Shen Yan less awkward, so she'd offered the suggestion.
Shen Yan turned to look at her, and the look in his eyes was one Su Wei couldn't decipher.
Seriously, dude—if you have something to say, just say it. Why keep staring at me?
Had she said something wrong again?
Su Wei had indeed said something wrong. She suddenly remembered that the room she was currently staying in had originally been Shen Yan's…
"Um…"
Su Wei was just about to make up an excuse to leave when a voice came from outside. She stepped out and saw a tall, thin young man standing at the door holding a fish. When he saw Su Wei, his eyes lit up, and he smiled. "Xiao Wei, you're home. I caught a fish and brought it for you to eat."
Su Wei: "…"
Who is this? Who is this? Who is this?
Why is he calling me Xiao Wei?
Why is he acting so familiar?
Could it be Young Master Dong of Ximen?
But his clothes didn't quite match…
"You are…" Before she could finish, the young man walked into the kitchen on his own with the fish, grabbed a basin to fetch water, and noticed the water vat was empty. He came back out, smiling, "I'll go fetch some water. The vat's completely empty, and you didn't even tell me."
He winked at Su Wei.
Su Wei: "…"
Bro, who the hell are you, exactly?
"Don't leave…" Su Wei called out to stop him—if he left, how would she explain this to Shen Yan?
The young man's face lit up with joy, and he ran over with a beaming smile: "Xiao Wei, you're finally willing to acknowledge me. I know I was wrong before, I shouldn't have… shouldn't have treated you that way…"
His face and ears were both flushed red, as if the next words were hard to say…
Su Wei instinctively glanced at the door behind her…
She had a feeling she might be dead very soon!!