Shen Yingying woke up to find herself pinned tightly against a tree trunk.
The person behind her gripped the back of her neck with immense force, as if wishing her dead, making her feel as though her neck was about to be crushed.
Shen Yingying was nearly scared out of her wits. She had been sleeping at home—how did she end up here?
Could it be revenge from an ex-boyfriend she had dumped?
With no time to think further, her survival instinct kicked in, and she quickly spoke up, feigning weakness and pleading for mercy.
“Brother! Please, ease up a little—my neck is about to break! A gentleman uses words, not force. Let’s talk this out calmly. I only have two legs; I can’t escape your grasp. There must be some misunderstanding between us…”
Instead of loosening his grip, the man behind her tightened it even more, causing Shen Yingying’s eyes to well up with tears from the pain.
“A gentleman?”
A hoarse, low voice sounded from behind her. “You call me a gentleman? Did I hear that right? You always called me a beast. Shen Yingying, are you scared now?”
After speaking, he let out a low chuckle. “I never thought I’d see the day you’d be afraid.”
Warm breath brushed against her ear, sending shivers down her spine. Shen Yingying’s mind went numb, as if a switch had suddenly been flipped.
Countless memory fragments that didn’t belong to her flooded in all at once.
In that brief moment, she managed to grasp the key point from the chaotic memories.
—She had transmigrated!
She had transmigrated into a period novel she had read just two days ago, becoming Shen Yingying, the wife of the villain Xie Fangzhu, who shared her name.
The moment she realized this, Shen Yingying almost collapsed on the spot.
In the novel, Xie Fangzhu was forced into marrying the original host.
Xie Fangzhu was the child of a landlord family. His parents passed away when he was very young, and he was taken in by the original host’s kind-hearted grandfather.
Despite being taken in, his life remained difficult.
In places where the original host’s grandfather couldn’t see, the other members of the Shen family regarded him as the offspring of a landlord.
They treated him as less than human, frequently beating and scolding him, using him like a dog. Even the rats in the Shen family held higher status than him.
After enduring until adulthood, his uncle, who had finally gained some influence, pulled strings to get him a job as a coal miner, finally freeing him from the Shen family.
But unexpectedly, the original host was abandoned by her fiancé, ruining her reputation and making it impossible for her to find a good match.
The Shen family then forced Xie Fangzhu, now a worker, to marry the original host.
Although Xie Fangzhu was the one at a disadvantage in this marriage, the original host didn’t see it that way. She even refused to let him touch her after marriage.
She believed that Xie Fangzhu would always be the lowly offspring of a landlord. If she hadn’t married him, he would have remained a bachelor for life, ridiculed by others.
She thought that by marrying him, she had saved him from the shame of being a bachelor, and he should be grateful.
Xie Fangzhu didn’t protest and went along with her, even giving her half of his salary every month.
His attitude only made the original host more and more demanding.
She looked down on him, believing he wasn’t a real man but a weakling even inferior to livestock. In the end, she ran off with a man from out of town who claimed to be the director of a state-owned factory.
Before leaving, she even swindled all his savings, smugly mocking him as a fool who would probably help count the money even if he were sold.
As the major villain who nearly brought the male and female protagonists to their knees, Xie Fangzhu was naturally not the kind of foolish idiot she took him for.He was an extremely vengeful man. Every bit of the inhuman torment he suffered at the hands of the Shen family in his childhood was etched in his heart, and one day he would repay it all in full.
The Shen family forcing him to marry the original host was like actively delivering their “prey” right to his doorstep.
After marrying her, he continued as before—no matter what she wanted, he would indulge her without any bottom line.
In the eyes of the mining community, Little Xie was a man who treated his wife exceptionally well.
He held her in his hands, afraid she might fall; he held her in his mouth, afraid she might melt. If his wife wanted something, he would even pluck the moon from the sky for her.
Unfortunately, his wife was not a good one—she was restless and fickle.
Such a stark contrast made some well-meaning people in the mining community wish they could lend a hand, to beat that woman up for poor Little Xie.
It was also because of this that when he brazenly carried the original host, who had eloped with someone else, back home and broke her legs as soon as they arrived, the “foundation” he had laid through enduring humiliation and bearing heavy burdens took effect.
None of the neighbors or acquaintances in the mining community sympathized with the original host, nor did anyone offer help.
Instead, they believed Xie Fangzhu had finally shown some backbone—a woman who failed to uphold her virtue deserved such an end!
With both legs broken, the original host lost her freedom forever.
Xie Fangzhu locked her up, keeping her like a dog.
He inflicted upon her every bit of the torment he had suffered in the Shen family.
The original host plummeted from heaven to hell in an instant, wishing she could die, but the demon Xie Fangzhu wouldn’t even grant her the right to die.
Soon, she went mad.
These events that took place inside the house were unknown to outsiders.
All they knew was that the original host couldn’t bear the mental strain of her failed elopement and went insane, becoming a madwoman incapable of taking care of herself.
And her husband, Xie Fangzhu, not only didn’t abandon her but instead cared for her unwaveringly. What a rare good man he was! The original host was simply too ungrateful!
Thinking of the original host’s final fate, Shen Yingying’s legs trembled like a bamboo sieve.
Xie Fangzhu was a madman, and a physically strong one at that.
Now, this terrifying madman was right behind her.
With her frail physique, she was no match for him at all.
What should she do?
Without much hesitation, she decided to reveal that she was not the original host.
Although such a thing sounded absurd, Xie Fangzhu was a cautious and suspicious man. Faced with two people with completely different personalities, he might actually give her some time to talk.
And regardless of whether he believed her in the end, as long as he gave her time to speak, she could perform and seize the opportunity to escape his clutches.
But as soon as she opened her mouth, her throat felt as if it were being choked by an invisible hand, rendering her unable to make a sound.
Could it be that this was an unspoken rule of this world?
Dragging someone here to take the blame, yet not allowing them to plead their case—how tyrannical!
Shen Yingying was furious! But anger was useless. She was now a fish on the chopping block, with no choice but to brace herself and think of another way.
Suddenly, she remembered that from beginning to end, the original host’s attitude toward Xie Fangzhu had never changed.
Even with her legs broken, she never bowed her head, and the insults she hurled were even harsher than usual.
And Xie Fangzhu loved this attitude of hers because it allowed him to torment her with even more unscrupulous methods, all while feeling completely justified.
So then…
Would showing weakness toward him be effective?
This thought invigorated her spirits. She quickly adjusted her emotions.
As her eyes grew slightly warm, she spoke in a pitiful, aggrieved tone, apologizing: “Xie Fangzhu, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have kept it from you…”
Xie Fangzhu behind her was taken aback.Then, as if hearing something amusing, he let out a scornful laugh, “Hiding from me?”
The next moment, he roughly turned her over and abruptly gripped her chin.
His eyes, deep as a cold night, stared at her, his voice sinister like a bloodthirsty beast: “Or perhaps next time you run off with your lover, you’ll give me a heads-up? Shen Yingying, do you think I’m as foolish as you?”
Shen Yingying’s back slammed hard against the tree trunk behind her, the pain making her gasp uncontrollably.
And with that impact, she finally saw the face of the terrifying, notorious villain from the book.