Just as she was about to step forward, she saw Shen Yingying, who had almost reached Xie Fangzhu, stumble and suddenly fall to the ground.
Wu Xiaoxia was stunned for a moment, instinctively stopping in her tracks. Then, a wave of satisfaction washed over her, and she cursed viciously in her heart: Falling on flat ground, Shen Yingying, you deserve it! Serves you right for being so smug—even heaven can’t stand you anymore. I hope you fall to your death!
As for Xie Fangzhu, he looked at the woman clutching her ankle, her eyes red and filled with grievance as she stared at him, his expression somewhat complicated.
When he first arrived at the Shen family, he was only six years old, and Shen Yingying hadn’t been born yet. In a way, he had watched her grow up.
Since she was three years old, she had hardly ever fallen. The only time was when she slipped on a banana peel, and the ferocious expression on her face when she fell was something he still remembered vividly.
Now, looking at this woman who had suddenly fallen on a path she had walked countless times, even maintaining her ethereal, graceful posture as she fell…
Xie Fangzhu’s first thought was that she was pretending. But he still stopped beside her.
“Can you still walk?”
Shen Yingying hadn’t expected him to be so cooperative. She pitifully stretched out her hand toward him. “I don’t know. My foot hurts, and my whole body hurts. Xie Fangzhu, help me up…”
Xie Fangzhu pursed his lips, a helpless expression appearing on his face. He set down the bicycle kickstand, leaned over, and scooped her up into his arms.
Shen Yingying: “!!!” She was shocked.
She had only intended for him to reach out and help her up, then lean against his chest and act coquettishly, saying her foot hurt so much she needed his support to walk. She never expected him to be so… forceful…
Xie Fangzhu held her steadily, walked straight past Wu Xiaoxia, set her down by the door, and then turned to enter the wooden cabin.
Shen Yingying leaned weakly against the wooden cabin behind her, wiggled her “injured” ankle at Wu Xiaoxia, raised one eyebrow, and curled her lips into a provocative smile.
It was as if she were saying: Go on, let’s see who can out-pretend whom.
Wu Xiaoxia was stunned. She had thought Shen Yingying fell because heaven was punishing her.
But now, it seemed it wasn’t punishment at all. Shen Yingying had clearly faked it on purpose, just to make Brother Xie feel sorry for her.
Thinking about how she had felt smug about it, she felt as stupid as a pig!
Wu Xiaoxia was furious, her eyes turning bloodshot, her fists clenched tightly. But with Xie Fangzhu right inside the cabin, she didn’t dare make a scene.
Just then, Xie Fangzhu walked out of the wooden cabin, carrying a wooden stool.
He placed the stool by the door, took hold of Shen Yingying’s arm, and tried to help her sit on it.
But as soon as his hand touched her, Shen Yingying seemed to lose all strength and leaned her entire body against him.
Seeing her like this, Xie Fangzhu couldn’t help but frown. “Is it that serious?”
Shen Yingying’s eyebrows furrowed delicately, and her voice was as sweet as could be. “Yes, it hurts so much. I can’t even walk.”
Wu Xiaoxia: “???” Who was it that just wiggled her ankle at me as if nothing was wrong?
Xie Fangzhu couldn’t hear the roaring in Wu Xiaoxia’s heart. In the end, he switched from holding her arm to wrapping his arm around her, guiding her to sit on the stool.
He crouched down, lifted Shen Yingying’s pant leg, and carefully examined her ankle, holding it gently.
Her fair ankle had distinct bone structure, showing no signs of abnormality.
He gently twisted it. “Does it hurt?”
“It hurts so much…”
Her voice was soft and tender, accompanied by a sharp intake of breath as if in pain, making it seem like she was genuinely suffering.But the ankle Xie Fangzhu held in his hand was soft, with none of the stiffness that would come from a sprain.
He couldn’t help but look up at her.
He saw Shen Yingying’s eyes like pools of spring water, shimmering with ripples.
When she noticed him looking, her eyes curved into crescents, instantly like a spring breeze passing by, causing flowers to bloom in an instant.
Xie Fangzhu’s heart skipped a beat involuntarily, and he quickly lowered his gaze.
Releasing her ankle, his voice unconsciously grew husky: “I’ll go find some medicine for you later.”
Wu Xiaoxia, who had been standing nearby all along, could no longer bear to watch. Today, she had truly witnessed Shen Yingying’s real tactics.
No wonder Xie had treated her so well even when she had been so hostile toward him before—it turned out she knew how to use such shameless, lowly tricks!
Disgusting! Disgusting!
She desperately wanted to tear off Shen Yingying’s vulgar facade, but seeing Xie’s reaction now, she knew very well that exposing her at this moment would likely backfire. Xie would never believe her.
Just as she thought this, Xie Fangzhu’s voice sounded again: “Sit here for a while. I’ll push the cart up, and we’ll have dinner together later.”
Immediately after, Shen Yingying’s sweet, cloying voice followed: “Alright.”
Hearing this exchange, Wu Xiaoxia gritted her teeth so hard they nearly cracked, her eyes reddening. She thought to herself, if only looks could kill—she would slice that bitch Shen Yingying into a thousand pieces!
Seeing Xie Fangzhu about to turn around, Wu Xiaoxia hurriedly composed herself. She couldn’t let Xie see her like this.
Gazing at that incredibly handsome face as it turned toward her, Wu Xiaoxia’s anger subsided by more than half. Unconsciously, she twisted the hem of her clothes and called out softly, “Brother Xie…”
Hearing this, Xie Fangzhu glanced at her casually. “Oh, it’s Little Wu. Here to see Yingying?”
His look and tone made it seem as if he had only just noticed her presence, even though she had been standing there for a long time.
Remembering the fervent look he had given Shen Yingying earlier, Shen Yingying’s venomous words resurfaced in her mind:
—It’s simply because you’re not pretty enough, and he’s not interested in you.
Instantly, she felt so angry she nearly vomited blood.
Forcing back her tears, she lowered her head. “Mm… I was a bit worried about her, so I came to check on her… Now that I see she’s fine, I should head back…”
“Mm, it’s getting late. You should hurry back, or your mother will worry.”
His voice was as calm and unfeeling as usual. Not only that, but Wu Xiaoxia even sensed a hint of impatience in it—whether real or imagined.
It was as if he found her annoying and couldn’t wait for her to leave.
A stark contrast to how he treated Shen Yingying.
If Shen Yingying’s words had made her furious and out of control, Xie Fangzhu’s treatment of her now utterly broke her heart.
“Alright…” she replied dejectedly, lowering her head. The moment she turned away, tears streamed down her face in a pitiful mess.
Shen Yingying sat on the wooden stool, propping her chin with her hand, her gaze thoughtful as she watched Wu Xiaoxia’s retreating figure against the sunset.
Though she couldn’t see her face, Shen Yingying could imagine exactly what she looked like at that moment—undoubtedly full of grievance and sorrow, perhaps even shedding tears.
Just thinking about it made her seem quite pitiful.
But Shen Yingying felt no ripple of emotion within, not a trace of sympathy.
She had never enjoyed playing games of competing with other women over a man.
Earlier, treating Xie Fangzhu like a treasure and “competing” with Wu Xiaoxia had nearly made her sick to her stomach.
In her view, with so many men in the world, why tear each other apart over one man and ruin the bond between sisters?But this Wu Xiaoxia, Shen Yingying was determined to make her uncomfortable.