Since Wu Xiaoxia cared most about Xie Fangzhu, Shen Yingying decided to use Xie Fangzhu to provoke her—ideally to the point of heartbreak!
When she first transmigrated into the book, she had almost had her legs broken by that lunatic Xie Fangzhu.
All of this could be traced back to Wu Xiaoxia’s impure motives, as she had encouraged the original host to get acquainted with an outsider who was the “factory director,” leading the original host to impulsively elope in a moment of passion.
If the original host hadn’t eloped, perhaps Shen Yingying wouldn’t have transmigrated into this book.
Transmigrating into this godforsaken place without phones, Wi-Fi, air conditioning, or any of life’s little joys—even having to swallow her pride and fawn over that unpredictable mad dog Xie—was it easy for her?!
Given how difficult her situation was, merely making Wu Xiaoxia sad and shedding a few tears was already an act of great magnanimity!
Just as she was reflecting on her own magnanimity, Xie Fangzhu pushed his bicycle to the door.
He kicked down the kickstand to prop up the bicycle, his gaze falling on her.
“Let’s go, time to eat.”
With that, he headed straight for the small room.
Shen Yingying collected her thoughts and craned her neck to look inside. “Aren’t you going to help me?”
Xie Fangzhu emerged carrying a fully wooden folding table. As he came out, he glanced at her again, his handsome brows furrowing slightly.
“You really can’t walk?”
Shen Yingying: “…”
She thought she had been acting convincingly, but it turned out this fox had seen through her long ago.
Since she had been exposed, Shen Yingying dropped the act and stood up, following behind him.
“I just wanted to get your attention, that’s all.”
Xie Fangzhu glanced back at her, seeing her unapologetic and shameless expression, and couldn’t help but shake his head. He unfolded the table under the large tree beside the wooden cabin, then took the food from the bicycle basket and placed it on the table.
He opened the small burlap bag containing the food, took out one of the aluminum lunchboxes, and pushed it toward Shen Yingying.
In this era, there were no plastic lunchboxes; people used their own containers to pack food from the cafeteria.
Shen Yingying opened the lunchbox, and the aroma of the meal immediately wafted out. On top were the green beans and eggplant she had asked Xie Fangzhu to order.
Normally, Shen Yingying was quite picky and couldn’t get used to cafeteria-style cooking.
But today, she hadn’t eaten anything all day, and after fleeing for her life and enduring various hardships, she was starving to the point of feeling hollow. Everything smelled delicious.
The soft, sauce-soaked eggplant tasted even better than any delicacies she had ever eaten.
Just as she was thoroughly enjoying her meal, she suddenly heard a question from across the table: “Did you have a falling out with her?”
Although no names were mentioned, Shen Yingying immediately understood who “her” referred to.
Shen Yingying thought to herself that he was quite the gossip and observant. She paused her chopsticks and asked, “Do you want to know?”
Xie Fangzhu reached out to open his lunchbox, his tone indifferent. “It’s fine if you don’t want to say.”
His expression was as calm and unreadable as his voice, devoid of any of the enthusiasm one might expect when probing for gossip, as if he wasn’t interested at all.
If it were anyone else, Shen Yingying wouldn’t have bothered with such an attitude.
But the person across from her was the lunatic who held her legs and freedom in his hands—he was different and needed to be indulged.
“I noticed she seems to have feelings for you,” Shen Yingying said. “But you’re mine, my man. How could I let a ticking time bomb stay by my side? So, I had no choice but to choose my man over a friend.”
Upon hearing this, Xie Fangzhu paused his movements and looked up at the person across from him.Seeing him look over, Shen Yingying curved her eyes into crescents and flashed him a bright, sweet smile. “You’re my man. Unless you’re the one who doesn’t want me, no one else can take you away.”
Though she was smiling, the seriousness in her eyes was impossible to ignore.
Xie Fangzhu’s heart gave an unexpected, violent thump. His previously unshakable composure cracked, and for the first time ever, he looked flustered.
He never imagined Shen Yingying would say something so bold. For a moment, he was at a loss for words, finally managing only a forced cough. “Let’s eat.”
His voice held an unexpected hint of awkwardness.
Shen Yingying noticed his subtle change in expression. Knowing her goal was achieved, she lowered her head contentedly and continued eating.
Xie Fangzhu, still somewhat dazed, couldn’t help glancing at Shen Yingying across the table. After a moment’s hesitation, he picked up a piece of braised pork from the top of his lunchbox and placed it in her bowl.
Seeing the sudden appearance of the braised pork, Shen Yingying, who was eating, paused, abruptly remembering the original host’s fondness for it.
Just this morning, Xie Gouzi had threatened to break her legs. Now, not only had he bought her a meal, but he was even actively giving her something “she” liked to eat.
Though it was just a trivial gesture, it was progress—the result of her desperate efforts!
Even though she personally didn’t like braised pork, that didn’t stop her from being so moved by her own hard work that she nearly burst into tears.
This gave her immense confidence, and she redoubled her efforts with an extremely sincere compliment:
“Xie Fangzhu, you’re so good to me! At home, my parents always saved the meat for my brothers. Only you think of me all the time. I’m really touched! I feel like meeting you is a blessing I must have earned over eight lifetimes!”
Her eyes grew slightly red, tears welling up in her dark pupils as if she were deeply moved.
“I used to care about you too, but I went about it the wrong way. I was so harsh, made you suffer so much. Thinking back now, I was really foolish! From now on, I’ll pay attention to my methods. I’ll be super, super good to you.”
With that, she blinked her teary eyes, stood up, leaned over the table, and quickly planted a kiss on his cheek.
Instantly, Xie Fangzhu’s heart, which had only skipped a beat earlier, now skipped seven or eight beats in a row. Even the tips of his ears turned red.
Once his heartbeat steadied, a wave of soft sweetness washed over him, leaving him feeling light-headed and uncontrollably giddy.
In a moment of heated impulse, he almost wanted to dump all the food from his lunchbox into Shen Yingying’s bowl, just to see her happy smile.
But Shen Yingying wouldn’t give him that chance.
After sitting back down, she picked up one of the pieces of braised pork from her bowl and placed it back into his. Lowering her eyes, her face flushed with shyness as if she were too embarrassed to look at him.
“I’m idle at home, so I don’t need to eat so much meat. But you—you work hard in the mines every day. You should eat more, or I’ll worry about you.”
Looking at the piece of braised pork she had returned and feeling the lingering softness on his cheek, Xie Fangzhu felt a warmth in his heart. For the first time, the usually eloquent man was at a loss for words.
He felt an unprecedented sense of satisfaction swirling in his chest, as if he were floating on clouds—light, euphoric, and utterly intoxicating.
This intoxicating feeling lingered long into the evening. When Shen Yingying coquettishly told him that she had grown used to sleeping alone and wasn’t quite accustomed to sharing a bed yet, she wanted to take some time to adjust slowly.Xie Fangzhu stared at her sweet smile, and in a moment of heated impulse, he agreed.
When he returned to his small room and came to his senses, he was instantly filled with regret. It wasn’t regret over not sleeping with her—after all, he wasn’t a beast driven by desire.
He simply regretted that in just one day, he had already been led around by her like this. Was he even a man anymore?
No, tomorrow he had to stand his ground. He couldn’t let her walk all over him!