Xie Fangzhu’s voice was unnervingly calm, as casual as if he were asking Shen Yingying what she wanted to eat today.
But to the fat man, it sounded like a thunderclap.
His heart was pounding wildly, thinking to himself, “Could this young lady Shen Yingying be deliberately trying to mess with me?”
Otherwise, why hadn’t she said anything after he’d been begging for so long, slapping his own face until his hand went numb?
His heart sank into a cold pit. He scrambled over and grabbed Shen Yingying’s pant leg, tears and snot streaming down his face as he pleaded, “Sister-in-law, I really know I was wrong! Please don’t let Brother Xie hit me again! He… ow!”
Before he could finish, he let out a pained howl as Han Wei grabbed him by the collar, lifting him up like a chicken and tossing him aside.
Han Wei’s thick eyebrows shot up, his voice booming like thunder, “You’ve got some nerve! How dare you touch my sister-in-law?!”
The fat man, still reeling from the shock, looked at Han Wei’s mountain-like figure and nearly fainted on the spot.
Xie Fangzhu was already more than he could handle, and now another giant? This was going to be the death of him!
Seeing the fat man’s deathly pale face, Shen Yingying suddenly remembered she had been so focused on watching Han Wei that she’d forgotten about him. If this kept up, the poor man would be scared to death.
She quickly shook her head and said to Xie Fangzhu, “That’s enough. A little lesson is fine.”
“Alright.”
Hearing Xie Fangzhu’s words, the fat man, who had been tensed to the breaking point, immediately slumped in relief.
He had been scared out of his wits just now. Thank goodness the young lady had let him off the hook. Thank goodness!
Han Wei spat in his direction. “Just because my brother usually has a good temper and doesn’t lose his temper, you really think he’s a kitten? If you don’t know your place next time, I won’t be as nice as my brother!”
With that, he hurriedly followed Xie Fangzhu.
Xie Fangzhu gestured toward the cafeteria window with his chin and said to Shen Yingying, “Let’s go.”
Shen Yingying quickly followed. Behind her, she could hear the fat man’s tearful, grateful voice, “Thank you, sister-in-law! Thank you for your generosity!”
Shen Yingying couldn’t help but twitch the corner of her mouth. She had originally thought Xie Fangzhu would only give the two men a small lesson, but she never expected things to escalate like this.
It was truly beyond her expectations.
But she didn’t feel much psychological burden. Although she was mentally strong, that didn’t mean she enjoyed being insulted.
After Xie Fangzhu’s little show today, she doubted anyone would dare to openly insult her again. That was a good thing.
Thinking this, she quickened her pace to catch up with Xie Fangzhu, walking side by side with him. She imitated Han Wei and called out, “Brother, thank you!”
Xie Fangzhu had never heard her call him “brother” before. Hearing it today felt surprisingly nice.
That “brother” was soft and gentle, and he felt his steel-like body soften in response.
He couldn’t help but glance down at her. The fine hairs at her temples were soft and fluffy, and her cheeks had taken on an intoxicating blush at some point. Her eyes were curved into a smile, her eyelashes tracing a charming arc in the air.
—Damn, she looked good.
The words popped into his mind unexpectedly.
He quickly looked away, pretending to be calm as he said, “You’re my wife. If I don’t protect you, who will?”
They had already reached the window. The server inside hadn’t quite recovered from the earlier chaos and looked at Xie Fangzhu with some trepidation, asking in broken Mandarin what he wanted to eat.
Xie Fangzhu casually pointed out a few dishes, paid with meal tickets, and then paid for Shen Yingying’s order as well.The interaction between the two left the big guy behind them so shocked his eyeballs nearly popped out. Something was definitely off today!
Based on Shen Yingying’s usual attitude toward the boss, even if he protected her like this, she wouldn’t show an ounce of gratitude. She might even turn around and lash out at him with sharp, sarcastic insults.
So why were the two of them so… harmonious today? She even thanked the boss!
Could she have hit her head and damaged her brain?
His mind was a jumbled mess. By the time he finished ordering, Xie Fangzhu and Shen Yingying had already gone to find seats. He quickly grabbed his tray and hurried after them.
The three found a spot and sat down, with Shen Yingying and Xie Fangzhu on one side and the big guy sitting across from Xie Fangzhu.
As soon as he sat down, the big guy’s eyes started wandering, darting back and forth between Xie Fangzhu and Shen Yingying’s faces as if trying to spot something extraordinary.
Xie Fangzhu couldn’t take it anymore and shot him a glance. “What are you staring at? Hurry up and eat!”
Despite his size, the big guy was nothing more than a little brother in front of Xie Fangzhu. He quickly lowered his eyes and chuckled awkwardly, “Heh heh, I’ll stop looking and eat right away!”
He stuffed an egg into his mouth, but his eyes couldn’t help drifting toward Shen Yingying again. Was it just his imagination, or did Shen Yingying seem different today? She didn’t have that usual fierce, aggressive look.
As if sensing his gaze, Shen Yingying looked up and smiled at him.
Like a child caught doing something wrong, the big guy’s face flushed bright red, and he hurriedly lowered his eyes again.
Holy crap! Usually, his sister-in-law wouldn’t even spare him a glance, but today she actually smiled at him! The sun really must be rising from the west!
The big guy wolfed down a few bites of his steamed bun, but his mind was too busy replaying Shen Yingying’s smile to taste anything.
Finally, he couldn’t resist leaning closer to Xie Fangzhu and whispering, “Bro, how come you came out with sister-in-law today?”
There was another question he wanted to ask: Why did sister-in-law suddenly become so nice? But for some reason, he didn’t dare voice it.
Xie Fangzhu shot back, “Is there a problem?”
The big guy thought to himself, of course there’s no problem, but he was curious!
Still, he didn’t press further. With his brother’s temperament, if he didn’t want to talk, prying his mouth open wouldn’t make him say a word.
The men finished their breakfast quickly. By the time Shen Yingying was only halfway done, Xie Fangzhu and the big guy had already cleared their plates.
She glanced at the empty plates across from her and, still nibbling on her bun, said to Xie Fangzhu, “Xie Fangzhu, it’s getting late. I still need a while to finish, so you and Han Wei should head to work first.”
Hearing this, Xie Fangzhu narrowed his eyes almost imperceptibly. Although the three words “Xie Fangzhu” sounded sweet coming from her lips, he still thought the earlier “bro” was much nicer.
Beside him, the big guy Han Wei widened his eyes in shock and stared at Shen Yingying in disbelief. “Sister-in-law, you know my name?”
Seeing his jaw-dropping expression, Shen Yingying thought to herself that the original “Shen Yingying” really hadn’t known.
Of course, she couldn’t say that. She smiled at Han Wei again and casually made up an excuse, “I heard bro call your name before, so I remembered it.”
With just that one sentence, Han Wei’s impression of Shen Yingying completely changed, and he was deeply moved.He could count on one hand the number of times his brother had called him by his name, yet his sister-in-law had actually remembered it. Despite her usually fierce demeanor, she was genuinely kind! No wonder his brother liked her so much!
His sister-in-law truly had a cold face but a warm heart! He had actually misunderstood such a wonderful sister-in-law before and even secretly cursed her—he really deserved to die!
Regret flooded his mind, and in the end, all his thoughts condensed into one sentence: “Sister-in-law, you’re so good!”
After saying that, he couldn’t help but excitedly tell Xie Fangzhu as if he had discovered some treasure: “Damn! Brother, I just realized how amazing sister-in-law is! No wonder you like her so much!”
Although he deliberately lowered his voice, Shen Yingying, who was sitting at the same table, still heard him.
Just knowing his name could excite him like this. Shen Yingying felt as if three big words slowly appeared above Han Wei’s head—naive sweetheart.