Liu Guizhen hated Shen Yingying with a burning passion.
She put all her strength into her attack, wishing she could tear out every strand of Shen Yingying’s jet-black hair.
But just as she lunged, Xie Fangzhu, who was carrying Shen Yingying on his shoulder, suddenly turned and swiftly took two steps back, dodging the attack aimed at Shen Yingying.
Liu Guizhen’s grab hit nothing but air.
What’s more, due to the excessive force she used, she lost her balance and fell headfirst to the ground.
The onlookers were stunned. No one had expected the situation to unfold this way. They hurriedly scrambled to help her up.
“Guizhen, are you alright?”
“Tsk tsk, words would have been enough. Why resort to violence?”
“…”
Liu Guizhen was so furious she could barely stand straight, even with people supporting her.
She stared at Xie Fangzhu in disbelief. “Xiao Xie, she’s been cheating on you! I was trying to teach her a lesson for you, and you’re still protecting her?”
Xie Fangzhu shot her a cold glance. “Which eye of yours saw her cheating?”
His words silenced the entire crowd. Even Shen Yingying, who had been struggling on his shoulder, stopped moving involuntarily.
She twisted her waist, trying to look back and see what expression he was wearing now.
But her position was too awkward; she couldn’t even get a full view of the back of his head.
She remembered that in the original book, after the original host was carried back by Xie Fangzhu, she was also attacked by the enthusiastic people in the mining area.
At that time, the original host was so furious she could barely breathe, directing all her verbal firepower at Xie Fangzhu and paying no attention to the so-called “helpful” bystanders.
That woman had deliberately provoked the situation. The original host hadn’t even insulted her, yet she still used “teaching Xie Fangzhu’s unruly wife a lesson” as an excuse to attack.
This was precisely why Shen Yingying had insisted on cursing the woman earlier, even when she was in a very dangerous position.
Whether she cursed or not, she was going to get beaten anyway, so she might as well curse. Otherwise, she’d be taking a beating for nothing.
But she hadn’t expected Xie Fangzhu to dodge the attack, let alone retort.
She remembered that in the original book, when the woman attacked, Xie Fangzhu hadn’t said a single word the entire time.
He stood there motionless like a tree stump, carrying the original host on his shoulder.
His eyes were slightly red, as if his wife’s betrayal had shattered his world, leaving him completely unresponsive to reality.
It wasn’t until the original host had most of her hair torn out and her face swollen like a pig’s head that he finally moved.
Tears glistening in his eyes, he silently carried the original host into the house.
Sometimes, silence speaks louder than words, and the effect can be even more shocking.
Take Xie Fangzhu with his teary eyes, for example.
The onlookers were stunned. Back when Xiao Xie was injured in the mine and spent several days in the hospital, he hadn’t shed a single tear.
But today, this man who bled without crying was actually in tears! It showed just how deeply that woman had hurt him!
It was for this reason that when he closed the door and broke the original host’s leg inside, no one felt sorry for her.
Instead, they pitied Xie Fangzhu and wished they could rush in to help him beat her up.
When Shen Yingying read this part in the book, her mouth had dropped open in shock.
This man was truly a master of deception.
Given the known plot, just when she thought she couldn’t escape the cruel fate of having her hair torn out, Xie Fangzhu had dodged with her, saving her beautiful hair. She was so shocked she almost cried tears of joy.
She was terrified of being left bald—how ugly would that be!
At the same time, she confirmed that her initial decision had been correct.
Xie Fangzhu was like a hard sword. Going head-to-head with him would never work; she had to use a soft approach.
She had bet right.Meanwhile, on Liu Guizhen’s side.
Liu Guizhen had never seen Xie Fangzhu like this before.
The gaze that swept over her was like a sharp blade, an overwhelming sense of pressure crashing down on her, startling her heart into a frantic beat. She couldn’t help but recall Xie Fangzhu’s glorious past, and cold sweat involuntarily broke out on her skin.
Although Xie Fangzhu was a spineless coward in front of his wife, in the mining area, he was anything but.
If it weren’t for using Shen Yingying’s elopement as an excuse, she would never have dared to lay a hand on him in front of Xie Fangzhu.
But she was also a respected figure in the mining area—how could she just swallow this humiliation? Stiffening her scalp, she retorted, “Xiao Xie, how… how can you talk like that? Your wife…”
Her response was only the sound of the door slamming shut with a “bang.” Xie Fangzhu, carrying Shen Yingying on his shoulder, walked straight past her into the house.
The intense pressure instantly dissipated, and Liu Guizhen, who had been snubbed, finally felt alive again.
When she realized she had actually been frightened by Xie Fangzhu, her momentarily relaxed heart tightened once more, and she was so angry her mouth twisted.
“Look at what he said! I was afraid he wouldn’tt have the heart to do it, so I kindly helped him, and he actually has the nerve to be so ungrateful!”
Her voice trembled as she continued, “And he looked at me like he wanted to kill someone! Was I wrong? Everyone in the mining area knows his wife cheated on him!”
Seeing the fat on her face trembling uncontrollably, as if she were about to faint from anger, someone nearby couldn’t help but speak up.
“Hey, Guizhen, calm down. Xiao Xie is just angry and irrational right now. Why bother getting worked up over him?”
“Guizhen is just too kind-hearted, but this really wasn’t your place… Although we all know what kind of person Shen Yingying is, she’s Xiao Xie’s wife. If she needs to be disciplined, it should be Xiao Xie who does it. At the very least, it should be her mother-in-law. You have no relation to her—you shouldn’t overstep like that…”
Someone chimed in, “Yeah, yeah, how can you interfere in someone else’s family matters? Guizhen, you’re just too kind-hearted.”
Liu Guizhen hadn’t expected that not only would no one support her, but they would all come to criticize her instead.
Her face flushed with anger, turning from green to purple, but she couldn’t refute them. Swallowing her rage, she forced a stiff smile and said awkwardly,
“I was just too concerned about Xiao Xie. I couldn’t stand seeing him treated like this, but I didn’t expect to make him angry… I hope he teaches that woman a lesson this time and isn’t fooled by her again.”
In her mind, she viciously added: I hope he breaks her legs so she can’t go out and seduce people anymore.
Meanwhile, inside the house.
As soon as Xie Fangzhu entered, he set Shen Yingying down. His movements weren’t gentle, but they weren’t rough either.
Shen Yingying remembered that in the original book, Xie Fangzhu had thrown the original owner directly onto the ground.
His current not-too-gentle, not-too-rough actions made her feel incredibly reassured. Today, her legs were finally safe.
But to ensure nothing went wrong, she once again stirred up her emotions, trying her best to make her eyes sting.
When she felt the tears welling up, she softly spoke, “Xie Fangzhu, I knew you believed…”
Halfway through her sentence, she suddenly saw Xie Fangzhu, who had just bolted the door, walk toward a corner of the room.
In that corner, a carrying pole stood quietly.
Instantly, Shen Yingying’s eyes widened in shock. All her actress tears were forced back, and her voice cracked, “What are you doing?!”
She quickly rushed over and wrapped her arms around his waist, but she was too late. The carrying pole was already in his hand.
Every hair on her body stood on end.She remembered very clearly that in the novel, the original owner’s leg was broken by the “carrying pole in the corner.”
“Xie Fangzhu, calm down…” She clung desperately to his waist, her face ashen. “Let’s talk this out properly. Please don’t resort to violence. I’m really not lying to you. I didn’t run off with anyone. The money is still in my pocket. I was afraid he would cheat me, so I didn’t give it to him first. I wanted him to arrange the job before…”
Xie Fangzhu looked down and saw Shen Yingying’s hands tightly gripping his waist. It was clear she was terrified—not only was her body trembling violently, but even her knuckles had turned white.
He had never seen her afraid before. Even when her parents beat her as a child, she would glare stubbornly, her expression defiant.
He had always wanted to see what she looked like when she was scared. He had even fantasized about tormenting her mercilessly in her moment of terror—the feeling would surely be exhilarating.
But now that he was truly seeing it, he didn’t feel the expected satisfaction.
Today’s plan had deviated far too much from what he had anticipated.
When Liu Guizhen had attacked earlier, he shouldn’t have dodged. He should have let Shen Yingying taste Liu Guizhen’s “appetizer.”
Yet his body had moved on its own to avoid it. In her current state, how could she possibly be a match for Liu Guizhen?
If she had actually fought Liu Guizhen, she would have cried even harder than she did in the woods.
The thought made him uneasy. Not only had he dodged Liu Guizhen, but he had even revealed his true nature by confronting her.
This made him realize that ever since he caught Shen Yingying, things had been gradually slipping out of his control. If this continued, he would eventually be unable to bring himself to act.
He had to act now, while his rationality still held.
“I haven’t even done anything yet, and you already know what I’m going to do?” His face was expressionless as he pried her fingers from his waist one by one, his voice cold as ice. “Fine, I’ll try to be as gentle as possible.”