Wu Xiaoxia stood anxiously at the door, waiting for the person inside to come out.
During the shift handover after work today, she had already heard about Shen Yingying’s incident.
They said Shen Yingying had run off with someone, only to be caught by Xie Fangzhu.
She had thought Xie Fangzhu would beat Shen Yingying up. But unexpectedly, Shen Yingying was so cunning that Xie Fangzhu was no match for her—in the end, he didn’t even lay a finger on her.
When Wu Xiaoxia heard this, she almost doubted her own ears.
Shen Yingying’s actions were like publicly slapping a green hat on Brother Xie’s head.
Although Brother Xie had a good temper, he was still a hot-blooded man—how could he possibly tolerate such a thing?
She didn’t believe what the shift handover person said, so as soon as she got off work, she rushed to Shen Yingying’s house to see for herself.
That was why, when Shen Yingying came out, Wu Xiaoxia stared intently at her.
From head to toe, she didn’t miss a single spot.
When she saw that Shen Yingying’s face was still as fair as usual, and the exposed skin didn’t even have a single bruise—
She simply couldn’t believe her eyes. Could what the shift handover person said be true?
She didn’t want to admit this fact, and her heart ached terribly, but she still forced a smile and put on a concerned expression.
“Yingying, are you okay today? I heard from others that Brother Xie carried you back. I was so worried something might have happened to you that I came to see you right after work without even eating.”
Shen Yingying raised an eyebrow, as if she didn’t understand the meaning of her words. “I’m perfectly fine. Why would you think something happened to me?”
Wu Xiaoxia was left speechless by her question. Any normal person would think Xie Fangzhu wouldn’t let her off, right?
“It’s just… I heard from others that you ran off with someone… I was afraid Brother Xie might hit you, so…”
“Oh, you mean that.” Shen Yingying interrupted her, a look of understanding appearing on her face. “It seems you’ve misunderstood too. Don’t worry, I’ve already explained it clearly to him.”
Wu Xiaoxia was stunned. “Misunderstood?”
Everyone in the mining area knew Shen Yingying had run off with someone. How could such a solid fact be a misunderstanding?
“Yes.” Shen Yingying looked serious, without a trace of guilt. “I went with that person to buy a job, but Xie Fangzhu misunderstood and thought I was running off with him. He was furious, but luckily I managed to calm him down. Otherwise, today would have been quite troublesome.”
“Buy a job?!” Wu Xiaoxia almost couldn’t keep her expression in check. She couldn’t understand how Shen Yingying had the nerve to say those words.
She had seen Shen Yingying sneak into the woods with men several times. How could it possibly be about buying a job at that point?
She simply couldn’t believe it. “Brother Xie… did he believe it?”
Shen Yingying glanced at her and retorted, “Why wouldn’t he?”
Her beautiful eyes also showed a hint of pride. “You know his temperament—even if I asked for the moon in the sky, he’d try to get it for me. Besides, I didn’t lie to him in the first place, so why wouldn’t he believe me?”
As she spoke, she frowned and suddenly leaned closer to Wu Xiaoxia. “Or do you not believe me?”
How could Wu Xiaoxia believe such an outrageous story?
But as she looked into those beautiful, gem-like eyes so close to her, Wu Xiaoxia felt an invisible pressure wash over her, making her involuntarily avert her gaze.Although Shen Yingying’s expression today was unusually gentle, without the usual uncomfortable resentment between her brows, Wu Xiaoxia inexplicably felt uneasy.
“You… you’re my best friend, of course I believe you…” Wu Xiaoxia stammered, “I… I just think you’re acting a bit strange today…”
Shen Yingying interrupted her: “Speaking of which, it was because of you that I met that Factory Director Wu. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have trusted him so much to arrange a job for me.”
Suddenly bringing up “Factory Director Wu,” Wu Xiaoxia abruptly raised her eyes and looked at Shen Yingying again.
Shen Yingying’s gaze held a probing quality, as if she had already seen through all of Wu Xiaoxia’s thoughts.
“Xiaoxia, did you do it on purpose? Actually, you like Xie Fangzhu, so you framed me, making others think I eloped, deliberately ruining the relationship between my husband and me. I heard you even rejected the match your mother arranged for you the other day. Combined with what happened to me today, I really suspect you want to take my place.”
Shen Yingying’s voice was soft, yet it felt like a bone-chilling wind. Wu Xiaoxia was both shocked and terrified, every hair on her body standing on end.
Although she liked Xie Fangzhu very much, she dared not accept such an accusation! If this got out, how could she, an unmarried woman, face others?
“How could that be, Yingying? You know what kind of person I am!” Her breathing grew rapid. “If you keep saying that, I’ll get angry!”
“Oh, Xiaoxia, why are you so worked up?” Shen Yingying still wore a cheerful smile. “I was just joking with you. How could you possibly be that kind of person?”
Wu Xiaoxia felt both alarmed and suspicious, her eyes darting back and forth across Shen Yingying’s face.
Seeing Shen Yingying’s carefree smile, as if she had truly only been joking, Wu Xiaoxia finally relaxed slightly and said, “Yingying, don’t make such big jokes again. You really scared me.”
“You really can’t take a joke,” Shen Yingying said, reaching out to touch Wu Xiaoxia’s neck. Feeling the cold sweat, she glanced down, her lips curling into a careless smile. “So much sweat. Look how nervous you are.”
Wu Xiaoxia, still unsettled, felt there was something subtly off about these words.
But looking at Shen Yingying again, she saw nothing unusual. Shen Yingying’s eyes were pitch black, as if washed clean, pure and innocent, completely devoid of any scheming.
Only then did Wu Xiaoxia’s heart settle a little. She lowered her eyes, thinking to herself that she must have been overthinking it. How could someone as foolish as Shen Yingying possibly guess?
But no sooner had her heart settled than she heard Shen Yingying’s voice again, lazy and unhurried: “But even if you like him, it’s useless.”
Wu Xiaoxia’s eyes widened abruptly as she looked up once more.
Shen Yingying’s expression matched her lazy tone, but the purity and innocence in her eyes were long gone.
Instead, there was a sense of lofty superiority, her gaze as if looking down at an ant, her words venomous as a snake:
“He has high standards. He wouldn’t look at someone like you.”
“Look at you, always coming over, dressed up like a peacock, practically begging for his attention. But has he ever spared you a second glance?”
“You think it’s because he’s dull or uninterested in women? Think again. It’s simply because you’re not good-looking enough. He just doesn’t fancy you.”Wu Xiaoxia had never expected Shen Yingying to suddenly lash out with such vicious words. She had never seen this side of Shen Yingying before and was momentarily stunned.
The words that came from Shen Yingying’s mouth were like knives, each one cutting deep into Wu Xiaoxia’s heart, the pain so intense it felt as though she might cough up blood.
In truth, Wu Xiaoxia had fallen for Xie Fangzhu even before he got married.
For this reason, she had deliberately found many excuses to interact with him, so frequently that anyone could see through it. If it had been any other young man, he would have surely taken the initiative to pursue her long ago.
But Xie Fangzhu seemed utterly clueless. Although he never refused when she asked for help, he never spoke an unnecessary word to her, as if he had no interest in her at all.
She had always thought Xie Fangzhu was just reserved and shy, yet she couldn’t help but doubt it.