Xie Fangzhu’s voice remained remarkably calm, as casual as though he were asking Shen Yingying what she wanted to eat that day.
But to the fat man, those words sounded like a thunderclap from the heavens.
His heart lurched wildly. He thought to himself that perhaps Shen Yingying was deliberately targeting him.
Otherwise, he had begged for so long, even slapped himself until his hand had gone numb. Why had she remained silent the whole time?
His heart turned ice cold. He rushed forward, grabbed Shen Yingying’s pant leg, his face covered in tears and snot as he pleaded: “Sister-in-law, I really know I was wrong! Please don’t let Brother Xie hit me anymore! He… Aah!”
Before he could finish speaking, he let out a painful howl as Han Wei grabbed him by the back of his collar, lifted him up as though he were a little chick, and tossed him aside.
Han Wei’s thick brows stood upright, and his voice boomed like thunder. “You’ve got some nerve. You think you can touch my sister-in-law?!”
The fat man was still trembling with fright. When his gaze landed on Han Wei, who was built like a small mountain, his vision went black, and he nearly fainted.
Xie Fangzhu alone had already been more than he could handle. Now there was another giant. They were really trying to kill him!
Seeing the fat man’s deathly pale face, Shen Yingying finally remembered that she had been so busy watching Han Wei that she had forgotten all about the fat man. If this continued, the poor man really might be scared to death.
She hurriedly shook her head and said to Xie Fangzhu: “That’s enough. A little lesson is sufficient.”
“All right.”
The moment the fat man heard those words from Xie Fangzhu, his tightly tensed body instantly went limp.
He had been so frightened that his soul had nearly flown out of him. Fortunately, the young lady had spared him. Thank goodness, thank goodness!
Han Wei spat toward him. “My brother’s usually easygoing, and just because he doesn’t lose his temper doesn’t mean he’s some little kitten. If you don’t know your place next time, I won’t be as good-tempered as my brother!”
After saying that, he hurried after Xie Fangzhu.
Xie Fangzhu tilted his chin toward the canteen serving window and signaled to Shen Yingying. “Let’s go.”
Shen Yingying quickly followed after him. Behind her came the fat man’s voice, overflowing with gratitude. “Thank you, Sister-in-law! Thank you for being so magnanimous, Sister-in-law!”
The corner of Shen Yingying’s mouth twitched uncontrollably. She had originally thought that Xie Fangzhu would only teach the two men a small lesson. She had never expected things to end up causing such a huge commotion.
It had completely exceeded her expectations.
Still, she did not feel much psychological burden. Although she had a strong mentality, that did not mean she enjoyed being insulted.
After Xie Fangzhu made such a display, probably no one would dare insult her openly again. That was quite nice.
Thinking of that, she quickened her pace, caught up with Xie Fangzhu, walked beside him, and copied the way Han Wei addressed him. “Brother, thank you!”
From childhood until now, Xie Fangzhu had never heard her call him “Brother.” Hearing it today, he found the feeling surprisingly pleasant.
That soft, gentle “Brother” made him feel as though even his body of steel had melted.
He could not help lowering his eyes to look at her. The wisps of hair by her temples looked soft and fluffy. At some point, a captivating blush had drifted across her cheeks. Her eyes curved into smiling crescents, and her eyelashes traced a charming arc through the air.
She was damn beautiful.
Those words suddenly popped into his mind without warning.
He quickly looked away and pretended to remain composed as he said: “You’re my Wife. If I don’t protect you, who will?”
The two of them had already reached the serving window. The server inside had yet to recover from the earlier chaos and looked somewhat intimidated by Xie Fangzhu. Speaking in halting Mandarin, the server asked what he wanted to eat.
Xie Fangzhu casually ordered several dishes. After paying with meal tickets, he also paid for everything Shen Yingying had ordered.
The interaction between the two of them shocked the giant standing behind them so much that his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Something felt very wrong today!
Judging by Shen Yingying’s usual attitude toward Big Brother, even if Big Brother protected her like this, she would never appreciate it in the slightest. She might even turn around and lash out at him with sharp, cutting insults.
So why were the two of them so… harmonious today? She had even thanked Big Brother.
Could she have hit her head and damaged her brain?
His thoughts were a complete mess. By the time he finished ordering his food, Xie Fangzhu and Shen Yingying had already gone to find seats, so he hurried after them carrying his tray.
The three of them found seats and sat down. Shen Yingying and Xie Fangzhu sat on one side, while the giant sat opposite Xie Fangzhu.
The moment the giant sat down, his eyes refused to behave. They constantly darted back and forth between Xie Fangzhu’s face and Shen Yingying’s face, as though he intended to stare flowers into bloom on their faces.
Unable to tolerate it any longer, Xie Fangzhu shot him a glance. “What are you looking at? Hurry up and eat.”
Although the giant was enormous, in front of Xie Fangzhu he was nothing more than a little brother. He immediately lowered his eyes and laughed sheepishly. “Heh heh, I won’t look anymore. I’ll eat right away!”
He stuffed the egg into his mouth in one bite, but his eyes could not help secretly glancing toward Shen Yingying again. He did not know whether it was just his imagination, but today’s Shen Yingying seemed different from usual. She was not wearing that perpetually fierce expression she normally had.
As though sensing his gaze, Shen Yingying looked up and smiled at him.
Like someone caught in the act of doing something bad, the giant’s face instantly turned bright red, and he hurriedly lowered his eyes.
Damn! Sister-in-law never even looked at him properly before, yet today she had actually smiled at him! The sun really had risen in the west!
The giant wolfed down several mouthfuls of steamed buns, but because his mind kept replaying Shen Yingying’s smile from moments ago, he could not taste a thing.
In the end, he could not hold it in any longer. He secretly edged closer to Xie Fangzhu and asked in a low voice: “Brother, why did you come out together with Sister-in-law today?”
There was actually another question he wanted to ask: Why has Sister-in-law suddenly become so nice? For some reason, however, he did not dare ask it aloud.
Xie Fangzhu replied with a question of his own. “Is there a problem with that?”
The giant thought that of course there was no problem. He was simply curious!
However, he did not continue asking. Given his brother’s personality, if he did not want to explain properly, even prying his mouth open would not make him talk.
The men finished breakfast very quickly. By the time Shen Yingying had only finished half of hers, Xie Fangzhu and the giant had already finished eating.
She glanced at the empty plates opposite her and, while taking a bite of her steamed bun, said to Xie Fangzhu: “Xie Fangzhu, it’s getting late. It’ll still take me a while to finish eating, so you and Han Wei should go to work first.”
Hearing that, Xie Fangzhu narrowed his eyes almost imperceptibly. Although hearing the name “Xie Fangzhu” from her lips sounded sweet, he still thought the way she had called him “Brother” earlier had sounded even better.
Meanwhile, the giant beside him, Han Wei, widened his eyes in shock and looked at Shen Yingying in disbelief. “Sister-in-law, you know my name?”
Looking at the way his jaw was practically about to hit the floor, Shen Yingying thought to herself that the original “Shen Yingying” really had not known it.
Of course, she could not say that. She smiled at Han Wei again and casually made up an excuse. “I’d heard Brother call your name before, so I remembered it.”
That one sentence completely changed Han Wei’s impression of Shen Yingying, and he was deeply moved.
He could count on one hand the number of times his brother had called him by name, yet Sister-in-law had actually remembered it. Despite how fierce Sister-in-law usually seemed, she was genuinely a very kind person! No wonder Brother liked her so much!
Sister-in-law really had a cold face but a warm heart! Such a wonderful Sister-in-law, yet he had misunderstood her before and had even secretly cursed her behind her back. He truly deserved to die!
Countless feelings of regret surged through his mind. In the end, thousands of words were condensed into a single sentence. “Sister-in-law, you’re such a good person!”
After saying that, he did not forget to turn to Xie Fangzhu as though he had just discovered buried treasure. “Damn! Brother, I only just realized how wonderful Sister-in-law really is! No wonder you like her so much!”
Although he had deliberately lowered his voice, Shen Yingying, who was sitting at the same table, still heard him.
Merely remembering his name had excited him to this extent. Shen Yingying almost felt as though three large words slowly appeared above Han Wei’s head: Sweet Simpleton.