Liu Guizhen hated Shen Yingying so intensely that her teeth itched with rage.
She put her entire strength into the attack, wishing she could rip every strand of Shen Yingying’s jet-black hair from her scalp.
Yet, at the very moment she reached out, Xie Fangzhu, who was carrying Shen Yingying over his shoulder, suddenly turned around and swiftly retreated two steps, avoiding her attack on Shen Yingying.
Liu Guizhen grabbed nothing but air.
Not only that, because she had used too much force and lost her balance, she fell flat onto the ground and landed headfirst in a spectacular tumble.
Everyone was stunned. No one had expected the situation to develop this way, and they hurriedly rushed over to help her back to her feet.
“Guizhen, are you alright?”
“Come on, talking was enough. Why did you have to hit her?”
“…”
Liu Guizhen was so furious that her lungs felt ready to explode. Even after being helped up, she was so shaken that she could barely stand.
She looked at Xie Fangzhu in disbelief. “Xiao Xie, she cheated on you. I was helping you teach her a lesson, and you’re actually protecting her?”
Xie Fangzhu shot her a cold glance. “Which one of your eyes saw her cheating?”
The moment those words fell, the entire crowd instantly became silent. Even Shen Yingying, who had still been struggling on his shoulder, unconsciously stopped moving.
Twisting her waist, she looked back, wanting to see what kind of expression he was wearing now.
However, because of her awkward position, she could not even get a complete view of the back of Xie Fangzhu’s head.
Shen Yingying remembered that in the original novel, after the original owner had been carried back by Xie Fangzhu, she had also been besieged by the well-meaning people of the mining district.
At that time, the original owner had been so furious that she had concentrated all of her verbal attacks on Xie Fangzhu, leaving her with no energy whatsoever to argue with those self-righteous bystanders.
That woman had deliberately been picking a fight. The original owner had not cursed at her at all, yet she had still used the excuse of helping Xie Fangzhu discipline his disobedient Wife before laying hands on her.
That was also why, despite being in such an extremely dangerous situation just now, Shen Yingying had insisted on cursing at that woman.
After all, whether she cursed or not, she was going to get beaten anyway. Since she was going to be beaten regardless, she might as well curse. Otherwise, she would be taking the beating for nothing.
What she had not expected, however, was that Xie Fangzhu would actually dodge the attack, and even speak up to retort.
She clearly remembered that in the original novel, when the woman had made her move, Xie Fangzhu had remained completely silent the entire time.
He had simply stood rooted to the spot like a wooden post, carrying the original owner over his shoulder without moving an inch.
His eyes had been slightly red, as though his Wife’s betrayal had caused his entire world to collapse, leaving him completely incapable of reacting to reality.
Only after the original owner had had more than half her hair ripped out and her face slapped into the shape of a pig’s head had he finally moved.
His eyes had glistened with tears as he silently carried the original owner into the house.
Sometimes, silence spoke louder than words, and its effect could be even more overwhelming.
Just like Xie Fangzhu with tears shimmering in his eyes.
The crowd of well-meaning onlookers had been shocked. Back when Xiao Xie had been injured underground in the mine and had spent several days in the hospital, he had not shed a single tear.
Yet today, the man who bled without crying had actually cried! It was obvious how deeply that woman had hurt him!
Because of that, when he shut the door and broke the original owner’s legs inside the house,
no one had felt sorry for the original owner. Instead, everyone had pitied Xie Fangzhu, even wishing they could rush inside and help him beat her.
When Shen Yingying had read that part of the novel, her mouth had hung open into a perfect O.
This man really knew how to put on an act.
Now, with full knowledge of the plot, just as she had believed she could not escape the cruel fate of having her hair ripped out, Xie Fangzhu had instead carried her out of harm’s way and preserved her beautiful head of hair, astonishing her so much that she had nearly cried with joy.
She had been absolutely terrified of being pulled bald. That would have looked so ugly!
At the same time, she became even more certain that her original decision had been the right one.
Puppy Xie was like a rigid sword. There was no way she could defeat him by confronting him head-on. The only option was to use a softer approach.
She had won the gamble.
Meanwhile, on Liu Guizhen’s side.
Liu Guizhen had never seen Xie Fangzhu like this before.
The look he cast at her was as sharp as a blade, carrying an overwhelming sense of oppression. It made her heart pound wildly. She involuntarily recalled Xie Fangzhu’s glorious past, and cold sweat began trickling down her back.
Although Xie Fangzhu was a spineless coward without a shred of backbone in front of his Wife, that was certainly not the case in the mining district.
If it had not been under the pretext that Shen Yingying had eloped with another man, she would never have dared to lay a hand on anyone in front of Xie Fangzhu.
Still, she was someone of status at the mine as well. How could she simply swallow such humiliation? She forced herself to stiffen her resolve and retorted: “Xiao Xie, y… why are you talking like that? Your Wife…”
The only response she received was the loud bang of a closing door as Xie Fangzhu carried Shen Yingying straight past her and entered the house.
The overwhelming pressure instantly vanished. After being completely ignored, Liu Guizhen finally felt as though she had come back to life.
When she came to her senses and realized she had actually been frightened by Xie Fangzhu, her heart, which had only just relaxed, tightened once again. She became so angry that the corners of her mouth twisted.
“Did you all hear what he said? I was worried he wouldn’t have the heart to do it, so I kindly helped him out, and this is how he repays me!”
Even her voice trembled. “He even looked at me like he wanted to kill me. Did I say anything wrong? Everyone in the entire mining district knows his Wife cheated on him!”
Seeing the flesh on her plump face trembling nonstop as though she was about to faint from anger, someone beside her finally could not help speaking up.
“Oh, Guizhen, calm down. Xiao Xie is furious right now and has lost his reason. Why get angry with him?”
“Guizhen, you’re just being overly enthusiastic. But this really was your fault. Although we all know what kind of person Shen Yingying is, she’s Xiao Xie’s Wife. If anyone should beat her, it should be Xiao Xie. If not him, then it should be her mother-in-law. You have no relationship with her at all. You shouldn’t be reaching so far into someone else’s family matters…”
Someone else echoed: “Exactly, exactly. How can you interfere in another family’s private affairs? Guizhen, you’re just too enthusiastic.”
Liu Guizhen had never expected that not only would no one support her, but that every single person would instead criticize her.
Her face alternated between green and purple with rage, yet she had no way to argue back. She could only swallow her resentment, forcing out an awkward smile as she stiffly said,
“I was only worried about Xiao Xie. I couldn’t stand seeing him being bullied like this. I never thought I’d end up making him angry instead… I just hope he teaches that woman a proper lesson this time and doesn’t let her fool him again.”
After saying that, she viciously added in her heart, He’d better break her legs for good, so she can never go out seducing men again.
Meanwhile, inside the house.
The moment Xie Fangzhu entered, he set Shen Yingying down. His movements were not particularly gentle, but neither were they rough.
Shen Yingying remembered that in the original novel, Xie Fangzhu had simply thrown the original owner onto the floor.
Now, his measured movements made her feel incomparably reassured. At least today, these legs of hers could finally be saved.
However, to make absolutely certain, she stirred up her emotions once again, trying her best to make her eyes sting.
When she finally felt tears welling up, she softly said: “Xie Fangzhu, I knew you believed…”
Halfway through her sentence, she suddenly saw Xie Fangzhu, after bolting the door, walking toward a corner of the room.
Standing quietly in that corner was a shoulder pole.
Shen Yingying’s eyes instantly flew wide open. Every trace of the drama queen’s tears was frightened back inside, and even her voice cracked as she screamed: “What are you doing!!”
She lunged forward and wrapped both arms tightly around his waist, but she was one step too late. The shoulder pole was already in his hand.
Every hair on her body stood on end.
She remembered it with perfect clarity. In the novel, the original owner’s legs had been broken with “the shoulder pole in the corner.”
“Xie Fangzhu, calm down…” She clung desperately to his waist, her face deathly pale. “Let’s talk this through. Please don’t hit me. I really wasn’t lying to you. I didn’t run away with another man. 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 lowered his head and looked at the hands gripping his waist with all their strength. It was obvious that she was terrified. Not only was her entire body trembling violently, but even her knuckles had turned white.
He had never seen her look frightened before. Even when her parents had beaten her as a child, she had merely glared back with stubborn eyes, refusing to yield.
He had truly wanted to see what she looked like when she was afraid. He had even fantasized about mercilessly tormenting her while she cowered in terror. That feeling, he had believed, would surely be wonderful.
Yet now that he had actually seen it, he did not feel the satisfaction he had expected.
Today’s events had unfolded far differently from what he had envisioned.
Just now, when Liu Guizhen had attacked, he should not have dodged. He should have let Shen Yingying have a taste of Liu Guizhen as the appetizer.
Yet his body had instinctively moved her out of harm’s way. With the way she was, how could she possibly have stood a chance against Liu Guizhen?
Had she truly fought Liu Guizhen, the tears she shed would probably have been even worse than in the woods.
The thought left him feeling deeply unsettled. Not only had he avoided Liu Guizhen’s attack, but he had even exposed his true nature by openly rebuking her.
That made him realize that, from the moment he had caught Shen Yingying, everything had gradually begun slipping beyond his control. If this continued, sooner or later he would no longer be able to bring himself to act.
He had to do it now, while his reason still remained.
“I haven’t even done anything yet, and you already know what I’m going to do?” he said expressionlessly as he pried her fingers from around his waist one by one. His voice was as cold as ice. “Fine. I’ll try to be as gentle as possible.”