Xie Fangzhu’s voice barely rose or fell, sounding as though he were simply making casual conversation.
But in Shen Yingying’s ears, it sounded like King Yama himself had come to claim her life.
As she watched every one of her fingers being pried open, her heart pounded wildly, as if it were about to explode. Not only did her lips tremble, but even her chin shook uncontrollably.
The instant he turned around, she made her decision in a flash and lunged at him.
Her slender hands grabbed his collar and yanked it down with all her strength. Rising onto her tiptoes, she pressed herself against him with the resolve of someone marching bravely toward certain death.
Her actions were so completely unexpected that Xie Fangzhu had no time at all to react.
By the time he came back to his senses, an unexpectedly cool and soft touch had already landed on his lips.
His pupils contracted abruptly. It was as though all the blood in his body had forgotten how to flow. His entire body froze stiff.
With a sharp clatter, the carrying pole in his hand dropped straight to the ground.
Hearing the crisp sound of the carrying pole hitting the ground greatly encouraged Shen Yingying.
Determined to press her advantage, the hand gripping his collar slid upward and wrapped around his neck.
The soft sensation jolted Xie Fangzhu back to his senses.
With a loud bang, it felt as though something had exploded inside his mind.
In an instant, his heart, which had nearly stopped beating, began pounding frantically. It beat with such force and such speed that it nearly burst out of his chest.
He shoved Shen Yingying away abruptly. His breathing became ragged, and he even forgot to pick up the carrying pole. The eyes that had always remained calm were calm no longer, churning with overwhelming waves of emotion, while his handsome face flushed bright red.
He stared fixedly at Shen Yingying as countless emotions surged violently within him.
Grinding his back teeth together, he wanted to scold Shen Yingying harshly. Unfortunately, he had too little education, and his mind went completely blank. He simply could not think of any suitable words. In the end, all he managed to blurt out in exasperated fury was:
“Shen Yingying, you’re shameless!”
Hearing those words, Shen Yingying froze for a moment, feeling genuinely surprised.
Puppy Xie was already twenty-six years old, yet she had never expected him to be so innocent. It had only been a kiss, and he had already become like this.
She secretly glanced at the carrying pole lying by his feet and filled with regret.
She regretted not pinning him down and kissing him back in the woods. If she had done that, why would she have suffered so much?
The stretch of road where she had been slung over his shoulder like a sack had been utterly miserable.
However, Shen Yingying’s tightly wound heart did not relax because of this. Instead, she pressed on, adjusting her emotions once again.
The next moment, the drama queen tears that had gathered in her eyes surged up once more, overflowing as they streamed down her cheeks.
She raised a hand to wipe away her tears, met his eyes directly, and asked word by word in a tearful voice: “Shameless? How am I shameless? You’re my husband. How is kissing you shameless?”
After saying that, it was as though she suddenly thought of something. Her expression instantly froze, and her eyes became even redder.
The next moment, she suddenly let out a low laugh.
“Xie Fangzhu, you’ve finally said what you’ve really been thinking… I finally understand why you’ve been able to keep yourself from touching me all this time…”
As though her soul had left her body, her knees gave way, and she collapsed onto the ground. A dazed smile lingered at the corners of her lips, yet sorrow filled her eyes, and tears fell without end, as though the sky itself had collapsed.
“I kept wondering why other men’s husbands get angry if their wives won’t let them touch them, but you never do. I could never feel that you had me in your heart. I was always so afraid, so I desperately kept finding reasons to make you angry, hoping to prove that I existed to you. But no matter how excessive I became, you never lost your temper…”
“…I even made excuses for you. I thought maybe you were different from other men. I cursed at you so much, yet you never got angry. I believed it was because you loved me too much.”
“But only today did I realize how ridiculous those excuses were! That wasn’t love. You were just brushing me off… You couldn’t even be bothered to deal with me… You thought I was filthy. You thought I was disgusting, so you wouldn’t touch me…”
She muttered to herself. Then it was as though something suddenly occurred to her. Struggling to her feet, she looked at Xie Fangzhu, her eyes filled with a determination he had never seen before.
“I, Shen Yingying, never slept with any man before marriage or after marriage. My body is spotless and completely pure. You can think whatever you want about me, I can’t control that. But I have to wash away the filth you’ve splashed onto me.”
She wiped away her tears and walked toward him. As she spoke, she began unfastening the buttons of her blouse. “Xie Fangzhu, today I’m going to sleep with you, fulfill my duty as your wife, and let you see with your own eyes whether my body is truly clean or not!”
Xie Fangzhu had always known that Shen Yingying was exceptionally skilled at turning the tables and blaming others.
But he had never expected her to be this skilled. She was the one who had refused to let him touch her ever since they got married.
The moment he had tried to test the waters, she had reacted as though she had gone completely insane.
And now she was claiming that he had refused to touch her?!
She really did have a sharp tongue. He should have fiercely refuted her, but that kiss had already thrown his heart into chaos.
Now, as he looked at the large expanse of snowy white skin exposed before him, his mouth instantly went dry. His handsome face flushed an even deeper red, and his heart beat even more frantically. How could he possibly have any mind left to argue back?
He hurriedly looked away, not daring to look any longer.
But Shen Yingying had no intention of letting him off so easily. She continued undoing the buttons. Her voice had become slightly hoarse from crying for so long, yet it carried an unshakable determination.
“If someone else has touched my body, then even if you beat me to death, I won’t utter a single complaint. But if my body is pure, then the two of us will get divorced immediately!”
The moment those words fell, every button on her Dacron shirt had already been undone.
Seeing that she was about to strip it off completely without the slightest hesitation, Xie Fangzhu clenched his back teeth tightly. Stretching out a hand and relying only on the corner of his eye, he quickly pulled her open shirt closed again.
“Shen Yingying, that’s enough!”
He was both furious and enraged, wishing he could pin her down and give her a severe beating.
Yet his body no longer seemed to belong to him. It felt as though every inch of him had been set ablaze, making him utterly incapable of laying a hand on her.
Not only that, but genuine doubt even began to arise in his heart.
Could it be that all those cruel words she had hurled at him had merely been her way of seeking a sense of presence in front of him?
Could it be that she had only gone with that man to look for a job?
Speaking of a job, she really had seemed to mention it to him before. She had arrogantly ordered him to ask his uncle to arrange one for her.
At the time, he had deliberately delayed for a while before refusing, claiming that his uncle was powerless to help.
He had married her for revenge. Why would he let her live such a comfortable life?
Looking at it that way, given Shen Yingying’s stubborn personality, it did seem possible that she had been deceived while trying to secure a job.
After all, she was not very clever and always struggled to think things through.
When he realized that he had already found excuses for her, Xie Fangzhu was greatly alarmed and silently cursed himself for such bad luck.
The reason he had married her, and the reason he had tolerated her after marriage, had always been for one purpose.
Revenge.
He could not help recalling his childhood, when Shen Yingying had sat atop a high dirt embankment, her legs swinging back and forth, an innocent and carefree smile on her face.
Yet the words that came out of her mouth had been incomparably cruel as she directed the family’s vicious dog to tear into him savagely. Had he not been fortunate enough to survive, he would have died long ago.
So regardless of whether her body was pure or whether her behavior had merely been an innocent attempt to gain his attention, none of it had anything to do with him.
He wanted revenge. He would break her legs and then lock her away.
He would torment her, making her live in hell forever, never allowing her to rise again.
He calmed down completely and only then noticed that his hands were empty. That was when he remembered the carrying pole that had disappeared at some point.
Where was his carrying pole?
He glanced to the side and discovered it lying quietly in the distance.
He could not help frowning. When had it fallen so far away?
Just as he was about to retrieve it, Shen Yingying proved to be as persistent as a snake. The moment he let down his guard, she pressed herself against him again.
The shirt he had just pulled closed had fallen open once more and had even slipped down her arms.
Although Xie Fangzhu deliberately tried not to look, his gaze still drifted uncontrollably toward the dazzling expanse of snowy white skin.
After all, he was still a man at an age when his blood ran hot. The heart he had only just managed to calm became restless once again.
Use third person point of view and past tense narration, except for dialogue which should remain in its original tense. Keep every detail from the original text. Do not summarize, omit, simplify, or shorten anything, Preserve the full meaning, tone, and nuance of each sentence. Ensure the translation is grammatically correct, smooth, and easy to read in English. Maintain consistent translation of names, titles, places,