Xie Fangzhu forcibly restrained himself from looking at her, turning his face aside as he gritted his teeth and said,
“Shen Yingying, have some shame! Don’t use such despicable tactics!”
“You’re my man. How is what I’m doing despicable?!”
Shen Yingying gritted her teeth as she shot back. She clung tightly to his waist, refusing to let him shake her off.
“I’ve already thrown away every bit of my dignity, yet you won’t even look at me. Is that my problem or yours?!”
Her face was buried against his chest. The voice that questioned him was filled with despair and heartache, as though he had hurt her beyond measure.
But in reality, Shen Yingying was already on the verge of exploding!
She had exhausted herself from the intense, high-pressure performance she had just put on. Just as she had seen Puppy Xie beginning to waver and was about to breathe a sigh of relief, the puppy had suddenly gone crazy again. It was enough to make her furious.
She had never encountered a man who was so difficult to coax!
She, an unmarried young woman who had never been with a man, did not even mind sleeping with him, yet he kept hemming and hawing!
Was he even a man?!
She secretly clenched her teeth and thought, Fine, I’ll go all in and make one last gamble.
She lifted her face, stood on tiptoe, wrapped her arms around his neck, closed her eyes, and pressed herself against him. The entire sequence of movements flowed smoothly in one motion.
Xie Fangzhu was startled once again. His lips felt a soft, cool touch, as though an electric current had passed through them. A tingling numbness instantly spread throughout his entire body. His blood roared through his veins, and it felt as though something inside him was about to explode.
With what little reason he had left, he forced himself to push Shen Yingying away. But the moment his hands touched her, all he felt was smooth, delicate softness. It burned him so much that he immediately withdrew his hands.
His gaze drifted downward amidst the chaos, and he was struck as though by lightning.
He grabbed Shen Yingying firmly by the shoulders, forcibly pushed her away, and stared fixedly at her flushed, breathtakingly beautiful face.
The taut string inside his mind snapped with a sharp crack. His eyes turned bloodshot, and the last trace of his reason was completely swallowed up.
He suddenly wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her tightly into his embrace. He used so much force that it was as though he wanted to press her into his very body.
“Shen Yingying, you’re really something…”
His voice was low. He spoke each word slowly, filled with unwillingness, yet also with the helpless fury of someone who had lost a battle.
“This is the choice you made yourself. If you ever dare leave me in the future, if you ever dare deceive me, then I’ll…”
“I’ll break your legs first, then your hands. I’ll make you stay by my side forever and suffer. I’ll make you endure pain a hundred times, a thousand times worse than the choice you’ve made today! You’ll never be able to escape!”
“Shen Yingying, do you understand?”
Shen Yingying could not help but shiver.
In the original novel, he had only broken the original owner’s legs.
But now, the threat he made toward her involved not only her legs, but even her hands. He was simply inhuman!
Moreover, what she had clearly said just now was: “If my body is still pure, then we’ll get divorced.” How had it somehow become that she was not allowed to leave him?
He was taking advantage of the fact that she was powerless and did not dare resist, quietly shifting the focus without her noticing.
As expected of the sinister, cunning villain from the novel. He was far too crafty!
But now that there was no turning back, and she had finally managed to secure a sliver of hope for saving her legs, how could Shen Yingying possibly dare say no?
She could only nestle obediently in his arms like a little bird, enduring the overbearing strength with which he held her, so powerful that it nearly crushed her bones.
With tears in her eyes, she spoke an answer that went completely against her heart.
“I understand. You’re my man. Even if I die, I’ll die by your side.”
After saying those words, her emotions became indescribably complicated.
When it came to relationships, she had never humbled herself to this extent before. She had never imagined that one day she would end up defeated by nothing more than a fictional character in a novel.
Still, Puppy Xie might have been crazy, but his looks were truly first-rate, so it was not entirely a loss.
At the same time, she secretly calculated that with how insane this man was, if she ever got the chance to escape in the future, she would have to flee as far away as possible. Otherwise, if he caught her, then after toying with his feelings, her fate would probably be even worse than the original owner’s.
Where should she run?
Somewhere very far away.
To X Province in the far west?
Or H Province in the far north?
Neither place felt truly safe. Perhaps she should simply flee abroad.
While her thoughts wandered aimlessly, Xie Fangzhu had already swept her up into his arms and lowered the mosquito net beside the bed with one hand.
The next moment, kisses descended upon her like a violent storm.
Shen Yingying was unable to resist. Before long, her mind became dazed.
Suddenly, she remembered the enthusiastic onlookers outside the door.
In the original novel, those enthusiastic spectators had remained outside until the original owner’s legs had been broken before finally leaving in satisfaction.
Today, her legs had not been broken yet. Didn’t that mean those people were probably still crouching outside by the wall?
Shen Yingying: “…”
Good heavens… Was the soundproofing in this house any good…
Meanwhile, outside the door.
A large crowd had gathered there. As they listened to the sounds coming from inside, every one of them looked at one another, their expressions so complicated that they were difficult to describe.
When they had first pressed themselves against the door to listen, everything inside had still sounded normal.
That woman had obviously crossed Xiao Xie’s bottom line. Xiao Xie had exploded in anger, while Shen Yingying had cried and begged for mercy.
But afterward, things had gradually taken a completely different turn.
Judging from what Shen Yingying had said, although the two of them had been married for nearly two years, they had still never slept together.
When they heard that, the people outside felt even more sympathy for Xie Fangzhu.
Poor honest Xiao Xie had truly been bullied to the extreme by Shen Yingying.
He had married her, supported her, fed her well, treated her well, yet in the end they had not even shared a bed.
Then they heard Shen Yingying insist that she was still pure, that she had never slept with anyone, and that she had not eloped with that outsider.
The moment everyone heard that, they thought that this woman truly had no shame. She could even make up such an outrageous lie.
With the way she flirted with men everywhere, how could she possibly still be pure?
Besides, when it came to the matter of eloping, everyone in the mining area had seen it clearly.
She and that outsider had been sneaking around together every day. What respectable woman would behave like that? Even if the Emperor himself came, she would still have been eloping!
Since everyone could see the truth so clearly, Xiao Xie surely would not be fooled by her, would he?
Later, the two of them suddenly lowered their voices, and the people outside could no longer hear clearly. Just as they scratched their heads in confusion, wondering why Xie Fangzhu still had not made his move, they suddenly heard intermittent sounds from inside that were clearly not quite right.
Instantly, everyone froze. They looked at one another, and without exception, every face turned bright red.
Some mothers who had brought their children to watch the excitement hurriedly covered their children’s ears and dragged them away in a rush, afraid the children might hear something inappropriate.
Some of the older people wore expressions of utter embarrassment across their weathered, dark faces.
One elderly person jabbed the ground fiercely with a walking stick, looking thoroughly disappointed.
“That foolish child, Xiao Xie!”
There were simply too many people. Although some still wanted to keep listening, they were ultimately too embarrassed. They could only step back a few paces, linger by the doorway, and continue discussing the matter awkwardly.
“Xiao Xie usually looks quite clever and handles everything efficiently. How does he become such a fool whenever he’s in front of Shen Yingying?”
“Just look at Shen Yingying’s face, that figure of hers, and the way she cries. What man could stand before her without becoming a fool?”
One man could not help voicing what he truly thought. He had heard Shen Yingying’s heartbroken sobbing just now.
Although reason told him to support Xie Fangzhu and urge him to beat her without delay,
he knew that after hearing Shen Yingying cry like that, he could not help imagining how he would feel if she cried like that in front of him.
Forget beating her. He would have willingly offered up his heart to her.