It was true that the original owner had secretly met men in the woods, and it was also true that she had been looking for someone better while keeping her options open. However, when it came to that aspect of a relationship, she had been very traditional and had always insisted on preserving the final step.
The reason she had agreed to her parents’ arrangement to marry Xie Fangzhu was not because her reputation had been ruined and she could no longer marry into a respectable family. It was because her former fiancé worked at the same coal mine as Xie Fangzhu.
Ever since her former fiancé had started working, he had never returned to the village. In order to see him one last time, she had agreed to her parents’ arrangement and married Xie Fangzhu.
When she arrived at the mining district, her former fiancé helplessly told her that breaking off the engagement had been his family’s decision. His family had refused to let him marry a rural girl and had threatened him with death unless he married a woman who had a Mining District Household Registration.
After hearing that answer, the original owner, who had always believed that her fiancé had betrayed her, could no longer bring herself to hate him.
She had loved her former fiancé too deeply. In order to make sure he would never forget her, she had been willing to give him the chastity she treasured most, then settle down and live a proper life with Xie Fangzhu, whom she had looked down upon.
But her former fiancé had refused her. He had said that he could not betray his wife.
The original owner had completely broken down. He could not betray his wife, yet he could betray her when she had already humbled herself to such an extent?
She had been unable to accept it and had immediately fallen into darkness.
She had sworn to find a man even more outstanding than her former fiancé, so that he could see for himself that although she was only a rural girl, there was still a man far better than him who was willing to want her and marry her.
At that time, her former fiancé had already become the Communications Officer of the mining district.
As for Xie Fangzhu, whose family background was considered undesirable, who was still working underground, and who was only a Deputy Squad Leader, he obviously did not meet the standard of being “more outstanding.”
Thus, she had turned her attention toward the leadership of the mining district, hoping to attach herself to someone of higher status.
However, those leaders had all been shrewd men. The unmarried ones had looked down on her, while the married ones certainly would not abandon their stable marriages for the sake of a married rural woman like her. Every one of them had merely wanted to toy with her.
The original owner had also been patient. As long as they did not mention obtaining a marriage certificate with her, she refused to let them touch her.
But as time passed, seeing that her former fiancé already had a child, she had inevitably grown anxious.
That was precisely why, when she met an outsider claiming to be a “Factory Director.” who was not only willing to marry her but also promised to arrange a job for her, her mind had immediately been clouded. Without a second thought, she had run away with him.
Regarding all of this, Shen Yingying felt both relieved and speechless. She was relieved that the original owner had possessed a moral bottom line, yet she was equally speechless at the original owner’s unusually bizarre way of thinking.
If only the original owner had been a little smarter, she would never have had to travel from the twenty-first century just to clean up this mess.
She glanced at Xie Fangzhu, who was sitting on the edge of the bed with his back facing her, and her brows immediately twisted into a tight knot.
She would not have had to shamelessly coax and deceive the great villain like this!
Perhaps Shen Yingying’s gaze was too “passionate.” Xie Fangzhu sensed it, subconsciously turned his head, and happened to meet her eyes, which were filled with resentment.
Shen Yingying had not expected Xie Fangzhu to turn around so suddenly, and her heart skipped a beat.
However, she changed her expression faster than turning the pages of a book. She swiftly fastened the last button of her shirt and quickly moved to stand in front of him.
“Now that I think about it, I still haven’t settled the score with you.”
Xie Fangzhu lowered his eyes to the woman standing before him. Anger and grievance filled her beautiful face, as though she had suffered the greatest injustice imaginable.
For a moment, he did not understand. “Settle the score?”
“Yes!” Shen Yingying nodded vigorously. “I told you I was innocent, but you didn’t believe me. Now I’ve proved it to you. What are you planning to do about it?”
Xie Fangzhu glanced at that striking splash of red. As though remembering something, his thoughts abruptly stopped, and heat spread across his face.
In truth, the moment he had decided to take her, he had already prepared himself for the possibility that he had been deceived.
Many people had bullied him since childhood, but she was the first person willing to treat him like this.
Although he was unwilling to admit it, he truly liked this feeling. Even if it was all an act, as long as she could continue acting this way forever, what difference did it make?
Yet he had never expected that what she said was true.
At that moment, everything he had believed he understood about Shen Yingying completely collapsed.
He even began doubting himself again. Could it be that all of her previous harshness and vicious behavior had merely been her way of attracting his attention?
Thinking back carefully, although he had always indulged her every whim, whenever she cursed or berated him, he had always remained completely silent.
When faced with someone who never reacted at all, someone who felt like punching a ball of cotton, it did seem easy to become even angrier.
He managed to convince himself. His voice was slightly hoarse as he said: “I’m sorry. I frightened you today. I thought you’d run away with someone else, and I was very angry.”
Hearing that, Shen Yingying, who had only been pretending to be angry, could not help rolling her eyes inwardly.
Very angry?
Keep pretending.
She had read the novel. She knew perfectly well what Xie Fangzhu had actually been feeling at the time.
To put it a bit dramatically, he had been so happy that he could practically have burst into a celebratory folk dance right there on the spot.
Shen Yingying’s inner complaints flooded her mind one after another, but none of it showed on her face. Instead, she frowned, looking as though his words had only made her even more upset.
“Speaking of that, now I’m even angrier! It’s one thing if other people don’t believe me, but you’re my husband, and even you didn’t believe me. I really felt so wronged and heartbroken!”
As though she had been reminded of her greatest sorrow, her eyes involuntarily reddened again.
“Not only that, I finally gathered the courage to kiss you, and you even called me shameless. The more I think about it now, the more heartbroken and wronged I feel! I married you because I wanted you to cherish me, not because I wanted you to treat me like this.”
Hearing her completely turn the tables on him, Xie Fangzhu could not help feeling a headache coming on. Hadn’t he cherished her enough already?
Throughout the entire mining district, he did not believe there was any man who cherished his wife the way he did. Around her, he had practically humbled himself into the dust.
Although it had all been an act, everything had still been done.
If anyone had the right to feel wronged, shouldn’t it have been him?
But after glancing at her pitiful, aggrieved expression, he forcibly swallowed the words that had reached his lips.
He even patted her on the back and gently coaxed her. “All right, all right, don’t be angry anymore. You frightened me too.”
“I don’t believe you!”
Shen Yingying pursed her lips. Looking even angrier, she turned around in a huff and presented him with her back.
“I think you just think I’m shameless. You think I’m dirty! Since that’s the case, I don’t want to stay married to you anymore. I already told you before, if I’m innocent, then we’ll get divorced. Do you still remember saying that?”
Shen Yingying waited for a while. When she heard no reply from the man behind her, she knew her little test had failed and quickly turned back around.
Sure enough, the first thing she saw was Xie Fangzhu’s gloomy expression. Dark clouds churned within his pale eyes, making him look extremely dangerous.
Xie Fangzhu felt his already decent mood plunge straight to rock bottom. After all her circling around, was divorce all she had really wanted to say?
So it really had all been an act?
Had she become unable to keep pretending after such a short time?
His brows knitted tightly as he stared fixedly at her face. His voice also sank.
“What did you promise me?”
Seeing that he was about to lose his temper, Shen Yingying changed expressions with astonishing speed. Tears welled up instantly, spilling from her eyes. She raised her fists and resentfully thumped his chest several times, her eyes rimmed red.
“You really have no sense of romance. I was only joking with you, and you actually took it seriously. If I really wanted to divorce you, why would I have promised to stay by your side forever?”
Her slender, fair arms wrapped around his neck. Her eyes brimmed with tears, and her face was filled with grievance.
“…I only wanted you to comfort me, but instead of comforting me, all I got was your sour face. It really made me feel awful. You don’t understand me at all! Listen, if I get angry again next time…”
She took his hand and placed it against her own cheek, speaking in a soft, gentle voice.
“You should hold me in your arms and say, ‘Wife, I was wrong. This was my fault. How could I ever dislike you? You’re my precious baby. I love you more than anything…'”
Xie Fangzhu: “…”
The turn in the conversation had been so abrupt that it caught him completely off guard.