Xie Fangzhu’s voice was calm and casual, as if he were merely asking Shen Yingying what she wanted to eat today.
But to the fat man, it sounded like a thunderclap exploding over his head.
His heart pounded wildly. Could it be that this young madam was deliberately trying to finish him off?
Otherwise, he had already begged for so long, his hands were numb from slapping himself—why hadn’t she said a single word?
His heart turned cold with despair. He rushed forward and grabbed Shen Yingying’s pant leg, tears and snot all over his face as he pleaded desperately:
“Sister-in-law, I really know I was wrong! Please don’t let Brother Xie hit me again! He— AHH!”
Before he could finish, he let out a miserable howl.
Han Wei had grabbed him by the back of the collar and lifted him up like a chicken before tossing him aside.
Han Wei’s thick brows shot upward, his voice booming like thunder.
“You really got guts, huh? Is my sister-in-law someone you can touch?!”
The fat man’s soul nearly left his body. His eyes landed on Han Wei’s mountain-like figure, and his vision darkened.
Xie Fangzhu alone had already been terrifying enough. Now there was another giant brute?
This was going to kill him!
Seeing the man’s ghostly pale face, Shen Yingying finally realized she had gotten distracted by Han Wei and completely forgotten about the poor fat man. If this kept up, he might literally die from fright.
She quickly shook her head and said to Xie Fangzhu,
“No need. He’s learned his lesson.”
“Fine.”
The moment Xie Fangzhu said that, the fat man finally relaxed.
He had been so scared his soul nearly flew out of his body. Thankfully, the young madam had shown mercy!
Han Wei spat at him disdainfully.
“My brother’s usually easygoing, so you idiots really think he’s some harmless kitten? Next time you don’t know your place, I won’t be as kind as my brother!”
After saying that, he hurried after Xie Fangzhu like an eager puppy.
Xie Fangzhu tilted his chin toward the cafeteria counter, signaling Shen Yingying.
“Let’s go.”
She quickly followed after him. Behind her came the fat man’s emotional cries:
“Thank you, sister-in-law! Thank you for being merciful!”
The corner of Shen Yingying’s mouth twitched.
Originally, she’d thought Xie Fangzhu would only give the two men a small warning. She hadn’t expected things to escalate into such a huge spectacle.
It honestly surprised her.
Still, she didn’t feel guilty about it. Just because she had a strong mentality didn’t mean she enjoyed being insulted.
After Xie Fangzhu made such a dramatic example of them, nobody would probably dare insult her openly again.
Honestly, not bad.
Thinking that, she quickened her pace and walked beside Xie Fangzhu. Copying Han Wei’s way of addressing him, she called softly:
“Ge, thank you.”
From childhood until now, Xie Fangzhu had never heard her call him “ge”—big brother—before.
And hearing it now…
It really wasn’t bad at all.
That soft, sweet “ge” made even his steel-like body feel weak.
He lowered his eyes toward her involuntarily.
Loose strands of hair framed her temples softly. At some point, a lovely blush had appeared across her cheeks. Her eyes curved beautifully as she smiled, her lashes tracing charming arcs in the air.
Damn… she’s really beautiful.
The words suddenly popped into his head.
He quickly looked away and forced himself to sound calm.
“You’re my wife. If I don’t protect you, who will?”
By then they had already reached the serving window.
The cafeteria worker still hadn’t recovered from the earlier chaos. Looking at Xie Fangzhu with visible fear, he asked in clumsy Mandarin what they wanted to eat.
Xie Fangzhu casually ordered a few dishes. After paying with meal tickets, he paid for Shen Yingying’s meal as well.
The interactions between the two nearly made the giant Han Wei’s eyeballs fall out of their sockets.
Something was seriously wrong today!
Normally, no matter how much his big brother protected Shen Yingying, she would never appreciate it. She might even turn around and curse him viciously afterward.
So why were the two of them suddenly so… harmonious today?
She even thanked him?
Did she hit her head or something?
His mind was a chaotic 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 with his tray.
The three found a table.
Shen Yingying and Xie Fangzhu sat together on one side, while the hulking Han Wei sat opposite them.
The moment Han Wei sat down, his eyes became restless, darting back and forth between the two as if he were trying to spot flowers blooming on their faces.
Xie Fangzhu finally couldn’t take it anymore and shot him a glance.
“What are you staring at? Eat your food.”
Despite his massive build, Han Wei behaved like an obedient little brother in front of Xie Fangzhu.
He quickly lowered his head with an awkward grin.
“Hehe, right right, I’m eating now!”
He stuffed an egg into his mouth in one bite, but his eyes still couldn’t help sneaking toward Shen Yingying.
Maybe it was just his imagination, but today’s Shen Yingying felt completely different from usual.
Normally she always looked fierce and impatient.
As if sensing his gaze, Shen Yingying looked up and smiled at him.
Like a child caught doing something wrong, Han Wei’s entire face instantly turned bright red and he hurriedly lowered his head again.
Holy shit! Usually sister-in-law won’t even spare me a glance, and today she actually smiled at me! Has the sun risen in the west?!
Han Wei wolfed down several buns, but because his mind kept replaying Shen Yingying’s smile, he couldn’t taste anything at all.
In the end, he still couldn’t resist. He scooted secretly closer to Xie Fangzhu and asked in a low voice:
“Bro, why’d you come out with sister-in-law today?”
What he really wanted to ask was: Why did sister-in-law suddenly become so nice?
But for some reason, he didn’t dare say it out loud.
Xie Fangzhu replied with a question instead:
“Is there a problem?”
Han Wei thought, Of course not. I’m just curious!
Still, he didn’t continue asking.
With his big brother’s personality, if he didn’t want to answer properly, prying his mouth open wouldn’t help.
Men finished breakfast quickly.
While Shen Yingying was only halfway through her meal, Xie Fangzhu and Han Wei had already finished eating.
She glanced at the empty plates across from her and said while nibbling on a bun:
“Xie Fangzhu, it’s getting late. I’ll still need a while to finish eating, so you and Han Wei should head to work first.”
Hearing that, Xie Fangzhu narrowed his eyes slightly.
Even though hearing “Xie Fangzhu” from her lips still sounded sweet, he somehow preferred that earlier “ge.”
Meanwhile, beside him, Han Wei’s eyes widened in shock.
“Sister-in-law… you know my name?!”
Looking at his jaw-dropping expression, Shen Yingying thought to herself that the original Shen Yingying truly hadn’t known.
Of course, she couldn’t say that.
So she smiled at Han Wei again and casually made up an excuse.
“I heard ge mention your name before, so I remembered it.”
That single sentence completely changed Han Wei’s opinion of her.
And moved him deeply.
His big brother hardly ever called him by name, yet sister-in-law had remembered it!
Sure enough, although sister-in-law looked fierce on the outside, she was actually incredibly kind inside!
No wonder his big brother liked her so much!
She was cold-faced but warm-hearted!
To think he’d misunderstood her before—even secretly cursed her behind her back.
He was truly a bastard!
Countless feelings of guilt surged through his mind before finally condensing into one heartfelt sentence:
“Sister-in-law, you’re such a good person!”
Then, as though he’d discovered hidden treasure, he excitedly told Xie Fangzhu:
“Damn! Bro, I just realized sister-in-law is actually so nice! No wonder you like her so much!”
Though he deliberately lowered his voice, Shen Yingying, sitting at the same table, still heard every word.
Just remembering his name was enough to make him this emotional.
In Shen Yingying’s eyes, three giant words seemed to slowly appear above Han Wei’s head:
Simple-minded sweetheart.