The author never described what Xie Fangzhu looked like in the original novel, so Shen Yingying had imagined his appearance entirely in her own head.
Based on his behavior—and the way the original host treated him like less than human—
Shen Yingying had always assumed he was some ugly, sleazy man.
After all, a man who obeyed every command yet still got cursed and treated like livestock was probably hideous beyond saving.
But looking at the man before her now, Shen Yingying realized how naïve she had been.
He was tall, at least over 180 centimeters.
His features were sharp and well-defined, handsome yet still carrying a masculine edge. If not for the terrifying darkness and hostility lurking in his eyes, people would hardly be able to look away from him.
Shen Yingying was utterly shocked.
With a face this perfect, how could the original host bear to treat him so cruelly?
If she had just been a little kinder to him, softened his heart even slightly, maybe the ending would not have been so tragic.
And there would have been no need to drag an innocent 21st-century bystander like her into taking the blame.
The scapegoat Shen Yingying felt more and more wronged the longer she thought about it, silently cursing the original host’s ancestors for eighteen generations straight.
She had only read a novel—who had she offended? Why throw her here to clean up this mess?
And such a disastrous mess at that, one that might even cost her legs.
Although her mind was flooded with curses and complaints, none of it showed on her face. She still looked panicked and helpless.
“No! No! Xie Fangzhu, you misunderstood!”
She hurriedly denied the accusation he had pinned on her while secretly forcing herself to cry.
The next second, tears welled up instantly.
With misty eyes, she looked at the grim-faced man and gently wrapped her hands around the one gripping her chin.
“The reason I took the money was because I lied to you. I really wasn’t trying to keep it safe for you. That was wrong of me. It’s my fault.”
She bit her lip. Her long curled lashes trembled, her voice thick with sobs as though she had suffered a tremendous injustice.
“But you can’t accuse me of eloping. I wasn’t eloping—I went with that person for work. He told me he was a factory director, and that if I gave him 500 yuan, he could arrange a job for me at a state-owned factory. I wanted a job so badly… I was afraid you wouldn’t agree, so I lied to get your money…”
She sniffled and looked into Xie Fangzhu’s eyes.
His gaze unexpectedly met hers.
Her ink-black eyes brimmed with tears and grievance.
Yet they were clear, clean, and open—without the slightest trace of guilt.
Xie Fangzhu felt his heart twitch uncontrollably.
Shen Yingying continued, her eyes red-rimmed.
“Even though I usually treat you badly, I’ve never done anything to betray you. I’m innocent. I just… just saw all the girls in the mining area with jobs, and I envied them so much that I made such a stupid mistake…”
She closed her eyes painfully. Tears rolled down her pale cheeks and landed on the fingers Xie Fangzhu was using to grip her chin.
The tears were warm, but to Xie Fangzhu, they felt scalding.
Her reaction was completely beyond his expectations.
He had assumed that, given Shen Yingying’s personality, she would never admit fault. Instead, she would stubbornly deny everything and curse him out viciously.
But unexpectedly, while she still hadn’t fully admitted it, her attitude was completely different.
Startled, the hand gripping her chin loosened unconsciously.
By the time he realized it, Shen Yingying had already instinctively clasped his hand in both of hers, her soft palms pressed against his rough skin.
“Xie Fangzhu, I know I was wrong. I’ll never do it again. Please don’t be angry anymore, okay?”
Tilting her head, tears still hanging from her lashes, she looked at him pleadingly.
Her tearful voice sounded soft and sweet, even carrying a hint of coquettishness.
Xie Fangzhu felt as though something had struck him. His heart trembled, and for a moment he actually considered letting her off this time.
The moment he realized that thought, he was horrified.
He abruptly yanked his hand away.
He had always been a man of firm will. Once he made a decision, no one could shake it. Yet just now, Shen Yingying had almost swayed him.
He had thought Shen Yingying was just a pretty but brainless fool. He never expected this side of her. He had underestimated her!
Remembering everything he had suffered at the Shen family’s hands, Xie Fangzhu’s expression turned colder and colder.
“A job arrangement? Are you stupid, or do you think I’m stupid? You really think I’m that easy to fool? Shen Yingying, you’re finished today!”
Grinding his teeth, veins throbbing at his temples, his voice had long lost the calm steadiness from before.
He grabbed her waist in one swift motion, hoisted her over his shoulder, and strode toward the miners’ housing area.
Today, he was definitely going to do it.
First, he would break her legs.
Thinking that, his pace quickened.
Shen Yingying felt as though she had been struck by lightning.
Her beauty trap had failed.
The ruthless expression Xie Fangzhu revealed when his face suddenly darkened—she had seen it clearly the moment he threw her over his shoulder.
That murderous look meant he truly intended to hurt her.
She couldn’t understand why. His expression had clearly softened just moments ago.
Though subtle, she had definitely seen it…
“Xie Fangzhu… I’m not lying to you, really!”
Shen Yingying panicked, tears pouring down her face. This time they were completely genuine.
She was afraid of losing her legs, afraid of losing her freedom, and even more afraid of being locked in a dark room for the rest of her life.
“Don’t do this… I’m scared… sob sob…”
“Xie Fangzhu… sob sob… I’m very timid…”
Xie Fangzhu: “…”
The throbbing in his temples grew even worse. He had never known she could be this noisy.
Xie Fangzhu walked quickly, and before long they reached their residence. Quite a few people had gathered outside waiting for him.
The mining area could barely count as a small town, though it was still very different from modern towns.
Most people there knew one another, and gossip spread fast.
So even though Xie Fangzhu had only told the shift supervisor he was going out to catch someone, the news had already spread through the community in less than two hours.
Seeing him bring her back, the residents felt relieved for him, but also indignant.
“Little Xie! Your wife’s gone too far! You need to beat her properly so she learns her lesson!”
“Exactly! If she dares run off with someone today, she’ll definitely do it again in the future. Beat her hard! You’ve treated her too well—that’s why she doesn’t respect you at all!”
When the original host lived in the mining area, she looked down on nearly everyone except the higher-ups, so she had terrible relationships with the locals.
Combined with Xie Fangzhu deliberately fueling the rumors, when the incident happened, everyone gathered around gossiping, yet not a single person spoke up for her.
One particularly agitated woman even circled behind Xie Fangzhu, pointed at Shen Yingying’s head, and cursed loudly:
“A shameless slut who can’t keep her pants on will never behave properly! Little Xie, you’d better break her legs and lock her at home! Only then will she stop seducing men!”
Shen Yingying had already been worried sick about her legs. Panic and frustration churned inside her with nowhere to vent.
She felt utterly suffocated, yet didn’t dare explode at the clearly unstable Xie Fangzhu.
Now this woman was deliberately stabbing at her sore spot with malicious words. How could she tolerate it?
All the pent-up anger inside her exploded instantly.
“Which eye of yours saw me run off with another man?! My relationship with my husband is perfectly fine—I don’t need you meddling in our business! If your mouth only knows how to spew shit, then go fertilize the fields with it instead of spraying it at me! It stinks! Disgusting!”
The woman urging Xie Fangzhu to break her legs was Liu Guizhen, who worked at the mining cafeteria.
She had disliked Shen Yingying for a long time.
In her eyes, Shen Yingying’s fox-like eyes were always wandering around, stirring up trouble among the men in the mining area.
Last time, her own husband had floated around in a daze after Shen Yingying merely glanced at him a few times and exchanged a few words with him.
Every day his eyes would follow Shen Yingying’s figure instead of paying attention to home.
It infuriated Liu Guizhen to death, but since she had no concrete evidence, she couldn’t confront anyone.
Now that she finally had the chance, she never expected Shen Yingying to fight back so fiercely.
Not only did Shen Yingying curse her back, she even indirectly compared her mouth to a cesspit!
Liu Guizhen worked at the cafeteria counter in the mining area. Everyone usually tried to flatter and please her. Who would dare speak to her like this?
How could she swallow this humiliation?
Pointing at Shen Yingying, she exploded with curses:
“Who are you pretending for? Everyone in the mine knows you’re a filthy slut!”
As if yelling still wasn’t enough, she rolled up her sleeves and lunged for Shen Yingying’s hair.
“You uncultured little tramp! Today I’ll teach you a lesson on behalf of your parents! I’ll beat you to death for that filthy mouth and for seducing men!”