Xie Fangzhu gritted his teeth and forcibly turned his face away, refusing to look at her.
“Shen Yingying, have some shame! Don’t use such shameless methods!”
“You’re my husband! How is this shameless?!”
Shen Yingying bit back immediately, clinging tightly to his waist so he couldn’t shake her off.
“I’ve already thrown away all dignity and gone this far, yet you still won’t even look at me once. Is that my problem or yours?!”
Her face was buried against his chest, her voice filled with despair and bitterness, sounding as though he had hurt her deeply.
But in reality, Shen Yingying was on the verge of exploding.
The intense emotional acting she had been forcing herself through had already drained her completely. Just when she thought Xie Dog had finally softened and she could breathe again, the idiot suddenly went crazy again.
It was infuriating.
She had never met such a difficult man to coax before.
She, an unmarried virgin from the 21st century, didn’t even mind sleeping with him once, yet he was still whining endlessly about it.
Was he even a man?!
Grinding her teeth secretly, she thought:
Fine. I’ll risk everything for one final gamble.
She raised her head, stood on tiptoe, looped her arms around his neck, closed her eyes, and kissed him again in one smooth motion.
Xie Fangzhu was startled once more.
The softness and coolness against his lips carried an almost electric sensation, numb and tingling, instantly spreading through his entire body.
His blood roared wildly.
Something inside him felt ready to explode.
The last traces of his reason barely managed to force him to push Shen Yingying away.
But the moment his hands touched her, the delicate softness beneath his palms burned him so fiercely that he jerked his hands back immediately.
In the chaos, his gaze accidentally dropped downward for a split second.
He froze as though struck by lightning.
He seized Shen Yingying’s shoulders violently and forced her away from him, staring fixedly at her flushed, beautiful face.
Snap—
The tightly stretched string in his mind finally broke.
His eyes turned bloodshot as the last fragment of his rationality was completely swallowed whole.
Suddenly, he grabbed her waist and yanked her hard into his arms with enough force to practically crush her into his body.
“Shen Yingying… you’re really something.”
His voice was low, every word carrying unwillingness, frustration, and the helpless fury of someone admitting defeat.
“This is your own choice. If you ever dare leave me in the future, or dare lie to me again, then I’ll…”
“I’ll break your legs first, then your hands too. I’ll keep you by my side forever and torment you until your suffering is a hundred times, a thousand times worse than now. You’ll never escape for the rest of your life!”
“Shen Yingying, do you understand?”
Shen Yingying couldn’t help shivering.
In the original novel, he had only broken the original host’s legs.
But now, his threats against her extended beyond her legs—even her hands.
He truly wasn’t human.
And earlier, what she had clearly said was:
“If my body is pure, then we’ll divorce.”
So how had that somehow turned into “you’re not allowed to leave me”?
Taking advantage of the fact that she was weak and didn’t dare resist, he quietly twisted the focus of the conversation.
As expected of the cunning, sinister villain from the novel.
Too crafty.
But with things already at this point, and after finally fighting for a sliver of hope for her legs, how could Shen Yingying possibly dare say no?
She could only nestle obediently in his arms like a delicate bird, enduring the crushing strength of his embrace that nearly ground her bones apart.
Holding back tears, she forced herself to say the insincere answer:
“I understand. You’re my man. Even if I die, I’ll die by your side.”
After speaking, her emotions became indescribably complicated.
When it came to relationships, she had never lowered herself this much before.
Yet today she had somehow ended up defeated by a fictional paper-man from a novel.
Still…
Even though Xie Dog was crazy, his face was top-tier handsome.
So maybe it wasn’t a total loss.
At the same time, she silently planned in her heart:
With how insane this man was, if she ever got the chance to run away in the future, she absolutely had to flee as far as possible.
Otherwise, if he caught her after she played with his feelings, her fate would probably be even worse than the original host’s.
Where should she escape to?
Far away.
Maybe the far western X Province?
Or the northernmost H Province?
None of them felt safe enough.
At this point, maybe she should just flee the country altogether.
While her thoughts wandered wildly, Xie Fangzhu had already scooped her up into his arms bridal-style and lowered the mosquito net beside the bed with one hand.
The next moment, kisses like a violent storm descended upon her overwhelmingly.
Shen Yingying found herself unable to resist.
Before long, her mind became hazy.
Suddenly, she remembered the enthusiastic crowd outside the door.
In the original novel, those nosy spectators had remained outside until the original host’s legs were broken before finally leaving in satisfaction.
Today her legs hadn’t been broken yet.
Didn’t that mean those people were probably still squatting outside listening?
Shen Yingying: “……”
Good lord.
Was the soundproofing in this house any good at all…
Meanwhile, outside the door—
A huge crowd was still gathered there.
Listening to the sounds inside, everyone exchanged awkward glances, their expressions impossible to describe.
At first, when they pressed themselves against the door to listen, the noises inside had sounded fairly normal.
That woman had clearly crossed Little Xie’s bottom line. Little Xie exploded, and Shen Yingying cried and begged for mercy.
But afterward…
Things gradually began going in a very different direction.
From what Shen Yingying had said, the two of them had apparently been married for nearly two years without ever sleeping together.
Hearing this, the people outside felt even more sympathy for Xie Fangzhu.
Little Xie, such an honest man, had really been bullied miserably by Shen Yingying.
He fed her, clothed her, treated her well after marriage—
Yet in the end, he had never even slept with her once.
Then they heard Shen Yingying insist that she was innocent, that she had never slept with anyone, and that she hadn’t eloped with that outsider either.
The crowd immediately thought:
This woman truly had no shame.
She could even make up lies like that.
With the way she flirted everywhere she went, how could her body possibly still be pure?
And as for eloping—
Everyone in the mining district had seen things clearly enough.
She and that outsider had been sneaking around constantly. What decent woman behaved like that?
Even if the Emperor himself came, it would still count as eloping!
Everyone could see the truth plainly.
Little Xie surely wouldn’t be fooled by her, right?
Later, the voices inside suddenly became quieter, making it impossible for the people outside to hear clearly.
As they scratched anxiously at the door wondering why Xie Fangzhu still hadn’t started beating her, strange fragmented sounds suddenly drifted out from inside.
Instantly, everyone froze.
They looked at each other, and without exception, every face turned bright red.
Some mothers who had brought their children to watch the drama hurriedly covered their children’s ears and dragged them away, terrified the kids might hear something inappropriate.
Some of the older folks looked deeply awkward, their weathered dark faces stiff with embarrassment.
One elderly man jabbed his cane against the ground furiously.
“That foolish child Little Xie!”
There were simply too many people.
Although some still wanted to keep listening, they were too embarrassed to stay pressed against the door, so they shuffled back a few steps and awkwardly continued gossiping nearby.
“Little Xie usually seems pretty smart and capable. How does he become such an idiot in front of Shen Yingying?”
“Well, just look at Shen Yingying’s face and figure. Then add all that crying. What man wouldn’t become stupid around her?”
One man finally voiced what many were secretly thinking.
He had heard Shen Yingying’s devastated crying earlier.
Logically, he supported Xie Fangzhu beating her.
But listening to her cry like that…
Imagining Shen Yingying crying in front of him the same way…
He realized he wouldn’t be able to bear it either.
Forget hitting her.
Even if she demanded he offer up his heart instead, he would probably agree willingly.