Sneaking into the woods was true.
Trying to trade up for a better man was also true.
But when it came to that final step between a man and woman, the original host had actually been very traditional and stubbornly protected herself.
The reason she agreed to marry Xie Fangzhu wasn’t because her reputation had become so bad that she couldn’t marry into a decent family.
It was because her former fiancé worked in the same coal mine as Xie Fangzhu.
Ever since her former fiancé started working, he had never returned to the village again.
Just so she could see him one more time, she agreed to marry Xie Fangzhu and move to the mining district.
After arriving there, her former fiancé helplessly explained that the broken engagement had been his family’s decision.
His family refused to let him marry a rural girl. They had even threatened him with death until he agreed to marry a woman with official mining district residency.
Hearing this answer, the original host—who had always believed her fiancé had betrayed her—found herself unable to hate him anymore.
She loved him too much.
To make sure he would never forget her, she had been willing to give him the purity she valued most.
After that, she planned to calm down and properly live her life with the Xie Fangzhu she looked down on.
But her former fiancé refused her.
He said he couldn’t betray his wife.
The original host completely broke down.
He couldn’t betray his wife—
But could betray her, even after she had lowered herself this far?
She couldn’t accept it.
And just like that, she snapped.
She swore she would find a man even more successful than her former fiancé so he could see clearly that although she was just a rural girl, there were still men better than him willing to want her and marry her.
At that time, her former fiancé had already become the communications officer in the mining district.
Meanwhile, Xie Fangzhu—whose family background was politically problematic, who still worked underground in the mines, and who was merely an assistant shift leader—obviously did not meet the requirement of “better.”
So she turned her attention toward the mine’s leadership class, hoping to climb into a higher branch.
But those leaders were all shrewd old foxes.
The unmarried ones looked down on her.
The married ones were even less likely to abandon stable marriages for a married rural woman like her.
At most, they only wanted to toy with her.
The original host was patient enough to hold her ground.
As long as they didn’t talk about marriage certificates, she refused to let them touch her.
But over time, watching her former fiancé already become a father made her increasingly anxious.
And that was why, when the outsider claiming to be a “factory director” appeared—not only promising to marry her, but also promising to arrange a job for her—her mind was instantly overwhelmed.
Without hesitation, she followed him.
Thinking about this, Shen Yingying felt both relieved and speechless.
Relieved that the original host still had some moral bottom line.
Speechless at the bizarre logic inside the woman’s brain.
If only the original host had been a little smarter, she wouldn’t have ended up dragged from the 21st century into cleaning up this disaster.
Glancing at Xie Fangzhu’s back as he sat at the edge of the bed, her brows immediately twisted together.
And she definitely wouldn’t have had to shamelessly coax and deceive the story’s ultimate villain like this.
Perhaps Shen Yingying’s stare was too intense, because Xie Fangzhu seemed to sense it and subconsciously turned around.
Their gazes met directly—hers filled with resentment.
She hadn’t expected him to suddenly look back, and her heart skipped in alarm.
But her ability to change expressions was faster than flipping pages in a book.
She immediately fastened the final button of her shirt and quickly scooted over in front of him.
“Come to think of it, I still haven’t settled accounts with you.”
Xie Fangzhu lowered his eyes toward the woman before him.
Her beautiful face carried both anger and grievance, as though she had suffered some enormous injustice.
For a moment, he didn’t react.
“Settle accounts?”
“Mhm!”
Shen Yingying nodded heavily.
“I told you I was innocent, but you didn’t believe me. Now I’ve proven it to you, so what are you planning to do about it?”
Xie Fangzhu’s gaze flicked toward the glaring red stain on the bed.
As though recalling something, his thoughts abruptly broke apart and heat flooded his face again.
Truthfully, the moment he decided to take her, he had already prepared himself for the possibility of being deceived.
All his life, countless people had bullied him.
But someone willing to treat him like this—
She was the first.
Though he didn’t want to admit it, he genuinely liked the feeling.
Even if it was an act, as long as she could continue acting this way forever, what did it matter?
But he hadn’t expected her words to be true.
In an instant, everything he thought he understood about Shen Yingying collapsed.
Once again, doubts surfaced in his mind.
Could her previous cruelty and viciousness really have been nothing more than attempts to gain his attention?
Thinking carefully about it, although he had always obeyed her every command, whenever she screamed insults or cursed him, he would remain completely silent.
Facing someone who gave no reaction whatsoever, someone who felt like punching cotton—
Wouldn’t it really make a person angrier over time?
He ended up convincing himself.
His voice turned slightly hoarse.
“I’m sorry. I scared you today. I thought you ran away with someone else, and I was very angry.”
Hearing this, Shen Yingying, who was only pretending to be upset, couldn’t help rolling her eyes internally.
Very angry?
Keep pretending.
She had read the book.
She knew perfectly well what Xie Fangzhu had been feeling at the time.
To exaggerate a little, he’d practically been happy enough to dance on the spot.
Even though her inner thoughts were overflowing with sarcastic commentary, outwardly she showed nothing unusual.
Instead, she frowned as though his words had genuinely upset her.
“That just makes me even angrier!”
“It’s one thing if other people don’t believe me, but you’re my husband! Even you didn’t trust me. I feel so wronged and heartbroken!”
As if struck in a sore spot, her eyes reddened again.
“And not only that, I finally gathered the courage to kiss you, but you called me shameless. Even now, thinking about it still hurts so much…”
“I married you because I wanted you to cherish me—not treat me like this.”
Listening to her flawlessly reversing the blame, Xie Fangzhu developed a headache.
Wasn’t he already cherishing her enough?
In the entire mining district, he didn’t think any man spoiled his wife as much as he did.
In front of her, he had practically lowered himself into the dust.
Even if it had all been an act, he had still done those things.
If anyone deserved to feel wronged, shouldn’t it be him?
But glancing at her aggrieved little expression, he swallowed the words back down.
He even patted her gently on the back and coaxed softly:
“Alright, alright. Don’t be angry anymore. I was just frightened by you at the time too.”
“I don’t believe you!”
Shen Yingying pursed her lips and turned around with her back facing him like she was even angrier now.
“I think you just find me shameless and dirty! Since that’s the case, I don’t want to stay married either.”
“I already told you before—if I’m innocent, then we’ll divorce. Do you still remember that?”
She waited for a moment.
When no response came from behind her, she immediately realized her test had failed and quickly turned back around.
Sure enough, the moment she looked up, she saw Xie Fangzhu’s face darkened with gloom.
Storm clouds churned inside his pale eyes, making him look extremely dangerous.
The good mood Xie Fangzhu had just barely regained instantly plunged to rock bottom.
After all those twists and turns, was her real goal simply to bring up divorce?
So it really had all been an act?
And after pretending for only this long, she already couldn’t continue anymore?
His brows tightened as he stared fixedly at her face, his voice lowering dangerously.
“What did you promise me?”
Seeing he was about to explode, Shen Yingying instantly switched expressions again.
Tears surged out on command as she raised her fists and angrily pounded his chest a few times, eyes red-rimmed.
“You’re impossible! I was only joking with you, and you actually took it seriously.”
“If I truly wanted to divorce you, then why would I promise to stay by your side forever?”
Her slender arms wrapped around his neck as she stared at him tearfully, full of grievance.
“…I just wanted you to comfort me a little. But instead of comforting me, all I saw was your sour face. It really upset me. You don’t understand me at all!”
“I’m telling you—next time I get angry…”
She grabbed his hand and placed it gently against her cheek, speaking in a soft, coaxing tone:
“You should hold me and say, ‘Wife, I was wrong. It’s all my fault. How could I ever dislike you? You’re my precious treasure. I love you too much already…’”
Xie Fangzhu: “……”
The turn in conversation was so abrupt it caught him completely off guard.