Thinking of this, she walked toward the doorway.
The moment Shen Yingying appeared, Wu Xiaoxia’s eyes immediately lit up.
She quickly stepped inside and grabbed Shen Yingying’s hand, lowering her voice anxiously:
“Yingying, are you okay? I heard Xie Fangzhu brought you back. Did he hit you?”
As she spoke, her gaze swept over Shen Yingying’s body.
Seeing her rosy complexion and spring-like charm, Wu Xiaoxia froze for a second.
As a married woman herself, how could she fail to recognize what that look meant?
Her heart instantly sank halfway.
Could it be…
No, impossible.
With Shen Yingying’s temperament, how could she willingly sleep with Xie Fangzhu?
Suppressing the turmoil in her heart, Wu Xiaoxia forced out a worried expression.
“Yingying, why aren’t you talking? Did Xie Fangzhu bully you?”
Shen Yingying looked at the woman before her.
Wu Xiaoxia had delicate features and carried herself gently. Her voice was soft and caring, making her appear sincere and harmless.
No wonder the original host trusted her so much.
Unfortunately, Shen Yingying had already read the entire novel.
She knew exactly what kind of thoughts hid beneath this innocent-looking face.
Pulling her hand back without leaving a trace, Shen Yingying lowered her eyes and sighed softly.
“He didn’t bully me.”
Wu Xiaoxia was startled.
“He didn’t?”
“Mm.”
Shen Yingying nodded.
“He misunderstood me before. But after we explained things clearly, he understood.”
Hearing this, Wu Xiaoxia’s expression stiffened slightly.
“Explained clearly?”
“Yeah.” Shen Yingying blinked innocently. “I told him I wasn’t running away with anyone. I just wanted a job too badly and got deceived.”
Wu Xiaoxia’s heart skipped.
A trace of panic flashed through her eyes.
She had never expected Shen Yingying to come back at all.
After all, that so-called “factory director” looked suspicious no matter how you saw it.
But Shen Yingying was foolish and vain enough to believe him completely.
Originally, Wu Xiaoxia had assumed Shen Yingying would either disappear with the man or get caught by Xie Fangzhu and beaten half to death.
Either outcome would benefit her.
But now not only had Shen Yingying returned safely—
She even looked… closer with Xie Fangzhu than before.
Wu Xiaoxia forced a smile.
“That’s good then… I was worried sick about you.”
Shen Yingying looked at her meaningfully.
“Really?”
Wu Xiaoxia’s smile nearly faltered.
“Of course.”
Shen Yingying suddenly stepped closer.
Her beautiful face carried a faint smile, but her dark eyes quietly stared into Wu Xiaoxia’s.
“Then you must’ve been very worried after introducing me to that factory director, right?”
Wu Xiaoxia’s scalp instantly went numb.
“What… what do you mean?”
“I mean exactly what I said.”
Shen Yingying smiled lazily.
“You knew I wanted a job and wanted to marry someone powerful, so you kept praising that man in front of me all day long.”
“You even said he looked generous and capable, that he definitely wasn’t an ordinary person.”
The more Wu Xiaoxia listened, the paler her face became.
She hurriedly defended herself:
“I was only saying it casually! Yingying, are you blaming me? We’re such good friends—how could I possibly harm you?”
“Good friends?”
Shen Yingying almost laughed.
If she hadn’t read the novel, she really might have believed her.
Seeing Shen Yingying remain silent, Wu Xiaoxia became even more uneasy.
But before she could continue explaining, Shen Yingying suddenly changed expressions again.
Her eyes reddened slightly as she sighed softly.
“Forget it. I know you didn’t mean harm. I was just too foolish myself.”
Wu Xiaoxia finally relaxed a little.
But before that breath fully settled—
Shen Yingying continued slowly:
“Still, from now on, you should stop introducing random men to me.”
“I’m married now. My husband would get jealous.”
The words “my husband” hit Wu Xiaoxia like a hammer.
Her fingers unconsciously clenched tight.
Jealous?
Xie Fangzhu?
That cold, ruthless man who never seemed to care about anything—
Would actually get jealous over Shen Yingying?
Before Wu Xiaoxia could recover from the shock, a low male voice suddenly sounded from behind.
“What random men?”
The two women both froze.
Turning around, they saw Xie Fangzhu standing at the doorway with a lunchbox in hand.
He had clearly returned not long ago.
Tall and broad-shouldered, he stood there expressionlessly, his pale eyes quietly sweeping over Wu Xiaoxia before finally landing on Shen Yingying.
Wu Xiaoxia’s heartbeat instantly sped up.
Ever since childhood, she had always been somewhat afraid of Xie Fangzhu.
Back then, although he was young, there was already something frightening about him.
Especially his eyes—
Cold and dark enough to make people uneasy.
Only when facing Shen Yingying would he suppress all that sharpness and pretend obedient.
But today, for some reason, Wu Xiaoxia suddenly felt that Xie Fangzhu seemed different.
The pressure coming from him was far stronger than before.
Meanwhile, Shen Yingying’s eyes lit up the instant she saw him.
Like spotting a savior, she immediately ran over.
“You’re back!”
Her voice turned sweet and soft again in an instant.
She naturally wrapped around his arm and complained:
“Your friend here scared me to death.”
Wu Xiaoxia: “???”
Friend?
When had she ever become Xie Fangzhu’s friend?!
Xie Fangzhu lowered his head slightly and glanced at the hand wrapped around his arm.
Though his face remained calm, the coldness around him visibly eased.
“What happened?”
Shen Yingying immediately started acting pitiful.
“She kept asking me about that factory director and whether I wanted to run away with him.”
“She even scared me by saying men who look rich are usually liars.”
The more she spoke, the more aggrieved she sounded.
“I already promised you I wouldn’t run away, but she keeps bringing it up…”
Wu Xiaoxia was completely dumbfounded.
Never in her life had she imagined Shen Yingying could reverse black and white this shamelessly.
“Yingying! I clearly—”
Before she could finish, Xie Fangzhu suddenly looked toward her.
His gaze was calm.
Yet it carried enough oppression to make her chest tighten instantly.
“My wife is timid,” he said flatly.
“Don’t scare her anymore in the future.”
Wu Xiaoxia stood frozen in place.
Her face alternated between green and white.
Timid?
Shen Yingying?!
The woman who used to curse Xie Fangzhu at the top of her lungs every single day—
Timid?!
But before she could say anything else, Shen Yingying had already buried herself against Xie Fangzhu’s shoulder, softly urging:
“I’m hungry…”
Xie Fangzhu lowered his eyes toward her.
His expression unconsciously softened again.
“I bought food.”
Then, as though only noticing Wu Xiaoxia still standing there, he calmly added:
“If there’s nothing else, we’re going to eat now.”
The meaning behind the dismissal could not have been clearer.