Chapter 9: I Can’t Believe It

Wu Xiaoxia stood uneasily at the door, waiting for the person inside to come out.

When the shift change happened today, she overheard some gossip about Shen Yingying.

They said that Shen Yingying had run off with someone, only to be caught by Xie Fangzhu.

She had originally thought that Xie Fangzhu would beat Shen Yingying up. But to her surprise, Shen Yingying was very clever, and Xie Fangzhu couldn’t even touch her—he didn’t even lay a finger on her.

When Wu Xiaoxia heard this, she almost couldn’t believe her ears.

Shen Yingying had acted in front of everyone, placing the green hat on Xie Fangzhu’s head. Although Xie Fangzhu had a good temper, he was still a man with blood running through his veins. How could he possibly tolerate that?

She didn’t believe the shift worker’s words, so she hurried over to Shen Yingying’s place as soon as her shift was over, eager to see for herself.

So, when Shen Yingying came out, Wu Xiaoxia stared at her intently, examining her from head to toe, not missing any detail.

When she saw that Shen Yingying’s face was still as fair and clean as ever, with no bruises or marks on her exposed skin, she couldn’t believe her eyes. Could the gossip really be true?

She didn’t want to accept this reality. Her heart ached, but she still forced a smile and pretended to show concern.

“Yingying, are you alright? I heard from someone that Xie Fangzhu brought you back after you ran away. I was worried about you, so I skipped dinner and came straight here to check on you.”

Shen Yingying raised an eyebrow, seemingly not understanding what she meant: “I’m perfectly fine. Why would you think something happened to me?”

Wu Xiaoxia was speechless at her question. Any normal person wouldn’t believe that Xie Fangzhu would let her off so easily!

“I heard that you ran away with someone… I was worried that Xie Fangzhu would hit you, so…”

“Oh, you mean that.” Shen Yingying interrupted her, a knowing expression on her face. “Looks like you misunderstood. Don’t worry, I’ve already explained everything to him.”

Wu Xiaoxia was momentarily stunned. “Misunderstanding?”

Everyone in the mining area knew that Shen Yingying had run off with someone. How could something so certain be a misunderstanding?

“Yes,” Shen Yingying said seriously, without a trace of guilt on her face. “I went with that person to look for work, but Xie Fangzhu misunderstood and thought I ran off with him. He was furious, but luckily I coaxed him, or today would have been very troublesome.”

“Look for work?!” Wu Xiaoxia nearly lost her composure. She couldn’t understand how Shen Yingying had the nerve to say such words.

She had seen Shen Yingying with men in the woods multiple times. How could that possibly be about looking for work?

She couldn’t believe it. “Xie Fangzhu… did he believe you?”

Shen Yingying gave her a sidelong glance, then asked rhetorically, “What else could it be?”

Her beautiful eyes gleamed with a hint of smugness. “You know his temperament. If I wanted the moon from the sky, he’d pluck it for me. Besides, I didn’t lie to him, so why wouldn’t he believe me?”

She frowned slightly and suddenly leaned toward Wu Xiaoxia, her voice lowering. “You don’t believe me, do you?”

Wu Xiaoxia could never believe something so absurd.

But as she looked into Shen Yingying’s jewel-like eyes, she felt an invisible pressure that made her instinctively look away.

Although Shen Yingying appeared gentle today, with no trace of the usual resentment in her brow, Wu Xiaoxia still felt uneasy.

“You, you are my best friend, of course, I believe you…” Wu Xiaoxia stammered. “I just feel like you’re acting a bit strange today…”

Shen Yingying cut her off. “By the way, I only met that Manager Wu because of you. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have trusted him to arrange work for me.”

When “Manager Wu” was suddenly brought up, Wu Xiaoxia’s gaze snapped to Shen Yingying.

Shen Yingying’s eyes were sharp, as if she had already seen through Wu Xiaoxia’s thoughts.

“Xiaoxia, were you doing it on purpose? You like Xie Fangzhu, don’t you? So you set me up, made everyone think I ran away, and intentionally sabotaged my marriage with him. I heard you even rejected the match your mom set up for you a few days ago. Considering what happened to me today, I really suspect that you want to replace me.”

Shen Yingying’s voice was soft, but it carried the chill of a biting wind. Wu Xiaoxia was stunned and terrified, her whole body trembling.

Although she liked Xie Fangzhu, she didn’t dare accept such a label. If word got out, how would she face others as a young woman?

“How could that be? Yingying, don’t you know me?” Wu Xiaoxia’s breath quickened. “If you keep saying things like that, I’m going to be angry!”

“Hey, Xiaoxia, why are you so worked up?” Shen Yingying kept a playful smile on her face. “I was just kidding with you. How could you be that kind of person?”

Wu Xiaoxia was both startled and suspicious. She stared at Shen Yingying’s face, inspecting her closely.

Seeing Shen Yingying’s carefree, innocent smile, as if she truly had been joking, Wu Xiaoxia relaxed a little and said, “Yingying, you really shouldn’t make jokes like that. You scared me!”

“You’re hopeless. Can’t take a joke?” Shen Yingying lightly patted Wu Xiaoxia on the neck, feeling the cold sweat there. Looking down at her hand, she casually smiled. “So much sweat, look how nervous you are.”

Wu Xiaoxia was still on edge, not sure why she found the comment so subtly strange.

But seeing Shen Yingying’s expression as normal—her dark, clear eyes as pure as ever—she finally relaxed. She convinced herself it was just her overthinking it. With how naive Shen Yingying was, there was no way she could have figured it out.

But just as she calmed down, Shen Yingying’s voice sounded again, lazy and indifferent: “But even if you like him, it doesn’t matter.”

Wu Xiaoxia’s eyes widened, and she looked up in shock.

Shen Yingying’s expression was as lazy as her voice, but the purity in her eyes was completely gone.

In its place was a sense of superiority, and her gaze seemed to look down on Wu Xiaoxia as if she were nothing more than an insect. Her words were as venomous as a snake’s bite:

“He has high standards and doesn’t find you attractive.”

“You see how often you come here, all dressed up like a peacock, practically begging him to notice you. But has he ever looked at you?”

“You think he’s just shy or not interested in women? You’re mistaken. It’s just that you’re not attractive enough for him to notice.”

Wu Xiaoxia was completely blindsided by Shen Yingying’s sudden cruel words. She had never seen this side of Shen Yingying before. For a moment, she was dumbfounded.

The words felt like daggers, each one stabbing deep into Wu Xiaoxia’s heart, causing so much pain that she nearly choked on her breath.

In fact, Wu Xiaoxia had liked Xie Fangzhu even before his marriage.

She had made countless excuses to interact with him, so frequent that others could easily see through it. If it had been another man, he would have already pursued her.

But Xie Fangzhu, as if clueless, would help her when asked, but he never said anything extra to her. It was as if he had no interest in her at all.

She had always thought he was just reserved, shy, but deep down, she couldn’t stop doubting.