Chapter 11: Who Doesn’t Know How to Act?

Just as she started walking, Wu Xiaoxia saw Shen Yingying, who had been running toward Xie Fangzhu, suddenly stumble and fall to the ground.

Wu Xiaoxia was momentarily stunned, instinctively stopping in her tracks. But soon, a wave of satisfaction surged through her heart. She cursed bitterly in her mind: Falling on flat ground? Serves you right, Shen Yingying! You were acting all smug—looks like even the heavens can’t stand you. Hopefully, you’ll fall to your death!

Meanwhile, Xie Fangzhu looked at the woman sitting on the ground, clutching her ankle, her eyes reddened with grievance as she gazed up at him. His expression became somewhat complicated.

When he first arrived at the Shen family home, he was only six years old. Shen Yingying hadn’t even been born yet, meaning he had watched her grow up.

Since she turned three, she had hardly ever fallen again. The only exception was when she slipped on a banana peel, and the twisted expression she made while falling had been so memorable that he still couldn’t forget it.

Now, looking at her suddenly falling on a path she had walked countless times before—and even managing to maintain an ethereal, fairy-like pose while doing so—

Xie Fangzhu’s first thought was that she was faking it.

Still, he stopped beside her.

“Can you still walk?”

Shen Yingying hadn’t expected him to play along so well. She pitifully stretched out her hand toward him. “I don’t know… My foot hurts, my whole body hurts. Xie Fangzhu, help me up…”

Xie Fangzhu pressed his lips together, a hint of helplessness flashing across his face. He propped his bike on its stand, bent down, and scooped her up in his arms.

Shen Yingying: “!!!” She was shocked.

She had only intended for him to extend his hand and pull her up. Then, once he did, she planned to lean into his arms and act coy, claiming that her foot hurt too much to stand on her own.

But she hadn’t expected him to be so… enthusiastic…

Xie Fangzhu carried her steadily, completely bypassing Wu Xiaoxia, and set her down at the doorway before turning around and walking into the wooden house.

Leaning against the wall, Shen Yingying twisted her “injured” ankle slightly in Wu Xiaoxia’s direction, arching one brow and curling her lips into a provocative smile.

Her expression seemed to say: Go on, let’s see who can act better.

Wu Xiaoxia was dumbfounded. She had thought Shen Yingying’s fall was divine punishment.

But now, it was obvious—this wasn’t punishment. Shen Yingying had faked the whole thing to make Brother Xie feel sorry for her!

And to think she had been so pleased with herself! She felt utterly foolish—like a complete idiot!

Furious, Wu Xiaoxia clenched her fists, her eyes burning red. But with Xie Fangzhu inside the house, she didn’t dare cause a scene.

Just then, Xie Fangzhu emerged from the wooden house, carrying a stool.

He placed it at the door and reached out to help Shen Yingying onto it.

But the moment his hand touched her, she suddenly lost all strength, collapsing into his arms.

Seeing this, Xie Fangzhu frowned slightly. “Is it that bad?”

Shen Yingying furrowed her brows delicately, her voice as soft and sweet as honey. “Mmm… it hurts so much. I can’t walk at all.”

Wu Xiaoxia: “???” Who was it that just twisted their foot like nothing happened?!

Wu Xiaoxia’s silent outrage went unheard.

In the end, Xie Fangzhu shifted from pulling her up to supporting her with his arm, helping her to sit down.

He crouched, lifted the hem of her pant leg, and carefully examined her ankle.

Her fair ankle was slender and well-defined, without a single mark or swelling.

He held it gently and twisted it slightly. “Does this hurt?”

“It hurts so much…”

Her voice was soft and delicate, and she even let out a sharp little breath, as if in real pain.

But Xie Fangzhu could feel that the ankle in his hand was completely relaxed—not tense at all, like it would be if she were actually injured.

He couldn’t help but glance up at her.

Her eyes shimmered like a pool of spring water, glistening with warmth.

Seeing him look at her, she smiled, her eyes curving like a crescent moon. In that instant, it was like a breeze of spring had passed, making the flowers bloom.

Xie Fangzhu’s heart skipped a beat. He quickly averted his gaze.

Letting go of her ankle, his voice grew a little husky. “I’ll find some medicine for you later.”

Wu Xiaoxia, who had been watching from the side, could no longer bear it.

Today, she had finally witnessed Shen Yingying’s true tactics firsthand.

No wonder Brother Xie was always so good to her despite her bad attitude toward him. It turned out she knew how to use such shameless and manipulative tricks!

Disgusting! Absolutely disgusting!

She wanted so badly to expose Shen Yingying’s act, but judging by Xie Fangzhu’s reaction, she knew that if she tried to reveal the truth now, it would only backfire—he wouldn’t believe her.

As she was thinking this, Xie Fangzhu spoke again. “Just sit here for a while. I’ll go push my bike up, then we’ll have dinner together.”

Immediately after, Shen Yingying’s saccharine voice followed: “Okay~”

Hearing their exchange, Wu Xiaoxia gritted her teeth so hard they almost cracked. Her eyes burned with rage.

She wished her glare could turn into a thousand blades and slice Shen Yingying into pieces!

But seeing that Xie Fangzhu was about to turn around, she hurriedly forced herself to calm down.

She couldn’t let Brother Xie see her like this.

As his tall, handsome figure turned back around, Wu Xiaoxia’s anger dissipated slightly. She subconsciously clutched the hem of her clothes and called out in a soft voice, “Brother Xie…”

Hearing her, Xie Fangzhu turned his head and glanced at her casually. “Oh, it’s you, Xiaowu. You came to see Yingying?”

His gaze and tone made it seem like he had only just noticed her presence—yet she had been standing there for a long time.

Thinking about the passionate way he had looked at Shen Yingying just now, Wu Xiaoxia couldn’t help but recall Shen Yingying’s cruel words:

—It’s simply because you’re not good-looking. He doesn’t like you, that’s all.

The thought nearly made her cough up blood in anger.

She forced back her tears, lowered her head, and said, “I… I was a little worried about her, so I came to check on her… Now that I see she’s fine, I should head back…”

“Mm, it’s getting late. You should hurry home, or your mother will worry.”

His voice was as calm and indifferent as ever. But maybe it was just her imagination—Wu Xiaoxia even detected a hint of impatience in it.

As if he found her annoying and couldn’t wait for her to leave.

It was a stark contrast to the way he treated Shen Yingying.

If Shen Yingying’s words had filled her with fury, making her want to lose control, then Xie Fangzhu’s attitude toward her now had completely broken her heart.

“…Okay.”

Defeated, she lowered her head. The moment she turned around, tears streamed down her face in humiliation.

Sitting on the wooden stool, Shen Yingying rested her face in her hands, watching Wu Xiaoxia’s figure disappear into the sunset with an unreadable expression.

She couldn’t see her face, but she could easily imagine Wu Xiaoxia’s current state—her face full of grievance and sorrow, perhaps even on the verge of tears.

Just thinking about it… well, it was kind of pitiful.

But Shen Yingying felt nothing. Not a shred of sympathy.

She had never enjoyed competing with other women over a man.

Acting as if Xie Fangzhu was some kind of treasure and fighting with Wu Xiaoxia over him? It almost made her sick.

To her, there were plenty of men in the world—why waste time tearing each other apart over just one and ruining friendships in the process?

But Wu Xiaoxia?

Shen Yingying just wanted to make her suffer.

Chapter 12: No, I Need to Get Up Tomorrow

Since Wu Xiaoxia cared most about Xie Fangzhu, Shen Yingying was going to use Xie Fangzhu to get under her skin. It would be perfect if it broke Wu Xiaoxia’s heart!

When she had first entered the story, she had almost gotten her legs broken by that lunatic Xie Fangzhu.

It all stemmed from Wu Xiaoxia’s impure motives, coaxing the original protagonist into meeting an outsider “factory manager,” which led to a rash decision for the protagonist to elope.

Had the original protagonist not eloped, she might never have entered this book.

Ending up in a place without phones, Wi-Fi, air conditioning, or any of the pleasures she was used to, having to beg and please the occasionally unpredictable Xie Fangzhu…

Was it easy for her?!

After all this, she had allowed Wu Xiaoxia to cry a few tears—she was being incredibly generous!

As she was deep in her self-pity, Xie Fangzhu had already pushed the bicycle to the door.

He kicked out the kickstand and steadied the bike, his gaze falling on her.

“Let’s go, it’s time to eat.”

He said, walking straight toward the small room.

Shen Yingying collected her thoughts and poked her head inside. “Aren’t you going to help me?”

Xie Fangzhu emerged from the room with a wooden folding table in hand. As he stepped out, he looked at her again, his eyebrows slightly furrowing.

“Can’t you walk?”

Shen Yingying: “…”

She had thought her act was convincing, but it turned out this fox had seen through it long ago.

Since she had been caught, Shen Yingying gave up on pretending and got up to follow him.

“I just wanted to get your attention.”

Xie Fangzhu turned back to glance at her. Seeing her completely unbothered and acting like she was in the right, he couldn’t help but shake his head. He set the table up next to the big tree by the wooden house and unpacked the food from the basket.

He opened the small burlap sack containing the food and pulled out an aluminum lunch box, placing it in front of Shen Yingying.

At this time, plastic lunch boxes were rare, and in the cafeteria, people packed their meals in their own containers.

Shen Yingying opened the box, and immediately, the smell of food wafted out. The top layer was made up of the beans and eggplant she had asked Xie Fangzhu to get for her.

Normally, Shen Yingying was quite picky, and she couldn’t stand the cafeteria’s big pot dishes.

But today, after not eating all day, having experienced running for her life and being constantly messed with, she was so hungry that her stomach was sticking to her back. Everything looked delicious.

The eggplant, soaked in soft and rich sauce, tasted more flavorful than any expensive delicacy she had ever eaten.

Just as she was savoring it, she suddenly heard a voice from the other side: “Did you have a falling out with her?”

Although no names were mentioned, Shen Yingying immediately understood who “she” referred to.

Shen Yingying thought to herself, He’s quite nosy, and perceptive too. She put down her chopsticks. “You want to know?”

Xie Fangzhu opened the lunch box and spoke in a faint tone: “It’s fine if you don’t want to talk.”

His expression was as neutral as his voice, showing no sign of the curiosity one would expect when digging into gossip, as if he wasn’t interested at all.

If it had been anyone else, Shen Yingying wouldn’t have bothered with them in this situation.

But this person in front of her was the lunatic who controlled her legs and her freedom. It was different; she had to treat him with care.

“I think she’s interested in you,” Shen Yingying said. “But you’re mine. You’re my man. How could I let a bomb like that stay around me? So, I had no choice but to choose my man over my friend.”

At her words, Xie Fangzhu paused. He looked up at her.

Seeing him look over, Shen Yingying’s eyes curved in a soft smile as she said, “You’re my man. Unless you主动 break up with me, no one can take you away.”

Though she was smiling, the sincerity in her eyes couldn’t be ignored.

Xie Fangzhu’s heart skipped a beat, and the previously calm expression cracked slightly, his face showing an unexpected sense of confusion.

He never imagined that Shen Yingying would say something so bold. He was momentarily speechless, eventually clearing his throat. “Let’s just eat.”

His voice unexpectedly sounded a bit awkward.

Shen Yingying noticed the subtle change in his expression. She knew her goal had been achieved, and feeling satisfied, she lowered her head to continue eating.

However, Xie Fangzhu had not yet recovered his senses when he couldn’t help but glance at Shen Yingying across from him. After a moment of hesitation, he picked up a piece of braised pork from the top of the lunchbox and placed it in her bowl.

Seeing the braised pork suddenly appear in her bowl, Shen Yingying was momentarily stunned, recalling that the original owner liked to eat braised pork. As she was eating, she couldn’t help but feel a bit surprised.

Just this morning, Xie Fangzhu had wanted to break her legs, but now not only was he buying her food, he was even actively giving her something “she” liked to eat.

Although it was a small and insignificant gesture, it was still progress. It was the result of her hard work!

Even though she didn’t personally like braised pork, it didn’t stop her from feeling deeply moved by her own efforts, almost to the point of tears.

This gave her tremendous confidence, and she couldn’t help but offer sincere, over-the-top praise:

“Xie Fangzhu, you’re so good to me! At home, my parents always save the meat for my brothers, but you’re the only one who thinks of me. I’m really touched! I feel like meeting you is the greatest blessing I’ve earned in eight lifetimes!”

Her eyes shimmered with a soft red, her dark eyes glistening with tears, as if she were incredibly moved.

“I used to care about you too, but I did it all wrong, being so harsh with you and making you suffer. Now that I think about it, I was really foolish! From now on, I’ll be more careful with how I treat you and be super, super good to you.”

Saying this, she blinked her teary eyes, got up, leaned over, and quickly kissed his cheek across the table.

In that instant, Xie Fangzhu’s heart missed a beat, his heartbeat skipping several times, and even the tips of his ears turned red.

When his heartbeat finally steadied, waves of warmth and sweetness filled his chest, making him feel light and giddy, as though he was floating on air.

In that moment, he was so caught up in the feeling that he nearly wanted to dump all the food from his lunchbox into Shen Yingying’s bowl, just to see her smile happily.

But Shen Yingying would not give him such an opportunity.

Once she sat back down, she picked up a piece of braised pork from her bowl and placed it back into his, her eyes lowered, her face flushed with shyness, as if she couldn’t bear to look at him.

“I don’t need to eat so much meat since I’m just staying at home, but you’re always working hard in the mines. You should eat more, or I’ll feel sorry for you.”

Looking at the piece of braised pork returned to his bowl, feeling the softness that still seemed to linger on his cheek, Xie Fangzhu felt a warmth in his heart. At that moment, he found himself at a loss for words, something that rarely happened.

He felt an unprecedented sense of satisfaction, as though he were lying on a cloud, light and floating, unable to contain the overwhelming happiness.

This feeling of exhilaration lingered throughout the night. When Shen Yingying, acting a bit coquettish, told him she wasn’t used to sleeping with someone after being alone for so long and wanted some time to adjust, Xie Fangzhu, caught up in the moment, agreed without thinking.

By the time he returned to his small room and realized what had happened, he felt regret, but not because he didn’t sleep with her—he wasn’t a beast driven by desire.

Instead, he regretted that in just one day, she had led him around by the nose like this. He felt like he wasn’t being a man.

No, tomorrow he had to stand firm; he couldn’t let her walk all over him!