Chapter Twenty: I’m Not Interested in You

“Fine by me.”

Liu Fuying showed no trace of panic. Instead, she smiled sweetly, like a blooming flower.

“Life in the Shen family wasn’t as good as I imagined anyway. Leaving is no big deal—I have nothing here worth holding on to. It’s just a pity the old lady will have to suffer another blow.”

That last sentence hit Shen Xiunian’s sore spot.

His temper extinguished instantly. He couldn’t bear to imagine what would happen if his mother were to relapse again.

Another heartbreak—another loss—it might cost her her life this time.

His mother had mistaken Liu Fuying for the late Xu Liangyin and clung to that belief. He absolutely couldn’t let her witness the woman she saw as Xu Liangyin leaving again.

Yet, he also loathed the way Liu Fuying used this fact as leverage.

“You think leaving the Shen family means you’ll get to live free and easy?”

A cast-off wife driven out of her husband’s house—what kind of freedom could that be?

But Liu Fuying showed no fear. She slowly turned around, smiled, and said, “Is there truly such a thing as freedom and ease in this world? Isn’t everyone just living with bitterness in their lives? True freedom… might just be death. Maybe that’s when we ascend to paradise.”

Her gaze, deliberate or not, swept toward the pillow on Shen Xiunian’s bed.

Sure enough, she caught a faint glimpse of that wooden spirit tablet again.

A living person he scorned, but a cold, lifeless tablet—he clung to that like it was treasure. So devoted.

It was a tablet for the woman he loved.

Liu Fuying still remembered the first time she stepped foot in this room and happened to see the tablet. He’d cursed her to the heavens, as if her very presence had defiled it.

She never returned after that.

Before she could get a better look this time, Shen Xiunian’s frosty glare swept her way in warning.

She turned her eyes aside and asked, “So, what’s the plan for tonight?”

Once again, Shen Xiunian gave no answer.

“If I return to my own room and word gets out, your mother will be back tomorrow, and the day after that too.”

Might as well finish the act, save everyone the back and forth.

Sharing a roof didn’t mean sharing a bed. He could hold on to his precious spirit tablet for all she cared.

Still, he didn’t say a word.

Once his anger settled, he seemed to return to his usual cold, aloof self.

When Liu Fuying glanced back, there was no sign of him in the room. He had even drawn the bed curtains on both sides, sealing himself off entirely.

She laughed, though her eyelids twitched. It was ridiculous.

Even while laughing, a chill crept up from her soles. That man was revoltingly cold, inside and out.

He hadn’t kicked her out. That meant he accepted her earlier remarks.

As for where she slept tonight—who cared?

She took a deep breath and strode out of the room. Let Shen Xiunian enjoy the company of his beloved tablet. She had no desire to be the third party in that scene.

She spent the whole night on a reclining chair outside.

The next morning, when she woke with a start, her neck, back, and waist were sore all over. Her complexion was pale.

When she slowly stood, her legs were numb too.

Just then, Shen Xiunian came out of the inner chamber. His eyes flicked past her like she was air, and he turned his head away.

Someone outside called for him—it was one of his subordinates reporting something important.

Without another glance, he strode out of the courtyard.

Liu Fuying was holding onto the doorframe when she saw Jin Li walking over, brushing shoulders with Shen Xiunian.

“Madam, let me help you.”

Jin Li hurried over and supported her.

Every second spent in this courtyard made Liu Fuying feel like she couldn’t breathe. She didn’t linger, and once she regained some strength, she left.

Back at Shuxing Courtyard, she immediately had someone prepare a bath.

Though the spring water from the mountains didn’t make her feel unclean, just one night in Shen Xiunian’s room left her feeling disgusted.

Frankly, it felt like she had spent the night in a coffin—cold and filled with death.

After cleansing herself, she hadn’t even finished dressing when someone suddenly kicked the bathhouse door open with a loud bang, making Jin Li jump in shock.

“G-General! Our madam is—”

“Liu Fuying!”

It was Shen Xiunian. His face was thunderous, his aura like a drawn blade. He looked like he wanted to skin her alive.

Liu Fuying recalled the last time he was this furious—it was also when she saw the spirit tablet on his bed.

What now?

Wasn’t he the one who allowed her to stay in that room last night?

“General, what are you doing—”

Jin Li stepped in front of her in alarm, but was met with a roaring shout:

“Out—!”

His voice shook the roof. That was how furious he was.

Liu Fuying calmly patted Jin Li’s shoulder, motioning for her to step aside.

Her outer robe was still loose, the sash at her waist undone. Shen Xiunian didn’t care in the slightest. His frosty eyes were cruel, void of any decency. It seemed like if he wanted to strip her and throw her in the street, he’d do it without hesitation.

Liu Fuying calmly gathered her robe and met his gaze, thoroughly fed up.

“What’s the meaning of this, General? Just say it.”

“Still pretending?” His eyes were like nails, wanting to pin her to the wall. “No one else enters my room. You were the only one there. If not you, then who?”

“Shen Xiunian…”

“I warned you not to touch Su Su’s spirit tablet. Touch it again, and I’ll make sure you regret it.”

Ah—so that’s what this was about.

Liu Fuying didn’t bother arguing.

“If you’ve got time to yell, maybe use it to go back and look properly.”

She clutched her robe tighter and stepped aside, ready to leave.

Unexpectedly, Shen Xiunian grabbed her.

If not for Jin Li’s quick reflexes, she would’ve hit the ground.

Barely keeping her balance, her hair had come loose, her robe was a mess—an utter sight of disarray.

And in Shen Xiunian’s eyes, all of it turned into further cause for contempt.

“Don’t play innocent with me!”

His rage was peaking, and his words grew uglier.

“I bet it’s because your lover’s useless and couldn’t get you pregnant. Now you’re setting your sights on me. Don’t think I don’t see through your game. That stunt last night—was it really my mother’s idea? Or was it yours?”

Counting the days, it had indeed been nearly two months since she started visiting Changming Temple.

If she’d met a man there every time, surely she’d be pregnant by now.

That was the conclusion Shen Xiunian jumped to.

Liu Fuying’s face went cold.

Before today, no matter how he treated her—cold or distant—she had always remained unaffected.

But his words today… for the first time, she felt real disgust toward him.

“Shen Xiunian, I’m not interested in you.”

Even with how annoyed she felt, her expression stayed calm. But her words cut deep, making Shen Xiunian’s brows draw tight.

“What did you just say?”

“I said—I’m not interested in you. A man who’d cast aside the mother who raised him just to mourn over a dead woman doesn’t deserve anything. I don’t want anything to do with someone that spineless.”

“You—!”

“You think I married into this family because I had feelings for you? Men are everywhere—if I was desperate for a man, I’d never pick you. So do yourself a favor and stop flattering yourself.”

“You… good. Very good!”

Shen Xiunian’s fury burned hotter. His face looked even more terrifying than before.