Chapter 8: Bullying My Man? Think Again If You’re Worthy  

Shen Shuli straightened her back. She had heard such remarks countless times before, which was exactly why she wanted to get pregnant as soon as possible—to shut them all up.  

But she never expected that Fu Yanci had no intention of having a child with her.  

“I’ve been taking medicine for years and have undergone all kinds of tests. There’s nothing wrong with my body.”  

“If there’s nothing wrong, how come you haven’t gotten pregnant in three years? There must be some issue. You should get checked properly.”  

Under the guise of concern, Zheng Zezhi uttered the most sarcastic words. Shen Shuli had always despised this wretched old woman.  

Fu Yanci held her hand, offering silent support. “Grandmother, Lili is still young. There’s no rush for children. We still have time.”  

“Young? She’s already 25. In a few years, who knows if she’ll even be able to conceive?” Zheng Zezhi pressed aggressively.  

Fu Yanci’s expression darkened. “Grandmother, please show some respect—for me and for Lili.”  

Zheng Zezhi burst into laughter as if she had just heard the most ridiculous joke. She glanced at the others. “He’s asking me to respect him!”  

Fu Lingyuan sneered. “You don’t deserve it!”  

Fu Xijue’s face was grim as he intervened. “Grandmother, that’s enough!”  

Ignoring Fu Xijue’s warning, Zheng Zezhi fixed her gaze on Fu Yanci.  

“If it’s not A-Li’s problem, then it must be yours. Have you been to the hospital? Are you even fertile?”  

Fu Yanci clenched his jaw, suppressing his fury, though his face remained stormy.  

Zheng Zezhi continued her interrogation.  

“Do you two even have a marital life? How many times a month? Or is your technique so poor that you can’t satisfy your wife?”  

Shen Shuli instinctively looked at Fu Yanci. She never imagined this vile old woman would drop all pretense and spew such disgusting words in public!  

“How many minutes do you last? Have you ever made your wife climax? I’ve lived long enough—there’s nothing I haven’t seen. You don’t have to hide it from me.”  

“Is there something wrong with you? Are you impotent? Have you checked for kidney deficiency?”  

Shen Shuli shot a glance at Fu Cuishan, who sat there like a bystander, not uttering a single word as Fu Yanci endured this humiliation.  

Zheng Zezhi kept firing. “If you’re really incapable, just tell me. I know an old Chinese medicine practitioner who—”  

“Had enough?”  

Shen Shuli took a sip of the soup in front of her before setting the ceramic spoon down with a sharp clink.  

Her icy glare swept over Zheng Zezhi, sharp and merciless, like Hell’s soul-reaping emissary. “Is the food not to your liking? Or is it just not enough to shut your mouth?”  

Humiliated in front of everyone, Zheng Zezhi’s face twisted. “A-Li, is this how you treat your elders? Have you forgotten basic manners after being married to him for so long?”  

Shen Shuli rose slowly, her voice frigid. “Since you’re not in the mood to eat either, then—”  

With one swift motion, she yanked the tablecloth, sending all the dishes on the long table crashing to the floor.  

“Let’s all stop eating!”  

The younger family members scrambled away as plates and food clattered noisily onto the ground.  

Fu Yanci instinctively shielded Shen Shuli, protecting her from the flying debris. A shard of porcelain grazed his right wrist, but he ignored the pain.  

Zheng Zezhi and Fu Cuishan weren’t so lucky. Older and slower to react, they couldn’t dodge in time—plenty of the food ended up splattered on them.

The entire room descended into chaos in an instant.

Zheng Zezhi let out a piercing shriek, “How dare you! Shen Shuli, you insolent brat, have you lost your mind?!”

Shen Shuli pulled out a checkbook from her bag, swiftly wrote down a figure, and slammed it onto the table with force.

“Here’s 500,000 yuan—consider it my treat for your meal. But if you dare bully my man in front of me, you’d better think twice about whether your status even qualifies you to!”  

“If 500,000 isn’t enough, go ask the Shen family for more. Our doors are always open—let’s see if you have the guts to step inside!” With that domineering declaration, Shen Shuli grabbed Fu Yanci’s arm. “Let’s go! Who wants to stay in this godforsaken place anyway!”  

A smile tugged at Fu Yanci’s lips as he followed her out, pulling her into his embrace. His heart and eyes were filled with nothing but her.  

Zheng Zezhi was practically fuming, pointing at Shen Shuli and shouting, “I’m going to ask your grandfather how he raised such a lawless little demon!”  

Shen Shuli rolled her eyes. Complaining to her grandfather? She wasn’t afraid. Her grandfather doted on her more than anything, treating her like the apple of his eye since she was a child. If she wanted the moon from the sky, he’d probably find a spaceship to take her there.  

Would her grandfather ever side with this wretched old hag over her?  

What a joke!  

Once in the car, Fu Yanci gently stroked her hair, tucking a loose strand behind her ear. His smile deepened, his gaze overflowing with adoration.  

Seeing his expression, Shen Shuli’s anger flared again. “You’re still smiling! I told you I didn’t want to come, but you insisted! Do you have some kind of masochistic streak? You treat them like family, but do any of them see you as human?!”  

Through her lively, expressive eyes, Fu Yanci seemed to glimpse memories of the past. “Do you remember the first time we met? I’ll never forget it.”  

Of course Shen Shuli remembered. As a child, she had been obsessed with beauty—anything that wasn’t aesthetically pleasing, even toys, she’d refuse.  

Fu Xijue had been the most handsome boy in the Fu family back then, so she’d always clung to him, begging him to play with her.  

Fu Xijue, mature and steady even as a child, was a few years older and always took extra care of her.  

But then Fu Yanci appeared—and her heart was completely stolen. She had never seen a boy more beautiful than him, even more so than Fu Xijue. And he spoiled her endlessly, yielding to her every whim, doing whatever she asked without complaint.  

Later, she often saw him kneeling in the courtyard for hours, even in rain or snow.  

Fu Lingyuan and a group of other children would gang up on him, not just beating him but even urinating on him.  

Yet Fu Yanci endured it all without a single sound.  

At the time, she couldn’t understand—weren’t they all children of the Fu family? Why did they always bully him?  

Only Fu Xijue never joined in. Instead, he stood up for Fu Yanci, scolding Fu Lingyuan and the others.  

But every time he spoke up, Zheng Zezhi would drag him away, locking him in his room to study, forbidding him from leaving or interfering.  

Unable to bear it any longer, Shen Shuli grabbed a broom from the courtyard and chased off the bullies, declaring haughtily, “From now on, Fu Yanci is under my protection! Anyone who dares bully him is picking a fight with me!”  

From that day on, whenever he had free time, Fu Yanci would wait quietly outside the Shen family’s gate—never knocking, just standing there patiently. At first, no one even knew he was there.  

Then one day, she accidentally stumbled upon him.  

“Why don’t you knock?” she asked.

She still remembered how cautious he was, saying he was afraid of dirtying the Shen family’s beautiful gate!

She pestered him to tutor her. Fu Yanci was an exceptional student, always ranking first in his grade. To prevent those wretched Fu family kids from bullying him, she suggested to her grandfather that Yan Ci come over after school every day to tutor her—this way, he’d face less harassment.

Rain or shine, even in heavy snowfall, Fu Yanci would wait quietly outside the Shen family gate without fail.

Recalling these memories, Shen Shuli’s eyes reddened. “You were always bullied by them when you were little. But now you’re an adult—there’s no need to endure it. If they insult you, insult them back. If that doesn’t work, just hit them. Why keep swallowing their abuse?”