Chapter 14: A Slap in the Face

Shen Yingying finally released him. After the oil lamp was extinguished and the room fell into darkness again, she immediately clung to him, as if she wanted to stick to him like an octopus.

Xie Fangzhu lay flat, but the position was uncomfortable, so he turned to his side and pulled her into his arms.

The fresh, clean scent filled his nose, and Shen Yingying, feeling safe in his arms, calmed down a little. She murmured, “Xie Fangzhu, I was really scared just now.”

Holding her soft body, Xie Fangzhu’s heart felt a bit chaotic.

Some wild thoughts couldn’t help but surface.

He cursed himself for lacking self-control. At a time like this, thinking about such things—wasn’t that just like an animal?

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down while gently stroking her back, “Mm, I know. It’s okay now.”

When her body finally relaxed after being in such a tense state, fatigue quickly set in.

Shen Yingying fell asleep soon after, comforted by the steady rhythm of his hand stroking her back.

Listening to her even breaths, Xie Fangzhu’s restless heart finally began to calm down.

She was in his arms, yet, in a daze, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of disbelief.

Just this morning, she had been like an enemy to him, but now, she had become the closest person to him.

Such a huge leap felt almost like a dream.

He had never been this close to anyone before, and this feeling was incredibly strange, bringing an inexplicable sense of reassurance.

Although he was very reluctant to admit it, he couldn’t help but get lost in the feeling.

….
Shen Yingying woke up from a nightmare.

In the dream, a giant python had coiled around her, opening its large mouth and swallowing her whole.

Terrified, she quickly opened her eyes and realized it was just a dream. She was in Xie Fangzhu’s room, not in some deep mountain forest.

As she became more awake, her thoughts drifted back to the snake that had crawled onto her stomach the previous night. A chill ran down her spine, and goosebumps rose on her skin.

Instinctively, she looked to the side. The bed was empty, and Xie Fangzhu was nowhere to be found.

She recalled how, just before bed, she had used every method to persuade Xie Fangzhu to sleep in a separate room, yet by the middle of the night, she had lost control and clung to him like an octopus, not able to get off him. She felt terribly embarrassed, clutching the blanket, wishing she could shrink into a tiny worm.

The self-inflicted slap to her face was truly painful.

But Shen Yingying’s inner strength was remarkable, and she quickly convinced herself.

After all, it was done now. Since they hadn’t divorced, it was inevitable that they would sleep together again one day. The whole idea of sleeping in separate rooms wasn’t really that important.

Besides, sleeping was a mutual thing.

A man can sleep with a woman, and similarly, a woman can sleep with a man.

Xie Fangzhu had looks, strength, and an amazing physique. When he wasn’t being wild, he was pure, and sleeping with such a perfect man was no loss for her. In fact, it could even be considered a gain.

With this thought, her mood lifted, and she got out of bed.

She opened the door, and the light outside was bright.

Stretching, she went to the neighboring room to get her toiletries but noticed that the door to the next room was wide open.

Inside, Xie Fangzhu was crouching and kneeling in front of a cabinet, poised and ready.

Suddenly, his hand shot toward the bottom of the cabinet, and when he pulled it back, he was holding a snake.

The snake was long—at least a meter, maybe more.

Its body was covered in black and yellow markings, and it looked like it had eaten something, as the middle of its slender body was swollen in an alarming way. It twisted and wriggled in Xie Fangzhu’s hand, struggling.

Xie Fangzhu used his other hand to hold the snake’s body, winding it around his hand, then grabbed a black sack nearby, shook it out, and tossed the snake inside.

The series of movements was smooth and practiced, his expression calm, without a hint of fluctuation, as if throwing in a piece of clothing.

Meanwhile, Shen Yingying, standing outside the door, was already covered in goosebumps, terrified by the scene.

Xie Fangzhu tied up the black sack and glanced at Shen Yingying, who stood at the door, too scared to come in, her face full of fear. He explained, “It’s a rat snake, harmless. This snake is very greedy. Since you forgot to sprinkle realgar powder last night, it took the chance to sneak in and find food.”

He then looked around the room, seeing how cluttered it was, and glanced at Shen Yingying outside, who looked like she had been bathed in golden light. He couldn’t help but furrow his brows.

Shen Yingying was very particular about her personal space. Ever since they started sleeping in separate rooms, she had locked her door, not allowing Xie Fangzhu to enter.

Xie Fangzhu had never been interested in her room and had never spied on it.

Last night, after they started sleeping separately, was the first time he had entered her room.

But with the limited light from the oil lamp and all his attention focused on Shen Yingying, he didn’t pay much attention to the room, only thinking it was full of things.

However, when he saw the room this morning, the mess inside shocked him.

It was the first time he felt a suffocating sense of disbelief.

He couldn’t reconcile the chaotic room with the beautiful and neat Shen Yingying he knew.

As someone who always moved forward with clear goals, this was the first time he thought about retreating.

But thinking of her pale face and her breakdown the night before, he gritted his teeth and rummaged through the cabinets.

Shen Yingying, still too scared to enter, had no idea what was going on in his mind. She was still on edge.

Recalling the large bulge in the snake’s belly, she felt her scalp tighten and couldn’t help but ask Xie Fangzhu, “What did it eat?”

Xie Fangzhu hesitated before answering, “It ate a rat. I think it’s cleaned out the rat’s nest in your room.”

As he spoke, he grabbed the coal tongs nearby and crouched down again.

Using the tongs, he poked around the bottom of the cabinet, and soon he pulled out a dead rat.

The rat was wet, covered in slime, and its huge body was twisted in an eerie way, as if its bones had all broken.

Xie Fangzhu said, “Look, this is what the snake ate until it couldn’t eat anymore and then vomited it up.”

Shen Yingying hadn’t recovered from the fear of the snake, and seeing the rat in such a state made her stomach turn. “That’s disgusting. I’ve never seen a rat that big!”

She looked up and suddenly noticed Xie Fangzhu staring at her, looking like he wanted to say something but was holding back.

She froze for a moment and instinctively asked, “What’s wrong?”

“The snake ate the rat in your room until it vomited,” he coughed awkwardly, then, in a rather indirect manner, added, “Shen Yingying, you should pay attention to cleanliness.”

The implication being: Shen Yingying, you’ve been raising generations of rats.

Shen Yingying: “…”

After dealing with the rat, Xie Fangzhu asked Shen Yingying to fetch water from the water tank, washing his hands several times before he was satisfied.

He worked the day shift, starting at 8 a.m.

But with breakfast and other preparations, he usually had to leave home before 7 a.m.

Today, catching the snake had delayed him quite a bit. It was already 7 a.m., and he still had to gather the workers for the morning meeting. He had to hurry.

He picked up the black sack containing the snake and tossed it into the bicycle basket, saying to Shen Yingying, “I’m leaving now.”

“Okay, be careful on the road,” Shen Yingying nodded, not forgetting to kindly remind him, “Be safe in the mine too. I’ll be waiting for you at home.”

As she spoke, her gaze fell on the black sack still wriggling in Xie Fangzhu’s bicycle basket. She paused for a moment before she couldn’t help but ask, “Where are you taking it?”

Xie Fangzhu replied, “To Uncle Chen. His family eats snakes, and I don’t know how to handle it, so I’ll just give it to him.”

Shen Yingying knew who “Uncle Chen” was. His full name was Chen Wenxing, and he was Xie Fangzhu’s superior and the leader of their work team. Xie Fangzhu had been promoted by him.

She nodded, not wanting to continue the conversation, her eyebrows furrowing in a soft, delicate manner as she teasingly said, “That’s true. I wouldn’t know either. Seeing a snake almost scared me to death. Might as well give it to Uncle Chen to make a good impression.”

Xie Fangzhu gave her a glance, his lips tightening, and his gaze became somewhat complicated.

Shen Yingying felt uneasy under his look, wondering why he hadn’t left yet. Wasn’t he supposed to be going to work?

Just as she thought her forced smile was about to freeze, Xie Fangzhu finally withdrew his gaze and said, “I’m leaving now.”

Watching him push his bicycle down the hill, Shen Yingying finally let out a breath. Now that he was gone, she could relax and be herself.

But just as she thought she could relax, he suddenly stopped, turned back to look at her, and asked, “Want to go to the cafeteria for breakfast?”
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