Lu Xiao knew exactly what he was saying—he just didn’t like the words Su Tang always had on her lips.  

Their marital relationship? To her, he was merely a temporary partner to share a life with.  

During the duration of their marriage, he was expected to fulfill his duties as a husband.  

And once he was no longer needed, they’d go their separate ways without a second thought.  

Lu Xiao hated that feeling, though he couldn’t quite pinpoint the reason for his aversion.  

He just didn’t like it.  

“The pot’s boiling over.”  

Su Tang froze for a second, then blurted those words and immediately turned to flee.  

Watching her retreat in a fluster, Lu Xiao smirked.  

It had always been Su Tang teasing him—when had he ever gotten the chance to tease her?  

Today, he had finally evened the score.  

During dinner that evening, Su Tang was uncharacteristically silent. It was all Lu Xiao’s fault—what was the point of him suddenly declaring his loyalty like that?  

Now, being around him felt awkward.  

Lu Xiao, on the other hand, remained completely unbothered. In fact, he ate two bowls of noodles with the chili sauce Su Tang had made.  

Before bed, Su Tang skipped her usual reading habit and went straight to sleep.  

Keeping the light on and facing Lu Xiao would have been mortifying.  

Damn it. The image she had worked so hard to maintain had been shattered by just one sentence from him.  

Lu Xiao watched Su Tang’s back as she turned away from him, his smile deepening.  

He had thought Su Tang was so formidable, but it turned out she was just a paper tiger.  

The next morning, when Lu Xiao woke up, Su Tang was still asleep.  

She slept peacefully, well-behaved, never kicking the blankets around at night.  

Sunlight from outside was blocked by the curtains, leaving only scattered beams falling across her face.  

Lu Xiao could even see the fine down on her skin, illuminated by the light.  

Her long, curled lashes fluttered slightly, and he quickly averted his gaze, pulled on his clothes, and fled the room as if escaping something.  

Su Tang stretched lazily and slowly opened her eyes.  

That was strange—had she just felt someone staring at her?  

She turned to look at the spot beside her, but Lu Xiao was long gone.  

His blanket was folded into a neat square, with not a single crease where he had lain.  

So disciplined. Too disciplined.  

Su Tang sat up, put on her clothes, and went out to wash up, planning to head to the hospital later to ask.  

When she left yesterday, the director had told her to come back today if she had time.  

Either it was another round of interviews, or they’d directly inform her of the results.  

Either way, she had to make the trip.  

But before she could even get to the hospital, trouble came knocking on her door first.  

Hu Lili walked into the courtyard, her face haggard. Before Su Tang could say a word, she dropped to her knees.  

Su Tang was so startled it was as if she’d seen a ghost.  

“What are you doing?”  

“Su Tang, I’m sorry. I’ve reflected deeply on my actions, and I apologize for everything I’ve done to you.”  

Hu Lili’s kneeling drew the attention of onlookers from all directions, eager to witness the drama.  

Su Tang glanced at the crowd, then pulled Hu Lili up.  

“I don’t accept your apology, and I don’t need it.”  

The grudge between them had already taken root—it wasn’t something that could be smoothed over with a simple apology.  

Su Tang had no intention of becoming friends with Hu Lili, either.  

“Su Tang, you still hold resentment toward me, don’t you?”  

“I truly know I was wrong.”  

With that, Hu Lili gritted her teeth and tried to kneel again.  

Su Tang held her firmly, refusing to let her.

Kneeling over and over—if this continued, her reputation would take another hit.  

She had put in so much effort to improve people’s perception of her—she couldn’t let it be ruined again.  

“Hu Lili, what are you doing? Are you trying to drag Su Tang’s name through the mud?”  

“Zhang Cui, why are you so protective of Su Tang? Hu Lili has already apologized like this, and she still won’t accept it—does she think she’s above everyone else?”  

Zhang Cui rushed over in a panic and saw the scene unfolding. She stepped in to help Su Tang pull Hu Lili up.  

Unexpectedly, others who heard Zhang Cui’s words also took Hu Lili’s side.  

With Zhang Cui and Su Tang holding her arms, Hu Lili’s second attempt to kneel failed.  

Her body stiffened, her face paled further, and tears streamed down like broken beads. Her voice trembled with pitiful despair.  

“Su Tang, please… I… if I leave the residential compound, I’ll have nowhere to go! I’ve lost my job, my reputation is ruined… please, be merciful and give me a way out…”  

Her deliberately amplified pleas reached every onlooker’s ears.  

The murmurs in the crowd grew louder.  

Sympathy for the weak is human nature, and Hu Lili’s desperate act successfully swayed some of the bystanders.  

“Ah, she really is pitiful…”  

“Yeah, Su Tang, she’s already like this—why not be the bigger person?”  

“What’s a young woman supposed to do if she’s really driven out?”  

“Exactly, burning the herbs was wrong, but she paid compensation and admitted her mistake—what more do you want?”  

“Big-city girls from Shanghai really do have hard hearts, huh…”  

These comments were like tiny needles pricking at Su Tang.  

She frowned—not because she was wavering, but because she was annoyed.  

Hu Lili had accurately pinpointed her weakness and was using public opinion to tarnish her reputation.  

The image Su Tang had worked so hard to maintain was now at risk of being torn apart by Hu Lili’s victim act.  

Zhang Cui’s face flushed with anger as she snapped at those taking Hu Lili’s side.  

“What do any of you know? It’s easy to talk when it’s not your problem! She’s pitiful? Where was her pity when she burned Su Tang’s herbs? Those were expensive! She almost got Su Tang into serious trouble!”  

“And now she’s putting on this act to win sympathy—and you’re falling for it?”  

“If she really regretted it, couldn’t she apologize properly in private? Why kneel in front of everyone like this? What’s her real motive?”  

Zhang Cui’s sharp words silenced some of the crowd but also provoked backlash from others.  

“Zhang Cui, that’s too harsh—Hu Lili’s already like this…”  

“Right, who hasn’t made mistakes? Is it right to drive her to ruin?”  

The situation reached a stalemate—both sides argued fiercely, even though Su Tang herself hadn’t said a word.  

Hidden in the crook of her arm, Hu Lili’s lips curled into an almost imperceptible smirk.  

This was exactly the effect she wanted. As long as the pressure of public opinion was strong enough, Su Tang would have no choice but to grit her teeth and forgive her—just to save face and let her stay.  

Su Tang took a deep breath and released Hu Lili’s arm.  

Her voice wasn’t loud, but it cut through the noise with startling clarity.  

“Hu Lili, listen carefully.”  

Everyone fell silent, their eyes fixed on Su Tang.  

She stood straight, her gaze clear—no anger, no resentment.  

Only a calm understanding, even a trace of barely perceptible pity.  

“I’m not accepting your apology not because I’m heartless, but because I can see you’re not truly remorseful.”  

“You’re kneeling here, crying so dramatically, not because you think you were wrong, but because you’re afraid of being kicked out of the residential compound—afraid of losing this relatively stable place to live.”  

Su Tang’s words were like a scalpel, precisely dissecting the real intentions beneath Hu Lili’s performance.  

“And refusing your apology is my right. No one has the right to emotionally blackmail me.”  

“As Lu Xiao said—if that fire had spread to the house, what you burned wouldn’t have been just herbs.”