Chapter Five: Have You Fallen in Love with Her?
Xia Zhi lowered her voice, and the gentleness in her eyes turned into sharpness.
"You think Ming Shen really loves you? He only married you because he needed someone to deal with the Yan family after I left!"
Her nails were neatly trimmed, yet they pinched Su Xiaosheng painfully.
Su Xiao winced in pain, and one of the paintings fell from her hand, spreading out on the floor with beautiful ink wash patterns.
Although she knew this would happen, hearing Xia Zhi say it still made her heart ache as if it had been ripped apart.
Do you know what happened the day your father died?
Xia Zhi leaned closer, her warm breath brushing against Su Xiao's ear:
"Right here, just like now."
Her fingers slowly brushed across Su Xiao's chest.
Ambiguous yet passionate.
He pinned me to the door, and we...
The sunlight outside the window suddenly became dazzling, and Su Xiao looked at Xia Zhi's smug face.
I suddenly remembered that on our wedding day three years ago, Yan Mingshen said in his vows, "I will cherish you for the rest of my life."
The tenderness in his eyes at that time was genuine, not fake.
But now, he is personally leading another woman into their home.
He watched as she changed everything they had arranged together, without uttering a single word of objection.
"Yeah?"
Su Xiao slowly grabbed Xia Zhi's unruly hand and shook it off:
"But now it's me who's marrying him."
She bent down, picked up the painting again, and rolled it up neatly. Her voice was steady, as if she were talking about someone else.
"So what? You're just a useless piece of trash with an injured hand now."
Xia Zhi's expression completely changed:
"Without your gallery, what do you have to compete with me on..."
Anger surged up like a tidal wave and exploded in Su Xiao's chest.
Su Xiao raised her hand and slapped Xia Zhi hard.
"Smack!"
A crisp sound rang out clearly amidst the roar of the electric drill.
Xia Zhi turned her head to the side after being hit, covered her face, and tears instantly welled up in her eyes:
"You dare hit me?"
Su Xiao shook her hand; her palm stung.
Seeing the finger marks that quickly appeared on Xia Zhi's face, he finally felt a little better.
The sound of a door opening came from downstairs; Yan Mingshen had returned.
Su Xiao stood still.
When he reached the guest room, Xia Zhi's tears were streaming down her face. Before he could ask, she sobbed and spoke first.
"I'm sorry, I've caused you both trouble."
These words were half true and half false, giving Yan Mingshen a way out while making herself appear pitiful. Yet, her tearful eyes looked past Yan Mingshen's shoulder and stared straight at Su Xiao's face.
There was little grievance in his eyes; rather, they were like a poisoned hook, gently scraping across Su Xiao's face.
Yan Mingshen glanced at Xia Zhi, but did not turn around.
Yet he could sense Su Xiao standing stubbornly behind him, like a white lotus that refused to bend despite being pierced by rain.
"Xiaoxiao, you shouldn't have hit her."
His tone was somewhat ambiguous, making it difficult to discern whether it was blame or something else.
Su Xiao's heart grew colder and colder. He knew perfectly well that he couldn't have hit someone for no reason.
They've known each other for almost five years.
Does Yan Mingshen have to protect Xia Zhi so indiscriminately?
"Ming Shen, it's not Miss Su's fault."
Xia Zhi turned her head slightly, her expression perfectly conveying a sense of grievance:
“I changed the things she arranged, and she was upset, which I understand.”
Her words were evasive, making no mention of their argument whatsoever.
This put Su Xiaoxian in the position of the villain.
"sorry."
Su Xiao obediently lowered her eyes.
I wanted to laugh, but I felt that my laughter was inappropriate.
Instead, she forced herself to shed two or three tears.
She had no idea when Yan Mingshen had become so oblivious to such poor acting skills.
Or perhaps, he never intended to expose Xia Zhi in the first place...
"Su Xiao."
Yan Mingshen paused for a moment before slowly turning around, his gaze falling on the sketch in Su Xiao's arms:
“I know you’re upset that the gallery is gone, I understand, but Xia Zhi is a guest, you can’t…”
"But she..."
Su Xiao didn't continue speaking, but turned to the side, revealing the bruises on her waist.
Tears welled up in her eyes and rolled down at just the right moment, landing on the back of her hand, making her look exceptionally pitiful.
"Xiaoxiao, I'm sorry."
Yan Mingshen's tone softened a bit, and seeing her trembling from crying, he felt a strange tightness in his heart.
He took things out of context, didn't understand the whole story, and blamed everything on her.
Su Xiao bit her lip, and her tears fell even more fiercely.
But he shook his head knowingly:
"I never intended to take action..."
She sniffled, her voice choked with emotion:
"But she said you only married me to appease the Yan family... I was so upset that I lost control..."
Su Xiao's words were full of grievance, but she didn't utter a single word blaming Yan Mingshen.
On the contrary, they seemed exceptionally considerate.
Xia Zhi hadn't expected her to say that, and hurriedly tried to explain, "I didn't..."
"Miss Xia, please stop talking."
Su Xiao interrupted her, wiped away her tears, and smiled gently at Yan Mingshen:
"It's my fault, Ming Shen, don't be upset. I'll go upstairs first, you two can have a good chat."
She staggered as she turned around, as if she was in pain and couldn't stand up straight.
As she reached the top of the stairs, she turned back to look at Yan Mingshen, her eyes filled with a mixture of dependence and grievance.
Then she lowered her head and walked up step by step, her thin back view heartbreaking.
Yan Mingshen watched her retreating figure, his brows furrowing even more deeply.
"Xiaxia, don't treat her like this..."
Yan Mingshen sighed softly, his tone becoming serious.
"You know perfectly well that we didn't do anything that day."
"But Ming Shen, I'm not happy."
Xia Zhi leaned against the wall, her head down.
She was backlit, making her expression indistinct: "I gave up everything to save you, but now it's her standing here."
"I will give you an explanation." Yan Mingshen rubbed his temples.
He had considered marrying Xia Zhi, but Xia Zhi had been abroad for five years without any news from him.
He couldn't keep waiting for her indefinitely.
Moreover, at that time, the Yan family needed the Su family's connections, so it was a foregone conclusion that he and Su Xiao would be together.
"Yan Mingshen, have you fallen in love with her?" Xia Zhi didn't look up; her voice was tinged with tears, making her look exceptionally pitiful.
Yan Mingshen remained silent, and the two faced off in a silent standoff in the cramped guest room.
*
The moment Su Xiao returned to her bedroom and locked the door behind her, the meekness and grievance on her face vanished completely.
She leaned slowly against the door.
I felt nauseous.
She can't stay here any longer.
Su Xiao walked to the bedside table, took out a small iron box from the drawer, which contained her and Yan Mingshen's marriage certificate and a men's wedding ring.
It was a pair with the one she had, but Yan Mingshen hadn't worn it many times and had kept it in a box.
Su Xiao carefully put away the marriage certificate, took off the ring on her hand, and placed it together with the one in the box.
Sunlight streamed in through the cracks in the window, falling on the ring and reflecting dappled light that stung her eyes.
Su Xiao put the box back, and her phone vibrated in her pocket. It was a text message from an unknown number.
"Your bank card ending in 0000 has been frozen due to litigation. Please contact your bank for details."
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