Chapter 7

I walked out in high spirits and planted a big kiss on my bank card.

Then I looked up and saw Shen Yi.

Of course. My favorite person to run into.

He came over. “What are you doing here?”

“Visiting my sister. Oh, her name’s Lin Yao. She’s a… very sweet girl.”

His expression shifted. I caught it.

I remembered this part of the story. Lin Yao had found an excuse to invite Shen Yi home to meet her parents.

By a twist of fate, she’d helped him once when he was down on his luck. Ever since, he’d thought of her as a kind, innocent soul.

That was a major reason she managed to marry into the Shen family in the book despite her unremarkable looks.

Their meeting time was approaching, so I deliberately detained him.

“Yi, I’ve just thought of a few ways to deal with Shen Jibai. Shall we go somewhere and talk?”

He frowned slightly, hesitating.

I gritted my teeth. Time to commit.

I pinched my thigh hard enough to squeeze out a couple of tears.

“Yi… Shen Jibai’s already getting suspicious. If we don’t think of something soon, he won’t let me off…”

Sympathy flickered in his eyes. Without further hesitation, he took my hand and led me away.

I glanced back.

Sure enough, Lin Yao stood staring blankly after us.

At the café.

I spotted a furtive figure behind a tree, gave a deliberate little cry, and spilled a few drops of coffee.

“Why are you so careless?”

Shen Yi immediately leaned over to wipe it up for me.

I angled my body just so. From Lin Yao’s position, it would look as if we were nestled intimately together.

Once I thought enough time had passed, I sent Shen Yi away.

I stayed in the booth to wait. Sure enough, before long Lin Yao came storming in.

“Lin Chenxue! How dare you seduce my Yi behind my back? Don’t forget you’re married!”

I flicked at my nails, unbothered.

“So what? Is there some law against divorce?”

“Honestly, little sister, you’ll probably never understand the troubles beautiful women like me have. Your precious Yi is so eager. It’s quite a dilemma.”

Then I picked up my Hermès bag and made an elegant exit.

I left her sitting there, livid.

Back home, the sight of my handsome husband had me marveling all over again.

A specimen like this would brighten the place up even if he were just a statue.

“Honey, I’m home!”

I lost my footing and crashed face-first into his chest.

Shen Jibai pushed me away, his expression grim, and tapped the tabletop with his knuckles.

Several photographs lay there: “intimate” shots of Shen Yi and me at the café.

“You had me followed?”

“I didn’t have you followed. Countless people have had their eyes on you since you married into this family. I don’t want anything like this reaching me again.”

Slowly, deliberately, Shen Jibai tore the two photographs into tiny pieces.

His lips were pressed together. His face betrayed neither sadness nor pleasure, as though he hadn’t been affected in the slightest.

Only the veins rising faintly on the backs of his hands gave his real feelings away.

I caught his wrist, surprised. “Are you angry? Don’t tell me the great Mr. Shen actually gets jealous?”

He paused, then answered as though it were obvious. “Of course I’m angry. This concerns my family’s reputation.”

“That’s all?”

“Of course.”

I patted my chest in relief. “Easy, then. Next time I sneak off to see him, I’ll make sure nobody’s watching!”

Shen Jibai nearly blacked out on the spot.

That night, apparently still seething, he said he was going to punish me.

His chosen punishment was…

Making me sleep alone.

I had to admit, the man knew where to hit me.