Chapter 4: An Unbelievable Truth

Nan Zhi trembled with rage. She lifted her chin arrogantly and glared at Fu Shaoxiu. Where was the gentle, passionate man who once pursued her, longing to cradle her in his hands? Last night, she was the one who suffered humiliation and pain. She was framed and manipulated by Nan Yao, her innocence stolen. Yet he not only refused to believe her, but also slandered and insulted her! Was this what he called affection?

“Fu Shaoxiu, I’ll say it again: last night Nan Yao set me up. Do you believe me or her?”

“Where is your evidence?” Fu Shaoxiu touched his handsome face, now marked by five vivid red fingerprints from Nan Zhi’s slap. His expression was so dark, it was frightening. “You have no proof that Yao Yao framed you, because your true nature is just like that—shameless, fickle, unfaithful!”

Fu Shaoxiu was beside himself with anger. He cared for her so much; because she didn’t want him, he never touched her, not even a kiss. But she didn’t cherish herself, ending up in bed with another man!

Nan Zhi knew that, no matter how much she spoke, Fu Shaoxiu would never believe her again. Nan Yao always concealed herself so well, putting on a pitiful act at the slightest provocation, making everyone believe she was the purest, most harmless soul in the world.

Nan Zhi sniffed, her crimson lips curving into a cold, mocking smile. “Fu Shaoxiu, if that’s how it is, let’s call off the engagement.”

Fu Shaoxiu was stunned. She had so easily proposed breaking it off—did he mean nothing to her at all?

Nan Zhi didn’t spare Fu Shaoxiu another glance. She strode up to Nan Yao, raised her hand, and slapped her.

“Nan Zhi, you—”

Smack.

The other cheek took a blow.

“Nan Zhi—”

Smack, smack.

Two more slaps in quick succession.

Fu Shaoxiu grabbed Nan Zhi’s slender wrist, his face darkening ominously. “Nan Zhi, dare hit Yao Yao once more and see what happens?”

Nan Yao’s fair, delicate face was already swollen, her misty eyes brimming with tears. She looked pitiful beyond compare, but in front of Fu Shaoxiu, she didn’t dare raise a hand against Nan Zhi.

“Brother Shaoxiu, my face hurts so much, so much. Last night I really didn’t scheme against Zhi Zhi, she’s wrongly accusing me—”

Fu Shaoxiu glanced at Nan Yao’s red, swollen face, her lips split and bleeding, then at Nan Zhi’s own youthful yet striking features. Thinking of her tangled up with another man last night, a look of disgust flashed in his eyes. He shoved Nan Zhi forcefully. “Wretch!” he spat, wrapping the trembling Nan Yao in his arms.

Nan Zhi, still wearing high heels, stumbled from the force of Fu Shaoxiu’s push and fell backward.

Her lower back struck the coffee table, sending a sharp pain through her body and tears streaming down her face. Nestled in Fu Shaoxiu’s embrace, Nan Yao cast a triumphant and taunting smile at Nan Zhi.

...

Nan Zhi came down with a fever. In the middle of the night, her throat scorched and parched. She rose from bed, aching all over, and stepped out of her room, intending to go downstairs for water.

Passing the master bedroom on the second floor, she noticed a faint light shining within. Drawn by some mysterious urge, she approached.

“Sir, aren’t you afraid Nan Zhi will find out that Yao Yao drugged her, and you were involved too?”

“If you don’t say, I don’t say, and Yao Yao doesn’t say, how would that girl ever know?”

“That fool Nan Zhi probably couldn’t imagine, even in her dreams, that Yao Yao is your real daughter. Nor could she guess that, before you married her mother, the two of you were already in love. You only wed her mother for her grandfather’s inheritance, didn’t you?”

Nan Weiye gave a cold laugh. “She’s as hopelessly foolish as her mentally unstable mother, and I’ve spoiled her to uselessness. Naturally, she won’t figure it out. Even if she did, what difference would it make? I’ve already transferred all the old man’s assets to my own name.”

“We haven’t yet found out which stranger she slept with last night, but her reputation is ruined. The Fu family won’t want a daughter-in-law like that. From now on, Shaoxiu will devote himself entirely to Yao Yao.”