The venomous words of the flying comments felt like daggers piercing Shi Ning’s already fragile heart. [“Shi Ning is a cheap woman. Shen Xizhou doesn’t love her, but she has to rush to pay for him! She is so cheap for not loving such a good man like Qin Heye! She deserves such a miserable death!”]
Shi Ning’s eyes welled up, burning with a mix of anger and hurt. Cheap? she silently raged. Why keep a dog if it offers no emotional comfort? And now that she knew Shen Xizhou was a scumbag, couldn’t she just… turn back? What was so wrong with being ‘cheap for love’ anyway? Hadn’t everyone, at some point, been young and foolish enough to chase a love, consequences be damned?
Her thoughts raced, a whirlwind of defiant questions. Why condemn her, not the scumbag? And why was she obligated to love Qin Heye simply because he loved her? There were plenty of people who loved her; must she reciprocate every single one?
But her indignation was abruptly swallowed by a fresh wave of terror. Qin Heye was descending the stairs, each step echoing like a death knell. His normally cold face, combined with the ominous aura he exuded, made him seem like the Grim Reaper himself. The chilling online comments about him wanting to imprison her, chain her, keep her naked, and hate her to death, flooded her mind, lending an eerie, almost tangible soundtrack to his approach.
“Qin Heye, don’t come over here!” Shi Ning cried out, scrambling to her feet. Her legs, numb from three hours of sitting, betrayed her, and she stumbled, falling directly towards the sharp corner of the dining table.
In a swift, almost impossibly smooth motion, Qin Heye’s long arms reached out, enveloping her just before impact. “Be careful,” he murmured, his voice a low rumble.
“Don’t touch me!” Shi Ning instinctively recoiled, pushing him away and collapsing back onto the chair.
Qin Heye staggered back two steps, his handsome features darkening as he gazed at her, a silent testament to her raw aversion. His violent energy, palpable in the air, intensified her fear, recalling the sinister predictions of the online barrage.
She instinctively cowered, shrinking into herself. Then, slowly, she looked up at him, her eyes wide and aggrieved. “Don’t be mean to me,” she pleaded, her voice barely a whisper.
Qin Heye remained silent, his brows furrowed, his gaze unwavering. He was terrifying in his stillness. Shi Ning, desperate to avoid the gruesome fate described by the online commentators, knew she had to appease him. She pursed her lips, then tentatively reached out, gently tugging and shaking his sleeve.
“I was just angry,” she murmured, feigning a childish grievance, her voice laced with a newfound vulnerability. “I waited for you for three hours, and you didn’t come to hug me. So, I was angry and didn’t let you touch me.”
Qin Heye’s gaze drifted to his sleeve, where her small hand gently pulled. This was new. This was the first time she had ever acted so tenderly, so…coquettishly with him. The rigid lines of his face softened imperceptibly. “Didn’t I ask the servant to take you upstairs?” he asked, his voice losing some of its earlier chill.
Shi Ning looked up, her eyes wide and innocent, her lips forming a perfect pout. “I just want you to hug me,” she whined, her voice syrupy sweet. “If I don’t use my husband, why would I marry him?”
Three years. Three years of marriage, and this was the first time Shi Ning had ever called him ‘husband’. The word resonated through Qin Heye, making his entire body stiffen. He lowered his head, his gaze intensely focused on her. “Husband?”
“Yeah!” Shi Ning nodded, then opened her arms towards him. “Husband, hug~” Her voice, soft and tender, imbued the word ‘husband’ with a sweetness that spread through Qin Heye, filling him with an unexpected warmth.
“Okay ,” he responded, bending down and lifting her into his arms. Shi Ning, surprisingly compliant, wrapped her arms around his neck.
The online comments exploded:
[Hey??? Shi Ning actually called Qin Heye husband? How did the plot change? It became so sweet!]
[The villain loves her too much. He was so angry that he wanted to kill someone just now. Now the female supporting role calls him husband, and the corners of his mouth are shoulder to shoulder with the sun.]
[The villain loves the female supporting role very much. When she didn’t call him husband, he was willing to give her his life. When she called him husband, he was willing to give her his life for ten lifetimes.]
[I’m sick in the brain. Why do I insist on the forced love between the paranoid villain and the vicious female supporting role? Isn’t this normal sweet love sweet?]
[In fact, Qin Heye has always respected Shi Ning. He has never forced her in the three years of marriage. Except for divorce, he has always agreed with her.]
[She wanted to leave a room for Shen Xizhou and let him and Shi Qingyin have no obstacles to come in to Qingshui Bay, and he agreed to it.]
[Even in the end, Shi Ning wanted to kill him, but he was willing to die just for a hug. His love was too humble, which made me feel sorry for him .]
Shi Ning glanced at the scrolling comments, then looked up at Qin Heye’s sculpted jawline. It was a face that commanded respect, one that radiated an aura of untouchable nobility. She couldn’t fathom why such a man would humble himself so completely for her love.
Qin Heye carried Shi Ning into the bedroom and gently placed her on the bed. He stood over her, his presence imposing yet now softened. “Call me directly if you want something in the future,” he instructed.
“I did,” Shi Ning replied, her voice still tinged with a manufactured grievance. “We talked for three hours.”
Qin Heye pressed a hand to his temple. “Sorry, I thought you hung up the phone.” He had assumed she was merely speaking idly; after all, Shi Ning had always been openly annoyed by his presence, let alone asking for a hug.
He looked at her, his expression serious. “From now on, give me a direct order. If it doesn’t work once, give me a direct order twice. Got it?”
An order? To the emperor of the business world? Who dared to do such a thing? Yet, Shi Ning, ever the quick study in survival, nodded obediently. “Okay.”
Qin Heye then squatted down, carefully checking her ankle, a visible sigh of relief escaping him when he confirmed it wasn’t sprained again. He glanced at his watch. “It’s getting late, go to bed.” He turned to leave.
But once again, his sleeve was gently caught by Shi Ning’s small hand. Qin Heye looked down at her fingers, then up at her face. “Anything else?”
Shi Ning’s cheeks flushed, and she averted her gaze, her eyes fixed on his strong, slender fingers. A shy request, or perhaps, a cunning command, escaped her lips.
“You… help me wash.”