Shi Ning’s eyes scanned the scrolling comments, and a comforting but dreadfull warmth spreading through her. She had always known Mu Tiantian, who had been her fierce protector growing up, would never betray her. But the notion that Mu Tiantian would be deceived by a scumbag, go to Myanmar to save her, and endure torture, even till madness, sent a shiver down her spine.
“Are you in love recently?” Shi Ning asked to Mu Tiantian, her tone unusually serious.
Mu Tiantian, ever the playful one, flashed her phone. “When am I not in love?” she chirped. “You’ll be in love later too. I’ve already picked some out for you. They’re more or less like Shen Xizhou. I guarantee you’ll have a sweet time today .” Mu Tiantian’s relationships were fleeting, mostly with male models; she’d never been serious. The comments hadn’t specified who the scumbag was, leading Shi Ning to believe that the encounter hadn’t happened yet.
“If you meet someone you like, you must bring him to me,” Shi Ning declared, her voice solemn. “I need to approve before you can even think about it! And…” she paused, her gaze firm, “Don’t mention Shen Xizhou. It’s disgusting to hear! I am a married woman, and I must act like a good wife!”
Mu Tiantian stared, wide-eyed at her declaration . Slowly, she raised a hand to Shi Ning’s forehead, then to her own. “You don’t have a fever, so you’re brain isn’t confused either , so why are you talking nonsense?”
Shi Ning looked at her, irritated. “I’m telling you seriously, don’t say things like Shen Xizhou is my husband in the future. Qin Heye will be angry if he heard about it .” And his anger was terrifying! She would be imprisoned, forced to love him , locked with a gold chain—it was all so very scary.
Mu Tiantian studied Shi Ning, who sat there in a simple floral dress, white sneakers, her long, straight black hair loose. Without makeup, she looked like an innocent, pure girl—a stark contrast to the sexy, alluring goddess Shi Ning who always dressed provocatively and wore full makeup outside. The captivating enchantress had been replaced by a pure, yet subtly alluring, presence. This was why Mu Tiantian hadn’t recognized her at first.
“Are you serious?” Mu Tiantian finally asked.
“Yeah.”
Bang! Mu Tiantian slapped both thighs, her excitement barely contained. “Finally, I wiped the shit off your eyes! Finally, you don’t want to eat Shen Xizhou’s shit anymore! you finally know that Shen Xizhou is no match for Qin Heye, finally…”
“Don’t say it again and again it’s already over,” Shi Ning interrupted, exasperated. “You knew Shen Xizhou was shit, but you didn’t know how to pull me away from him ? I wasted so many years on him!” She almost regretted the sympathy she’d felt for Mu Tiantian’s thigh.
Mu Tiantian chuckled. “You’re more stubborn than nine bulls, how could I stop you? Besides, as long as Ningning baby is happy, if you wanted to taste the saltiness of shit, I would even give you a hot shit.”
Shi Ning was speechless. “So for so many years, you always ordered male models like Shen Xizhou for me?”
Mu Tiantian raised an eyebrow. “How about it, do I spoil you enough?”
Shi Ning was both touched and exasperated by her chaotic friend’s unconditional support. “Thank you so much,” she said, a wry smile on her face.
Mu Tiantian’s curiosity flared. “Why did you suddenly become enlightened and don’t like Shen Xizhou anymore? Did you sleep with Shen Xizhou and find that he was small, short and fast, a soft man with only good looks but no strength?” Her bluntness was disarming.
“No,” Shi Ning said, blushing. “I didn’t sleep with Shen Xizhou, and I didn’t even kiss him.” It wasn’t for lack of trying on her part; it was Shen Xizhou who, in his role as the pure male lead, had guarded his chastity for Shi Qingyin.
Mu Tiantian was even more puzzled. “Then why did you change your mind so suddenly?”
Shi Ning couldn’t reveal the truth about the online comments. Blushing deeper, she whispered, “Because I slept with Qin Heye…”
Poof! Mu Tiantian, mid-drink, sprayed it everywhere. It almost hit the two women who had just entered the box.
Lin Jingyao, walking in front, frowned. “Oh, Mu Tiantian, what are you doing? You almost vomited all over me.”
Yu Yuexi hurried forward, pulling out a tissue to wipe Mu Tiantian’s mouth and hands, then cleaning the damp table. “Sister Tiantian, are you okay?” she asked, concerned.
Mu Tiantian, too excited to notice Lin Jingyao’s complaint, turned to Shi Ning. “I’m fine, it’s our Ningning who is in big trouble!”
Lin Jingyao, meanwhile, settled next to Shi Ning, casually munching on imported strawberries. “Ningning and Shen Xizhou were caught in bed by Master Qin?”
Shi Ning frowned at her.
Yu Yuexi looked worried. “What happened to Sister Ningning? Do you need help?”
Mu Tiantian seized the microphone, her voice booming through the speakers. “Ningning and Qin Heye slept together ! Ningning slept with the great devil Qin! Slept with him !” Her words echoed through the entire box, as if announcing it to the whole world.
Shi Ning, mortified, snatched the microphone from her. “Tiantian! Keep your voice down!”
Lin Jingyao crushed the strawberry in her hand, wiping her fingers with a napkin. “Yes, Tiantian sister, keep your voice down, this is not a glorious thing.”
If it had been the old Shi Ning, she would have agreed with Lin Jingyao. But now, it felt oddly wrong. Shi Ning frowned at Lin Jingyao. “Qin Heye and I are a couple recognized by the state. How can us sleeping together be shameful?”
Mu Tiantian nodded vigorously. “Yes, first, it’s not before marriage, and second, it’s not an affair, how can it be shameful?”
A flicker of jealousy crossed Lin Jingyao’s face. “Ningning likes Shen Xizhou. She slept with Qin Heye, and she lost her virginity, so her body is not clean. Shen Xizhou will think that Ningning doesn’t love herself and despise Ningning more , right?”
Her words echoed Shi Qingyin’s sentiment. Shi Ning’s frown deepened. “Why are your words so green tea-like? How can it be unclean and unself-respecting to give yourself to your husband for the first time?”
Mu Tiantian and Yu Yuexi both turned to stare at Lin Jingyao, their gazes scrutinizing. Lin Jingyao stammered, explaining dryly, “I’m afraid that Ningning was forced by Master Qin. Even if it’s a marriage, it’s marital rape! Ningning cares so much about Shen Xizhou that she didn’t let Master Qin touch her for three years. Now she’s lost her virginity. What if Ningning can’t get over it?”
This point was crucial, and it held a perverse logic. Mu Tiantian quickly asked Shi Ning, “Did Qin Heye force you? Don’t be afraid, if he really forced you, I will help you!”
Shi Ning, embarrassed, admitted, “No, just as i said before , I slept with Qin Heye.”
Mu Tiantian gave Shi Ning a thumbs-up. “You dare to sleep with the great devil Qin Heye, you are brave! I will order eighteen male models to celebrate for you later!”
Shi Ning twitched her lips. “Don’t make a fuss. I want to live a good life with Qin Heye. Order eighteen male models?” The online comments about Qin Heye imprisoning her in the attic, leaving her unable to leave the room or even her bed for eighteen days, flashed through her mind.
Mu Tiantian squealed, her face alight with teasing and gossip. “How good is Qin Heye’s skill? Did he make you sleep with him? So you don’t want to divorce?”
Shi Ning’s face flushed, her voice dropping to a soft whisper. “He should be pretty good, right? Anyway, I didn’t sleep all night and I fainted in the end.”
Mu Tiantian’s mouth stretched into a wide, triumphant grin. “No wonder you don’t want to divorce, he really made you sleep with him!”
Lin Jingyao, however, looked visibly unhappy and anxious. “Ningning doesn’t want to divorce, then what about your Shen Xizhou?”