"Fu Jingxuan, have you gone soft? Don't you remember that this woman almost killed the woman you love the most? Xue Rou is still lying in the hospital bed, and you're showing mercy. It seems your heart isn't that firm for Xue Rou." Xu Ruowei, unable to contain herself, blurted out these words in front of Shen Xizhou.
She knew it was wrong, but she couldn't help herself from saying it.
There were plenty of people who could deal with An Nuan. If not Fu Jingxuan, then there would be others.
Xu Ruowei held her phone high and pressed the record button, a smug look on her face as she said, "Tell me, when Xue Rou wakes up, what do you think she'll do if I show her what happened today?"
"Shut up," Fu Jingxuan glanced at Xu Ruowei with disdain. Her eyes were filled with calculation and greed. Shen Xizhou was good in many ways, but his taste in women was terrible.
How could such a woman be worthy of him?
He released An Nuan, took a step towards Xu Ruowei, and snatched her phone, hurling it against the wall. The phone shattered instantly.
If Shen Xizhou hadn't been present, if Xu Ruowei hadn't been under Shen Xizhou's protection, if Xu Ruowei hadn't been Xue Rou's cousin, he wouldn't have let it go so easily.
Xia Wanqing had no idea how things had escalated to this point. Weren't they supposed to be dealing with An Nuan? Why had the target shifted to Xu Ruowei?
Xia Wanqing quickly linked her arm with Ji Wenyun's and said coquettishly, "I'm scared."
She quickly gave Xu Ruowei a look.
Only then did Xu Ruowei realize her lapse in composure. She was filled with regret. What had possessed her to do that just now?
She clearly felt Shen Xizhou's body stiffen, and his gaze towards her had changed.
She looked at Shen Xizhou, her eyes reddening, and said with a wronged expression, "Xizhou, I... I was just too angry just now, that's why I lost my temper. Because of An Nuan, you got hurt. I care about you too much."
"Xizhou, were you scared by my behavior? Actually, I'm not usually like this, I..." She became more anxious in her explanation, tears welling up in her eyes, as if she would burst into tears with the slightest touch.
Shen Xizhou pulled her into his embrace. "Ruowei, it's alright. I know you were just worried about me, and I don't blame you. What you did shows that you care about me."
Xu Ruowei rested her head on Shen Xizhou's shoulder and sobbed, "That's great, you believe me, you don't misunderstand me."
An Nuan, who had been roughly thrown to the ground, found the scene before her utterly ridiculous.
But she still endured the pain and slowly got up, leaning against the wall. She took a deep breath, stood up straight, and did what she had to do.
Naturally, Shen Xizhou's arm wound was eventually bandaged by Ye Qingcheng, who arrived on the scene.
An Nuan recognized Ye Qingcheng.
As An Nuan was about to sweep up the broken glass, Fu Jingxuan snatched the cleaning tools away, throwing them into a corner. He said coldly, "Clean it up with your hands." He said with a hint of bloodlust, "Make sure you clean it thoroughly. If I find even a single shard of glass, you'll swallow it."
Fu Jingxuan's words echoed in the private room like a demon's decree.
The people present, however, were merely watching the show.
Ye Qingcheng wanted to step forward and say something, but Shen Xizhou restrained him.
She squatted down, about to put on gloves to clean the glass shards, when a clear, cold voice interrupted her action.
"Kneel on the ground, no gloves. Use your hands to clean it," Shen Xizhou's icy voice rang out.
An Nuan looked up, her eyes filled with shock. He could say such things so calmly.
Xu Ruowei, whose mood had been unhappy, felt a smug smile creep onto her lips upon hearing Shen Xizhou's words.
He was definitely doing this to stand up for her.
Her position in his heart was becoming increasingly important now.
She knelt on the ground and began to clean the glass shards with her bare hands. The sharp fragments pierced her palms, and she gasped in pain, finding it difficult to even breathe. Yet, she dared not show it, continuing to clean.
She had etched his words deep into her mind: If you don't clean it thoroughly, you'll swallow it.
Due to exhaustion, she collapsed onto the ground, the glass shards embedding themselves into her hands, leaving her palms bloody and mangled. The pain was so intense that she couldn't help but cry out.
At this moment, all attention and gazes were fixed on her.
If she could have endured it without making a sound, she absolutely would not have. But the pain was unbearable, forcing her to cry out. She felt everyone's eyes on her and dared not look up.
She had intended to grit her teeth, but found she couldn't breathe, the pain was too severe. In the end, she had lost all dignity in front of him.
She didn't want to cry out in pain in front of Shen Xizhou, as he would think she was faking, pretending to be pitiful. He would think she had done it on purpose.
Ye Qingcheng's attention had been on Shen Xizhou, but this cry of pain drew his gaze to An Nuan.
The person before him had innocent eyes, so pure and captivating.
In an instant, he seemed to recall something.
He felt as though his previously dim world had suddenly brightened.
"Excuse me, I seem to have interrupted your pleasant evening."
An Nuan said, and once again, ignoring the pain in her hands, she continued to diligently clear away the glass shards.
But just as she resigned herself to the task, she saw Ye Qingcheng, who had been sitting beside Shen Xizhou, grasp her hand and look at her with concern.
She was truly startled.
She forcefully pulled her hand out of Ye Qingcheng's grasp, like a startled fawn, looking at him defensively.
"I... I... I'm a good person, you don't need to be afraid." Ye Qingcheng stammered in explanation.
The phrase "I'm a good person," coming from Ye Qingcheng's mouth, sounded incredibly awkward.
An Nuan looked at the man before her, still wary.
A good person?
No one directly says "I'm a good person" or "I'm a bad person," nor is it written on their face.
Shen Xizhou's expression turned extremely unpleasant. He had clearly witnessed the interaction between Ye Qingcheng and An Nuan.
Was An Nuan so impatient for attention? Couldn't she wait even in front of him?
"Sir, cleaning is my responsibility. I can do it myself."
An Nuan calmly rejected Ye Qingcheng's offer of help. She didn't believe Ye Qingcheng genuinely wanted to help her.
In her opinion, Ye Qingcheng was doing all this simply to see her humiliated and to make things difficult for her.
She had experienced it too many times; she was more than familiar with these tricks.