When She Stops Being Dramatic

Chapter 44: Chapter 36: ’Chaff and Bran’ Wife of the 1950s (36)

”What’s wrong? We only saw each other a few hours ago. Miss me already?” Zhu Yun asked, her smile radiant. She had taken off her hat, mask, and long-sleeved jacket, and was now wearing a white, cinched-waist blouse and blue, straight-leg pants.

”Someone just told me that you took a knife, dealt with my little lover, and then brought backup to find me and vent your anger. They said your clothes were covered in blood!”

”I’ve gone from being a perfectly decent guy to some heartless, two-timing scoundrel. Women were even spitting at me on the street!” Chu Shenyu complained, looking utterly wronged.

Although he didn’t enjoy all the female attention he got and had never interacted with any woman outside of work, he was still human. Being scorned like that left him feeling utterly dejected.

Zhu Yun couldn’t help but burst out laughing. ’People’s imaginations are just too wild,’ she thought. And the speed at which rumors spread through the factory was no slower than on the internet.

But because it was all spread by word of mouth, the information people received had been colored by the subjective views of countless intermediaries. It was twisted and re-twisted until it became the most sensational version possible.

But as she laughed, tears suddenly, inexplicably, began to stream down her face.

”Honey, what’s wrong?” Alarmed, Chu Shenyu rushed forward and dropped to one knee, gripping her shoulders. ”Did someone bully you? It’s just a rumor! They don’t know that you’re the beautiful one now. There’s no one else for me!”

Zhu Yun pressed her lips together, wrapped her arms around his head, and buried her face in the crook of his neck.

He had a light sheen of sweat on his skin, but he showered every day, so he didn’t smell bad. Instead, he carried a rich, masculine scent.

Her lower lip trembled. ”How many people are going to bother to find out if this rumor is true? They’ll all just treat it like a joke. It’s a good thing we’re the ones involved. If this happened to someone else, it would be a misunderstanding they could never clear up.”

”We don’t know each other very well. Regardless of the truth, this would become a thorn in our hearts, one that’s impossible to remove. It could even follow us for the rest of our lives.”

”When I first arrived, I rarely left the house except to buy groceries. Even so, a lot of the older women in the family compound would point and whisper about me, saying all sorts of nasty things.”

”They said I was getting ideas above my station, trying to catch your attention. But think about it. Other than bringing you some food a few times when I cooked, and saying hello when we happened to cross paths, did I ever do anything out of line?”

Chu Shenyu froze for a moment, then shook his head, a surge of anger rising within him.

He was furious at the gossiping busybodies in the compound, but he was also angry with himself. He’d been influenced by the rumors, believing that she’d had feelings for him back then.

He was even angrier that after being drugged, he had done something indecent to her, leaving her with no choice but to be tied to him.

’Back then, I actually had a shred of rationality left. If it had been any other woman, I would have stabbed a bloody hole in my own leg before I ever laid a finger on her.’

’But it was her. A woman I thought had feelings for me, who was so delicate and soft, and who just so happened to be an amazing cook... I just let my reason abandon me...’

”I’m sorry,” he said, his lips pressed into a thin, tight line. His face was even paler than usual.

Actually, the wave of emotion—an echo from the body’s original owner—had already passed for Zhu Yun. She could feel the man’s own emotions churning, though she wasn’t sure what scenarios he was imagining in his head.

Her eyes shifted slightly. ”Back then, when I brought you food, it was because Lin Jin and Wang Xianbing told me you were a lonely bachelor who ate in the cafeteria every day. They suggested I make a little extra to bring to you, just as a neighborly courtesy.”

”It was definitely not my own idea. Otherwise, why would I have hidden the fact that I’m a good cook?”

”The Wang Family broke my heart. I had planned to fight them to the bitter end, to make them pay ten, even a hundred times over for all the suffering I endured.”

”I couldn’t even outwit a scumbag like Wang Xianbing, so how could I possibly dare to dream of winning your affection? I’m not a daydreamer!”

Chu Shenyu held her tighter. ”It’s all in the past now. As long as... as long as you’re still willing to marry me, I’ll protect you from now on. I swear I’ll never let you suffer even the slightest grievance!”

Zhu Yun chuckled softly and whispered, ”I believe that. You’re a good man.”

Chu Shenyu also whispered, blushing to the tips of his ears, ”But I’m also a man... and I’ve... developed feelings for you.”

She couldn’t resist hugging him again, her body shaking with laughter.

’All this back and forth about having feelings for each other... it’s so childish,’ she thought. ’And yet, it has a kind of sweet innocence unique to this era.’

’When it came to relationships, Zhu Yun’s philosophy was to let things take their natural course. She wasn’t going to get hung up on whether he valued her for her personality or her looks. Nor would she torture herself trying to figure out if the person he liked was the body’s original owner or the current her.’