Fang Anning dilly-dallied into the bathroom.
Upon entering, she saw the man's sturdy back.
First, she was frightened and shrieked, abruptly turning around.
But quickly, she turned back again, disbelievingly staring at his smooth, strong back, and asked in astonishment, "The scar on your back... is it also fake?"
"Yes." The man turned around, coldly admitting.
"Heh," Fang Anning let out a bitter laugh, took a deep breath, and spoke to him, "Your disability is fake, the scars on your back are fake. So, what exactly is real? I don't understand, why do you have to deceive me like this, is it fun for you?"
"Have you ever heard a saying?" The man approached her.
Fang Anning involuntarily took a step back, her voice trembling as she asked, "What?"
"The more you know, the faster you die." The man advanced a step with each word he spoke.
Fang Anning had already backed up to the door, with nowhere else to retreat.
Her hands slapped onto the door, and she pursed her lips.
Watching the man coming closer and seeing only half of his face beneath the mask, she couldn't quite discern a good feeling from it.
Those lips, clearly beautifully shaped, yet due to the lack of color, appeared rather pale.
She panicked, confused.
Thinking of Old Mr. He's words, thinking of the previous four wives, probably all coerced by this hypocritical man to their deaths.
She gritted her teeth, stood on tiptoes, and stretched out her arms.
Taking advantage of the man's unpreparedness, she kissed his well-shaped lips.
The touch was cool yet extremely soft.
He Tingchen was completely taken by surprise, not expecting Fang Anning to suddenly pull such a move.
His eyes widened in shock at first, then he pushed Fang Anning away.
"Ah."
Fang Anning's head hit the door, dazing her so much she saw stars.
Subsequently, she was pulled away by He Tingchen and fell to the ground.
By the time she got up from the floor, He Tingchen was already gone, and he had locked the door as well.
Fang Anning: "..."
Previously he at least let her sleep on the couch, now, was she expected to sleep in the bathroom?
"He Tingchen, open the door, unlock the door."
"Mrs. Chen, open the door, I've been locked in the bathroom, Mrs. Chen open the door."
Fang Anning pounded on the door, alternating between calling for He Tingchen and Mrs. Chen.
But no matter whom she called, no one came to open the door for her.
And she didn't know which switch she had touched by accident, suddenly, a sound came from above in the bathroom, a partition slid open, revealing all showerheads. Then, the showerheads started rotating, pouring down lots of cold water.
And all that water, without waste, showered down on Fang Anning.
Fang Anning screamed, panicking and scurrying to dodge the showerheads.
But the showerheads seemed to have eyes, following her to spray water.
Quickly, she was soaked from head to toe.
"Ahchoo."
Fang Anning was only let out in the morning, and as soon as she got out, she kept sneezing, with tears and snot continuously streaming.
At the dining table, she let out several in succession.
She finally got up and said, "Forget it, I've lost my appetite, you eat slowly."
Liao Hanfeng also hurriedly stood up, blocking her way to ask, "Are you catching a cold? Should I take you to the hospital?"
"No need." Fang Anning ignored him and walked upstairs, circumventing him.
Liao Hanfeng chased after her and said, "Don't be prejudiced against me, I have good intentions."
"Pfft, you're hardly well-intentioned. Don't think I don't know, you're sent by He Tingchen, deliberately seducing me. To make me cheat, and then use that as an excuse to kill me," Fang Anning hastily said.
Liao Hanfeng asked with a smile, "You're quite sharp, but why don't you ever consider that maybe, just maybe, I have really fallen for you?"
"I'm not a renminbi, I know myself well enough," Fang Anning said.
Having said that, she continued to walk upstairs.
However, due to her extreme weakness, she missed a step. With a cry of alarm, she fell down the stairs.
Luckily, Liao Hanfeng was downstairs and immediately stretched out his hands to catch her. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he struck a pose like a hero saving a damsel in distress from a TV show and flashed a suave smile at her.
But the smile lasted less than three seconds before Fang Anning sneezed right in his face. Her spittle splattered all over him.
"You woman... that's disgusting."
Liao Hanfeng screamed and wailed, hastily letting go of her waist and scrambling to wipe the spit off his face.
"Ah."
Fang Anning was dropped onto the floor, seeing stars.
Already weak from her cold, now having taken a fall, she felt as if her soul was about to leave her body.
"I can't, I'm fainting." Fang Anning called out weakly and closed her eyes.
Mrs. Chen rushed over, pushing her and asking, "Madam? Madam?"
"Young Mr. Feng, she's really passed out," Mrs. Chen said reproachfully, looking at Liao Hanfeng.
Liao Hanfeng immediately said, "It's not my fault, she passed out from her cold on her own, it wasn't because of the fall."
"If Old Mr. He finds out, he'll be angry again," Mrs. Chen said, shaking her head.
She hurried to call the ambulance and sent Fang Anning to the hospital.
Thankfully, it was just a common cold, and she would recover after being on an IV for a couple of days. As for the fainting, it was probably due to the fall and the shock.
Mrs. Chen took care of her in the hospital.
Finally able to leave, even the smell of disinfectant seemed more pleasant to Fang Anning than the sandalwood scent of the He family home.
But after Mrs. Chen had been looking after Fang Anning in the hospital for half a day, Liao Hanfeng showed up.
"Mrs. Chen, go back, I'll take care of her," Liao Hanfeng said.
"This?"
Mrs. Chen looked at Fang Anning uncertainly.
Fang Anning immediately said, "No, I don't want you to take care of me."
"You don't call the shots here. Mrs. Chen, go back home. Otherwise, if Young Mr. He gets angry, you won't be able to handle it," Liao Hanfeng said.
Indeed, as soon as Young Mr. He was mentioned, Mrs. Chen got frightened.
She quickly stood up, apologized to Fang Anning, and left.
Fang Anning clenched her teeth, glared at Liao Hanfeng, and angrily demanded, "What are you trying to do?"
Liao Hanfeng said with a smile, "As smart as you are, haven't you already guessed? Why don't you play along, pretend to fall for me? That way I can relax, and you won't have to see me anymore."
"Yes, I won't have to see you again, and I won't have to see this world either. He could easily use that as an excuse to kill me," Fang Anning said with a snort and a laugh.
"In fact, you've misunderstood. I assure you, if you cooperate with me, you won't lose your life. After all, you'd be my woman, and I can at least ensure your safety over such a trivial matter," Liao Hanfeng said.
"Get lost."
Fang Anning closed her eyes and uttered a single word.
Liao Hanfeng: "..."
This woman is really tough to handle; he's got it so hard!
Two days later, Fang Anning had recovered and was discharged from the hospital, then was picked up by a car and brought back to the He family home.
He Tingchen rarely appeared in the garden, but he was there, with a watering can, tenderly watering the flowers.
Seeing her return, he asked coolly, "Why have you come back?"
Fang Anning shrugged and said, "I didn't want to come back either, but now that I'm well, where else could I go if not here?"
Liao Hanfeng was standing behind Fang Anning.
He Tingchen looked at him.
He shook his head at He Tingchen's questioning glance, spreading his hands in a gesture of helplessness.