Five years without pregnancy means you're too weak; I remarried a powerful man and had triplets

Xu Zhesheng's strength was astonishing. His knuckles dug into the soft flesh of Shen Zhiyi's jaw, causing her mouth to go numb with pain, and she even tasted the metallic taste of blood.

She shrank back, her lower back hitting the sofa back, but Xu Zhesheng seemed glued to her. For every step she took back, he would take another step forward, until she was completely trapped between him and the sofa, unable to move even an inch.

"I don't understand what you're saying! Let go of me!"

She reached out to pry his wrist off, but the moment her fingertips touched his cold skin, he easily grabbed her with his other hand and twisted it behind her back.

The stench of cigarettes and alcohol emanating from Xu Zhesheng, along with the cloyingly sweet scent of Su Manman's rose perfume, assaulted her senses and made her stomach churn.

She was forced to look up and then she could see that his eyes were bloodshot, his stubble was bluish-black, and he looked disheveled as if his soul had been ripped out all night. Yet, his eyes were fixed on her as if she were some heinous criminal.

"Can't understand?"

Xu Zhesheng's lips curled into a chilling smile, and his fingers tightened slightly, causing Shen Zhiyi to let out a muffled groan.

"You were the only one who knew I was going out yesterday! I booked that boat three days in advance, and even the captain signed a confidentiality agreement. The itinerary was so secretive that even my mother didn't know the exact time. Besides you, I can't think of anyone else who would sell the information to the paparazzi!"

"Shen Zhiyi, you say you don't mind Manman, but your actions are getting more and more vicious!"

He spoke with increasing certainty, as if he had already sentenced her to death in his mind, his voice chillingly cold:

"You've disliked Manman from the very beginning. A couple of days ago, she made you revise the film and took over your rest room. Yesterday, when my mom brought her food at the set, your face was as long as a donkey's. Your jealousy has long since driven you to madness, hasn't it? You want to get revenge on Su Manman, and you also want to teach me a lesson, so you bribed the paparazzi to deliberately take photos of us and push me to the top of the trending searches, right?"

Shen Zhiyi was so angry at his rambling and incoherent speculation that she trembled all over, tears welling up in her eyes, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall.

"Xu Zhesheng, are you crazy? Why would I waste my time hiring paparazzi to follow you? What would I gain? That you cheat on me and treat your mistress like royalty, making me look bad?"

She struggled to twist her wrist, her fingernails leaving several red marks on the back of his hand, but she still couldn't break free.

"You say I'm jealous of Su Manman? What am I jealous of? That she's a mistress? Or that she's pregnant with a child of unknown origin? If you can produce even a shred of evidence today to prove that I hired these paparazzi, I'll change my name to Shen Zhiyi!"

"evidence?"

Xu Zhesheng's eyes reddened at the corners of his eyes, and he tightened his grip on her wrist.

"Does this even need evidence? Manman and I have been doing perfectly fine all this time, so why were we photographed right when you knew about it? Who else could it be but you?"

"You're talking nonsense!"

Shen Zhiyi finally exploded, her voice so loud it made the living room buzz.

"Yesterday you took a phone call and left, saying there was something on set, but then you went boating on the river with Su Manman! I didn't even confront you about why you didn't go home, and instead you're accusing me first? Don't you know how many intersections you passed and how many people you came into contact with from the moment you left your house until you boarded the boat? You're convicting me based on your ridiculous intuition?"

Her chest heaved with anger, her eyes red as a rabbit's, yet she stubbornly glared at him, her gaze a mixture of grievance and fury, like two blazing fires.

"Xu Zhesheng, you've been blinded by the trending topics today. You can't even tell who your lawfully wedded wife is and who your mistress is! If you really think it's me, go ahead and investigate. If you find evidence, I'll admit it; if you don't, I'll remember this slander you've done to me for the rest of my life!"

Xu Zhesheng's pupils contracted slightly as he was stung by her words, and the grip on her chin unconsciously loosened by a fraction.

He stared into her red eyes, which held no trace of guilt, only resentment at being wronged and a chilling coldness that inexplicably made his heart flutter.

But this moment of distraction lasted only a moment. He quickly turned cold again and was about to speak when Shen Zhiyi took advantage of the moment when his strength relaxed and suddenly thrust the back of her head forward, her forehead hitting his sternum solidly.

A muffled thud.

Caught off guard, Xu Zhesheng groaned as he was bumped into, staggering back half a step, his grip on her hand loosening uncontrollably.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Shen Zhiyi broke free from his embrace, retreated to the far corner of the sofa, wiped the blood seeping from the corner of her mouth, her eyes were as cold as ice, and even her breath carried a chilling aura:

"Xu Zhesheng, aren't you looking for the informant? Why don't you ask that Su Manman in your arms first if she hired paparazzi to create hype so she can latch onto you, her sugar daddy?"

"impossible!"

Xu Zhesheng retorted without hesitation, "Manman was almost photographed with her face clearly visible. She's currently in the prime of her career, and to protect her image, she doesn't even dare to accept endorsements. She spends every day on set. How could she do something that would backfire on her!"

"You said it yourself, she almost got her face photographed!"

Shen Zhiyi was almost furious. Pointing at Xu Zhesheng, she said with exasperation, "That ship is so big, and the paparazzi have been staking it out for so long. Do you think he'd leave without getting clear photos of people's faces?"

"But why are the photos you posted only showing your face? You're a director too, surely you understand this better than I do!"

Having said that, Shen Zhiyi looked at Xu Zhesheng's unreflective face, and suddenly, all her anger seemed to have been drained away.

She understood. It wasn't that Xu Zhesheng couldn't figure it out, but rather that he simply didn't want to.

After all, Su Manman is now the apple of his eye. In his heart, she is pure and kind, and she even risked her career to have his child. How great she is.

Perhaps today's incident was orchestrated by Su Manman whispering in his ear, with the aim of sowing discord between them and destroying what little affection they had left.

It must be said that Su Manman made a brilliant move, each move fatal.

Shen Zhiyi's originally furious face instantly lost all color. She looked at Xu Zhesheng as if he were a stranger, a hopeless joke.

A profound sense of absurdity overwhelmed her.

How could the people who wronged you not know how wronged you were? They just need you to be wronged.

She chuckled softly, a dry, cold laugh, but her face held an almost resolute air of relief: "Xu Zhesheng, you're truly pathetic."

This sudden comment startled Xu Zhesheng, and his pupils contracted sharply.

Shen Zhiyi stopped looking at him, turned and walked towards the bedroom, her voice eerily calm:

"Fine, think what you want. If you think I did it, then I did it. Villa? Job? I don't care about any of that. I'm not playing along with this charade."

She abruptly stepped into the bedroom, opened the wardrobe, and dragged out her suitcase.

There was no crying or fussing, no hesitation; she simply tossed in a few of her usual clothes.

His movements were so swift and efficient, it was as if he were cleaning up trash.

Then, as if remembering something, she paused deep inside the wardrobe and pulled out a velvet box.

When opened, the sapphire necklace given to him by Lu Zichuan lay quietly inside, its shimmering light completely out of place with the decay of the room.

Without even glancing at it, she casually tossed the box into her suitcase, pulled the zipper, and made a crisp "zip" sound.

Dragging his suitcase back to the living room, Xu Zhesheng remained frozen in place, seemingly not having reacted yet.

Shen Zhiyi stopped two steps away from him, her gaze sweeping over his dark stubble before finally settling on his surprised and uncertain face, and said, word by word:

"I'm going to stay with my mom for the next couple of days. I'll have the lawyer prepare the divorce papers. Remember to sign them."