“Do you think I want to do this?” Thinking quickly, Lin Zhixia shouted.

“This is all your fault! It’s all your fault!”

Lin Zhixia lifted her head. Tears fell like broken beads, one after another.

“Why are you so good to me? Why can’t you just be a little worse to me?!”

“I already treated you so badly! I did so many terrible things—I was trying to prove that I didn’t like you, but why are you still so good to me…”

“Do you know what you’ve done? You’ve made me unable to control my feelings! You made me betray my feelings for Xingyu!”

“Even that night you were drunk… I could have pushed you away, but you were in so much pain. I couldn’t bring myself to do it.”

“I betrayed Xingyu… I should have stood up for him!”

“But I couldn’t! I just couldn’t do it! Because… if something happened to Dad, you would be very sad. I don’t want you to be sad…”

The moment her words fell, the room plunged into a deathly silence.

Lin Zhixia knew very clearly how much damage the original host had caused to the Xie family—especially Xie Jingheng, who had suffered the most as her husband.

Rather than arguing and leaving a knot in his heart that could never be untied, it was better to admit everything directly and attribute all the unreasonable behavior of the past to her “feelings” for him.

Falling in love with Xie Jingheng meant betraying Chen Xingyu. The original host refused to accept that she had betrayed her “first love,” so she did many wrong things, using harm toward Xie Jingheng as a way to prove she didn’t love him.

A perfect closed loop of logic.

Moreover, in this era, people were generally reserved about relationships. They were more straightforward and sincere in some ways than later generations, without so many complicated twists.

No one would suspect she was lying about feelings.

Lin Zhixia was a very action-oriented person. Since she had decided to stay with Xie Jingheng and live comfortably, she naturally had to eliminate anything that could harm their relationship.

The impact of her words on Xie Jingheng was no less than the shock he felt when he learned about his own identity.

Lin Zhixia could feel his gaze fixed on her for a long time without moving away.

Although her explanation was logically perfect, she still felt a little nervous. She wasn’t sure whether he believed her.

But then she thought—she still had a trump card: the baby.

Even if Xie Jingheng didn’t believe her, as long as the child was there, he couldn’t simply leave her.

As long as they stayed together, she refused to believe she couldn’t win over a man with zero relationship experience.

After all, she had read countless romance novels, watched modern relationship vlogs, and lived in an information-rich era.

With that thought, her nervousness eased slightly.

Xie Jingheng withdrew his gaze, looking somewhat dazed.

Seeing his reaction, Lin Zhixia stepped forward again.

“It was my fault. I shouldn’t have avoided my feelings or been too afraid to admit them. I did many wrong things that hurt you. Can you forgive me?”

Standing in front of him, her delicate face still had faint tear stains, making her look pitiful and impossible to ignore.

Her big eyes looked at him carefully, making it hard for anyone to remain cold.

Xie Jingheng looked at her and didn’t know how to respond.

She said she liked him?

And that the night he was drunk—the night they shared a bed—she had been willing, not forced.

Xie Jingheng had a very good memory. Thinking back to that night, she had looked like a blooming rose in his arms.

His ears turned slightly red. Carefully reviewing her words, he realized… they didn’t seem unreasonable.

But how could that be possible?

Seeing that he still hadn’t responded, Lin Zhixia grabbed his hand and gently shook it, urging him for an answer.

Xie Jingheng looked conflicted. He pulled his hand back slightly, avoiding her gaze, his voice a little hoarse.

“What exactly do you want?”

Lin Zhixia understood his disbelief. The original host’s history made it hard for him to trust her.

No problem. She had a way to prove it.

She stepped forward again and looked directly into his eyes.

“Chen Xingyu once said, when he was drunk, that he secretly hid forbidden books in Dad’s study.”

“We can go together and check—”

Before she could finish, Xie Jingheng suddenly grabbed her arm. His eyes darkened instantly.

“Did he touch you? Did anything happen between you two?”

Lin Zhixia: “……”

Isn’t the point supposed to be the forbidden books?!

How did it become this?!

“I’m asking you!” Xie Jingheng’s voice turned cold.

Lin Zhixia quickly shook her head.

“No! I went with Xiaoyu.”

She then added, smiling as she held his hand:

“Don’t worry. Since we got married, every time I met him, I brought Xiaoyu with me.”

She remembered this clearly because the original host, despite her flaws, never crossed any moral boundaries.

After marriage, she maintained proper limits.

“Now can we drop this topic?” Lin Zhixia said helplessly.

Xie Jingheng was about to respond when—

Knock knock.

A gentle voice came from outside the door.

“Zhixia, Xiaoheng, dinner is ready. Come down and eat.”

Lin Zhixia immediately replied, “Okay, coming!”

Just as she was about to leave, another sharp voice rang out from downstairs:

“Mom, why are you calling her to eat? Didn’t she swear she’d go on a hunger strike for another man? She doesn’t even care about the baby! She should just starve!”

“Shush, Qing Shu…”

“I’m not wrong! She’s made enough jokes already. She doesn’t care about shame, but our Xie family does!”

“That woman doesn’t deserve to be my sister-in-law!”

The voice belonged to Xie Qingshu, full of anger and disdain.

Lin Zhixia sighed inwardly.

Reversing her reputation clearly wouldn’t be easy.

But she wasn’t afraid of problems—she always dealt with them step by step.

“You said you were hungry. Let’s go,” Xie Jingheng said calmly, his expression returning to his usual cold composure.

Lin Zhixia nodded and followed him downstairs.

Outside the door, the others had already left.

As they walked down, Xie Jingheng unconsciously slowed his pace to match hers, carefully staying beside her in case she fell.

With her belly, walking was indeed inconvenient. Lin Zhixia held the railing tightly as she went downstairs, glancing around the Xie family home.

A two-story villa. Bedrooms upstairs, a bright living room downstairs. Modern furnishings—yet a portrait of the Chairman on the wall made it clear this was still the 1970s.

At the dining area, the Xie family was already seated around a large round rosewood table.

Xie Zhenjun, stern and imposing from his military background, sat at the head. Beside him was the gentle and elegant Mrs. Xie, Zhou Juan.

Across from them sat Xie Qingshu, glaring at Lin Zhixia.

“Oh? Weren’t you so proud that you were going on a hunger strike? Why are you coming down to eat now?”