“Hey, you two…” Xie Qingshu instinctively moved to follow them, but Mother Xie quickly grabbed her arm.

“Mom, why are you stopping me?”

“Your brother and your sister-in-law are talking. Why are you following them?” Mother Xie scolded.

“Of course I have to follow them! I need to remind my brother. What if she tricks him again and he believes her lies?”

“Just eat your food and keep quiet.”

As she spoke, Mother Xie pressed Xie Qingshu back into her seat and stuffed two large pieces of braised pork into her mouth with her chopsticks, successfully silencing her endless chatter.

The moment they entered the room, Xie Jingheng released Lin Zhixia’s hand and firmly pressed her shoulders, pinning her against the door. Their faces were only inches apart, and sparks seemed to flash in the man’s eyes.

He demanded sternly, “Lin Zhixia, do you even know what you’re saying? Have you lost your mind?”

Thinking about the sweet words she had spoken at the dinner table—words that had completely convinced his mother and made her genuinely happy for them—filled him with suppressed anger.

He didn’t dare imagine how disappointed and heartbroken Mother Xie would be if she learned it was all fake, nothing but lies.

She could lie to him all she wanted, and he could tolerate it. But how could she bring herself to deceive his mother?

Lin Zhixia felt as though her shoulders were about to be crushed. She sucked in a sharp breath from the pain.

“Ow, ow, ow! That hurts! Let go!”

Xie Jingheng frowned impatiently.

“I wasn’t even using much strength. Are you really that delicate?”

Despite his harsh words, his actions were quick. He immediately released her.

Freed from his grip, Lin Zhixia rubbed her aching shoulder and hurried over to a chair two meters away.

When she lifted her sleeve to check, she found a large bruise already forming where he had grabbed her.

She glared at him unhappily.

No wonder this man was so strong—he’d spent years doing farm work in the countryside.

If this was him not using force, she couldn’t imagine what it would be like if he actually did.

“Speak.”

Seeing her remain silent, Xie Jingheng took a deep breath. Feeling somewhat guilty for hurting her, he asked more patiently,

“What exactly do you mean?”

Rubbing her stomach, Lin Zhixia replied firmly, word by word,

“I mean exactly what you heard.”

“I’ll cut things off with him. I want to live a good life with you.”

“Lin Zhixia, stop making these ridiculous jokes.”

His face darkened as he clenched his fists.

“This time, I’ll pretend I never heard it.”

With that, he turned and started walking toward the door.

The next second, his entire body froze.

Soft, fair arms wrapped tightly around his waist from behind. Her delicate body pressed gently against his back.

Xie Jingheng’s Adam’s apple bobbed involuntarily.

From behind him came Lin Zhixia’s determined yet aggrieved voice.

“Husband, what do I have to do before you’ll believe me?”

“Do I really have to cut open my heart and show it to you before you’ll believe my sincerity?”

She truly felt wronged.

All the terrible things had been done by the original owner of this body, yet she was the one paying the price.

Still, when she thought about everything that woman had done, Xie Jingheng’s attitude toward her was already remarkably tolerant.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she continued,

“I know I’ve done a lot of things wrong before. That’s why you can’t trust me so easily.”

“But just wait. I’ll prove it through my actions.”

“I’ll show you that everything I’m saying is true.”

After expressing her feelings, Lin Zhixia continued hugging his waist and used him almost like a support post as she moved around to stand in front of him.

Looking up anxiously, she said,

“Now let’s hurry and find those banned books Chen Xingyu hid in the study.”

If they didn’t find them quickly, she wouldn’t be able to rest easy. She feared some unexpected twist would occur and the Xie family would once again suffer the fate from the original story—being sent down to the countryside and forced into a life of hardship.

Before transmigrating into this book, Lin Zhixia had grown up in an ordinary rural family. Through years of diligent study, she had worked her way all the way to a doctoral program.

The hardships and exhaustion along the way were enough to bring tears to her eyes.

All she had ever wanted was a more comfortable life.

Now that she finally had a chance to enjoy a good life without struggling endlessly, she refused to let anything ruin it.

With a soft and fragrant woman in his arms and her faint, pleasant scent constantly drifting into his nose, Xie Jingheng—an entirely normal young man in the prime of his life—stiffened all over.

Unfortunately, the culprit was completely oblivious.

She even moved a little closer, blinking her innocent eyes as she urged,

“Come on, let’s go.”

If Lin Zhixia moved even one millimeter closer, she would notice that something was very wrong with him.

He was already struggling to maintain his composure. Now, the tension only made his body even more sensitive.

The veins on his neck bulged visibly.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped back twice and subtly shifted his body to conceal himself.

In a hoarse voice, he said as casually as possible,

“Dad and Mom are still eating. We’ll go downstairs after they’ve returned to their room.”

“Okay.”

Lin Zhixia nodded and prepared to sit down again.

As she passed him, she noticed his posture looked strange. He was slightly bent over with his legs spread apart, as if standing uncomfortably.

She didn’t think much of it.

After all, everyone had their own preferences. Maybe Xie Jingheng simply liked standing that way.

She chose to respect it.

After sitting down, Lin Zhixia had nothing else to do, so she began looking around the room.

The room was about twenty square meters in size and furnished entirely with rosewood furniture—a bed, wardrobe, dressing table, and desk.

It looked elegant, luxurious, and steeped in tradition.

Near the doorway stood a vintage washstand unique to the era. A pink towel hung across the top, while red-patterned enamel basins sat on the middle and lower shelves.

Further beyond—

Just as she was examining the room, her view was suddenly blocked.

A large hand appeared before her, holding a small white round container.

“You should put this on yourself.”

Confused, Lin Zhixia accepted the container.

“What is it?”

“Something for the bruise on your shoulder,” Xie Jingheng replied awkwardly.

Lin Zhixia remembered reading an article online about expressing gratitude with emotional intelligence.

It claimed that when a man voluntarily did something for you, you should sincerely praise him and acknowledge his efforts.

That way, he would associate helping with receiving appreciation and affirmation, creating a positive feedback loop that encouraged him to keep doing it.

Thinking of that, she smiled brightly.

“Thank you, husband. It’s wonderful having you around.”

Xie Jingheng lowered his eyes.

The woman before him wore a dazzling smile on her beautiful face. Her eyes seemed to hold only him.

A smile unconsciously appeared at the corner of his lips.

This was only the second time Lin Zhixia had seen him smile, but she was still amazed by it.

Without thinking, she blurted out,

“You look really handsome when you smile.”

The moment the words left her mouth, Xie Jingheng’s expression immediately darkened.

Lin Zhixia was bewildered.

Why does he get angry even when I’m complimenting him?