Su Ya was not about to be cast aside so easily. She decided to bet it all on a cliché yet historically effective weapon against men: Self-harm to frame another.
As Shen Zhe finished his internal board meeting and his steady footsteps echoed on the stone path of the estate's garden, a chaotic symphony reached his ears: stifled, rhythmic sobbing mingled with the sharp clatter of shattering porcelain. He drew closer, and a meticulously staged scene unfolded: Su Ya was sprawled on the cold ground, her pristine white silk dress stained with mud and crushed flower petals. On her fair hand, a clean, sharp gash was oozing fresh, crimson blood that stung the eyes.
Standing opposite her was Lin Yan, her hand still tightly gripping a pair of cold steel garden shears. Her face was as still as a bottomless lake—not a single ripple of explanation or defense.
At the sight of Shen Zhe's towering silhouette, Su Ya began to tremble like a leaf in a storm, tears streaming down her pale cheeks:
"Zhe... please don't scold Yan. It was me... I only wanted to help her prune some pomelo blossoms. I must have been too clumsy and annoyed her... She didn't mean to push me, really!"
Mrs. Shen came rushing from the hallway, her face twisted in fury: "Zhe! Look at this! This demoness is finally showing her savage nature! She dares to assault the daughter of the Su family right here in our estate, in front of all the servants!"
Shen Zhe did not rush to pick Su Ya up as her script demanded. Instead, he stood with his arms crossed, tilting his head slightly, observing the wound on her hand with a chilling, peculiar curiosity. He took slow, deliberate steps, closing the distance, then leaned down to stare directly into Su Ya's trembling pupils.
"You're saying... Yan pushed you?" he asked. His voice was calm—so unnervingly low that the surrounding air seemed to freeze.
Thinking she had finally touched his compassion, Su Ya sobbed even harder: "I... I'm okay, a little pain doesn't matter. Just please don't let there be any animosity between you and her because of me..."
Slap!
Shen Zhe suddenly reached out, his hand clamping violently around Su Ya's chin. The force was so immense that her jaw let out a dry, hollow crack, and her angelic face instantly distorted in agony. He let out a smirk—a sneer filled with cruel irony.
"Ya Ya, your acting skills are still far too amateur. If Lin Yan had truly pushed you, that gash on your hand would be deep enough to show bone. She craves the sight of real flesh and blood, she doesn't play these childish skin-scratching games. And if she had truly struck you, she would be standing over you, laughing at your misery, not looking at you with the same disgust one has for a pile of trash."
Su Ya was paralyzed, her lips quivering without a sound: "Zhe... you... how could you..."
Shen Zhe brutally shoved her chin away and pulled out a silk handkerchief, slowly wiping each finger as if he had just touched something filthy.
"Looking at you now, all I see is a stupidity so profound it's almost innocent. You thought a few drops of cheap blood could buy my pity? How droll! Do you know that Lin Yan once plunged a knife into my shoulder just to warn me never to look at another woman? That is the decisiveness, the madness I crave. But you... you only know how to perform these low-class 'Green Tea' mistress tricks."
He turned to face Lin Yan, his gaze suddenly erupting with a morbid, feverish passion:
"Yan, why didn't you just drive those shears through her hand for real? Isn't it boring just standing there watching such a clumsy performance?"
Lin Yan stepped forward, her high heels clicking coldly against the stone. She wrapped her arms around Shen Zhe's neck from behind, resting her chin on his shoulder with a haunting smile: "Because I wanted to see if this 'pure' ex-fiancée of yours had enough 'Green Tea' scent to make you lose your mind. It turns out... you're still loyal to my 'poison' after all."
Shen Zhe turned around, capturing her lips in a fervent, crazed kiss right before the eyes of Mrs. Shen and Su Ya. Then, he leaned close to Su Ya's ear, whispering words loud enough for only her to hear the gates of hell opening:
"Don't waste your breath anymore. In my eyes now, you are like a glass of stale, stagnant water. Bland, and utterly nauseating. Get out of my sight immediately, before I let Lin Yan 'play' with you the way she truly wants to."
Su Ya collapsed onto the ground, her "angelic" face now mangled and shattered by humiliation and terror. She suddenly realized a grim truth: Shen Zhe wasn't just madly in love; his soul had truly been assimilated by that demoness. He had become a monster with not a shred of humanity or mercy left for the normal world.