Su-wan was surprised by Shuyi's words, but she felt a surge of happiness knowing that Shuyi was finally paying attention to her. Even the others in the room seemed slightly relieved that Shuyi's behavior had shifted from how it was before.
When the school bell rang, signaling the end of the day, Ningning rushed up to Shuyi to invite her to a pool party. Shuyi's car had just arrived; she climbed inside and gave a single, ice-cold response: 'No.' Ningning stood there, stunned; Shuyi had never treated her with such bluntness before.
Upon arriving home, Shuyi went straight to her room to freshen up. After a quick snack, she headed to her walk-in closet and carefully put on the earrings Su-wan had given her in the cafeteria earlier that day.
Su-wan had been terrified that Shuyi wouldn't accept her gift. To her immense relief, Shuyi unexpectedly told her, "Give it to Uncle Wang for now." Su-wan was incredibly happy that the gift had been accepted at all.
Later, Shuyi headed to a shooting range. By chance, Ryan, Leo, and Shaoqing were already there. When Leo spotted her, he rushed over to Shaoqing. "Hey buddy, I just saw your 'white moonlight' over in the gun shooting section," he said.
"What?" Shaoqing exclaimed in surprise. "I knew she was talented at archery, but I had no idea she had learned how to use a gun".
The three of them hurried to the shooting section. There, they found Shuyi standing perfectly still, hitting the bullseye over and over again with lethal precision.
The coach marveled, "I have never seen this level of talent; she is consistently hitting the bullseye." Ryan, Leo, and Shaoqing stood there, completely stunned. Seeing her like this, Shaoqing found himself falling for her all over again, more deeply than ever before.
Feeling tired, Shuyi returned to the resting area. The three young men walked toward her, and Ryan was the first to speak. "Shuyi, you are absolutely fantastic at everything you do."
"Yes," Leo added. "You were hitting the bullseye every single time."
Shaoqing watched her closely. "You looked stunning while shooting, and your aim is incredible. But I never knew you also knew how to handle a gun."
Shuyi met his gaze with a savage smile. "If I can hit a bullseye with an arrow, why wouldn't I be able to do it with a gun? Regardless, it's not exactly difficult.
Suddenly, a heavy downpour began, forcing the academy to close early. As everyone prepared to leave, Shuyi found herself in a difficult spot; she had skated all the way there, but the slick, rain-soaked ground made it impossible to skate back.
Shaoqing pulled up and offered her a ride. Shuyi, trying to maintain her "devil queen" pride, replied coldly, "I have never been helpless."
With a flirtatious glint in his eyes, Shaoqing teased her. "Are you doing this on purpose just so I'll have to sweep you up in my arms and carry you to the car? Is this your way of fulfilling a secret wish?"
For the first time, Shuyi felt a blush creep onto her face. "In your dreams," she shot back hesitantly, turning away to hide her shyness.
Shuyi was quite soaked from the rain. She was wearing only a T-shirt and black denim shorts, and she was so drenched that her shirt had become somewhat translucent. However, Shaoqing didn't even steal a glance; his love and respect for her were too great. Instead, he handed her his jacket so she could cover herself.
Shuyi took it, saying hesitantly, "I'm only accepting this because it's expensive and it's black." Shaoqing couldn't help but smile at her typical "cold" excuse.
When they arrived at the Shen mansion, Shuyi turned to him with a challenge. "If you dare to compete with me in horse riding next weekend and manage to win, then we can move forward with the marriage alliance between our families. Only then will it continue."
Shaoqing was secretly thrilled. He finally had a way to prove himself to this new, fierce version of Shuyi.
Shaoqing countered, "But a marriage without love is impossible to sustain."
Shuyi looked at him with a flirtatious glint in her eyes. "Love can grow over time," she murmured before turning to go inside.
Shaoqing was so happy he was speechless. He was also deeply surprised; he had never heard her speak that way before. He felt a surge of joy knowing she had finally taken a step toward him.
The next morning, Shuyi didn't go to school because she had caught a cold. When Su-wan found out, she reported Shuyi's absence to the school. Both Shaoqing and Su-wan decided to visit the Shen mansion after classes ended. However, Ningning also overheard the news and decided she wasn't going to be left out—she was going to visit Shuyi, too.
Shaoqing and Su-wan arrived with some fruit. Shuyi asked, "Why did both of you come here?".
"Are we not allowed to meet our childhood friend?" Shaoqing replied, "Or am I not allowed to see my own fiancée?".
Shuyi answered, "As for Su-wan, she can come whenever she wants because she is part of our family. And as for you, we agreed to continue this 'fiancée game' based on next week's results".
Shaoqing nodded. "Yes, I know. But today I came as your childhood friend and as a member of the Diamond Six".
Shuyi said irritatedly, "You better behave." She then added with a deadly smile, "Well, you arrived at the right time". Shuyi invited them to sit, and then she turned on the live CCTV footage of her walk-in closet.
As expected, Xiao Ma was in Shuyi's walk-in closet. She spotted the jade earrings that Su-wan had gifted Shuyi, though neither of them realized where the jewelry had come from.
"What expensive and beautiful earrings," Xiao Ma whispered.
"They're worth a fortune, Mom," Ningning added, her eyes gleaming.
Xiao Ma nodded. "Yes, these would look much better on you than they ever did on Shuyi".
"I agree, Mom," Ningning replied with a smirk.
Little did they know that Shuyi, Su-wan, and Shaoqing were watching the entire scene unfold on the monitor. Shuyi began to clap slowly. "Bravo," she said mockingly. Shaoqing wore a matching devilish smile, clearly enjoying the downfall of the two intruders.
Su-wan looked on in shock. "They are exactly alike," she whispered. "I never expected Xiao Ma to be capable of something like this".
Shuyi's gaze remained cold. "She clearly thought I was too weak to keep track of my own belongings".
But she forgot that I am Shen Shuyi, known as ruthless and unhinged, and I don't like others touching my things".
Shaoqing watched her and fell for her even harder. He had never seen this type of cleverness in her before, but whatever it was, he was completely captivated.
Wang Ma eventually invited them all to lunch. They sat together at the table, with Shaoqing sitting beside Shuyi and Su-wan on her other side. During the meal, Shuyi leaned over and whispered something into Wang Ma's ear.
The maid then went upstairs. Ten minutes later, she came rushing back down, shouting in a panic, "Young Miss! Young Miss! This is not good! This is not good at all!".
Shuyi asked, her voice calm and arrogant, "What happened, Wang Ma? Why are you screaming so loudly?"
"Young Miss... the new jewelry... the n-new j-jewelry..." Wang Ma stammered.
"What new jewelry?" Shuyi questioned.
"Miss, the new jewelry you brought home two days ago is missing!" Wang Ma cried.
Shuyi acted surprised. "What?!" Shaoqing looked on, stunned by the news.
Ningning, realizing she was doomed, secretly slipped the jewelry box into Su-wan's purse while everyone was distracted by Wang Ma's panic.
Wang Ma continued, "Except for Ningning and Xiao Ma, no one else went near your room, Young Miss".
Ningning shrieked, "What do you mean 'except for the two of us'? Su-wan was also near Shuyi's room!"
Shaoqing narrowed his eyes. "And how exactly did she disappear right in front of our eyes?...like Doraemon using an Invisible Cloth or an Anywhere Door? Or like a Harry Potter spell where you say a word and simply disappear?" Ningning said, her voice shaking. "That—that's not what I meant!"
Shuyi leveled a deadly stare at her. "Then what do you mean? Explain yourself. I'm listening."
Ningning was trembling violently now. "It was Su-wan! I saw her going toward your room. If you don't believe me, then... then you can search all of us! Search her too!"
Shuyi shrugged nonchalantly. "Fine. Wang Ma, start the search."
Wang Ma began the search, assisted by Xiao Ma, but they didn't find anything on the staff. Next, she checked Ningning, but again, she found nothing.
Throughout the chaos, Shuyi sat calmly, eating the shrimps that Shaoqing was peeling. He had actually been peeling them for himself, but Shuyi was so focused on the excitement of the drama that she kept eating his food.
Shaoqing was very happy with the food. Then, Wang Ma checked Su-wan's purse and found the jewelry box.
Ningning cried out with overconfidence, "See! I told you it was Su-wan!"
Shuyi remained calm, her voice steady and confident. "Oh? Since when do people steal something they have already given to the person they wanted to have it?"
Ningning stammered, "What... what do you mean?"
Shaoqing replied for her, "What she means is that these jade earrings were a gift from Su-wan."
Ningning gasped in shock. "What?!"
"Exactly," Shaoqing continued. "Since it was a gift from her to Shuyi, why would she ever need to steal it back?"
As Ningning desperately tried to invent an explanation, Shuyi suddenly stood up. "And what is this?" she asked, gesturing toward a screen. Everyone turned to watch the footage playing from Shuyi's closet.
The footage showed both of them stealing the earrings. Seeing she was caught, Ningning immediately tried to shift the blame. "It was all my mother's doing!" she cried. "She forced me to do this!"
Xiao Ma begged for mercy, claiming she had been momentarily blinded by greed and asking for forgiveness. But Shuyi, true to her ruthless reputation, wasn't interested in excuses. She lunged forward and grabbed Xiao Ma by the throat so tightly that the woman began gasping for air.
Because the original owner of this body suffered from severe trauma, the current Shuyi was suddenly overwhelmed by a PTSD episode. She completely lost control of herself, and her rage became unstoppable.
Seeing the danger, Shaoqing stepped in immediately. He pulled Shuyi away, lifted her onto his shoulders to restrain her, and walked out of the house as the police—whom they had already called—arrived to take the thieves away.