Marry by Relying on Favor: Chapter 154 - He’s Here! It’s Him!!!
Qu Bixin wanted to throw away all sense of ladylike dignity and pick a fight with him. But Shen Fu remained unbelievably calm. He went to the study and brought her three books. The titles were eye-catching: <The Power of Organizing Your Emotions>, <Stop Being a Slave to Your Emotions>, <Reframing the Mind>.
If not for the weight of the three books in her hands reminding her they were real, for a split second Qu Bixin might have thought she’d been sucked into some kind of pyramid scheme.
She looked at the books, then up at Shen Fu. Her voice came out haltingly. “Don’t tell me your… impressive psychological resilience comes from reading this kind of self-help chicken soup?”
Shen Fu cleared away her bowl and chopsticks and, without hesitation, finished the remaining chicken soup she hadn’t touched. “They’re for you.”
“......” For your grandpa!
“In the future, read fewer of those serialized web novels on public accounts.”
He had clearly targeted the books precisely according to her tastes, which made her feel faintly offended. Throwing them away felt wrong. Reading them felt worse.
In the end, the three self-help books were placed on her bedside table as her bedtime reading.
That night, Qu Bixin lay bored and sleepless on the large bed. Her phone had been locked in the study safe—password set by Shen Fu. Aside from sleeping and resting, she had no other choice. But after lying down all day, her body felt like it was falling apart. How could she sleep?
For a fleeting moment, she felt the urge to confess everything.
But the thought was ruthlessly strangled the instant it appeared.
When she forged the miscarriage report to deceive Shen Fu, she hadn’t been afraid he’d strangle her. Now she was!
The night was quiet. Hugging her blanket, she turned over and secretly glanced at the camera.
It had been turned on since nine. As long as the man next door opened his phone, he could see her.
She glanced at the bedside clock.
It was already past eleven.
He should be asleep by now, right?
Slowly, Qu Bixin sat up. She pulled over her nightgown but didn’t put it on. As she passed the camera, she decisively covered it tightly.
To avoid being discovered, she didn’t even turn on the lights. She quietly pushed open the master bedroom door.
The hallway was silent. As she passed the study, she noticed the light was still on.
Barefoot, lifting her nightdress slightly, she crept closer and peeked through the crack in the door. Shen Fu was sitting at the desk. He had probably showered—he was wearing light blue pajamas. A phone sat beside him, the screen connected to the camera feed—though now it showed nothing.
He was focused on the data reports on his laptop and hadn’t noticed yet.
Qu Bixin didn’t dare waste time. She turned and headed downstairs.
She couldn’t get her phone. Grabbing her bag and car keys, she hesitated—starting the car might alert him. After a few seconds, she changed into shoes and went out on foot.
It was early autumn and slightly chilly outside. She held her breath as she walked past the villa gate and the streetlights. Once she reached the dark stretch beyond, she lifted her nightdress and ran wildly, all the way out of the residential compound, where she flagged down a taxi.
She couldn’t go back to the Qu family home. She knew Shen Fu’s temperament too well—he’d go straight to Qu Yanming. A hotel was impossible too; he could easily track down her room number.
So she went to a close friend’s place. It was past midnight. She was still in a nightdress. The sight of her was beyond puzzling.
Her friend’s surname was Yu. Her nickname was Yu Jiaojiao.
Seeing her like this, Jiaojiao’s first reaction was, “Did you get robbed?”
“It’s a long story.” Qu Bixin slipped into her apartment. “Jiaojiao, I’m staying here for a few days. Don’t tell anyone.”
She was here to take refuge—from a living plague.
Jiaojiao, puzzled but concerned by her thin clothes, handed her a jacket.
After putting it on, Qu Bixin rubbed her icy fingers and immediately went to raid the kitchen fridge for snacks. After a week of suffocating restrictions, she felt like a prisoner who had just escaped jail. She pulled out drinks, snacks, and ice cream all at once.
Watching her tear open a bag of chips and then crack into salted egg yolk pastries, Jiaojiao crossed her arms and leaned against the wall in disbelief. “My little green tea, what have you been through this week? You look like a refugee who just fled somewhere.”
After gulping down an iced drink, Qu Bixin narrowed her beautiful eyes in bliss.
This felt amazing. Compared to all that nourishing soup and pigeon broth, this was what she truly longed for.
After finishing one bottle, she opened another without lifting her head. “For a whole week, I’ve been eating nothing but healthy meals three times a day. Forget snacks—if there was even one chili pepper in a dish, I’d count that as a win. Damn it! He made me quit smoking and drinking. No snacks allowed. No beverages. Just warm boiled water every single day.”
She felt like she was ascending to heaven—living the life of a monk observing strict vows.
Jiaojiao gasped. “Oh my god. Who’s so cruel to you?”
“My ex-husband.”
Rip. Another chip bag opened.
She was in the wrong to begin with, so she had no choice but to swallow the grievance.
Jiaojiao shook her head in disbelief. “Is President Shen insane? Forcing you to quit all your unhealthy habits—he’s clearly trying to drive you crazy.”
Qu Bixin bit down hard on a chip, unable to explain.
“He used to subtly and not-so-subtly warn us not to hang out with you. If we didn’t listen, he’d go complain to our parents. We all got our allowances cut and were forced to stay home like obedient daughters. That man? He’s got a million schemes. Little green tea, running far away is the wise choice. You can’t outplay him.”
Every word hit home.
Their messy emotional entanglement over the years had been witnessed clearly by this entire friend group.
Setting down the chips, Qu Bixin spoke softly. “I was too stupid back then. He was willing to spend ten billion to save the Qu family and then divorce me. I should’ve just taken the money and left. Keeping a young boy toy would’ve been better than eating old grass.”
The problem was, once she swallowed Shen Fu again, she couldn’t spit him back out.
Jiaojiao sympathized but was helpless. “My mom always taught me—don’t date poor men. If their lives are miserable, they’ll treat you like a life-saving straw. They’ll cling to you until death.”
To Shen Fu, Qu Bixin was that straw.
……
At two in the morning.
Jiaojiao ordered spicy crayfish and crab. They drank a little, ate their fill. Finally satisfied and smelling of barbecue smoke, Qu Bixin slumped onto the sofa. She told herself she never wanted to eat postpartum confinement meals again in her life. So she absolutely must not let Shen Fu find her.
No sooner had the thought formed—
The apartment doorbell rang.
Qu Bixin shot upright, panic flashing in her eyes. She locked gazes with Jiaojiao.
Both fell silent. The doorbell kept ringing.
Yu Jiaojiao said weakly, “I have something to say… not sure if I should.”
Qu Bixin looked like she was about to cry. “He’s here! It’s him!!!”
“Xinxin… don’t be scared. I’ll help you.” Loyal to their sisterhood, Yu Jiaojiao pushed her toward the bathroom to hide, threw on a coat, and went to open the door.
Qu Bixin couldn’t see who was outside. She pressed her ear against the bathroom door.
Yu Jiaojiao exchanged a few words with the visitor. After a moment, a familiar low voice drifted faintly inside. “Please help me take care of Xinxin tonight. She can’t touch cold water. She needs to drink warm water. Don’t let the windows stay open at night. Remind her to wear shoes.”
Yu Jiaojiao nearly lost it. This wasn’t a husband—this was practically a father managing a child.
As if ignoring her expression entirely, Shen Fu took out a sheet of paper from his pocket. On it was tomorrow’s three-meal menu for Qu Bixin.
Yu Jiaojiao glanced down. Her expression collapsed.
How was this any different from postpartum confinement food?
In neat, elegant handwriting, it listed: for breakfast, two egg yolks and spinach porridge. Lunch: stir-fried Chinese yam, mushroom chicken soup, kiwi fruit, and a small bowl of rice. Dinner: stir-fried pumpkin, steamed egg whites with shrimp, and steamed fish.
Additionally, a chicken soup simmered for over three hours for supper.
Yu Jiaojiao almost dropped the paper. When they high-society girls went to fancy restaurants, they weren’t even this fussy. At most, they’d order a full table, taste a bite of each, or poke at the dishes with chopsticks.
Each item Shen Fu listed even included notes on cooking time and reduced salt.
Looking at the paper, Yu Jiaojiao sincerely felt Qu Bixin was finished. Completely finished.
Once targeted by a man this terrifying, was there any hope of rescue? None.
Shen Fu didn’t behave like other ordinary men—no barging rudely into a strange woman’s apartment. Even though he clearly knew Qu Bixin was inside, he simply delivered his instructions and left politely.
Yu Jiaojiao had prepared a whole speech to drive him away—no chance to use it.
She locked the door and returned to the living room.
Qu Bixin peeked out from the bathroom. “He left?”
Yu Jiaojiao handed her the menu. “Was your ex-husband a nanny in his previous life?”
“What are you talking about? He wouldn’t make a move on some middle-aged auntie.”
Yu Jiaojiao: “…”
Looking down at the menu, Qu Bixin finally processed the meaning. “You mean… he works as a nanny? Of course not.”
“Qu Bixin, I’m locking my bedroom door tonight. Being alone in the same apartment with you is dangerous.” She stopped short of saying that for someone who looked pure on the surface but was actually bold enough to do anything, hiding from an ex-husband was hardly necessary.
Shen Fu had the looks and the body. If you’re not sleeping with him, it’s a waste.
Qu Bixin tore the menu handwritten by Shen Fu to shreds with her fingertips without even blinking. “What’s so dangerous about it? He’s not going to eat you.”
Yu Jiaojiao hadn’t forgotten how Qu Bixin once pretended to have an affair with a female socialite from the He family just to run away with Shen Fu. She had frightened her father into lowering his standards for a son-in-law to one simple requirement: as long as he’s male.
In her eyes, this naturally sly little green tea was capable of anything.
So for safety, Jiaojiao locked her door before going to bed.
Standing in the living room, Qu Bixin rolled her eyes. A trick she’d used once—she wasn’t about to use it a second time.
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