Chapter 9

After Shen Yu stepped forward to offer herself for the search, the others grew hesitant and began to shrink back. The arrogant, united front they had displayed while ganging up on Shen Yu earlier had completely vanished.
In truth, Shen Yu was only putting on a show. She knew Bai Muyu and her friends wouldn’t dare to be searched. They had decided to target her only after seeing her enter the classroom, a spur-of-the-moment plan with no time for thorough preparation. That meant they hadn’t had enough time to move the necklace far away. Besides, the necklace was worth tens of thousands, and Bai Muyu had just been showing it off in the classroom earlier. Something that valuable, she definitely wouldn’t let it stray too far from her. So Shen Yu guessed the necklace was still either on Bai Muyu or one of her friends. If they were searched in front of the teacher now, their scheme would be exposed, an utterly humiliating outcome for them.
This was exactly the effect Shen Yu wanted.
It was almost time for class, and more and more students were entering the classroom. Seeing the scene before them, they whispered curiously among themselves.
Under countless inquisitive stares, one of Bai Muyu’s friends timidly stepped forward, tears in her eyes, and quietly confessed to the counselor, "Teacher, Muyu’s necklace is with me. She gave it to me earlier, saying she wanted to play a joke on Shen Yu and tease her a little. I’m sorry, teacher! We just wanted to play a harmless prank!" As the girl spoke, tears began streaming down her face, giving her a pitiful and innocent look, like a delicate flower drenched in rain.
Shen Yu raised an eyebrow. As she had suspected, the girl had been hiding Bai Muyu’s necklace. Initially, out of friendship and loyalty, she had kept quiet. But now, with the counselor and other students present, she couldn’t handle the pressure and stepped forward to reveal the truth. However, she phrased it cleverly and played the victim, earning herself some sympathy points.
After the girl stepped forward, Bai Muyu’s face darkened. She glared at the girl in annoyance, as if blaming her for meddling, but ultimately didn’t refute her statement, tacitly accepting her explanation. Thanks to Shen Yu’s intervention, the situation had spiraled far beyond Bai Muyu’s expectations. She was too proud to admit her mistake herself, so having someone else step forward and confess was the best outcome for her.
Bai Muyu and her friends wanted to let the matter rest and downplay the situation, but Shen Yu wasn’t about to let them off so easily.
For a long time, the original host had been treated as a punching bag, allowing others to bully her at will, with no one ever considering her feelings. If this incident had happened to the original host, would she have endured the humiliation silently? The thought of that possibility made Shen Yu’s temper flare. She stepped forward and said, "Then this joke has gone too far. If you were the one accused of stealing, would you still consider it a joke? This was clearly a premeditated setup."
The girl who had been called out shook her head repeatedly, tears falling even more heavily. "This has nothing to do with me, nothing to do with me!"
Bai Muyu frowned, stepped forward, and said through gritted teeth, "Shen Yu, what do you want? Isn’t this enough?"
Shen Yu looked at her and said, "Apologize to me, and we can consider this matter settled." To throw mud at her and then pretend nothing happened, there was no way it would be that easy.
Bai Muyu retorted defiantly, "Didn’t you just accuse me of stealing too? We’re even!"
Shen Yu blinked, a playful gesture that was almost hidden behind her thick glasses. She said, "Anyone with eyes can see that I was only acting in self-defense. Someone as poor as me, how could I possibly own an emerald and platinum bracelet?"
Bai Muyu stared at her, speechless. "You!"
The counselor glanced at her watch and said, "I think I understand the situation now. Muyu, you were in the wrong from the start. You shouldn’t have played such a malicious prank. Apologize to Shen Yu now."
Bai Muyu clearly wasn’t convinced. "Teacher, she accused me of stealing too. Isn’t that also a false accusation? Why should I be the one to apologize?"
The counselor frowned and said, "You started this. If you hadn’t done this, none of this would have happened."
Bai Muyu pursed her lips, her eyes glistening as if she had suffered a grave injustice. But it was too late to play the victim now, there was no getting out of the apology.
Thus, under the watchful eyes of everyone, Bai Muyu was forced to apologize to the very person she usually despised and looked down upon the most. The feeling was even more unbearable than being dragged to the execution block.
"Shen Yu, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have made such a joke with you." As soon as the words left her mouth, Bai Muyu felt her face burn as if she had been slapped countless times. Though her words sounded submissive, the hatred in her heart only grew stronger. She had always been proud since childhood, when had she ever suffered such humiliation? This was a debt she would remember for a lifetime!
Shen Yu nodded, barely accepting her apology. His dismissive attitude infuriated Bai Muyu so much she nearly spat blood.
After the instructor left, the surrounding chatter instantly grew louder. Everyone was buzzing, discussing what had just happened.
Bai Muyu didn't leave immediately. With a livid expression, she glared at Shen Yu as if she wanted to devour her whole.
"I underestimated you. You've learned to play the pig to eat the tiger! Shen Yu, you must be feeling pretty smug right now, aren't you? Let me tell you, this isn't over!"
Shen Yu withdrew her gaze and sat back down in her seat, saying, "As long as you don't provoke me, I won't bother you either." She genuinely hoped they would continue to ignore her.
"You!"
Bai Muyu wanted to say more, but a few girls behind her tugged at her sleeve to stop her. "Class is about to start. Let's go back to our seats."
Glancing at Shen Yu, who was staring blankly at her desk, Bai Muyu stomped her foot in frustration and followed the others away.
"Don't you think Shen Yu was acting strange today?" one of the girls said to Bai Muyu and the others after they returned to their seats. "She seemed unusually bold!"
The others nodded. "No matter what we said to her before, she'd just hang her head and not respond. But today, she actually dared to cause such a scene?!"
Bai Muyu gritted her teeth. "I think she's just asking for trouble. Just wait and see, I'll make sure she pays for this someday." The humiliation of being publicly shamed today was a debt she would repay twofold in the future!
The girl who had confessed earlier seemed more timid and whispered, "Even a cornered cat will climb a tree, and a desperate dog will jump over a wall. Maybe we went a bit too far today."
As soon as she finished speaking, she was met with scornful glares from the others.
Still, her explanation made sense. Shen Yu must have been pushed to her limits to suddenly erupt like that. But her outburst had genuinely startled them. Before this, Shen Yu had always been a doormat, enduring insults in silence no matter how harsh the words. But today...
Aside from Bai Muyu, the others were reflecting on their actions to some extent. Making fun of Shen Yu for being fat and ugly was one thing, but falsely accusing her of stealing was truly crossing a line. However, it was Bai Muyu who had come up with the idea in the first place, and they had just gone along with it.
Yet, judging by Bai Muyu's demeanor, she still didn't believe she had done anything wrong.
Shen Yu resumed her routine of rushing for the bus. Uncle Li suggested getting her a car, after all, the family had plenty of vehicles, and hiring a driver wouldn’t be difficult, but Shen Yu politely declined each time. The original host had always taken the bus, so there was no reason for her, as a transmigrator, to start enjoying the luxury of a private car and chauffeur. Now that she was back living with the Shen family and had to face a lunatic every day, it was better to keep a low profile.
After Shen Xiao had trashed her rented apartment, he acted the very next day as if nothing had happened, as though the madman who wrecked the place wasn’t him. On his good days, he would feed her all sorts of fruits, though he seemed particularly fond of feeding her cherries. Shen Yu never quite understood what he found so satisfying about it.
When she returned home, Uncle Li was digging in a corner of the yard. He said autumn was approaching, and it would be nice to grow some vegetables, both relaxing and healthy. Shen Xiao paid no attention to such mundane matters. Perhaps even a lunatic needed family. Once Shen Yu came to this realization, she wasn’t as afraid of him anymore. Still, she couldn’t help worrying about her own future. Villainous lunatics never came to a good end, and as his family member, she probably wouldn’t fare much better!
The addition of a new family member, a Husky, brought a lot more liveliness to the house. The silly dog clung to everyone but was especially attached to Shen Yu.
While Uncle Li was digging, the Husky amused itself by chasing its own tail. It tried to bite it but couldn’t, so it just spun in circles, utterly ridiculous!
Watching its silly, adorable antics, Shen Yu couldn’t stop laughing. The frustrations she’d encountered at school during the day melted away. What a little joy-bringer! “The Husky has been here for a few days, and we still haven’t given it a name,” she remarked. She’d been too preoccupied to remember earlier, but it occurred to her today.
To her surprise, Uncle Li said, “The young master has already named it.”
Curious, Shen Yu asked, “What did he call it?”
Uncle Li wiped the sweat from his forehead and replied, “Er Gouzi.”
Shen Yu: “…”
So tacky?!
Well, Er Gouzi it was. The name might not be pleasant to the ears, but the dog itself was adorable. Playing with it made her lose track of time.
After spending quite a while in the yard with Er Gouzi, Shen Yu went back to her room to change into workout clothes, then headed to the gym for a two-hour exercise session.
Since realizing she couldn’t escape the Shen family, Shen Yu had settled down and stopped struggling pointlessly. She began carefully studying the layout and functions of the villa to integrate herself into the Shen family’s life as quickly as possible. That was when she discovered a fairly large gym next to the main hall on the first floor, equipped with all sorts of exercise machines. There were even two treadmills, which Shen Xiao likely used regularly.
So, starting from that day, Shen Yu made it a habit to work out downstairs after school.
Today, as usual, she ran on the treadmill for half an hour before starting her stretching routine. It was still painful, but she gritted her teeth and endured it. As long as she could get through this initial period, it would become much easier later on.
After completing several sets of exercises, her face was drenched in sweat. She was about to get up to wipe it off and grab some water when she looked up and saw Shen Xiao leaning casually against the doorframe. He wore simple slacks and a white shirt, with the top three buttons undone, revealing a glimpse of his chest, wild and carefree.
He stood there quietly, a faint, ambiguous smile playing on his lips as he watched her intently.
Shen Yu’s scalp prickled under his gaze. How long has he been standing there watching? Why didn’t he make a sound? And that sly smile, is he plotting something sinister again?!
So she began to feel anxious again.
Fortunately, that evening, Shen Xiao didn’t stir up any trouble. After finishing his meal, he went straight into his study and didn’t come out again. Shen Yu felt relieved that she had dodged a bullet and went back to her room early to rest.
However, the next afternoon after school, Shen Yu came home to find Uncle Li busily directing several construction workers in the living room!
Shen Yu was baffled: “Uncle Li, what’s going on here?”
Uncle Li rubbed his hands together and laughed awkwardly. “Knocking down a wall.”
Shen Yu: “…”