In the following days, Yu Sheng did exactly as she said, fully committing to the principle of "resting."
She and Gu Wanqing switched to a boutique resort hotel. Every day, they slept until they woke up naturally, then went for relaxing spa treatments, post-miscarriage care, and enjoyed local delicacies.
Gu Wanqing constantly tried new ways to cheer her up. It felt like they had returned to their carefree student days.
Although Yu Sheng's complexion was still pale, the heavy gloom in her eyes gradually faded. She was truly trying to leave those troubling matters behind and focus on relaxation and recovery.
However, this peace was torment for Shen Yunmian.
Several times, Shen Yunmian tried to contact Yu Sheng—either Gu Wanqing would answer and mock her before hanging up, or after finally reaching Yu Sheng, she would only hear cold responses like "Don't bother me" or "I'm hanging up."
This complete rejection made Shen Yunmian's inner restlessness grow day by day.
She couldn't understand how Yu Sheng could be so resolute, as if their marriage meant nothing to her.
Coupled with her grandmother calling almost daily to ask about progress and apply pressure, Shen Yunmian's patience finally ran out.
A week later, she personally flew to that coastal city.
Based on the latest confirmed information, she found the resort hidden deep among coconut trees.
She found Yu Sheng at the hotel's open-air seaside restaurant.
The afternoon sun was just right, filtering through swaying palm leaves and casting dappled light.
Yu Sheng wore a loose linen dress with a soft knit cardigan over it, sitting on a white rattan chair. The sea breeze lifted the stray hair on her forehead as she squinted slightly, watching Gu Wanqing picking shells on the beach not far away.
The scene looked peaceful and beautiful—almost dazzling.
Shen Yunmian's steps paused for a moment.
She noticed Yu Sheng seemed slimmer than when she left, her profile looking somewhat fragile under the sunlight. Yet that relaxed and peaceful state was something she had never shown at home.
That realization made something in Shen Yunmian's chest tighten.
She restrained her overly exposed emotions, her face returning to its usual calm, and stepped forward.
The first to notice her was Gu Wanqing.
The smile on Gu Wanqing's face vanished instantly. Like a mother hen protecting her chicks, she hurried back to Yu Sheng's side and glared at Shen Yunmian with vigilance. "Oh, President Shen really is capable—actually managed to track us down? What, didn't get enough scolding over the phone, so you came in person to get yelled at?"
Shen Yunmian didn't even spare Gu Wanqing a glance. Her gaze remained fixed on Yu Sheng the entire time.
Yu Sheng had already sensed her approach. The ease on her face faded, leaving only cold indifference.
"Yu Sheng," Shen Yunmian spoke, her voice carrying a trace of hoarseness that was hard to notice, "have you had your fun? It's time to go home."
Yu Sheng couldn't even be bothered to look at her. Her tone was flat and emotionless. "I said I'm staying here quietly for a month. Don't you understand human language?"
That sentence again!
Shen Yunmian's patience finally ran out, her tone turning firm. "Yu Sheng, enough is enough. I've already handled things at home. Xingyao has been punished too. How long are you going to keep making a scene? Whatever the problem is, we can go back and solve it."
Her condescending, self-righteous lecturing completely ignited the anger Yu Sheng had been suppressing.
"Wanqing, go wait over there for a bit."
Although Yu Sheng was speaking to Gu Wanqing, she lifted her eyes to look directly at Shen Yunmian. Her beautiful eyes seemed coated with frost.
Though reluctant, Gu Wanqing nodded and stepped back to the shade not far away, watching closely.
Now, only the two of them remained.
The sea breeze blew past, carrying a salty scent, but it couldn't disperse the tension between them.
Shen Yunmian tried to ease the atmosphere and spoke first. "Yu Sheng, if there's anything to say, let's go back and talk."
"Go back?" Yu Sheng let out a mocking laugh as if she had heard the biggest joke in the world. She slowly stood up, walked up to Shen Yunmian, and sneered, "Go back and keep looking at your always calm, self-controlled face that wouldn't change even if the sky collapsed? Go back and keep tolerating your pretentious, mean mother and your spoiled sister? Go back and keep being your 'well-behaved, proper' tool of a wife who's never allowed to have emotions? Shen Yunmian, tell me—why should I go back?"
Shen Yunmian frowned, trying to reason with her. "Those aren't problems. I can—"
"Can what?" Yu Sheng cut her off sharply, the grievances and anger accumulated over two lifetimes breaking through at this moment. "Can you guarantee your mother won't stir up trouble again? Can you guarantee Shen Xingyao won't cause more disasters? Can you guarantee you won't use your cold business logic to deal with our relationship anymore? Can you guarantee you'll treat me like a human being, instead of a tool in your marriage?"
Her emotions were intense, and her voice drew the attention of some distant guests.
Shen Yunmian's expression darkened, and she instinctively reached out to grab her. "Yu Sheng, calm down! This isn't the place to talk. Let's go back and—"
She didn't get to finish.
"Smack—!"
A crisp, loud slap landed on her face without warning!
Shen Yunmian froze completely, her head slightly turned from the impact.
She hadn't expected Yu Sheng to hit her again—and in broad daylight, in front of everyone!
A burning pain spread across her face instantly, more vivid and humiliating than the last time in the bedroom.
Not far away, Gu Wanqing covered her mouth in shock, her eyes wide.
Yu Sheng's palm tingled as well. Looking at the red handprint rapidly forming on Shen Yunmian's face, she asked with a hint of malice, "Does it hurt, Shen Yunmian?"
Shen Yunmian stood stiffly in place, as if stunned by the slap, unable to speak for a moment.
"Let me tell you, the child is gone… right here!" She suddenly jabbed a finger at her own chest, her eyes wet, every word filled with anguish. "It hurts ten thousand times more than that! Ten thousand times! You'll never understand!"
The sea breeze fluttered their clothes, and everything around them seemed to fall still.
Shen Yunmian stared blankly at Yu Sheng, who had completely lost control of her emotions. The clear pain on her own face, and the bottomless agony in Yu Sheng's eyes, made her heart—so accustomed to calm analysis—feel, for the first time, a heavy, indescribable impact.
The words "come back with me" got stuck in her throat, unable to come out.
After a long time, she seemed to find her voice again, even carrying a trace of confusion she herself didn't notice. "Yu Sheng… one month. After one month, will you come back?"
Yu Sheng wiped away her tears forcefully, trying to steady her surging emotions, and coldly said two words: "I will."
Of course she would go back.
To divorce.
She kept those words in her heart and didn't say them out loud.
Hearing that answer, Shen Yunmian seemed to finally receive a clear signal, even if the process had been so humiliating.
She looked at Yu Sheng's resolute expression and, in the end, as if compromising, spoke with difficulty, "Fine. For this month, I won't let anyone disturb you."
After saying that, she gave Yu Sheng a long look, her gaze complicated and unreadable. Then she turned around, leaving with the clear handprint still on her face, carrying an indescribable embarrassment and heaviness as she walked away from the bright, sunlit beach.
Only then did Gu Wanqing rush over, hugging Yu Sheng tightly, still shaken yet thrilled as she exclaimed in a low voice, "Oh my god! Girl, you're amazing! You slapped her—in front of everyone! Did you see her expression just now… my god!"
Yu Sheng leaned against her weakly. That slap had nearly drained all her strength.
But inside, she felt a twisted sense of satisfaction and release.
To hell with being proper! To hell with being well-behaved! Losing control actually feels great!
If she had been like this earlier, she wouldn't have developed depression in her past life.
—
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