"Xu Ruowei, discard your pitiful, hypocritical act. Your current appearance only makes me sick, disgusted."
Shen Xizhou's brow furrowed. He felt an unspeakable revulsion at Xu Ruowei's touch. Recalling how he had once so readily believed her words and done so many things to An Nuan, he was consumed by self-recrimination, guilt, and even more so, regret.
But there was no medicine for regret in this world. What had happened could not be undone.
And it was true that An Nuan's heart had been wounded beyond repair by him.
What he had to consider now was how to make An Nuan believe him, how to bring her back to his side.
His gaze on Xu Ruowei was now filled with mockery.
"Xu Ruowei, do you even believe these words yourself when you say them?"
Shen Xizhou said coldly, "Xu Ruowei, you've framed An Nuan repeatedly, you deserve to die."
"No, no."
"Xizhou, I didn't frame An Nuan. Every time An Nuan appeared, you were by my side, don't you remember?"
"An Nuan bullied me, and you always stood up for me, Xizhou, don't you remember?"
"It was you who, in front of everyone, spoke ill of An Nuan. Back then, I even spoke up for An Nuan. But you told me that only a dirty person like me would speak up for such a sordid woman, that it would only soil myself."
"Xizhou, the words you said. The things you did to An Nuan yourself, have you forgotten them all?"
Xu Ruowei looked at Shen Xizhou.
*Heh, since I can't have a good life, neither can you.*
"Xizhou, I did some wrong things. However, my wrongdoings can't even amount to a fraction of yours."
"How you treated An Nuan, I don't need to say much more. You know better than anyone else."
Xu Ruowei's words pierced Shen Xizhou's heart, each one a bloody stab that left him speechless.
Yes, Xu Ruowei was hateful, deserving of death. But what about him? He was the one who had gone too far.
A look of pain clouded Shen Xizhou's eyes. When he saw Xu Ruowei's upturned lips, he understood.
Even though he had made so many mistakes, they were ultimately caused by Xu Ruowei.
He felt guilt, but Xu Ruowei would not escape.
Shen Xizhou looked at Xu Ruowei coldly, his voice devoid of emotion, "Xu Ruowei, I will naturally repent for my wrongdoings to An Nuan. But what about you? The things you did were so malicious."
"How can you live your life in peace?"
"For your own selfish desires, you harmed so many people. The root of it all is you, this wicked person."
"Xu Ruowei, you will never have a good life."
"Oh, and since you've done wrong, your family should be prepared to face the consequences. I will make you taste all the suffering An Nuan endured. That, I suppose, would be fair to you."
Hearing Shen Xizhou's words, Xu Ruowei's face changed drastically.
She hadn't expected Shen Xizhou to be so ruthless for An Nuan.
He was going to make her taste all the suffering An Nuan had endured.
How dare he? Those sweet words echoed in her ears. How could he say them so calmly?
Xu Ruowei looked at the man before her in disbelief, shaking her head repeatedly.
She felt regret, regretting why she had spoken such harsh words just now.
If she had continued to feign weakness and vulnerability, perhaps Shen Xizhou would have spared her this once.
"Right, you said back then that An Nuan wanted your life, that she threw you into the water to drown you, right?"
"I remember how pitifully you cried then, and how foolishly I believed your words and dealt a cruel blow to An Nuan, almost causing An Nuan's life to be lost at my hands."
Xu Ruowei snorted and burst into laughter, "Yes, you really doted on me back then. Whatever I said, you believed."
"For my 'revenge,' An Nuan almost lost her life."
"But it was Ye Qingcheng who saved An Nuan. Why is An Nuan's life so fortunate?" Xu Ruowei's voice became scattered and hysterical.
"Xizhou, tell me, if Ye Qingcheng hadn't intervened to save An Nuan then, there would be no An Nuan. Then, you wouldn't be treating me like this, would you?"
"Things wouldn't be like this now. In the final analysis, all the mistakes are An Nuan's fault. An Nuan is the one who deserves to die the most."
"Without An Nuan, you wouldn't be treating me like this."
Xu Ruowei completely failed to realize that all the mistakes were her own doing. Yet, she blamed An Nuan for everything.
Shen Xizhou looked at Xu Ruowei, who was like a madwoman, and found it almost laughable.
"Shen Xizhou, even you yourself cursed An Nuan as dirty and lowly. You know An Nuan's character best."
Shen Xizhou's expression grew darker. Listening to Xu Ruowei's mouth filled with insults towards An Nuan, although he was the one who had said such things before, now they sounded extremely jarring.
He roughly yanked Xu Ruowei's hair and said coldly, "Xu Ruowei, you manipulated me into misunderstanding An Nuan. While I deserve it, the one who truly deserves to die is..."
Shen Xizhou's gaze fell on a bucket of water nearby. He said coldly, "Now, let me let you taste the feeling of suffocation."
Xu Ruowei's eyes widened in terror, looking at the bucket of water. Shen Xizhou was going to take her life.
"Shen Xizhou, please, I beg you. For all that I've done for you, please spare me."
"I'm being framed."
The man seemed to ignore her pleas, continuing to drag her forward.
She knew that the man before her was determined to avenge An Nuan. Now was not the time to provoke him; she needed to beg him softly.
She wanted to preserve her life.
She believed that given time, she could still slowly make Shen Xizhou hers. For now, what she needed was to survive.
Xu Ruowei's eyes dimmed. As if making a momentous decision, she bit her lip tightly and finally said, "Xizhou, alright, I admit it. I admit that I did all those things."
"But it was all because I loved you too much. Seeing you and An Nuan happy together, I was driven mad by jealousy, so I made mistakes and did those things."
"Shen Xizhou, for all that I've done for you, for almost losing my life for you, can you let me off this once?"
"You admit it now? You know to beg for mercy?"
Looking at the woman weeping uncontrollably before him, Shen Xizhou's lips curved into a mocking smile, his eyes filled with a bloodthirsty glint.
"Back then, when you framed An Nuan, you weren't like this. You said not to trouble An Nuan, but you must have been overjoyed when I moved against An Nuan."
Shen Xizhou's words seemed to be directed at Xu Ruowei, but only he knew that he was also saying them to himself.
He was even mocking himself.