Chapter 53: The Wedding Night

He gave a light cough. "Xianxian?"

"What?"

Lin Xianxian glared at him.

Shang Yang fell silent for a few seconds. "Well... the hot water is ready for you."

[Ready my foot! Who asked you to get it ready?]

[Taking a bath yourself first and then letting me use the used bathtub? Ha, and here you call yourself a gentleman—you can swallow that gentlemanly demeanor right back down into a dog's belly!]

Shang Yang: "..."

Coughing twice, he said, "The bathtub hasn't been used."

"Oh."

[Hmph, so what?]

Lin Xianxian glared at Shang Yang and walked straight into the bathroom.

Standing outside, Shang Yang felt rather helpless.

Knowing that Shang Yang was unlikely to try anything with her, Lin Xianxian did not indulge in any romantic fantasies while soaking in the tub; instead, the little persona in her mind had already pounded Shang Yang a hundred times over.

Besides, even if Shang Yang weren't a man of integrity, given her current persona, she wouldn't be able to do anything with him anyway...

Therefore, after a wonderfully comfortable bath, Lin Xianxian put the matter out of her mind.

Poor Shang Yang waited outside for a full hour before Lin Xianxian finally finished her bath.

Then...

Seeing Shang Yang outside pretending to read documents, Lin Xianxian muttered inwardly once more:

[Reading your precious documents on our wedding night—are you simply unable to switch off your workaholic tendencies? You beast!]

Shang Yang: "..."

Just as he helplessly intended to close the document, he saw the young woman in front of him give a fake, cold smile and say, "President Shang is truly busy. If you're that busy, go read your documents in the study and don't disturb my sleep!"

Without a second word, she shoved Shang Yang right out the door!

"Bam!" She slammed the door shut.

Still clutching the documents he hadn't managed to read more than a few lines of, Shang Yang stood there dumbfounded.

Just as Shang Feifei came upstairs and witnessed this scene, she shook her head. "Third Uncle, you... truly are worse than a beast!"

Worse even than Shang Beiming.

At least Shang Beiming was a normal man; every time he saw Qin Xinxia, his eyes seemed filled with her alone, and even Shang Feifei had witnessed him hugging and kissing Qin Xinxia.

As for her third uncle...

Shang Feifei wore a look of utter contempt, and the way she looked at him even carried a subtle, suspicious nuance. "Third Uncle... could you possibly be..."

"Could I possibly be what?"

Shang Yang sneered.

Shang Feifei swallowed hard.

Could it be that he couldn't perform? Or perhaps he favored... men?

Otherwise, how could anyone sit there reading documents on their wedding night when faced with such a stunning beauty as Lin Xianxian?

This was practically an insult to Lin Xianxian's charm.

If she were Lin Xianxian, she would have thrown her third uncle out too!

However, Shang Yang's authority still held sway. Even though Shang Feifei now knew he wasn't actually all that terrifying, she didn't dare to continue voicing her thoughts.

"N-Nothing..."

Yet her eyes fully betrayed her suspicions.

"What are you doing here?"

Shang Yang glanced at her.

The marital home he shared with Lin Xianxian was independent and located nowhere near the old master's residence.

Why would Shang Feifei appear here at this hour?

"Oh, Grandpa told me to come over and see if you got kicked out by Xianxian."

"Now that I know, I can go back and report!"

With that, knowing her third uncle was bound to be furious, Shang Feifei turned tail and bolted.

"You—"

Shang Yang took a deep breath, feeling for the first time an urge to discipline a child.

Yet he certainly couldn't beat the old master as well.

Suppressing his irritation, he really did go off to the study to work.

Perhaps due to unfulfilled desires, Shang Yang was bursting with pent-up frustration. When he disciplined people during his work session that night, he was exceptionally ruthless.

As a result, every senior executive in Shang Yang's company soon learned the news.

Their boss had been kicked out by his bride on their wedding night, had worked the entire night driven by unfulfilled frustration, and was now taking out his bad temper on his employees—actually dragging them out of their warm beds in the dead of night to work...

The entire executive tier offered a unified prayer:

They fervently hoped that Shang Yang and Lin Xianxian would enjoy a harmonious marital relationship and that such an incident would never happen again!

Though the events of that night were entirely outside Lin Xianxian's original plan, the plot had unfolded precisely along its designated trajectory.

Just as in the original storyline, where Lin Xianxian remained deeply devoted to Shang Beiming and utterly unwilling to consummate her marriage with Shang Yang, she had banished Shang Yang to the study on their wedding night.

Afterwards, Shang Yang perceived her attitude and simply began sleeping in separate bedrooms, much to Lin Xianxian's relief.

As for last night...

Although the reason was different, Shang Yang had indeed been driven out.

Furthermore, within a single night, everyone knew about it!

Even Shang Beiming and Qin Xinxia got wind of the news.

"That woman marrying Third Uncle is simply here to plague him!" Shang Beiming sneered coldly.

"When she does something like this, does she ever consider Third Uncle's dignity? Does she ever consider the dignity of the Shang family?!"

Before he even finished speaking, he arrived at his own conclusion:

"Almost forgot... how could she ever care about our Shang family's dignity?"

"She married Third Uncle purely to exact revenge on me, and humiliating Third Uncle like this is just her way of humiliating me and humiliating the Shang family!"

Qin Xinxia shared the exact same sentiment.

"It seems that even though she married your third uncle, her heart... still belongs to you."

Qin Xinxia's emotions were somewhat complex; yet, for reasons unknown, upon learning that Lin Xianxian's heart still belonged solely to Shang Beiming, a trace of unexpected secret delight welled up within her.

After all, no matter how extraordinary Lin Xianxian was, the only man she truly wanted still belonged to Qin Xinxia!

Upon learning of this affair, the happiest people of all were none other than Lin Xianxian's adoring admirers, alongside...

Madam Shang.

During the wedding, Madam Shang had already concluded that Lin Xianxian belonged to the opposing camp.

Yet she never expected to hear the news the very next day that Lin Xianxian had banished Shang Yang on their wedding night.

Word had it that Shang Yang, consumed with anger, had worked through the entire night in a rage, leaving the senior executives of his company too terrified to speak out.

Madam Shang was instantly thrilled, quickly casting aside the strategies she had spent all night pondering to deal with Lin Xianxian and Shang Yang.

Since Lin Xianxian showed no regard for Shang Yang's face even on their wedding night, it proved that her heart still remained with her own son!

That being the case, she could entirely make use of Lin Xianxian!

Shang Yang probably thought he had acquired a powerful ally, never imagining that a wife who did not love him could only ever be a ticking time bomb!

Overjoyed, Madam Shang contacted Lin Xianxian the very next day, omitting the title of "sister-in-law" and instead addressing her with affectionate intimacy: "Xianxian."

"Xianxian, come, Auntie will take you out to buy a few more outfits..."

Madam Shang's actions somewhat exceeded Lin Xianxian's expectations.

However, hearing her still address her as "Xianxian" and continue to refer to herself as "Auntie," Lin Xianxian immediately understood what was going on.

In the original plot, upon discovering that Lin Xianxian had banished Shang Yang to the study on their wedding night, Madam Shang had acted in the exact same manner.

She had instantly concluded that even if Lin Xianxian didn't marry her own son, she could still become her son's asset.

Madam Shang intended to manipulate her, encouraging her to maintain her affection for her son and ideally turn Shang Yang's life completely upside down in the process.

Lin Xianxian sighed inwardly.

However...

It seemed she...

Had no choice but to play along.

Still...

Since Madam Shang had delivered herself right to her doorstep, would it not be a terrible waste not to toy with her and make good use of her?

Fixating her gaze on Madam Shang, the corners of Lin Xianxian's lips curled into a smile...