Shen Jiuyi's Interrogation, or Finally Breaking Down

Ghost Market Street, Treasureless Pavilion.

After parking the car in the underground lot and stepping out,

Shen Buyao felt like every step was a struggle.

Damn Lin Yu!

Couldn’t he have shown some restraint?

Didn’t he know she was coming back tonight and had to open the shop at Ghost Market Street?

Of course,

running the shop wasn’t the scary part.

The scary part was facing the Big Cow!

For as long as she could remember,

every time Shen Buyao lied or hid something out of guilt,

Shen Jiuyi would sniff it out immediately.

Not only that,

she could even piece together the truth just from Shen Buyao’s wording.

It wasn’t that sleeping with Lin Yu was something she couldn’t tell Shen Jiuyi.

She just didn’t want her to know.

That after their very first date, she hadn’t kept her pants on.

At the very least,

she should’ve waited till their fourth or fifth date before admitting they’d slept together.

That was the normal pace for couples, right?

Shen Buyao wasn’t entirely sure herself.

All her "knowledge" came from the internet.

Arriving at the shop entrance,

Shen Buyao patted her cheeks, loosening the tension in her face.

Don’t panic, don’t panic…

No matter how much the Big Cow suspected or what questions she asked,

Shen Buyao had one golden rule:

Deny till death!

After steeling her resolve, she swung her arms with exaggerated nonchalance and strode into the shop.

The moment she entered, she spotted Shen Jiuyi lounging in a chair in the main hall.

"I’m back, Big Cow!"

"Did you eat yet? Or were you so helpless without me you couldn’t even feed yourself?"

Shen Buyao sauntered over with exaggerated flair.

Spotting the full glass of water in front of Shen Jiuyi,

she snatched it up with feigned brattiness and downed it in one go.

What’s with that look on the Big Cow’s face?

Grief? Melancholy? Resentment?

Why does she look like she’s the one who lost something today?!

Already prepared with counterarguments,

Shen Buyao resorted to a tactical water break, buying time to avoid verbal sparring.

As soon as she finished drinking, Shen Jiuyi asked out of nowhere:

"How’d it taste?"

Shen Buyao’s eyes widened. "???"

"What do you mean? It’s just water!"

"Unless you slipped something in it?"

Shen Jiuyi replied with eerie calm:

"Mhm. I did. Morning-after pills."

Shen Buyao: "…"

"!!!"

"Goddammit—!!"

"Gag…"

For a second, Shen Buyao considered playing it cool.

But then it hit her—

knowing the Big Cow’s unhinged personality, she might’ve actually done it!

Who the hell takes morning-after pills so casually?!

"Alright, stop gagging."

"I was just messing with you."

"Though your reaction suggests you want to get pregnant."

Shen Buyao slowly pulled her fingers out of her mouth,

murder in her eyes.

Right now,

she couldn’t tell which was the real joke:

the pills being in the water, or not being in the water.

She’d prepared for countless ways Shen Jiuyi might grill her.

But never in her wildest dreams did she expect

the conversation to take this turn!

Thrown completely off balance, she had no idea how to respond.

Well… freaking out over possibly ingesting morning-after pills was a normal reaction, right?

Stick to the original plan—double down!

"Big Cow, what the hell is wrong with you?!"

"You think any woman wouldn’t freak out over that crap?!"

"Listen, if you’re gonna judge me, I just took Lin Yu to check out the old house."

"Pregnant? Don’t even joke about that, you hear me?!"

"Cough…"

Shen Buyao touched her throat and asked again with lingering unease:

"You really didn’t put any in, right?"

"If I dared to, you’d better believe I’d pay you back with something way stronger!"

Shen Jiuyi remained silent.

It seemed she had no intention of continuing the discussion on this matter.

However.

Just as Shen Buyao was about to let her guard down—

Shen Jiuyi suddenly blurted out:

"Buyao, I think we should be honest with each other about everything."

"Just like how I never hid Old Liang’s whereabouts from you."

Shen Buyao: "..."

Oh no!

The emotional card!

Since when did this big cow start playing moral blackmail?

Wasn’t she always the type to deduce the truth from answers?

Now.

She’s resorting to such shameless tactics?

Shen Buyao’s heart wavered:

"W-what exactly do you want to ask?"

"Stop beating around the bush with all this nonsense."

"If I have no morals, you can’t blackmail me!"

Shen Jiuyi stood up and walked to the table.

Right in front of Shen Buyao, she pulled a pill-shaped object from her pocket and dropped it into an empty glass.

Then.

She picked up the water pitcher, poured half a glass, and asked coldly:

"I’ll only ask this once. If you lie or refuse to answer, I won’t ask again…"

"Did he bring one today?"

Shen Buyao: "!!!"

"I’ll bring you—"

Before the curse could fully leave Shen Buyao’s lips,

the glass with the pill was thrust in front of her.

Shen Jiuyi’s gaze was icy, her voice razor-sharp:

"I’m not joking. I just want the truth."

"You…"

"Do you really want to bring a child into this world, only for them to suffer the same childhood as yours?"

"The pain of growing up without a father—no one understands it better than you."

"Do you think Lin Yu’s fate can withstand how many more times?"

Every word Shen Jiuyi spoke was deadly serious.

And.

It struck right at Shen Buyao’s deepest wounds.

Growing up without a father by her side,

even though her mother and grandparents had given her endless love,

a gaping void of paternal care still lingered in her heart.

Back then,

the reason Shen Jiuyi discouraged Shen Buyao from getting too close to men

was partly due to fate,

but also because Shen Buyao couldn’t tell what truly made a good man.

Countless real-life examples had proven it:

Girls who lacked a father’s presence from childhood to adolescence

often grew up too trusting of men once they entered society.

This was something Shen Jiuyi had laid bare to Shen Buyao before.

On the surface, Shen Buyao had brushed it off with a defiant, "I’m a great judge of character!"

But deep down,

she had no confidence at all.

"Buyao, do you really think I’d ever harm you?"

Seeing the confusion in Shen Buyao’s eyes,

Shen Jiuyi pressed on.

Her tone hadn’t sharpened,

yet the words sent a shudder through Shen Buyao.

Her gaze drifted for a long moment before she slowly raised her hand,

reaching for the glass Shen Jiuyi held out…

But then—

Shen Jiuyi abruptly pulled the glass back and downed the water and pill in one go.

Shen Buyao: "???"

Shen Jiuyi: "Gulp, gulp…"

Shen Buyao: "Y-you… what was that?"

Shen Jiuyi: "Lunch with Old Liang was a bit greasy. A digestive pill might help."

Shen Buyao: "…"

Shen Jiuyi: "…"

Shen Buyao lunged forward fiercely:

"You damn cow, I’ll fucking kill you!!"

Shen Jiuyi had anticipated this, effortlessly dodging around the hall’s pillars like the Emperor of Qin evading assassins, all while taunting:

"Buyao, are you so overwhelmed with pleasure that you’d silence your own aunt? I never forced you to admit anything."

"Relax, Lin Yu won’t die trapped in there, and he definitely won’t kick the bucket later."

"I’m dying to know—what kind of moans are we talking about? Traditional Chinese style or full-on Western?"

...

(First update today! There’ll be bonus chapters later, folks. Take a sec to check out an ad—thanks a million!)