I was completely unsatisfied with Fu Chiyan’s attitude. We were in the middle of a serious argument… how could he still be laughing?! The more I thought about it, the more aggrieved I felt, tears spilling over like a broken dam:

“Fu Chiyan, you’re a bully! You’re only picking on me because I don’t have anyone in my corner!”

He let out a soft sigh and raised his hand to gently wipe my tears away. His voice softened with a rare tenderness that left me utterly stunned:

“Stop crying. There never was a stand-in. I’ll only say this once, so listen carefully: from the very beginning… the only person I’ve ever liked is you.”

I froze, completely forgetting to cry. This was the first time Fu Chiyan had ever said something so cheesy. I sniffled and immediately pushed back. “Liar! You walk around every day with a face like the King of Hell—who would ever believe you actually like me?”

Seeing that my anger hadn’t dissipated, he suddenly closed his eyes and slumped directly against my shoulder as if he were about to pass out. Panicking, I wrapped my arms around him:

“Fu Chiyan?! Don’t you dare die on me! If you die, all your money becomes mine! I’m going straight out to find myself a hot guy!”

The very next second, a voice gritted out right beside my ear: “Don’t you dare!”

See? Spite-based therapy really works. A man on the brink of death suddenly found the strength to threaten me.

After I tended to his wound, he patiently explained everything: the girl in the photograph was just a neighbor he had grown up with, a childhood friend. To appease me, he decided to transfer a luxury countryside estate into my name. My eyes lit up instantly:

“For real? When are we signing the papers?”

Fu Chiyan chuckled softly. “How did I end up marrying such a pragmatic wife?”

I beamed at him, squinting my eyes playfully. “Count your blessings. I’m only after your money, not your life.”

Naturally, I couldn’t wait to flex to Xu Ning. But when I reached out, I found out Fu Chiyu was still driving her crazy by forcing her to practice calligraphy. Fueled by righteous fury, I dragged Fu Chiyan straight over to the Fu family ancestral home to stage a “rescue operation.”

Fu Chiyu—the living definition of a dangerous, suit-wearing sociopath—stood coldly at the front door, blocking our way. Fu Chiyan stepped up immediately, shielding me behind his back. The two brothers locked eyes, the atmosphere thick with silent, deadly tension like two martial arts masters preparing for a duel.

Xu Ning dashed out and threw her arms around me as if I were a long-lost relative she hadn’t seen in eight hundred years. But before we could swap more than a few words, both husbands turned their heads in unison, piercing us with terrifyingly stern glares. In the end, Fu Chiyu kicked us out, and Fu Chiyan dragged me home. The two brothers were shockingly united when it came to separating two miserable best friends.

The second we got back, Xu Ning and I launched into an intense texting spree to roast our possessive husbands.

Xu Ning: “When the time is right, we’re kicking both of them to the curb. Hiring a couple of obedient, sweet-talking boy models sounds way better.”

Me: “Approved!”

Meanwhile, Fu Chiyan began unlocking a brand-new skill: coaxing his wife with sweet talk. Wrapping a firm arm around my waist, he invited me to a grand evening gala: “You look this stunning—if I don’t take you out to show you off, people might start thinking I don’t have a wife.”

It gave me total goosebumps, but… I kind of loved it.

However, halfway through the event, as I was walking down a secluded corridor, I accidentally overheard a few socialites talking trash about me. The nasty rumors were spreading fast, and listening to them was infuriating.

They were sneering at me, calling me an “ungrateful leech” and a “snake.” Without saying a single word, I calmly took a glass of red wine and splashed it straight into their faces, offering a politely sweet smile:

“Your mouths are filthy. Thought I’d help you wash them out.”

Just as they blew their tops and tried to douse me with wine in retaliation, a firm hand clamped down on the ringleader’s wrist. It was Shang Wangshu—the girl from the photograph. She shoved the woman’s arm away, her tone lazy yet dripping with absolute authority:

“Attending a party at my family’s venue… and you don’t even know who I am?”

The trash-talking group went pale and scrambled away with their tails between their legs. Standing behind her, my eyes practically sparkled with admiration. Stand-in? What stand-in?! This woman is a total badass! I instantly transformed into a die-hard fan right on the spot.

Fu Chiyan walked over, resting his hand on my shoulder. Shang Wangshu—or rather, Sister Wangshu—looked at him with a teasing smirk:

“Leaving your wife to get bullied so I have to step in and save her? What kind of husband are you?”

Fu Chiyan’s face darkened the moment he noticed the worshipful look in my eyes as I stared at her. He pulled me away immediately, utterly green with envy.

Turns out, Shang Wangshu wasn’t an ex at all—she was my biological older sister, the youngest daughter of the wealthy Shang family who had gone missing years ago.

Talk about plot twists wilder than a soap opera! Just like that, I was welcomed back into the Shang family, tasting what it felt like to be genuinely showered with love by a real family for the very first time.

Refusing to accept defeat, Su Yiting tried to leverage public opinion to force me into saving her family’s bankrupt business by posting a tearful sob story online. Netizens began swarming my accounts, hurling ruthless insults my way.

I stopped Fu Chiyan from intervening. Instead, I personally posted photos of all the scars from the physical abuse I had endured over the years at the hands of the Su family, adding a simple caption:

Public opinion flipped instantly overnight. The Su family officially went bankrupt and was blacklisted from the corporate world. Watching their miserable downfall online gave me the ultimate sense of satisfaction.

When Fu Chiyan came home that night, I was curled up on the sofa. He walked over, pulling me tightly into a suffocating embrace, his voice thick with raw heartache:

“Why did you hide this from me? Those scars… you told me you just fell?”

His warmth enveloped me completely. Wrapping my arms around his waist, I murmured softly, “Because you were just too easy to fool.”

Suddenly, I felt an unusual warmth soaking through the fabric on my shoulder. “Fu Chiyan… are you crying?”

He instantly held the back of my head, refusing to let me look at his face, his voice low and raspy: “From now on… I will protect you.”

Ever since I reunited with my older sister, I took every chance I could get to sneak over to the Shang estate. Every single day, Fu Chiyan would block the front door, scoffing in sheer disbelief:

“You’re my wife. Why are you abandoning me at home alone every single day?”

I put my hands on my hips, acting completely unruly. “Want me to call my sister over to handle you?”

Mr. Fu shut his mouth instantly.

On the day of our scheduled Escape Plan 2.0, Xu Ning sent me a text: “Wanxia, so… are we still running away?”

I stole a quick glance at the tall man sitting right beside me, feeling a sudden pang of guilt as I typed back: “If you still want to run… I’ll go with you.”

Xu Ning stayed silent for a long time before replying: “Honestly… I don’t really feel like running anymore. He’s actually been treating me pretty well lately.”

I let out a long sigh of relief. “Should we just keep them under observation for a while longer?”

Escape Plan #108: Indefinitely postponed!