The two of them entered the office and conferred in low voices.

After Chu Shenyu left, Mrs. Chu looked at Zhu Yun, her expression a mixture of self-reproach and guilt. "Thank goodness you’re alright. Otherwise, how could I ever explain this to Shen Yu?"

Zhu Yun smiled gently and put her arm around Mrs. Chu’s shoulders, whispering, "Mom, it’s my fault. I should have told you before... I’m very strong."

As she spoke, she pinched a chopstick between three fingers. With a slight squeeze—CRACK—the sturdy bamboo chopstick snapped in two. There were even faint indentations left behind where her fingers had pressed.

Mrs. Chu stared, her mouth agape.

"Weren’t you curious? That brute didn’t manage to hurt me at all, so how did he end up with broken arms and legs?" Zhu Yun then picked up a walnut. With a gentle squeeze, the shell crumbled away, revealing the perfectly intact nut inside.

Mrs. Chu instinctively shook her head, grabbing Zhu Yun’s hand and turning it over and over to examine it.

’Her hand was slender and fair, with only the faintest red marks. It didn’t look like she possessed any great strength at all!’

With a soft laugh and a confident lift of her chin, Zhu Yun vividly recounted the "harrowing" incident, complete with dramatic gestures. As she listened, Mrs. Chu felt as if her heart was on a roller coaster.

Mrs. Chu, pale-faced, gave her a light, exasperated pat on the shoulder. "You little troublemaker. You call this comforting me? Are you sure you’re not just trying to give me another heart attack?"

Zhu Yun stuck her tongue out playfully and said sheepishly, "Mom, I just wanted to say, in a situation like that, if Chu Shenyu were here, he could play the hero and save the damsel in distress. Any bumps or bruises he got would just be badges of honor. I wouldn’t feel the least bit sorry for him."

"But you must never be the one to rush to the front. Your daughter-in-law isn’t as fragile as you think. Quite the opposite, in fact. I can lift barbells, beat up a tiger, fight off mounted bandits, and make the ground thunder when I stomp!"

"When it comes to dangerous, physical work like this, you stand back and let me handle it. Because if anything were to happen to you... forget Chu Shenyu, I would never be able to forgive myself."

Mrs. Chu shot her a look. "What young lady talks about herself like that?"

"Alright, alright. I know what you mean. Just make sure you always protect yourself first. Now, finish your food quickly and get some rest."

Zhu Yun smiled and nodded. After eating, she went back to her room and summoned the Teletubbies again, alternating between checking on her husband and spying on her neighbors across the hall.

Old Mrs. Wang was badly frightened. The pants she had just changed out of were fluttering on the balcony, and she sat in her bedroom in a complete daze. Jingjing was beside her, holding a child and trying to keep it quiet, not daring to say a word.

Lin Jin was in the living room by herself, fists clenched, her expression shifting constantly.

Chu Shenyu had carried Zhu Yun all the way back, and they had made quite a commotion. Of course, she had heard it all clearly, and she knew the plan at the hospital must have failed!

’Just a moment ago, she had been waiting with breathless anticipation to see the Chu family and Zhu Yun looking dejected and hopeless. Now, the gnawing frustration of it all falling apart created a contrast so stark she simply couldn’t accept it.’

’Everything was spiraling out of her control and heading in the worst possible direction. By now, the rumors about her infidelity had not only taken root in the family compound, but were spreading like wildfire!’

’To a man as obsessed with his reputation as Wang Xianbing, it was the ultimate humiliation: being flayed alive and branded a cuckold.’

And to make matters worse, it was something Lin Jin couldn’t explain away.

However, her eyes narrowed. She went into her room and rummaged around until she found an iron box. Inside were scraps of cloth of various colors and lengths.

She patiently tied the scraps to a long rope in what appeared to be a random pattern, her lips moving silently as if chanting. When she was done, she dragged it out to the balcony and hung it up.

Zhu Yun stroked her chin, mentally replaying every movement of Lin Jin’s lips. Combining this with her own clumsy attempts at lip-reading, she tried to sound out the words herself.

To her shock, the message was: Plan aborted. Ten PM tonight. Institute warehouse. Wound Xianbing!

She shot to her feet and began to pace restlessly around the room.

’How can I pass this information on to the right people without arousing suspicion?’

Just as she was anxiously trying to figure out what to do, Chu Shenyu returned.

"Why aren’t you asleep yet?" After a brief word with Mrs. Chu, Chu Shenyu tiptoed into their room. He saw his wife lying on the bed with her eyes squeezed shut, but her eyeballs were darting about restlessly beneath her lids. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

He chuckled, scooping her into his arms and giving her a quick kiss. "Since you can’t sleep, how about I comfort you a little?"

Zhu Yun couldn’t keep up the act any longer. She opened her eyes with a smile and draped her arms around his neck. "And how are you going to comfort me?"

"By doing something... meaningful. Something to take your mind off everything else," he said, nuzzling against her and deliberately targeting her ticklish spots.

Zhu Yun instantly started shaking with laughter. Afraid Mrs. Chu might hear, she bit her lip, trying desperately to stifle her giggles until tears welled up in her eyes. Her pitiful appearance only made him want to tease her more, and even more relentlessly.