Chapter 515: Since Ancient times, True Love Cannot Be Retained, Only Routines Can Win People's Hearts!
The surrounding crowd heard the scream and looked over in unison, also startled and amazed. Originally, Yang Qiuchan looked like a painting with her delicate features and graceful figure, but no one expected such a sight behind her mask. Many people wore expressions of regret.
"I apologize, customer, I frightened you." Yang Qiuchan's expression was calm as she put her mask back on, apologized, and then turned to return to the kitchen.
Zhou Luyao also sighed in admiration:
"Brother Shen, if this girl hadn't been scalded, she'd probably be very beautiful. What a pity."
Shen Anyu raised an eyebrow, a subtle, predatory gleam in his eyes. A pity? No, this was an opportunity. Since fate had dealt this woman such a cruel hand, he would simply step in and become her savior. It was a role he played to perfection.
His mind worked with cold efficiency. Curing a burn scar was trivial. The Two-Aspects Life-Death Medical Scripture contained techniques that could regrow flesh and restore skin to its original flawless state. His own Divine Medical Skill could achieve the same with a few well-placed needles. Hell, he didn't even need to rely on supernatural abilities. With his current wealth and influence, a single phone call could summon the world's most renowned plastic surgeons and dermatologists, who would fall over themselves for the chance to serve him. The method was irrelevant; the outcome was all that mattered.
He needed a pretext, a carefully constructed scenario that would indebt her to him, that would shatter her defenses and open her heart to his influence. A simple act of charity was too bland, too forgettable. He needed drama. He needed to be a hero.
The next moment, an invisible, silent current of energy coiled out from him. His Telekinesis, refined and subtle, slithered across the floor like a phantom serpent, undetectable to mortal senses. It wrapped itself gently, yet inexorably, around Yang Qiuchan's ankle as she returned from the kitchen, carefully balancing a large, steaming pot of bubbling hotpot broth.
Just as she passed their table, the unseen force gave a sharp, decisive tug.
Yang Qiuchan's steps suddenly faltered. Her body lurched forward with a momentum that was not her own. A gasp escaped her lips as she felt her balance betray her completely. The world seemed to tilt on its axis. In a horrifying slow-motion sequence, the heavy pot of broth tipped, its fiery red contents sloshing violently over the rim.
Her Almond Eyes widened in sheer terror. Her face, already hidden behind the mask, turned deathly pale. Her mind went completely blank, a canvas of white-hot panic. 'No, no, no! Not this! Not again!' This was scalding, boiling liquid—the very element that had already ruined her life once. How could this be happening? She had been so meticulous, so agonizingly careful with every step.
Zhou Luyao, seated directly in the splash zone, lost her composure entirely. A shrill scream caught in her throat as she saw the wave of searing broth arcing through the air, aimed directly at her. Time seemed to freeze, her body locked in place by primal fear.
In that split second of chaos, Shen Anyu moved.
He didn't just stand up; he exploded from his seat. The chair shot back with a sharp crack against the floor. He was a blur of motion, a white-clad guardian angel manifesting in the face of imminent harm. He moved with impossible speed, positioning his own body as a solid, unbreachable shield in front of Zhou Luyao. One hand shot out, clamping onto the tilting pot with lightning-fast precision, his grip like steel, arresting its fall. The other arm wrapped protectively around Zhou Luyao, pulling her tightly against his chest.
However, the laws of physics could only be bent so far. A significant portion of the boiling broth had already escaped the pot. It crashed against Shen Anyu's back and shoulder with a sickening sizzle. The scalding liquid instantly soaked through his expensive white shirt, staining the pristine fabric with a grotesque, greasy red splotch. Steam billowed from the point of impact.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, customer, I'm truly sorry!" Yang Qiuchan's voice was a choked, desperate sob. The pot clattered to the floor as she stumbled back, her hands flying to her mouth. Seeing his ruined clothes and the angry red blush already blooming on the skin visible at his collar, a crushing wave of guilt washed over her. She bowed again and again, her body trembling uncontrollably.
"Brother Shen, are you okay? Are you okay?"
Zhou Luyao finally snapped out of her shock. She pushed away from his chest, her hands fluttering anxiously over his back and arms, checking for injuries. Her eyes were already turning red, glistening with a mixture of raw fear, profound relief, and overwhelming emotion. She hadn't expected this. She hadn't expected someone of Shen Anyu's god-like status—a man who commanded billions with a word—to physically throw himself in harm's way to protect her.
It felt like something out of a storybook. A crown prince taking a dagger meant for a lowly handmaiden. In that single, selfless act, he had cemented a place in her heart that no amount of money ever could. How could she not be moved?
[Ding! Detected Destined Heroine Zhou Luyao's Affection +6, plundering +18000 Destiny Points!]
[Ding! Detected Destined Heroine Zhou Luyao's total Affection 85, extra plundering +30000 Destiny Points!]
Shen Anyu registered the familiar, cold chime of the System in his mind. 'True feelings never last; it's always the tricks that win hearts,' he thought with a flicker of cynical amusement. He had just lavished her with gifts worth hundreds of millions, yet her affection had stubbornly hovered just below eighty. But one moment of staged heroism, one cheap trick, and it shot up to eighty-five. People were so wonderfully predictable.
He turned to Zhou Luyao, his expression a mask of gentle concern. His dark eyes were deep pools of caring as he looked at her.
"I'm fine," he said, his voice soft. "Were you scalded?"
"No, Brother Shen, you protected me, so I wasn't scalded." Zhou Luyao's voice was thick with emotion, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. The last vestiges of her seeing him as a mere benefactor or a powerful partner evaporated. At this moment, Shen Anyu's standing in her heart had skyrocketed, becoming a treasure as precious as, if not more precious than, the money she adored.
[Ding! Detected Destined Heroine Zhou Luyao's Affection +1, plundering +3000 Destiny Points!]
Witnessing this tender exchange, Yang Qiuchan felt a sharp pang in her heart. A bitter, soul-deep envy twisted in her gut. This young man… he was truly wonderful. Incredibly handsome, impossibly considerate, and possessing the courage to step up when it mattered most. He was the kind of man every woman dreamed of. A pity. A man like that was a star in the heavens, while she was mud on the ground. She knew with a crushing certainty that she would never meet someone so good in her entire life. Who would ever look past her hideous scars? Who would ever want someone as ugly as her?
Forget others; even she couldn't stand the sight of her own reflection. The mirror was her enemy. It showed her the truth—a face marred by a web of gnarled, discolored tissue, a monster from a nightmare.
'Even Wu Ming isn't coming anymore,' she thought, a fresh wave of despair washing over her. 'He probably doesn't want to see an ugly monster like me either.'
Her heart ached. Under Wu Ming's relentless pursuit, she had almost been swayed. Especially after the fire, after the scalding and the disfigurement, he had remained devoted, a constant presence. His persistence had chipped away at her resolve, and his unwavering attention had almost moved her. If not for the deep-seated self-loathing that consumed her, she might have even listened to her father's matchmaking attempts and given him a chance.
But then, he had vanished. He stopped coming to the restaurant. He didn't answer her calls. He didn't reply to her messages.
Worried that something had happened, she had gone to his rental apartment, only to find him perfectly fine. The second time she went, the apartment was empty. He had moved out without a word, fleeing as if she were a plague. Was her presence so repulsive? Was he so terrified of being entangled with her?
The bitterness was a poison in her veins.
'Never mind, never mind,' she told herself, trying to build a wall around her fragile heart. 'Anyway, I won't marry for life. It's quite good to stay with my parents and Yang's Hotpot Restaurant.'
Yang Qiuchan slowly, painfully, hardened her heart. She would no longer love. She would no longer hope.
Just then, a gentle and warm voice broke through her bleak thoughts, sounding right beside her ear:
"Are you okay, miss?"
Yang Qiuchan was stunned. She looked up, her gaze colliding with Shen Anyu's. His handsome face showed not a single trace of blame, not an ounce of resentment. There was only pure, unadulterated concern and a warmth that seemed to penetrate the cold shell she had built around herself.
[Ding! Detected Destined Heroine Yang Qiuchan's Affection +30, plundering +90000 Destiny Points!]
At that moment, Yang Hong, the owner of Yang's Hotpot Restaurant, came rushing over from the kitchen, his face a mask of frantic apology.
"Customer, I'm truly sorry! It was my daughter Qiuchan's carelessness. Whatever compensation you want, we are willing to accept. Please, please don't blame this child."
He knew the trauma his daughter had endured. The disfigurement from the scalding had already been a devastating blow. Wu Ming's recent heartless disappearance had only twisted the knife deeper. He suspected that was why she had been so absent-minded, why she had lost her footing. He had already decided that whatever the cost, he would bear it. His daughter had suffered enough; he wouldn't let this incident break her further.
Zhou Luyao, however, was enraged. Away from Shen Anyu's gentle influence, her natural pride and icy demeanor resurfaced. The initial shock had worn off, replaced by a fierce, protective fury.
"Do you know how much Brother Shen's shirt costs?" she snapped, her voice sharp and cold. "Even if you sold this entire broken-down restaurant, you couldn't afford to compensate him! And he was scalded…"
The thought of Shen Anyu's perfect skin being burned sent a fresh surge of anger through her. She already considered him her man, and he had just saved her. If not for him, that boiling broth would have scarred her.
Yang Hong and Yang Qiuchan both flinched at her words, bowing their heads repeatedly in apology. Yang Qiuchan's eyes were brimming with tears, her lip caught between her teeth as she fought back a sob of utter remorse.
Shen Anyu, however, simply waved his hand dismissively, a relaxed smile playing on his lips.
"It's okay, it's a small matter. The shirt can be washed if it's dirty, and I wasn't really scalded. I have thick skin."
Pfft!
The unexpected joke broke through Yang Qiuchan's misery. A small giggle escaped her lips, so forceful that it splashed the tears from her eyes. Realizing her inappropriate reaction, she quickly clapped a hand over her mouth, her cheeks flushing.
Zhou Luyao also rolled her eyes at Shen Anyu, a hint of exasperated affection in her tone.
"Brother Shen, what time is it, and you're still joking?"
"I'm not joking. I really do have thick skin, and I wasn't really scalded," Shen Anyu said with a genuine smile. With his God-level Steel Body, he could bathe in volcanic lava and emerge unharmed. The angry red mark on his skin was a deliberate illusion, a simple trick of circulating his blood and qi to the surface to complete the performance. Without that bit of showmanship, his skin would have been completely unscathed.
As if to prove his point, Shen Anyu casually lifted the hem of his stained white shirt. He revealed a sliver of his torso—perfectly defined eight-pack abs and a lean, powerful waist. The skin was somewhat red from the heat, a superficial flush, but there were no blisters, no signs of a serious burn.
[Ding! Detected Destined Heroine Yang Qiuchan's Affection +5, plundering +15000 Destiny Points!]
Yang Qiuchan's gaze barely touched the sight before she immediately darted her eyes away, her entire face instantly flushing a deep crimson. She bit her lip, not daring to look again. But it was too late. The image was burned into her mind—the sharp, sculpted lines of his abdomen, a proof of hidden power. They were very, very good-looking.
Zhou Luyao had already seen everything, so her Affection didn't increase further. She knew exactly how great her man's body was.
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