Han Manyin could tell that Pei Yansi was using her to assert his authority.
However, she wasn’t interested in Pei Yansi at the moment, first because she knew she couldn’t have him, and second because she knew how ruthless Pei Yansi could be. Provoking him was more than she could handle.
Thus, she felt neither jealousy nor anything else regarding Pei Yansi’s display of power.
She deliberately continued the conversation, "So, you two are married, no wonder you look so good together. Heyu, I’ve heard President Shen mention you before. I’m so glad to finally meet you today, I truly envy you."
A trace of innocence emerged in Han Manyin’s eyes, her bright eyes looking at Shen Heyu as if she were naive.
People who have experienced amnesia tend to forget their grudges, and she was now pretending to "not remember." Since she didn’t remember, she treated Shen Heyu without hostility, and thus her gaze was pure.
Shen Heyu didn’t suspect anything, but his words made her feel uneasy, so she didn’t respond.
Han Manyin didn’t seem annoyed; she was all smiles as she turned to Shen Jiangli and asked, "President Shen, when you mentioned Heyu to me before, why didn’t you say that she was already married?"
She still pretended to be naive, asking Shen Jiangli without understanding.
Yet her words stabbed both him and Lu Yi in the heart.
Both of them wanted Shen Heyu.
But neither of them had spoken up.
Seeing that he didn’t answer, Han Manyin didn’t press further, as if she had only mentioned it in passing, and quickly shifted the conversation to food.
Lu Yi also withdrew his gaze from Shen Heyu, knowing that she was doing well now, that Pei Yansi had let her go, and would not force her anymore.
Perhaps the thoughts she previously had about leaving had also faded.
He stared intently at the rice in his bowl, silent, yet suddenly felt a loss of appetite.
Pei Yansi, watching the changing expressions on their faces, could not be happier in his heart. He knew that coming here today was well worth it.
He needed to make it clear to them that his relationship with Shen Heyu was not something they could covet or destroy at will.
No one spoke, and Shen Heyu felt a hint of awkwardness. The atmosphere seemed to have shifted, becoming somewhat strange due to Han Manyin’s earlier comment.
Lu Yunlan observed silently from the side, feeling that something was off, and that it was coming from Han Manyin.
But specifically, she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
So she suppressed the doubts in her mind and remained silent.
After dinner had passed, it was deep into the night, and the location was remote. It was a winter night with slippery snowy roads, making driving dangerous. The wooden lodge had many rooms, nearly enough for each person to have one.
Thus, everyone stayed the night there instead of returning home.
Aside from Shen Heyu and Pei Yansi, most were alone in their rooms.
Late at night, Shen Heyu came out of the bathroom after her shower, wearing only a winter bathrobe.
The room was very warm due to the heating, and she didn’t feel cold. As soon as she stepped out, she saw Pei Yansi sitting on the sofa, a cigarette pinched between his fingers, seemingly deep in thought.
Seeing her come out without striking up a conversation was quite uncharacteristic of him. Normally, he would have already lunged forward to embrace her by now.
Shen Heyu looked at him deeply twice, didn’t say anything, and walked alone to the soft large bed, lying down after casually picking up a magazine from the bedside table.
She had only flipped through a couple of pages when she heard Pei Yansi’s footsteps approaching her, followed immediately by Pei Yansi familiarly lifting the blankets next to her and lying beside her.
Without a word, he pulled the magazine from her hands and then drew her into his arms, telling her, "Be careful with that Han Manyin."
"Why bring this up all of a sudden?"
Shen Heyu, now familiar with his temperament, didn’t struggle in his embrace but instead followed his remark with a question, "She has already lost her memory, there’s no need to be as guarded against her as before."
Pei Yansi’s chin rested in her hair, inhaling her scent as he said, "I don’t think Han Manyin has lost her memory."
Shen Heyu uttered a questioning sound, "How do you know?"
Pei Yansi looked deeply into her eyes and said, "You don’t believe me?"
"It’s not that I don’t believe you, but you need solid evidence, otherwise this is just baseless slander against a patient."
Hearing this, Pei Yansi inwardly sneered, surprised that she would stand on Han Manyin’s side at this moment.
"Didn’t you two used to fight tooth and nail? Why are you speaking for her now?"
"I’m not speaking for her, I’m just being realistic with you."
"I am also being realistic with you," Pei Yansi stared intently into her eyes, very certain as he declared, "If I say she hasn’t lost her memory, then she hasn’t. When I tell you to be cautious of her, you’d better take it to heart."
Otherwise, one day you might be deceived and hurt by her, and it will be too late to guard against.
Shen Heyu didn’t respond for a while, pondering over the credibility of his words.
Pei Yansi was always astute and acted decisively, his judgment of people was rarely wrong. His assertion that Han Manyin hadn’t lost her memory might not be without basis. Shen Heyu pondered, recalling the incident earlier today when she almost didn’t catch the fire stick.
She had heard that Shen Jiangli was going to hand her over to Lu Yi; the fire stick almost slipped from her grip, although she later claimed it was because of a spark...
But Shen Heyu thought that her reaction wouldn’t have been so intense, as she had been burned before.
Unable to figure it out completely, Shen Heyu decided not to dwell on it any longer and instead pushed the matter aside.
Han Manyin sat alone in her room; she had locked the door, preventing anyone from entering.
Thus, she felt completely at ease sitting on the couch, lighting a cigarette, gazing at the estate’s night view, and figuring out her next moves.
Perhaps after leaving here, she would be sent by Shen Jiangli to Lu Yi, who, though mild-tempered and more reasonable compared to others, and not prone to anger with gentle methods.
However, he had a weak spot—he valued love too profoundly. His heart, eyes, and world were filled only with Shen Heyu. If she showed even a slight disadvantage towards Shen Heyu, he would turn fiercely protective.
So being by his side was very unfavorable for her plans against Shen Heyu.
And the drama she had orchestrated today was precisely to make these two men realize the reality; Shen Heyu no longer belonged to them.
She wanted to erase Shen Heyu completely from their world.