After Teasing the Crazy Mermaid, He Actually Deceived Me into Marriage - Chapter 77

When she went downstairs, Fan Yi and Xiao Liu were already seated at the dining table as usual, waiting for her.

Half of the dishes on the table were her favorite foods, while the other half consisted of fresh ingredients that suited Fan Yi’s taste.

She usually didn’t pay much attention to FanYi’s meals and deliberately avoided watching him eat.

But this time, as she passed by the table, she took a deliberate glance at the dishes in front of the man.

A plate of sea prawns, still alive and skewered together, and a porcelain bowl filled with octopus tentacles, even though they had been severed, their nerves weren’t completely dead, causing them to writhe in the bowl. Slices of salmon were stacked together, their vibrant orange-red hue untouched by any form of preparation.

(The author can’t bring themselves to describe it further, afraid some readers might feel nauseated by the imagery. After all, the author themselves found it disgusting.)

… Si Tang averted her gaze, not daring to look at the bowl of octopus tentacles for another second.

“Good morning, Si Tang Jiejie.”

“Good morning, Tangtang.”

Fan Yi lifted his lips into a gentle smile, his dark, narrow eyes shimmering like water.

“Good morning,” Si Tang replied as usual, greeting them both.

But deep down, Si Tang knew she could no longer be as unguarded as before.

As she sat down to eat, she began observing Fan Yi, intentionally or not.

The man ate with swift, practiced movements, yet still maintained an air of elegance. When his face was expressionless, he appeared aloof and icy. Only when he swallowed his food did his beautiful eyes narrow slightly, as if savoring the taste. an expression that carried a hint of incongruous innocence, yet felt even more unsettling.

For some reason, a faint sense of fear began to grow within Si Tang.

It was an unknown dread, as if the person before her wasn’t who he seemed, but rather someone wearing a mask, veiled in mystery. an enigma.

Her flickering gaze swept over the man’s hands holding the knife and fork, they glowed with a jade-like sheen under the light, fair and slender, flawless.

Just a week ago, those same hands had suffered a deep, flesh-rending injury, something she had witnessed with her own eyes. Even if they had healed, it was impossible for there to be no scars in such a short time.

Her chest tightened with rapid beats, her chopsticks frozen in her grip. She forced her eyes away but couldn’t suppress the trembling of her lips and the stiffness in her shoulders.

She felt she could no longer stay there.

Taking what seemed like a deep breath, she stood up, swallowed hard, and spoke rapidly, “I, I’m full. I’ll head out first.”

Her hurried steps as she walked away seemed rushed, almost fleeing, as if the house behind her harbored a monster.

Si Tang left Haiyuan swiftly, her thoughts in disarray and her heart filled with fear.

As she closed the door, her pace quickened, faster and faster, until she was almost running to the garage. She quickly got into her car and sped away.

Back in the living room of Haiyuan, a heavy, stagnant silence fell as Si Tang departed.

8856 snapped out of his daze, looking bewilderedly toward the door, unable to comprehend why Si Tang had fled as if she’d seen a ghost.

When he turned his gaze back, he saw that Lord Fan Yi had stopped eating. Slowly setting down his knife and fork, Fan Yi narrowed his long eyes, staring in the direction Si Tang had left, lost in thought for a long while, his gaze profound and dark as ink.

“Lord Fan Yi. has she noticed something?” 8856 asked, his heart heavy.

His gaze suddenly fell upon Fan Yi’s flawless, unbandaged hand, as if he had guessed the issue.

A hint of wickedness tinged Fan Yi’s strikingly beautiful face as he let out a soft sigh and spoke calmly in a gentle voice.

“It seems I can’t keep this hidden for long.”

His tone was filled with helplessness, but more than that, it carried a mix of excitement and anticipation.

Meanwhile, the person seated in the main position slowly curled one corner of his lips. A turbulent, eerie blue light surged from his narrowed eyes, exuding a gloomy, bone-chilling aura. His entire being was steeped in a mad, sickly demeanor.

8856 instinctively shuddered.

Si Tang drove to the downtown streets.

She parked the car by the roadside, her heart still racing from the journey and not yet calmed. Lifting her head, she saw the bustling crowds outside the car window, which gave her a slight sense of security.

Just then, her phone rang abruptly. It was a call from Ling Xubai. Si Tang picked up her phone and answered.

“Hello?” Only when she spoke did she realize her voice was hoarse from fear.

There was a noticeable pause on the other end before he said, “Are you okay, Miss Si Tang?”

Si Tang remained silent, her mind in disarray, unsure where to begin.

“Where are you?” he asked again, his tone concerned and gentle. “Is it a good time to talk?”

Si Tang glanced at the building on her right and replied directly, “I’m at the coffee shop downstairs from Ronghua Tower. I’ll wait for you there.”

“Alright, I’ll head over now. See you soon.”

After hanging up, Si Tang got out of the car and entered the coffee shop. Since it was a weekday morning, there weren’t many people inside. She sat in a relatively quiet corner, her furrowed brows never relaxing.

Just then, her phone started ringing again. Si Tang glanced at it was Fan Yi calling.

Her hand hesitated, but in the end, she let the ringtone fade on its own.

Fifteen minutes later, the coffee shop door swung open. Si Tang looked up to see Ling Xubai, dressed in a black trench coat, arriving in a hurry. He was slender yet stood tall, exuding an air of scholarly elegance. The dark color of his coat accentuated his pale complexion, but whether it was an illusion or not, his face seemed slightly better than the last time she saw him, with a hint of rosiness.

He walked over and sat down politely.

“Long time no see,” he said, studying Si Tang’s expression. “You don’t look well.”

Si Tang forced a smile, though it was strained. She was still trembling with fear.

She sighed and got straight to the point. “Mr. Ling, the message you sent me. I want to know, are you suspecting something?”

Ling Xubai didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he pulled out a stack of documents from a file bag beside him.

“Take a look at these first.”

Si Tang took them. They were nothing more than investigations into Fan Yi, similar to what she had uncovered before, but with additional details.

“What is this?”

“Did you ever thoroughly investigate his interpersonal relationships?”

Si Tang was stumped by the question. When she had looked into Fan Yi before, she had only done a basic background check, and even that was mostly abroad. She hadn’t delved into his relationships.

What Ling Xubai said next shocked her.

“He has no interpersonal relationships, either abroad or domestically,” Ling Xubai said gravely. “He has no social connections. It’s as if he appeared out of thin air and came into your life just like that.”

“Miss Si Tang, your husband.” At this point, Ling Xubai seemed unsure how to continue and paused.

“You suspect he’s.”

“Yes, your husband is a monster.” Ling Xubai interrupted her, his voice low and heavy as he met her gaze. “For your own safety, you should stay away from him.”

Si Tang felt the last thread of composure in her mind snap.

“These claims of mine aren’t without basis,” he continued, his tone softening slightly as he spoke calmly.