After the Sang-Style Beauty Married the Disabled Villain [Transmigration] - Chapter 13

The blue-black horizon slanted downward, with only the occasional streak of red light piercing through the dense clouds, which gradually merged into the blue-black.

The red cedar tree directly facing the dining room looked like a behemoth, its peak invisible at a glance. Its needles were dense and delicate, wrapping layer upon layer of cones. Blown by the evening breeze, they tapped against the floor-to-ceiling windows, creating a faint, sleep-inducing sound.

Following this vibrant scene was an extremely oppressive atmosphere inside the house.

Nan Liujing sat before the dining table, his hand gripping the knife and fork tightened to the extreme. Before him lay the “Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals” made of grass shrimp and crabs. Without any need for cooking skills, even a fool could have made this dish—so how on earth did Shen Jia-Li manage to make it so the shrimp were mangled and the crabs were missing arms and legs?

Across from him, Shen Jia-Li had already slumped onto the dining table, asleep. He was truly exhausted; after a whole day of tossing and turning, his body was tired, his spirit was dissipated, and a weak, powerless sensation made his bones feel like they were turning to mush.

Nan Liujing’s thin lips were pressed tight, forming a sharp line. Perfect. Let’s settle today’s accounts all at once.

Nan Liujing slammed his knife and fork onto the table with a clatter. Across from him, Shen Jia-Li’s fingers twitched, and he slowly opened his eyes.

After waking up, Shen Jia-Li was dazed for a long time. Looking at the marks the knife and fork had left on the tablecloth, he knew Nan Liujing’s anger level was at the MAX. He dared not imagine what a face that was already not favored by beauty would look like when filled with rage.

Don’t look, don’t look. There are already too many unpleasant things in this world.

“Three points,” Nan Liujing’s voice was pressed extremely low, his eyes dark and gloomy.

“First, I specifically chose the simplest recipe, yet you couldn’t even manage the simplest of tasks?”

“This time, it’s not just because I’m useless,” Shen Jia-Li countered, for once. “The grass shrimp are also useless; they couldn’t learn to empty their own intestines, otherwise I wouldn’t have had to pick them out and leave not a single shrimp intact.”

Nan Liujing’s fingertips trembled. Such an odd, unique line of reasoning—though it sounded unreasonable, it was somehow logical, leaving him speechless.

“Second,” Nan Liujing arched an eyebrow contemptuously. “Uncle Li should have already conveyed my words: within my line of sight, you must wear a Lolita dress. Why aren’t you wearing it?”

Shen Jia-Li had an explanation for this too: “Because today is Sunday.”

“So?”

“On Sundays, black and white are the unlucky colors for Aquarius.”

Nan Liujing frowned: “You’re an Aquarius?”

Shen Jia-Li: “No.”

“Since you aren’t, why bring up astrology?”

Shen Jia-Li: “To find an excuse.”

Nan Liujing: …

Uncle Li, listening silently from the side, really wanted to advise the Young Master to quit while he was ahead. In a best-of-three, the Young Master had already been swept 2-0; he should save face while he could.

“Third.” When he spoke this, Nan Liujing clenched his fist. “Let’s talk about the gift-swapping.”

Shen Jia-Li gave two “mm-hmms,” signaling he was listening. Should have gotten straight to the point earlier. What’s the meaning of such a long buildup? Come on, hurry up and torture me until I drop dead.

“The Shelby Tuatara you swapped has a market price of 40 million. Those 40 million do not belong to our joint marital assets; it is personal property notarized under my name before marriage. Do you know how long you’ll be sentenced for this?” Nan Liujing’s voice radiated a trace of icy chill; Uncle Li, listening nearby, couldn’t help but shudder.

Shen Jia-Li calculated: prison wouldn’t do. He’d have to get up early every day to work a sewing machine, make umbrellas, and receive political re-education. To him, that was a torture more painful than physical suffering.

“For the sake of our marriage, I’ll give you two choices. One, go upstairs and change into the dress obediently; two, wait for the court summons.”

Shen Jia-Li: “I choose three.”

Three? Where did three come from? Nan Liujing frowned, not rushing to speak. He wanted to see what other tricks Shen Jia-Li had up his sleeve.

Shen Jia-Li went upstairs. After a long while, he came back down holding three things: a sharp knife, a kettle, and the swapped Shelby car keys.

Uncle Li & Nan Liujing: ?

Shen Jia-Li placed the three items on the dining table and introduced them one by one:

“I’ll give you three choices too. One, use this knife to cut down my spine, divide the skin on my back into two halves, slowly peel away the skin and muscle like a bat spreading its wings. I’ll be dead within a day at most.”

Upon hearing this, Uncle Li’s scalp instantly went numb, and he couldn’t help but gasp. Nan Liujing’s Adam’s apple rolled, his gaze suddenly becoming heavy and slow. Does he know what he’s saying?

Shen Jia-Li pointed to the kettle and continued: “Two, strip me naked, put me in the bathtub, keep pouring boiling water and hot oil into it, then light a fire to cook me at a high temperature until my bones separate from my flesh. I won’t last half a day that way.”

Uncle Li felt a sense of burning pain and rubbed his arms.

Finally, Shen Jia-Li pointed to the car keys: “Tie my head and four limbs to five different cars, press the accelerators to the floor, and drive in five directions at maximum speed, tearing me into five pieces. I’ll die at light speed this way.”

Shen Jia-Li raised his eyes lazily: “Pick one.”

Uncle Li swallowed his saliva. The “Ten Great Tortures” had finally been mastered by him; just hearing these methods was hair-raising.

Nan Liujing’s eyes were calm as an ancient well, not experiencing the intense emotional fluctuations like Uncle Li. He stared at Shen Jia-Li calmly, his fingers resting on the table gently stroking the hilt of the knife. This person is not simple.

“So, you want to wait for the police to come find me?”

Shen Jia-Li shook his head and whispered: “No. Even if I disappeared, no one would care.”

The only person who cared about him was already gone. No matter how miserably he vanished from this world, no one would ever know.

Hearing these words, the temperature of Nan Liujing’s fingers dropped bit by bit. A flash of darkness, difficult to detect, crossed the depths of his eyes.

The fact that Shen Jia-Li had substituted for Shen Lanqing to marry a cripple like him perfectly confirmed that “no one would care even if he disappeared.”

Nan Liujing moved his hands slowly, gripping the auxiliary rim of the wheelchair, and turned it. Seeing this, Uncle Li hurried up to help.

Shen Jia-Li lowered his head and waited for a long time, but didn’t receive an answer from Nan Liujing, so he asked: “Haven’t decided which one to pick?”

A cold sneer escaped Nan Liujing’s nostrils, his long, deep eyes frost-covered: “Shen Jia-Li, live well. I will torture you slowly.”

Leaving behind this sentence, he was pushed upstairs by Uncle Li. Shen Jia-Li looked at the three items on the table, shrugged his shoulders, and went upstairs to lie down.

Inside Nan Liujing’s room. Before the giant floor-to-ceiling windows, one could see the panoramic view of the night in Jin Hai City not far away. The lights were dazzling, connected like a sea, each one telling of the pride of the new era.

The cigarette held between his long, slender fingers was nothing but a small orange point in the dark, flickering off and on in the pitch-black room, the smoke curling and winding around.

Uncle Li waited respectfully on the side, wanting to say something but hesitating. The Young Master hadn’t touched a cigarette in a long time; the last time seemed to have been on his mother’s death anniversary, when he sat before that ugly, cute doll in the storage room and burned through a whole box in one night. He wasn’t qualified to attend the memorial service for his mother because the outside world said his mother had been killed by his own hand.

Uncle Li sighed. Just as he was about to advise Nan Liujing that smoking was bad for his health, he heard Nan Liujing ask softly: “Uncle Li, what do you think are some interesting things in this world?”

Uncle Li leaned over and counted them one by one: “Horse riding, golf, art—all of these can bring joy.”

As soon as he finished, Uncle Li looked hurriedly at the legs Nan Liujing had resting on the wheelchair and just wanted to slap himself twice. He had thought Nan Liujing would surely glare him to death, but unexpectedly, Nan Liujing didn’t care; instead, he asked:

“Tell me, would Shen Jia-Li find these things interesting?”

Uncle Li let out an “ah” of surprise, joy surging in his heart. The Young Master asking this meant he definitely cared about Shen Jia-Li. Although Shen Jia-Li had a bad reputation, as long as he could live peacefully with the Young Master, all the messy, broken things didn’t matter!

“Young Master, according to Mr. Shen’s medical report, the dopamine in his skull is very low, which indeed affects his emotions, making him feel down and depressed. Besides medication, you could also try finding things that interest him.”

Nan Liujing ultimately ended up glaring at Uncle Li: “Who told you I’m doing this to make him happy?”

Uncle Li: ? Isn’t that the case?

“It’s just to ensure he lives longer so I can torture him for longer.” Nan Liujing’s tone carried a strange hint of a smile when he said this.

Uncle Li: Ah, yes, yes, yes.

“You go make the arrangements.” Nan Liujing turned his wheelchair: “I’m going to rest.”

Late at night.

Shen Jia-Li lay on his soft and comfortable little bed, eyes closed, brewing sleepiness. He always felt as if he had forgotten something very important, but after thinking it over, he couldn’t come up with anything. Don’t make things difficult for yourself. Sleep.

Until a roar tore through the silent night sky, swift and fierce.

“Shen Jia-Li——! Look at the good deed you did!”

Shen Jia-Li heard it and wanted to pretend he didn’t, but Uncle Li, who was rushing toward the sound, passed by his room and insisted on dragging him out.

The two arrived at Nan Liujing’s bedroom. Uncle Li hurriedly turned on the bedside lamp. The amber light wasn’t bright, just enough to see Nan Liujing’s tall figure propped up on the bed, rubbing his temples.

But the crab hanging from the lapel of his pajamas was far too conspicuous…

Shen Jia-Li finally remembered the important thing he couldn’t recall no matter what.

It was the crab.

Nan Liujing waved a hand at him impatiently: “Get it off, quickly.”

The crab, thinking it had conquered fate, had hidden its way all the way from the kitchen, traveled up the wheelchair-accessible ramp on the stairs, arrived at the third-floor bedroom, and discovered the sleeping Nan Liujing. It was in urgent need of a warm place to fill the holes in its broken heart. It clamped its two claws tightly onto Nan Liujing’s lapel, dangling on his chest.

Shen Jia-Li kicked off his shoes and climbed onto the bed. Reaching Nan Liujing’s side, he raised a hand to grab the crab. Since the crab had managed to reach the third floor, it proved it wasn’t an ordinary crab—it was a “future warrior crab.” With a nimble teleportation move, it dodged Shen Jia-Li’s hand and began a “climbing mountains and crossing ridges” mode along the contour line of Nan Liujing’s bulging chest muscles.

Consequently, Shen Jia-Li’s hand landed right on Nan Liujing’s chest muscle. It was a fullness completely different from his own.

“What are you doing?” Nan Liujing swatted his hand away.

Taking advantage of this gap, the crab had climbed from the two great mountains on his chest down to the terraced fields of his abdomen, trekking across mountains and ridges to arrive between his legs. It was tired, so it sat on a black reef to enjoy the scenery while leaning against a lighthouse.

Shen Jia-Li clearly felt Nan Liujing’s breathing hitch.

“Don’t be afraid, it’s just resting against the lighthouse.” Shen Jia-Li slowly leaned over, his face moving closer to the crab bit by bit, his hands raised in mid-air, ready to act at any moment.

Hearing this sentence, in the dim light, a slight blush appeared on Nan Liujing’s cheeks.

Lighthouse… From now on, all lighthouses in the world must change their names.

He turned his face away, his tone displeased: “Hurry up.”

Shen Jia-Li nodded. His hands moved slowly closer, then he lunged—

He covered the bulging, crab-like thing tightly with both hands and said to Uncle Li: “Caught it. Uncle Li, please help me get a bowl quickly.”

The moment these words fell, the crab, holding its two large pincers, walked past along his thigh.

Shen Jia-Li: …

Nan Liujing: …

Uncle Li: !

Uncle Li lunged forward with lightning speed and caught the crab that had let its guard down. His old face reddened, and he coughed lightly: “I’ll go deal with the crab now. You two, rest early.”

After speaking, he backed out of the room like Tom from Tom and Jerry, grinning mischievously, and thoughtfully closed the door.

Shen Jia-Li didn’t move his hands for a long time. He knelt beside Nan Liujing, his head lowered: “The lighthouse has become battle-damaged… it’s okay, you won’t be able to use it anyway.”

You. Won’t. Be. Able. To. Use. It. Anyway.

Nan Liujing looked out the window with his head turned, his Adam’s apple sliding, showing only half of his side profile: “Get out.”

Shen Jia-Li left without saying another word. Once outside, he slowly stretched out his hand, recalling the degree his fingers had opened when he was hugging the lighthouse.

After comparing the gesture and looking at his widely spread five fingers, his little face drooped. I hate this world. Why, as men, do we have to be stratified in such places?

In the room, Nan Liujing maintained his previous posture. After a long while, his fingers tightened suddenly, his knuckles turning a clear, deathly white.

Shen Jia-Li, do you think this matter will be let go so easily?