"Fang Tong, stop pushing me... Ah, I can't swim!"
At the sound of the woman's terrified scream, Fang Tong's mind exploded with a buzz. It was happening again. Xu Yizhi would surely think she really had pushed Sun Qing into the water.
She had endured this kind of unjust accusation so many times before.
Without time to think, Fang Tong jumped into the swimming pool after Sun Qing.
The icy pool water quickly soaked her through. She couldn't keep her eyes open as water rushed into her mouth and nose, bringing a terrible, suffocating distress.
She had been afraid of water since she was a child. Forget swimming—even getting close to the water's edge always filled her with dread.
Struggling was futile. The physical agony and the terror in her heart plunged Fang Tong into utter despair.
Living seemed pointless anyway. Her parents treated her merely as a stepping stone to high society, her mother-in-law despised her as unrefined and beneath them, and then there was Sun Qing, standing wedge-like between her and her husband.
And there was Xu Yizhi, the husband she had loved for four years, whose heart belonged entirely to someone else.
If she didn't wake up, she wouldn't have to hear any more reproaches, and perhaps her heart would finally stop aching.
Yet this was the pool of a high-end hotel; even if no one else was swimming, a lifeguard was always on duty. The two drowning women were quickly rescued, and someone wrapped a towel around Fang Tong, patting her on the back.
After coughing up a few mouthfuls of water, Fang Tong regained consciousness. The first sight that met her eyes, just two meters away, was two familiar figures.
Her husband, Xu Yizhi, was holding Sun Qing anxiously in his arms, while Sun Qing appeared to have already passed out.
Fang Tong smiled bitterly to herself. What on earth was she still expecting? Knowing full well that his partiality belonged to Sun Qing alone, did she actually think he would put Sun Qing down to take care of her?
She heard the voice of Sun Qing's close friend.
"Fang Tong deliberately pushed Qing Qing in! Qing Qing was wearing the wrong dress, but that was just the waiter's mistake, not Qing Qing's fault."
"Just now, Qing Qing wanted to apologize to Fang Tong privately. Who would have thought that before she could even get a few words out, Fang Tong got angry and pushed her into the water..."
"Brother Yizhi, you know how it is—Qing Qing can't swim at all! For Fang Tong to do something like this, she clearly wanted to drown Qing Qing!"
"And another thing, Fang Tong only jumped in *after* she pushed Qing Qing into the water. She must have figured you would blame her, so she jumped in right after just to shirk responsibility!"
The accusations were delivered with righteous indignation and an array of fabricated details.
Fang Tong opened her mouth to refute them, but the irritation of the cold water made her cough a few times. Meeting Xu Yizhi's indifferent gaze, she closed her mouth again and decided not to say anything at all.
She had been married to him for three years. She had lost count of how many such "misunderstandings" there had been.
Every single time Sun Qing spent time alone with her, some inexplicable little accident would happen, and everyone always assumed it was Fang Tong bullying Sun Qing.
Yet she had clearly done nothing at all. She had already been trying her best to avoid Sun Qing.
Xu Yizhi's expression remained largely unchanged, but his voice carried a distinct chill: "You knew Qing Qing couldn't swim. Such willful behavior of yours is going to get her killed."
His tone was completely calm.
Without even asking for her side of the story, he had passed a direct verdict of guilty.
Xu Yizhi picked up Sun Qing in his arms and walked away without looking back, not sparing Fang Tong a single glance.
A woman walked over from nearby, looking down at Fang Tong from a lofty height, and pulled a tissue from her handbag to hand to her.
"High society isn't suited for a weak woman like you."
Dazed, Fang Tong took the tissue. She didn't need to guess to know how pathetic she must look right now.
She had brought all of this upon herself. How could a wealthy elite family like the Xu family ever be a place where she belonged?
How laughable she was, thinking that love could conquer everything, believing that Xu Yizhi felt at least some affection for her.
Hotel staff arranged for Fang Tong to be taken to a hospital for a checkup, though not to the private hospital owned by Chuangsheng Group, but rather to the nearest public hospital.
The examination results showed nothing too serious, aside from water inhalation and a mild lung infection that required a three-day hospital stay.
The hotel staff member paid Fang Tong's hospital deposit and medical fees, then asked her, "Mrs. Xu, would you like me to contact Mr. Xu for you?"
Fang Tong's phone had been ruined in the water; it wouldn't turn on, and she couldn't reach anyone.
"No need," Fang Tong shook her head. "I can manage on my own. Thank you so much for your trouble. Please organize the receipts, and I'll pay you back once I get back."
The staff member hurriedly replied, "There's no rush, Mrs. Xu. Your health is poor, so make sure to get plenty of rest."
The three days passed quickly. Aside from that single visit by the hotel staff member, no one else had come to see her.
Could she not be reached? Given Xu Yizhi's resources and capability, how could it possibly be impossible to reach her?
Perhaps over these past three days, Xu Yizhi hadn't even thought of her existence once.
Fang Tong let out a bitter laugh. Over these three days, she had thought about a great many things. The ties binding her to the Xu family were already gone—what reason did she have to stay?
Xu Yizhi was the heir to Chuangsheng Group, while she was merely Fang Tong, a fledgling actress who had achieved a tiny bit of recognition.
No matter how one looked at it, they were a mismatched pair.
After all, beauties were a dime a dozen these days; gorgeous faces were common, but single wealthy CEOs were not.
Fang Tong had somehow blundered into Xu Yizhi's bed, and then blundered into a pregnancy; it was solely because of the child that she had been welcomed back into the Xu family.
Later, she failed to carry the baby to term, but Xu Yizhi had assured her they would be husband and wife for life.
It was precisely those words that had made Fang Tong stay by his side unconditionally for three years, foolishly believing they had a future together.
Thinking back on it now, Fang Tong found her own naivety utterly laughable.
Was it because of love? Of course she had feelings for Xu Yizhi—who could look at such a handsome, wealthy CEO and not feel their heart stir?
Their very first meeting had been the cliché of a hero saving a beauty, leading her to quietly pledge her heart to him.
Yet Xu Yizhi probably felt no affection for her whatsoever; all the gentleness he possessed in this lifetime had been given entirely to Sun Qing.
After being discharged from the hospital, Fang Tong returned to the Xu family's old residence.
As soon as she stepped inside, she heard the voice of her mother-in-law, Li Jintang, instructing the kitchen to prepare a nourishing soup.
"Qing Qing's constitution is weak to begin with, so she really needs proper nourishment. Have the driver deliver this to the hospital in a little while."
Just as Fang Tong was hesitating whether to announce her presence or quietly slip upstairs, Li Jintang heard the movement and came out.
"Yizhi is back? Is Qing Qing doing alright?"
Li Jintang's face was full of anxiety. Sun Qing had come to her side at the age of eight, and having raised her for fifteen years, she viewed Sun Qing no differently than her own biological daughter.
Upon coming out and seeing that it was Fang Tong instead, her face instantly darkened.
"You still have the nerve to show your face back here? What a vile creature! To brazenly try to harm Qing Qing like that—it seems I've been far too lenient with you usually!"
Fang Tong stood there numbly without a word.
She had long since grown accustomed to such humiliation and scolding; saying anything now was completely useless.
In the past, she had always believed that no matter how aggrieved she felt, she must never talk back to her elders. Therefore, she had endured it time and time again, humbling herself to apologize.
Li Jintang continued to rail at her: "Are you mute? Hah! Let me tell you, I am not letting this matter go easily. You thought you could run off and hide for a few days and everything would blow over? Keep dreaming!"
The more she spoke, the angrier she became, itching to drive this little hussy right out of the house.
Li Jintang strode forward, raised her hand, and prepared to slap her.