The Shen-Huo Couple
Chapter Courtesy: Wang Mei
Shen Wanying didn’t know how to describe it. She thought Huo Cheng’s words seemed to carry some meaning behind them. Yet, she couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was.
Perhaps she was just overthinking?
Huo Cheng then started to rearrange the desks and chairs she had bumped into. After he had finished, he went to the front seat and picked up his bag. “We’ve more or less finished. Let’s go.”
“Yes.” Shen Wanying grabbed her schoolbag and followed him, leaving the classroom together.
Around this time, almost all the students had already left. The school was empty and quiet as Shen Wanying walked beside Huo Cheng and occasionally laughed with him. This scenery appeared as if they were a young couple in love.
“Do you think Lady Shen and Huo Cheng are dating???” asked a girl who also went back late that evening.
The voice that answered her snarled. “You, shut up! Don’t tear apart my turkey shipping1A play on their names, turkey is huo ji with a different intonation.1!”
“But don’t Lady Shen and Huo Cheng also seem very good together?”
“——” After a long time, the other voice answered, “You’re right.”
Huo Cheng and Shen Wanying, in the distance, had walked out of the school gate. Because they came out late, there were not many cars left waiting. She stopped following him when she saw the car that had come to pick her up.
“My car is over there, I’ll go first.”
“M-hm.” Huo Cheng nodded.
“See you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow,” he said, looking at Shen Wanying’s car. Then he turned and walked to his own.
That night, Shen Wanying had a nightmare.
She didn’t know whether she was frightened by the wasp during the day, or if it was Huo Cheng’s words that had subconsciously affected her. She ended up dreaming about a huge wasp.
The said wasp was chasing her around the school and she was trying to escape. It sprayed a poisonous fluid that dissolved the school building and burned the flower garden, leaving her nowhere to hide.
Right after, she woke up in a panic. Shen Wanying’s heart was pounding so hard, it took a while for her to calm down.
Because of the nightmare, she was very tired and lethargic during the day. She yawned while riding the bus to school, tears pooling at the corners of her eyes. Fortunately, the first two classes today were reading, so she could relax a bit.
The Chinese teacher specially reserved two classes each week for everyone in the reading room. Although the library and the reading room weren’t as good as those in a university, they were still very pleasing. Moreover, as long as there was no class, students would be happy with anything.
Under the organization of the class representative, everyone arrived at the reading room and quietly began to select books. Shen Wanying stood in front of a row of bookshelves and looked for a while before deciding which one to take. Right then she noticed Huo Cheng taking a copy of Maugham’s “The Painted Veil”.
In the reading class, many students would bring their own books. Those who didn’t were unlikely to seriously pick a masterpiece to read. Indeed, there weren’t many who were like Huo Cheng.
“Do you like Maugham2Wiilliam Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) English writer.?” Shen Wanying asked.
Huo Cheng looked at her and said, “To say I like it is an understatement. My mother liked to read me this book when I was a child.”
Shen Wanying was a little surprised. Do parents usually read this book to their children?
“Your mother is quite different, hmm…” She smiled at him. “Most parents would choose [The Moon and Sixpence].”
“At that time, my mother was recuperating in the villa. When I went to see her, she had this book on her desk.” Huo Cheng deliberately lowered his voice, but as their surroundings were very quiet, the voice that Shen Wanying heard was clearer than ever. Stunned, she asked, “Is your mother sick? Is it severe?”
Huo Cheng: “Actually, she’s getting better—”
When he came home the other day, he heard his grandfather and aunt mention his mother. However, he had been busy with school affairs for a few days since he returned to China and hadn’t had time to visit her.
As he was talking, he opened his book and read out a paragraph in a low voice: “I know you are silly, frivolous, and empty-minded, yet I love you. I know your intentions, your ideals, your snobbish and obnoxious side, yet I love you. I know you’re second-rate, yet I love you.”
Shen Wanying beside him maintained a smile on her face. “Those are famous words.”
She understood the meaning of the paragraph. Nevertheless, if someone confessed to her openly with those words, she wouldn’t feel happy.
“The idea of this book is actually quite avant-garde, can it be regarded as a feminist pioneer?” Shen Wanying said, “Although the ending of the story is a tragedy, the heroine realized the awakening of female self-awareness and was redeemed.”
Huo Cheng inadvertently hooked his lips and looked at Shen Wanying. “It’s just like you.”
Shen Wanying: “——”
Is he playing with me? Did he laugh just now?
“Ha.. ha..” She laughed dryly, took a book, then returned to her seat.
Zhao Yimeng was sitting next to her. When she came back, her friend seemed angry.
Shen Wanying, who didn’t understand the reason, asked, “What’s going on?”
Zhao Yimeng: “You… Speak honestly. Are you or are you not in love? You were chatting with Huo Cheng for such a long time. Really, you, ahhh!”
Shen Wanying: “——”
Wasn’t she busy shipping Huo Cheng and Ji Yao? How come she still has the time to try and ship me as well?
“Let’s read, okay?” Shen Wanying lowered her head and opened up her book.
Zhao Yimeng pouted but turned to stare at the book in front of her.
After two reading lessons, Shen Wanying’s energy was much better than in the morning. She finished the rest of the morning class in a much livelier manner. After lunch, she went back to her dorm to make up for her lost sleep.
♥♥♥
E/N: I totally get where SW is coming from with the confession thing, but at the same time, ahhhhh so fluffy feeling. I want a Huo Cheng, he’s such a sweetie.
On another note~ Please rate The Lady’s Facade Was Ruined on Novel Updates and leave a comment below. We’re also thinking of adding this as one of our Patreon early access novels, so please let us know if you would want the option to see extra chapters~
NO NOT A CLIFF NOOO IT’S GETTING GOOD 😭😭😭
IT’S NOT JUST YOU THE BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN ZYM AND FYC IS LIKE A CHEMICAL REACTION
ay? wait? i got something?
HE NICKNAMED HER AH WAN AAAAA
Alright I’m somehow more convinced that he believed himself to be the “killer” because he blamed himself for Fang Ke’s death without being actually the cause of it? What if it’s like a suicidal pact situation? where fang ke is the one who’s a bit loco in the head and initiated the accident, planning to die with both the guy and he just has a survivor’s guilt after?
THE WAY YOU DESCRIBED HIS SECOND LIFE AS NG+ PLUS I’M CRYINGG
ughh now i feel like it’s really a huge red herring instead. It’s too clear and obvious
made an account for commenting here, but my current leading theory, considering the premise of the painted veil that was hinted before, his mom had cheated, his dad knew about and gave her a choice. Something to do with her disease and forced her to live in the mountain villa or to divorce, and for the sake of Huo Cheng she just rather go to the villa. They fixed their relationship and either his mom ended up cheating again or her lover is a yandere.
Also another thought is that daisies represent “innocence” which may suggest that his mom is innocent and she was wrongly blamed, either for the cheating or for something else that we don’t have enough information on. Or if still in line with the ‘cheating’ and the painted veil plot, it may suggest that His mom is someone who’s shallow/gullible like the main character of that novel is.
Watch as I’m embarrassingly wrong/this is a red herring thrown in by the author to kick us off guard. This is honestly such an interesting subplot to the fluffy and light-hearted high school romance
um what o.0
p.s. tho its a bottom line, im glad he dont have impure intention toward her
hey! thanks for all the comments c:
i know, he’s so full of nonsense. but i’m glad too!! the ML we all deserve,,
thanks for reading!
when he keep looking at her as if she gonna disappear 😉
you both said whats on my mind. there many possibility for mysteries and im invested
this too cute, i got diabetes 😭
backstory! that explains a lot
AHAHAHAHAH why she is so fixated to maintain image, isnt it tiring
ah ah so sweet
i like how natural he taking care of her .. as if theyre married
Definitely shipping the silly puppy boy and the spunky cat girl!
Being able to deduce the ship-status by what brand of water he buys! She should be detective!
⁄(⁄ ⁄•⁄-⁄•⁄ ⁄)⁄
From this chapter onwards on NU the chapters are incorrectly numbered (10 chapters ahead).
Thank you for the chapter! (*^^*)
this site won’t let me see which chapter it is, but i’ll defs get that checked out, thanks for bringing it to my attention!
thank you for reading! ♡
I think I know why he got stabbed now
Thank you for the chapter!
Gah! I caught up again! Σ( ̄□ ̄lll)
How does one aquire these *shifty eyes* “advance chapters”? Groveling? I can grovel! ┬┴┬┴┤(✧w✧├┬┴┬┴
Also, can we talk about what a smooth criminal Hup Cheng is?! That quiet hug made me blush! (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)⁄
HELLO!! i am SO SORRY, i am apparently dinosaur/boomer/dumb dumb and never checked the comments until now, so i am just seeing this! thank you for all your kind comments, they really made my day 🥺 about the advance chapters, if you’re still interested, the best way would be to enquire via the discord server! there is a channel specifically for this book, the link is right up in the header (: if you have any issues, yell @ me! i’ll defs be checking back ;; <3
and oh my god YEAH tell me about it, the amount of squealing that has happened on my end of the computer. embarrassing to say the least. 🙈🙈🙈 there will finally be an update on tuesday, sorry for the wait! i hope you enjoy <3
I’m crying, why he is so sweet? I also want a boyfriend like that…
oh my good lord i am so sorry, like the comment after yours, i also, only just saw this T_T thank you for reading and interacting! i agree, where to find a man like this?!?
there will be an update on tuesday, so sorry for the wait as well!
Waiting for new chapter,😘😘
I finally figured out how to make an account in order to post comments! 😂
I was so confused!
This story is so good! Im totally hooked! 💕
I love your translations! They’re very smooth and comfortable to read even if you don’t read many Chinese novels.
Would this advance release you mentioned be more premium chapters that we’d have to pay for or would it be an early release on Novel Updates?
Most obvious thing is that his mother had an affair, and he ended up dead from something related to it.
Hello, I am new reader. I am loving the novel. Thank you so much for your hard work! And thanks for the new chapter.
About your note, since this novel is short and as far as I can see, is more on the fluffy than anything else, I don’t think the Huo family has anything to do with the ML mother’s death. Maybe one of then did something that stimulated her and thus lead to the cause of her death? But I think must of the reason is because she probably really betrayed ML father… The flowers ML saw are probably from the other man, and maybe he also did something that end up causing the ML mother’s death? Everything about that is very strange. Let’s observe more…
Not related but I just want to say: I really don’t believe the FL was the one who killed Huo Cheng. There must be something fish about his death as well. I trust FL.
Sorry my bad english.
Hey!! Not to be rude or anything but I don’t see any link to a discord server… Can someone please send it to me? Thank you so much!!
Don’t worry you weren’t rude at all. We’re still working on setting up the discord server link though. Thanks for being patient.
Here’s a temporary invite to the server:
https://discord.gg/j77SgVky