Chapter 15: All Her Unexpected Encounters Were Long in the Making  

Shen Zhichu was walking alone when suddenly, the reporters who were hesitating earlier swarmed her like bees to honey, shoving microphones in her face and firing off tricky questions.

Caught in the crowd, Shen Zhichu felt like a tiny fish in a sea of sharks. Her frail body was being pushed and pulled every which way. She was already feeling under the weather, and the piercing gazes and questions made her feel like she was being torn apart.

Amidst the chaos, there was a loud "BAM!" Someone's camera smacked right into Shen Zhichu's forehead. The sharp edge grazed her skin, leaving a cut.

Blood trickled down into her eyes, painting her vision red. She had to close her eyes because it stung so bad. When she finally opened them, the reporters were still in her face, relentless. One of them blurted out, "Ms. Shen, we heard that Mr. Li had a fiancée four years ago, and you swooped in and stole him away. Is that true?"

The crowd went wild. Shen Zhichu and Li Jingshen had been married for four years, but they were never seen together. Everyone thought it was a marriage of convenience, but this was a bombshell!

Was Shen Zhichu a homewrecker? That's like, the lowest of the low.

Shen Zhichu wiped the blood from her forehead, and with her gaunt face, she flashed a dazzling smile at the cameras. But her eyes were icy cold, almost sinister.

Every little thing she did was magnified in front of the reporters. Silence meant guilt, and a smile was seen as mockery. They were painting her as shameless.

Just as they were about to pounce again, Shen Zhichu suddenly moved to an open space, bent her knees, and knelt down. But she kept her back straight, like nothing could break her.

The reporters were stunned, then went nuts. The headlines started rolling in on social media:

- "Shen Zhichu kneels to win back her husband, apologizes to his ex!"

- "Shen Zhichu repents on behalf of her 'murderer' father!"

- "Rich woman Shen Zhichu is a homewrecker? Kneels in the street begging for forgiveness!"

The cameras were all trained on her, capturing her kneeling figure.

"Ms. Shen, with the Shen Corporation facing bankruptcy, is Mr. Li going to divorce you?" Another reporter threw a zinger.

The flashbulbs were blinding, trying to catch every flicker of emotion on her face. But Shen Zhichu remained expressionless.

The crowd was buzzing, and Shen Zhichu felt so alone. It was like the world was closing in on her.

Dark clouds loomed overhead, thunder rumbled, and then the skies opened up. Raindrops pelted her face, and her lashes fluttered.

The cameramen and reporters scrambled for cover, but Shen Zhichu remained kneeling in the rain.

The rain soaked through her clothes, chilling her to the bone. It felt like even her soul was shivering.

Li Jingshen was standing not far behind her, watching her kneel in the rain like a puppet. When the crowd had dispersed, he approached with his bodyguards and Zhao Qian.

Zhao Qian, clueless about what was going on, asked, "Why is Ms. Shen kneeling? How long has she been there?"

"Not long, half an hour," Li Jingshen replied coldly.

Suddenly, a group of people, apparently relatives of a victim, rushed over in the rain and started hurling trash at Shen Zhichu. A green soda can hit her right on the cut on her forehead, and some nasty liquid mixed with her blood, covering her face.

The air seemed to freeze for a second, and then a woman's voice cut through the rain, "Shen Zhichu, your dad is a monster! And you're no better! Your whole family is a plague on society!"

"Yeah, while her dad's in trouble, she's off gallivanting with men!" another voice chimed in.

"Throw stuff at her! She's got no shame!" someone else shouted.

The atmosphere was electric, and people were hurling whatever they could find at Shen Zhichu. The bodyguards were taking hits too but stood their ground.

Shen Zhichu felt like a rat being chased by an angry mob. Her dignity was crumbling piece by piece.

The rain was pouring, and her frail body swayed from side to side. Everything hurt – her head, her stomach, her knees. She felt like she was falling apart.

Her eyes were empty, her lips pressed tightly together. She took a deep breath, and her straight back began to slump.

Li Jingshen's brows furrowed, his dark eyes inscrutable. Zhao Qian cautiously asked, "Boss, should we help her?"

Li Jingshen didn't respond. He glanced at his watch – half an hour on the dot. He held out his hand, "Give me the umbrella."

Zhao Qian quickly handed him the umbrella, and Li Jingshen walked slowly towards Shen Zhichu, shielding her from the rain with the umbrella.

Shen Zhichu looked up at him, her gaze piercing through him as if looking at someone else.

They locked eyes – one standing, one kneeling. She was down in the dirt, and he was on a pedestal.

Tears mixed with the rain, and Shen Zhichu's voice trembled, "Is the time up?"

"Yes, you can get up now," he replied.

But she didn't move. Not that she didn't want to, but she couldn't. She was weak, soaked to the bone, and in pain.

"Li Jingshen, how long have we known each other?" she croaked.

He looked at her, puzzled, but answered, "Six years."

She shook her head and whispered, "Not six years, sixteen years."

She thought back to that spring day when she decided to love him without any reservations. She had loved him for sixteen long years.

Whether it was meeting him six years ago or forcing him into marriage four years ago, it was all part of a plan she had been hatching for over a decade.

But she had only planned the beginning, not the end. She never imagined that Li Jingshen could be so cruel to her.