Nyoi-Bo Studio

  Nyoi-Bo Studio

  Shen Manting was slightly shocked. She did a double take.

  Indeed, Shen Luo’an came all by himself.

  “Where is the baby?”


  Shen Manting frowned. She felt cheated. “Didn’t you say you’d be bringing the baby out for a stroll?”


  “The child would be roasted alive under this scorching sun!” Shen Luo’an cast a sneering glance at her. He then scrutinized her from top to toe and teased, “You dressed like a rural woman yesterday. Look at you today. Are you trying to parade yourself for sale?”


  Shen Manting was so outraged she felt like prancing on him to strangle him!

  She clenched her teeth and her face became grim. She snapped at him angrily, “You lied to me, Shen Luo’an. Do you even deserve to be a man?”


  The senior citizens in the park heard the commotion and couldn’t help turning to look at them.

  Shen Luo’an glanced at her nonchalantly and said, “You know better than anyone else whether I’m truly a man.”


  The casual remark brought back dark memories that she had tried to bury at the back of her mind.

  Shen Manting’s face turned pale. She turned around to leave.

  She felt as though her heart had been stabbed repeatedly by sharp arrows. The wounds were deep and painful.

  Shen Luo’an stood in her way and reached out to grab her bag, saying, “Aren’t we supposed to have a meal together? Come on. Let me buy you lunch.”


  “I don’t want to eat with you.” Shen Manting was trembling and her shoulders were heaving with rage. She growled with reddened eyes, “Seeing you makes my stomach churn!”


  Shen Luo’an seemed to not have heard her. He grabbed her bag with one hand and her wrist with the other. “I don’t care if you don’t have an appetite. We’re going to have a meal together since I’m already here. I need to talk to you.”


  “We’ll talk it out right here!”


  Shen Luo’an moved forward resolutely, dragging her along. The senior citizens in the park thought they were involved in nothing more than a couple’s quarrel and resumed their activities.

  Shen Manting roared with bloodshot eyes, “SHEN LUO’AN!”


  “What would you like to eat?”


  “Nothing!”


  “How about roast duck?”


  “I’m not eating anything! Let me go!”


  “Or should we go for Cantonese food? Hunan cuisine? Sichuan cuisine?”


  Shen Manting tried to free her hand from his grip, but to no avail.

  She started panting heavily.

  “I said, I don’t want to eat with you.”


  Shen Luo’an’s expression turned sullen. He gripped her wrist tighter and hissed, “Who do you want to eat with then, all dressed up like this? You made me lust for you before. Are you thinking of going back to seducing others with your foxy old ways now?”


  “Why are you always jumping to conclusions? Don’t forget I’m a woman!” Shen Manting yelled at him, choking back tears. She couldn’t bear it anymore. She yelled. “It’s only natural to dress up like this as a woman! It’s been a while since I last applied make-up and wore a decent dress. I did it for my son, yet you lied to me!”


  Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she restrained herself from sobbing out loud and held her composure.

  After a long pause, Shen Manting said in a clear voice, “Even if I were to sell myself, is it any of your business?”


  Shen Luo’an stared at her for a while with a vague expression on his face.

  It took a long time for him to finally blurt out, “I’m interested in your business.”


  Shen Manting’s face turned pale at once. She struggled for a while, but Shen Luo’an continued, “Good for you if you’re not planning to see other men. I was about to let you see your child, but if my son’s mother proves herself to be an improper woman, there’s no need for both of you to meet each other.”


  Shen Manting looked at him with eyes full of hope and pleaded, “It’s not what you thought. I’m only dressing up to impress my son. Believe me!”


  “Let’s have a meal first.”