Transmigration; Married to My Ex-Fiancé's Uncle-Chapter 216; Shopping

The afternoon sun was warm as they emerged onto the street, the city bustling with activity in the late afternoon.

"Damn! What a joy to be free!"

Shuyin stretched her arms wide, her face tilting toward the sky. The air filled her lungs, fresh despite the urban smog, crisp compared to the recycled staleness she’d breathed for so long. "So free..."

Ting Fei stood beside her with the briefcase, his expression patient as she savored the moment. No one could truly understand what she felt right now. Three years locked in an institution as a mermaid, studied and contained and bled dry. Waking up in an imprisoned body hadn’t been ideal, but she’d bought her freedom either way.

And now she stood on a public sidewalk with the sun on her face and nobody controlling where she could go or what she could do.

It was intoxicating.

She stretched again, rolling her shoulders, feeling her borrowed suit shift against her skin. Everything was a choice now. Everything.

Movement at the periphery caught her attention. Cameras. Multiple cameras, all swiveling in her direction with predatory focus.

Paparazzi. They’d been camping out in hiding, waiting.

The reporters surged forward like a wave, microphones extended, cameras flashing, voices overlapping in a cacophony of demand.

"Miss Lin! Now that you are free, what are your plans?"

"Who are these kids?"

"Miss Lin, you are wearing a wedding band, are you finally getting married to Lu Zeyan?"

"When is the wedding?"

"What are your expectations?"

The questions crashed over her, relentless and chaotic. The cameras continued their assault, flashing, flashing, flashing. The crowd pressed closer despite the security detail’s efforts.

Shuyin held up one hand, her voice cutting through the noise clearly and commandingly.

"Hey, hey... Calm down, calm down... Be orderly and I will answer your questions!"

"You over there, what do you want to know?" Shuyin pointed at a reporter near the front. "And once I answer your question, you’d better be leaving. This should be the last time you people are interviewing me, I want to live a private life now that I’m free."

The designated reporter stepped forward eagerly, his camera operator following. "We can see you’re wearing a unique wedding band. Even from a distance, it looks expensive, possibly costs a fortune. Are you married? When are you getting married? To Lu Zeyan?"

Shuyin glanced down at the platinum band on her finger, then back up with an expression carefully balanced between wistful and resigned.

"I haven’t gotten married yet," she said, her voice soft. "While passing through the streets, I came across this band and thought it looked beautiful, so I wore it." She paused, letting a shadow cross her face. "As for my wedding to Lu Zeyan... we still have several disagreements. We’ve decided to wait until the surrogate baby is born before we can think of a way forward. But for now, we aren’t engaged or having talks about that. I’m focusing on my career in the meantime."

Her voice dropped lower, taking on a quality between sadness and something pitiful. "Since I can’t give birth to children myself, I have to be extremely reasonable and understanding. The Lu family needs grandsons and granddaughters, which I’m incapable of offering. I hope you’ll leave us alone for the time being to handle that matter that’s delicate and for whatever outcome, I hope everyone will be understanding, we are all humans!"

The reporter’s expression shifted, sympathy mixed with satisfaction at getting such a vulnerable statement. He nodded and stepped back, his team following. When it came to these kinds of personal family matters, you had to tread carefully.

Another reporter immediately moved forward. "Miss Lin, whose kids are these? Where are they from?"

Shuyin placed a gentle hand on Chen Xiao’s shoulder, the gesture protective and maternal. "I just adopted them to keep me company. I want to learn how to treat kids, how to love them, and how gentle I can be with them. I want my baby to have siblings once they’re born. These children will always be my responsibility."

Inwardly, she was laughing. She knew the child Lu Zeyan was supposedly having through surrogacy was actually being carried by her stepsister Lin Yueling, the woman he’d betrayed her with. Not surrogacy at all, but an affair child being passed off as something legitimate.

Since they’d come forward with that narrative, she would hold onto it and run with it. After three months, people would discover the truth, that the baby was Lu Zeyan’s and Lin Yueling’s, not Lu Zeyan’s and Lin Shuyin’s through any surrogate.

She could have demanded DNA testing now, but complications would arise. Miscarriages could be staged. Evidence could be manipulated. And in the end, she would be the one blamed and condemned for causing problems. And for that, the baby was innocent, she wasn’t that cruel!

Better to let them hang themselves with their own lies.

The reporter nodded, satisfied with the answer, and walked away with his team. Others who’d had similar questions also dispersed, their curiosity temporarily sated.

A third reporter pushed forward. "Miss Lin, what future are you working towards? Are you comfortable working in the branch that framed you?"

Shuyin’s expression shifted to something more professional, more composed. "Work is work. It doesn’t matter where. The only difference is that we’ve put our differences aside and decided to bring the Lu South Group to new heights together."

The words rolled off her tongue smoothly, perfectly calibrated. Answers ready at her fingertips.

All of them lie.

All of them are just a manipulation.

But delivered with such sincerity that even she almost believed them. Inwardly she was clapping for herself.

The reporter scribbled notes, nodding along to her carefully constructed response. "So you’re saying there’s no animosity remaining between you and the Lu Group management?"

"Animosity is exhausting," Shuyin replied with a practiced smile. " I don’t have the energy to hold grudges. What I have is ambition, skill, and a desire to prove myself. The Lu South Group is giving me that opportunity, and I intend to make the most of it."

Another reporter pushed forward before the previous one had fully retreated. "Miss Lin, there are rumors you were seen at a high-end establishment last night. Can you confirm you were at the Club? And if so, what was the nature of your visit?"

Shuyin’s smile didn’t waver even a bit. "I was celebrating my release with friends. After a few days of institutional meals and controlled schedules, I think I’m entitled to a night out, don’t you?"

"But there are reports of significant financial transactions...."

"My financial matters are private," Shuyin interrupted smoothly. "Unless you have documentation of illegal activity, I suggest we move past speculation and focus on facts."

The reporter hesitated, clearly wanting to push further but aware he had no solid ground to stand on. He stepped back reluctantly.

"Miss Lin!" Another voice from the crowd. "What message do you have for those who still believe you’re guilty? Who thinks you manipulated the system to get released early?"

Shuyin’s expression went cold for just a moment, a flash of something dangerous before the pleasant mask returned. "I was found innocent.... The legal system determined that I was innocent of all charges. You can go and ask for the records, and you will see the truth, and I’ve been released accordingly. As for those who doubt my innocence?" She paused, her voice taking on steel. "Their opinions are irrelevant to my future. I know my truth. That’s sufficient."

"But surely you understand their concern...."

"I understand that people love a scandal," Shuyin cut in. "They love to see someone fall and they love to keep them down. But I’m not interested in playing that game. I’m interested in moving forward, in rebuilding, in proving through action rather than words that I deserve this second chance."

A young female reporter near the back raised her hand tentatively. "Miss Lin, what would you say to other women who’ve been incarcerated? What advice would you give them about reintegration?"

The question was different from the others, less aggressive, more genuine. Shuyin’s expression softened slightly.

"I would tell them that prison doesn’t define you," she said quietly. "That you can survive worse than you think you can. That when you come out, people will judge you and doubt you and try to keep you in.....,..