Lin Xinyan handed him a piece of wet tissue.
Instead of taking it, Zong Jinghao just looked at her with an indifferent gaze.
Her daughter did this, should she not do something about it?
Lin Xinyan understood what his gaze meant. She reached out to wipe his face but Lin Ruixi interrupted her by pulling her shirt. “Mommy, give it to me. I want to wipe for dad.”
Zong Jinghao looked at the two of them in silence.
Lin Xinyan lowered her head and looked at her daughter. Her little eyes were begging her desperately.
Lin Ruixi grabbed onto her shirt and said in a cute voice, “Mommy, give it to me. I’ll wipe it for dad.”
Lin Xinyan could not reject her. Just as she was about to pass the wet tissue to her daughter, Zong Jinghao reached out to snatch it away and wiped his own face.
Lin Xinyan looked at him in silence.
In a gloomy voice, she said, “My daughter is not the devil.”
“She’s something like one.”
After wiping his face, Zong Jinghao passed the wet tissue back to Lin Xinyan. “I’ll be leaving.”
Lin Ruixi was furrowing her brows and wondering what their words meant. She could not understand what it meant even when the door had closed, so she looked at Lin Xinyan and asked, “Mommy, who is the devil?”
“No one is. Let’s go eat.” Lin Xinyan carried her back up on the chair. “Listen to grandma.”
Lin Ruixi turned behind and looked at the closed door. She wondered when dad would be back.
Although she was fed by Zhuang Zijin, she was absent-minded throughout the meal.
All her thoughts were on Zong Jinghao.
Lin Xinyan looked at her daughter and sighed. What was she going to do with this girl?
She could not immediately bring Lin Ruixi away and stopped the interaction between her daughter and Zong Jinghao. Their safety was of utmost importance. She could only improvise.
Lin Xinyan was bringing food to her son. One of her hands was holding the tray and the other pushed open the door. Lin Xichen was standing by the window. His hand had pulled the curtain apart and he was looking at Zong Jinghao leaving in his car.
“What are you looking at?” Lin Xinyan walked over.
Lin Xichen hurriedly let go of the curtain and it covered the window. He shook his head. “Nothing. I’m just bored in here so I’ve been looking outside.”
“If you want to come out, just come out. The swelling on your face has gone down quite a bit. No one would realize.” She said as she placed the food on the table. Lin Xichen came over, climbed up the chair, and sat down.
“No. I’m too ugly. I can’t let anyone see me.” Although Lin Xichen was a small boy, he had a big ego.
Lin Xinyan pushed the milk in front of him. “What do you want to eat? I’ll make it for you tomorrow.”
Lin Xichen shook his head and lowered his eyes. He sent the food into his mouth mechanically, seemingly down.
Lin Xinyan moved over to hug him. She asked, “Xichen, what’s wrong? Does the wound on your head hurt?”
“No.” The reason why his mood was bad was not because he was hurt, but because Lin Ruixi had called that heartless man dad.
He had never raised them.
Why did she have to call him dad?
He gripped his chopsticks. When Lin Ruixi had called Zong Jinghao, he had felt uncomfortable.
“What is it?” Lin Xinyan lowered her head to look at her son.
“Nothing. I just feel upset because I’m hurt.”
Lin Xinyan kissed the top of his head. “Sorry, mommy should have protected you better.”
“It’s not mommy’s fault.” To stop Lin Xinyan from worrying more, Lin Xichen tucked his emotions away and started eating his food.
Zong Jinghao’s car stopped at Shanghuang Hotel.
He sat in the car as he watched the video where Lin Xinyan was stripped. The video had no sounds but it was obvious that He Ruize had said something when he was touching her. However, Zong Jinghao could not focus on anything else by He Ruize’s hand. The corner of his eyes twitched.
The video stopped when He Ruize was unbuttoning Lin Xinyan’s pants.
He exited the video and called Guan Jing.
When the call went through, the first thing that Guan Jing said was “He Ruixing had called me. I think he’s looking for you, so I didn’t pick it up, but I don’t think he’ll give up so easily.”
This was not an easy matter to settle. The He family’s reputation was in ruins and their century-old business was collapsing. It would be odd if they were not panicking.
“Send a man to Shanghuang.”
Zong Jinghao did not answer his questions and it confused Guan Jing.
Guan Jing was silent for a moment.
What was going on?
He finally reacted after a long while. “What— What kind of man?”
Handsome or ugly?
Tall or fat?
The main question was, why did he want a man?
It was not like he had these kinds of preferences.
Zong Jinghao did not explain himself. He just said, “I’ll give you half an hour.”
Then Zong Jinghao ended the call. He came down the car and went towards the hotel.
He Ruilin had already arrived long ago. He Wenhuai did not allow her to go out; she had sneaked out when there was no one in the living room.
Not only did she want Zong Jinghao, but she had also wanted He Wenhuai’s trust. If she could use this opportunity well, perhaps she will have the chance to show He Wenhuai that she was also capable. It was not only He Ruixing who was capable in the He family.
To calm herself down, she had drunk some wine. Now, her face was a little red.
Ding dong!
The doorbell rang. He Ruilin’s heart skipped a beat and she quickly stood up. She looked at herself in front of the mirror, checking if the clothes she had were not wrinkled nor was her makeup flawed.
She smiled at herself in the mirror. Her lips were as red as roses and her teeth were pearly white. She looked enchanting and it was perfect.
She made sure that there was nothing out of place before she went to open the door.
There was a tall man with a cold look standing outside the door. He looked at her as if she was a stranger.
He Ruilin felt as if her heart was stabbed by needles.
She tucked her emotions away and she moved aside. “Come in.”
Zong Jinghao’s hand was in his pockets and he strode in with confident steps. He Ruilin closed the door, turned, and looked at the figure that took her breath away. After returning to her senses, she pounced onto him and hugged him from behind. “Hao.”
Her face leaned onto his strong, warm back.
She could only smell his crisp scent.
Zong Jinghao pulled away her hand and said coldly, “Talk if you have something to say. I don’t like women who throw themselves over men.”
He Ruilin was not as strong as Zong Jinghao. It took him little effort to pull her hands away.
She swayed where she stood. She looked at Zong Jinghao and asked, “What about Lin Xinyan? Is she purer than me? Is she standing on a higher ground?”
She sat on the bed and laughed. “At least with me, I gave up mine for you. What did she give you? The two children who aren’t related to you?”
She gave a sharp laugh. “Why, are you going to become their stepdad?”
Zong Jinghao was not angered by her words. He knew these all along.
He reached out, took the wine glass and swirled it. The red liquid swayed from his actions.
He raised it to his nose and smelled it. It was aromatic and crisp with no strong alcohol scent. “This wine doesn’t suit you.”
He Ruilin walked over and placed her arm on his shoulder. “Then what suits me?”
Zong Jinghao did not answer her. He just gave a short laugh.
At this very moment, the doorbell rang again. She looked up at Zong Jinghao and asked, “What’s this?”
“It’s for you. You’ll know when you see it.”
He Ruilin was pleasantly surprised. “You’re giving me a gift?”
Zong Jinghao reached out to hold a strand of her hair in his hand. He had a faint smile as he said, “You’ve given me a big gift. Shouldn’t I return one to you?”
He Ruilin’s face turned pale. “What— What do you mean?”
Zong Jinghao tucked the strand behind her ears and smiled. “What are you afraid of? You look better when you’re smiling.”
