He wondered what it would be like if she were pregnant.
Perhaps it was too pleasant even to fantasize, and the corners of his lips curved into a tiny smile.
Lin Xinyan didn’t notice anything odd about Zong Jinghao while she slowly drank the soup he had scooped for her. Although it was already spring, the weather was still cold. The hot soup warmed her body gradually.
Afterward, she went to the bathroom. When she came out of the bathroom, she was stopped by a waitress in the restaurant. “Hello. Are you Ms. Lin?” the waitress asked.
Lin Xinyan didn’t immediately reply. Thinking that she was very strange, she asked vigilantly, “Is anything the matter?”
The waitress took out a letter from her pocket and said, “A gentleman in a wheelchair asked me to give you this letter.”
When Bai Yinning paid the waitress to deliver the letter to Lin Xinyan, he had pointed her out.
The waitress knew that she was Lin Xinyan, but she asked her for confirmation just in case she made a mistake. She didn’t expect the woman to be so vigilant. Hence, she had no choice but to take out the letter.
Lin Xinyan glanced around instinctively, and the waitress said, “That man has already left.”
Bai Yinning is here in B City?
She took the letter from the waitress and hesitated for a moment before opening it. There was not much content in it. There were only a few sentences: I live in Contine Hotel, Room 608. Find me. I have something to tell you.
Lin Xinyan frowned and thought he was strange and didn’t intend to go.
She was not interested in what he had to say.
She tore up the letter, threw it into the trash can, and then walked toward the hall. Zong Jinghao was on the phone, looking very serious. Lin Xinyan sat down and waited until he hung up the call before asking, “Who is it?”
Zong Jinghao told her Li Jing and Wen Qing had a car accident and were now in the hospital. Their son was not in the country at that moment, so he had to go and check on them.
He got up and said, “Let me send you home.”
Lin Xinyan suddenly tensed up. Inexplicably, she felt that this matter had something to do with Bai Yinning. She received his letter and the next moment Wen Qing had a car accident? It was too much of a coincidence.
She looked up at Zong Jinghao and said, “You should go to the hospital first. I can take a taxi and go home by myself.”
Zong Jinghao’s pursed his lips together, obviously worrying about her safety.
Lin Xinyan held his hand and assured him, “Don’t regard me as a child. Didn’t I live well before I met you? I am an adult, and I can take good care of myself.”
Zong Jinghao was silent for a while before saying, “Call me when you get home.”
Lin Xinyan quickly nodded her head. “Go ahead.”
After Zong Jinghao left, Lin Xinyan got up and left the restaurant. She stood by the side of the road while waiting for a taxi. Although it was already February, the weather was still a bit cold, so she wrapped her coat tightly around herself.
A black car drove up and stopped in front of her. Gao Yuan got off the car, opened the door, and gestured to Lin Xinyan, “Ms. Lin, please.”
Gao Yuan was Bai Yinning’s personal assistant. Lin Xinyan was sure that Wen Qing’s car accident was definitely related to Bai Yinning.
Otherwise, how could there be such a coincidence?
As soon as Zong Jinghao left, Bai Yinning’s man came.
Now, she was interested to hear what Bai Yinning had to say.
She got into the car, and very quickly, they drove to the hotel.
The car came to a stop. and Gao Yuan got out of the car to open the door for her. He gestured for her to enter the hotel, and she glanced at him before stepping inside.
Gao Yuan led the way, crossing the lobby, and got on the elevator to the sixth floor. They walked to Room 608. Gao Yuan stood by the door and said, “Please enter, Ms. Lin. Mr. Bai is waiting for you inside.”
Lin Xinyan twisted the door handle and opened the door.
The room was heated. Bai Yinning was sitting in front of the French windows with his back to the door. He seemed to be admiring the night view, waiting for someone.
She walked into the room, and without turning his head to look at her, Bai Yinning said, “You’re here.”
“Mr. Bai, you went to great pains to invite me. Can I not come?” Lin Xinyan stood beside him, and like him, she looked outside the windows at the beautiful night view. B City was shrouded in neon lights, rendering the night view brilliant and colorful.
“No wonder you want to return to this place so badly. It is lovely,” he said.
“No. The reason I came back is not because of the city, but because of the people living in the city,” she replied.
Bai Yinning finally turned his gaze to her.
However, Lin Xinyan didn’t look at him.
“If Wen Qing did not get into an accident, would you have come?” he asked.
“No,” she answered curtly.
Bai Yinning smiled helplessly. “Aren’t you afraid that I would feel hurt by your answer?”
“I presume you would have already felt hurt,” she answered.
After all, he knew about her relationship with Zong Jinghao in Baicheng, and she chose not to see him exactly because she didn’t want to hurt him.
“I have been here for two weeks now,” Bai Yinning said.
Lin Xinyan turned to look at him. He has been in B City for two weeks?
What has he done in this period of time?
“Don’t you think it’s too easy to get Wen Qing into a car accident?” he suddenly asked.
Lin Xinyan was puzzled. In fact, he could have just find her instead of going to such great lengths to invite her here.
Bai Yinning didn’t intend to keep anything from her and said, “I found out.”
“What did you find out?” Lin Xinyan had an awful premonition.
“Wen Qing was the one who cut my adoptive father’s finger.” He stared at her intently and continued, “You knew everything, but you promised someone to keep it a secret, right?”
Lin Xinyan clenched her hands into fists and asked, “Are you here for revenge? Did you orchestrate Wen Qing’s accident?”
Bai Yinning had convinced Cheng Yuwen to tell him the truth, and found out that the person who cut Bai Hongfei’s finger was Wen Qing.
He didn’t want to disclose anything more to Lin Xinyan. He had only revealed his plans to Cheng Yuwen, seeing how the latter also hated Wen Qing.
However, he could understand Cheng Yuwen’s hatred for Wen Qing. After all, his sister was also imprisoned back then, and he wanted to seek justice for her hardships with his own hands.
“This is what you wanted to say to me?” Lin Xinyan knew she could not stop him from taking revenge, nor could she tell Zong Jinghao that Bai Yinning was behind Wen Qing’s accident.
“I wanted to see you,” Bai Yinning said and looked at her.
Lin Xinyan pretended to be calm. “I have a husband.”
He lowered his head and smiled. “Can you not sprinkle salt on my wound?”
Lin Xinyan did not lead him on. Instead, she said, “This is B City, not Baicheng. It is not easy to deal with him. I know everyone has their own position. If you have made up your mind, I will not talk you out of it. I just want to say this: If revenge breeds revenge, will there ever be an end to it?”
Even if he took revenge against Wen Qing, could Bai Hongfei be resurrected?
Could he turn back time and change the fact that he was imprisoned?
He couldn’t.
Revenge was but something the living does to seek solace.
“I should go,” Lin Xinyan said, then she turned and walked out.
Bai Yinning stopped her. “If it was your relative who suffered such harm, would you still be able to forgive?”
Lin Xinyan paused in her footsteps, but she did not answer. She didn’t know the answer either. It seemed difficult not to resent, as she thought of how much she resented Lin Guoan.
