“There’s someone I like…”
“Mm-”
Before she could finish her sentence, Bai Yinning slammed his lips onto hers, instantly shutting her up.
Her eyes widened in shock, and she instinctively wanted to push him away.
“Don’t push me away. Just this once… Just this once,” he pleaded in a low and hoarse voice.
Lin Xinyan’s hands paused midair, and for some reason, her heart clenched. She could feel him choking on his own sorrow and pain from not being able to put them into words.
She could only remain completely still.
After a long time, his lips trailed across her cheek to rest beside her ear. “When Wen Qing set you up, I knew it was my chance to avenge my adoptive father, but I did it more for your sake because I didn’t want you to be affected by such negative things. Zong Jinghao didn’t know about the truth, so he’d always show mercy to Wen Qing. The reason I dug out the truth about this matter was so that he’d have one less thing to worry about and he’d be able to deal with Wen Qing without inhibition. But I underestimated your feelings for him. I’m jealous and envious at the same time. Take care of yourself. From this moment onwards, you’ll only be a woman whom I once loved.”
He abruptly swiveled around and said over his shoulder, “I’ll leave, and I won’t disappoint you this time. Today is the last day we’ll be seeing each other. I won’t ever step into B City again. You should go now.”
Lin Xinyan gazed at his back and replied, “Thank you.”
Thereafter, she called for Shen Peichuan, who was waiting outside.
Shen Peichuan immediately pushed into the room, then shot a fleeting glance towards Bai Yinning.
“Let’s go,” Lin Xinyan said softly.
Shen Peichuan did not say anything, only taking her away as per her request.
He waited until they were in the elevators to speak, “Did you two come to an agreement?”
“Mm-hmm.” Her voice and expression were both indifferent as if she did not want to talk about it.
“Peichuan, I’m tired.” She pinched the space between her brows.
Shen Peichuan was no fool. Even though Bai Yinning agreed not to expose the matter without asking anything in return, Shen Peichuan still felt responsible for reminding Lin Xinyan about certain things. “I’m sure you know how Jinghao is like, and it’s no secret that Bai Yinning has feelings for you. He wouldn’t promise something just like that. There’s definitely a catch. If the conditions he proposed involves you, I hope you rejected him directly.”
Lin Xinyan raised her head to meet his gaze. “What do you think he did to me?”
Shen Peichuan pressed his lips into a flat line.
Lin Xinyan huffed out a laugh, but the gaze in her eyes was as cold as ice. “Are you suspecting me of selling my body in exchange for his word?”
“No-”
“That’s exactly what you meant!” Lin Xinyan icily cut him off.
Shen Peichuan lowered his head. “I’m sorry.”
“This assumption of yours isn’t just an insult to me.”
The thought had only appeared transiently in Shen Peichuan’s mind, but he had blurted it out on impulse. Now that he thought about it, he realized that it was inappropriate, and he immensely regretted it too.
Soon after that, Shen Peichuan guided her out of the elevator and out of the hotel doors. When they reached the car, he spotted Zong Qifeng walking over.
Shen Peichuan stopped in his tracks, seemingly shocked to see him. After a split second, he seemed to deduce that their appearance here at the same time might not be a coincidence.
The other day after Cheng Yuxiu and Bai Yinning met up, the former went back home to tell Zong Qifeng about it. Later on, they hired some people to watch Bai Yinning for fear that he would do something stupid.
Of course, what happened at the hospital entrance that day reached his ears.
“You met with Bai Yinning?” Zong Qifeng had his hands behind his back.
Lin Xinyan hummed a “yes” and further elaborated, “He’ll leave B City, and that doctor will never appear before us again.”
Zong Qifeng’s brows raised in surprise because he never expected this matter to be resolved so quickly.
“He spent so much time and effort to get what he wanted, and now he agrees to leave just like that? And he even promised not to reveal anything?”
Shen Peichuan looked down at Lin Xinyan as the same question gnawed at his mind. What made Bai Yinning decide to let it go?
“He never intended to reveal this matter. His main target was Wen Qing because he wanted to avenge Bai Hongfei. However, he knew that dealing with Wen Qing wasn’t going to be easy, so he decided to return to Baicheng for the time being,” Lin Xinyan explained.
Zong Qifeng was still skeptical about it, but since Lin Xinyan put it that way, there was nothing else he could say. He heaved a sigh, “If it’s hard to continue keeping it a secret, just tell him.”
Over the years, he had grown old and worn.
Lin Xinyan was surprised. He kept it a secret for so many years, but he suddenly doesn’t care anymore? Then what was the purpose of meeting with Bai Yinning today?
“I don’t want him to hear it from outsiders – unless it’s you, me, or Yuxiu.”
Lin Xinyan’s brows knitted in a frown. She was unable to accept this kind of answer. “Then why did you hide it from him in the first place? Have you ever considered his feelings? Did you want him to kneel before Cheng Yuxiu and apologize for his animosity towards her all these years, or see him fight Wen Qing to the death? You know how much Wen Qing loved Wen Xian, more than anyone else…” she trailed off. “I’m sorry. I got a little too emotional.”
Lin Xinyan closed her eyes and held her forehead. Her nerves were strung so tight that she felt as if she was on the verge of breaking down.
Zong Qifeng was not angry in the least because what she said made sense. They were the ones who hid the truth from the beginning. They were the ones who caused Zong Jinghao’s heart to be filled with resentment from a young age. And now…
“It’s getting late. You should go home.” Zong Qifeng was about to turn around when he suddenly remembered something and looked at her. “Xichen and Ruixi miss the two of you. Call me whenever you’re free. I’ll bring them over for a visit.”
Lin Xinyan nodded in response.
After that, Mr. Feng opened the car door for Zong Qifeng to enter. Then, the car zoomed off.
“Should we leave now?” Shen Peichuan asked.
Lin Xinyan shook her head. She needed some time to calm herself down. Thus, she did not want to go home only for Zong Jinghao to see her like this.
She could not tell if it was because of her unstable emotions, but she felt a dull pain in her abdomen.
Shen Peichuan lifted his hand to comfort her, but his hand paused just a few inches away from her shoulder. As though he felt it was inappropriate for him to do that, he quickly withdrew his hand.
In the end, he accompanied her in silence on the side of the road.
Unbeknown to them, they were being watched by someone inside a car that was parked on the opposite side of the road.
After he rolled up the car window, the car sped off and left a plume of smoke in its wake.
When the car passed by Lin Xinyan, she raised her head and coincidentally clashed gazes with the man in the car. However, the car was moving too quickly for her to see who it was.
Only after Lin Xinyan was completely out of sight did the person inside the car finally retract his gaze.
The night sky cracked open, and rain began to pour down.
Embedding himself in a world that thrived on schemes and conspiracies for so many years had trained him to remain cool-headed under whatever circumstances. No one could decipher his true thoughts.
Even under the most dangerous of situations, he maintained a calm exterior and displayed almost no emotion on his face. At this moment, his entire being resembled the rain outside – cold and unfeeling.
“We must carry out the plan in secret. If you find any leads, report them directly to me.”
“Yes.”
The car quickly disappeared into the heavy downpour of the night.
Perhaps it was because of the rain, Lin Xinyan’s complexion did not look too good once she got into the car. Shen Peichuan grew worried and asked, “Do you need to go to the hospital?”
She understood her body best. “I’m fine. Let’s go home.”
Shen Peichuan wanted to say more, but when he saw how exhausted she looked, he shoved the words back down his throat.
The car quickly arrived in front of the villa.
