As Lin Xinyan was in a bad mood, she was too distracted to discern whose voice it was. She snapped moodily, “Who are you?”
Bai Yinning glanced at his phone, wondering if he had dialed the wrong number. After all, it was rare to see Lin Xinyan so fired up like that. Who angered her this time?
He placed the phone back to his ear and said, “I’m Bai Yinning.”
This time, it was Lin Xinyan’s turn to glance at her phone. She was surprised to see that he had called her. “How did you know my phone number?”
“I even know your whereabouts. It’s a piece of cake for me to find out your phone number.” Bai Yinning smiled bitterly. “Are you unhappy that I’m contacting you?”
Sitting on the tiny bench on the porch, Lin Xinyan explained, “No. I’m just in a bad mood.”
“Do you want to share with me why you’re in a bad mood?” asked Bai Yinning.
“Why did you call me? Did something happen?” She did not want to explain her feelings to anyone.
I’m not going to spread Zong Jinghao’s indecent photos around, am I?
I’d be crazy if I did that.
“Yeah, something happened. If I called you for no good reason, you’ll probably hang up, right?” said Bai Yinning as he chuckled.
Lin Xinyan pursed her lips and remained silent.
Bai Yinning’s voice sounded from the phone again. “Come to Baicheng.”
“I’m afraid that I won’t have time to do that,” rejected Lin Xinyan unhesitatingly.
It was true that she did not have a lot of time on her hands. In addition to managing the store and the factory, she had to worry about the matter regarding Zong Jinghao too.
Bai Yinning smiled bitterly. Despite expecting such a response, he could not help but feel disappointed.
“We’re still friends, right?” Suppressing the bitterness he was feeling, he chuckled. “Will you still refuse even if I passed you an invitation for my wedding?”
What?
Did I hear him wrongly?
Bai Yinning is getting married?
“You mean that?” asked Lin Xinyan suspiciously.
“Of course. How can I joke about that? Are you reluctant to see me marry another woman?” He joked, feigning a laugh.
“No, I’m just really surprised.” There was not even the slightest news of his marriage spreading around. Yet, he so abruptly announced his wedding now.
“So, will you accept my wedding invitation? We’re still friends, right?”
Before Lin Xinyan could reply, Bai Yinning continued, “As it’s probably inconvenient for you, I’ve already instructed Gao Yuan to pick you up.”
Lin Xinyan held onto her forehead. He isn’t giving me a chance to refuse at all.
However, since this is his wedding, it’s inappropriate to reject his invitation.
After contemplating for a while, she agreed. She decided that she would treat it as an opportunity for her to destress. Hopefully, after she came back from Baicheng, Zong Jinghao would have settled everything regarding the photos.
“When is Gao Yuan coming over?” asked Lin Xinyan.
“He’s probably already there.”
Lin Xinyan was at a loss for words.
“You’ve arranged for everything.”
“When it concerns you, I must naturally arrange everything carefully,” said Bai Yinning with a hint of a smile.
As Bai Yinning’s wedding would be held tomorrow, Lin Xinyan had to leave today and reach just in time for it.
She told Qin Ya about it. As it was summer, she brought two outfits and an evening gown. After all, since she was attending someone’s wedding, she had to dress more formally.
Qin Ya knew that Bai Yinning sent someone over, so she did not feel worried. Similar to Lin Xinyan, she merely expressed shock at his sudden marriage.
He’s acting so quickly.
I wonder how his wife-to-be is like.
Gao Yuan drove an MPV car over, which was spacious enough for her to rest.
After entering the car, Lin Xinyan asked, “Is Mr. Bai really getting married?”
She felt that everything happened so quickly as if it was all a dream.
“Yeah, he can’t possibly joke about this,” replied Gao Yuan as he started the engine.
“What’s the girl like?” asked Lin Xinyan out of sheer curiosity.
Although Bai Yinning couldn’t walk, she could tell that he was an extremely proud man.
Since he was getting married, the girl was definitely an exceptional person too.
“You should personally ask Mr. Bai about this.” Gao Yuan was not trying to keep it a secret; he simply felt that Bai Yinning should tell it to her himself.
After all, Bai Yinning had had a crush on Lin Xinyan—perhaps even till now. He merely decided to give up on her after understanding the situation.
“You can lie down and rest at the back. There are some snacks and drinks in the mini-fridge,” Gao Yuan informed.
The car was quite comfortable, with the air conditioner blowing at just the right temperature. When the back seats were fully reclined, it acted as a massive bed. In fact, it was no different from her bed at home.
Most importantly, there were snacks prepared for her. Lin Xinyan glanced at Gao Yuan. “No wonder you’re Mr. Bai’s right-hand man.”
He was really meticulous when taking care of others.
Having understood what Lin Xinyan meant, Gao Yuan explained, “Mr. Bai instructed me to do this. He was afraid that you’ll feel tired during the long car ride.”
Lin Xinyan was at a loss for words. After a long while, she uttered, “I should thank him when I manage to see him.”
Gao Yuan shot a glance at her and remained silent. Bai Yinning’s feelings for her were made blatantly clear. He had everything so well thought out only because he still liked her.
“Rest well. We’ll reach by tomorrow morning,” said Gao Yuan.
Lin Xinyan mumbled a word of acknowledgment in response before lying down to rest. Perhaps due to the slight shaking of the car, she fell asleep quickly.
It was already dawn when she woke up. She asked, “Are we there already?”
“Yes. We’re already in Baicheng,” replied Gao Yuan.
“Thank you. It must’ve been tiring for you.” It was an exhausting task to drive through the night.
“Someone else drove me to your place. I’m only responsible for driving you to the city,” explained Gao Yuan.
Afraid that Gao Yuan would be too exhausted, Bai Yinning had asked a chauffeur to drive him there. Hence, he had been resting in the car on the journey to Lin Xinyan’s place. As he only drove on the way back, he was not too exhausted.
“Help me find a hotel to stay in. I’ll wash up for a bit,” instructed Lin Xinyan.
As Baicheng was part of Bai Yinning’s turf, it was more convenient for Gao Yuan to settle things.
He quickly arranged for Lin Xinyan to stay in a hotel.
When Lin Xinyan reached the hotel, she rested for a while, washed up, and changed into a neat set of clothes. By then, it was already 6 in the morning.
Gao Yuan went to pick her up, saying that Bai Yinning wanted to meet her.
Lin Xinyan frowned. “It’s his wedding today. We’ll still eventually meet at the wedding.”
Hence, there was no need to meet now.
Smiling politely, Gao Yuan said, “I’m just responsible for conveying the message. Please, meet Mr. Bai and don’t put me in a difficult position.”
Before Lin Xinyan could respond, Gao Yuan continued, “Don’t be too worried, Ms. Lin. Since Mr. Bai has already decided to get married, he will not put you in a tight spot.”
Lin Xinyan nodded in agreement. Since Gao Yuan said that, it would be unreasonable of her to keep refusing.
The man drove her to a relatively remote field in the countryside. The morning sun had just risen, so it was not scorching hot.
After alighting the car, Lin Xinyan spotted Bai Yinning’s figure beside the river. Early in the morning, the place was extremely tranquil.
She stepped on the river bank that was filled with tall weeds and tiny pebbles all strewn across the ground. Without turning around, Bai Yinning seemed to know that she had arrived.
“Are you surprised?” he asked.
“Not really. After all, you’re already at the age to marry,” replied Lin Xinyan nonchalantly.
Standing beside him, she took in a deep breath of the fresh air and felt her body relax.
Bai Yinning turned his head around and gazed at her. “Aren’t you curious about who I’m marrying?”
Meeting his gaze, Lin Xinyan asked, “Who is she?”
Bai Yinning’s gaze moved to the river. “She’s from a powerful family, which will aid my career significantly. You know, the Bai Group was badly hit because of your petty husband. Hence, I had to marry a woman with a strong family background.”
Behind them, Gao Yuan’s car was nowhere to be seen on the muddy road – he had driven away. However, another car was heading towards them.
When Zong Qifeng learned that the two children had followed Zong Jinghao over, he wished to bond with the kids. Zong Qifeng did not need to return to B City anytime soon, and they did not know when they would visit again. So, they agreed to stay for a day more so the kids could accompany him. Hence, their return to C City was delayed by one day.
They were supposed to return yesterday morning, but they only ended up leaving this morning.
As they had slept late last night, the kids were very tired and unenergetic upon entering the car. Hugging his daughter, Zong Jinghao glanced out of the window when they reached this particular stretch of the road.
