Lin Xinyan was amused at his words that were almost childlike.
“I really want to put a mirror before you so you can see just how unkind you look right now.”
Zong Jinghao snorted in response. He took a towel and dried her feet with it.
She cocked her head to the side and asked, “Are you angry?”
Why isn’t he talking?
He suddenly tossed the towel aside and grabbed her ankles. Moving them onto the bed, he pinned her down with his weight. Lin Xinyan struggled while whispering furiously, “What are you doing? The kids are right here! Don’t wake them up!”
He raised a brow at her even as a wicked smirk curled his lips. His voice was low as he murmured, “They won’t wake up if you can be a little softer.”
Struck dumb by his words, it took Lin Xinyan a moment to start struggling again. “Why are you getting more and more shameless?” She was honestly worried that he would be controlled by his lust and actually do that, right beside the children.
Zong Jinghao bent his knees and used them to push her legs open wider. Now, she would be unable to close them. He was not overwhelmed by his desire just yet. Even if he were, he would not be so rash as to do something like that with his children right there.
He gazed down at her, taking in her beauty. She was not very old and her delicate features only made her seem that much younger. The skin of her face was like white porcelain, pale and smooth to the touch. He stroked her cheek gently as he muttered, “Yan, I really don’t like how he thinks of you.”
It was impossible for him to feel any shred of forgiveness for anyone who had dared to desire his wife.
“I’m still just an ordinary man. My woman can only belong to me and me alone. Nobody else is allowed to even think of you.”
Lin Xinyan could understand where he was coming from. If another woman had such thoughts about Zong Jinghao, she would be very unhappy too.
This man can be rather petty at times. I’d better explain myself before he overthinks things. ”I know. I only love you. All I feel for him is a moral obligation.”
Pausing, a bubble of laughter escaped her lips. “The more I interact with you, the more I realize just how different you are at home compared to outside.”
“Hmm? In what ways? Do tell.” He flipped over onto his side, careful to avoid pressing down on her abdomen.
“Let go of my legs first.”
He refused. “Not until you tell me.”
She twisted her head to look at him. “Your employees have probably never seen this shameless side of you, have they?”
“I’m only ever shameless before my wifey. They’re not worthy enough to see this side of me,” he justified calmly. He did not find anything wrong with his statements at all.
She sighed. “So you’re human after all.”
He took her hand in his and ordered, “Touch me.”
Her eyebrows shot up to her hairline in shock while her eyes rounded to the size of dinner plates. She gaped at him, stuttering, “W-what are you t-trying to do?”
“I want you to touch my body and feel if it’s hot. Feel my heart and see if it beats. My body is not made of metal or steel. It’s a flesh and blood body with emotions and thoughts. Like everyone else, I can’t escape death. I’m just a human. You can’t expect me to be like an emotionless robot all the time.” Taking in the crimson flush that had yet to recede from Lin Xinyan’s face, he chuckled. “Your mind was in the gutter earlier, wasn’t it?”
Lin Xinyan coughed lightly while trying to force herself to sound calm, “No.”
My mind was most definitely not in the gutter! Nope! Even if it were, it’s not like I can just outrightedly admit to it. Damn it, this man has corrupted me! I’ve lost all sense of shame because of him.
“What was that saying again? Ah! Birds of a feather flock together.”
“Are you trying to imply something here?” He arched an eyebrow at her.
“What are you guys talking about?” Zong Yanxi rubbed her bleary eyes, unable to get used to the bright lights so soon after waking up.
“Nothing. Go to sleep,” Lin Xinyan urged. She moved over to wrap an arm around the little girl, patting her back lightly to coax her to sleep.
“Mommy, don’t forget that you’ve promised to take me to the pet shop tomorrow.” Going to the pet shop was quickly becoming the girl’s obsession.
She’s not even fully awake yet she still remembers to remind me about that!
Lin Xinyan soothed, “Alright, we’ll go tomorrow. Now, sleep.”
“It’s been so long since Mommy’s hugged me while sleeping. Your hug is still as warm as I’d remembered,” Zong Yanxi mumbled while snuggling further into her mother’s embrace.
Guilt swamped Lin Xinyan. The moment they moved here to C City, she had sent them off to pre-school while she busied herself with setting up Cloud Corporation. She had been so occupied with ensuring that Tea Silk was known to the public again that she had neglected her children.
During this time, they had grown a lot. They had learned how to sleep alone and to dress. They no longer needed anyone to supervise them as they cleaned themselves either. In fact, they had become so independent that they could look after themselves for most of the daily tasks.
“Mommy will spend more time with both of you from now on,” Lin Xinyan promised. She bent down to press a kiss on her daughter’s forehead.
Zong Jinghao turned off the light and lay down behind Lin Xinyan. Curling his arms around her waist, he whispered, “I’ll go with you tomorrow.”
She hummed in reply, not wanting to think about whether he had the time or not. She did not want to disappoint the kids.
The next morning, Lin Xinyan woke up very early. She did not want to appear rude by getting out of bed later than her guest.
Just as Lin Xinyan started down the stairs, she saw Zhou Chunchun exiting Qin Ya’s room. She asked in a puzzled tone, “Weren’t you sleeping in that room?”
She pointed at the children’s room.
“I did. I heard Qin Ya calling for Aunt Yu but Aunt Yu was busy with making breakfast. So I went in to help her. She needed to go to the bathroom,” Zhou Chunchun clarified.
Lin Xinyan finished descending the stairs. Shooting a smile at the other woman, she asked, “Did you sleep well last night?”
“It took me a while to fall asleep. I woke up around five and I couldn’t get back to sleep though.”
Lin Xinyan knew that the younger woman was only having insomnia due to her worry. She gripped Zhou Chunchun’s shoulder in support.
“How did she injure her legs?” Zhou Chunchun gestured to Qin Ya.
Lin Xinyan pursed her lips. She really should not tell Zhou Chunchun about what had happened. After all, the younger woman was still relatively innocent to the evil nature of humans.
However, at the end of the day, the Gu family and the Zhou family were still connected. While she did not know whether they were actually on good terms, she hoped to get through to Gu Huixin through her daughter. She wanted the older woman to know that Gu Bei was an immoral man with no qualms about doing anything evil. That was why they had to distance themselves from him as soon as possible.
“Do you remember the man who Bai Yinning asked you to bring here?”
Zhou Chunchun nodded. “Yes.”
“We wanted to arrest him because he’d done a lot of bad things.” Lin Xinyan did not elaborate any further than that. She hoped that this would be enough.
Thankfully, Zhou Chunchun understood her implications. The man I sent here was the one who injured that woman. That’s why Xinyan wants to capture him.
“I think that once Yinning returns, we’ll still get the chance to arrest him. Although I really hate bad men, I just can’t disregard Yinning’s safety either. I’m sorry, Xinyan.”
“Silly, this has nothing to do with you. It’s not like all this is your fault. As you said, we’ll still get another chance later on to capture him. Evil will always be punished eventually. It’s only a matter of time.”
Gu Huixin came to pick up her daughter surprisingly early. Lin Xinyan had initially intended on having Zhou Chunchun finish breakfast before she had the driver send her back.
“We want to get to the police station as soon as possible.” Gu Huixin had clearly not been able to sleep well due to her concern for Bai Yinning too.
“I’ll be taking my leave then, Xinyan.” Zhou Chunchun waved goodbye to Lin Xinyan.
“Okay, bye!”
After Zhou Chunchun got in the car, Gu Huixin turned to Lin Xinyan. “Thank you for looking after my daughter.”
“She was very well-behaved. I didn’t do anything much.”
“Others find her not very smart and that’s why she doesn’t have a lot of friends. It is rare for anyone to actually want to spend time with her. Other than Yinning, you’re the first to do so.” Gu Huixin would be eternally grateful to Lin Xinyan for not looking down on her daughter.
She hated it when others glanced at her daughter with scorn or derision.
“We’ll be leaving then. Do come over and visit us sometime,” she invited sincerely.
Smiling slightly, Lin Xinyan agreed, “Sure.”
Gu Huixin entered the car and waved at Lin Xinyan. After that, she ordered the chauffeur to drive.
It was still relatively early in the morning so there were not a lot of cars on the roads. In little to no time at all, they arrived at the police station.
As agreed, Shen Peichuan handed Number Four over to Gu Huixin.
Number Four was completely covered in blood, making it hard to tell where he was actually injured. Upon spotting Gu Huixin, he lunged toward her and grabbed her arm. “Please help me!”
Zhou Chunchun forcefully dragged Number Four away before ordering the chauffeur to toss him in the car.
Gu Huixin stared at her daughter in shock. She’s always been very gentle and timid. What’s with the sudden change in attitude?
“Chunchun, you-”
“Mom, do you have any idea what sort of person he is?”
