"Grandma, will the police really not suspect me for the fire at the Century Hotel?" Lin Shirou's tone was filled with fear and anxiety.
"I've already found an employee to take the blame for this matter, but you must never make such a mistake again." Zhong Jingjing's face, etched with the marks of time, showed infinite indulgence and doting towards Lin Shirou. "Even if Xing Wan and Shao Ting really get engaged, I have countless ways to break them up. She doesn't deserve you to lay a hand on her; it would only lower your status. You are a phoenix soaring through the nine heavens, how can you bother with such trash?"
"I just love Shao Ting too much, and I was too angry at the time," Lin Shirou lowered her head, aggrieved.
Gu Shaoting quickly comforted her, "Since this matter has been resolved, you should focus on your work. I've been so worried about you lately that you can't sleep, it breaks my heart."
"Alright, alright, let's go eat," Yang Niuyun urged.
The group then headed towards the room with the dining table.
Meanwhile, Lin Xing Wan, standing outside the door, had no idea how she ended up back in Zhou Jinbai's car.
Seeing Lin Xing Wan return empty-handed, looking lost and dejected, Zhou Jinbai frowned and asked, "What happened? Did they bully you?"
Lin Xing Wan shook her head. She felt cold all over, as if her blood had frozen. She knew the Lin family had never cared about her, but it still hurt to realize she had been abandoned.
"What exactly happened?" Zhou Jinbai felt an inexplicable pang of anxiety. This was the most unusual and disheartened he had ever seen Lin Xing Wan since he met her. Although this woman was right in front of him, Zhou Jinbai felt as if she were a world away.
Lin Xing Wan lowered her head dejectedly, "It's nothing, I just feel a little tired. Zhou Jinbai, drive me back, I want to go home and sleep."
Seeing that Lin Xing Wan was unwilling to tell him, Zhou Jinbai could only purse his lips tightly and drive back with a somber expression.
…
"And then? And then? Didn't you ask Zhou Jinbai to come to your place?" Liu Mengqin, sitting opposite Lin Xing Wan, had a face full of gossip. Even though they were in a bar, she had no desire to drink; she only wanted to hear Lin Xing Wan's story.
"And then... *hiccup*..." Lin Xing Wan let out a burp. Her fair face was now flushed, and her watery eyes fell on the wine glass in her hand. She swirled the scarlet liquid within and downed it in one gulp. "And then... Zhou Jinbai left, and I asked you out for drinks."
Liu Mengqin's face was full of disappointment. "I'm telling you, Xing Wan, Zhou Jinbai is such a prime man, and you're so indifferent. I really want to pry open your head and see what's inside! If it were me, I would have slept with him, regardless of whether we could be together in the future. It's not about forever, it's about the moment."
"Sister Qin, I feel so bad, it hurts here..." Lin Xing Wan completely ignored what Liu Mengqin was saying. She clutched her chest, looking utterly wronged. "I've never done anything to betray the Lin family or Gu Shaoting, have I? I gave up everything to marry him, and I thought he would be my good match. Even if in the end... I didn't end up with him, I never doubted that there was something suspicious about that fire. I don't understand what I did wrong. My own grandmother sees me as a thorn in her side, and my father treats me like an enemy; yet, even though Lin Shirou deliberately set the fire, ruined my engagement banquet, killed so many people, and almost caused me to be buried in the flames, they can easily forgive her. After Gu Shaoting saved Lin Shirou that day, the Lin family all left. I always thought they just habitually overlooked me, but today I realized it wasn't overlooking; they wanted me to die in that fire..."
Lin Xing Wan's voice became choked with sobs. Liu Mengqin, heartbroken, quickly pulled out some tissues and wiped away her tears. This was the first time Liu Mengqin had seen Lin Xing Wan cry since she had known her.
"Don't cry, don't cry. I'll find someone to beat them up another day for making you cry," Liu Mengqin comforted Lin Xing Wan. She no longer wanted to scold Gu Shaoting and his family, because she had already used every insulting word in the dictionary on them.
"I don't want to cry either, but I just feel so wronged. If Mom were here, she definitely wouldn't let them bully me like this." Lin Xing Wan sniffled and poured herself another glass of wine. "Tonight, we won't go home until we're drunk."
"Oh, my dear aunt, you've already had two bottles of red wine. Even if you have a good tolerance, you can't drink it like water." Liu Mengqin was getting a headache. Some people appear calm on the surface, but when they go crazy, even nine oxen can't pull them back. Lin Xing Wan was one of those people.
Meanwhile, in a high-end private clubhouse.
Bai Xiao, the head of Rongcheng Police Department, and Lu Shiyan, the head of the hospital, fixed their judgmental gazes on Zhou Jinbai.
"Why are you here alone? Where's your little girlfriend?" Lu Shiyan, probing where it hurt the most, earned a sharp glare from Zhou Jinbai.
Bai Xiao, who was pouring tea, had a hint of schadenfreude in his voice. "Looking at Jinbai's expression, it's clear he broke up with his girlfriend. You're just rubbing salt in his wounds."
After saying that, the two men exchanged smiles as if they had encountered something extremely joyous. They hadn't seen Zhou Jinbai in such a predicament for years, and they were in a good mood tonight.
"Showing off your affection leads to a quick death. This is your punishment for getting a girlfriend behind our backs. Serves you right!" Lu Shiyan was smug. "Do you know that because you brought your girlfriend home, my old lady threw a fit at home? Not only did she kick me out, but she also arranged three blind dates for me every day. If you hadn't shown off your relationship, we could have comforted you now that you've broken up."
"Exactly," Bai Xiao shed his authoritative demeanor as a bureau chief and continued to add insult to injury. "You built your happiness on our misery, so don't blame us for laughing at you now." Although he didn't have blind dates as frequently as Lu Shiyan, changing women every three days, he couldn't handle it either.
"Terrorists at least have opportunities for negotiation. Women are more terrifying than terrorists. I even think convicts are cuter than blind date partners," Bai Xiao clicked his tongue in admiration, and Lu Shiyan couldn't help but nod in agreement.
"Who told you I broke up?" After Bai Xiao and Lu Shiyan finished sharing their meager dating experiences, Zhou Jinbai dropped a bombshell.
Lu Shiyan, who was leisurely drinking tea, choked. "Cough, cough... cough, cough, cough... You didn't break up, so why were you giving us the cold shoulder for over an hour?"
"I just have some things I can't figure out," Zhou Jinbai's expression became more agitated. "Under what circumstances would you not tell your girlfriend, even if you have something on your mind?"
"Firstly, we don't have girlfriends."
"This question falls into my blind spot. I'll have to ask those inmates who committed crimes for love when I get back to prison."
Just as Lu Shiyan and Bai Xiao, two single dogs, finished speaking, Zhou Jinbai's phone rang. The man's expression immediately softened as he looked at the caller ID. Before answering, he deliberately cleared his throat. "Hello?"
Lu Shiyan: *Gag*
Bai Xiao: Can't stand it, want to beat him up!