Lin Xiangwan was at a loss.
What she had feared was happening.
After a brief silence, Shen Fan snapped to attention and suddenly hugged the class monitor.
“Class monitor! Why did we come out again? To pee, right? Let’s go, let’s go! We’re going to pee!”
Without looking back, the two of them rushed past the men’s restroom and headed downstairs.
“The restroom is ”
Lin Xiangwan raised her hand to point to the nearby door, but before she could finish speaking, they had already disappeared like a gust of wind.
Her mood sank further. She didn’t even glance at Jiang Shijing as she returned to the private room, grabbed her bag, offered a brief explanation to the others, and left.
Wen Qian sensed something was wrong and immediately followed.
In the car, Lin Xiangwan rubbed her temples, unsure how to explain: “I think I might have angered Jiang Shijing… he… he seems like he might come after me.”
It was a gut feeling.
Those “two chances” Jiang Shijing had mentioned could only refer to this.
He was frustrated that she hadn’t humbled herself, hadn’t apologized for running off to avoid marriage.
That was why his patience had run out.
One snap of his fingers could shake the entire Fanxing Group to its foundations.
Wen Qian couldn’t help but curse, firing a verbal barrage: “Jiang Shijing is such a bastard! He was the one who wronged you first! Doesn’t he have any clue? And now he’s turning around to make things difficult for you!”
“The matter of running off Madam Jiang never said anything. His girlfriends keep changing, and no one mentions what happened three years ago. And he’s picking on you? Small-minded, this damn man!”
Breathless from scolding, she vented further: “Wanwan, seriously! You should’ve told me this back at the bar I would’ve thrown a drink in his face! I, Wen Qian, don’t do business, I’m not afraid of him!”
Wen Qian continued yelling in the car, the roof practically rattling.
Lin Xiangwan’s ears ached.
She gently held back her friend’s urge to rush back, soothing her softly: “Don’t worry. This is just my guess. Maybe he isn’t targeting Fanxing Group. If anything, I’d rather it be me he’s after personally.”
Though she said it to comfort Wen Qian, she herself knew the storm was coming.
Wen Qian calmed down and exhaled, concern still lingering: “But Jiang Shijing knows that if he wants you to humble yourself, he could just target Fanxing. You’d turn around and go straight to him.”
Lin Xiangwan rolled her eyes, slumping in the back seat: “What exactly does he want? For me to apologize for running off? Just say sorry? Three-year-old business… is one apology really that important to him?”
Her mind was in chaos.
She had no idea what Jiang Shijing’s real motive was.
“Don’t overthink,” Wen Qian tried to reassure her, seeing her mood hit rock bottom. “I can back you up. The Wen family isn’t weak.”
Lin Xiangwan closed her eyes, struggling to breathe.
She thought of her grandfather, repeatedly arguing with Lin Mu, insisting that she was the rightful heir to Fanxing Group.
She thought of her mother, who had given up all her dowry to help her grandfather stabilize the company.
She thought of the shares Lin Xijun and his group now held each one containing the sweat and effort of her grandfather and mother.
Just thinking of it made Lin Xiangwan feel as if her grandfather and mother were looking down from heaven, disappointed in her.
There had been hope for her to break free, yet Jiang Shijing’s actions threatened to shatter it.
No matter what, this wager agreement must be fulfilled.
From now on, she had to prepare to face Jiang Shijing by any means necessary.
Lost in thought, the car suddenly stopped.
Qin Ou turned his head and said in a low voice, “We’re here.”
Lin Xiangwan snapped back to reality and lifted her head.
For some reason, when she met Qin Ou’s gaze, she saw deep worry in his eyes.
Lin Xiangwan froze, realizing that Qin Ou had been listening all along and now understood what had happened between her and Jiang Shijing.
But so what?
Didn’t all of Rongcheng already know she had run off, betrayed Jiang Shijing, and was supposedly a fickle woman?
Lin Xiangwan let out a self-mocking smile and got out of the car with Wen Qian.
Wen Qian, planning to accompany her tonight, went straight upstairs to shower.
Lin Xiangwan confirmed with Qin Ou the time he’d pick her up tomorrow and was about to leave when he suddenly spoke:
“Lin Xiangwan seems like a very carefree person.”
Lin Xiangwan paused and looked back at him.
After a moment, she picked up a cup of tea and sat down.
“Yes, but I neither left in a carefree way by running off, nor returned home carefree to focus on my career.”
Qin Ou quietly studied her: “You still like Jiang Shijing, don’t you?”
Lin Xiangwan’s hand trembled, almost spilling her tea.
She locked eyes with Qin Ou, feeling that nothing could be hidden from him.
Strangely, despite only having interacted with him for a few days, he seemed to see through her better than Wen Qian.
“Rather than like him, it’s that I can’t forget him.”
Jiang Shijing’s tender, alluring peach-blossom eyes any woman caught in that gaze would feel he was the love of her life.
Not to mention his impressive family background and his skill at charming women.
Lin Xiangwan could say with certainty that anyone who had interacted with Jiang Shijing would never forget him.
So even after he hurt her deeply, leaving her heartbroken and disillusioned, she flew abroad in anger partly for revenge, partly so he wouldn’t forget her.
During the three years she disappeared, every sleepless midnight she wondered: after she ran off, did Jiang Shijing ever toss and turn in regret?
Lin Xiangwan selfishly thought he had.
Even though their relationship was over, she had to remain a significant, unforgettable chapter in Jiang Shijing’s love life, so her two years of devotion wouldn’t be entirely wasted.
But today, Jiang Shijing made it clear: her solitary life abroad only earned his indifference or worse, his resentment.
He hadn’t forgotten her he just disliked her.
Since returning to China, all his social entanglements had been methods to make her humble and apologize for what happened years ago.
Her two years of love, the runaway marriage, and everything now all of it had been a solo performance.
Lin Xiangwan no longer wanted tea. She poured a glass of red wine and drank it.
The man beside her watched silently, not stopping her.
She smirked, feeling amused: “I’m drinking this much, and you’re not even concerned?”
Qin Ou’s breathing deepened, his gaze enveloping her like an inescapable net.
“Whether it hurts or saddens, whether you want to vent or get drunk, if you can endure it, one day you’ll be able to let go.”
Lin Xiangwan was stunned for a long time, not even noticing when he left.
After a while, she returned the wine to the cabinet, massaging her temples lightly.
She had lost her composure. Tonight had been humiliating.
Upstairs, a door opened.
Lin Xiangwan forced a casual smile and hugged Wen Qian, who had just come out of the shower.
“My little Qianqian, tonight you’re all mine~”
“Ah, Lin Xiangwan! I just showered, and now you smell like wine!”
Laughter echoed from the living room.
Qin Ou lit a cigarette and strode away.
Suddenly, a man in black emerged from behind the car, frowning as he stared at him.
“How long are you going to act up before coming home? Have you taken a fancy to this woman?”