The fingers hanging at her side trembled suddenly.
Lin Yan wasn’t feeling guilty, but rather, faced with such a dazzling and refined Xing Yingxue before her, dressed plainly and exuding an air of ordinariness, she subconsciously felt that Song Yanzheng’s choice of Xing Yingxue was only natural.
“Hello.” Lin Yan disliked beating around the bush. “What do you want with me?”
Xing Yingxue’s phoenix eyes curved into a smile. She suddenly lowered her head and gently stroked her lower abdomen. “Yan Zheng and I are having a baby—probably a daughter. Yan Zheng has already picked out a name for her. He said… Song Muxue.”
Having a baby…
The man she’d loved for ten years was having a child with another woman.
She suppressed the bitterness rising in her chest and said flatly, “Miss Xing, you didn’t come all this way just to show off your happiness to me, did you?”
Xing Yingxue laughed with unbridled arrogance. She spoke slowly, but every word carried a chilling barb.
“Lin Yan, before the new year, Yan Zheng lied to me, saying he was coming to Longping County to visit an old friend. I knew he must be coming to see you. I’m the kind of person who can’t tolerate a single grain of sand in my eyes. Whoever dares to covet what’s mine, I’ll teach her… how to know her place.”
“I know you and Yan Zheng have depended on each other for years, and your feelings run deep and are hard to let go of. But since he chose me, I’d advise you to give up any hope as soon as possible. People need to have self-awareness. A cheap street-stall item like you—what do you have to compare with me?”
Lin Yan smiled instead. “Miss Xing, are you lacking confidence in yourself, or are you unsure of Song Yanzheng? So unsure that you’d come all this way just to spout this self-righteous, useless nonsense at me.”
Xing Yingxue leisurely admired her exquisite manicured nails, her gaze gradually turning cold as she stared at Lin Yan with sinister intent.
“Lin Yan, how does it feel to be fired? After years of hard work, you’re back to square one. Director Lin, once renowned throughout Jingbei, now completely blacklisted in the translation circle—how does that sit with you? Hmm?”
Lin Yan suddenly understood. “It was you?”
“Didn’t expect that, did you? It was me.” Xing Yingxue covered her mouth with a laugh, the diamond ring on her ring finger refracting light like a blade stabbing into Lin Yan’s eyes.
“Your staying in Jingbei was too much of an eyesore for me, and I didn’t want Yan Zheng to keep thinking about you. So I had to use a little scheme to make you leave.”
All along, Lin Yan had naively believed she was just having a run of bad luck, encountering one misfortune after another.
So the mastermind behind it all was Xing Yingxue.
Lin Yan stared at her coldly. “Does Song Yanzheng know?”
“So what if he knows, and so what if he doesn’t? Would he really fight with me over you?” Xing Yingxue carried a faint hint of madness about her.
“Listen to me, Lin Yan. I came here today specifically to warn you—from now on, you’re not allowed to have any contact with Yan Zheng. If I find out you’re still entangled with him, I’ll make sure you can’t even stay in this small county!”
“And also, you must attend our wedding. I want you to watch with your own eyes how I become Yan Zheng’s bride in happiness.”
With that, Xing Yingxue returned to the car.
Through the tinted window, her sharp gaze fixed on Lin Yan outside.
She wore no makeup, but she was tall, fair-skinned, with an elegant, cool temperament, carrying a hint of mystery that invited curiosity.
She really did have the kind of face that made men covet her.
It seemed this trip had been worth it.
“Miss.” The driver in the front seat asked, “Shall we head back now, or stop by to see the young master on the way?”
Xing Yingxue, irritated, said, “Let’s go back.”
As the car started, Xing Yingxue picked up her phone and dialed a number.
The call connected quickly, and as always, a low voice came through.
“What is it?”
“Coach Xing, are you busy?”
“Say what you need to say, or hang up if there’s nothing.”
Xing Yingxue stopped joking and complained, “Brother, every time I call you, you sound like I owe you money. Can’t you be a little gentler?”
The voice on the other end remained flat, repeating, “Say it.”
“I came to Longping County on business and passed by your boxing gym to visit you, but you weren’t there. I’m heading back now, so I’ll see you at my wedding.”
There was a moment of silence on the line, as if he’d guessed something. “What business do you have in Longping County?”
“Looking for someone, to settle a problem.”
“Who?”
“Just some cheap woman. You wouldn’t know her.”
“I asked you who.”
Xing Yu’s voice dropped with a chilling coldness, and Xing Yingxue’s scalp tingled. “Brother… what’s wrong with you?”
The next second, the call was cut off.
Xing Yingxue stared at her phone screen, baffled.
Her moody, taciturn eldest brother—had he swallowed gunpowder today?
…
After returning to the residential complex, Lin Yan didn’t go upstairs right away. She sat on a bench downstairs, letting the cold wind blow over her.
The wind crept inch by inch through her collar, making her already cold heart grow even more rigid.
She opened her chat window with Song Yanzheng.
It was filled entirely with messages from him—telling her what he’d eaten that day, what he’d done, asking after her warmth and well-being, reminding her to take her medication and follow up on her checkups on time.
These overstepping shares and concerns were like an airtight iron cage, silently trapping her, making her miserable beyond words.
Even though she hadn’t replied with a single word, Song Yanzheng still sent her messages day after day.
She couldn’t understand it—she truly couldn’t figure out what he meant.
But now, she didn’t have the mood to figure him out anymore.
She took a deep breath, preparing to delete Song Yanzheng from WeChat.
But just at that moment, a message from Song Yanzheng popped up on her screen.
【Yanyan, Xiaoxue just called me and said she went to see you? She said you two had a lovely chat and that she really likes you. From now on, Xiaoxue will be your sister-in-law. She has a gentle personality and a kind heart—I’m sure you’ll get along wonderfully.】
【Oh, and let me share some good news with you—Xiaoxue is pregnant. I never imagined I’d be becoming a father so soon. Yanyan, you’ll be happy for me too, right?】
Lin Yan lowered her head, watching the phone screen gradually dim, and suddenly let out a laugh.
But as she laughed, tears fell onto the screen.
After a long moment, she lit the screen back up and decisively deleted Song Yanzheng from WeChat, then went into her contacts and blocked his number as well.
She composed herself and headed upstairs. As the elevator doors opened, she saw Xing Yu leaning against the doorway, watching her with a bored expression.
It seemed he was waiting for her.
Lin Yan walked toward him as if nothing had happened, but when she spoke, her voice was uncontrollably hoarse.
“I’m too tired today—I really don’t feel like cooking. Just grab something to eat.”
Xing Yu stared at her reddened eyes. “Why were you gone so long?”
“Ran into a friend. We chatted about some things.”
Xing Yu knew the truth well, a certain restraint hidden deep in his eyes.
The next second, Xing Yu yanked her into the apartment. By the time Lin Yan realized what was happening, she was already seated on the shoe cabinet by the door, held in his arms.
Her temple throbbed. “What are you doing now?”
Xing Yu braced his hands on either side of the shoe cabinet, tilting his head up with a lazy smile. “When you’re unhappy, you need to distract yourself.”
“What?”
“Sweetheart, kissing stimulates adrenaline—it makes people happy. Let’s try it…”
The moment he finished speaking, the back of her neck was suddenly seized, and his cool lips pressed down upon hers, carrying with them a scorching breath…