Lin Wangxi felt inexplicably uneasy under his gaze.
“How would I know? A beauty like me is right in front of you, and you don’t react at all. Kissing me is like it’s going to cost you your life. What normal man acts like that?”
Zhou Jinyuan looked at her steadily, as if trying to see through her.
After a long moment, he suddenly spoke. “Lin Wangxi.”
“What?”
“Do you like me?”
Lin Wangxi was confused by the question and answered without thinking, “Of course I like you. If I didn’t, why would I make you my boyfriend?”
“If I didn’t have this face, would you still like me?”
Lin Wangxi stared at his face, examining it from left to right, even thinking seriously about it.
“Probably not.”
Zhou Jinyuan nodded. He raised his hand and buttoned up her pajama top one button at a time. “Then that’s right.”
Lin Wangxi was baffled. “What do you mean ‘that’s right’?”
But he didn’t explain. Instead, he bent down, lifted her horizontally, and carried her out of the bathroom, placing her on the sofa.
Then he took a hairdryer and silently helped her dry her hair.
The warm air hummed, blowing against her cheeks, leaving them dry and slightly itchy. She had never used such a low-quality hairdryer before.
Lin Wangxi endured it. After all, this was probably the kind of life she would have from now on.
But deep down, she still held a trace of hope—that fate might give her a turning point.
Otherwise, wouldn’t it be better to just go back to the Lin family, lie flat, enjoy the remaining six months, and then face death calmly?
Lin Wangxi stared at the man’s shirt in front of her. Up close, she noticed some threads had frayed—it had clearly been washed many times.
She caught a faint scent of sunlight and laundry detergent from him, mixed with the warm air of the hairdryer, enveloping her.
Suddenly, she vaguely realized that aside from his good looks and her own desire to conquer him, there were things about Zhou Jinyuan she had never truly paid attention to.
“Zhou Jinyuan.”
“Mm?”
“If I die, will you be sad?”
“No.”
The answer came so quickly.
Lin Wangxi sighed. She shouldn’t have asked.
If she hadn’t clung to him back then and forced him using his younger sister’s surgery, he probably wouldn’t even have bothered to look at her.
After all, in the original story, after her death, he had taken revenge on everyone connected to her.
The fact that he hadn’t thrown her out already was a sign of mercy. How could he possibly feel sad? He probably disliked her too much for that.
But maybe that was for the best. Lin Wangxi didn’t want anyone to be sad because of her.
Seeing her suddenly fall silent, Zhou Jinyuan lowered his gaze and looked at her.
She had her head lowered, lost in thought.
He turned off the hairdryer and tilted his head to look at her face, trying to read her expression.
But her hair covered her face, hiding everything.
After a moment of thought, he sat down beside her.
“What’s wrong?”
Lin Wangxi looked up and smiled at him. “What, are you worried about me?”
Zhou Jinyuan stared at her intently, not letting her deflect the question.
Instead, Lin Wangxi grew uncomfortable under his gaze.
Zhou Jinyuan spoke, “I know this has been a huge blow to you, but there’s no need to be this upset. Once you accept things, they’re not as bad as you imagine.”
Lin Wangxi blinked, confusion in her eyes. “What are you talking about?”
He looked at her seriously. “I can’t do anything about the Lin family, but as long as you don’t mind, I won’t let you starve.”
Lin Wangxi stared at him blankly, only then realizing he thought she was on the verge of breaking down.
But hearing his words still made her heart tremble.
The more she thought about it, the more she felt that forcing him before had truly been unfair.
Her nose suddenly felt a little sore, and she quickly turned her head away, muttering, “Who needs you to support me? I still have fifty thousand in my account.”
“Mm,” Zhou Jinyuan went along with her words. “That’s perfect. You can use it to pay rent and food expenses.”
The small bit of emotion she had just felt vanished instantly.
She instinctively retorted, “Your cooking is so bad, and you still want me to pay for food?!”
“If you think it’s bad, don’t eat,” Zhou Jinyuan said calmly as he wrapped up the cord of the hairdryer. “Or you can cook yourself.”
Lin Wangxi choked on her words and glared at him. “If my leg wasn’t injured, I definitely—”
Alright, she couldn’t cook.
Zhou Jinyuan looked at her, as if he had already expected that, waiting for her to finish.
Lin Wangxi huffed unwillingly. “I can learn! And what about ordering takeout?”
“Suit yourself.” He didn’t bother arguing. “I’m heading out. Do you want to stay here or go to bed?”
Lin Wangxi thought for a moment. The bed sounded better.
“I want to sleep.”
Zhou Jinyuan responded, lifted her, carried her into the bedroom, and placed her on the bed.
As soon as she sat down, Lin Wangxi pressed the mattress—then realized there wasn’t one.
“Why is it so hard? Are you sleeping on wooden boards?”
“Mm.”
“You’re really poor,” Lin Wangxi couldn’t help but remark.
Zhou Jinyuan had completely redefined her understanding of poverty. She had never imagined someone could be this poor.
“…” Zhou Jinyuan seemed like he wanted to say something but stopped himself.
In the end, he said with a complicated expression, “I know. You don’t need to remind me.”
Lin Wangxi bit her lip, realizing she had hit a sore spot.
She apologized honestly, “Alright, sorry.”
“No need to apologize. You’re telling the truth.”
After saying that, he turned and left the bedroom. At the door, he added, “Call me if you need anything.”
Lin Wangxi gave an “oh.” “Where are you going?”
“To drive for a ride-hailing service.”
“Oh, go ahead then.”
Zhou Jinyuan responded and closed the bedroom door before leaving.
Lying on the bed, Lin Wangxi couldn’t fall asleep no matter how hard she tried.
The wooden board was too hard, and her leg hurt too much.
Every time she was about to drift off, a sharp pain from her leg would wake her up.
After some time, she woke up from thirst, and later from needing to use the bathroom.
She propped herself up and looked outside—it was already dark.
Lin Wangxi got off the bed, bracing herself against the wall, hopping on one foot toward the bathroom.
She hadn’t expected that in such a small place, the bathroom would feel so far away.
Gritting her teeth, sweat formed on her forehead.
Every hop sent vibrations through her injury, bringing waves of dull pain.
In the dim light, her foot suddenly hit something, and she lost her balance.
With a startled cry, she fell hard onto the ground. Pain shot through her elbow and knee.
Her ankle hurt so much that her vision went dark. She couldn’t even cry out, only curling up and gasping for air.
Not long after, the door opened, and with a click, the lights came on.
Zhou Jinyuan immediately saw her curled up on the floor, his expression darkening instantly.
He rushed over and crouched in front of her, unsure where she was hurt and not daring to touch her carelessly.
“Where did you get hurt?”
Lin Wangxi looked up, tears streaming down her face, her lips trembling as she looked utterly aggrieved.
Zhou Jinyuan froze slightly when he met her tear-filled eyes.