Lin Ting heard this, and the originally surging hot current throughout his body was instantly frozen as if it had been flash-frozen.
Assistant Xi arrived soon. According to the original plot, he had very efficiently taken away their CEO.
Then Song Xinyu would be left alone to face what came next.
However, this time, he had heard the inner thoughts and thus restrained himself, refusing to leave.
He wanted to clarify the matter.
As a result, he discovered that the situation was becoming increasingly difficult to control.
The mastermind behind the scenes intended to escalate the situation.
A group of media reporters had been invited and suddenly rushed in.
They pointed cameras at Song Xinyu’s disheveled appearance, snapping photos repeatedly, and thrust microphones at her nose while asking: “Song Xinyu, did you seduce your brother-in-law at the hotel on purpose? Or was it intentional?”
The question was extremely sharp, showing no regard for the person involved’s well-being.
It was clearly premeditated.
Song Xinyan, the elder sister, curved her lips into a smile, but still pretended to be concerned: “Please leave, we are not accepting interviews.”
Because Lin Ting was the President of the Lin Corporation, no one dared to provoke him.
It could be said that the media went insane, all targeting Song Xinyu to vent their frustration.
And Song Xinyu!
She actually pretended to faint, and even grabbed the reporter’s hand: “Call me an ambulance!”
The reporter: You haven’t even answered my question yet, how are you already faking it!
In the end, the situation escalated beyond control.
It alarmed the two Old Masters of the Lin Family and the Song Family.
That very night, the two Old Masters jointly changed their statement and announced the engagement: it would be between Lin Ting and Song Xinyu.
The wedding date was set for one month later.
At this time, three days had already passed since the “Catching-the-Cheater Incident.”
Yet Lin Ting was still somewhat absent-minded.
Even his most beloved work no longer held his interest.
The employees believed that President Lin was unhappy because his engagement partner had been changed, and thus he appeared gloomy.
Inside the office, Lin Ting was turning a pen over and over in his hand, unable to understand it no matter how hard he thought.
Why could he hear Song Xinyu’s inner voice, while others could not?
Why would she commit suicide, and he would also follow her in death?
Also!
The two words she kept mentioning—“Cannon Fodder”—he truly disliked them.
Just then, Assistant Xi came to ask: “Today is the family banquet at the Old Residence to discuss the marriage with the Song Family. Will you attend?”
Previously, when Song Xinyan was the fiancée, Lin Ting always refused to attend on the excuse of being busy with work.
Now that the fiancée had been changed to Song Xinyu, President Lin was even less likely to go.
Assistant Xi had only asked as a formality.
However, Lin Ting said: “Go.”
Assistant Xi: I don’t understand!
President Lin even left work early ahead of schedule!
The company’s top workaholic had, in an unprecedented move, left early.
He even had the driver take the car to the Song Family residence personally to pick up Miss Song.
Assistant Xi: President Lin has changed…
Lin Ting sat properly in the back seat with his long legs crossed, hands placed neatly on his knees. Even the tablet he usually used to check emails had been set aside.
Mm, he had already prepared himself—to eavesdrop.
But the person who got into the back seat was Song Xinyan.
She had been placed in the car by Mrs. Song. Facing Lin Ting, she looked slightly awkward and covered it with a smile: “Sorry, Lin Ting. Mom was worried that you and my sister might have conflicts if you were alone together, so she asked me to come along to ease the atmosphere.”
The words were properly phrased, but to Lin Ting, it sounded like she was deliberately stirring things up, as if he should be picking on Song Xinyu.
The innocent white lotus smile had no aggression and easily won people’s favor.
Lin Ting naturally said nothing.
Instead, he quietly waited for the other person.
However, half an hour passed, and Song Xinyu still had not arrived.
This was also intentional on Song Xinyan’s part—she had deliberately told her sister the wrong time by half an hour.
And Song Xinyu, knowing this, pretended not to know. She had never wanted to attend this Hongmen Banquet in the first place.
If the Lin Family driver refused to wait and left first, that would have been best.
However, unexpectedly, Lin Ting was extremely patient and waited.
Song Xinyan found it unbelievable. Lin Ting had always valued punctuality and hated people who were late. It was said that he never waited for anyone who was late.
So this time… why…
Father Song and the others had their own cars and left early.
Song Xinyu was the last to come out slowly, only to find that the car was still there…
Old Wang the driver enthusiastically got out of the car to greet her and opened the front passenger door for her.
Song Xinyu immediately understood. Song Xinyan had sat in the back seat.
【Song Xinyan is watching me closely, afraid I’ll be alone with Lin Ting and reveal the truth about that night… but if I’m being honest, she’s worrying too much. With my infamous reputation in elite circles, who would believe I’m innocent?】
Lin Ting couldn’t help but perk up his ears. She had not even gotten into the car yet, and he was already hearing her thoughts.
In truth, Song Xinyu quite liked complaining privately.
In reality, she was a musical genius who had become famous at a young age. The price she paid for that was speaking less and playing the violin more.
No one knew that she actually loved rambling thoughts.
Song Xinyu then sat in the front passenger seat beside Old Wang the driver and began complaining again:
【Why is Lin Ting here too? Didn’t he dislike this marriage?】
【In the original engagement with my sister, he was also dissatisfied and always made excuses not to attend family banquets.】
【Why is he suddenly so proactive now?】
Lin Ting: You tell me.
To be honest, sitting diagonally across made it a bit hard to hear clearly.
And seeing Song Xinyan’s gentle, delicate demeanor also made him feel inexplicably uncomfortable.
So Lin Ting opened the door and asked Old Wang to get off work early: “Master Wang, you can take a taxi home first.”
【Will this taxi be reimbursed?】someone wondered curiously.
Lin Ting twitched his mouth slightly and patted Old Wang’s shoulder: “Of course, the fare will be reimbursed.”
Thus, Lin Ting personally drove the car.
Song Xinyu ended up sitting beside him.
This made Song Xinyan in the back seat seem out of place.
Her expression stiffened slightly as she felt that something was off about Lin Ting.
Yes, there were too many things wrong about him.
Take the incident that night for example—he was clearly the one being schemed against, yet his emotions had been extremely stable.
In the end, he still restrained himself and protected his own innocence, which made Song Xinyan even more certain that the “white moonlight” in Lin Ting’s heart was extremely important.
It was precisely because she knew Lin Ting had a white moonlight that she had persuaded Aunt Jing to secretly send that white moonlight abroad overnight.
Yet Lin Ting still insisted on breaking off the engagement with her.
Even if she married into the Lin family, it would only be a source of trouble.
So Song Xinyan came up with this scheme.
She let her younger sister, who had always secretly admired Lin Ting, climb into bed.
Her reasoning was simple: if you like him, you should fight for him. I am your biological sister, of course I will support you unconditionally.
So Song Xinyu obediently did it.
But logically speaking, Lin Ting should have hated Song Xinyu deeply—she had nearly tarnished the innocence he had preserved for his white moonlight.
So how could he personally come to pick her up?
And moreover, agreeing to the marriage so easily?
She felt that everything was wrong, as if things had completely slipped out of her control.
Meanwhile, Song Xinyu also felt something was wrong.
【I don’t think I have such great charm that Lin Ting would willingly marry me.】
【According to the original plot, Lin Ting was supposed to hate me to the extreme. So why did he come to pick me up personally? And now he’s even driving me and sitting beside me? This was never in the original storyline.】
Lin Ting focused on driving while listening to Song Xinyu’s inner voice.
Yes—if he had not been able to hear her thoughts, he would definitely have hated her deeply. How could he possibly come pick her up?
Because he wanted to hear more of her inner thoughts—especially about his own ending.
For a moment, he did not know what to say.
The car fell into silence.
Song Xinyan knew Lin Ting was not someone who liked chatting, so she took the initiative to speak to her sister:
“Xiao Yu, when you meet the Elders of the Lin Family later, don’t be nervous. They are all very easy to get along with.”
【That’s because you are the perfect daughter-in-law in the elders’ eyes.】
【Unlike me—I’m just cannon fodder, of course I’m not liked…】
Through the rearview mirror, Lin Ting observed Song Xinyan. Indeed, at this moment, her posture was perfect, and even her smile was flawless. No wonder everyone called her the model of a noble young lady, the standard future daughter-in-law in the eyes of elders.
He braked at a red light.
With a moment of free time, he looked at Song Xinyu beside him.
Compared to her sister’s elegance and composure, she leaned loosely against the seat, sitting however she felt comfortable.
Her feet even swayed gently in rhythm with the car’s music.
The contrast was very clear.
As the car continued forward, Song Xinyan continued instructing gently: “Also, Aunt Jing may have some dissatisfaction with you. If she criticizes you a little, it’s for your own good. Don’t take it to heart.”
【Got it. So I’m supposed to endure it…】
“But don’t worry, I’ve got your back.”
However, in Song Xinyan’s true thoughts: those Elders of the Lin Family, aside from Old Master Lin, none of them liked her. Let’s see how she handles it.
【Don’t think I don’t know—you’re about to cause trouble again】