23 – She is minе, frоm сhildhооd tо аdulthood.
“Моrеоvеr, my daughter wаs еven beаten!”
Chеn Zhijin tооk оut а tаblet frоm thе briеfсase bеhind him, swiped the scrееn, and shоwеd it tо Lu Jin.
Нis fingеrs tremblеd аs hе supprеssеd his fury tо maintain his last shrеd of сomposurе.
Thе silver strаnds аt his templеs bore the mаrks оf timе.
Аged and wеаrу.
Сhen Qingzhi sensеd somеthing amiss in the rеstaurant’s аtmosphеre and returnеd tо thе tablе, оnly to seе Chеn Zhijin’s tаblet memо filled with news аbout hеr frоm thе pаst two daуs.
Lu Jin had supрrеssеd the trending searches quickly, аnd shе thought her parеnts hаdn’t seen them.
It turnеd оut only Zhou Fan hadn’t seen them.
Chen Zhijin had actually documented the entire incident, along with the speculative traces picked up by gossip accounts.
Lu Jin lowered his head, frowning, lost in thought.
He had always been proud, and being reprimanded like this by Chen Zhijin must have been hard for him.
The trouble was caused by Chen Qingzhi, and he had been dragged into it.
The Lu family hadn’t fared well in the aftermath either.
Unsure how to explain, Chen Qingzhi sat down beside her father:
“Dad, what are you doing? The hype has already passed.”
She sniffled, gently patted Chen Zhijin’s arm, and whispered comfortingly:
“Dad, that’s just how it is in the life of a female celebrity.”
“I’m fine. That perverted director is already behind bars.”
“You even saved all this in your memo—aren’t you afraid of giving yourself a stroke?”
Hearing that last joke, Chen Zhijin pretended to hit Chen Qingzhi:
“I was planning to hire a legal team to sue those rumor-mongers!”
Chen Qingzhi nestled her head against Chen Zhijin’s shoulder:
“Alright, Dad. Suing them would only backfire. This kind of gossip blows over in a few days.”
Chen Zhijin withdrew his hand, his tone shifting slightly:
“But I still can’t bear it. My daughter has been wronged.”
His eyes reddened as he sighed, resting his forehead in his hand—a stark contrast to the spirited old man who had returned home earlier.
Chen Qingzhi had stolen the household register to marry Lu Jin back then.
He couldn’t stop her, but he demanded that Lu Jin love and protect her unconditionally.
Hoping his daughter would be the happiest little princess in the world was a difficult request.
He trusted Lu Jin, believing he could fulfill it.
Now, it seemed things hadn’t gone as planned.
“Ah Jin, your Lu family isn’t short of a daughter-in-law. If living together is truly too difficult for both of you, I suggest you separate.”
Most of the rumors online were malicious speculations by gossip accounts.
But where there’s smoke, there’s fire—some conclusions were drawn after careful scrutiny of the facts.
With Chen Zhijin’s life experience, he could tell at a glance whether there was a rift between the couple.
Even though society in the country had low tolerance and rigid stereotypes toward divorced women,
he didn’t want his daughter trapped in an unhappy marriage.
Lu Jin never defended himself throughout. It was unclear whether he was drunk or felt wronged by Chen Zhijin’s reprimand.
From start to finish, he remained unusually silent, just like the day Lu Mingze passed away.
It wasn’t until Chen Zhijin said, “I suggest you separate,” that he suddenly looked up.
His blurred vision gradually cleared, replaced by Chen Qingzhi’s graceful figure.
Alcohol always reveals one’s true nature.
He set aside his usual composed, faint smile, his gaze growing dark and menacing.
His deep-set eyes were also tinged with bloodshot streaks.
“We won’t separate.”
Lu Jin’s tone was icy, as if forgetting who was sitting across from him:
“Chen Qingzhi can only be mine. She always has been, since we were kids.”Chen Qingzhi was taken aback. Lu Jin was usually glib and smooth-talking, yet at critical moments, he clung stubbornly to his pride.
She couldn’t tell whether he was putting on an act in front of Chen Zhijin.
She waved her hand in front of Lu Jin’s eyes:
“Hey, are you… drunk?”
Lu Jin blinked, reached out, and gently grasped her fingertips, rubbing them softly:
“Dad’s drunk.”
He tilted his chin toward Chen Zhijin:
“I’ll help him back to his room to rest.”
Chen Qingzhi turned to look. Sure enough, Chen Zhijin was slumped in his chair, eyes half-closed, breathing heavily, with a faint snore.
Just moments ago, he had been both angry and upset.
Now he had fallen asleep in an instant.
Lu Jin released Chen Qingzhi’s fingers and stood up unsteadily.
One half-drunk man helped another completely unconscious drunk back to bed.
“You could’ve gone easy on him! My dad’s fifty-five, and you still tried to outdrink him!”
Chen Qingzhi felt genuinely sorry for Chen Zhijin. Lu Jin, accustomed to socializing and entertaining, had a high alcohol tolerance.
Her father’s capacity was no match for his.
“I think you should be the one feeling sorry for your husband. Old Chen drank half a glass, and he matched it with three.”
Zhou Fan, after sending the two children away, returned to clean up the mess. She brewed a sobering tea and handed it to Chen Qingzhi to give to Lu Jin:
“Why don’t you stay here tonight? These two reckless drinkers—if anything happens, we can help each other out.”
Chen Qingzhi initially wanted to refuse, but when she turned and saw Lu Jin lying on the bed, rubbing his temples and looking utterly exhausted, she had no choice but to agree.
“Go change him into this. Wearing formal clothes must be uncomfortable.”
Lu Jin had just entered Chen Qingzhi’s room.
It was the first time he had walked in so openly through the main door.
Even without turning on the lights, he remembered the placement of every piece of furniture.
The young girl’s bedroom was filled with pink elements.
Limited-edition Disney princess figurines were neatly arranged in the cabinet.
Posters and stickers of the boy bands and idols she had once been obsessed with covered an entire wall.
Because of these, Chen Qingzhi had been scolded by Zhou Fan more than once.
Each time, she would run tearfully to his house to take refuge.
Chen Qingzhi hugged the pajamas Zhou Fan had given her, closed the door, and turned on the light.
Lu Jin leaned against the bed, a mischievous smile on his lips, unusually quiet.
Remembering what he had said to Chen Zhijin at the dinner table, Chen Qingzhi looked at him, confused and wanting an explanation.
But she didn’t know where to start.
Lu Jin was also looking at her.
Their gazes tangled in the soft pink-orange glow of the light.
For a long while, he didn’t look away.
“Go change into the pajamas in the bathroom.”
Chen Qingzhi tossed the clothes at him.
Lu Jin’s eyebrows lifted ever so slightly:
“Sleep together?”
“What else?”
Chen Qingzhi turned the air conditioning to its highest setting and pulled a thin blanket from the bed:
“The bed is a bit small. Make do with it. I’ll sleep on the sofa.”
“…”
The last shred of Lu Jin’s rationality vanished.
It seemed she hadn’t understood his meaning at all.
“Come here.”
The young master issued a command to Chen Qingzhi.
“Spit it out if you have something to say.”
Chen Qingzhi couldn’t be bothered with him and continued spreading the blanket on the sofa.
Lu Jin was utterly exasperated:
“No gratitude at all. I flew all the way back from abroad to help you fight, and even got scolded by Dad. And you haven’t shown any appreciation?”
“How have I not shown appreciation? Didn’t I say thank you?”
He had used this to play the victim twice in two days. She wished she hadn’t asked for his help in the first place!
Lu Jin persisted:
“What’s the use of a verbal thank-you? Where’s the sincerity?”
“Then what do you want?” Chen Qingzhi glanced up at him.
“Come here.”Lu Jin patted the bed. “Sleep with me.”
He curved his lips, his peach blossom eyes gleaming with an unfathomable depth.
Chen Qingzhi recalled the time when they were eighteen or nineteen, first exploring intimacy.
He had been just like this—unrestrained and bold, his gaze filled with undisguised desire when he looked at her.
After they broke up, she heard there were other girls who had been with him.
In the prime of youth, what man could resist?
Had he looked at other women with that same gaze?
Chen Qingzhi clenched her hand, her fingertips digging slightly into the skin of her palm.
“Too dirty. Sleep alone.”
Men and women think in completely different ways. Lu Jin pressed further.
“If I take a shower, then it’s okay?”