Chapter 132: Seeing Through but Not Speaking Out

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Qin Yu was an exceedingly clever man; he had hit the nail on the head with a single remark.

Lin Xi’s breathing stopped, and her pupils contracted.

Even though her reaction had lasted no more than an instant, Qin Yu had caught it with unerring precision.

It seemed his guess had been right.

Lin Xi kept her face expressionless, afraid he might detect something amiss. After thinking it over carefully, she said softly, “No.”

Qin Yu studied her eyes for several seconds, then suddenly gave a very faint laugh. “You’re lying.”

Lin Xi: “…”

The man’s eyes were dark and fathomless, as though they could see through everything.

Under his gaze, all of Lin Xi’s thoughts had nowhere to hide. At that moment, they lay utterly exposed before him.

The feeling of having not a single card left to play made Lin Xi uneasy.

Once again, she had gone from taking the initiative to being on the defensive.

Qin Yu had become the one in control of everything, just as he had been back then.

In those days, he had led her by the nose, and she had lived perpetually in his shadow.

After drawing a deep breath, Lin Xi smiled as well. “Third Brother, the way you’re doing this makes it very easy to lose friends.”

As the saying went, a friend who saw through you but did not say so was still a friend.

Yet Qin Yu insisted on pressing her at every turn.

“I only want to know whether it has anything to do with me. As for the rest—what exactly you wished for—I won’t ask.”

Lin Xi: “…”

He had already asked this far. How was that any different from asking about the wish itself?

“Move aside first.” She raised a hand to push him away, but when her fingers touched his chest, it was as though she had been scalded. She pulled back at once.

Qin Yu retreated to a safer distance.

With one of them standing and the other sitting, it truly was not a good position for conversation.

Lin Xi had just prepared to brace herself against the armrest and stand when a shadow fell before her, blocking the light above her head. She froze for a moment. The next second, she saw Qin Yu bend down and slowly crouch in front of her.

He was kneeling on one knee.

Her cheeks, already flushed from the alcohol, grew several degrees warmer.

Lin Xi edged backward and was forced to lean against the chair, putting distance between them as she tried to draw herself into a safe little enclosure.

“Why don’t we stand up and talk?”

If the elders happened to catch sight of them like this, then even if their relationship had not yet taken its first step, someone would have drawn the first stroke already.

“Did Grandmother say something to you?”

Qin Yu could clearly sense that Lin Xi was no longer quite so resistant to him.

She still kept her distance and avoided his eyes, but there was no longer any obvious rejection in her actions.

That was why he suspected her grandparents must have spoken to her about something that day.

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“…” The way he kept guessing things was truly infuriating. Lin Xi pressed her lips together, then decided to throw caution to the wind. “We talked a little. It’s not as if you don’t know how much they like you.”

“And what about you?”

“…”

This time, Lin Xi did not answer. Instead, she gave him an ambiguous reply. “I have my own thoughts.”

She looked straight into his eyes and refused to follow his lead any further. “Third Brother, you don’t need to keep asking. When the time comes, everything will have an answer.”

On the way back from Lin City, Lin Xi had already made up her mind.

She now had her own plans.

Throughout the journey, she had carefully examined the relationship between them as it stood and thought seriously about the future.

She had her own considerations.

But for now, she had no intention of laying all her cards on the table with Qin Yu.

—

After seeing the elders off, Lin Xi sank back against the sofa and let out a long breath. She laid an arm across her forehead, trying to ease her headache.

She had already taken medicine to sober up, but the aftereffects of the alcohol were setting in, and she still felt rather uncomfortable.

“Xi Xi.”

Suddenly, her Second Brother called out to her.

Lin Xi opened her eyes. Seeing Zhou Jingheng emerge from the dining room, she hurriedly tried to stand.

“It’s all right. Stay seated. We can talk sitting down.”

“Okay.”

Lin Xi watched him sit beside her.

Only the two of them remained in the living room. Zhou Jingheng had an average tolerance for alcohol and had not drunk much that evening, so there was not the slightest trace of intoxication on his face. His eyes were perfectly clear, making a striking contrast with Lin Xi.

“My parents will probably be returning to the capital the day after tomorrow.”

“Really?” Lin Xi stared at him in surprise. “Has it been confirmed? Are your aunt and uncle both coming back?”

“Yes.” Zhou Jingheng nodded. “They mentioned it when we spoke on the phone this afternoon. But they’re only coming back for a visit. They’ll stay for two days.”

Lin Xi nodded. “Then I’ll take another two days off.”

“No need.” Seeing how obedient she looked, Zhou Jingheng could not help smiling.

“Of those two days, just see which evening you’re free and have dinner with us. They want to meet you.”

Over the past few years, Zhou Jingheng’s parents had returned to the capital every year. Their schedules were never fixed, and they could not stay long, but each time they came back, they would visit the family compound to see everyone.

So this time, there were only two people they especially wanted to see: Zhou Jingheng himself and Lin Xi.

“I’m free anytime. It doesn’t have to be in the evening.”

There was no way she could claim not to have time when the elders wanted to see her.

Even if she were busy, she would have to make every effort to set some time aside.

“Are Aunt and Uncle arriving at the airport, or somewhere else? I’ll go pick them up with you, Second Brother.”

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Seeing that she truly was available, Zhou Jingheng thought for a moment and did not refuse.

Once everything had been settled, Lin Xi immediately informed Engineer Chen and the others.

At first, she had said she would only take those two days off. Now she had promptly contradicted herself.

Engineer Chen replied at once: “It’s fine, Engineer Lin. Take care of your own affairs. Don’t worry about the company.”

Lin Xi thanked him and put away her phone.

Since she had to visit Lin Chen the next day, Cheng Si and the others did not stay out too late that evening. They dispersed shortly after nine.

Lin Xi had no intention of staying at the compound that night. Everything she had brought for Lin Chen was at her apartment.

If she stayed there, she would have to go back and get it the next morning, which would be completely out of the way.

As they drove out of the compound, Lin Xi spotted Lu Bei at a glance from inside the car.

“What are you looking at?”

They were both seated in the back. From where Qin Yu sat, he could not see the view on her side very clearly.

“…Nothing.”

Lin Xi thought about it, but decided not to mention Lu Bei’s name after all. There was no need.

Bringing him up would only create trouble for herself.

She truly could not understand what Lu Bei was so determined about.

Had she not rejected him firmly enough? Or had Bai Xu’s warning last time been too mild?

What on earth was that man thinking?

After so long, she had nearly forgotten he existed, and yet he had appeared again.

Lin Xi was naturally quite satisfied with herself, but she did not consider herself so beautiful that Lu Bei had to have her and no one else.

There had been plenty of people who liked her. During her years abroad, she had encountered a new admirer every few days.

But no one had ever pursued her with Lu Bei’s persistence.

When she rejected someone, she never left any room for misunderstanding. Everyone understood what she meant.

As a result, no one continued wasting time on her.

Lu Bei, however, seemed hopelessly single-minded. Once he had set his heart on her, he could not even be bothered to change his target.

A serious injury took a hundred days to heal. Judging by the time that had passed, his leg had probably only recently recovered—and he had come looking for her again.

She felt not the slightest bit moved. All Lin Xi felt was that her headache had grown worse.

—

Early the next morning, Lin Xi had finished washing and dressing by six o’clock and stood in the corridor waiting for Qin Yu.

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