Chapter 36 She No Longer Needed Him

Lin Xi stood at the doorway, gazing at Qin Yu from a distance, her expression blank.

She had always considered herself a clever person, but for some reason, the moment Qin Yu said those words, her mind seemed to short-circuit. She kept mulling over his sentence, sparks flying in her mind as her thoughts collided, trying to reconnect and quickly analyze the hidden meaning behind his words.

What is he, really? A good question.

Of course, he was the esteemed young master of a prominent family—what else could he be?

Qin Yu’s eyes were deep and unreadable, his narrow gaze concealing emotions she couldn’t decipher. He simply looked at her quietly, giving her no chance to evade.

Meeting his eyes, Lin Xi smiled faintly. “If outsiders heard what you just said, they’d probably think I’d done something utterly rebellious to you, Third Brother.”

“Besides, you treated me so well before. My memory isn’t that bad—I haven’t forgotten it all.”

A tidal wave surged within her heart, ravaging her inner world, yet Lin Xi’s face remained calm and composed.

Her eyes held a cool detachment. “Especially what happened that year—I haven’t forgotten any of it.”

“So if you ever need anything from me in the future, just ask.”

Yes, Lin Xi had to admit, Qin Yu had been very good to her. She never denied it. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have so foolishly thought he might like her back.

At her words, the man sitting in the chair curved his lips into a smile, its meaning ambiguous. Lin Xi had no idea what he found amusing. Since he made no move to leave, she no longer urged him, but said frankly,

“But you really don’t need to look after me the way you used to. I’m perfectly capable of living independently now. I can tell right from wrong, and I can bear the consequences of my actions.”

“Third Brother, you can’t keep treating me like the child I once was, the one who only knew to hide behind you when things went wrong.”

She didn’t need him anymore.

—

Back at the hotel, Lin Xi sprawled on the bed and let out a long sigh.

Her mind had started working again, but she didn’t want to ponder Qin Yu’s words any further. Whatever he meant, she didn’t care to know.

One question always led to another, or even many more. She couldn’t let herself fall into another vicious cycle—who knew how long it would take to climb back out?

A waste of time.

She had drunk quite a bit at the dinner earlier. On the way back, she was already dizzy. She hadn’t been lying on the bed long before sleepiness overtook her. Hugging her blanket, she drifted off, forgetting even to take off her heels.

She had no idea how much time passed before a knocking at the door entered her dreams, growing clearer and clearer. She slowly opened her eyes, at first thinking it was already the next morning.

Had she slept that long?

It took her a while staring at her phone to realize it was only ten at night, not ten in the morning...

The knocking persisted outside. Annoyed, Lin Xi got up from bed, forgetting she was still wearing heels. As she stood, she twisted her right ankle.

A sharp hiss escaped her lips—the pain instantly woke her up.

—

A hotel staff member had waited at her door for some time before it finally opened from within.

“Miss Lin...”

Meeting Lin Xi’s unfriendly gaze, the staff member paused, immediately falling silent.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Well, a gentleman asked the hotel to bring you some hangover soup, and he also left this for you—he said you forgot it earlier.”

The staff handed her a paper bag from the cart. Lin Xi stared at it for a moment, then reached out to take it, stepping aside to let them bring in the soup.

She opened the bag and saw inside a Richard Mille crystal diamond watch.

She touched her wrist, only then realizing her watch was missing. Recalling carefully, she remembered taking it off during the first round of drinks, leaving it on the table. She’d meant to take off her bracelet too, but changed her mind and put it back on.

She’d left in a hurry because of Qin Yu, not even noticing she’d forgotten her watch.

“Where’s the person who brought this?” Lin Xi called after the staff member as they turned to leave.

“That gentleman? He returned to his room.”

“He’s staying here too?” What exactly was Qin Yu up to?

“Yes.” The staff, catching on that their relationship wasn’t simple, didn’t bother to hide anything. “Mr. Qin is staying just one floor above you.”

“…Alright, thank you.”

—

Back in her room, Lin Xi finished the hangover soup and collapsed onto the sofa, kicking off her heels. Bending down to rub her ankle, she found it didn’t hurt much—just a bit when she walked.

She only wanted to rest now and didn’t dwell on the incident. She took a quick shower, removed her makeup, and went straight to bed.

When she woke the next morning, her ankle was already swollen.

The heels she’d worn last night weren’t even that high. She tried moving her ankle—fortunately, the bone wasn’t injured.

She called the front desk, and the hotel promptly sent up ice packs and spray, also asking if she needed to go to the hospital.

“No need, it’s a minor issue.”

Once they left, Lin Xi iced her ankle for a while, then applied the spray.

—

Her plans to go out were now completely ruined.

She’d said she didn’t like going out, but Cheng Sifei had insisted she stay and explore the city. Now, she really had no reason to leave her room.

After a simple lunch, Lin Xi rescheduled her high-speed train ticket home.

Her assistant had returned to Beijing early that morning for work. Lin Xi had planned to leave tonight, but now she could only stay another day.

—

In Beijing, at Feiyun’s R&D Department One.

With Lin Xi absent, Cheng Si had no choice but to call a meeting with Engineer Chen, his second-in-command.

Halfway through the briefing, Engineer Chen’s phone, lying on the table, began to ring.

From his seat at the head of the table, Cheng Si clicked his tongue, tapping his pen against the table. “What’s going on with you?”

Engineer Chen explained that he’d forgotten to silence his phone. The meeting was impromptu—he’d rushed straight from the lab with his materials. Besides, nobody ever called him during working hours, so he hadn’t thought to mute it.

He signaled to his assistant to turn off the phone.

The assistant glanced at the screen and asked, “It’s Engineer Lin calling—should I hang up?”

Engineer Chen grunted in confusion but didn’t answer. Instead, he looked to Cheng Si, testing, “Director Cheng, should I take it?”

Cheng Si had to make the call, after all.

As expected, Cheng Si pointed at the phone with his pen, signaling him to answer.

Engineer Chen jogged over, and just before picking up, Cheng Si added, “Put it on speaker.”

“Got it!”

“Hello? Hey, Engineer Lin, it’s me. Are you still in Huaicheng?”

“Yes, I’m not coming back tonight. I’ll be taking another day off. If there’s any work issue, we can discuss it by phone.”

“You’re staying in Huaicheng another day?”

Lin Xi confirmed, explaining, “A little accident came up, so I can’t return today.”

At that, Cheng Si, who’d been eavesdropping, tossed his pen at Engineer Chen, who looked back at him in confusion.