Chapter 31 Part 3

Wei Jing snorted coldly. "You guys are all in this together, right? You're so sure even before seeing the footage. Careful, I'll expose you police for colluding with a big star!"

Lu Xihe was about to curse back, but Wang Qi interrupted the argument with a few "hey, heys." "Let's talk this out calmly, let's talk this out calmly."

Lin Qingye's expression was calm. He leaned against a wall, fiddling with an unlit cigarette between his fingers.

He looked at Xu Zhinan standing beside him and beckoned lazily. "Come here."

Xu Zhinan hesitated for a moment but still walked over to him.

Lin Qingye pulled up the hood of her sweatshirt, covering her ears, as if no one else was there. "Don't listen to that idiot talk."

Xu Zhinan remembered what Wang Qi had just said about his parents being here, and his action made her feel even more uncomfortable. The roots of her ears turned red.

Wei Jing caught the word "idiot" from his mouth. Emboldened by the bloody gauze on his head, which was conclusive evidence, he became even more arrogant, his mouth filled with foul curses.

Lin Qingye grabbed her wrist and pulled her behind him.

"Believe it or not, I have plenty of ways to make you shut up," he said in a low voice, yet it carried the weight of an impending storm.

Wei Jing recalled the unhesitating look on his face when he swung the pipe in the parking lot and was momentarily rendered speechless.

"Lin Qingye." The beautiful woman who had been standing in the corner finally spoke. She walked up to him in her high heels. "How old are you? Don't you have any sense of proportion? Why are you still the same as before?"

Fu Xueming glittered even in the police station.

Xu Zhinan stood behind Lin Qingye and looked at Fu Xueming, having to admit that his mother was indeed very beautiful, with a unique charm.

"I don't care if you have no shame for yourself. I couldn't be bothered if you beat someone or kill someone. But your father and I still have our reputations! I'm begging you, think about me and your father!"

Lin Guancheng tried to mediate. "Alright, alright, don't get so angry."

Lin Qingye raised his chin slightly and laughed self-deprecatingly. "Oh, so you still know I'm your son."

Suddenly, a sharp "slap" sound rang out.

Fu Xueming's palm swung down. The woman's chest heaved. For some reason, she had exploded in anger, her voice sharp, all her former elegance and nobility gone.

"Did you think I wanted a son like you?"

Everyone around them was stunned. Even Wei Jing didn't see this coming. Lu Xihe took the cigarette from his mouth and unconsciously stood up straight.

Xu Zhinan was the same, completely caught off guard by this scene.

Although she had heard from Ji Yan before that Lin Qingye had a bad relationship with his family, she never expected it to be a situation where they would suddenly resort to violence.

Even though what happened in the parking lot was indeed too impulsive of Lin Qingye, he wasn't the one who started it.

How could she just slap him like that without distinguishing right from wrong?

Lin Qingye's head was knocked to the side by the slap, and he didn't move for a long time.

No one else knew what to say, and it fell silent for a moment.

Fu Xueming's eyes were full of disgust, showing no regret for the slap she had delivered in anger. She glared at him and said coldly, "Even if you died, you'd deserve it."

Lin Qingye's tongue swept over his back molars. He straightened up again. "Fine."

He took a step back, looked at Fu Xueming, and scoffed. "Too bad I can't grant your wish."

After speaking, he looked at Lu Xihe, then gestured with his chin toward Xu Zhinan. "Trouble you to take her home."

Then he turned and left.

Lin Guancheng frowned and scolded Fu Xueming. "Why did you have to say all that again?"

Fu Xueming was filled with hatred, her eyes red-rimmed. "Look at him! Does he show any remorse at all?"

It was clearly quiet around them, with only the voices of Lin Guancheng and Fu Xueming, but to Xu Zhinan, it felt incredibly noisy and chaotic.

She looked at Lin Qingye's retreating back and suddenly felt a sense of desolation.

She remembered the day he came to her shop drunk, his eyes scarlet as he asked her, "Do you think I'm pathetic?"

Xu Zhinan's feet moved, and she finally ran after him.

The warm summer night breeze blew gently.

Just as Lin Qingye got into the car, the passenger door was pulled open. Xu Zhinan bent down slightly and looked at him quietly, seeming to search his face for any sign of sadness or pain.

She failed.

Lin Qingye's expression was indifferent. He turned his head slightly and asked in a low voice, "What are you doing here?"

Xu Zhinan didn't even know why she had run over. She just subconsciously felt that she couldn't let Lin Qingye go back like this. She had run too fast just now, and her knee was starting to ache.

Unable to think of a reason, she simply got into the car.

"I'm not taking you," Lin Qingye said. "Let Lu Xihe or that cop take you back."

He didn't look at her. His hands were on the steering wheel, his gaze fixed ahead. Fu Xueming's slap had been forceful. The redness was now showing, along with a thin scratch from her fingernail. Coupled with his naturally pale skin, the red marks were even more conspicuous, like some kind of shameful seal stamped on his face.

The hair on his forehead was a bit messy. He lowered his head slightly, blocking the cool moonlight that fell on his profile, making it dark and unclear.

It hid the marks on the young man's face and... his insecurity.

Xu Zhinan suddenly felt like she was beginning to understand. In the online interview video from during the day, when Lin Qingye said, "Back then, I was quite insecure," why he had shown such a helpless and resigned smile.

He had relied on his outstanding talent to stand on stage, shining brightly, with screams and applause like a tsunami below. He had walked out of that dark, endless snowy night from six years ago.

He had also finally mustered the courage to say to Xu Zhinan, "Let me like you one more time."

But his mother had stripped away his newly rebuilt self-esteem in front of everyone.

A young man's pride is both tough and fragile. He was split off and isolated from that family, trying to rebuild an impenetrable fortress with his pride, but at this moment, it still shattered into a pile of rubble.

And it was right in front of Xu Zhinan.

So he once again showed her a side of resistance.

Xu Zhinan tried her best not to stare at the slap mark on his face and asked softly, "Are you okay?"

"Get out of the car," he insisted stubbornly.

Xu Zhinan didn't move. No one else from the police station came out, probably busy handling other matters.

Lin Qingye turned his head to look at her. "If you don't get out now, you're coming back with me. Don't cry then."

Xu Zhinan froze. She felt that his current state wasn't normal, even though his face showed nothing. Just as she was hesitating, the car doors locked, and Lin Qingye sped away.

In the bizarre and colorful nightlife of Yan City, a black sports car sped past, driving all the way to the underground parking garage of Mingqi Apartment.

Xu Zhinan was dragged by the wrist, stumbling all the way to the door of his apartment.

He entered the password, opened the door, and she was pushed against the wall by her shoulders.

The lights were off, and the living room curtains were drawn tightly. She couldn't see him clearly, only feel Lin Qingye's oppressive aura getting closer and closer.

In the end, even though she and Lin Qingye had broken up, the Lin Qingye in her heart had always been calm and self-possessed. It was only at this moment that she began to feel afraid.

His hands pressed on her shoulders with great force, and he pushed his leg between hers.

"Lin Qingye," Xu Zhinan used all her strength to push against his shoulders, "calm down."

The sharp scent of tobacco on him swept over her. Xu Zhinan turned her head away, her whole body pressed almost seamlessly against the wall.

She let out a whimpering sound, biting her lower lip tightly, her voice laced with the verge of tears. "Don't be like this."

Suddenly, with a "click," the surroundings lit up.

Lin Qingye had reached up and pressed the light switch above her head.

Then he sighed. The oppressive hostility gradually receded. He leaned down and gently pulled her into his arms.

Xu Zhinan's body was stiff as she stood there, stunned.

He raised a hand to stroke her back, let out a breath, and his voice softened. "Just let me hold you for a bit, okay?"

But Xu Zhinan didn't relax so quickly. She just let him bend over and envelop her in his embrace. He lowered his head, burying it in the crook of her neck.

The young man's profile was still red, held in a vulnerable embrace.

"I'm sorry." His eyes were pressed against her shoulder, his voice a little muffled. "I scared you, didn't I?"

He straightened up, his back still hunched. He cupped her face with his palm and gently fiddled with her full lower lip.

She had instinctively bitten her lip when she was scared, her teeth sinking into the flesh. It was now a deep crimson.

The hostility and grimness faded, and he coaxed her gently:

"Don't bite."

"Ah Nan."