Falling After Marriage - Chapter 42

Chapter 42: The Madwoman’s Most Vulnerable Side 

The old roads of the old city were desolate at midnight. Aside from a few dimly flickering streetlights, not a single person could be seen.

With a heavy rain imminent, there were few private cars on the road, let alone taxis operating.

Cheng Sangluo stood alone by the roadside, waiting for a long time but unable to catch a ride.

Unbeknownst to her, she looked incredibly anxious right now. Her silhouette, stretched long by the streetlights, paced back and forth, containing a kind of ridicule—ridiculing the absurdity of her being nervous for the madwoman.

After looking around, Cheng Sangluo ran to the area where shared electric scooters were parked.

She quickly scanned one, carelessly put on the plastic helmet, and rode towards the cross-sea bridge.

As the scooter just entered the main bridge road, a purple-red lightning bolt split the wide horizon, followed by a rumbling roar.

The night wind howled, rolling up dust across the world, accompanied by the endless, abyssal black sea in the darkness. It felt like the end of the world had arrived, causing a sense of despair.

Cheng Sangluo hunched her back, accelerating the scooter to its maximum speed.

Every time the lightning and thunder ripped across the sky, her heart inexplicably clenched in her throat.

Soon, raindrops began to fall sparsely, as if testing the ground. Starting with one or two drops, it quickly turned into a downpour.

The wind drove the rain against Cheng Sangluo’s face, forming streams of water that ran down her clear cheeks.

In that short time, she was soaked to the bone. She gripped the handlebars to control the direction while constantly wiping away the rain that obstructed her vision.

After finally managing to ride to the entrance of Linxitai, she immediately ran to the guard post to register.

Normally, she entered and exited in Lin Jin’s luxury car, and the security guards only recognized the car, not the face. Seeing her soaked and miserable appearance, clearly not a quý resident of the compound, they intentionally created difficulties: “If you’re not a resident, you can’t enter. Registration is useless. Give me the floor and apartment number; I need to call the owner.”

As if Lin Jin’s floor and apartment number were etched into her bones, Cheng Sangluo answered smoothly.

Hearing the landline in the guard post continuously ringing busy, she nervously swallowed, quickly pulling out her phone to text Lin Jin.

However, her old, broken smartphone had been soaked in her pocket and was now nearing its end at this crucial moment.

Cheng Sangluo kept slapping the phone, but the screen wouldn’t light up. She could only turn back and ask the guard: “Aren’t they picking up the phone?”

The guard was careless with his work. After listening to the busy signal for a while, he hung up the receiver, “How about you try to contact them yourself again?”

“My phone is broken, can you please let me in, big brother?”

“Hey, it’s not that I’m trying to make things difficult for you. No one can guarantee your safety if I let you in.” The guard was impatient and dismissively urged: “Go on, don’t make things hard for me.”

Cheng Sangluo didn’t argue further. She wiped the rainwater from her nose, turned around dejectedly, and pretended to leave.

She wasn’t actually going to leave; she was planning to brazenly force her way in.

During their brief exchange just now, she had figured out many things.

For example, there were only two guards, both sheltering from the rain in the guard post, so she could catch them off guard.

For example, how fast she needed to run past the gate barrier to have enough time to open the building’s electronic door.

And for example, what to do if the two guards called for more people and chased her relentlessly?

Cheng Sangluo had a rough plan. While the two guards were chatting, she suddenly sprinted, supported herself on the gate barrier, and vaulted over it.

She had long legs and was quick, managing a brilliant break-in right under the guards’ noses.

Her feet landed steadily, and she immediately launched into a full sprint, leaving a blur of motion.

“Stop right there!” The security guard left behind shouted loudly. Unable to keep up, he grabbed his walkie-talkie to call for backup.

Everything was within Cheng Sangluo’s prediction. She gave herself a few seconds to input the electronic door code, but a group of security guards quickly caught up.

Cheng Sangluo pulled the door open and dashed inside. She didn’t wait for the elevator, instead plunging into the eerie emergency stairwell.

Climbing a dozen floors in one go was hard physical labor. She dared not stop, only running upwards relentlessly. The sound of footsteps behind her was chaotic.

“Stop! If you don’t listen, we will call the police!” The security guard chased without stopping, cursing how Cheng Sangluo had such good stamina.

Cheng Sangluo was single-minded. Whatever she wanted to do, she would see it through. Hearing the threat of calling the police didn’t make her stop.

She truly didn’t dare stop. Security guards were surely taking the elevator to cut her off upstairs, so she had to speed up and keep running.

This process was incredibly difficult. Although it was only a dozen floors, it felt as long as a century.

When she reached Lin Jin’s floor, she gasped for breath but didn’t relax, running with difficulty to the door and pounding on it repeatedly, “Lin Jin! Open the door!”

After knocking for a long time, she didn’t hear any footsteps inside. Cheng Sangluo was annoyed that she hadn’t paid attention to the electronic lock code before.

Even so, she didn’t regret making this trip, risking being taken to the police station for questioning.

Seeing a horde of security guards rushing towards her, Cheng Sangluo could only tightly grip the door lock, refusing to let go, “I really am a friend of this household. I have an urgent matter with her. Please be accommodating.”

“Accommodating? Do you know that breaking in without permission is illegal?” The security guard also gasped, furiously grabbing her arm and pulling hard.

“Lin Jin, open the door!” Cheng Sangluo had no other choice but to keep shouting: “Lin Jin? Lin Jin, are you there?”

“Stop making a racket in the middle of the night!” She didn’t know which guard struck her, but a punch landed on the back of Cheng Sangluo’s head, “Let go of the door!”

Cheng Sangluo became stubborn and simply refused to let go.

After this standoff lasted a moment, with the sound of the lock clicking, the door was opened by the person inside.

As the door opened, Cheng Sangluo fell backward with momentum, collapsing like dominoes onto the group of security guards behind her.

Lin Jin stood leaning against the door frame, wearing a loose bathrobe, her collar naturally revealing a glimpse of her delicate charm.

Her expression was calm, but her face was terrible, looking even paler against the bright indoor light.

The arrogant woman’s gaze was habitually contemptuous, looking down at the group of people sprawled on the floor. Her eyes finally fixed on the splayed Cheng Sangluo.

She raised an eyebrow, and a knowing smile curved her lips, amused that the ‘puppy’ had come uninvited in the storm, and with such a grand spectacle.

“Miss Lin, we are very sorry. This person claimed to be your friend, but trespassed by forcing the gate. We chased her all the way here and disturbed your rest. We apologize sincerely!” The head of security apologized sheepishly, then turned and waved his hand, instructing others to quickly take Cheng Sangluo away, “Go, go, off to the police station.”

Lin Jin’s mind was still in a daze, and she hadn’t fully grasped the situation.

She had initially intended to make things difficult for Cheng Sangluo, but upon hearing the words “police station,” she immediately called out: “Stop. She is indeed my friend.”

Cheng Sangluo seized the moment the security guards relaxed, darting into the door like a slippery loach.

She stood behind Lin Jin, popping out half her head, pouting: “I told you, but you didn’t believe me.”

The naughty and mischievous puppy.JPG

Lin Jin crossed her arms over her chest, looked at the group of grim-faced security guards, and said indifferently: “Aren’t you leaving yet?”

The madwoman: This dog is under my protection.

The farce ended, and everything returned to calm.

Lin Jin closed the door, turned to look at the soaking wet puppy, and teased: “Who was it yesterday who said they wouldn’t meet until the debt agreement expired?”

“I did.” Cheng Sangluo stood stiffly in place, not avoiding the topic, “I was passing by and just dropped in to see you.”

“Oh, just dropped in to see me.” Lin Jin found the absurd excuse amusing, “How much of a ‘just dropped in’ was it to cause such chaos with the property management?”

Cheng Sangluo had rushed all the way, running until sweat mixed with rainwater, and suddenly realized she didn’t know why she had done all this.

She looked down at the water stain left on the tile by her soaked shoes, muttering: “It’s good that you’re fine. I’m leaving.”

“You went through all this trouble, as if crossing mountains and rivers, and now you’re just leaving?” Lin Jin blocked the door. There was no way she would easily let the puppy go.

Boom—

A deafening thunderclap suddenly sounded, making Lin Jin twitch her shoulder.

She subconsciously pressed her back against the door, her brow furrowed to the extreme, and pleaded in a low voice: “Don’t go… you can’t go…”

Cheng Sangluo noticed her emotional state was off. Since she had already come, she shouldn’t waste the money spent renting the scooter. She reached out and poked the madwoman’s forehead, “You fear nothing, yet you’re afraid of thunder. Why?”

Lin Jin didn’t want to talk about it. She impatiently swatted the hand away and walked straight towards the living room, “Then you tell me first, why did you suddenly come to find me? Did you miss me, or did you want to sleep with me?”

Sure enough, nothing pleasant came out of that woman’s mouth.

Cheng Sangluo bent down to change into slippers, specifically rolling up her trouser legs a few times to avoid dirtying the floor.

“Who knows?” She followed Lin Jin, shrugging indifferently. She couldn’t explain this kind of thing clearly anyway.

It was evident that Cheng Sangluo was in a good mood, at least still able to bicker back and forth with Lin Jin.

Lin Jin maintained her cross-armed posture. Even when collapsing tiredly onto the sofa, she hugged herself tightly.

The curtains in the room were drawn tightly, and the lights in every room were turned on brightly, creating a false sense of liveliness in the large apartment, much like a delicate glass prison.

Lin Jin was the rag doll trapped within, feeling suffocated, pitiful, and lost.

Cheng Sangluo felt like cotton soaked with water. The air conditioning inside was set very low, causing her to sneeze several times.

She shivered constantly and quietly asked for permission: “Can I take a hot shower first?”

“Mhm, go ahead.”

Lin Jin was very different tonight.

Normally, if the puppy wanted to shower, she would somehow insist on going with her, but now, she was lethargic, her eyes shimmering with crystalline light.

Even her posture on the sofa was unusual. The way her back was tightly wedged into the corner seemed like she was seeking security, fitting snugly in a heartbreaking way.

Cheng Sangluo squatted down, thinking she might have caught a cold or fever. She reached out and checked the temperature of her forehead, found no abnormality, and sighed in relief: “Then wait for me a moment.”

With that, she hurried into the guest bathroom.

Once enveloped in the silence of the room, Cheng Sangluo finally snapped back to reality.

She stared at the mirror above the vanity, frowning.

Her soaking wet reflection in the mirror was more than just miserable; ridiculously, it was also carrying a shameless smile.

This self was too strange, almost hateful.

Hating herself to the extreme, she suddenly slapped her own face, cursing in a low voice: “How cheap are you? What exactly are you doing?”

This awakening slap came too late; she should have slapped herself awake before the downpour.

But when she thought of the madwoman in the living room being in such a bad state, the emotional wall she had just built instantly collapsed.

Cheng Sangluo leaned her hands on the counter, shaking her head repeatedly, but she couldn’t shake off the image of Lin Jin’s terrified expression.

Helplessly, she finally accepted her own out-of-character behavior tonight.

Steaming water vapor and the rushing sound of the shower quickly created a relaxing atmosphere.

Cheng Sangluo lifted her face, letting the hot water pour over her head. She closed her eyes, trying to think about some things, but failed. All she could think about was hurry, hurry, don’t let the madwoman outside wait too long.

She twitched her lips in self-mockery. She had always been helpless against Lin Jin, and now she was helpless against herself too.

She let out a mournful sigh and quickly cleaned herself up carelessly.

After wrapping herself in a bathrobe and starting to blow-dry her hair, only about ten minutes had passed when the bathroom light suddenly flickered a few times, plunging the room into darkness. The hairdryer in her hand also stopped.

It was likely a power outage caused by the continuous thunderstorm.

Cheng Sangluo put down the hairdryer, tentatively walked to the living room, and saw that Lin Jin was not on the sofa. She hastened her steps towards the study.

She checked the study but didn’t see anyone. The only place left was the master bedroom.

The master bedroom door was slightly ajar. Cheng Sangluo tiptoed in, but Lin Jin was not on the spacious double bed. She scratched the back of her head, “Where is she?”

She walked around the bedroom, even checking the walk-in closet, but couldn’t find Lin Jin anywhere. She muttered: “Lin Jin? Lin Jin? Are you playing hide-and-seek with me?”

The empty room with drawn curtains was eerily dark.

Cheng Sangluo even looked under the bed. The last place to check was the closet in the walk-in wardrobe.

She quickly walked up to the largest cabinet, pulled the door open, and finally saw the person she had been searching for. The anxiety that had been tightly held finally eased.

Lin Jin’s frame was thin, and she was huddled into a small ball in the corner. Even in the gloom, her trembling could be felt.

She kept her eyes tightly shut, her body shaking uncontrollably. Hearing the door opening, she only tentatively cracked her eyes open.

Strands of messy hair blocked her high nose bridge, wrapping her distress and fear in a heart-softening vulnerability.

When she felt a warm touch on her face, she grabbed Cheng Sangluo’s arm like a drowning person clutching a lifesaver, pulling her close, “Don’t go… please don’t go…”

That uncontrollably shaking voice carried a huge emotional contagion, permeating the room with desolation and making Cheng Sangluo’s heart tighten.

Cheng Sangluo initially wanted to pull her out of the wardrobe, but realizing she was completely frozen in the corner, she had to crawl in too.

Fortunately, the wall-sized wardrobe was spacious; even the tall Cheng Sangluo didn’t find it cramped once inside.

She sat at the other end of the cabinet, groping in the dark for Lin Jin’s arm. The touch felt like it was coated in frost, chilling her heart.

“Come here, don’t be afraid…” Cheng Sangluo coaxed softly, grabbing Lin Jin and pulling her into her embrace, “I’m here, don’t be afraid…”

Cheng Sangluo hadn’t realized that this interaction had already exceeded the boundaries of their relationship, driven purely by instinctual concern: “Are you okay?”

Lin Jin didn’t answer, only shaking her head repeatedly, muttering: “Don’t open the door… don’t open the door… there are all sorts of demons outside…”

Before she finished speaking, there was another brief thunderclap outside, causing her to cover her ears, “Cheng Sangluo… don’t leave me… save me…”

Cheng Sangluo pressed her lips tight, silently thankful that her trip tonight wasn’t wasted.

She had witnessed the side of the madwoman that she dared not show to anyone. But this side was too fragile, so fragile that even the soft-hearted god felt sorrow for it.

She held the thin Lin Jin, tightening her arms slightly. Even when the thunder outside subsided, she didn’t dare relax her hold.

Cheng Sangluo suddenly thought of a good idea. She placed her own hands over Lin Jin’s hands, doubling the covering over her ears, as if this could block out more disturbances.

She tilted her head close to Lin Jin’s ear, her voice deep but warm, “If you’re very scared, cover your ears and listen for other sounds. Can you listen closely and hear a heartbeat beneath the rush of air?”

This was perhaps one of Cheng Sangluo’s few gentle moments. She temporarily cast aside all the worries and offered a simple, soothing method. At least the madwoman desperately needed security right now.

Lin Jin felt this tenderness, and her trembling body relaxed.

She nestled comfortably in Cheng Sangluo’s arms, feeling the strong pulse of the heartbeat through the thick bathrobe. This real sensation dispelled some of her fear.

This kind of fear had permeated Lin Jin’s entire life. No one knew how helpless and terrified she was during those countless nights of lightning and thunder.

Those fragmented childhood memories were like thorns, tearing at her heart, which repeatedly healed mixed with blood, unable to be pulled out, only throbbing faintly with the passage of time.

Tonight was the only time it was different. It was an unexpected arrival by Cheng Sangluo that drove away the overwhelming panic and fear.

Lin Jin quickly turned over, grabbing Cheng Sangluo’s lapel and burying her head into the warm embrace.

Instead of searching for her own weak heartbeat, she should listen to the puppy’s heartbeat. She needed that vibrant pulse, desperately needed it.

Cheng Sangluo didn’t resist this intimacy, tacitly allowing Lin Jin to press her ear against her chest. Her hand, which had been suspended in the air, slowly began to stroke the soft hair.

She asked cautiously: “Feeling better?”

“So this is the sound inside your chest when you speak.” Lin Jin closed her eyes, showing a very complex smile, an expression of sheer terror like someone who had just survived a disaster.

“Is there a difference?”

“It’s different, very different.” Lin Jin clenched Cheng Sangluo’s lapel tightly, as if letting go even slightly would make her fall back into the abyss.

Cheng Sangluo didn’t pry into what she had been through, simply staying quietly until the rain became less torrential. Only then did she gently ask: “Want to go out? Are you hungry? Let’s have some late-night snack.”

Lin Jin shook her head, pleading in a soft voice: “I don’t want to go anywhere. I just want to stay in your arms. Can you keep holding me like this? Can you always be this gentle to me?”

Cheng Sangluo’s hand, which was stroking her hair, tightened. She asked in a deep voice: “Then can you stop hurting me all the time? No one is hostile without a reason. The relationship between people is reciprocal; you should understand that principle.”

“It’s so hard to have you.” Lin Jin sighed, rubbing her cheek against the wide chest, “Cheng Sangluo, let’s get married.”

Bringing up an uncomfortable topic again.

This time, Cheng Sangluo’s reaction to the marriage proposal was much calmer.

She took a deep breath, trying to inhale the scent of cedar from Lin Jin, and exhaled heavily: “We can’t stand the sight of each other. If we did get married, wouldn’t it be total chaos?”

“The puppy is improving. Now she knows how to word her refusal more tactfully.” Lin Jin chuckled contentedly, then asked: “You were worried about me, which is why you came all the way through the storm, right?”

“Uh…” Cheng Sangluo was speechless for a moment. This kind of thing was better left unspoken, why did she have to point it out?

Lin Jin recovered her spirits, lifted her head, searching for those bright eyes in the dark, and teased: “Never mind. I know it’s hard for you to say.”

Cheng Sangluo didn’t dare respond. Those few words easily sparked her shyness, making her entire body feel hot and prompting an even more comfortable smile from the person in her arms.

“You… what are you laughing at?”

Lin Jin’s lips brushed against Cheng Sangluo’s chest, giving a subtle kiss, “I’m laughing at how contradictory you are. A soft-hearted god who is also cold-hearted. Which one is the real you?”

In the pitch-black space, after a mental storm, calm gradually returned, brewing a murky intimacy.

Cheng Sangluo wrapped one arm around Lin Jin’s waist, her palm naturally moving across the smooth back, “I’ll give you two choices. If you’re hungry, I’ll go make you some late-night snack in the kitchen. If you’re sleepy, I’ll carry you to bed to sleep.”

“Is it just one of the two happy options, or can I have more?” Lin Jin lifted a strand of her hair, brushing it against Cheng Sangluo’s nose. Feeling she wasn’t ambitious enough, she greedily declared: “Adults don’t choose. Of course, I want it all~”

Cheng Sangluo’s nose tickled from the teasing. She waved the mischievous hand away and clicked her tongue: “Tsk, I must owe you from a past life.”

“Don’t you owe me in this life too?” Lin Jin smiled and bantered, then suddenly sobered, reaching out and pressing Cheng Sangluo’s shoulder, turning her around, “Hmph, speaking of owing me, shouldn’t we talk about you throwing a thousand dollars to buy a night with me?”

Cheng Sangluo’s body stiffened, and her pupils trembled.

Oh my goodness, how could she have forgotten about that?!

This morning, when she snuck into the study to find a pen and leave a note on the brown paper envelope, she had been incredibly smug, laughing out loud as she fantasized about the madwoman’s furious expression upon reading the note.

When people do bad things, they never mind the trouble, but why did the retribution come so quickly?

“You know the simple truth that you have to pay the piper eventually, don’t you?” Lin Jin pressed down on the silent puppy, forcing them until only a kiss’s distance remained, “Am I only worth a thousand dollars? Am I that cheap?”

“No… I… that…” Cheng Sangluo felt guilty, her tongue was tied. She stammered for a long time but couldn’t squeeze out a proper sentence.

“No… you… that what…” Lin Jin mimicked her stutter, pressing her palm against Cheng Sangluo’s neck and slowly tightening her grip until her fingernails dug into the skin, “A thousand dollars to buy a night of my charm. You really know how to humiliate people.”

“But you don’t know…” Cheng Sangluo endured the pain on her neck, her tone not firm, sounding even pitiful, “That was everything I had…”

Lin Jin froze. The fingers gripping her neck gradually loosened, changing into a soft rub, “You could offer so much more. I’m not talking about money. I’m talking about your gentleness… your affection… or your heart…”

“Stop it.” Cheng Sangluo was afraid to talk about feelings, because she had been desperately suppressing the faint stirrings in her heart. This repression was painful, harder than suppressing anger.

“You are feeling something, aren’t you?” Lin Jin tilted her head, nuzzling the neck that she had just pinched red. Her kiss was full of tenderness, breathing warm air onto her, attempting to provoke the puppy who was oblivious to her own feelings, “Otherwise… why would you flutter here… when the thunderstorm came… No… why would you overcome all obstacles to see me… Why would you do that when you clearly hate me so much…”

Yes, I clearly hate you so much.

Cheng Sangluo roared internally, resisting, yet she didn’t change her embracing posture in the chaotic space.

She mumbled, a dry burning sensation rolling in her throat. Answering this question seemed harder than earning money.

The stubborn person would rather self-deprecate than admit to having butterflies in her stomach.

Lin Jin wasn’t in a hurry for an immediate answer. She could let the dust settle, allowing time to fully flavor the inexplicable emotions.

“If you’re hungry, I’ll go cook some late-night snack. Do you eat noodles?” Cheng Sangluo changed the subject, wanting to quickly escape the dark wardrobe.

If they were in a bright, transparent room, they wouldn’t feel this cramped and uneasy.

The softness pressed against her chest was easy to shatter her resolve. It felt like if they stayed intimate any longer, things would spin out of control.

Lin Jin deliberately played a mischievous trick, lifting her chin to gently nibble Cheng Sangluo’s ear, teasing in a whisper: “Can I eat boiled puppy?”

“No.” Cheng Sangluo refused, feigning composure, and reached out to push the wardrobe door open, “The rain has slowed down. The thunder probably won’t strike anymore.”

Lin Jin didn’t move, leaning lazily inside the cabinet, waiting for the puppy to carry her out, “Cheng Sangluo, I’ll pay a thousand dollars for one night of your gentleness. Do we have a deal?”

Cheng Sangluo really didn’t want to agree to such a transaction.

She stood silently in front of the cabinet, bent her neck forward, scooped up the frail person into her arms, and easily carried her horizontally.

Lin Jin hugged her neck tightly, urging: “Answer me.”

Cheng Sangluo walked straight to the bed in the bedroom, setting her down not with her usual roughness, but gently, like handling that protected little chick in a pot.

She prepared to go to the kitchen to cook something. Before leaving, she answered the madwoman: “My gentleness doesn’t need to be bought with money.”

Lin Jin lay half-turned, propping her head up with one hand, and used her toes to outline the long legs beneath the bathrobe, “I think I’m experiencing your gentleness right now~”

“If you keep messing around, I’m leaving.” Cheng Sangluo had no other way but to threaten to leave.

It seemed this trick was quite effective. The woman posing provocatively on the bed calmed down a little, “Go ahead. I don’t eat garlic, I don’t eat spicy food. The fried egg must be runny. And… don’t cook the noodles too soft…”

“Stop, stop.” Cheng Sangluo immediately called a halt, muttering curses: “So many demands. Are you trying to fleece me to death just because you rarely get to order me around?”

The kitchen at midnight was the warmest place tonight.

The high-end modern range hood made little noise. Water was bubbling vigorously in the iron pot on the stove.

Cheng Sangluo was mixing seasonings in a porcelain bowl, thinking how bland noodles without garlic or chili would taste. But she still prepared a plain bowl for Lin Jin.

She then quickly heated the pan with oil, figuring she shouldn’t eat for free, so she planned to fry two extra eggs for herself.

She was so honest that she felt like she was taking advantage of Lin Jin by eating two extra eggs.

Lin Jin must have been busy with something, as she slowly walked over after a while.

She didn’t immediately enter the kitchen to disturb the puppy, but leaned against the doorway, quietly admiring the busy back.

For a moment, she had the illusion that she had lived with the person in front of her for many years, where the enduring peacefulness contained a rare sense of happiness.

This illusion was truly beautiful, as beautiful as the countless nights she had dreamt of.

Cheng Sangluo felt the gaze from behind and looked back, “What are you looking at?”

Lin Jin didn’t hide anything, saying what she thought: “I’m looking at our life after we get married.”

She smiled comfortably, as if the storm she had just experienced was only a bad dream, with a hint of being better off having suffered.

Cheng Sangluo’s lips twitched, wondering why the madwoman was still thinking about this. She pouted: “Stop your pipe dreams. Marriage is not going to happen.”

Although the person’s mouth was as hard as titanium alloy, the smile on her lips couldn’t be faked. Maybe she was also enjoying this peaceful beauty after the storm.

Because Cheng Sangluo also felt that illusion: no messy complications, life was as ordinary as boiling water, peaceful yet vibrant.

“People need dreams, right?” Lin Jin held hope, taking light steps behind the puppy, naturally wrapping her arms around the straight waist: “You need dreams to have something to look forward to. I have an inexplicable anticipation for you.”

Cheng Sangluo wanted to push the arms off her waist, but she was busy frying eggs, so she tacitly allowed the intimacy, “Why are you always thinking about marrying me? If your explanation is just about revenge or something, I don’t think the motive is strong enough.”

Lin Jin buried her face in her back, inhaling the reassuring scent, and answered in a muffled voice: “I like you. Can’t you tell?”

Lin Jin regretted saying ‘I like you’ so easily. It made her sound too frivolous about feelings, but she was also satisfied.

When the word ‘like’ slipped out, a boulder pressed on her heart finally crumbled, making her feel much lighter.

“Wait, that’s not right. President Lin, who loves beautiful women, changes partners like changing clothes, and is a known playgirl. Shouldn’t she have the urge to cling to just one tree?”

Cheng Sangluo teased indifferently, but her hands paused. The person behind her suddenly stiffened significantly.

Lin Jin’s comfortable smile vanished. She grabbed Cheng Sangluo’s shoulders, turned her around, and questioned her in a low voice: “Who told you that? It must have been Shu Wan, right?”

Cheng Sangluo felt she had let it slip and mumbled: “Does it matter who said it? What matters is whether you are that kind of person, right?”

Lin Jin suddenly let out a low growl: “It matters! Of course, it matters!”

She frowned, her emotions exploding quickly, making her shoulders tremble, “Why do you believe that woman’s few frivolous words? Why?”

Cheng Sangluo felt the madwoman was making a fuss over nothing. Not wanting to get entangled, she tried to brush the topic aside, “If you say you’re not, then you’re not. Let’s drop it.”

“But by saying that, it means you believed it!” Lin Jin wouldn’t let it go, staring at her with her neck stiffened, “Deep down, you really think so, right? Anyway, in your eyes, I’m no different from mud, am I?”

Cheng Sangluo also got angry, retorting without thinking: “Calm down. Did you forget to take your medicine?”

At this, Lin Jin fell silent. Her lips trembled uncontrollably, and a look of hurt covered her eyes, as if she had been stabbed in the heart.

She tilted her head, staring intently at Cheng Sangluo. That look seemed to say: Deep down, you think I’m mentally ill, don’t you? That makes me feel terrible, right?

“I… I didn’t mean you’re sick… I just wanted you to calm down…” Cheng Sangluo was tongue-tied and realized she was making the atmosphere worse and worse, “I really didn’t mean to make you angry…”

Lin Jin smiled mournfully. She closed her eyes, using deep breaths to ease the discomfort in her heart. After a silence, she let out only one word: “Get lost.”

Cheng Sangluo’s temper flared up. The single word ‘get lost’ was enough to destroy the distance they had managed to close tonight.

She didn’t storm out. She turned around and accelerated her cooking.

She didn’t speak, the kitchen utensils clanging in anger. In just a few moments, the steaming noodles were in a bowl, with the final touch of the runny fried egg placed on top.

She didn’t spare Lin Jin a glance, leaving the kitchen with suppressed anger, but an aftertaste of having taken care of everything.

Lin Jin felt a gust of wind as she left. She stared at the steaming bowl of noodles, her eyes filled with fear and deep regret.

She reached up to smooth her long hair. A profound sense of defeat washed over her face. Perhaps the moment that word left her mouth, she had already regretted it.

Why were her emotions so uncontrollable? It was only a few rumors from Shu Wan. Why did she have to take out all her anger on the unrelated puppy?

Yes, Lin Jin cared too much about Cheng Sangluo’s opinion of her. Even though she always acted indifferent, and even when she argued unreasonably, she couldn’t hide how much those words bothered her.

She had never been this way before. Perhaps it was because of her deep affection that she was so sensitive.

Cheng Sangluo searched everywhere for her clothes. When she reached the utility balcony, she saw the washing machine running and realized Lin Jin had washed her clothes.

She looked down at the bathrobe on her body, thinking she might as well just leave like this. After all, there was no one on the road in the middle of the night.

If that’s what she wanted, that’s what she would do.

Cheng Sangluo felt a suffocating anger. She felt like a joke tonight. The result of her saintly compassion was being told to get lost.

What could be funnier than this?

Cheng Sangluo thought about rushing through the storm, not considering the danger, just wanting to be faster and faster, even if she couldn’t find a reason to convince herself, she wanted to atone for leaving Lin Jin alone that night.

So, was being chased by security guards meaningful? Was running up a dozen floors on one breath meaningful? Was risking being taken to the police station meaningful?

Now it seemed meaningless. The word ‘get lost’ had such destructive power, annihilating all the care that began on impulse.

She tightened the bathrobe’s belt, rushed to the entrance hall, put on her wet shoes, slammed the door, and left without looking back.

Lin Jin heard the heavy noise from the entrance hall. Her hunched back twitched, and her deep eyes widened, revealing a mix of resentment and loneliness, along with a thin layer of redness welling up.

She picked up the bowl of noodles, curled up, and slid down to the floor. Taking the first bite, her eyebrows furrowed deeply.

It tasted horrible, unbearably bad. Not because the flavor was bland, but because her heart felt so clogged that swallowing felt like swallowing knives.

A difficult-to-pacify sourness rose in her nose. She regretted treating the soft-hearted god in the worst possible way.

As she took the second bite of noodles, the sourness spread from her nose to all the nerves in her body. The person who pretended to be strong finally broke down completely.

She desperately suppressed the sobs from crying, put down the bowl and chopsticks, and ran frantically towards the entrance hall.

The noodles weren’t good. She had to chase the stubborn, unyielding person back and make her cook another bowl.

Perhaps the reason had to be absurd enough to fill the overwhelming sense of loss in her heart.