Chapter 297

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Protagonist:

Lin Xiyu

"No, no."

No matter how close Wu Meng was, she was too embarrassed to accept such an expensive sports car: "Your family has no place to put it, mine has even less."

"Didn't you buy a first-floor house with a small courtyard?"

"My family's courtyard isn't even half the size of yours."

"Nuan Nuan likes it, just accept it."

"No, no, this time I really can't accept it."

The two best friends pulled back and forth for a while, neither convincing the other.

Nuan Nuan tilted her small face up, looking at Mommy, then at Auntie, her expression changing along with them — happy one moment, disappointed the next, quite a spectacle.

"You two stop pushing it back and forth."

Li Qing couldn't stand watching, feigning annoyance: "This is my fault, I wasn't thoughtful enough when buying the gift and left Nuan Nuan out. It's just an electric sports car, I'll have someone buy another one and send it over to you both."

"A rich woman is different alright."

Qiao Lin gave an admiring thumbs-up, teasing with a smile: "A few thousand yuan sports car, you say buy and you buy. Don't forget, our family gets one too. Qu Peng and Wang Fan are also childhood friends, can't favor one over the other."

"Don't worry, yours won't be missing."

Li Qing, puffed up by the flattery, said proudly: "Want a sports car? First give birth to the kid, then we'll talk......."

Qiao Lin nudged her own husband: "Qu Peng, hear that? She's pointing at you, telling you to hurry up and have a kid."

Qu Peng, who had kept an extremely low profile since arriving at the banquet, silently watching the show: "......"

Having a kid isn't something he can decide.

Why push him out?

"Hahaha."

Everyone at the table was amused by his dumbfounded expression, laughing until they doubled over.

——

Outside the small courtyard.

"Luoxuan, what's wrong? Why are you running?"

Chen Xiaoyi was tall and long-legged, ran fast, and caught up to Zhu Luoxuan in a few steps.

"What happened? Crying like this when everything was fine?"

He grabbed her, saw her reddened eyelids, and all the doubt in his heart vanished, replaced by a surge of heartache.

"Xiaoyi, I'm sorry......"

Zhu Luoxuan, seeing her pursuit of the one she loved was hopeless, no longer had the heart to keep entangling with him.

"Everything's fine, why say sorry?"

Chen Xiaoyi's heart trembled; panic and unease instantly spread through his whole body.

"I, I......"

Zhu Luoxuan wanted to confess, but seeing his panicked expression, she revealed a trace of unwillingness to hurt him.

Fairly speaking, Chen Xiaoyi truly treated her very well.

Utmost care and protection, unwilling to let her suffer the slightest grievance.

She didn't know if, after breaking up with him, she would ever meet someone who treated her so wholeheartedly again.

But her heart could never forget another person, unable to give herself to him fully.

Before this, she could still fantasize, using their relationship to get close to the one she loved.

Because of this incident, she had completely given up that hope.

Watching with her own eyes the person she liked showing affection with another woman, the pain of her heart being torn apart inch by inch was more agonizing than death by a thousand cuts.

She really couldn't stay any longer; every time she thought of Guben personally pushing her toward someone else, her heart ached so much she wanted to suffocate.

——

"Did I do something wrong?"

Seeing her hesitate to speak, Chen Xiaoyi's panic peaked in an instant: "I'll change, is that not okay?"

"You didn't do anything wrong, I'm the one who's wrong."

Zhu Luoxuan shed tears in gloom: "I shouldn't have had such hopes, deceiving myself and deceiving you."

"Stop talking, I don't want to listen......."

Chen Xiaoyi suddenly spread his arms and pulled her forcefully into his embrace.

Zhu Luoxuan was stunned by his sudden action, her face pressed against his chest, suffocating, unable to catch her breath.

"Let go of me......"

She struggled, trying to break free.

"I said, I don't want to listen......"

Chen Xiaoyi mistakenly thought she still wanted to break up with him; in his anger, he not only didn't let go, but held her even tighter.

Zhu Luoxuan couldn't breathe smoothly; her breath gradually grew weak.

Seeing she hadn't moved for a good long while, Chen Xiaoyi finally realized something was wrong; by the time he loosened his grip, she had already fainted.

"Luoxuan, wake up, don't scare me......"

He was so frightened his soul nearly left his body, his hands trembling as he called for an ambulance.

——

The ambulance arrived very quickly, its sharp siren startling quite a few people.

"Oh my, what's going on here?"

The relatives and friends in the old house all showed astonished expressions upon hearing the ambulance's commotion.

The female cousin ran the fastest, rushing out from the yard, only to see her younger male cousin kneeling on the ground as if he had lost his soul.

Zhu Luoxuan's eyes were tightly shut, unconscious.

"Oh my heavens, someone come quick, Xiaoyi's girlfriend has fainted!"

She was badly frightened, letting out a loud cry that blasted everyone in the yard out.

"What happened?"

"How did she faint?"

"Is she still alive?"

The relatives and friends all panicked, rushing out in a babble and surrounding the people in the middle.

"Make way, make way."

The ambulance personnel brought a stretcher, loaded her onto it, and into the vehicle.

"You child, what sin have you committed?!"

Seeing her son's dull expression, kneeling on the ground unmoving, Chen Xiulan was both angry and furious, slapping a palm onto his head.

"Mom, don't be anxious yet, wait until she wakes up before hitting......"

"Go to the hospital first, ask clearly then speak."

With such an incident, the banquet could not continue; Lin Xiyu and Guben, the couple, were of one mind, both wanting to resolve this matter as soon as possible.

"I'll go, you just don't go."

Seeing Guben help Chen Xiaoyi up from the ground, Lin Xiyu wanted to accompany him to the hospital and hurriedly stopped him.

This matter arose because of him; Xiaoyi learning the truth, unable to let go for the moment, if he makes a scene at the hospital, it's unknown how it would end.

She is his real older sister, her husband being coveted by someone also counts as an indirect victim.

Whoever Chen Xiaoyi blames, he won't blame her.

The siblings have always been close; with her stepping in to persuade, the situation will be somewhat better.

"Fine."

Guben and she had a tacit understanding; with just one glance he understood her deeper meaning: "You go over first, contact me promptly if anything."

"Mm."

Lin Xiyu couldn't bother with more words, hastily bringing her younger brother out of the alley and onto the ambulance.

Chen Xiulan, worried about her son, also took a taxi to the hospital accompanied by the female cousin.

——

Zhu Luoxuan had no serious issues; she woke up not long after entering the emergency room.

She felt guilty, ashamed to face the Chen family; after being wheeled out of the emergency room she still pretended to be very weak, eyes closed, refusing to open them.

She refused to speak; the family had no way to deal with her.

Chen Xiulan is a person who cares about face; with such an incident, a stomach full of tightfisted anger was vented on her son, grabbing his ear, beating and scolding him thoroughly.

Lin Xiyu roughly guessed the reason, feeling several parts sympathy for her younger brother.

Seeing her mother hitting too hard, she would speak up to persuade a bit, so she wouldn't be too rash, not having figured things out yet, instead driving him to a corner, making it hard to end well if he exploded.

"You child, what can I say about you? She's awake now; if she hadn't woken, your whole life would be ruined."

"Is your brain mush? To be able to do such a stupid thing?"

Chen Xiulan still wasn't appeased, slapping her son two more times.

"Aunt Da, calm down, calm down, you've hit and scolded, Xiaoyi knows he was wrong, he won't do such stupid things again.

The female cousin saw Lin Xiyu constantly making eyes at her, guessed she had something to say to Zhu Luoxuan, and used the pretext to send Chen Xiulan away: "The nurse just said the emergency rest room doesn't allow that many people to stay, let's go wait outside first, let Xiyu stay alone to keep her company."

"Xiaoyi, you go out too."

Lin Xiyu was very satisfied with the female cousin's tacit cooperation, waving her hand at her younger brother, signaling him to leave as well.

"Xiaoyi, don't stand here like a post, come with Sister."

The female cousin exuded a domineering air, dragging him away by force.

——

"Miss Zhu, I know you're awake, you can hear my words."

Seeing everyone had left, Lin Xiyu dragged a stool over and sat at the bedside.

Zhu Luoxuan's breath hitched; even with eyes closed one could see her eyeballs moving slightly, her expression slightly tense.

"You don't need to open your eyes, just listen to me......"

Lin Xiyu smiled knowingly, not exposing her: "This matter, Xiaoyi was wrong, he was too impulsive, didn't consider your feelings; if you don't mind, I can transfer you a sum of money right now as compensation, please forgive him, don't hold it against him."

"I don't want money."

Zhu Luoxuan suddenly opened her eyes, as if offended, with a few parts anger, glaring at her resentfully.

"Seems my expression was mistaken."

Lin Xiyu didn't mind her provocation, changed her approach, and said: "As the wronged party in this matter, whatever conditions you have, feel free to raise them; as long as I can do it, I will definitely try my best to satisfy you."

"You really can satisfy anything I ask?"

Zhu Luoxuan didn't believe it, a trace of mockery flashing in her eyes.

"Within the scope of my ability."

Lin Xiyu remained perfectly composed throughout, completely unaffected.

"The person I truly like is your husband."

Zhu Luoxuan went all in, adopting a broken-pot attitude: "Even so, you'd still let him go to me?"

What was bound to come has come!

Hearing the word "let," Lin Xiyu's eyes flickered, and a soft scoff escaped her lips.

"If you don't agree..."

Unwilling to be dismissed, Zhu Luoxuan threatened: "I'll accuse your younger brother, say he refuses to break up, deliberately retaliated, and tried to suffocate me."

"You still don't understand Guben, or you wouldn't say something so childish..."

Lin Xiyu ignored her threat, her eyebrows lifting slightly as she smiled leisurely: "Do you think that even if I agreed to let him go, you'd have a chance to get close to him?"

"Why not?"

Zhu Luoxuan was confident in her beauty: "I'm younger than you, prettier; anyone with eyes, any man, would choose me, not you."

"You think he hasn't seen young, beautiful women?"

Lin Xiyu laughed and countered: "You can't imagine how popular he was in school; wherever he went, girls boasting of their beauty surrounded him, and which of them wasn't young, wasn't pretty?"

"Then why would he like you?"

Zhu Luoxuan's reason was consumed by jealousy, prompting her to ask a question even she felt was stupid.

"Who hasn't had a time when they were young and pretty?"

Lin Xiyu smiled leisurely again, her self-satisfied expression forming a sharp contrast with the other's frantic state: "When I was young, I also served as Quancheng Image Ambassador, and it was then that our feelings deepened further; he confessed to me, saying he wanted to date me."

Zhu Luoxuan's right fist clenched suddenly, struggling to suppress her jealous hatred.

"Want to hear about my past with him?"

Lin Xiyu's eyebrows lifted slightly, dealing her another heavy blow: "If you're interested, I'd be more than happy to tell you."

"So what if you were pretty when young? Now you've lost your radiance, your looks are aged."

Blinded by jealousy, Zhu Luoxuan spoke without restraint: "Men are always visual creatures, pursuing novelty and stimulation; no matter how you argue, you can't hide the wrinkles at the corners of your eyes, and your already distorted figure..."

"To me, these are all medals of honor."

Lin Xiyu was utterly unprovoked, giving an unexpected answer: "In the passing of youth, I possess his youthful years in equal measure."

"I've seen him at eighteen, accompanied him through more than a dozen springs and autumns; his best years were all given to me, and these are things you can never possibly obtain..."

——

A moment of silence fell at the bedside.

Zhu Luoxuan was evidently struck hard; after a long while she shrieked frantically again: "I don't care about the past, as long as in the days to come his heart is on me, that's enough; what use is it even if you trap him in that old dilapidated yard with a child? His heart will still yearn for the outside world; young, beautiful women will always be men's first choice."

"You think I'm the one trapping him?"

Lin Xiyu laughed lightly as if hearing a joke: "That's why I say you still don't understand him; judging blindly based on guesswork is what makes you look so childish and laughable."

"Isn't it?"

Zhu Luoxuan's eyes showed mockery: "A woman like you who's already given birth, how could any man like you? If not for the child, with a bit of entanglement, you'd have been discarded long ago."

"There's still one thing you don't understand."

Lin Xiyu sneered: "The reason I'm sitting here negotiating with you — who gave me the confidence? If I weren't absolutely certain he has zero feelings for you, I wouldn't have the leisure to listen to your nonsense here."

"If you don't let him go to me, I'll accuse your younger brother of intentional murder."

Zhu Luoxuan had completely lost her reason: "Nothing you say matters; if you still have any self-awareness, take your child and leave, and I'll spare his life on account of you being sensible."

"Go ahead and report it!"

Chen Xiaoyi suddenly entered from outside, face iron-gray: "One does the deed, one bears the responsibility; I'd rather go to jail than have any further entanglement with you."

"You..."

Seeing him, a flicker of guilt flashed in Zhu Luoxuan's eyes.

"Xiaoyi, how did you get in?"

Lin Xiyu helplessly pressed her forehead, pretending not to see the three people outside peeking in.

"Sister, I heard everything."

Chen Xiaoyi's eyes revealed grief and indignation: "Only now do I understand I'm a thorough fool, used without knowing it, and even dragging you down to suffer with me."

Lin Xiyu's eyelids reddened, tears welling: "It's fine if Sister suffers a little grievance; as long as you're safe, Sister is satisfied."