Chapter 614: with translation of chapter title

At 9:58 p. m., Lin Dongfan punctually pushed open the door of the private room at Wang Chao Ge.

The fatigue from days of pursuit had etched itself into his brow, but the moment the door opened he quickly put on the relaxed expression an old classmate should have.

"Jijun, I'm not late, am I?"

Knowing Xu Jijun hated people being late, Lin Dongfan greeted him with a smile.

His gaze swept over the private room.

When he made out the slender figure with head bowed opposite Xu Jijun, and realized it was an old acquaintance, Zheng Qingxuan, Lin Dongfan's expression startled again: "Zheng Qingxuan? What are you doing here too?"

Hearing that, Zheng Qingxuan lifted her head and glanced.

In an instant she was like a startled fawn, her head drooping lower, fingers clutching the hem of her white dress tightly, those slender hands seeming to have nowhere to go from nervousness.

She seemed to have forgotten to answer Lin Dongfan's question.

Xu Jijun instantly saw through Zheng Qingxuan's nervousness and naturally took over Lin Dongfan's line: "Your timing is sharper than an atomic clock—sit down and speak."

He waved a hand to indicate the seat.

After Lin Dongfan sat down, Xu Jijun continued: "Funny enough, yesterday I was passing through the old town and happened to see a few society people surrounding her to collect a debt. I couldn't stand it, so I stepped in and helped her out of the situation. Since I'm unfamiliar with Haishan, I asked her to be my guide for a few days—do you two know each other?"

Xu Jijun kept his tone light throughout, making the carefully staged 'chance encounter' sound completely natural.

Lin Dongfan smiled faintly: "Oh, that's how it is." Without thinking much, he said frankly: "The last time I handled a case in Haishan, her father was one of the persons involved, and I had several contacts with him."

"I didn't expect you two to still be at odds."

In the midst of chatting and laughing, Xu Jijun personally rose to refill tea for Lin Dongfan and Zheng Qingxuan: "Give me face—today let's be open-hearted, not talk about grudges, only about romance and scenery."

Zheng Qingxuan kept her head down, looking somewhat uneasy.

Lin Dongfan, smiling but silent, kept his gaze fixed on Zheng Qingxuan; after not seeing her for months, she had slimmed down noticeably.

The arrogant air of a Zheng Family young lady had been worn away by life to nothing.

Only a jittery, startled-bird anxiety remained.

Faced with these changes, Lin Dongfan couldn't help muttering to himself: "Damn, arresting Zheng Canghai is like giving this kind of young lady a big trauma gift package. Look at your life—it's already collapsed completely. My lifetime of wrongdoing is still pretty impressive…"

Lin Dongfan suppressed his complex feelings, momentarily unsure how to ease the awkward atmosphere.

At that moment the waiter brought up the dishes.

They were all famous local seafood.

At the table, Xu Jijun was quite relaxed, chatting and laughing. When discussing the rapid changes in Haishan's fishing port new city, he said Lin Dongfan had made great contributions. When talking about international financial turmoil, he said Lin Dongfan was a low-key god‑level trader who, in his spare time, roamed the stock market, reaping overflowing profits with an unblemished record.

In short, he was just boosting Lin Dongfan, never mentioning the sensitive anti‑corruption incidents.

Seizing the moment while Lin Dongfan was in high spirits.

Xu Jijun then went along with the situation to give Zheng Qingxuan a stepping stone: "Miss Zheng, if you really can't get by, you can learn from this old classmate of mine and follow her—you won't end up poor."

"Hmm."

Zheng Qingxuan gave a casual laugh in response, but remained absent‑minded, unable to muster any appetite for the lobster sashimi before her.

After three rounds of drinks, Xu Jijun's phone rang.

He answered, listened a few moments, and frowned slightly: "... Okay, I got it, I'll be right there." He hung up quickly, rose with an apologetic look, and said: "Dongfan, Qingxuan, I'm really sorry. My cousin has an urgent situation I need to attend to right away. Take your time eating—I've already settled the bill."

"Is Sister Jinling okay?"

Lin Dongfan also felt deep sympathy for Han Jinling's life experiences.

Xu Jijun simply replied: "The call just now said she fell on the stairs; I'll have to go see to know the details—you two keep eating."

Having said that, he grabbed his coat and hurried out.

In fact, Han Jinling was fine in the hotel, nothing had happened. He just wanted a plausible excuse to leave, giving Lin Dongfan and Zheng Qingxuan some private time.

As soon as Xu Jijun left, the private room's atmosphere suddenly fell silent, and the sound of waves outside the window became clearly audible.

Lin Dongfan looked at Zheng Qingxuan across from him, who hardly spoke.

He sighed.

He took the initiative to break the silence: "From the moment I came in until now, you haven't said a word or touched your food. What's going on? You weren't like this before."

Speaking, Lin Dongfan picked up a piece of steamed fish and placed it on her plate.

Zheng Qingxuan's voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz: "I… I'm not hungry…"

"Even if you're not hungry you should eat something—don't you look in the mirror? See how thin you've become." Lin Dongfan tried to keep his tone light: "I remember when I left last time I gave you some money. Though not much, it should have been enough to get by for a while. How are you living so hard now?"

Those words seemed to strike Zheng Qingxuan's soul.

Her tears welled up instantly as she lowered her head to explain: "Before, too many people had offended my father. Since you left, people have been coming to the door every day to collect debts. They keep watching me, not letting me leave Haishan. I wanted to find a job, but as soon as they heard I was Zheng Canghai's daughter, they immediately kicked me out…"

The more she spoke, the more agitated she became, tears streaming: "Sometimes when I walk down the street, some people also point at me and gossip—they're trying to drive me to death…"

Lin Dongfan's brows knotted tight as he handed her a tissue, feeling as if a stone weighed on his heart.

The former Dragon King—Zheng Canghai—had indeed held sway over Haishan and offended many people. Although Lin Dongfan had anticipated that after Zheng Canghai's imprisonment Zheng Qingxuan might face retaliation, he never imagined she would be forced into such a state, with no chance to leave Haishan.

In a bustling city, people daily enact a real‑life version of 'Survival in Desperate Circumstances'.

Not to mention she's a fragile woman; even a guy with eight‑pack abs might not withstand the double blow of society and life.

"You're being bullied, and you didn't even call me."

Seeing her still wiping tears with her head down, Lin Dongfan handed her another tissue and earnestly urged: "Stop crying, it's making me anxious…"

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine after I cry a bit."

Zheng Qingxuan took the tissue, wiped her tears, then blew her nose with clear mucus.

This time Brother Fan really had no ideas left; he could only watch her quietly, waiting for her emotions to settle a bit before speaking again: "Later I'll say hello to Zhang Yinlan and ask her to look out for you. She's now the Executive Vice Mayor. As long as she says a word, in Haishan no one should dare to make things difficult for you."

"Don't bother with me, let me fend for myself."

Zheng Qingxuan dried her tears and lifted the glass of wine in front of her.

Before, she never touched a drop of alcohol.

Today, pretty much the only way to shake off this awkward situation is to get drunk, so without a word she tipped her head back and downed the whole glass of white wine in one gulp.

Seeing her snap made her face flush and ears red, and she coughed a few times.

Lin Dongfan also broke out in a sweatdrop: "In my impression, you seemed like a pure little milk kitten; when did you evolve into a drunken fool?"

"Either you don't interfere with me, or you keep me company drinking; I don't want to talk right now." Zheng Qingxuan then refilled her own glass to the brim.

Lin Dongfan gave a helpless smile: "Alright, I'll keep you company drinking."