Chapter 2668: Rain in the Southern City Tonight 30

Xie Linzhou recalled the past, thinking of Ren Xian's betrayal and the defection of the office staff.

After the shock of just learning those truths, he actually understood clearly that, according to his judgment standards, Jin Chen and they were different; his intense reaction stemmed more from a deep-seated fear of being deceived and abandoned again by someone important, which made him bind himself.

But why did he feel that Jin Chen was different?

This thought was like parting the clouds to see the mist; after experiencing fifteen days of separation, Xie Linzhou suddenly realized that the root cause lay in his deep reluctance to believe that Jin Chen's love for him was pure.

Yet ironically, this love should have been the last thing he ought to doubt.

No one forced Jin Chen; all his later giving and tolerance had long since departed from Xie Shao's original mission.

Jin Chen's love for him was a choice based on free will.

【Detected Villain Heartthrob Value +7, total 90!】

Xie Linzhou suddenly lifted his gaze, once again meeting Jin Chen's deep eyes.

That glance felt as if it had crossed a long, damp rainy season of years.

His breath caught, his fingertips unconsciously curling, he gripped Jin Chen's fingers tighter: "You love me, you truly… love me."

Jin Chen finally extended his arms, embracing him fully, then softly sighed, "How did you figure it out, or are you still on the verge of tears?"

Xie Linzhou's long black lashes were submerged in scalding tears; he closed his eyes, a sour bitterness welling up, hating himself for realizing this so late.

"I said the wrong thing..." his voice choked, "How could I… say break up to you..."

Xie Linzhou blamed himself, filled with endless heartache, "I made you suffer so much."

Jin Chen slightly tilted his head, looking at his reddened eye corners, his gentle expression like a hazy thin mist.

"Yeah," he murmured in agreement, "You've been upset for a long time; now do you want to comfort me?"

Xie Linzhou's trembling fingers lightly brushed Jin Chen's cheek, a dragonfly‑touch kiss soft and light, the warmth between their lips scorching and hot; he struggled to hold back his sobs, continuing this ambiguous, moist kiss.

Feeling Jin Chen's response, Xie Linzhou felt as if he were staggering back to reality; the indefinable emptiness of the past half month dissipated.

The season of incessant gloom in life finally passed, and clear, warm weather arrived.

Jin Chen slightly withdrew from the lingering kiss, foreheads still touching, he lowered his gaze to see his face flushed with emotion, and asked softly, "Aside from reconciling, is there nothing else you want to ask me about last night?"

Xie Linzhou obediently leaned into Jin Chen's embrace, arms around his waist, no longer wanting to part.

"There is." He answered honestly.

The biggest knot in his heart had been untied, yet some minor concerns still piled up inside.

"Why would Ren Xian… know your uncle?" Xie Linzhou asked.

But this time, his tone no longer carried the former uneasy suspicion.

Jin Chen turned and picked up the kraft paper file bag on the coffee table, saying, "You can take a look at this."

Xie Linzhou took it, doubtfully opened the bag, and pulled out several slightly aged pages.

They were photocopied file records and supporting documents, detailing an episode from Jin Chen's youth.

The story is somewhat cliché, even melodramatic.

In his youth, the original Jin Chen's father became addicted to drugs and gambling, ultimately dying accidentally from a drug overdose, leaving behind massive debts.

At that time, Jin Chen's maternal uncle, merely an ordinary worker, resolutely took on the responsibility of raising his underage nephew.

However, misfortunes piled up; as his maternal uncle neared retirement, he suffered a severe accident at work, facing the risk of amputation and huge medical expenses.

Then, Ren Xian through a public welfare Sponsor item Sponsor Jin Chen to complete his university Studies, while also paying most of his maternal uncle's medical expenses.

Jin Chen waited until he had roughly finished reading, then calmly added, "After I graduated from university, according to the Sponsor agreement, I went to work at Ren Xian's club; what happened afterward… you probably already know."

Xie Linzhou looked at the scattered words on the paper, his heart feeling as if tightly clenched, aching badly.

But at the same time, an inexplicable sense of familiarity flashed through his heart; Xie Linzhou felt that this description, especially the part about Sponsor, seemed to have been seen somewhere before.

The feeling of familiarity vanished instantly, too fleeting to grasp, so he didn't dwell on it.

Xie Linzhou put down the file with heartache, reached out to cradle Jin Chen's face, and kissed him dearly.

He saw a line scratched across the document, which mentioned his university major: "According to your major, even if you go to help Ren Xian after graduation, you should be able to do some administrative management work; I think he… also seems to value you quite a bit."

"Why did he ultimately choose to become a bartender?"

Jin Chen slightly narrowed his eyes, recalling the original's memory: "I don't really remember the details."

He mused, saying, "It seems that before accepting Ren Xian's Sponsor, I had also accepted another Sponsor item; at the time, I was with that item's person in charge…… no, it seems I had a phone call with the secretary of the person in charge."

"That person encouraged me over the phone, telling me not to give up, to choose what I truly wanted to do; so even after graduation, even if I went to Ren Xian's place, I still persisted in being a bartender."

Xie Linzhou's fingers holding the document trembled, his pupils contracted, and several frames of blurry, distant memory fragments flashed.

"What's wrong?" Jin Chen noticed Xie Linzhou's changing complexion, stroked his hair, and asked.

Xie Linzhou opened his mouth, his heart pounding violently in his chest.

He barely suppressed the question that almost escaped him, tightly embraced Jin Chen, burying his face in his chest, unable to calm his emotions: "I feel heartache for you."

Xie Linzhou dared not jump to conclusions; he thought he needed to find that secretary who had been by Xie Qiu Dong's back then and ask clearly.

He and Jin Chen…… could it be that they were actually supposed to know each other that long ago?