[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-turning-false-into-true":3,"chapter-turning-false-into-true-turning-false-into-true-chapter-11":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Turning False into True",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2258536,4406,"Chapter 11: Chapter Nine","turning-false-into-true-chapter-11",11,"\u003Cp>Bai Ziling, though burdened with running her coffee shop, temporarily vanished to avoid Jiang Jie—and even Di Zhiwei—seeking refuge with her cousin Tong Yiwen, who ran a kindergarten on a mountain in Xindian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tong Yiwen was only two or three years older than Bai Ziling, yet she was a woman of quiet kindness, conservative and rigid: her shirt always buttoned to the top, dark long pants, hair tied in a tight ponytail, no makeup, as if she had stepped out of the early Republican era.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She asked no questions about Bai Ziling’s sudden arrival; her home was inside the kindergarten, and an extra pair of hands and companion was welcome.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Ziling admired her cousin—not only for managing the kindergarten alone, but for her lack of prying or nagging. Tong Yiwen never asked why she had appeared or what troubles she carried; they behaved as if they had known each other a lifetime.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The mountain nights were dull and monotonous: nothing but a sky full of stars and an eerie silence. At first, Bai Ziling read books or listened to the radio, since Tong Yiwen had no cable TV, but as days passed, she began to feel each day dragging like a year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tong Yiwen noticed, and one evening suddenly handed her two balls of yarn and four knitting needles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Cousin, what’s this—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll teach you to knit a sweater.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Knit a sweater?!” Bai Ziling’s eyes nearly popped out. In her entire life, aside from basic sewing in junior high and high school home economics, she had never mended a single button herself—now she was expected to learn to knit?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t want to learn?” Tong Yiwen glanced at her, unpressured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Can’t I just buy one?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Buying and making are not the same.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I just want you to use knitting to calm your emotions. Give yourself something to focus on, instead of wandering aimlessly each day, unsure how to endure.” Tong Yiwen spoke with an old-soul wisdom beyond her years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Ziling felt a pang of shame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Knitting is actually fascinating—so many patterns, stitches, endless variations. Every sweater you make is unique. You’ll never worry about wearing the same one as someone else.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve never been interested in this kind of thing—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Always had no interest?” Tong Yiwen finished for her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My home economics grades were always barely passing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tong Yiwen didn’t push her. She picked up her own needles and yarn and began knitting swiftly. She looked calm, serene—after a full day wrestling with rowdy children, she still had the energy and focus to knit. At twenty-five or twenty-six…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Cousin, why did you come to live on this mountain?” Bai Ziling asked suddenly, curious. She wasn’t close to this cousin—if not for Jiang Jie’s “fault,” she’d still be comfortably in Taipei.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Run away?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Honestly, at your age, no one would exile themselves to a place this remote where even buying groceries requires a car. Don’t give me that nonsense about ‘educating the nation’s future pillars.’” Bai Ziling wanted a real talk—after all, the big house held only the two of them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tong Yiwen smiled faintly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did you get hurt in love?” Bai Ziling guessed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not as you think.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then what?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tong Yiwen’s expression made clear she didn’t wish to speak of it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No modern woman dresses as conservatively and rigidly as you—like you’re trying to wrap yourself entirely. A little skin shows—it’s sexy. It’s elegant.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m used to dressing this way.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This isn’t healthy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a deep breath, Tong Yiwen set down her needles and yarn. She gazed into the distance. “In first year of high school… my PE teacher tricked me into the equipment room. Said he needed me to count all the sports gear. I didn’t think twice. Then… he nearly raped me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What?!” Bai Ziling erupted in fury. “How could such a vile teacher exist? Didn’t you expose his disgusting behavior?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No.” Tong Yiwen blamed herself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He’ll find another innocent victim—you’re enabling him! That’s wrong!” Bai Ziling grew agitated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I know it’s wrong. But I feared he’d turn it around on me. Only the two of us were there—it would’ve become a he-said-she-said, a lie with no truth.” Tong Yiwen knew it had been ten years, yet the wound still hadn’t healed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s too easy for him!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ziling, I was only in first year of high school. I didn’t know what to do. I was completely lost.” Tong Yiwen spoke with deep pain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You told no one?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not a soul.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You bore all this alone—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Humiliation. Fear. Filth. Panic…” Tong Yiwen nodded. “Yes. I bore it all alone. I was barely holding on. I almost broke. I almost died.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So you ran to the mountains?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In high school I studied early childhood education. After accidentally getting into university, I decided to open a small kindergarten far from the noise—not for money, not to raise future national leaders. I just wanted to give children the right foundation from the very start.” Tong Yiwen had never spoken these words to anyone before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Cousin…” Bai Ziling was moved speechless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What about you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I…” She pointed at herself. “Compared to your reason, mine is utterly shameful!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Love trouble?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No trouble—just someone who won’t let go.” Bai Ziling bitterly mocked herself. “People always realize what they’ve done—or lost—only after the damage is done.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But running away won’t solve anything,” Tong Yiwen shook her head disapprovingly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m not running away.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then how long do you plan to stay here?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Ziling had no answer. She didn’t know if the trouble would still be waiting if she returned—would Jiang Jie understand she was truly dead inside, that she never wanted to see him again?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ziling, I’m used to this life. I have purpose. But you? How long can you last?” Tong Yiwen asked with concern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“One day at a time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What if he comes looking for you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Here?!” Bai Ziling was startled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you think this is some mystical ‘forbidden zone’? As long as there’s a car and an address, anyone can come up.” Tong Yiwen picked up her yarn and needles again. “You can run for a while—but not forever.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Ziling’s expression turned grim. How long could she keep hiding? If Jiang Jie truly wanted to find her, he would. And then…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Di Zhiwei barged straight into Jiang Jie’s office without knocking, regardless of what his cousin was doing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The department heads who had just been scolded outside Jiang Jie’s office now breathed a sigh of relief—sure enough, Jiang Jie waved them away with a gesture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Di Zhiwei knew his limits. Once the heads had left and he slammed the office door shut, he exploded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Bai Ziling is gone.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jie showed no reaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Jiang Jie, I’m telling you—your wife is missing! I’ve been to her coffee shop several times and found no trace of her!” Di Zhiwei roared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Maybe she doesn’t want to be found.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How did you treat her?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Di Zhiwei, do I need to report or explain how I treat my wife to you?” The two cousins were on the verge of breaking ties.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Have you slept with her?” Di Zhiwei pressed for confirmation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Even this is your business?!” Jiang Jie’s face darkened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why did you sleep with her?” Di Zhiwei demanded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jie didn’t answer. He rose from his chair, walked to the window, holding a cigarette and lighter—but he only fiddled with them, not lighting up. His gaze fixed on the vast white clouds outside. He too wondered: where had Bai Ziling gone?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From Bai Ziling’s three friends, Jiang Jie learned nothing—they truly didn’t know her whereabouts. Where could she have gone?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Di Zhiwei now stormed up to him, gripping his shirt, ready to fight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You know I want to pursue her!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You won’t succeed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How do you know?!” Di Zhiwei shot back, furious. “I have a chance. I have a heart.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jie’s eyes changed. He set the cigarette and lighter aside, then wrenched Di Zhiwei’s hand off his shirt, his expression clear: if you want to fight, I’ll fight. He was in the mood to beat someone senseless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zhiwei, give up this idea.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Cousin, if you don’t want her, why can’t I have her?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who said I don’t want her?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You hate women. You never wanted to marry or settle down. You only married her for Grandpa’s inheritance—to raise the bid deposit. Now you’ve won that American contract—you should let her go!” Di Zhiwei snarled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“People change…” Jiang Jie didn’t elaborate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re deliberately opposing me!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zhiwei, grow up!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Cousin, I could give her happiness. Why did you sleep with her?” Di Zhiwei couldn’t accept this. “You could have any woman—why ruin her?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She volunteered!” Jiang Jie shouted at his cousin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You must have threatened her.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Di Zhiwei, shut your mouth.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But I don’t care.” Di Zhiwei displayed the dignity and grace of a true man. “Cousin, I don’t care that she slept with you. I don’t care who else she’s been with—as long as… as long as I’m her last man.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jie froze, stunned rigid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I like her. I don’t care how many men she’s slept with—even if one of them is my own cousin!” Di Zhiwei’s obsession and fervor made him seem less like a playboy, more like a tragic romantic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You really don’t care?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t care about things I can’t possibly care about.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you truly love her?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I said I like her.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Liking isn’t loving.” His words gave Jiang Jie an opening. “You’re a playboy—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Jiang Jie, you just said people change.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sorry. Bai Ziling is still mine.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I… I’m going to tell Uncle there was never a pregnancy.” Di Zhiwei, beyond reason, was furious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re in a fake marriage! You have zero sincerity. If Grandpa knew down there, he’d rise from the grave to condemn you—you dare to deceive the dead.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I can return the five hundred million to Uncle first thing tomorrow morning,” Jiang Jie said indifferently. “I’ll even add an extra hundred million in interest. Are you satisfied?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Are you relying on your money?” If he hadn’t known he couldn’t possibly beat his cousin, Di Zhiwei would’ve already struck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zhiwei, I just want you to give up on her.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You don’t love her.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You have no idea what I’m thinking.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then what are you thinking?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jie wouldn’t say it—he only knew that slap might have truly shattered the bond between him and Bai Ziling. But she had pushed him beyond endurance. Compared to the pain Yu Siqi had inflicted, Bai Ziling had wounded him to the core—he was so deeply hurt he didn’t know if he’d ever heal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Speak up! Jiang Jie, have you run out of words?” Di Zhiwei sneered. “Bai Ziling will never forgive you!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did she tell you that?” Jiang Jie frowned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She only wants to know when your divorce agreement will arrive.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It won’t arrive!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you really intend to keep her by your side?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jie gazed out the window at a distant horizon. Of course he would keep her by his side. Only now, in these days, did he realize that having her near was happiness—living under the same roof, breathing the same air, sleeping on the same bed, eating at the same table… this… was happiness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But could he still hold onto this happiness?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Ziling was crouching, tying a little boy’s shoelaces. When she patted his head and stood up, she suddenly saw Jiang Jie—love and hatred both written in her eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ziling.” He no longer called her by her full name, as if between them the storm had passed and all bad things were behind them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you think you’re so capable?” She launched straight into accusation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I…” He hadn’t even figured out what she meant!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why are you coming to harass me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I came to take you back.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Take me back?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Legally…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t drag law into this!” If she hadn’t feared scaring the children beside her, Bai Ziling would’ve already lunged at him. “If you’re so brave, sue me. Let’s see what the judge decides.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Jie endured her gaze, as if he’d resolved to yield, to tolerate, to give in—to make amends.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Go home right now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Only if you come with me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Jiang Jie, five minutes ahead on the road there’s a cliff. If you jump, even if you don’t die shattered, you’ll be unrecognizable. Do you want to drive me to that point?” Bai Ziling asked with a “sweet smile.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m not forcing you. I just want to make it up to you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This compensation is too late.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You can punish me—anything I can do.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But I don’t want your compensation, and I don’t want to punish you. I just want my old simple life!” she cried hoarsely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Simple life…” he repeated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes. A simple life without you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ziling, we can’t have had no feelings. Otherwise, that night you wouldn’t have given yourself to me. I know you’re angry, you hate me, you blame me—but all of that can be overcome, can be made up for!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Where do you start making it up?” she asked sadly. “From the day I moved into your home, I wanted to be your real wife. I didn’t want this to be a three-month act. I wanted you to fall in love with me, to want me beside you…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m trying now…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But how did you treat me those two months?” She felt worthless. “I was only slightly more useful than your furniture. I’m alive—I have feelings—I feel pain!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I didn’t know…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You didn’t want to understand me. You only wanted the time to pass so you could end it all!” Bai Ziling voiced his mindset back then.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I admit my fault. I apologize.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s useless!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ziling, you must look forward. Even a murderer, even someone sentenced to life, still has a chance at redemption or parole. Why won’t you give me another chance?” Jiang Jie’s voice grew angry. “Let me be your lifelong husband!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lifelong…” She wanted to cry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s not too late!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not too late for you…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ziling, is your head filled with cement or garbage? Can’t you think of something beautiful? Beyond hate—do you really feel nothing else toward me?” No longer willing to be the one taking blows, Jiang Jie struck back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Ziling sulked in silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Nothing is beyond starting over,” he snapped at her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re so full of yourself!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I won’t let myself lose you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’ve already lost!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ziling, you won’t sleep with anyone, and you won’t cheat on me. We can live together properly.” He reached out, trying to show her his sincerity and truth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Bai Ziling slapped his hand away—she refused his gesture outright, especially now, with the children nearby watching their fight for a long while.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Go. Don’t set a bad example for these children.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You really won’t come with me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What about your coffee shop?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let it collapse!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Are you really going to stay on this mountain?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve grown to love it here.” Bai Ziling wasn’t lying. She noticed Tong Yiwen watching them, but didn’t intervene—only quietly observed. “Go. My cousin’s already watching.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll come back,” he said, leaving.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll disappear again.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No matter where you hide, I’ll find you!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Jiang Jie walked away, Tong Yiwen approached Bai Ziling. She wasn’t prying—she simply wanted to express what she’d seen and felt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A cool, handsome man, radiating power—as if no one or nothing in this world could sway his resolve. Ziling, is this man the source of your trouble?” Tong Yiwen asked knowingly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Cousin…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When you stand together, you look perfectly matched—like Jin Tongyunu.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s an illusion.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Can you truly harden your heart and reject him?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He hardened his heart and shattered me completely. Why can’t I harden mine?” Bai Ziling spoke half-heartedly—her heart had softened slightly, for he had bowed to her again and again. But then she remembered how she’d felt leaving his home that morning…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She simply couldn’t let it go!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On a rainy afternoon, Di Zhiwei arrived at the kindergarten on Xin Dian Mountain—Jiang Jie had told him where Bai Ziling was. Perhaps Jiang Jie thought Di Zhiwei could bring her back to Taipei.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just then, Bai Ziling was escorting a feverish little boy home, so Di Zhiwei faced a woman who looked like a spinster but had sharp eyes and mature poise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m waiting for Bai Ziling to return,” Di Zhiwei said politely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who are you?” Tong Yiwen asked sharply. Bai Ziling hadn’t mentioned this person, and this man—unlike the last one—had a rakish charm, clearly no respectable fellow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m a friend of Bai Ziling’s.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m Bai Ziling’s cousin.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hello, Cousin,” he said playfully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m not so venerable you can call me ‘Cousin.’ What do you want with Ziling?” Tong Yiwen questioned sternly—she wouldn’t tolerate any more random people bothering her cousin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s something important,” he felt this woman was troublesome.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What is it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When I see Bai Ziling, I…” Di Zhiwei didn’t want to offend this stern, proper-looking woman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If it’s not vital, I won’t let you disturb her.” Tong Yiwen was effectively dismissing him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It concerns her lifelong happiness. Is that important enough?” Di Zhiwei grew irritated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lifelong happiness? With you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why not, Cousin—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sir, I’m certain I’m not older than you, so don’t call me ‘Cousin.’ Don’t try to claim kinship—I can’t bear it. Ziling’s emotions are confused now, but I’m sure it’s not because of you.” Tong Yiwen locked horns with him—she disliked this man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sir, I’m certain I’m not older than you, so don’t call me “cousin sister” or try to claim kinship—I can’t bear it. Zi Ling’s mind is currently confused, but I believe her confusion has nothing to do with you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She never mentioned you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But we have some ‘history.’” Di Zhiwei was growing impatient—now even young women acted like ancient spinsters? She looked like a strict dorm supervisor from the past, yet the longer he looked, the more he found her striking and elegant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I do have some “history” with her. Di Zhiwei was beginning to grow weary—now there were young women acting like old spinsters? She looked like the stern dorm supervisor from days past, yet the longer he stared, the more he found her surprisingly pleasing and refined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I can wait outside…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s pouring rain outside.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It doesn’t matter.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It does. If you catch pneumonia from the rain…” Tong Yiwen spotted her cousin’s figure—a white umbrella, Bai Ziling looking fragile, defenseless. “Don’t bother Ziling. I’m warning you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It matters—if you catch pneumonia from getting soaked in the rain… Tong Yiwen spotted her cousin’s figure beneath a flowered umbrella: Bai Ziling looked fragile, utterly defenseless. “Don’t bother Zi Ling—I’m warning you now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Di Zhiwei!” Bai Ziling closed her umbrella. Seeing Di Zhiwei’s profile, she couldn’t help but gasp—had he come too?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Di Zhiwei immediately approached her, relieved. In all his years, he’d never met a woman as terrifying, as cold, as utterly un-feminine as Bai Ziling’s cousin—he’d wanted to flee or stand at attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Di Zhiwei immediately walked toward her, relieved as if a great burden had been lifted; in all his years, he had never encountered a woman as terrifying, as horrifying, as utterly devoid of femininity as Cousin Bai Ziling—he actually wanted to flee or stand at attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Are you soaked?” he asked at once, deeply concerned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who told you that?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Jiang Jie, isn’t it incredible?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You made this trip for nothing.” Bai Ziling put the umbrella in the stand. With her cousin beside her, she felt utterly safe. “Go back soon, or the mountain road will be dangerous in the dark with heavy rain.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How long can you hide here, Bai Ziling?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“As long as I can.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your coffee shop will go under!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The money to open the coffee shop came from Jiang Jie. If it fails…” Bai Ziling had truly let go. “Then it’s perfect—I have no connection to him at all.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re stupid!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Di Zhiwei, leave me alone.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Di Zhiwei had been about to say more when he suddenly heard someone clear their throat. He knew it was Bai Ziling’s cousin, so he pulled Bai Ziling outside the director’s office. Though rain splashed on them, it was better than being watched constantly—he was terrified of that woman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Di Zhiwei, we have nothing left to say!” Bai Ziling stared at the large raindrops like pearls. “It’s the same with Jiang Jie, and the same with you—you’re both wasting your time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Bai Ziling, I really have no chance at all…” Di Zhiwei was ready to give up. Though disappointed and helpless, he knew love couldn’t be forced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How many times do I have to say it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What if it’s a fake marriage…” he ventured, “I haven’t gotten my grandfather’s five hundred million yet.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your uncle will kill both you cousins—even if you’re just trying to scam money, you should find a ‘new face.’” Bai Ziling laughed. “Di Zhiwei, you’re not as smart as I thought!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Love makes people stupid,” Di Zhiwei teased her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There’s no love between us.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What about friendship?” he asked seriously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Friendship…” Bai Ziling looked at him. “Fine. I can accept your friendship. We’d be better off as friends.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sigh…” Di Zhiwei let out a heavy sigh, half-amused at himself. “I thought braving this downpour to come up the mountain would move you, make you see my sincerity—but it seems… everything I do is pointless.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not pointless—you gained a friend.” She smiled and patted him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve never lost before, Bai Ziling—it’s all your fault!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No one can remain a winner forever.”\u003C\u002Fp>",3576,"2026-06-19T14:40:28.152Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","d6e9165ec7739acf60f9311a22015e2cebbf525c7f8d88deb05ec92f089a25fb","turning-false-into-true-chapter-12","turning-false-into-true-chapter-10",29,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fturning-false-into-true-cover.jpg"]