Chapter 57

The temperature had warmed up over the past few days of early spring, and with people shedding their winter coats quickly, many had caught colds.

He wondered if he had been infected as well.

Driving his car, Lin Sheng felt slightly dizzy, yet he patiently maintained a distance of two or three meters behind her.

On the sidewalk, the girl walked amidst the hazy, sun-drenched air.

Her hair and clothes were a pure, understated black, the skin of her ears as white and flawless as porcelain, and her back appeared somewhat delicate.

She possessed a natural vitality, much like the sunlight itself.

Xu Xieyi’s pace was neither hurried nor slow; amidst the rushing pedestrians, she carried an air of calm composure.

Watching that retreating figure, Lin Sheng took a long, deep breath.

Clearly, this girl had fallen for him, yet she was still able to let go. Young as she was, she certainly knew how to be ruthless.

He had not expected it.

In the end, he had been outsmarted by a little wild goose.

The bus stop for the mountain route was just ten meters or so ahead, but the girl inexplicably came to a halt, standing there in a daze.

Lin Sheng’s brow twitched.

From his angle inside the car, Xu Xieyi’s expression was invisible.

He could only see the young girl gradually lowering her head, her slight back appearing somewhat desolate.

A car behind him flashed its high beams, urging the stationary Porsche to move.

Lin Sheng ignored it.

His dark eyes fixed on that spot, growing deeper.

With her eyelids lowered, the grey square paving stones of the sidewalk right in front of her toes gradually blurred in her vision.

Strangers hurried past, occasionally casting a strange glance in her direction. She gently sniffed her sour, aching nose.

—What should I do? I can’t even focus on walking anymore...

Suddenly, the blare of a car horn startled her from behind, followed by someone calling her name.

"Xxieyi?"

Slightly startled, Xu Xieyi hurriedly wiped away her tears with her sleeve and turned around in a daze.

A white BMW sedan was parked by the roadside, and a woman with brown curls poked her head out of the window, removing her sunglasses.

Fu Xiaoyin curved her red lips into a smile. "Darling, what are you doing all by yourself out here?"

Then, she looked slightly surprised. "Oh... who bullied you?"

Xu Xieyi hastily wiped her eyes again and shook her head.

Further back, maintaining a distance inside the Porsche, Lin Sheng watched the scene ahead.

The girl’s eyes were red-rimmed, wearing a forced smile as she exchanged a few words with the woman in the car, before finally being persuaded to get inside.

He closed the car door he had just pushed ajar, his lowered eyelashes half-concealing his eyes, a faint, shallow smile playing on his lips.

—So fragile and prone to crying.

—Yet she dared to like him...

The Porsche stopped following, made a U-turn, and gradually drove away.

-

"You're welcome. I was just heading up the mountain to see a friend anyway, so I figured I’d give you a ride," Fu Xiaoyin said as she drove.

Xu Xieyi sat up straight, her seatbelt securely fastened. "Still, thank you, Sister Xiaoyin."

Fu Xiaoyin flashed her a smiling glance.

She had heard about Lin Sheng’s impending departure. Having a suspicion in her heart that she wasn't entirely certain of, she deliberately probed, "Where is your Brother Lin? How could he bear to let you squeeze onto public transport all by yourself?"

Xu Xieyi was lost in thought; upon hearing this, she paused slightly before lowering her gaze. "He’s been very busy lately."

"Oh. He spoils you so much; if you gave him a call, I’m sure he’d come pick you up no matter how busy he was."

She continued, "I’ve known him for so many years, and I’ve never seen him show such patience toward any other girl. Anyone who didn't know better would think he was treating you like a girlfriend."

Xu Xieyi remained silent. Her slender fingers gripped the seatbelt tightly, her lips pressed into a thin line.

Fu Xiaoyin glanced at her. Seeing the girl persistently silent, she wasn't quite sure whether her guess was correct.

"By the way, do you remember Sister Guan whom you met before? She might end up becoming your sister-in-law. It seems both families were discussing marriage plans before the New Year. As it happens, I’m going up the mountain just to visit her. Her aunt happens to live in the same residential compound as your Brother Lin—talk about a real coincidence..."

Part (1/3)

Part (2/3)

Before she could finish her sentence, Fu Xiaoyin suddenly trailed off.

Stopping at a red light, she glanced over. The young girl’s head was lowered; though her face was obscured, tears could clearly be seen welling up drop by drop along her chin before falling.

She was startled. "D-Don't cry."

Regretting that she might have probed too far, Fu Xiaoyin hurriedly pulled out a tissue. "Alright, alright, Sister won't talk about it anymore, okay? Please don't be upset."

"I... I'm fine."

Xu Xieyi’s voice was hoarse as she awkwardly wiped away her tears in silence, yet they simply refused to stop.

Just rolling that name across the tip of her heart brought a wave of pain.

"Sister Xiaoyin, you don't need to mind me. I... I just need a moment alone."

"Oh dear, this... alright then. Try not to be sad, okay?"

If she still didn't understand after this, Fu Xiaoyin figured she must be a complete fool. Lin Sheng certainly hadn't just been playing around with a little sister.

Driving along, Fu Xiaoyin occasionally glanced at Xu Xieyi, who was staring blankly out the window.

She sighed inwardly.

A young girl experiencing love for the very first time—her emotions were simply too sincere and fragile.

Dropping tears to such an extent.

Once she experienced a bit more of the setbacks in love, like herself, the most she would do would be to drink herself into a stupor. Men and women of the world—the next one would always be more obedient.

Recalling her own past, Fu Xiaoyin sighed softly.

Having been hurt by men, she had lost that fragile, pure maidenly heart to a greater or lesser degree.

If any man could manage to preserve a girl's vulnerability and innocence, he truly would be formidable, wouldn't he?

Fu Xiaoyin thought with a twitch of her red lips.

Then, inexplicably, she thought of Lin Sheng.

And immediately dismissed the thought as utterly foolish.

How could that possibly happen?

Such a cold, unfeeling man!

---

On the night before Lin Sheng’s departure abroad, his childhood friends from the residential compound booked out a quiet little bar to see him off.

The male singer on the small circular stage knew them well, strumming a weathered, husky slow song on his guitar.

Chu Yuefei sat down next to Lin Sheng and moved the bottle of liquor a bit further away. "Drink a little less, brother. Aren't you flying abroad tomorrow?"

Lin Sheng raised his glass to eye level, his fingers rotating the rim. "Do you think I can drive across the Pacific?"

"..."

Chu Yuefei felt that Lin Sheng seemed somewhat unusual tonight, having drunk a bit too much.

"Actually, parting ways with the little sister was the right call. If you two really stayed together, the old Commander would probably unleash thunder and lightning. It would only cause more trouble later."

Lin Sheng slanted a cold, mocking smile at him. "Can't you say something that sounds a bit nicer?"

Chu Yuefei spread his hands, feigning innocence.

They chatted for a while about hospital matters. Lin Sheng had hired a professional manager to run things, and now he was stepping away to pursue other ventures, planning to travel and see the world abroad.

After a minute of quiet, Chu Yuefei played with his lighter while glancing sideways. In the dim lighting, Lin Sheng’s handsome profile, with its high-arched bridge of the nose, stood out; his eyes were the finest feature of his face, yet the sharpness hidden in his gaze possessed an untamable, defiant arrogance.

He recalled that time he had driven Xu Xieyi home, catching a glimpse in the rearview mirror of the young girl’s tranquil, delicate figure standing beneath the warm yellow streetlights.

Suddenly, he had an inexplicable intuition.

This wolf named Lin Sheng, whom no one could ever tame, might one day curl up at her feet and retract his sharp claws all on his own—who could say for sure?

For all these years, he had never seen Lin Sheng show such patience toward any woman, nor restrain himself for so long in such a lingering entanglement.

-

Halfway through the drinks, the bar door suddenly pushed open, and to everyone's surprise, Guan Yuejiao walked in. Her pretty eyes instantly locked onto Lin Sheng.

The group gradually quieted down, watching her walk over. Rumors about the two of them had already circulated widely within their circle.

It was nothing more than another story of unrequited love, where the maiden was passionate, but the gentleman remained indifferent.

Anyway, having grown up playing with Lin Sheng, everyone was long accustomed to such scenes; they couldn't even muster an extra ounce of sympathy.

"Ah Sheng has no emotions—that's no secret. I really don't get why these good daughters of respectable families keep throwing themselves at him one after another," Xiao Youfeng muttered softly.

Part (2/3)

Part (3/3)

"That's because you don't understand," Chu Yuefei said with a chuckle, spinning his lighter across the coffee table with his finger. "Most good women believe they are angels capable of saving a bad man."

Chen Xia laughed aloud. "Little do they know, some men are simply beyond saving."

"Take our Ah Sheng, for example."

With that, the few of them burst out laughing together.

They had encountered all sorts of women by now—white roses, red roses. It wasn't that the other person wasn't good enough, yet Lin Sheng always remained just like that.

Guan Yuejiao sat in low spirits all evening. With barely anyone paying attention to her, she eventually left with reddened eyes.

By the early hours of the morning, the gathering came to an end.

Without a word, Lin Sheng paid the tab for the entire venue and called a designated driver. Unassured, Chu Yuefei leaned against the car window and asked, "Do you want me to send you home, Ah Sheng? You're completely drunk."

"Do you think I'm drunk?"

"...No, it's just that your energy doesn't look too good."

Leaning back against the seat and pinching the bridge of his nose, Lin Sheng indeed felt unwell. "I probably caught a bit of a cold yesterday, and the alcohol went straight to my head. It's nothing big."

He never drank low-proof alcohol, and having consumed quite a bit tonight, his voice had a slight nasal twinge.

"Do you want me to... call a woman to go back with you and take care of you?"

Fastening his seatbelt, Lin Sheng glanced sideways at him upon hearing this. "Fine."

"Then who should I call?"

For a moment, Chu Yuefei couldn't think of anyone suitable. "Annie and Li Keke have great figures, but they might not be very good at taking care of people. Oh, what's-her-name—Emily seems to have returned to the country. Tsk, gentle, virtuous, and maturely sensible. How about her?"

"How old is she?" Lin Sheng cast a sidelong glance.

"Twenty-two, or maybe twenty-four."

"Is there anyone younger?"

Resting his arm on the car window, Lin Sheng tapped his fingers lightly against the frame in thought. "Seventeen? Do you have anyone that age?"

＿

Watching Lin Sheng's car, its red taillights gradually receding into the distance, Chu Yuefei stood rooted to the spot, digesting that remark.

"---Tsk, isn't seventeen a bit too young?! His tastes are getting a bit too heavy."

Only then did he recall the slight curve of Lin Sheng's lips at the very instant the car drove away.

The realization finally dawned on him.

Lin Sheng had been joking, playing with him.

"Damn it, what a bewitching monster."

He thought back to how impeccably dressed Lin Sheng had been when he requested a seventeen-year-old. Even knowing he was joking, he couldn't help but sigh: Men truly are the most terrifying when they look the most proper!

A blast of cold wind swept past, sobering Chu Yuefei up a bit. As he walked back, a thought suddenly struck him. He turned his head toward the direction where Lin Sheng had disappeared, raised an eyebrow, and laughed aloud—

"Want a seventeen-year-old? Sure, we've got one."

--

Before going to bed, after finishing her homework, Xu Xieyi went to the bathroom, wiped away the dust from the toiletries Lin Sheng had left behind, and neatly organized them.

He was leaving immediately, and she didn't know when he would return; these items wouldn't be needed for a short while.

One by one, she placed them orderly inside the cabinet beside the vanity sink so that the next time Lin Sheng came home, he could take them out and use them directly.

It was very convenient.

When Xu Xieyi tidied up to the bottle of French perfume, she cradled it against her heart and stood in a daze for a long time.

Countless thoughts whirled and weighed heavily in her mind.

Silently wiping away her tears, she carefully placed the perfume inside as well.

Then... let it be at that.

Wishing you happiness and joy in the future, Brother Lin.

Fortunately, ordinary people might not possess extraordinary talents, but they are certainly skilled at endurance.

She was too.