Volume One, Chapter 20: She Had Never Loved Qin Tianlang

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Talking about this topic, Lin Yunqi suddenly felt wide awake. She said brightly, “It’s like wanting to live for him, to die for him.” Lin Yunqi counted carefully, “When you throw yourself in without hesitation, the other person is also responding passionately.” “Love makes both sides better, enabling each other to flourish.” Lin Qiao furrowed her beautiful brows and pondered for a long time. Finally, she said, “Then I probably have never loved.” Admitting there was no love in her marriage, admitting she didn’t love Qin Tianlang, was not as hard as she had imagined. Lin Qiao knew Qin Tianlang did not love her, but she had never seriously thought about whether she loved him. Because of the marriage borne from that accident, at first, she just wanted a home, to live well with her husband and child. But in the end, she could not continue. Saying it out loud, Lin Qiao seemed to have put down the heavy stone that had long weighed on her heart. This loveless marriage—she no longer wanted it. Lin Yunqi seemed unprepared for Lin Qiao’s answer. After thinking for a moment, she said, “Then, sister, you must try. Choose someone good, someone who will treat you well, so you’ll know love is truly beautiful.” Lin Qiao never doubted the beauty of love. It was too elusive, but at this moment, her younger sister’s advice was so sincere. She nodded, “Alright, I definitely will.” In this life, she would never betray herself again.

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Coffee Shop

Lin Qiao received a call from her close friend Han Zhenzhen, who had just returned from studying abroad. They arranged to meet at the coffee shop they often frequented during university. Lin Qiao ordered her coffee, and soon Han Zhenzhen arrived. “Qiao Qiao!” Han Zhenzhen couldn’t help but tear up upon seeing Lin Qiao. “So many years without seeing you, I missed you so much.” Han Zhenzhen thought about what she had overheard yesterday at the Qin residence and felt even more heartache for her friend. “I’ve heard about you and Tianlang.” Han Zhenzhen was Qin Tianlang’s cousin, as well as a university classmate of Lin Qiao and Bai Xin. Lin Qiao’s acquaintance with Qin Tianlang also originated from a dinner party organized by Han Zhenzhen. “My cousin really is worthless!” she said indignantly. Yesterday at the Qin residence, she heard Aunt Cheng Ru reprimanding Lin Qiao and got so angry she stormed out. “Qiao Qiao, if it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t even have met him. It’s all my fault.”

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Han Zhenzhen now felt especially guilty facing Lin Qiao. “Enough, it’s all in the past. What happened between me and him has nothing to do with you. Don’t take it to heart.” Lin Qiao comforted her. Wanting to change the subject, Lin Qiao pulled Han Zhenzhen to talk about her adventures studying abroad. After chatting for a while, Han Zhenzhen slapped her thigh. “Oh right! There’s something I didn’t get to tell you!” “Your ungrateful son is sick! Haha. You’ll never guess what illness!” Lin Qiao grew curious, “What illness?” “Severe fatty liver! Haha. You wouldn’t think this is a disease only for men who smoke, drink, and eat rich food, right?” Han Zhenzhen thought of the Qin Yi she saw yesterday, who seemed twice as fat as before—she barely recognized him. Later, her aunt told her that he had just been diagnosed with severe fatty liver. Lin Qiao was not surprised. She had always controlled Qin Yi’s diet, emphasizing balanced nutrition. Now that she was gone, no one was supervising Qin Yi, so he was just gorging on junk food. “You don’t even know how fat that little chubby is now; none of his clothes fit anymore.” Lin Qiao hadn’t seen Qin Yi for some time—the last meeting at the mall had ended unhappily. Looking back, he was already noticeably heavier that day, but she hadn’t paid much attention. “They’re divorced now. Whatever happens between father and son has nothing to do with me.” Han Zhenzhen observed Lin Qiao carefully to see if Qin Yi’s situation troubled her, then couldn’t help but ask, “Qiao Qiao, are you really not going back this time?” Han Zhenzhen felt conflicted—after all, Qin Tianlang was her cousin. She could see that the father and son weren’t living as freely as Aunt Cheng Ru claimed after Lin Qiao left. In fact, their life wasn’t going well. Qin Yi’s sudden weight gain, and her cousin constantly stressed about company affairs. Lin Qiao answered firmly, “I won’t go back.” She had said this countless times before, never insincerely. She wouldn’t return to that home. Han Zhenzhen couldn’t help but pity the father and son. Lin Qiao was such a good person, yet they didn’t cherish her. The pain of losing Lin Qiao was something the father and son would taste for the rest of their lives.

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Qin Residence

Qin Yi was panting heavily as he jogged, with Nurse Liu standing beside him, supervising. “Young Master, run faster. Don’t slack off.” Qin Yi’s face was flushed red, tears glistening in his eyes. He just ate a bit too much; how could a liver problem show up during the medical exam? After his father saw the report, he made Nurse Liu enforce a strict diet. Today, arriving at his grandmother’s house, he was told that Qin Tianlang only allowed him a small bowl of vegetables, not even rice. Even grandmother’s pleas were useless. At this moment, he missed his Aunt Yue Liang terribly. He had come to realize that his father was also a bad person. Only Aunt Yue Liang truly cared for him. As he thought of Aunt Yue Liang, he suddenly heard a familiar call. Qin Yi stopped running and saw Xu Mingyue arriving at the Qin residence. He cried as he threw himself into her arms, “Aunt Yue Liang, I missed you so much!” Xu Mingyue pushed him away a bit, bothered by his sweaty smell, but spoke warmly. “Aunt is here to take you to the company to play. Two children just came to the company today; Xiao Yi can play with them.” “Let’s go, let’s go now.” He urged Xu Mingyue, grabbing her hand, eager to be taken to eat hamburgers. Cheng Ru had spent a fortune on rattan furniture, which ultimately became a stepping stone, coaxing investors to graciously visit Qin Tianlang’s company. Qin Tianlang, thinking the investors’ children were around Qin Yi’s age, had asked Xu Mingyue to take Qin Yi to the company to play with the kids. But at this moment, Xu Mingyue felt Qin Tianlang cared too much about Qin Yi, wanting to pave the way for him by introducing him to the investors’ children at such a young age. She grew increasingly resentful toward Qin Yi. Xu Mingyue’s hand was sticky from Qin Yi’s sweaty grip. Pretending to brush her hair, she subtly pulled her hand away. They had just gotten into the car when her phone rang. The voice on the other end was stern. “Ms. Xu, this is the Haishi Police Department. You are suspected of deliberately sabotaging the Qin Group’s jewelry shoot. You are required to come to the station for investigation.”