Chapter 432: Chapter 432: You Can’t Fool Me, Nor Can I Fool Myself
Lin Zhiyi and Li Huan exchanged a glance, both instinctively suppressing their emotions.
“How’s it going?” Lin Zhiyi asked.
“The specialists recommend immediate surgery. Because Du Qian has been falsifying data all along, Xingxing’s condition isn’t as optimistic as we thought.” Li Huan hurriedly explained, worried she might overthink, “Don’t worry, the experts are very confident about the surgery.”
Lin Zhiyi looked at the quiet Xingxing in her arms and felt a surge of heartache.
She gently stroked Xingxing’s hand and nodded, “Alright, I understand.”
Seeing her agreement, Li Huan hesitated slightly before continuing, “The experts said it’s best to perform the surgery in Jing City, where the medical equipment is better than what we have here in Gang City.”
This point was undeniable.
Lin Zhiyi hugged the child tighter, unwilling to take any risks.
“Okay.”
“But don’t tell anyone. After the surgery, we’ll come back immediately.”
Lin Zhiyi reminded Li Huan seriously.
Li Huan nodded, “I’ll arrange for you to blend in with the expert team during the return trip. Traveling as a group will make it harder for the Gong Family to notice.”
“Thank you,” Lin Zhiyi said gratefully.
“It wasn’t me—it was his idea. He knew you didn’t want anyone to find out, so he arranged for his private jet to be left for you.” Li Huan clarified.
“Okay.”
Carrying the child, Lin Zhiyi remained expressionless and prepared to leave.
Li Huan saw her excessive calmness and hurriedly followed her.
“Lin Zhiyi, do you really not care about him anymore?”
Lin Zhiyi glanced at him, shutting down his question with a single sentence, “Let me ask you—Du Qian mentioned Xingxing’s illness is related to my father taking medication. Is that true?”
“No, there’s no such claim—it’s just a developmental issue,” Li Huan paused briefly before explaining again.
Lin Zhiyi asked no further questions and said indifferently, “I’ve already asked Liao Yi to pack up my things in the room. Help him check out. Just let me know when it’s time to depart.”
As he watched her walk away, Li Huan let out a deep sigh.
…
Back at the inn.
As soon as Lin Zhiyi returned, she cleaned the room inside and out.
While tidying the desk, she saw a portrait of Gong Chen under her design drafts.
It was exactly how he appeared in her dreams—less cold, and a bit softer.
She touched the area around his eyes on the portrait, emotions surging intensely within her.
Quickly, she shut the portrait and pretended not to have seen anything, continuing to tidy up the room.
When she finished, she felt the room was a bit stuffy and turned to leave the inn for a walk along the beach.
A large cruise ship was anchored offshore, devoid of any lights.
The shadow of the ship in the evening glow resembled a lonesome beast drowning in the water.
Lin Zhiyi stared at it in a daze, only snapping out of it when her phone rang repeatedly.
The call was, unsurprisingly, from Sang Ran.
“Lin Zhiyi, you’ve lost.”
“Hm, I’ve never won whenever I fought with you people, have I?” Lin Zhiyi said calmly, “But Sang Ran, you’ve lost too.”
“Nonsense! I’ve already found out Third Young Master’s flight information. He’ll be at the hospital with me soon. Don’t think for a moment that you can use the child to trap him. He and I will soon have a child of our own!” Sang Ran spoke with boastful pride.
Each word Sang Ran uttered came with such force that Lin Zhiyi suddenly didn’t feel as sad anymore.
Sang Ran was pitiful and pathetic in her own way.
Lin Zhiyi smiled faintly, “Hmm.”
Agitated, Sang Ran’s voice sharpened, “What are you laughing at? What gives you the right to laugh? You’re never setting foot in Jing City again in your lifetime!”
Upon hearing this, Lin Zhiyi did not respond immediately. Instead, she tapped her phone and returned the five million that had just become due to Sang Ran.
On the other end of the line, Sang Ran seemed to freeze for a moment—she had likely just seen the transaction notification.
Only then did Lin Zhiyi slowly reply, “Sang Ran, I owe you nothing. The one to blame is that drunk-driving driver. If you called just to provoke me, it’s unnecessary. From the moment I decided to leave Jing City, I knew there was no future between him and me.”
The sky darkened gradually. The twilight faded from her face, taking away its warmth.
She hugged herself tighter, yet when she thought of someone, there was still a hint of a smile on her lips.
She laughed quietly, but soon her eyes were red.
“Sang Ran, let’s switch places in the next life. I’ve never managed to hold onto him anyway.”
Her words were soft, dissipating into the wind, fading into obscurity.
She clutched her phone and bowed her head, listening to the sound of the rolling waves nearby.
“Lin Zhiyi.”
“Say that again.”
When she heard the man’s voice, Lin Zhiyi thought she must have been imagining things.
She remained motionless for a long time until Sang Ran’s frenzied screams reached her through the phone.
“Impossible! Impossible! I don’t believe it!”
Lin Zhiyi’s mind buzzed as she snapped back to reality and turned stiffly around.
Her eyes traced the blurry light outlining the figure of the man approaching.
Wind blew against his long trench coat, rendering him almost otherworldly.
He stopped in front of Lin Zhiyi, and his familiar aura enveloped her as she lifted her head to meet his gaze.
Neither of them spoke. The prolonged silence seemed to freeze even the wind around them.
She raised her hand and pressed it against his chest, feeling the quickened rhythm of his heartbeat mirroring her own, reassuring her that the man before her was indeed real.
Gong Chen clasped her hand and held it against his face.
“Zhiyi, I promise.”
He repeated the same words he’d said before.
Lin Zhiyi wanted to laugh, yet tears stubbornly fell from her eyes.
Gong Chen pulled her into his embrace, holding her tightly.
After a moment, as Lin Zhiyi calmed down, she looked up at Gong Chen.
“Didn’t you leave?”
His gaze dropped, and his deep voice contained a trace of restrained emotion, “When have you ever successfully lied to me? Do you truly want me gone?”
Lin Zhiyi pressed her lips together.
The man suddenly bent closer, his breath warming her face as she froze.
He tilted her chin upward and stared into her eyes.
“You can’t deceive me, and I can’t deceive myself. I don’t want to leave.”
He was so close, as though these words were meant for her ears alone.
As Lin Zhiyi came back to her senses, her forehead briefly heated—he had kissed her.
The kiss was light and tender, without further intention.
Night fell, and faint starlight adorned the sky as the two walked alongside the shoreline.
After taking several steps, Lin Zhiyi suddenly stopped and looked down at her hand, only to realize her phone had unknowingly fallen onto the sand.
When she picked up her phone, she paused in surprise before handing it to Gong Chen.
Because Sang Ran’s call was still connected.
Gong Chen glanced at the number and hung up without hesitation.
Then he turned and took Lin Zhiyi’s hand, “Let’s go.”
…
Jing City, hospital.
“Lin Zhiyi! Lin Zhiyi! Don’t you dare hang up…”
Beep, beep, beep.
The cold disconnect tone echoed, and Sang Ran’s eyes brimmed with fury.
She muttered to herself, “Impossible—it must be Lin Zhiyi trying to fool me.”
She checked the flight information on her phone, and it showed Gong Chen’s plane had already landed in Jing City.
As her thoughts raced, the door to her room was pushed open.
Hope reignited within Sang Ran as she turned to the visitor with a smile, only to see it was Chen Jin who entered.
With an expressionless face, Chen Jin stepped forward and handed her a document, “Miss Sang, this is the agreement from Third Young Master. Please review it and let us know if there is anything else you need. Third Young Master said you can set your own terms—it’s his way of repaying you for saving his life.”
Sang Ran’s eyes fixed on the document as a cold sense of finality settled over her heart.
“Repayment? Fine, I only want him to promise me one thing.”