Jin Ling exhaled heavily, gritted his teeth, a surge of gnawing anger rising within him. Yet, faced with Su Ding's perfect, aloof face, he couldn't bring himself to utter anything harsh.
Even now, he remembered their first meeting. It was a cold, rainy night when she had dashed out from the desolate wilderness onto the highway, blocking his car.
The moment she saw him, the bewilderment and anxiety in her eyes vanished, replaced by a profound sense of peace.
It was a complete and utter trust.
A trust Jin Ling had never experienced before.
He had never believed anyone without reservation, nor had he ever been trusted and relied upon so unreservedly. Perhaps, in that instant, his heart had already been captured.
"...We have time. I won't pressure you."
Jin Ling finally uttered these words before pushing open the door and stepping out.
Su Ding silently watched his retreating back, her lips parting, but no words of entreaty could escape.
The sweet memories of the past surfaced before her eyes.
She and Jin Ye had weathered so many storms together, their hearts forever intertwined.
Was she perhaps being too sensitive?
She couldn't understand.
Jin Ling left the office and immediately spotted Zhang Xiaoya pacing anxiously in the restaurant. His expression instantly turned cold.
"I'll leave first. You come out later. I have something to say to you."
With that, he walked out without regard for Zhang Xiaoya's reaction.
He drove to a corner across the street from the shop and waited. Ten minutes later, Zhang Xiaoya emerged, her expression flustered.
"Su Ding didn't notice, did she?" Jin Ling asked first.
"No."
Zhang Xiaoya replied in a low voice, her expression unusually grave.
She clenched her fists tightly, as if suppressing something, her lips pressed thin.
Jin Ling, unaware of this, continued, "Do not tell anyone about our relationship, especially Su Ding."
"Remember, don't even think about blackmailing me. You cannot afford the consequences."
Jin Ling threatened coldly, then took a check from his pocket. "Here is ten million. Your hush money."
Zhang Xiaoya looked at the check, her eyes suddenly reddening, misting over.
Her lips, bitten pale, trembled slightly as she breathed rapidly, her shoulders quivering as if on the verge of collapse.
Suddenly, she lifted her face, staring intently at Jin Ling, tears streaming down.
"I won't tell the store manager, but you must stop betraying her!"
Her tone was heavy, laced with determination and reprimand, and a hint of a sob.
"What?"
Jin Ling frowned, not understanding why this girl was so angry.
Ten million was an amount this girl's family would never earn in a lifetime. Why was she angry?
"You cannot betray the store manager anymore!"
Zhang Xiaoya summoned her courage and said loudly, tears welling in her eyes.
Jin Ling's expression darkened, his eyes suppressing his annoyance. "This is none of your business."
"It is my business!"
Zhang Xiaoya became increasingly agitated. "The store manager has been so good to me, and yet I did that behind her back. I... I won't do that with you anymore, and you are not allowed to betray the store manager, otherwise, otherwise I'll tell the store manager... mmm!"
Seeing her growing agitation, Jin Ling stepped forward and covered her mouth, stopping her from speaking further.
"Zhang Xiaoya, my affairs with her are not for you to comment on."
"Mmm mmm... You can't... can't betray... mmm mmm!"
Zhang Xiaoya struggled violently. Her fair little face was painfully rubbed, and tears were about to fall, yet she refused to remain silent.
Jin Ling, at his wit's end, said sternly, "Think about your mother."
The words rendered Zhang Xiaoya speechless, her eyes brimming with tears of hatred and unwillingness.
She choked back a sob and fell silent.
"You should stop working there, take the check, and leave Jiangcheng."
Jin Ling said heavily, not wanting Su Ding to know about his dealings with this girl.
But Zhang Xiaoya shook her head resolutely.
"I don't want your money, and I won't make a deal with you. As long as you don't betray the store manager, I won't say anything."
She wiped her tears, appearing to have calmed down.
Even though he threatened her with her mother, she held a trump card against him.
"Zhang Xiaoya."
Jin Ling's gaze suddenly turned sinister. "You have no right to negotiate terms with me."
Zhang Xiaoya felt a pressure bearing down on her. She clenched her fists tightly, holding on. "Since you still care about the store manager, why do you betray her?"
This question left Jin Ling speechless.
He looked at Zhang Xiaoya coldly and said, "You keep saying you're doing this for the store manager, but you've also done things that hurt her."
Zhang Xiaoya's face paled, and she was unable to retort.
"Since that's the case, we both keep our promises and neither of us will speak of it."
Jin Ling said this, and Zhang Xiaoya insisted, "You're also not allowed to go out looking for other women, otherwise the store manager still won't forgive you."
Jin Ling faltered. Accustomed to holding a position of authority where no one dared to contradict him, he was now somewhat angered by this girl's repeated defiance.
"Do you know the consequences of offending me? Do you want to die?"
"...You won't."
Zhang Xiaoya blurted out this sentence for some unknown reason.
Looking up, although she saw the man's fierce, overbearing, bloodthirsty, and ruthless demeanor, perhaps it was due to the intimacy they had shared in bed, allowing her to glimpse a more vulnerable side of him. Deep down, she felt he wasn't as cold-blooded as he appeared.
"Heh, you're very bold."
Jin Ling sneered and said no more.
He turned to leave the alley, but Zhang Xiaoya's voice followed him. "Did you agree?"
"Understood."
Jin Ling replied coldly before getting into his car and driving away.
Zhang Xiaoya watched the departing car, letting out a slight sigh. Her tears seemed to have dried, but the guilt weighing on her heart lingered persistently.
During their brief time together previously, she had a faint feeling that the man had only recently arrived in the country, perhaps even homeless, hence his constant stay in hotels.
And on many occasions during her midnight dreams, his voice carried fear, hatred, and triumph... along with loneliness. He seemed to have an obsession: his sister-in-law.
"Out of reach, out of sight," was his inner monologue.
She gradually understood that she might be a substitute, yet many nights of entanglement had unconsciously fostered a sense of longing within her.
But today, she had unexpectedly discovered that this man was the store manager's husband.
She was completely thrown.
"It's over."
Zhang Xiaoya whispered softly, her voice faint, carried away by the wind.
Her feelings, like those of an insignificant figure, were submerged before they could even be noticed.
At the same time.
At City First Hospital, in a luxurious ward.
Shao Lin lay in bed, her face pale and gaunt, her entire person looking utterly depleted.
Zhao Qin sat beside her, appearing younger than Shao Lin.
"Linlin, don't worry. The doctor said you'll recover if you rest for a few more days."
"Thank you, Auntie."
Shao Lin said weakly.
After her previous premature labor and severe hemorrhage, Zhao Qin and He Qing had both assumed that it was the departure of the technical staff and nurses that had caused her to fly into a rage and deliver prematurely.
Only she knew the truth: it was because of the USB drive and the revelation it contained.
She learned that the man she had been intimate with that night was not Jin Ye, and the child was not of the Jin family. If Zhao Qin were to find out, she would be utterly ruined!