Chapter 138 Not even trust

When Lin Xiyin returned from her walk, Xiao Ruoyi was still with Lin Youxing, looking at picture books.

The little guy grew up abroad, and Lin Xiyin taught him bilingual education from a young age, so English picture books were no challenge for him.

However, it was almost time for him to go to bed.

I was exhausted from playing all day, and even though I took a nap earlier, I'm incredibly sleepy right now.

Lin Xiyin was talking to Xiao Ruoyi beside him, his little head nodding like a woodpecker.

Both of them suppressed their laughter, put him on the bed, and the little guy fell asleep without even opening his eyes.

Xiao Ruoyi didn't leave; she slept with Lin Xiyin that night.

Lin Xiyin then had a chance to ask her, "Didn't Huo Xianyang say when he'd be back?"

"Why did you come back?" Xiao Ruoyi asked lazily. "He's abroad, living a very comfortable life."

Without her exploitation, without the pressure from family members.

"Don't say that," Lin Xiyin said. "If you and he are doing well, you can solve any problem. Why would he need to go abroad?"

Xiao Ruoyi said, "You're oversimplifying things."

"If you nod, is there any other problem?"

Xiao Ruoyi was silent for a few seconds before saying, "Huo Xianyang's mother contacted me."

Lin Xiyin was taken aback.

Xiao Ruoyi continued, "She didn't mean to break me up with Huo Xianyang, but she had standards for her daughter-in-law. After marriage, she had to be a good wife and mother, not go out to work, and have two children within three years."

Lin Xiyin fell silent.

Because she knew that Xiao Ruoyi wasn't that kind of person at all.

Let alone having children, how could we possibly stop her from working?

She's a workaholic, a strong woman; most of the joy in her life comes from her work.

"Didn't you tell Huo Xianyang?" Lin Xiyin asked.

Xiao Ruoyi said, "What's the use of saying anything? Can he sever ties with his mother, or can he have a child?"

Lin Xiyin thought for a moment and said, "Actually, there's still room for discussion on this. What era are we living in? Why can't women go out to work? As for having children, you should at least have one, right?"

Xiao Ruoyi said, "You know what kind of person I am. My parents don't care about me, so why should I compromise my life because of him?"

“Because you love him,” Lin Xiyin said, “you always have to give something in return.”

“Then why isn’t it him who makes the sacrifice?” Xiao Ruoyi said, “Do you know why we keep talking about gender equality, but women are still treated worse than men? It’s because women are too easy to compromise, always soft-hearted and giving in, and in the end, they are bullied by men until they have nowhere to stand.”

"Not all men are like that," Lin Xiyin tried to put in a good word for Huo Xianyang; "Don't you know how Huo Xianyang treats you?"

“I dare not gamble,” Xiao Ruoyi said. “On one side are his family, and on the other side are me. A protracted tug-of-war will only result in mutual destruction in the end.”

"Have you sat down and properly discussed what you should do next?"

"Why should I discuss this with him?" Xiao Ruoyi said. "Wouldn't that just be asking for trouble?"

If she consulted Huo Xianyang, he would definitely side with her.

I'll coax her into marriage then.

After marriage, she has no say in what happens.

Xiao Ruoyi said, "You don't need to worry about these things. I'm fine as I am. I never planned to get married anyway. As for what happens to Huo Xianyang in the future, that's up to him. I don't care."

“You have no plans to get married, but Huo Xianyang definitely won’t. You’ll be crying when he marries someone else.”

Xiao Ruoyi closed her eyes: "Hmm, I'll find someone else then, someone with a better figure than him, someone who knows how to sweet-talk, and that will make him furious."

Sensing the sleepiness in her voice, Lin Xiyin stopped talking to her and said, "Go to sleep."

Xiao Ruoyi fell asleep quickly.

Lin Xiyin, however, found it difficult to fall asleep.

She thought about her project.

The ongoing project is quite challenging, but she is very confident.

What worried her was another project she was working on.

The big shot she used to admire also had a similar project, and it's said that he invested a lot of money, but it all went down the drain.

Putting aside everything else, the machines needed for the project are all incredibly expensive.

Therefore, Lin Xiyin is not considering this now, but she can prepare some information and data in advance.

She thought for a long time before she finally fell asleep.

Just as she was about to fall asleep, Pei Muye's face seemed to suddenly appear, but she quickly drifted off to sleep.

She wasn't even sure if she had thought of him at that moment.

After Li Xingzhi confessed his feelings to her that day and grabbed her wrist, the two never saw each other again.

But Lin Xiyin didn't expect to see Ji Mingtang in his office on Monday.

Ji Mingtang knew what Lin Xiyin wanted to do, and Li Xingzhi was an expert in this area. If the two could cooperate, they would achieve twice the result with half the effort.

Ji Mingtang was unaware of Li Xingzhi's feelings for Lin Xiyin; he simply felt that Li Xingzhi could help Lin Xiyin.

Li Xingzhi was worried that Lin Xiyin might keep her distance from him because of personal feelings.

But to his relief, Lin Xiyin was completely businesslike and began discussing the upcoming work arrangements with him.

Li Xingzhi can stay.

Pei Muye came to pick up Lin Xiyin from get off work and saw the two of them walking side by side. Even when they reached the car, they were still talking non-stop.

He got out of the car and overheard their conversation.

It was very professional, but it was also full of obscure and difficult-to-understand jargon, like listening to gibberish.

Pei Muye stood to the side and waited for almost ten minutes before the two finished.

Lin Xiyin nodded to Li Xingzhi: "Then I'll go first. We can discuss the rest tomorrow."

Li Xingzhi put one hand in his pocket, acting as if he hadn't seen Pei Muyi, and nodded with a smile, "Okay, see you tomorrow, sister."

Lin Xiyin got into the car and waved, "Bye-bye!"

Pei Muye drove away with a tense expression.

Lin Xiyin didn't speak, and neither did he.

While waiting at the intersection for the light to turn red, Pei Muyi handed him a cup: "Are you tired today?"

"What is this?" Lin Xiyin took it first, without opening it: "It's okay, I'm not tired."

"The company cafeteria made some white fungus and lotus seed soup today, it was pretty good. I brought some for you to try."

"You actually went to the cafeteria to eat?" Lin Xiyin was a little surprised.

Pei Muye rarely eats in the cafeteria, and the cafeteria rarely serves this kind of food.

He saw it in a dating guide; it said that you could prepare some food for a girl that's good for her health, either bought or made.

Pei Muye didn't have time to cook for himself, and he wasn't comfortable with buying food, so he had to ask the cafeteria to cook for him separately.

Lin Xiyin quite liked the white fungus and lotus seed soup, and although Pei Muyi served it in a cup, it didn't stop her from eating it.

The soup was thick and the red dates were sweet; it was delicious.

Lin Xiyin spoke quite a bit today, and this is a good time to clear her throat.

The white fungus was soft and chewy, and eating it made my throat feel refreshed.

The journey home takes only about twenty minutes.

It's still rush hour, but this stretch of road is never really congested.

But Pei Muyi always hoped that the red light would last longer and the traffic jam would last longer.

This way, he and Lin Xiyin will have more time to spend together.

But no matter how slowly he drives, he will eventually reach his destination.

Lin Xiyin got out of the car and took the cup with her.

She shook it: "It's delicious, thank you."

Pei Muye followed her out of the car, stood in front of her, and asked, "That Li Xingzhi...didn't he graduate?"

Why are you still at school today?

He also talked to Lin Xiyin about professional issues for a long time.

Lin Xiyin's expression was calm: "Oh, he will be working with me on a research project in the future."

"He was with you?" Pei Muye asked, his eyes full of displeasure. "If he likes you, will he work hard?"

Lin Xiyin said, "He doesn't mix work and personal feelings."

"I think he..."

Lin Xiyin interrupted him: "President Pei, this is my job. Right now, I'm just Li Xingzhi. In the future, I may have to cooperate with more people."

Pei Muye was taken aback.

Lin Xiyin then said, "President Pei, please take me back. However, President Pei is very busy with work, so you don't need to pick me up or drop me off anymore."

She held out her hand: "Give me the car keys."

How could Pei Muyi not hear the resistance in those words?

He quickly said, "I'm not that busy right now. Yinyin, I didn't mean anything by what I just said..."

"I know," Lin Xiyin said. "I just feel really bad about having you pick me up and drop me off every day. Give me the car keys, I'll go to and from get off work by myself from now on."

Her hand was outstretched, not lowered.

Pei Muye knew that he had messed up today's matter.

Upon seeing Li Xingzhi, all his composure vanished.

He can pursue someone slowly, and it doesn't matter how long it takes.

But he couldn't accept that there were other men around Lin Xiyin.

However, it is clear that Lin Xiyin cannot accept such misunderstandings and doubts.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you,” Pei Muyi could only explain, “I just feel that Li Xingzhi’s state of mind is not suitable for working with you.”

“He’s suitable,” Lin Xiyin said. “The key.”

Pei Muye was silent for a few seconds, then handed over the key.

Lin Xiyin locked the car and turned to leave.

Pei Muye stepped forward, wanting to say something, but the words stuck in his throat.

Lin Xiyin returned home, placed her car keys on the cabinet in the entryway, and sighed softly.

There's an activity at the early childhood education class today, and Aunt Zhao and Lin Youyou haven't returned yet.

She took a shower first, and then looked at the documents.

Actually, she had considered giving Pei Muye a chance before.

Because he has always been the type of man who makes my heart flutter.

But what happened today made Lin Xiyin completely give up.

On the surface, Pei Muye's personality has changed a lot compared to before, and he knows how to respect people.

But in reality, he is still Pei Muyi at heart.

She worked with Li Xingzhi, and without asking any questions, she questioned Li Xingzhi's abilities.

He didn't give her even the most basic trust.

Lin Xiyin has a sense of propriety.

If Li Xingzhi fails to perform well at work and doesn't maintain appropriate boundaries in their daily interactions, it's impossible for her to continue working with him.

Pei Muyi lacked even the most basic trust in her.

If two people are together but don't even have trust, how can they talk about anything else?

For the next two days, Lin Xiyin did not see Pei Muye, nor did she receive any messages from him on her phone.

Until Wednesday, she ran into Lu Zuofan by chance at school.