Chapter 171: True Words on a Rainy Night

Zhao Chen's Adam's apple rolled violently, as if something was blocking his throat. He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but only a hoarse sound came out.

He took a deep breath, the cold rain filling his nostrils. He squatted down, his eyes level with Yu Ling, who was sitting on the ground.

The huge Shiba Inu umbrella, like a silent and firm protective barrier, temporarily separated the two from the chaotic and cold rain world around them.

He stretched out his hand, but did not pull Yu Ling up first. Instead, he used his fingers, which were also wet, cold but unusually steady, to extremely gently and carefully brush away the wet hair mixed with mud that was stuck to Yu Ling's cheek.

His fingertips were cold, and when they touched Yu Ling's hot cheek skin, she couldn't help but shiver slightly.

"Lingling..."

Zhao Chen finally spoke. His voice was hoarse, filled with fatigue from the long journey and a deep sense of suppressed emotion. Every word seemed to be squeezed from the depths of his chest, heavy and hot.

"I..." He paused, and the pair of deep eyes behind the gold-rimmed glasses were filled with complex and turbulent emotions that Yu Ling had never seen before - fear, heartache, deep guilt, and a determination to fight to the death.

He took another deep breath, as if to gather strength, and spoke clearly, slowly, and solemnly, word by word:

"I've never cheated on your feelings."

The raindrops hit the huge Shiba Inu umbrella with a crackling sound, like dense drumbeats, beating on Yu Ling's confused heart.

"Give me..." Zhao Chen's voice trembled slightly, but was extremely firm, "...a chance to explain. Please."

The two words "please" were as light as a sigh, yet as heavy as a mountain, slamming heavily on Yu Ling's heart, causing huge waves!

Never cheated in love?

A chance to explain?

Yu Ling looked at the face before her, so close, so clear in the rain, so full of unprecedented vulnerability and pleading. She saw the slightly rising and falling chest beneath his soaking clothes, and the white knuckles of his hands gripping the umbrella handle.

That huge umbrella with a grinning Shiba Inu printed on it is like a ridiculous yet incredibly real protective shield.

The surrounding sirens, voices, and rain all became blurred background noises at this moment.

Grievance, anger, fear, absurdity, and that faint, almost extinguished hope...all of it raged and surged wildly in Yu Ling's chest, making her throat constrict and her eyes sore.

She wanted to sneer and ask him, "What do you want to explain? Explain why your gaming guild can mobilize armed forces to crash cars and save people? Explain the epic skin worth 100 million Shiba Inu coins? Explain the Wangwang Group and the Godfather of Global Security?" But when the words came to her lips, they only turned into a suppressed sob.

She lowered her head suddenly, not wanting him to see her instantly red eyes and the tears that were about to burst out. However, her eyes fell on his trouser legs, which were also wet and close to hers.

Near his ankle, the edge of his trouser leg was inconspicuously ripped, revealing a dark, metallic, close-fitting fabric woven from some special fiber. And on the edge of the torn fabric, an extremely tiny, yet incredibly clear mark, clearly visible under the rain—

A laser-etched, hard-lined, grinning Shiba Inu head! Next to it was a smaller line of English:

WANG SECURITY - LEVEL 7

(Wangwang Security - Level 7)

Level 7 security?!

Yu Ling's breathing stopped instantly!

This is definitely not the COS costume of the gaming guild!

All the suspicions, all the evidence, along with the living "battle damage" with a Level 7 security mark before her eyes, were like countless pieces of a puzzle, making a deafening roar in her confused mind, and instantly piecing together a suffocating outline of the truth!

She suddenly raised her head, and rain mixed with tears flowed freely on her face. Her red eyes, like burning flames, stared at Zhao Chen!

"Explain?" Yu Ling's voice was hoarse, with a sharp and cold sarcasm of desperation. Every word was like a poisoned ice cone, piercing Zhao Chen fiercely.

"Alright! Chairman Zhao! Godfather Zhao! Start explaining with that Level 7 security dog ​​tag on your trouser leg! Start explaining your 'Doomsday Ark Shiba Inu Security Team' that can mobilize armed forces to crash into cars and save people! Start explaining how 'Wow Wang Group' controls the world's top ten security companies and casually transfers 100 million Shiba Inu coins as 'game dividends'!"

Her voice was particularly clear in the rainy night, filled with hysteria and great grievances of being driven to despair:

"Explain! I'm listening! Let's see what new 'Wangcai Drawing Lottery' story you can come up with this time!"

Zhao Chen's body stiffened imperceptibly. He followed Yu Ling's gaze and saw the Level 7 security badge and Shiba Inu mark visible through the torn leg of his pants. The look behind his gold-rimmed glasses instantly became extremely complex, a mixture of embarrassment at being exposed, deep helplessness, and a sense of relief at finally being cornered.

He was silent for a few seconds.

The raindrops hit the umbrella madly.

He slowly and with great difficulty raised the hand that was not holding the umbrella, not to cover up the exposed sign, but with an almost heavy force, he extremely slowly took off the iconic gold-rimmed glasses on his nose.

Without the obstruction of his glasses, his deep eyes were completely exposed to Yu Ling. Raindrops rolled down his thick eyelashes, like tears, but colder than tears.

Those eyes no longer had the disguise of gentleness, leaving only bottomless fatigue, deep and inextricable guilt, and a kind of calmness after burning the boats.

"Lingling..." Zhao Chen's voice was low and hoarse. Without the obstruction of his glasses, the deep emotion he expressed struck Yu Ling even more directly. "'Wangwang Group' is mine."

He finally uttered the name! No longer "Dog Food Shop," no longer "Gaming Guild"! Instead, he directly acknowledged the existence of that massive shadow!

Yu Ling's heart felt like it was being gripped by an invisible hand! Although she had suspected it long ago, hearing him admit it with her own ears was still as shocking as a tsunami!

"Those security forces...those 'coincidences'...are all to protect you." Zhao Chen continued, each word carrying a tremendous weight. "Gu Qianqian...is even crazier and more unscrupulous than she lets on. Her family's hidden power far exceeds your imagination. I...I can't take any risks."

The look he gave Yu Ling was filled with deep pain and an indescribable desire to protect her:

"I hid it from you because I was afraid of scaring you, afraid that you would stay away from me, and even more afraid of dragging you into darkness and danger that you shouldn't face.

That 'bankruptcy document' was forged by Gu Qianqian, but it did use some real business structures as a cover..."

He paused, as if considering his words, his voice becoming more difficult:

"As for the 100 million Shiba Inu coins...that's not the game dividend." He pulled the corners of his mouth in self-mockery, and the rain slid down his jawline.

"That's... the fastest, most secretive way I can think of, and the one that will allow you to possess some 'confidence' that truly belongs to you and cannot be taken away by anyone. Even though you may never use it, or even disdain it."