Chapter 177 He slipped away

Lin Qian took a sip of water to calm his nerves; the tea had gone cold. Something was slowly changing in his eyes.

"Brother Lin, it was my fault."

Qingdai's eyelids twitched, and she sensed something was wrong. She hurriedly apologized.

She was blinded by greed just now, and because of the pinch marks on her body, she was full of resentment towards Lin Qian. But she is not married to him yet, and she shouldn't be acting so childishly.

Qingdai apologized politely, but never mentioned the ghost story.

Lin Qian slowly calmed down and looked Qingdai over with unfamiliar eyes. Her appearance was plain, not even comparable to the kitchen maid in the Lin family. What did he see in her?

He wasn't lying; he really did see a ghost. But she refused to believe him and implied that he had lost his mind.

Was it worth it for Lin Qian to leave the Zhang family and even break ties with them for such a woman? He fell silent, finding his mind suddenly clear.

He was misled before; it was his fault.

Even if his cousin Zhang Qing'er wasn't the woman he was attracted to, he shouldn't have acted that way; after all, she was family.

Now, all Lin Qian has left is regret.

“Brother Lin, it was my fault. I actually saw it too, but I didn’t want you to be frightened, so I stubbornly refused to say anything.”

Qingdai was clever and noticed Lin Qian's change. She immediately found an excuse for herself, saying that everything she did was for Lin Qian's sake: "Wherever you go in the future, I will accompany you."

"It's late, let's rest."

After Lin Qian finished speaking, he put on his clothes and went to bed without saying another word. But when Qingdai fell asleep, he let out a long sigh.

Before dawn, everything at the inn returned to normal; the manager and staff were all back in their places, just like any other day.

Lin Qian packed his bags early and arrived at the lobby, where the waiter greeted him warmly.

"Sir, what would you like for breakfast?"

The food at the inn was good today. The cook made scallion pancakes, large steamed buns and twisted rolls made from white flour, and fried brown sugar glutinous rice cakes.

"Hey buddy, your wife gave birth? Congratulations!"

Lin Qian greeted the waiter casually. He had called for water last night but hadn't seen the waiter. The two old women said his wife was about to give birth.

"Sir, are you joking? I'm not even married yet, where would I get a wife from!"

The waiter's eyes widened, he touched his face, and asked uncertainly, "Are you talking about me?"

Changxing Inn only had a few staff members, and very few people stayed there during the New Year, so he and an old staff member took turns on night duty.

"Where were you last night?"

Lin Qian frowned, suspicious of the tunnel.

“I was in the main hall last night, drinking with the accountant. If you don’t believe me, ask the accountant.”

The waiter looked completely bewildered, and the accountant testified that they had come together for drinks.

"Then why was my name, Water, delivered by two old women?"

Lin Qian's expression grew increasingly grim. The two old women were deathly pale, and something seemed amiss. He noticed it at the time, but didn't think much of it.

If he hadn't seen the ghostly figure at night, he wouldn't have asked his colleague these questions.

"Old woman?"

The young waiter scratched his head and asked, "Are you referring to the cook at our inn?"

After saying that, he lifted the curtain and specially called the cook to Lin Qian's side.

The cook was a young married woman in her early twenties. She rubbed the hem of her clothes with her hand, feeling very uncomfortable in front of Lin Qian.

"Are you saying it's her?"

The waiter pondered, "This isn't an old woman, is it? They don't have any old women in their inn."

"no."

After repeated questioning, Lin Qian became even more certain that he had been possessed by an evil spirit last night. Those two old women might actually be ghosts. If he hadn't been alert, it was hard to say whether he would still be alive.

It was not a place for Lin Qian to linger, so he rolled up his bundle and strode out the door.

"Sir, don't you need breakfast?"

The waiter stood at the door calling out to people, hoping to keep Lin Qian there.

Lin Qian shook his head vigorously. He was about to leave, but before he did, he needed to ask his assistant where there was a carriage shop.

"What about that female guest? We haven't seen her come down."

The young shop assistant drew Lin Qian a route map. Because the border town was going to have a lantern festival, carriage companies had started doing business in the past few days, so it wouldn't be difficult to find a carriage to leave the town.

"Don't tell them yet."

Lin Qian waved his hand as if there was something dirty in the inn, and left without looking back.

The waiter held the tip in his hand; he had performed quite well, and the young master was easily fooled.

"Sister Yue Sha, he just left like that, abandoning Qing Dai?"

Although it was a relief, Zhang Qing'er couldn't believe it. The two of them were clearly inseparable, yet they broke up just like that, and Lin Qian even secretly left on his own.

Qingdai didn't sleep well last night and is still catching up on sleep in her room.

Zhang Qing'er couldn't help but wonder if she had misunderstood, and if Lin Qian didn't intend to leave alone.

"If you're not alone, is it really necessary to only pack your own belongings?"

Lin Yuesha clicked her tongue. That scumbag was really heartless. He could change his attitude towards a woman who was deeply in love with him in an instant.

Originally, she only intended to use the ghost story to sow seeds of suspicion between Lin Qian and Qing Dai, but she didn't expect it to work so well, directly causing the two to part ways.

Yes, she should have realized it sooner. How could such a ruthless scumbag possibly have any feelings for others?

Lin Qian's affection for Qingdai was a pretense; once he displeased her, he would abandon her just the same way, and quickly and decisively.

"I really didn't expect that Sister Yue Sha is a cut above the rest."

Their act of playing tricks was not only to scare Lin Qian, but also to unexpectedly sow discord between him and Qingdai, killing two birds with one stone.

"Don't praise me, I didn't expect this result either."

Lin Yuesha blinked, looking completely innocent. If she had to take credit, she could only say that Lin Qian was even more of a scumbag than she had imagined, and even more cooperative.

"Qing'er, so breaking off the engagement isn't a bad thing. If Lin Qian goes to the Zhang family to beg for forgiveness, are you willing to forgive him?"

Jiang Baozhu was afraid that Zhang Qing'er would be soft-hearted and swayed by Lin Qian's few words.

"Pah! How despicable would that make me!"

Zhang Qing'er spoke her mind, and when he saw through Lin Qian's true colors, he felt disgusted.

If Lin Qian had truly acted impulsively, caring deeply about Qingdai and recklessly breaking off the engagement, I would have admired his courage. However, the truth was quite different.

The person who spoke so eloquently ruined Qingdai's reputation and then abandoned her after taking advantage of her. Zhang Qing'er never imagined that this would be the ending.

About half an hour later, a servant from the Zhang family returned with the news.

"Miss, following the waiter's directions, the young master found the carriage company, rented a carriage for a long journey at a high price, and has already set off without even having a meal."

The servants confirmed Lin Qian's decision. Lin Qian had instructed the shop assistant to keep it from Qingdai for the time being, because he wanted to get rid of this burden.

"Did you find out the route he took?"

Lin Yuesha hurriedly asked the Zhang family's servants.

"I found out. I gave the driver a piece of silver, and he told me during the resupply that they were traveling on the official road."

The servant was very pleased with himself, as he had done a good job and would surely be rewarded handsomely.