Chapter 295 His Difficulties (5)

"Then you could just tell me directly, why are you running?"

The two of them were standing face to face. Lin Zhou seemed a little angry. He grabbed her hand and gently pulled her into his arms. This hug made the two of them connect seamlessly and stick together tightly.

"Hot..." she muttered.

"Hold on!"

“It’s too hot!”

"Then go back?"

"No!"

"Then just bear with it!"

“…”

The afternoon sun was glaring, and the streets were deserted. The cicadas were chirping louder and louder, like they were competing with each other.

Tian Xin wiped the sweat off her forehead and pulled Lin Zhou into a nearby shopping mall, where they sat on a bench in the lobby on the first floor to enjoy the air conditioning.

"Is it because of Liang Xiao?" she asked softly with a calm expression.

"What?"

"Are you giving me money because of Liang Xiao?"

"no!"

"Then what conditions did her father ask you to agree to?"

"There are no conditions. Don't listen to her nonsense." Lin Zhou turned around and put his arm around her again, saying softly, "If you really don't want these shares, I won't force you, but don't let her words get you off your chest, okay?"

He seemed really anxious, his brows were furrowed, and when he looked at Tian Xin, there was a rare panic and impatience in his eyes.

This is really unlike him.

"Then tell me, why does your father insist on letting you go back?" she asked again, her face still calm.

"He wants me to take over the family business..."

"Don't you have a younger brother? Will your stepmother agree to let you go back?"

"She listens to my dad in everything, but she probably doesn't want to do it in her heart!"

"That means you'll have to go back sooner or later, right?"

"no!"

"Then why did you give me those shares?"

“…”

Lin Zhou fell silent, and his embrace around Tian Xin suddenly tightened.

"Why, you can't say it? Don't you want to say it or can't you say it?" She struggled out of Lin Zhou's arms, looked straight into his eyes, and said in a deep voice: "It's been so long, aren't you going to tell me the truth?"

"No... I... didn't lie. Do you... believe..."

As expected, lying is the easiest way to reveal one's true thoughts. He asked Tian Xin to believe him, but as soon as the words came out of his mouth, even he himself felt that he lacked confidence and could not finish half of the sentence.

"My dad and his dad have been doing business for many years!" Lin Zhou lowered his head, leaning back against the bench and relaxing, a hint of annoyance in his eyes. "As soon as the website's advertisement came out, she asked her dad to come to me and said she was willing to pay a high price for some shares so that she could become an investor."

Having said that, he stopped, fixed his gaze on Tian Xin's face again, and said no more.

"Then what?" Tian Xin couldn't help but ask.

"I didn't agree."

"So, is this still the reason why she came here today?" she asked again.

After asking, I felt something was wrong, so after thinking about it, I added: "When your parents come over, is this also...?"

"That's not my mother!" Lin Zhou interrupted her: "You know!"

"Oh... I'm sorry, I... I mean, is this also why they came here? Is what Liang Xiao said true?"

“…”

Silence again!

"Not talking again?"

“…”

"What can't you say?" Tian Xin was angry and yelled with a frown, her voice suddenly rising a few notches: "Why are you always like this? You pretend to be dumb when it comes to the crucial point. I..."

"His father asked me to agree to the following conditions: either break up with you, or sell 20% of the shares to Liang Xiao so that she can also become one of the investors of the website. Otherwise, the business cooperation between me and my father will be terminated!"

Lin Zhou finished speaking in one breath, without pausing or looking into Tian Xin's eyes, his head lowered the entire time. When he finished, he raised his head, met Tian Xin's gaze, and gave a wry smile.

"Do you want to hear more?"

“…”

This time it was Tian Xin's turn to remain silent.

She had thought about this possibility since Liang Xiao opened his mouth to speak the first words. But when she heard Lin Zhou say it himself, she still found it hard to accept.

"So? Do we have to go back?" she asked softly.

"Who can force me to do something I don't want to do?"

Lin Zhou turned around and put his arm around her again. His voice was still gentle, but with a hint of firmness. He looked into her eyes and said calmly, "Whether it's about the shares or you, I won't agree. Let this matter be a lesson. I'll go back and deal with it and come back to help you soon!"

"Then... what about them? You asked Lin Hai and the others to help you, and then you gave me the shares. You left nothing behind. How are you going to come back?"

"If I don't back out, they'll keep causing trouble. Li Jing and the others won't dare to move, so they'll come looking for you. You know Liang Xiao's ways, less trouble is worse than more. Once I leave, they won't mess around easily for the sake of Li Jing's family."

…

The first floor of the shopping mall is always the most crowded place, with people passing by, enjoying the cool air, and shopping. It is crowded and bustling.

Tian Xin watched the crowds coming and going, and suddenly felt a sense of emptiness in her heart. This kind of bustle had never belonged to her before, but after being with Lin Zhou, she had become subtly dependent on him.

This dependence grew stronger day by day, penetrating the skin and blending into the blood. By the time she realized it, it was already inseparable.

"Go back!"

She turned her head and looked at Lin Zhou, her tone as indifferent as before.

Lin Zhou seemed to sense the change in her tone and grabbed her wrist before she could stand up. "I know you're angry, and so am I! But our family has always been like this, a mess, and it's hard to sort it out. I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want you to suffer. Anyway, we will live our own lives in the future, and we won't have much interaction with them."

At this point, he turned around, held Tian Xin's face in his hands, and looked her in the eye: "Promise me that no matter what happens in the future, don't overthink it. Believe me, okay?"

"So when are you leaving? Tomorrow? The day after tomorrow? Or next week?"

Tian Xin reached out and slapped his hand away from his face, then stood up and walked towards the mall entrance. "We need to hand over everything before we go! How are we going to plan for this Qixi Festival? Who should I contact later? Do Gao Cheng and the others agree to join the website?"

???

Lin Zhou was stunned. He sat on the bench and hadn't reacted yet. Tian Xin was about to walk out.

This face changed... too quickly!

He quickly got up and chased after him.

The mall was a block away from the office building, and while they were sitting there, the sun was already setting. Li Jing called and said Gao Cheng and his men were leaving, and asked them to come back quickly.

"What I just said, do you...understand?"

He caught up with Tian Xin and asked as they walked. The shadows of the trees were setting in the west, and the sun was no longer as hot. Tian Xin put her palm on her forehead to block the sun and walked forward quickly, ignoring him.

"If you're still unwilling, I'll let Li Jing take over first. When you're ready, you can let her take over at any time..."

"Okay, whatever you say!" Tian Xin stopped, turned around and faced him, smiling faintly: "Since you have arranged everything, just do it!"

She paused: "But you have to remember, you are you, I am me, and we... are still us!"

The two shadows behind him overlapped and could no longer be distinguished from each other.

Lin Zhou's mouth curled up quickly: "Okay!"