Chapter 14

Pleasing me is your destiny.

"Oh~"

"Hang me up...and whip me hard..."

Lin Jin deliberately dragged out the last syllable, emphasizing the words "beat hard," as if she had a piece of candy in her mouth, filled with a soft sweetness.

Just what I feared most has come to pass!

A chill ran down Cheng Sang's spine. Hearing the exact imitation, her cheeks puffed up in anger, just like a frustrated hamster.

His wheat-colored skin, which was normally so pale, was now as red as a steaming chimney tip.

Ugh! How embarrassing! I want to dig a hole and bury myself! (Puppy covering face and crouching in the corner.jpg)

Lin Jin put her hands behind her back and turned halfway, deliberately getting closer to appreciate the rare glimpse of her shyness.

She couldn't help but burst out laughing, "So this is what it's like when a quiet person is shy, it's kind of cute~"

"Wha...what's there to be shy about? Where...where am I shy?"

Cheng Sangluo's eyes darted around, refusing to even glance at the crazy woman. Despite her stammering speech, she remained stubbornly defiant.

Even though he was cursing and swearing, his flustered appearance didn't seem that fierce.

No wonder, puppies wag their tails when they bare their teeth.

*

Perhaps because it was summer vacation, the pedestrian street was still bustling with people under the scorching sun.

Cheng Sangluo deliberately kept her distance from Lin Jin, acting as if they were complete strangers.

This person's temper can't even be described as stubborn; his head was buzzing with fever, yet he still didn't utter a word about being sick.

A little girl walked past, holding up a McDonald's ice cream cone, which made Cheng Sangluo swallow hard, her burning throat feeling like she had swallowed a needle.

She stared at the ice cream, her eyes wide, and three words popped into her head: I really want to eat it.

Lin Jin noticed the puppy was looking greedy and teased, "Are you a little kid?"

"Tsk, which rule says adults can't eat ice cream cones?" Cheng Sangluo rolled her eyes at her, then looked around at the McDonald's stores.

When she got to the sales area, she took out the change from her pocket and ignored the second half-price promotion.

Lin Jin stood to the side with her arms crossed, scoffing, "Stingy, petty wretch."

Cheng Sangluo twitched her ears, clutching the crumpled banknotes as she protested, "Please, you could buy the whole mall, why would you care about my paltry sum?"

"Stingy." Lin Jin didn't care about anything else, and kept using those two words, her tone as resentful as a wronged little wife.

Was she after an ice cream?

What she cares about is her importance in the dog's heart, how come she doesn't even qualify as a half-price discount item?

The proud and aloof CEO Lin was seething with resentment!

"Don't stare at me like that!" Cheng Sangluo hadn't expected the crazy woman to be so fixated on the ice cream cone, but she couldn't resist for more than three seconds before giving in. "Oh, okay, I'll treat you, alright?"

She was extremely reluctant, but she still paid the second half-price ticket at the window.

Once she got the ice cream cone she'd been longing for, she abandoned her usual tense demeanor, licking the cone with gusto and casually offering another one, saying, "Here, have some."

"That's more like it." Lin Jin arrogantly raised her chin, deliberately taking a half-beat's delay before taking the ice cream cone and tasting it.

She wrinkled her nose slightly, finding the sweet taste too cheap and wanting to throw it away immediately. But as she watched the puppy enjoying its meal, the taste on her tongue changed.

In a way, Cheng Sangluo is like this ice cream cone: cheap, milky sweet, and crispy, piecing together the most original and simple happiness.

Lin Jin couldn't resist taking another bite, and this time her eyes crinkled with laughter.

It turns out the dog was the one that tasted good.

She couldn't help but exclaim, "You're so easily satisfied that you can buy happiness with just an ice cream cone."

Cheng Sangluo sucked on her breast and clicked her tongue: "It's good to be easily satisfied. Ambitious people live a very tiring life."

Are you making veiled attacks on me?

The puppy smacked its lips: "Hey! This is a classic case of protesting too much."

After eating for a short while, Lin Jin put the remaining ice cream cone in front of the puppy, saying, "You can't finish it, you can have it."

The puppy bristled: "I'm not a trash can!"

"Don't you hate waste the most?" Lin Jin mimicked sarcastically, "Do you know that many people in this world starve to death every day?"

"You're copying me?" Cheng Sangluo snatched the ice cream cone in a huff and stuffed it into her mouth, probably wanting to bite the hateful person to pieces, chewing it with great effort. "Don't do it again."

Lin Jin liked it when the puppy ate her leftovers, feeling a sense of satisfaction from being fed by its owner. She even wanted to pat the puppy's fluffy head, thinking, "You'll do it again next time."

Cheng Sangluo glared at her fiercely, thinking to herself that crazy women have countless faults, and she just couldn't stand looking at them no matter what.

The ice cream cone brought a brief peace, and the two walked side by side in the mall, chatting idly.

Lin Jin was walking her 'little dog' when she suddenly stopped in front of a luxury fashion store.

Just as I was about to step inside, someone appeared behind me like a ghost, complaining, "Don't go in, I can't afford it."

Cheng Sangluo couldn't stand the sweet and cloying smell in the shop; the taste was so overpowering that it made her throat feel uncomfortable.

Even if she didn't understand fashion, she had seen the brand's logo before, and without even looking at the price tag, she knew the price was beyond her surprise.

Lin Jin looked the dog up and down at its shabby appearance and sighed, "Clothes make the man. Wouldn't it be better to dress decently? You've been wearing this T-shirt since the day you got out of prison. It's tired of it. Don't you think it's worn out?"

“But we have to be realistic about our abilities. Do you think it’s appropriate for me to wear these clothes? Should I wear them to move bricks, to work at heights, or to serve dishes and wash dishes?” Cheng Sangluo was stubborn, but her hand holding the hem of her clothes clenched silently.

No one doesn't want to live a life of luxury, and she also longed for it. But that's how life is when you're struggling to make ends meet. Either a crazy woman takes away your job, or there's a sudden family debt.

What is luxury? For Cheng Sangluo, the ice cream cone she ate today was a luxury, and the fever reducer she didn't want to buy was a luxury.

She'd love to break her money into pieces before spending it, let alone a new dress that costs over a hundred yuan.

Lin Jin saw through the puppy's embarrassment and knew that this person was as strong as an unbreakable steel plate, but the scene of stealing leftovers was like a thorn embedded in his heart, a scratch that he could not pull out and could not digest.

She sighed softly and softened her tone: "Then let's go shopping for discounted clothes, and the whole outfit won't cost more than a thousand yuan. Consider it a return gift for the ice cream you treated me to."

This far-fetched reason is both laughable and heartbreaking.

Cheng Sangluo remained silent, calculating how many ice cream cones a thousand yuan could buy, and politely declined, saying, "Actually, you don't need to be so deliberate..."

Before she could finish speaking, Lin Jin habitually hooked her clothes around her hem and walked forward, saying, "You promised you would listen to me today."

"Money doesn't grow on trees," Cheng Sangluo muttered reluctantly as she followed. "You have no reason to be so nice to me, why?"

"You said that no one would be nice to a stranger for no reason, so I'm not being nice to you for no reason either, right?" Lin Jin asked, seemingly giving an answer without explaining the reason.

Cheng Sangluo scratched his head, pondering this strange conversation, but couldn't quite figure it out.

As they approached a casual clothing store, Lin Jin raised an eyebrow. "You'll probably be satisfied with the clothes here."

Looking around, Cheng Sangluo saw that the hypermarket-style stores stretched as far as the eye could see. The style of the clothes was not important; what mattered was that huge 50% off signs were everywhere.

She walked up to the display case, touched it here and there, and exclaimed, "Great! It's all cotton!"

She subconsciously glanced at the price tag, mentally calculating the discounted price. Finding it within her budget, she held the T-shirt up to Lin Jin's reference, asking, "How is it?"

Lin Jin said disdainfully, "Ugly."

The puppy picked up another item, "What about this one?"

"Even uglier."

"And this one?"

Lin Jin's opinion on printed T-shirts is at an elementary school level, so she rubbed her temples and complained, "They're so ugly there's no way to describe them."

"It's all ugly no matter what you say. You're not only picky, but you're also a spoilsport!" Cheng Sangluo angrily put down the clothes and turned to leave.

Lin Jin practically hugged her to stop her, scolding, "Your taste is as messy as you are! You wear whatever I pick, no refusing, no arguing, and no haggling over the price."

"Where am I messy?!" Cheng Sangluo said, looking annoyed, but still refused the crazy woman's generosity. "You can choose whatever you want, but I'll pay for it myself, so the cheaper the better. I'm begging you!"

*

Tonight's gathering was hosted by Shu Wan, and the restaurant was booked on a quaint cruise ship.

In the height of summer, this place is the perfect spot for guests to enjoy the bright moon over the sea, so the prices are naturally quite high.

Cheng Sangluo wore the denim shirt and khaki shorts that Lin Jin had paired with her, making her look much more refreshed.

After being tormented all day, she was increasingly listless and was now leaning against the car window, trying to stay awake by the breeze.

When the Maybach stopped at the port, she staggered out of the car, rubbing her forehead to relieve the discomfort.

"Miss Cheng?"

Cheng Sangluo looked in the direction of the sound and saw Shu Wan tilting her head with a smile in her eyes, probably surprised that there would be a surprise tonight.

She was still wearing a plain white dress, which seemed somewhat out of place with the bright red Ferrari behind her.

Cheng Sangluo smiled politely, but before she could even greet him, she was secretly tugged at by the person behind her.

"If you had treated me with the same courtesy you show to others, you wouldn't have suffered so much." Lin Jin's tone was gloomy, his gaze fixed on Shu Wan's face, hiding deep hostility.

In fact, the two cannot be considered friends, and are even competitors, but because Gu Shinian is the middleman, they have to invite each other equally whenever there is a gathering.

People like them, who stand at the top of the pyramid, have to put on a good show even if they don't like each other. Dinner parties are not just about eating; they are full of business acumen. A few casual words can affect the financial market the next day.

This is why Lin Jin had no choice but to keep the appointment.

Cheng Sangluo grinned, "Have I been nice enough to you? Be grateful!"

Lin Jin also felt that the puppy was unusually well-behaved today, so she simply changed the subject: "Since you've behaved so well, I'll reluctantly answer the second question you want to know."

Finally, Cheng Sangluo was willing to get back to the main topic and urged, "Just tell me."

“Your brother’s gambling addiction has been going on for a long time. When you first went to prison, Xu Songheng tricked him into going to an underground casino. The excuse was that your retirement money had been used to pay off the victims. He wanted to raise money for his wife again, and this was the only way to make money quickly.”

At first, it was just a few thousand dollars in winnings and losses. Your brother got a taste of success and started gambling more and more recklessly. He only stopped when he lost your family's house.

"The day you were released from prison, you beat up Xu Songheng's men. He used a few tricks to get your brother back into gambling, and in just a few days, the gambling debts ballooned to three million with interest."

Lin Jin patiently explained the whole story; this information was exactly the same material that Sheng He had submitted in his office earlier that day.

Cheng Sangluo quickly checked the timeline in her mind and realized that the crazy woman was not lying.

She resented Cheng Xing for being spoiled since childhood but useless, and she also resented her parents for their indifference, but she felt somewhat bitter inside.

If she hadn't witnessed Xu Songheng committing the crime and insisted on coming forward to report it to the police, perhaps none of us would have ended up like this today.

Lin Jin sensed that the puppy was blaming itself, so she gently comforted it, "Cheng Sangluo, you can't blame yourself. Blame the person who harmed you, blame the greedy and foolish person."

Cheng Sangluo blinked her tired eyes, quickly composed herself, and asked her final question: "What do you think we should do to solve these problems?"

Cheng Sangluo wasn't soft-hearted; she could have easily avoided the enormous debt. But Xu Songheng was like a malignant tumor in her life, and if she didn't get rid of him, he would find ways to harm her.

Lin Jin had already taught her a lesson about the principle of "if you want to find fault, you can always find a reason" through her actions at the pool party.

Of course, Lin Jin wouldn't reveal all her secrets to taming the puppy at once; she had to be a cunning businesswoman first before she could be a gentle controller.

She stared at Cheng Sangluo's earnest attempt to solve the problem, and the smile on her lips deepened.

That smile had completely changed; it was cold and sharp, stripped of its warmth, and filled with the ruthlessness of a profit-seeker.

"Actually, you realized long ago that the best way to resolve the trouble caused by Xu Songheng was to seek my help. You also know that I am a businessman and require an equal exchange of benefits."

Lin Jin's voice remained steady, even tinged with a hint of languor, but every word was like ice, precisely piercing Cheng Sangluo's slightly relaxed nerves.

"This question is beyond the scope of the curriculum, so we need to increase the stakes. How about a choice of three: come home with me tonight, and I'll decide how we play; or let me get you drunk and you'll still be at my mercy; or..." Lin Jin twirled the puppy's hair, gently playing with it between her fingertips, "It seems like pleasing me in bed is your destiny."

Cheng Sangluo's heart sank suddenly, instantly falling back into the cruel reality.

Lin Jin's gentleness was all an illusion. The "sweetness" and "goodness" that seemed to come from her were nothing more than carefully laid bait, ultimately pointing to a blatant transaction of flesh and blood.

[Author's Note]

1. Pre-order novels: "The Detective's Lover" [criminal investigation] and "Becoming the Scandalous Lover of a Hong Kong Film Queen" are available for collection.

2. Compared to the ice cream cone segment with Dr. Chi next door, this couple is really on the opposing side! Hahaha