Chapter 55

Lin Jin, let's get married.

"Hey, you're still injured, don't run away!"

As soon as Ji Nanxing parked the police car in front of the health and wellness center building, Cheng Sangluo dashed out like an arrow released from a bow.

Ignoring the shouts behind her and the pain shooting through her side, she ran to the elevator, dripping blood, and kept pressing the up button.

After entering the elevator, she covered her wound and stared blankly. Which floor was the crazy woman's ward on?

"You're the typical type who's not busy in the morning but panics at night. Now you're in a hurry, but you didn't even ask which floor she's on." Ji Nanxing followed her into the elevator, complaining as she went, but still pressed the button for her floor.

"I...I didn't know she would be like this..." Cheng Sangluo slumped her shoulders like a child who had made a mistake, explaining, "These past few days I've been looking for clues to overturn the case, otherwise I wouldn't have stumbled upon those people running a casino, so..."

"Excuses? Finding clues and visiting Lin Jin are two different things." Ji Nanxing spoke bluntly, finding contradictory points in conversations to argue about. He couldn't help but laugh, "If you're brave, you can single-handedly storm a thief's den; if you're cowardly, there are some people you wouldn't even dare to meet. Do you know what that means?"

Cheng Sangluo could obviously tell that Ji Nanxing was making veiled attacks, but she pretended to be confused and asked in return, "What does that mean?"

"Someone has become your weakness, but you don't even realize it."

"I...what are you talking about..." Cheng Sangluo was speechless for a moment, wondering how a crazy woman could possibly be her weakness. What a joke.

She stopped responding and silently stared at the rising floors, her eyes fixed on the floor. A sudden fear rose in her heart, and the closer she got to Lin Jin, the stronger this feeling of being close to home grew.

Ji Nanxing seemed to sense her nervousness and chuckled, "What's there to be afraid of? Even if you're late, you're still here. Here's a piece of advice: you have to be patient and comfort a wounded woman."

Cheng Sangluo laughed, tugging at her shoulder, then grimaced at her wound, before pointing to her waist, "Aren't I an injured woman too?"

"Laugh now, but you won't be able to laugh for long."

Just as the two were talking, the elevator doors slowly opened.

Cheng Sangluo's steps also became heavy at this moment.

She dragged her feet behind Ji Nanxing until she stood in front of the ward door, unable to lift her foot for a long time.

Ji Nanxing knocked on the door politely, and casually instructed, "You go in first, I'll go call the nurse to clean your wound."

Cheng Sangluo flinched, seemingly afraid that the other person would leave her to face the situation alone. "Aren't you going in? I'll be alone..."

"What would I do in there? Be a third wheel?" Ji Nanxing joked, patting her shoulder before turning away.

No one answered in the ward, so Cheng Sangluo could only grit her teeth, grasp the doorknob, and slowly walk in.

Lin Jin's private hospital room is on the top floor. The suite is not only spacious, but also decorated with understated luxury.

Unable to find the person she wanted to see but dared not, Cheng Sangluo tiptoed through the living room and the open treatment area, until she approached the master bedroom.

The door to the room was ajar, and no lights were on inside; only the full moon cast a faint white glow.

She gently pushed the door open and finally saw a figure lying flat on the hospital bed.

The thin shadow blended almost into the air conditioner blanket, making the bed appear ridiculously large and evoking a strong sense of sorrow in the viewer.

Cheng Sangluo tiptoed closer, afraid of making the slightest noise to disturb Lin Jin's rest, but before she even reached the bedside, the small bedside lamp was turned on.

Lin Jin didn't fall asleep, but instead took a nap with her eyes closed. Her insomnia had become so severe that even large doses of sleeping pills were ineffective, and the slightest sound or movement could wake her up completely.

The warm yellow light shone on Cheng Sangluo's face, allowing her to see the haggard, crazy woman.

In just half a month, the woman in front of me had become so thin that she looked almost unrecognizable.

Her pale, dull cheeks were deeply sunken, and her already deep-set eyes became even deeper. Her eyes were like black holes that sucked away all light, unable to radiate any brightness, and she had lost her usual arrogant demeanor.

Lin Jin thought she was dreaming. She stared at the person standing in front of her, repeatedly confirming for a while before finally letting out a weak whisper: "Sang Luo?"

Cheng Sangluo sat down on the edge of the bed, reaching out to gently stroke her thin face, but changed direction just before touching her, landing on the back of her hand where the veins were bulging. "How did you get so thin? Why can't you eat? What is the doctor doing? Why can't they solve the problem...why..."

She kept asking questions and making accusations, but finally fell silent.

Why have I been avoiding you all this time? Why didn't I come to see you sooner?

So Cheng Sangluo blamed herself for everything. She longed to get closer and hold the incredibly thin Lin Jin in her arms.

But she dared not, fearing that she was too strong and might accidentally hurt the weak, crazy woman.

Lin Jin struggled to sit up against the headboard, reached out and stroked the puppy's cheek, sighing, "Because I've been waiting for you so long, I haven't been able to eat or drink."

"I'm sorry, I..." Cheng Sangluo covered her face with her hands, wanting to say so much.

Just like those sleepless nights, she picked up her phone countless times, the screen flickering on and off, the page always stuck on Lin Jin's contacts.

For example, the concern she vehemently denied had already sprouted, a small, verdant bud.

In the end, she still couldn't say anything.

Lin Jin felt the slight coolness of the puppy's paws, and suddenly noticed that the rough paws were covered with dried blood.

She suddenly looked down and noticed blood on the bedside. She asked in a hoarse voice, "Are you hurt? What were you doing? How did you get hurt?"

She frantically moved closer, trying to find where Cheng Sangluo's wound was.

"I'm fine, I'm really fine." Cheng Sangluo gently grasped Lin Jin's arm and softly stopped him, "Don't worry about me, sit still and don't move around."

She had already restrained her strength, but she still accidentally hurt Lin Jin.

Hearing that faint sound of pain, she jerked her hand away as if she had been electrocuted. This action was not only because she was afraid of hurting the other person, but also because she dared not feel the touch of that skin and bones.

Tonight, Lin Jin has shed all her strength, appearing frail and vulnerable, her every smile and frown carrying a heartbreaking fragility.

Cheng Sangluo was tongue-tied and never knew how to say anything pleasing to people. She blamed herself for not being able to say more sweet words like Ji Nanxing had suggested.

After a moment of silence...

This stubborn person, who refused to yield, surprisingly relented and became the one begging for cooperation.

"Lin Jin, let's get married. I can take good care of you and protect you at any time."

Lin Jin felt a moment of disorientation, thinking she was hallucinating. She had to ask, her lips trembling, "What are you saying?"

Cheng Sangluo reached out and rubbed her ear, leaning closer to her, and replied again, "I said, let's get married. I agree to your cooperation."

Lin Jin tilted her head and rubbed against the puppy's paw, giving a tired smile: "Could you pinch my ear?"

The waiting that had been dormant for years suddenly blossomed into a beautiful flower, which seemed unreal and made people afraid that it was all just a dream. So pain was needed to prove that everything was real.

It's so painful, I've been waiting for you for so long.

"No." Cheng Sangluo refused as always, but not as forcefully as before, explaining gently, "Because it will hurt you."

Lin Jin gazed at the puppy's trembling lips, longing to possess it at this moment, to kiss it without restraint, and to release all the pent-up frustration of waiting.

In the end, she managed to suppress her excitement and saved that precious first kiss for later.

"Could you two please treat her wound and give her a tetanus shot while you're at it?"

The brief moment of warmth that the two had just created was shattered by the sound at the door.

Ji Nanxing led the doctor and nurse into the room. Seeing the two sitting together, he raised an eyebrow and exchanged pleasantries: "The wound still needs to be treated properly. If it gets infected and inflamed, it will be more troublesome. I'll take up your time for a while."

"Captain Ji? What are you doing here?" Lin Jin looked at Ji Nanxing, then turned to Cheng Sangluo. "Why are you two together?"

"Let this helpful citizen explain this to you." Ji Nanxing handed the conversation over to Cheng Sangluo, glancing at his watch. "It's getting late, I have to rush back to the Criminal Investigation Center to interrogate the suspect. Come see me tomorrow when you have some free time to take my statement."

Cheng Sangluo nodded, "Okay, see you tomorrow."

"This case isn't serious. You need to rest well since you're injured. Come see me again tomorrow after you've had a good night's sleep," Ji Nanxing said briefly before hurriedly leaving the ward.

Seeing that the nurse was busy treating Cheng Sangluo's back injury, Lin Jin simply put the topic aside.

She gently rubbed her fingertips against the puppy's furrowed brow. "Does it hurt?"

Cheng Sangluo didn't want her to worry too much, so she forced a smile and said, "It doesn't hurt. I've been through all kinds of injuries. This little scratch is just a scrape."

"Don't be stubborn." Lin Jin tapped the puppy's mouth with her fingertip, looking at the deep cut on its waist. She felt as if her own waist was hurting too, and couldn't help but frown. "You'll have to explain properly later what exactly happened tonight."

"Okay, I'll tell you everything." Cheng Sangluo agreed with a smile, reached out and tugged at Lin Jin's hair, coaxing her softly, "Don't worry, I'm fine."

Such actions, like sweet pampering, added a touch of ambiguity to the heavy atmosphere. Fortunately, the awkward person didn't care whether her behavior was out of line this time; she just wanted to put the weak woman in front of her at ease.

......

After seeing the doctors and nurses off, Cheng Sangluo gently closed the door to the room.

Lin Jin leaned against the headboard, patted the empty space beside her, and softly called, "Little dog, come here."

She was so thin that she couldn't support the soft fabric of the nightgown, so much so that her slumped shoulders revealed a patch of porcelain white, completely exposed to Cheng Sangluo's eyes.

Perhaps not wanting to keep the other person waiting too long, Cheng Sangluo returned to the bedside very quickly.

She carefully pulled Lin Jin's collar back to her shoulder, but as soon as she let go, the collar slipped loosely down to her arm.

Lin Jin was a little tired, so she put her arms around the dog's neck and leaned her weight on it, murmuring, "Hug me."

Cheng Sangluo yielded to the intimacy, cradling the thin, bony back with one hand, and leaned down to lay the person scraping against her on the bed. "Could you wait for me a moment?"

Lin Jin tightened her arms around the puppy's neck, refusing to let her go, and scolded in a soft voice, "What are you trying to do now?"

Despite the pain throbbing in her back, Cheng Sangluo remained bent over, letting Lin Jin cling to her beneath her, and honestly replied, "To be honest, I'm still wearing the clothes of some lowlife from an underground casino. I can't get your bed dirty, so I need to go take a shower."

Hearing the puppy's explanation, Lin Jin asked in confusion, "An underground casino? What are you doing there?"

"Of course I'm going to stand up for you," Cheng Sangluo replied matter-of-factly, raising an eyebrow. Feeling the explanation wasn't exciting enough, she added, "Remember the man who broke your ankle? Today I had his other leg broken too, consider it a buy-one-get-one-free gift for Miss Lin~"

The puppy thought that this invitation would earn it praise from the crazy woman, but to its surprise, the woman in front of it did not show any satisfaction and even refused to smile.

Lin Jin gazed intently at Cheng Sangluo's face, using one hand to carefully outline her eyebrows and eyes, tracing along the high bridge of her nose to her lips.

She desperately wanted to give him a stern reprimand, but the words that came out were an incredibly soft question: "Why do you insist on going it alone? What if you lose your life? What will you do with me if you leave me all alone?"

Cheng Sangluo stared wide-eyed in shock, pondering the deeper meaning of the words. Her belatedly realized heart skipped a beat, creating a silent, turbulent storm.

The little deer living inside the walls of its heart had been on the verge of death for years, but suddenly, in this instant, it mustered all its strength and crashed into the concrete door.

Cheng Sangluo could only pretend to be indifferent: "So what if I die? It won't affect your living well. What else can I do?"

"No, your life must be intertwined with mine. This is my order, because you still owe me 2.99 million. I haven't settled the score with you yet."

"Oh, so it all comes down to the money I owe you!" Cheng Sangluo muttered to herself, preparing to get up and go to the bathroom, only to be pulled back by the crazy woman. "What else do you want to do?"

"You haven't finished explaining yet. What does your seeking justice for me have to do with destroying someone else's gambling den?"

When this topic came up, Cheng Sangluo suddenly became interested, and her little mouth started chattering away like spilling beans.

She recounted the whole story, concluding triumphantly, "So, the culprit was Lin Sheng. Unfortunately, just as I was about to delve deeper, Ji Nanxing arrived with his men, and that was the end of it. Okay, I'm going to take a shower. You should go to sleep."

"Don't get your wound wet." Lin Jin held the puppy's arm, still reluctant to let her go. "Or... you can carry me to the bathroom, and I'll help you dry off."

People who lack a sense of security are always prone to anxiety and fear of loss, so Lin Jin needs constant companionship to heal the emptiness of these days.

She desperately needed it, because the puppy was her lifeline.

Cheng Sangluo sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the woman who was unwilling to leave, and sighed helplessly: "Stop making a fuss, I'll be out soon. Don't you like playing countdown games? Give me five minutes, and I promise to complete the task."

"Okay." Lin Jin finally let go of his arm.

She pressed herself against the puppy's back, whispering sweet nothings in its ear, "It's been two weeks since we last did it... Don't you... want me at all...?"

[Author's Note]

1. The next chapter... those who know, know.

2. My pre-order novel, "The Sinful Lover," is available for collection. Once it reaches 1000 collections, I'll give you a bonus of 10,000 words!