Chapter 63

How about we try something more exciting?

"Ouch—hiss—"

Cheng Sangluo clutched her head and slumped back to the ground, wincing in pain.

The usually calm and collected person suddenly lost his composure, as if someone had ripped off his fig leaf, and was too apprehensive to make any big fuss.

She struggled to crawl out of the narrow space, but her path was blocked by the madwoman's injured foot, leaving her in a dilemma.

The contrast outside the table is even more striking.

Having seen all sorts of situations, Lin Jin naturally remained calm in the face of adversity.

She slowly straightened her shirt, then reached out and gently rubbed the puppy's head. "Don't make a fuss, did it hurt?"

"It hurts," Cheng Sangluo answered honestly. She wanted to get out from under the table as soon as possible, but her tone was pleading: "Let me out."

Lin Jin nodded, gazing at the pitiful puppy lying on her lap. A chilling crimson light suddenly appeared in her eyes, and her smile lost its innocence.

"How about we do something more exciting?" Her question wasn't solicitous; it was more like a blatant invitation.

"Wh...what kind of stimulation...I don't understand what you mean..." Cheng Sangluo stammered in response, how could anyone not tell that she was pretending to be confused when she actually knew the answer?

Her heart pounded. She thought to herself that Lin Jin's madness was like reckless behavior in calm waters. His eyes were captivating, his smile cunning, and even his calm tone was filled with blatant desire.

Before the puppy could answer, Lin Jin moved the boss's chair and forcefully trapped her under the wrap skirt, saying, "It's your honor to be my subject."

Although her words were full of arrogance, she kept gently stroking the puppy's head, trying to dispel the pain.

But such tenderness lingers for only a moment.

The hand covering Cheng Sangluo's head suddenly tightened its grip.

The accompanying tone also became increasingly forceful.

"Mouth." Lin Jin only uttered one word.

The command was brief, yet it carried an irresistible, queen-like aura, instantly extinguishing the relaxed atmosphere in the room.

"Ugh—" Cheng Sangluo didn't have time to dodge and made a muffled sound as she struggled and regained her senses.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

The rich, sweet fragrance that fills the nasal cavity is more effective than any drug that could induce madness.

Cheng Sangluo stubbornly held her neck, her thoughts in disarray, her mind filled with contradictory thoughts: Lin Jin is sweet, but she herself is both laughable and pathetic.

Lin Jin's thin back trembled slightly. After trying her best to steady her breathing, she slowly and deliberately ordered, "Come in."

In response, the office door was gently pushed open.

Secretary Zhou led several senior executives in, presumably to report on some work-related issues that had come up unexpectedly.

In the cramped corner, Cheng Sangluo's breathing was restricted.

She had just raised her head when she was firmly pinned down by the vine-covered feet.

Her deep breaths triggered an unexpected butterfly effect.

As a result, Lin Jin, who was sitting as steady as a rock in his boss's chair, found things a little difficult.

She appeared calm on the surface, but in reality, she was trembling slightly.

How can this crazy woman be so serious?!

Cheng Sangluo was going crazy, screaming in her heart, yet also infatuated.

Lin Jin's scent permeated her soul.

It also contained a sweet taste, which moistened my parched throat.

Secretary Zhou looked around, not remembering when Miss Cheng had left, and turned to look at the lounge.

The executives chatted about business like they were spilling beans, and no one noticed the unusual behavior of the boss, who was trying to appear calm.

Lin Jin maintained a posture close to the back of the chair, but secretly stiffened her back.

In her mind, the usually clumsy little dog was suddenly transformed into a slippery giant python.

She flicked her tongue unrestrainedly, like soft clouds swirling around a mountain peak, bringing a pleasure that was both oppressive and terrifying.

Just as it was about to be revealed.

Lin Jin frowned.

The palm that landed on the puppy's head tightened, pulling at the strand of hair.

Lin Jin said in a low voice, "Alright."

Just when everyone thought the unpredictable boss was about to start nitpicking again, she simply waved her hand dismissively, "Everyone, get out. Just report these things to the vice president. Don't come to me for everything."

Lin Jin easily got rid of everyone.

Seeing that Secretary Zhou was about to leave, she called her back: "Zhou Ran, I don't want to receive anyone else today. Please leave."

"Understood." Secretary Zhou nodded in response and then closed the door tightly.

Lin Jin finally shed all her pretense.

The long-suppressed, rapid breathing was as gentle as a sigh in the spring breeze.

She gently pushed back her chair, looked at the still-working puppy for a while, and couldn't help but reach out to touch its chin and tease it, scolding, "If you use even a little more force, I'll lose face in front of the employees."

Cheng Sangluo feigned a mischievous look, raised her head and grinned: "If I had known it would be like this, I would have used a little more force."

"Get up." Lin Jin grabbed the puppy by the back of its collar and pulled it out from under the table. "Let me see your head."

"It's okay, it doesn't hurt anymore." Cheng Sangluo shook her head, but was still held down by that stubborn person.

She had no choice but to obediently crawl on the madwoman's lap, emphasizing, "Don't worry, she's not stupid."

Lin Jin had never reached the summit, but he had already lost interest.

She ran her fingers through the puppy's fur, and sure enough, she felt a slightly swollen bump. She frowned and said, "You're telling me this is nothing?"

Cheng Sangluo didn't take it seriously, and was more concerned about the unresolved pleasure. "It's not over yet, can you stop interrupting me?"

Lin Jin pulled out two tissues, cupped her face, and carefully wiped the stickiness from her lips. "Fine, you've already spoiled the mood. But since you've been so good, you can choose whatever you want to eat tonight."

The puppy, upon hearing about the delicious treat, revealed its true colors.

This person doesn't have a tail, otherwise you could see how happily she wags it.

She hurriedly scrambled to her feet, then looked for her T-shirt, quickly banishing her sweet nothings from her mind. "What should I eat? Hmm..."

She snapped her fingers and said excitedly, "I want to eat barbecue, or a buffet, the kind where I can eat lots and lots of meat!"

This person is easily satisfied. To her, those elaborately plated and ridiculously expensive dishes are not as appealing as a plate piled high with roast beef.

After living a life of hardship for so long, she hadn't eaten sizzling, oily meat in a very, very long time!

Lin Jin was straightening her clothes when she heard the puppy's excited barking. She couldn't help but chuckle and teased, "Didn't you just eat meat? Aren't you full yet?"

She was still somewhat dissatisfied, complaining, "It seems the food is more appealing than me."

"Uh... I... um..." Cheng Sangluo was momentarily speechless when asked the question. "This meat isn't that kind of meat. I just had a craving, and... relatively speaking... you're more to my liking..."

Is this considered sweet talk? I guess so!

Did this touch the heart of a crazy woman?

That's how puppies are; they easily forget the pain once the wound heals. Give them some treats or toys, and their tails will wag like crazy.

Of course, some of her feelings for the madwoman were genuine, and some were feigned.

To this day, she still can't figure it out.

"Oh~ I'm more to your liking~" Lin Jin emphasized the words, savoring Cheng Sangluo's sudden show of goodwill.

The feeling was peculiar, like eating a big mouthful of soft, fluffy cotton candy, with no substantial texture, just an empty sweetness.

She squinted at the little dog with its rosy cheeks, her eyes showing a hint of joy, but beneath that joy lurked a deeper suspicion.

Lin Jin's madness is only superficial, making it impossible for others to see through her meticulous thoughts. Perhaps she is smiling, or perhaps that smile hides a knife.

As she said, she is a businesswoman, and a successful one at that, who never makes a mistake, and who is adept at using unpredictable methods to achieve the desired results.

Such a shrewd person naturally possesses extraordinary observational skills; by analyzing just a small detail, they can deduce the cause and effect of the entire matter.

Such a person is extremely suspicious.

When did I start to feel that something was wrong? After a brief moment of thought, Lin Jin quickly found the root of the problem.

This feeling doesn't occur at a specific point in time, but rather it's a gradual, subtle influence from beginning to end, found in those easily overlooked minute details.

She pondered silently that Cheng Sangluo was clearly so stubborn; she wouldn't even bend down to pick up money, and she would get angry at the slightest touch, yet she always said "no" in a firm and resolute manner.

Faced with the traps she had set for herself, involving flattery and pleading, she could only respond with unwavering certainty that it was impossible, or remain silent without offering any answers.

If someone has never shown defiance or shown weakness when humiliated in any situation, how can they possibly complete a radical transformation in just one month?

Could it be because they've done too many sweet things without any emotional connection, which has led to feelings they're ashamed to express?

No, every time I listen to that beating heart, I never feel a jolt of excitement.

Thinking of this, Lin Jin blinked her eyelashes slightly, a deep sense of loneliness welling up in her eyes.

She became mired in suspicion, trying to find out what had changed Cheng Sangluo.

Could it be that empathy for each other's childhood experiences made this hard-hearted person feel compassion?

Or was Cheng Sangluo just putting on a facade, secretly harboring ulterior motives? After all, no matter how close they were, it couldn't change the fact that she disliked him; being resisted and hated was the only reasonable response.

Lin Jin pursed her lips, the more she thought about it, the more doubts she had.

She habitually leaned against the table, staring at Cheng Sangluo without saying a word, a strange smile suddenly appearing on her lips.

That smile may seem playful, but it carries more of a dangerous undertone, easily making people tense.

Cheng Sangluo felt a chill run down her spine from being stared at. She shivered and stammered, "Why...why are you staring at me like that...it's creepy..."

Lin Jin didn't answer, but pretended to blame her, saying, "It's all your fault. You made me feel uncomfortable. I'll go and tidy myself up. You wait for me, and I'll take you to eat barbecue later."

After saying that, she refused the puppy's help and went to the lounge alone.

Cheng Sangluo slightly parted her lips and withdrew her hand that was about to support Lin Jin.

She stared at Lin Jin's limping figure as she walked away, her feigned ignorance vanishing instantly.

As soon as the door to the lounge closed, she quickly wiped her lips frantically with the back of her hand, then pulled out a tissue and rubbed it against her lips repeatedly until half of her face turned red.

Dirty, so dirty!

Such filth was etched into her soul, and no matter how she tried to clean it, she couldn't erase it in the slightest. Even though she had done it countless times before, today's behavior made her feel extremely uncomfortable.

That's the filthiness of succumbing to the madwoman's oppression, which is why they think it's utterly dirty.

Perhaps feeling that it wasn't clean enough, Cheng Sangluo strode out of the office and fled across the corridor.

She rushed into the bathroom like a madwoman, desperately trying to suppress the churning in her stomach.

Once he made sure no one was inside, he leaned over the sink and dry heaved, even sticking his fingers into his throat in an attempt to expel all the filth.

Cheng Sangluo's body convulsed instinctively, and a thin layer of wet red rose in her eyes. She vomited for a long, long time, but could not spit out a trace of the humiliation she had swallowed.

She braced her hands on the sink, her hunched back bent under the weight of reality, as if she could never straighten up again, staring blankly at the mirror.

Those eyes had long lost their former sharpness, disheveled hair clung to her lips, and even her breathing was filled with a sense of utter disarray.

This version of myself looks very unfamiliar, pathetic, humble, ridiculous, and unbearable to look at.

Cheng Sangluo numbly turned on the tap, squeezed out some hand soap, and washed her hands so carefully that she didn't even miss the crevices under her fingernails. She washed them over and over again, using all her strength, and even gritting her teeth.

She only stopped washing her hands when blood seeped through the band-aid; the excruciating pain in her fingers brought her shattered sanity back to her senses.

Cheng Sangluo became much more sober, and suddenly remembered the way Lin Jin had looked at her earlier, and felt a sudden panic in her heart.

She was also a cautious person, so it wasn't hard to deduce that the crazy woman must have become suspicious of her.

Taking advantage of a moment of solitude, she immediately reviewed the interactions of the past few days.

This thought sent his already anxious heart leaping into his throat.

Only then did Cheng Sangluo belatedly realize that her sudden change in her overtures had undoubtedly exposed her weakness.

She slapped her forehead in frustration, thinking that Lin Jin was not easy to fool, and blaming herself for being too eager to take advantage of the situation to get revenge.

Cheng Sang paced back and forth in the bathroom for a long time before finally coming up with a makeshift solution.

It's not difficult to make a crazy woman not doubt herself; who doesn't know how to play the game of being unpredictable and feigning indifference?

This trick was taught to her by the madwoman herself.

Cheng Sangluo washed her face, her self-deprecating smile bitter, leaving a bitter taste in her mouth.

I turned off the tap, straightened my wrinkled T-shirt, and also sorted out my tangled thoughts.

When she looked in the mirror again, she had put on a mask of pretense, and the smile on her lips had changed.

She slightly raised her chin to look at herself in the mirror, and said with a disdainful laugh, "You chose this path yourself, so you have to crawl through it whether you want to or not."

When Cheng Sangluo entered the president's office, she thought Lin Jin wouldn't clean up so quickly.

But the moment he stepped inside, the person who was taking a nap on the sofa casually asked, "Where have you been?"

Cheng Sangluo put her hands in her pockets and shrugged nonchalantly: "Do I have to report to you even if I go to the restroom?"

Lin Jin crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes half-closed, her face showing the weariness of post-coital drowsiness.

Hearing the puppy's indifferent response, she smiled lazily and patted the spot next to her: "I'm so sleepy, come sit down and let me lean on you."

Cheng Sangluo ignored her words, pulled out a chair and sat down, then picked up a piece of wood and pretended to study the carving process.

"Little dog, are you being disobedient again?" Lin Jin asked in a mocking tone, getting up and walking behind the little dog, wrapping her arms around its neck. "Stop carving, this needs to be done slowly, I'm not going to rush you to finish."

Cheng Sangluo put down the wooden block in her hand, looked up at the beautiful woman with a contented expression, and suddenly said, "Lin Jin, I want to discuss something with you."

"Such a serious tone~" Lin Jin pinched and played with the puppy's ears, not giving up easily, "You have to tell me first what you want to discuss with me."

Cheng Sangluo didn't beat around the bush and stated her demands directly: "Before the prenuptial agreement is signed, I hope our relationship will not be too intimate. For example, we can live together in separate rooms, or you can give me enough private space and time."

"Why the sudden demand?" Lin Jin's smile vanished instantly, and her tone turned cold: "Give me a reason to convince me."

"To be honest, after meeting Officer Ji for the first time, I mentioned wanting to overturn the case. She looked at my case and said that the chain of evidence for the conviction was very complete. To overturn the case, I would need to provide a completely new chain of evidence. However, such things become increasingly difficult to investigate over time, so I need a lot of time and energy to do the investigation. I hope you can understand." Cheng Sangluo revealed her entire plan, her expression so sincere that no one could tell that anything was amiss.

At this moment, Cheng Sangluo felt extremely tired, a double exhaustion from both her soul and body.

Her pain and inner conflict stemmed from her initial desire for revenge. She only wanted to stand tall and borrow Lin Jin's power to avenge the three-year-old feud, which was exhausting, rather than kneeling at Lin Jin's feet like she had done just a few minutes ago, using the ugliest posture to achieve her goal.

Lin Jin buried his face in the crook of her neck, inhaling the tender kisses.

After a moment of silence, she relented and agreed: "I can give you time to investigate what you want to know, and I can even offer additional assistance, but I don't agree to sleeping in separate rooms. I've said before that I can't sleep peacefully without you by my side. You see, I'm already starting to learn to compromise..."

Cheng Sangluo could tell that there was a hidden meaning in her words; she was simply saying: Let's each take a step back, and don't be ungrateful.

However, sharing a bed wasn't uncomfortable, so Cheng Sangluo readily agreed, "Okay, we won't have separate rooms."

Lin Jin was satisfied with the puppy's answer, so she wrapped her arms around its neck and sat on its lap. Then she changed the subject: "After we get our marriage certificate in a while, I'll take you to live somewhere else. It's a nice place, safe and quiet. I'm sure you'll like it."

Cheng Sangluo placed one hand on her waist, puzzled: "Why do you suddenly want to change your place of residence?"

“I know you don’t like the houses in Linxi Terrace, so I wanted to take you to a different environment so we can start over.” Lin Jin affectionately tapped the puppy’s nose, comforting it: “I know you’re eager to get revenge on those who persecuted you, but this kind of thing can’t be done with just determination, you need patience too. I will stay with you and lie low, and you also need to learn to act when the opportunity arises.”

A subtle atmosphere settled in the spacious office; it wasn't absolute silence, because Cheng Sangluo, who was being embraced, hesitated to speak, and finally let out a muffled sigh.

Lin Jin kissed her ear, her expression one of infatuation and deep affection. "I wish my puppy could be honest with me. But there has been progress. At least now he tells me what he wants. It's better than keeping things bottled up inside and saying nothing."

Cheng Sangluo was stunned for a moment.

She suddenly realized that Lin Jin's attitude towards her was not as tough as before, and there was even a willingness to discuss things, which was truly rare.

This crazy woman was both unfamiliar and easygoing, which made her uneasy and unable to figure her out.

"Lin Jin".

"Um?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to say... um... are you hungry? I want to eat barbecue." Cheng Sangluo originally wanted to say something to bring them closer, but in the end she changed the subject.

From Lin Jin's perspective, she bit her lip, feeling very annoyed at her own stage fright.

"Let's go, let's take the glutton to eat something delicious~" Lin Jin grabbed Cheng Sangluo's head, laughing and then pleading, "Hey, if I take you to eat something delicious, can you take me for a drive, like the drive where you let me watch the twilight on the cross-sea bridge yesterday?"

“Okay.” Cheng Sangluo agreed without hesitation, raising his chin slightly and gazing intently at her face. “Wherever you want to go, I’ll take you. We can see the twilight, the night, or the sunrise, as long as you’re happy.”

The emotions revealed unintentionally are the most genuine. At least in this heartfelt dialogue, Cheng Sangluo was neither pretentious nor did she lie.

—A side note—

My worst fears have come true. Because many little angels don't read the author's notes, I have to explain it again in the main text.

Shortly after this story went premium, I took a four-day break to completely revise chapters 21-34 because I was dissatisfied with the content. The revised chapter titles were marked with the word "revised" to distinguish them.

Most of the content in the last three chapters appeared in chapters 21-34 before the revision, but has been completely replaced by the revised content.

As the plot unfolds, we've reached a point where these elements connect, so it's natural to stop here. Also, these three chapters aren't exactly the same as the previous ones; details have been added, deleted, and character settings have been modified.

I suggest that readers who haven't read the revised chapters 21-34 take a look at the chapters marked with "[Revised]". You'll be pleasantly surprised. Also, please, please open the author's comments section. I'm begging you.

I initially risked pausing to revise my writing while it was on the top list in order to ensure the quality and engaging content of the article, which ultimately led to the current situation.

There's no such thing as not being able to write it or rewriting the content; it's just that older readers have seen the content beforehand, so it's new content for new readers.

I've explained this matter many times in my previous remarks and main text, but I'll explain it one last time because I've really explained it far too many times.

If you decide to abandon this project, please do not inform me. Thank you for your understanding.

[Author's Note]

1. We're about to enter the main storyline!

2. My upcoming novel, "The Sinful Lover," is available for pre-order. Please add it to your favorites.

3. Leave a comment below to receive a red envelope (cash gift).