Chapter 80

What about you? Do you like me?

Cheng Sangluo never expected that entering that unknown room would require such a complicated password verification, which, in addition to entering numbers, also required fingerprints and iris scans.

She supported Lin Jin in disbelief, muttering to herself, "Is there a mountain of gold inside? Why would it need so many layers of passwords?!"

"The stuff inside is worth more than a mountain of gold. You'll see when you see it." Lin Jin sneered arrogantly, then ordered, "Cheng Xiaogou, open the door. This door is made of explosion-proof material and it's very heavy."

Cheng Sangluo glanced at her suspiciously, grabbed the door handle and pulled hard outwards. It was indeed very heavy. She wondered how this skinny woman usually managed to get in.

Turning on the lights in the collection room, Cheng Sangluo was dazzled by the orderly display of auction treasures.

All those expensive items, big and small, were placed in dustproof transparent cabinets, and the sheer number of them lined up was astonishing.

Curious, she walked to the nearest cabinet and peered inside. It was a hairpin made of pure gold, with agate inlaid on the tassel pendant, shimmering brilliantly under the overhead light.

These old objects are authentic at first glance. Besides the exquisite and intricate craftsmanship, they also exude a profound sense of age. It's hard to tell which dynasty they are from.

"Come on, let me show you around. There are many more collections inside, all of which are good items I've acquired at auctions over the years." As the host, Lin Jin naturally acted very generously, indicating that the old objects that weren't covered could be handled, but cotton gloves were required.

Cheng Sangluo felt as if she were in an antique museum, looking left and right. Although she didn't understand the intricacies of it, she inexplicably felt that Lin Jin was very impressive.

She sighed inwardly at these priceless treasures; just looking at them made them seem incredibly expensive. She dared not touch them, for fear of losing her life if she damaged them.

"I'm a wild boar, I can't eat fine food, I'll just look." The puppy said self-deprecatingly, then rubbed his hands together and asked in a hissing tone, "Hey, how much are all these good things in your house worth? Don't get the wrong idea, I'm just curious."

"Do you see that painting hanging on the wall?" Lin Jin pointed casually, recalling, "When I bid for it, it was worth around 30 million. It was a masterpiece by a master, and now it should be worth several times more. So you can estimate how much this room full of collections is worth."

"Wow, so much money!?" Cheng Sangluo exclaimed in surprise as she looked at the framed ink paintings on the wall. She subconsciously took two steps back to make sure she was as far away from the display cases as possible.

She was already afraid of accidentally breaking something, and when she heard the staggering amount, her heart pounded again. Thirty million! That's not three thousand yuan! Does this crazy woman think she can spend ten thousand yuan as if it were one yuan?

“These cabinets are very sturdy; you can’t break them.” Lin Jin laughed at her overly cautious reaction, narrowing his eyes. “With your wife backing you up, what are you afraid of?”

Cheng Sangluo did not respond to this confident confession. With a faint smile, she pushed Lin Jin through the aisles of the display cases.

As they approached the wall concealing the secret room, Lin Jin hesitated for a few seconds before deciding to remain silent.

During those few seconds of silence, Cheng Sangluo noticed a small dagger on the display case.

The dagger had a unique design, and since she had a fondness for sharp little objects, it naturally caught her eye.

She was about to take a closer look when someone behind her suddenly tugged at her hem.

Lin Jin's heart was in her throat. The dagger was the switch for the secret room. If the dog twisted it in the right direction, the hidden door in the wall would open, and the secret hidden deep in her heart would be revealed.

"Cheng Sangluo!" she called out to the dog in time, her voice rising because she was in such a hurry.

"What's wrong?" Cheng Sangluo turned around and took her hand, complaining softly, "Why are you so startled? You scared me!"

"N-nothing...we've reached the end, let's turn back." Lin Jin forced an unnatural smile and quickly changed the subject: "It's getting late, and I haven't had dinner yet. I'm a little hungry. We were supposed to have a seafood feast to celebrate, but after this whole mess, it all fell through."

"Hungry? Then I'll go cook. Let's have a simple meal tonight." When Cheng Sangluo heard the crazy woman say she was hungry, she quickly went behind the wheelchair and pushed her back, laughing, "We can celebrate with a seafood feast tomorrow."

From her unseen perspective, Lin Jin's brows furrowed repeatedly, a look of relief appearing on her face, but it was quickly replaced by a sense of loss and bewilderment.

Lin Jin was very annoyed. Taking Cheng Sangluo to tour the collection room was just a pretext; her real intention was to lead her into that secret room filled with memories.

They were just a wall away, and they could have opened their hearts at this moment and told those who didn't know about the years they had waited alone.

The moment had arrived when all the right conditions were met, but the arrogant Lin Jin lost her courage. She was annoyed that she hadn't prepared herself to be honest about everything, so she could only bite her lip and remain silent.

Reaching the entrance to the collection room, Lin Jin patted the dog's paw with his hand behind its back. "The password is 20190629. If you really like the things here, you can have your fingerprints and iris scanned. You can come in and take a look anytime you want."

"You really don't treat me like an outsider. Aren't you afraid that one day I might suddenly have bad intentions and secretly take a few items to make a fortune?" Cheng Sangluo joked, then refused, "I'm not interested in these kinds of auctioned collectibles. At most, I'll just look at them out of curiosity, but it's not very interesting after a while."

"I told you, Cheng Sangluo's character is worth more than three million, you can trust him, right?" Lin Jin sighed, then teased, "Yeah, what bad intentions could a puppy have?"

"Okay, I'll go cook. Where do you want to stay? I'll take you there first." Cheng Sangluo asked as she closed the heavy blast door. "What do you want for dinner? You can order from the menu."

Lin Jin leaned back and looked at the puppy. She thought that in the past, when she asked this person to cook three meat dishes and two vegetable dishes, he would grumble for a long time. Today, however, he was very proactive and could even order from the menu.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Cheng Sangluo placed her hands on her bent knees and waved her hand in front of her. "Where do you want to go? What do you want to eat? Answer me quickly."

"I want to go to the kitchen to supervise the puppy chef's cooking. I want to eat... um... whatever you want, I'll eat whatever you make. Since you've been so well-behaved today, I won't make things difficult for you." Lin Jin was unusually easygoing.

The two exchanged a smile, probably both happy that today was a special day.

Lin Jin tilted her head, pleading, "I think you should say something to me, like some nice things."

The puppy wagged its tail slyly, looking rather haughty: "Why do I suddenly have to say nice things?"

The crazy woman declared confidently, "Because today is a good day!"

The puppy thought carefully: "Hmm, let me think about it first..."

The crazy woman deliberately made things difficult: "I'm going to start the countdown~"

The puppy bared its teeth: "Give me some time... um... you stupid thing, think fast... um... I've got it!"

Cheng Sangluo had a sudden inspiration and quickly walked to Lin Jin, kneeling down on one knee and grinning to reveal his porcelain-white teeth, "Wife, happy wedding."

Lin Jin hadn't expected that this dim-witted person would immediately backfire with such a powerful move.

The puppy's kneeling posture resembled a marriage proposal, calling her "wife" and wishing her happiness, giving her a momentary illusion that she and the person in front of her had truly achieved a happy ending.

Lin Jin was stunned for a long time before her eyes gradually curved into a smile. A thin layer of mist gathered in her eyes, and it was hard to describe what kind of emotion it was. It seemed to be because she was too happy, or perhaps because she was moved by something.

However, this touching smile lasted too short, and the atmosphere that brought them closer was quickly dispelled by a question.

"Cheng Sangluo, have you fallen for me?"

Cheng Sangluo was stunned, and the smile on her lips stiffened slightly. She slowly stood up, her hands groping helplessly in the pockets of her trousers.

Silence brewed expectation, and so expectation turned into disappointment.

Lin Jin understood that her direct approach had failed, because her feelings for him had not received a timely response.

She slumped her shoulders and sighed inwardly. Who said that if you keep something in your heart, it will surely come back to you? Why did it become a dead silence for me?

Cheng Sang was caught up in the question about her feelings for someone and couldn't shake it off.

She hesitated, wondering what she was doing. When she thought about it deeply, she suddenly realized what that kiss hidden in the car meant. The kisses that followed, like countless other intimate moments, turned into an uncontrollable outburst, a secret addiction that she had developed after tasting the sweetness.

But when these infatuated interactions were labeled as liking, she became a coward, unable to tell whether her wavering heart was filled with affection or with a desire to escape.

Lin Jin lowered her eyes, her fine eyelashes trembling slightly, and chuckled softly, "I was just teasing you. We're all adults, it's just a matter of mutual benefit, there's no such thing as love and romance."

Cheng Sangluo lowered her eyes and stared at Lin Jin, almost believing his insincere expression, just a hair's breadth away.

But Lin Jin was not as frivolous as usual. He didn't raise the corners of his eyes, didn't have his signature fake smile, and didn't draw out his tone.

Cheng Sangluo's lips trembled slightly, and after a moment's hesitation, she pressed with a question: "And you? You're always trying to possess me, don't you like me even a little bit?"

This seemingly casual question carried an overwhelming force, its silence permeating the moonlight outside the window.

*

The next day, early morning.

Lin Jin sat at the dining table, enjoying the breakfast prepared by Cheng Sangluo while looking at the news link sent by Secretary Zhou on her phone.

Breaking news from this station: Mr. Lin Zhen, a renowned entrepreneur in our city and chairman of the Lin's Group, passed away early this morning after failing to respond to medical treatment... As an important figure in our city's business community, Mr. Lin Zhen's Lin's Group made significant contributions to local economic development under his leadership... The Lin's Group has already issued an obituary...

The quiet restaurant was suddenly filled with the sounds of the morning news.

Cheng Sangluo was stuffing toast into her mouth when she heard the news of Lin Zhen's death. She secretly glanced at Lin Jin's face.

His handsome face showed no extra emotions, only his deep eyes were slightly dimmed.

The puppy couldn't help but mutter to itself that this woman's cold-bloodedness was beyond its imagination. She didn't even utter a sound after her father died. But thinking about it again, it made sense. It was normal not to care about a useless father.

What's most heartbreaking is that, as her own daughter, she learned of her father's death through the news. That vicious mother and son are truly capable of anything.

[Author's Note]

1. My pre-order novel, "The Sinful Lover," is available for collection.

2. My upcoming novel on the same theme, "The Mad Beauty's Dog Training Manual," is available for pre-order. Please add it to your favorites.