Chapter 71 Lin Wei's Methods

In December, Beijing was already gripped by winter chill, in the private dining rooms of the restaurant on the top floor of the China World Trade Center Phase 3.

When Huo Yanli arrived, Lin Wei was already waiting there. Today she was wearing a white knitted dress, her hair was softly draped over her shoulders, and her makeup was light. She looked less aggressive and more delicate than usual.

Outside the window, the sky was a greyish-white, and in the distance, the tops of buildings were faintly visible with patches of unmelted snow. The heating was on full blast, and a thin layer of condensation had formed on the windows.

"Yanli, thank you for coming." Lin Wei stood up, her voice soft, her eyes slightly red.

Huo Yanli sat down opposite her without replying. He had an important investment meeting today, but Lin Wei was crying so hard on the phone that she could barely speak, saying that there were some things that needed to be made clear today, otherwise she "couldn't go on living."

He knew this might be another of her tactics, but his heart softened when he heard the words "can't go on living." After all, they had once truly loved each other.

The waiter served tea and left the private room. Only the two of them remained, with the distant hustle and bustle of the city outside the window.

"What do you want to say?" Huo Yanli asked, his tone calm but distant.

Lin Wei lowered her head, twisting her napkin between her fingers, and tears began to fall one by one. It wasn't a loud, wailing cry, but a restrained, silent sob that was all the more heartbreaking.

“Yanli… I know you’re married now, I know I shouldn’t bother you.” Her voice trembled. “But I really… really can’t take it anymore. For the past five years, I’ve lived in regret and pain every single day…”

Huo Yanli didn't speak, he just looked at her.

“Back then…” Lin Wei raised her tearful eyes, her eyes red-rimmed, “Your mother came to me not once, but three times. The first time was to invite me for tea, and she subtly said that you and I were not suitable. The second time was at home, where she said that if I didn’t leave you, the Huo family would not acknowledge you, and you would lose your inheritance rights.”

Her voice grew increasingly choked with emotion: "The third time, she gave me a sum of money directly, saying it was 'compensation I deserved,' that I wasn't good enough for the Huo family, and that my presence by her side would only be a burden..."

Huo Yanli's fingers tightened slightly. He knew his mother had opposed their relationship back then, but he didn't know the specific details.

“I said I don’t want money, I said I just want to be with you.” Lin Wei’s tears flowed even more fiercely. “But your mother said that if I don’t leave with the money, she will make you lose everything in the Huo family. She said that you’ve already disappointed Grandpa because you’ve made trouble for your family for me… Yanli, I love you so much, how can I bear to watch you lose everything for me?”

The private room was quiet, save for Lin Wei's suppressed sobs. Outside the window, a flock of pigeons flew by, tracing chaotic paths across the grey sky.

"Yanli, I love you so much..." Lin Wei's voice was almost broken, "How could I watch you lose everything for me? So I took the money, so I left... I thought I was sacrificing for you, I thought that this way you could get back on track and get everything you deserved..."

She took a bank card out of her handbag and pushed it in front of Huo Yanli. The card was old, with some wear and tear on the edges.

"This is the card from back then, the PIN is your birthday." Her tears dripped onto the table. "I haven't touched a single penny. No matter how hard things were in New York, I never touched the money in there. Because I knew that once I did, I would truly become the kind of money-grubbing woman your mother described..."

Huo Yanli stared at the card in silence for a long time.

If he had heard these words three years ago, he would have been furious, heartbroken, and would have gone to great lengths to confront his mother.

But now...

"Why are you only telling me now?" he asked, his voice calm.

Lin Wei raised her tear-filled eyes and gave a sorrowful smile: "Because I thought time could heal everything... I thought I could forget you and start a new life in New York. But I was wrong. Yanli, do you know what kind of life I've lived these past five years?"

She wiped away her tears, her voice hoarse: "I live in a basement, work three jobs, sixteen hours a day. New York winters are cold, and there's no heating in the basement. When I'm shivering wrapped in a blanket, I think of you... I remember when we were in college, you were afraid I'd be cold, so you always gave me your coat..."

Huo Yanli closed his eyes. Those memories were real—he really did always give her his coat during winters in college.

“I thought I was atoning for my sins,” Lin Wei continued. “I thought the suffering I endured could atone for the sin of taking the money and leaving back then. But now I understand, I was wrong… True atonement is coming back to face it, telling you the truth, and asking for your forgiveness…”

She reached out to hold Huo Yanli's hand, but Huo Yanli avoided it.

“Lin Wei,” he opened his eyes and looked at her, “if you really loved me that much back then, why didn’t you tell me all this before you left? Why didn’t you give me a chance to choose?”

Lin Wei was stunned.

“If you tell me that my mother is pressuring you and saying that she will make me lose my inheritance rights—I will tell you that I don’t care.” Huo Yanli’s voice remained calm, but every word was like a needle. “I don’t care about the inheritance rights of the Huo family, I don’t care about that wealth and status. What I care about is whether you are willing to face it with me and fight for it together.”

"I..." Lin Wei opened her mouth, "I'm afraid of putting you in a difficult position... I'm afraid you'll fall out with your family because of me, I'm afraid you'll regret it..."

"So you made the decision for me." Huo Yanli looked at her. "You thought I should have the inheritance rights and not you. You thought I would give you up for money."

"No! I'm doing this for your own good!" Lin Wei said urgently.

"For my own good?" Huo Yanli smiled, a faint smile tinged with sarcasm. "Lin Wei, you've never truly understood me. If you did, you'd know that what I hate most is having others make decisions for me."

He stood up: "Keep that card. Whether the money in it has been touched or not is none of my business."

"Yanli!" Lin Wei stood up and grabbed his arm. "You're leaving? You're just going to leave like this? I've sacrificed so much for you, aren't you even a little bit moved?"

Huo Yanli stopped, but did not turn around.

“Lin Wei,” he said, “if what you’re saying is true, then I feel sorry for you. But if what you’re saying is false… I feel sorry for you.”

He broke free from her hand and walked out of the private room.

The door closed behind her, shutting out Lin Wei's sobs.

Huo Yanli stood in the corridor, not leaving immediately. He looked at the city outside the window and suddenly felt a deep weariness.

Lin Wei's words stirred something within him—if it was true, then she had indeed sacrificed a lot for him. If it was false… then her acting was truly superb.

He didn't know what to believe.

My phone vibrated; it was a message from Ji Yun: "I heard Lin Wei asked you out again? What's the story this time?"

Huo Yanli did not reply. He stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the underground parking garage.

He closed his eyes as the elevator descended.

The image in my mind is Lin Wei's crying face, and her words, "I love you so much, I can only sacrifice myself."

And Song Zhiyi's calm face reflects her words, "Feelings are not everything in life."

The faces of the two women appear alternately, like two completely different worlds.

A dramatic emotional entanglement.

A calm and steadfast commitment to reality.

The elevator arrived, and the door opened.

Huo Yanli stepped out of the elevator and got into his car. He didn't start the engine immediately, but leaned back in his seat, looking at the empty garage ahead.

A wave of guilt washed over him—if what Lin Wei said was true, then all his resentment towards her over the years had been wrong.

He picked up his phone, intending to call his mother to verify.

But his finger lingered on the dial key for a long time before he ultimately didn't press it.

Sometimes, it's better not to know the truth about things.

Huo Yanli took a deep breath and started the car.

As the car drove out of the garage, light snowflakes began to fall outside.

Beijing's first snow arrived silently.