A world without her
The first day after Yu Jinli left.
In Feng Jinxuan's world, sound and color have been lost.
The hilltop mansion, once bustling and vibrant with life because of her presence, now stands empty, like a giant, cold tomb.
The air seemed to still carry the faint, sun-kissed scent of lemongrass from her body, yet it couldn't dispel the bone-chilling, deathly coldness.
He locked himself in the room where she used to live.
Everything in the room remains exactly as it was when she left.
On the bed, there was still the quilt she hadn't had time to fold, with faint dents that seemed to remain from where she had slept.
On the dressing table were still her bottles and jars of inexpensive but effective skincare products.
On the balcony, the potted green ivy that she cherished so much had its leaves starting to turn slightly yellow and wither because it had lost the nourishment of the koi's good fortune overnight.
The pink diary that he had personally thrown on the ground lay quietly on the cold carpet.
Like a silent tombstone filled with mockery.
Feng Jinxuan sat motionless on the carpet, his back against the cold edge of the bed.
He looked at the diary, but hesitated to pick it up.
He was afraid.
He feared he would see those cold words again, those words that shattered all his trust.
He was also afraid that he would lose control and tear this book, which contained all her "shameful" incriminating evidence, to shreds.
He just sat there from dawn till dusk.
He neither eats, drinks, nor sleeps.
Like a sculpture slowly weathering away, devoid of soul.
Assistant Wang has come a few times.
He stood at the door, looking at his omnipotent boss, who seemed unfazed even if the sky were to fall, now curled up in a corner like a child abandoned by the whole world, clutching a koi-shaped pillow left by Yu Jinli on the sofa.
His pathetic, lost appearance made him seem as if his soul had been ripped away, leaving him like a walking corpse. Assistant Wang felt a sharp, piercing pain in his heart, as if being pricked by needles.
“Boss,” he began tentatively, “the company has a lot of documents waiting for you to process.”
There was no response.
“Boss,” he added, “the old man has called several times to ask about your situation.”
There has still been no response.
In the end, Assistant Wang could only sigh and gently place a document on the cabinet by the door.
Then, they quietly slipped away.
Late at night, moonlight streamed in through the huge French windows.
The man's lonely figure was stretched very long.
Feng Jinxuan finally moved.
He slowly raised his head, his bloodshot eyes staring blankly at the boundless darkness outside the window.
She left.
They're really gone.
This realization, like a dull, rusty knife, was repeatedly and slowly cutting into his heart.
The pain has made me numb.
He slowly stood up, his body stiff from sitting for so long.
He walked to the door and picked up the document left by Assistant Wang.
That was an investigation report.
An investigation report on the new maid who accidentally spilled coffee on his desk at the birthday party, staining Yu Jinli's diary...
The report is very detailed.
The maid's name, age, family background, and... a month ago, she had a secret meeting with a former confidant of Feng Jinhong who had already left the company.
And there was that 500,000 yuan remittance from an unknown source in her personal account.
All the evidence, like sharp needles, pierced Feng Jinxuan's eyes.
He looked at the report, at the seemingly ordinary waybill without any special markings, its edges even a little worn.
A huge logical flaw that he had deliberately ignored due to anger and jealousy suddenly surfaced in his mind.
That diary was handed to him personally by Yu Jinli in front of everyone after she got drunk.
If she really felt guilty, if that diary really contained some unspeakable secret.
How could she so readily hand over her greatest "evidence" to him?
unless……
Unless, even she herself didn't know, the diary had been tampered with.
This thought, like a bolt of lightning, instantly cleaved his chaotic mind, which was filled with pain and regret!
He turned around abruptly and rushed back into the room like a madman!
He rushed to the carpet, his hands trembling, and picked up the cold diary that he regarded as "evidence" of his crime!
His heart was pounding.
He felt like a prisoner about to receive a death sentence.
He both longed to know the truth and feared that the truth would be more cruel than he imagined.
He took a deep breath and slowly opened his diary.
It was still those cold, calculating words he had already read before, full of utilitarianism.
Every word was like a knife, slowly tearing his heart apart until it bled profusely.
He endured the excruciating pain and turned to the middle of the diary.
Those dozens of pages of paper, glued together with superglue, were like hard lumps.
There were still dried dark brown coffee stains on it.
He picked up a sharp paper cutter from his desk.
His hands were trembling uncontrollably.
He carefully used the tip of his knife to slowly cut along the glued seam.
That process was slow and agonizing.
It was like performing the most delicate and dangerous surgery.
He feared that he might accidentally destroy the only possible truth.
Finally, he completely separated the thick, wall-like sheet of paper.
The paper, soaked in coffee, was wrinkled and somewhat blurry.
But the delicate, familiar handwriting with a touch of whimsy is still clearly visible.
[Date: Sunny. Today, I finally became the boss's "partner"! Hahaha! I feel like I've reached the pinnacle of my life! Although, I feel like I've been tricked. But it's okay, as long as the money's enough, I'm happy to be a tool!]
[Date: Cloudy. The boss was arguing with Gu, the tutor, again at the cram school today. The way he talked nonsense with such a straight face was... both childish and adorable. What to do? I think I'm starting to find this ice-cold face less annoying.]
[Date: Rainy. Today I saw my boss alone in his study, staring blankly at a video of his idol. His back looked so lonely. Suddenly, I felt a pang of heartache for him. Chase has already passed away, but Feng Jinxuan still has to live alone in this cold world.]
[Date: [Year] [Month] [Day], Sunny. I think... I've fallen for him. This realization scares me a little. My mother says my constitution prevents me from developing feelings. But how can reason control emotions?]
Happy birthday, [Date]. He proposed to me today. I said yes. I feel like the happiest person in the world. I vow that I will heal him. I will make him become the Chase who laughs heartily in the sun again.
The last page of the diary contained only one sentence.
The words, soaked in tears, were somewhat blurred.
But it was like a red-hot branding iron, branding itself deeply into the depths of Feng Jinxuan's soul.
He said Chase was dead.
But I don't want him to die.
I want to... bring him back to life.
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