Chapter 100: My Best Friend’s Worry (Part 2)
Zhao Chen had already noticed Yu Ling's sudden change in expression, the shock, pain, and a hint of disbelief in her eyes! The gentle smile on his face instantly disappeared, his brows furrowed tightly, and his eyes became sharp and solemn. He didn't say anything, but only asked silently with his eyes: What's wrong?
Yu Ling looked at the handsome face before her, filled with concern and nervousness. This was the face that had clumsily cleaned her ice cream stain in the morning light, gently fed her ice cream under the stars, and held her tightly in the bustling crowd of the ancient town... His every move, every look, had made her absolutely sure that he truly loved her.
But Lidya Su’s words…Gu Qianqian’s accusations…those descriptions of his “unbearable” past…slithered into her mind like a poisonous snake!
Flirtatious? Promiscuous? Loan shark? Pretending to be honest? A scapegoat?
How could these words be associated with the man in front of her, with his clear eyes, who would customize a silent yacht just because of her complaint, and who would clumsily play the role of "ordinary employee" to make her happy?!
The huge contradiction and sense of rift almost tore her apart! Her mind was screaming, "Gu Qianqian is lying! She is trying to sow discord!", but her emotions were turned upside down by her bestie's anxious and panicked voice and those extremely impactful "details"!
Especially the "loan sharking" and "draining the family's wealth"... Thinking back to the "bankruptcy documents" Gu Qianqian had sent me earlier... Could there really be something hidden?!
The cornerstone of trust, under the impact of vicious rumors, made a subtle but heart-wrenching sound of shattering.
"Lingling? What happened? What did Lidya Su say?" Zhao Chen's voice was filled with a subtle tension and anxiety. He reached out and wanted to touch her cold hand.
Yu Ling suddenly retracted her hand as if she had been burned! This subconscious action caused Zhao Chen's outstretched hand to freeze in mid-air, and his eyes darkened instantly.
Yu Ling saw the hurt and disbelief in Zhao Chen's eyes, and her heart felt like it had been struck by a sledgehammer! A surge of regret and fear washed over her! What was she doing?! She was actually showing doubt and resistance towards Zhao Chen just because of Gu Qianqian's words?!
No! She couldn't do this! She had promised to trust him!
She used all her strength to suppress her turbulent thoughts, took a deep breath, and turned the phone screen to face Zhao Chen. Her fingers were still trembling slightly, and her voice was dry and difficult, with a kind of suppressed confusion:
"Xiaoxiao... I just ran into Gu Qianqian at the mall... She... She said you..."
She couldn't say the unbearable words that followed. She just handed the phone over. The screen was still on the call interface with Lidya Su. Although the call had been hung up, the last few shocking text messages were clearly displayed.
Zhao Chen's eyes fell on the phone screen.
Just a glance.
Just a glance.
Yu Ling clearly saw that Zhao Chen's deep eyes were like being plunged into an abyss of eternal ice! All the concern, tension, and tenderness... froze and shattered in an instant! Only a chill strong enough to freeze the soul remained! Beneath that coldness, surged a raging rage that could destroy everything and... a bone-chilling murderous intent!
Zhao Chen's knuckles crackled slightly as he gripped the phone. The words on the screen burned his vision like a red-hot iron. His jawline was tense, and the low pressure emanating from him was so heavy it was suffocating.
Yu Ling's heart leaped into her throat, a surge of panic gripping her. She had never seen Zhao Chen look so horrified! Even worse than when he'd seen those composite photos! It was a rage that was completely violated, slandered to the extreme, on the verge of losing control!
She even subconsciously shrank back, her back against the cold bathtub wall.
Just when she thought Zhao Chen would explode, roar, and immediately call to ask Gu Qianqian to "physically disappear",
The coldness on Zhao Chen's face was like a glacier thrown into lava, melting and dissipating rapidly at an extremely strange speed.
He raised his head.
Slowly, extremely slowly, a smile appeared on his face!
Was that smile shallow, faint, even a little absurd? The eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses were no longer cold, but instead revealed a kind of all-knowing calmness with a hint of sarcasm.
He casually threw Yu Ling's phone back onto the small table beside him, as if it were an insignificant piece of trash. Then, he picked up the bowl of vanilla ice cream again.
He slowly scooped up a large spoonful of ice cream, which was piled high in the spoon and topped with golden caramel sauce and crunchy nuts.
He leaned over and steadily handed the spoon to Yu Ling's lips, which were slightly open due to shock and confusion. His movements were so natural that it seemed as if nothing had happened just now.
"Open your mouth." His voice had returned to its usual calmness, even with a subtle hint of coaxing. But beneath that calmness, there seemed to be something deeper.
Yu Ling was completely stunned! She looked at the ice cream scoop so close to her, and the eerily calm smile on Zhao Chen's face. Her mind went blank, and she could only subconsciously and obediently open her mouth.
The cool and sweet ice cream instantly filled her mouth.
Zhao Chen watched her swallowing mechanically, the smile on his lips deepening a little, with a strange soothing power. He withdrew the spoon, slowly scooped a spoonful for himself, and put it into his mouth, savoring it slowly, as if enjoying some delicacy.
He swallowed the ice cream and looked at Yu Ling's face which was still filled with shock and confusion. His eyes behind the gold-rimmed glasses were deep and calm.
"Lingling," he began, his voice low and pleasant, with a strange penetrating power that clearly overwhelmed the turbulent waves churning in Yu Ling's heart, "Do you know what the least valuable thing in the world is?"
Yu Ling stared at him blankly and shook her head subconsciously.
"It's a rumor." Zhao Chen's lips curled up slightly, yet with a hint of confidence and sarcasm. "Especially... a rumor spewed out from the mouth of a rat in the gutter."
His tone was calm, but every word was weighty:
"Flirtatious? Promiscuous? Loan sharking?" He scoffed. The laugh was soft, yet filled with unparalleled contempt and disdain, as if he had heard the world's most ridiculous joke. "What else can Gu Qianqian spew out besides shit?"
He paused, looking into Yu Ling's eyes. His gaze was incomparably frank, carrying a power that could penetrate people's hearts:
"I don't need anyone to tell you what my study abroad experience was like. If you want to know, I can always tell you everything, no matter how big or small. Including every relationship and every expense."
His tone was incredibly sincere, without the slightest evasion. "As for the debt... haha," he chuckled again, exuding a powerful aura of control. "Lingling, do you think someone who could buy the 'Star' needs to borrow money from loan sharks? Or do you think I'm some deadbeat who needs a woman to 'take over'?"
The word "Laolai" came out of his mouth with a sense of absurd humor.
Yu Ling was stunned by his calm yet powerful aura. Yes… How could someone who could easily customize a silent yacht of inestimable value and live in a "presidential suite" high above the clouds be a loan shark? Gu Qianqian's rumors pale and laughable in the face of Zhao Chen's sheer strength and openness! So flawed!
A huge sense of absurdity and fear washed over Yu Ling! She had almost been swayed by such a lowly lie?!
Seeing the shock and confusion in Yu Ling's eyes gradually dissipate, and be replaced by regret and understanding, the cold murderous intent deep in Zhao Chen's eyes quietly disappeared.
He scooped up another spoonful of ice cream and handed it to her lips. His voice became softer, with a hint of subtle coaxing:
"Well, rumors stop with the wise... and also with truffle chicken stew."
"Hmm?" Yu Ling was holding the ice cream in her mouth and didn't react for a moment.
Zhao Chen put down the spoon, leaned forward slightly, and moved closer to Yu Ling's cheeks, which were flushed pink from the bath. His warm breath brushed against her ears, and his voice was low and full of temptation:
"Would you like to have truffle-braised chicken tonight? Using free-range chickens raised in the mountains behind us, fed on truffles? I'll cook it myself."
Truffle...chicken stew?!
Yu Ling's thoughts were instantly drawn away from those vicious rumors and focused on... the unique and expensive aroma of truffles! And the sight of Zhao Chen, aproned and busy in the kitchen!
She looked at Zhao Chen's handsome face with a mischievous smile close to her, looked at the unpretentious doting in his eyes and his clumsy idea of "using food to divert attention", and the haze in her heart was completely dispelled by this huge contrast and scorching warmth!
She swallowed the ice cream in her mouth and deliberately put on a stern face. "Truffle stewed chicken? Chef Zhao, are you sure you won't mistake truffles for mushrooms again this time?"
Zhao Chen's handsome face froze instantly, and his ears turned red at a visible speed! The last "truffle mushroom" incident was the Waterloo of his "pig-playing" career!
He reached out and pinched Yu Ling's cheek in anger. "Comrade Yu Ling! You're showing a serious lack of trust in Michelin... ahem, in the chefs at the Farmhouse Inn!"
"Hahaha..." Yu Ling dodged with a smile, splashing water.
The cold storm caused by the vicious rumors just now seemed to be temporarily dispelled by a bowl of ice cream and the promise of "truffle chicken stew".
The cold murderous intent hidden in Zhao Chen's eyes was temporarily covered by the smile that bloomed again on the lover in his arms.
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