Chapter 106 That's unnecessary.
"you--"
Xu Rong's mind went blank. She pointed at him and asked a question that was important but also irrelevant at the moment, "How do you have my contract?"
"I found it," Lin Xin said calmly.
So it must have happened when he was being chased—but did he get off the vehicle at the time? Or did the soldier pick it up and he just happened to take it from him?
Xu Rong couldn't remember, and he didn't need to. In any case, as he said, it was all gone now.
Well, considering her bottom line, she ultimately didn't rummage through his things. He, on the other hand, demonstrated his bottom line to her face.
Xu Rong glared at him.
But whether she was angry at his behavior itself or at the consequences it caused, she couldn't really tell; in any case, she was angry.
"If I insist on leaving, are you still planning to lock me up?" she asked coldly.
Lin Xin remained silent. After a long while, he said, "I didn't say that."
"Then why do you do this kind of thing?" Xu Rong raised his chin and stared at him intently.
Strangely enough, when he didn't make a move, she was so anxious and uneasy, but as soon as he made a move, despite his domineering and unreasonable behavior, she regained all her confidence and initiative.
Afraid?
Not at all.
I could fight him a hundred or more times.
I don't want you to leave.
Xu Rong: "..."
Xu Rong: "Cough."
She choked on her words even though she had taken a moment to catch her breath before speaking.
Perhaps the air that had been stuck in her throat dissipated too quickly, and she didn't have time to react.
"You can't do that," Xu Rong scolded him. "Can't you talk to me properly?"
"If I say something, will you listen to me?" Lin Xin looked up at her, a glint in his eyes.
Xu Rong unconsciously raised his chin a little higher: "That's not necessarily true."
The light in Lin Xin's eyes faded, and his expression turned cold and stern again.
Xu Rong: "..." She got angry again, "Is this what you call talking nicely? You're telling me I have to listen to you!"
Lin Xin paused for a moment, then said, "Yes."
He actually dared to say "hmm"!
Xu Rong rolled up his sleeves—he didn't intend to hit anyone, he just wanted an excuse to vent his emotions. He took two steps forward, pressing himself against him: "What if I don't listen?"
"Do you hate me that much?" Lin Xin didn't answer, his eyes darkening further as he asked.
—No, not really.
No, I should say, not at all.
But when the two armies faced off, Xu Rong felt she couldn't lose this argument, so she wouldn't budge: "This has nothing to do with whether I like you or not. Even if I like you, you can't just act like this without my consent."
After saying that, he realized it was wrong. He didn't ask about "dislike," but she directly escalated it to "like," which made things even worse.
He then added, "If I simply refuse, are you planning to force me?"
"I didn't." Lin Xin denied it quickly this time, and his voice became a little hoarse, as if he had been insulted by Xu Rong. "I wouldn't."
That's more like it.
Xu Rong finally calmed down a bit; it seemed she hadn't misjudged her to that extent.
"So what exactly do you want? You won't let me leave, and you don't plan anything else. Are you just going to waste your whole life on me like this?"
"Just like that—" Lin Xin's voice hadn't recovered, and the red at the corner of his eyes now had a different meaning, no longer sharp, but rather seemed a little sad, "Isn't that good?"
Xu Rong was stunned for a moment. What was so good about it?
Of course, she seemed to be fine, but he—
He's only twenty-one this year.
I don't have that kind of need...
"You said you never plan to get married again in your life."
When Lin Xin spoke again, Xu Rong felt that the voice sounded familiar, like something she had said before. She didn't remember the exact words, but the meaning was definitely the same.
People with good memories have an advantage.
“Since you won’t marry anyone else, why don’t you stay with me?” Lin Xin asked her. “The way things were before will remain the same. As long as you stay, I won’t force you to do anything.”
Xu Rong's eyes widened.
She stepped back.
They took two steps back and then stopped—behind them were crates and cages; they had originally been standing in the middle of a pile of crates and cages.
But this was bad news. At this close distance, she was afraid that he would hear her heart pounding.
Worse still, he seemed oblivious, and even took two steps forward, filling the gap again: "Is that alright?"
No, I don't know.
Xu Rong answered him in her heart, because she really couldn't say it.
She saw his love, but she didn't know that what she saw was not all of it.
"Is that not enough?" Lin Xin's sorrow deepened. He was the one who committed the illegal act, the evidence was still on the ground, and he was the one who suffered immense harm. His head hung low, and his hoarse voice seemed to carry a hint of pleading. "You even said that if I became successful and could be your backer, you wouldn't go to Suzhou. I know I'm not standing high enough—"
"That's enough," Xu Rong finally couldn't help but say.
She already has five yuan; if she collects just one more yuan, she can summon an achievement that will be remembered for thousands of years. Yet he still says it's not enough, and he's dealt such a blow to the newly crowned champion. She feels like she's committed a terrible sin.
What merit does she possess?
Why should he do that?
“Then there won’t be any difference between you living in the capital and living in this mansion,” Lin Xin assured her. “If Father and Mother have any gossip, I’ll go and tell them. You don’t need to worry about it.”
Xu Rong touched his face.
She did it to relieve her tension, but after touching it, she felt even more tense. It was burning hot and must have turned red.
"You...you can speak properly," Xu Rong said in a panic, not even knowing what she was saying. It was as if she was going in circles, yet she was completely unaware of it, and she was enjoying it immensely. "Then why did you do that before?"
“It’s no use me saying anything,” Lin Xin said quietly. “You’re busy packing your dowry every day, looking for a marriage partner every day, and thinking about leaving me every day.”
Xu Rong was stunned by his three "every day" statements. It made it sound like she was some kind of bad person, but she wasn't. She stopped herself from making a defense, realizing something was wrong: "—You know that? Aren't you going to take the provincial exam? Instead of studying for the exam, you're paying attention to these things every day?"
“I did well on the exam,” Lin Xin retorted. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t be telling you now.”
Indeed, blaming the top scorer in the provincial examination for not putting in enough effort sounds too offensive.
"If you have any requests, just say so, and I'll grant them." Lin Xin steered the conversation back on track, then added in a somber tone, "Except for leaving."
"I—" Xu Rong finally said, "Let me think about it."
...
Lin Xin went out, and Xu Rong looked at the things scattered on the ground. Too lazy to clean up or call anyone, she took off her jewelry, loosened her outer clothes, and lay down on the bed.
It was her lunch break, but of course she couldn't fall asleep.
She pulled back the curtains, hugged her pillow, and rolled around in the soft brocade quilt.
She'd never been this naive in her life; this occasional occurrence felt rather pleasant.
Since no one saw her, she rolled around again, and only after she finished did she feel a little calmer.
The corners of her mouth that were turned up still wouldn't go down.
I'm just happy.
There's nothing I can't admit to myself.
But she still needed to stay calm, stay calm.
Xu Rong clutched her chest and counted for a while—it was no use; she could only feel that her heart rate was definitely still above one hundred.
That's normal. Someone is treating her with complete sincerity, so it's perfectly reasonable for her heart to race a little.
I touched my face again, and it was still hot.
He's so stupid, can't he see it at all?
She clearly also...
Xu Rong closed his eyes.
...
Although he didn't fall asleep for a single minute, Xu Rong stayed in bed for a full hour before getting up.
At this point, she couldn't stand the mess on the floor anymore and summoned a maid to come in and clean it up.
But it wasn't just a maid who entered; Lin Xin's tall and imposing figure also came in.
He probably hadn't rested; even after so long, the redness at the corner of his eye hadn't disappeared and had even spread into his eye. As she sat in front of the dressing table having Bai Fu help her comb her hair, he stood beside her and asked, "Have you thought it through?"
In front of Bai Fu and Xin Cheng, who was packing boxes, Xu Rong suddenly felt embarrassed and said, "Don't ask yet, it won't be that fast."
Lin Xin didn't press the matter; he stood there for a while, then quietly left.
Xu Rong felt sorry for him after all.
After putting the boxes and cages back in their original places, Xin Cheng asked her, "Grandma, do you want to see anything else? I'll have someone bring it over."
She assumed that Xu Rong had already sorted through these boxes, so she could send them away.
Xu Rong lazily shook her head: "No need, I'm fine now, you don't need to worry about me, go out for a walk."
This mansion was still a new place for the maids, so Xin Cheng happily agreed and turned to leave.
Xu Rong sat there for a while, but she didn't stay idle. The mansion wasn't completely tidied up yet, and there were still some minor issues that needed her attention. She dealt with them twice, and then it was time for dinner.
Lin Xin came out of his room.
The dinner was eaten in silence, yet undercurrents were surging.
Xu Rong tried to avoid looking at the other side, but she couldn't help but glance at it. She had always known that Lin Xin was good-looking, and he had the best features of Lin Ding and Wei Shi. Regardless of whether his personality was crooked or not, his appearance was not crooked at all.
This used to be none of her business, and she never really cared about it, but later...
She tried to pull her gaze back.
Suddenly I felt a bit better.
After dinner, we took a bath.
Having just finished showering, Xu Rong was considering whether to sit for a while or go straight to bed when Bai Fuxin's cheerful voice came from outside: "Your Highness."
He came over again?
Xu Rong couldn't help but peek in and saw him walk in with his head down.
When he got close to her, he raised his head. His jade-carved features were slightly furrowed, revealing a hint of melancholy.
Xu Rong felt she couldn't hold on any longer, and on a whim, before he could ask, she said, "I need to think about it some more."
"I've made up my mind," Lin Xin said.
Xu Rong: "...Huh?"
"Didn't you always think you were older than me and wanted to be my older sister?"
Lin Xin's expression was extremely reluctant when he said those words, but it was as if he had made up his mind and forced himself to say, "Don't go. I acknowledge you. From now on, we can call each other brother and sister in private. Is that alright?"
Xu Rong was speechless.
That was a long time ago.
It was just a joke, but I never expected him to bring it up again in such a desperate and helpless way.
Xu Rong was starting to panic.
No, well... she felt like she was in a bind.
"Isn't that enough?" Lin Xin said anxiously, emphasizing his words as if making a vow, "Don't worry, I will never touch you."
Having gone this far in their conversation, Xu Rong believed in his sincerity.
With three years of past experience providing a solid foundation of trust, she had nothing to worry about.
But the problem is... that's not what she meant!
Seeing that he was about to speak again because he was not getting a reply, and might actually make a vow to her, Xu Rong finally couldn't bear it any longer and said, "That's not necessary."
Lin Xin: "..."
Lin Xin's expression changed drastically.
Xu Rong regretted her words the moment they left her mouth and tried to back away quickly, but she couldn't outrun Lin Xin. Her shoulders tightened, and she was restrained.
The only thing Xu Rong could do was lean back and try to avoid him, but she soon realized that this position was even more dangerous.
He took over every space she gave him, and he, having already bathed, exuded a fresh scent. His eyes sparkled with a smile: "You said it wasn't necessary. So what are you afraid of—sister?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
