Chapter 18
There was a ferry at 3 p.m., and Lin Langyi's long hair was blowing wildly in the wind. She had to stare expressionlessly at Cheng Yanjin, who suddenly seemed to have a fit of madness and refused to leave, insisting on dragging her back to demand an explanation.
She emphasized this for what seemed like the umpteenth time: "I told you nothing happened!"
“No?” Cheng Yanjin frowned deeply, gripping her arm tightly. “Look at your arm, all bruised and battered. You’ve been pinched like this and you’re still being stubborn. If you go back to see my parents like this, they’ll just think I beat you up.”
Lin Langyi was eager to go home: "I just leave marks easily. Let go of me, I want to go back."
"Easy to leave marks?" Cheng Yanjin still held her hand, only raising two fingers to peek at her wrist through the gap. Finding that he hadn't pulled out any bruises, he immediately gripped her wrist tightly again like a handcuff.
He said sarcastically, "Heh, you had a cup of tea with Brother Yu and suddenly you're allergic to everything like him? You have to come back with me, I'm going to teach Chu Hong and Zhuang Lan a lesson."
Lin Langyi had no idea what he was implying: "I told you it was all just for fun. Besides, you didn't show up earlier. Now that you've come back, they'll just think I'm complaining about them afterwards. Why would I want to cause trouble for them? We might not even have any contact in the future anyway."
Cheng Yanjin was extremely dissatisfied: "Lin Langyi, how can you be such a subservient and trouble-averse person? How are you going to fight Feng Congning in the future? How are you going to establish your authority?"
Lin Langyi tucked her wind-blown hair behind her ears and gave him a dreamy smile that could only be described as a gentle embrace.
"Why make an example of them to show off? Aren't there better candidates?"
Cheng Yanjin asked in confusion, "Who?"
He soon found out who this sucker was.
Lin Langyi and he left Jinsha Mansion by boat and visited Master Cheng in the evening.
Despite being over seventy years old, Mr. Cheng is still sharp of hearing and sight and in good health, which is inseparable from his habit of taking a walk in the park twice a day for exercise.
"Xiao Yi, don't let him lead you by the nose and listen to everything he says." Old Master Cheng glared fiercely at Cheng Yanjin. "I know this brat's temper better than anyone. He's lawless and thinks no one can control him."
"I didn't... what did I do to her?" Cheng Yanjin complained bitterly. "Besides, isn't it just that I have a bad temper and she has a good one?"
Grandpa Cheng grabbed a rosewood cane that was purely for decoration and swung it at him.
While dodging, Cheng Yanjin frantically winked at Lin Langyi.
But Lin Langyi, who had agreed so readily before coming, suddenly went back on her word.
She hesitated and took two steps closer to the old man, then froze in place, her fingers twisting the hem of her clothes, her face showing a troubled and frightened expression.
Cheng Yanjin swore that since he met her, he had never seen this Miss Lin, who always appeared in public in the wind and moonlight, so timid and pitiful, as if someone had wronged her terribly.
Lin Langyi looked aggrieved, but she called everyone "Grandpa" sweetly and obediently.
“Grandpa, Yan Jin said his card was suspended, which is affecting his normal social life and daily life.”
The old man sneered, "If it doesn't affect me, then what's the point of stopping?"
That makes a lot of sense.
Lin Langyi continued, feeling aggrieved: "Grandpa, he needed it urgently. We were at Jinsha Mansion during the day, but he couldn't pay. He was very unhappy, so he didn't want to go. Since he wasn't there, I was bored, so I came back in the afternoon."
The old man frowned: "Is he up to his old tricks again?"
"Lin Langyi!" Cheng Yanjin glared at her threateningly. "What did you say? You're tattling, aren't you!"
"You dare to yell at people?" The old man was indeed agile, and his cane was just an embellishment, like a woman's luxury handbag, which only came in handy at times like this.
Lin Langyi sobbed, "Grandpa, please unfreeze his card. He's been so anxious all day, and he dragged me to see you tonight."
"Lin Langyi, you're really great, you—"
The old man grabbed his cane and started hitting Cheng Yanjin: "I knew you little brat, you always bullied people. You used to look down on other girls, but now that you've said you like them, you've changed your mind. I think you're just asking for a beating!"
"Look closely, sir. It's clearly her who's been chasing after me relentlessly."
"Bullshit! Do you think I don't know you?"
Lin Langyi pretended to step forward and stop him twice, but only after seeing Cheng Yanjin actually take several blows did she speak up to plead for mercy.
The pleas weren't made to defend Cheng Yanjin, but rather with repeated phrases like, "Grandpa, please don't be angry; it's bad for your health."
"Oh dear, Grandpa, you're going to hurt your back if you keep doing that."
"Grandpa, be careful not to twist your chest..."
Cheng Yanjin realized that the more she tried to persuade him, the harder the stick would fall on him, and he was furious: "Grandpa... no, it sounds better when your granddaughter calls you Grandpa than when your grandson calls you Grandpa, right! You've finally fulfilled your wish, and you're overjoyed to finally have a granddaughter, right! I—"
The moment the cane slammed down heavily on his side, a figure flashed before Cheng Yanjin's eyes. Suddenly, someone rushed over and forcefully bumped into him, making his ribs tremble slightly.
He was led back two steps, and when he looked down, he saw Lin Langyi, her eyes blurry with tears, looking up at him and hugging him.
Her eyes, which usually crinkle into crescent moons when she smiles, were now brimming with tears. Cheng Yanjin suddenly felt as if the rib he had bumped had been struck with a small hammer, so sore and swollen that it felt like it would shatter at the slightest touch.
Lin Langyi, tears streaming down her face, pleaded, her voice choked with sobs, "Grandpa, please don't hit him..."
Cheng Yanjin stared blankly at the tears rolling down her cheeks, as if he had been frozen in place.
He's made girls cry before, whether it was because he wasn't gentle enough when rejecting them or because he was too heartless when others showed interest in him, but he didn't care if they cried or not.
But now his clothes were soaked with tears, and when they seeped through to the inner layers, it felt like his skin was being peeled off, burning and numb.
For the first time, he realized that tears were such a powerful weapon.
The cane ultimately did not fall.
Grandpa Cheng snorted and rested his hands on the handle of his cane: "If it weren't for Xiaoyi's sake..."
The matter was suddenly let go because of Lin Langyi's tears. Cheng Yanjin didn't know why his wailing was worthless, but Lin Langyi's tears cured him.
However, he didn't hear what the old man said for the rest of the time, just mumbled in response and carried the person up to his room on the third floor.
He didn't know what he was doing, but Lin Langyi kept burying her face in his arms and sobbing softly. His only thought was to take her to a quiet, secluded place, because when he was a child, he never wanted others to see him cry, and he thought that maybe she did too.
Cheng Yanjin reached out and hooked his long arm around her knees, lifting her up to her thighs with ease, and carried her steadily towards the stairs like a child.
"Um... I'll take her upstairs to wipe her tears first," he said to the old man, trying to sound calm, before quickly walking away.
The person in his arms seemed startled. Just as they lifted their head from his embrace, he pressed it down with his other hand, forcefully pulling it back onto his chest.
Although he didn't have much experience, he figured that when girls cry, they all want someone to lean on, so he'd let them lean on him.
Wow, he's such a considerate guy.
Lin Langyi's two slender legs were forced to hook around his waist by his body being spread apart, and the back of her head was firmly pressed against his chest by his palm.
Chest muscles, chest muscles!
She felt suffocated and struggled a few times, only to be slapped hard on the back of her thigh.
Cheng Yanjin blushed and slightly released her, telling her not to press so closely against his waist and abdomen. He sternly threatened her, "What are you doing? If you move again, I'll throw you off."
Having already reached the second floor, Lin Langyi moved even more vigorously upon hearing this. Cheng Yanjin couldn't hold her down, and the strange and awkward feeling he had just experienced vanished because she was so active.
They were truly like piglets waiting to be slaughtered, unable to be contained at the village entrance.
He clicked his tongue impatiently, tossed her upside down onto his shoulder, and carried her up to the third floor like a sack of rice.
Lin Langyi was dizzy from being shaken by him. She held back her curses because she remembered that the old man was still downstairs. She was still a little dizzy when she was thrown onto the bed after the bumpy ride upstairs.
Cheng Yanjin plopped down next to her, only then realizing that his back was burning hot, making him wince in pain.
He tossed the ointment from the bedside table over, grabbed the back of his shirt with one hand and ripped it off, walking over shirtless: "Take a look at this, put some ointment on it."
Lin Langyi, still holding her dizzy forehead with one hand, without a single tear on her face, coldly said, "Go yourself."
"I can't see!"
"You keep medicine for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis by your bedside. It seems you make this mistake often. You must be quite experienced with it, right?"
“You were just crying your heart out while holding me.” He smiled and then tried to suppress it. “I’m giving you a chance to help me apply the medicine. Don’t pull at me like that again. I hate seeing tears.”
"Are you out of your mind?" Lin Langyi turned her head and glared at him. "Since we're going to pretend to be a loving couple, of course I'll feel sorry for you if you get beaten up. Don't you want the black card anymore?"
Cheng Yanjin suddenly fell silent.
After a long pause, he turned his head slowly and said, "So you deliberately made me get beaten up, and then deliberately cried? You really came up with a unique way to break character this time. Couldn't you just hold my hand and kiss my cheek to show your affection? Why did you have to resort to this self-inflicted injury?"
Lin Langyi rolled up her sleeves, revealing the pinch marks on her arms, and smiled, her eyes crinkling, "I can't be the only one who got hurt, can I?"
What a scheming woman!
Cheng Yanjin was furious. Yuan Chuyu's reprimands flashed through his mind, so this woman was here for revenge; she was just crocodile tears!
"What does it have to do with me if you get bullied? Go find whoever is bullying you!"
"It's just treating the symptoms, not the root cause. Why should I deal with them? I'll deal with you. If you obey me, no one will dare to give me a hard time."
Cheng Yanjin glanced at her sideways and sneered, "Obey me? Follow my lead? What kind of pipe dream are you having?"
“In short,” Lin Langyi instructed, “you can go out and have fun during this time. You have to come back as soon as I call you. We’ll talk about it after everyone around you knows that you listen to me. This is very important to my interests.”
"You really think of yourself as my wife?" Cheng Yanjin could hardly imagine himself being told to go home obediently by someone. He scoffed, "Don't take yourself too seriously. We're all fake."
"Who told you it was fake?" Lin Langyi took the medicine from his palm, poured it into her hand, rubbed it to warm it, and then vigorously massaged it into the bruises on his back.
"It's true both internally and externally. If you take it seriously, outsiders will take it seriously too."
Cheng Yanjin's back muscles tightened as her palm touched him, the muscles undulating like mountains... The old man's touch was a bit heavy; it hurts now whenever he touches him.
But the next sentence from the person behind him made him freeze in place, and the pain and numbness in his back immediately spread to every bone in his body:
"So after we finish eating, you have to tell me to stay, understand?"
*
Cheng Yanjin ate dinner absentmindedly that evening.
Cheng Yangkang and Feng Congning arrived late, and the conversation at the dinner table revolved around Lin Langyi. Cheng Yanjin kept hearing Lin Langyi's neither arrogant nor humble replies, but he remained silent.
Lin Langyi had applied medicine to his back, and now his entire back was burning intensely. For some reason, just hearing Lin Langyi's voice while sitting next to him made the burning sensation on his back spread to his face. He didn't even need to look in a mirror to know that his face must be very red.
What nonsense are Cheng Yangkang and Feng Congning spouting... What do you mean by "get married sooner if you have a good relationship"? What kind of relationship is that? Didn't you see that he didn't say a single word? Didn't anyone even ask him what he thought?
"Look, Yan Jin is so shy he's not saying anything. Ha, that's rare."
Provoked by his father's words, Cheng Yanjin immediately looked up and denied it with an excited expression: "I just think it's too fast."
He quickly turned his head and spoke rapidly to Lin Langyi like a machine gun: "You, this won't do, things are progressing too fast, you should—" go home first, how can you sleep together after only knowing each other for a short time?
Lin Langyi tilted her head, puzzled: "Aunt Feng said she's going to Laoshan Temple tomorrow to have her fortune told. Do you think that's too soon?"
Cheng Yanjin's face suddenly turned bright red. He turned his face away and muttered a few words that were hard to hear. Then he started eating rice but not vegetables again.
After dinner, Feng Congning affectionately pulled Lin Langyi to sit on the sofa and eat fruit. Although the TV was on, neither of them was in the mood to watch it.
She subtly inquired about the Lin family's situation, focusing on Lin Langyi's brother. Lin Langyi knew that she wanted to see how much she, as a daughter, could get and whether she was favored.
Lin Langyi cunningly gave a vague and ambiguous answer to the question.
If she is too wealthy, her marriage to Cheng Yanjin will surely threaten the future status of the child in Feng Congning's womb; if she is too weak, she will not be able to expand the pie and help the Cheng family reach new heights, and may inexplicably receive a bad omen in the "fortune telling" process, thus letting this high branch go to waste.
As the two were trying to stall for time, Cheng Yanjin finally stopped checking his watch frequently, squeezed in, and asked with a livid face, "Lin Langyi, shouldn't you go back? What time is it?!"
Lin Langyi glanced at him.
He was stunned by that one glance, and for some inexplicable reason, he cowered in front of her for two seconds before suddenly realizing something was wrong.
Why be afraid of her?
Just as he was about to speak after regaining his composure, Lin Langyi preemptively asked him softly, "Then why don't you come to my place today? Your family is all here. You should stay home for a couple of days now and then and spend more time with your family."
Cheng Yanjin: ?! When did he go to her place?
“Oh dear, it’s not like we don’t have rooms. Running back and forth will waste so much time. Tomorrow morning at five o’clock we need to light incense and worship at the ancestral hall before heading up the mountain. By the way, Yan Jin, you’re going too. You and Xiao Yi can stay here tonight.” After inquiring about the news, Feng Congning was quite satisfied with Lin Langyi. “Xiao Yi, you’ll have to stay here tonight to avoid having to rush around.”
Just as Cheng Yanjin was about to object, Lin Langyi, who had been so adamant about staying overnight when they were alone, suddenly stood up and hid behind him like a submissive wife, carefully tugging at the hem of his clothes, her voice barely audible: "I'll come back tomorrow morning."
Cheng Yanjin shuddered. He couldn't stand Lin Langyi's subservient and high-pitched manner. He was frowning and looking at her with displeasure when Old Master Cheng's deep voice came: "What are you still standing there for? Go tidy up the room and change the bed."
"No? Isn't Auntie here? Why do I have to do it... Lin Langyi, go back!"
"Just go when I tell you to!" Old Master Cheng raised his cane again.
Cheng Yanjin was seething with anger. He turned to Lin Langyi, who was still struggling with her phone, and said, "Well... I didn't bring anything. I never stay out overnight. I need to tell my family about this."
What a pretentious act! Where did this innocent-looking person come from?!
Cheng Yanjin was so angry that he had a headache.
Lin Langyi's family surrounded her, saying, "Okay, okay, it's alright, we have everything here. Yan Jin will get it set up for you later. You should tell your family first; your parents probably already know about it. It's called 'Laoshan Temple,' and it's very effective..."
Cheng Yanjin pulled Lin Langyi away.
He dragged her up to the third floor, opened the door, shoved her inside, locked the door, and said fiercely, "I have plans tonight to play pool, I won't be back until late. How can I leave with you here?"
Lin Langyi sat on the edge of the bed nonchalantly: "Didn't I tell you? You have to answer my call. We're going up the mountain tomorrow, so you definitely can't leave today."
His rebellious streak kicked in: "What's it to you? I'll stay up all night!"
"I won't take care of you after we get married, but not now. Let's get married first."
"Do you think I believe you? When we're dating, everything is negotiable, but after marriage, you're constantly calling me non-stop. You're like this now, and you still say you won't care about me in the future?"
"Cheng Yanjin." Lin Langyi raised her eyes. "You need to know that your family isn't stupid. They know exactly what your attitude is. Do you think they'll believe you're truly devoted to me and have calmed down just because I say a few nice words?"
“I’m not the only one who’s eager to get married. You have a countdown hanging over your head. Do you think the old man hits you to discipline you? He spoils you so much that he wants to leave the shares and company to you more than anyone else, not the child in your belly.”
Cheng Yanjin got angry and didn't like hearing such honest advice. He retorted, "Yes, that's why I don't have to worry about money at all, but Ying Shan Lake is lacking, so you have to worry about it."
After he finished speaking, the room fell silent.
Lin Langyi sat on the edge of the bed, staring at him coldly for a long time, until he couldn't hold back any longer and looked away.
"No need to worry about money?" She smiled briefly and didn't say anything more.
"Fine, then you can go." After a short while, Lin Langyi's voice remained calm and equally stubborn, "But I'll be sleeping here tonight."
Cheng Yanjin stormed off in a huff.
As he left, he could still hear Lin Langyi behind him trying to clean up his mess, explaining that he needed to go out to buy some things for the night.
When Cheng Yanjin arrived at the billiards hall, his buddies had already finished two games. Seeing that he was late, they teased him, "Why aren't you at home with your fiancée? You have time to play billiards with us single guys?"
Cheng Yanjin's brows furrowed with intense frustration. His face was grim, and he was unwilling to say much. He took a cue stick from the wall, ground some chalk powder, and walked to the table: "Let's start a game."
Seeing that he was in a bad mood, the others didn't want to cause trouble. They gathered up the balls they had hit halfway through and started a new game.
Yuan Yinghe was also there. He stood next to Cheng Yanjin and played ball with him. Cheng Yanjin remained silent the whole time and played the ball fiercely and urgently. He was an experienced player, and his accuracy and skills were second nature to him, but tonight he made a series of mistakes.
No one dared to tease him at this time. Cheng Yanjin didn't lose his temper, but became more and more silent as the fight went on. Apart from asking the time a few times during the breaks, he didn't say a word the rest of the time.
Until the end of the game, he voluntarily gave up his seat, and sat alone at the bar, chugging down most of a bottle of water while absentmindedly watching others show off their skills.
This was truly a rare sight. The group of people, while playing ball, kept glancing at the young master Cheng, who was lost in thought. He was usually the one who stirred up the atmosphere and had the most fun, so it was unusual to see him looking so absent-minded.
After sitting for less than ten minutes, Cheng Yanjin suddenly stood up, put the bar back on the bar counter, and hurriedly left a message: "Go out for a bit, you guys have fun, I'll be back later."
Yuan Yinghe also dropped his pole and followed him outside: "I'll come too, let's get some fresh air."
He didn't talk much with Cheng Yanjin at the Jinsha Mansion last time, mainly because Cheng Yanjin left with Lin Langyi not long after arriving, but at least they had met.
Cheng Yanjin glanced at him, but didn't say anything bad. After they left the billiard hall and got into the car together, Cheng Yanjin sat motionless in the driver's seat and asked, "Where can we buy daily necessities at this hour?"
Yuan Yinghe was taken aback: "What daily necessities?"
Cheng Yanjin looked away, turning his face away from Yuan Yinghe in the passenger seat. Instead, he turned to the other side and stared at the green belt through the window, his voice hardening: "Women's pajamas, changes of clothes, face cream... what do you need if they're staying overnight?"
Yuan Yinghe reacted quickly but didn't expose her: "Oh, I see. My sister does bring some things with her when she goes out. I know. I'll go with you. At this hour, we can only go to a 24-hour convenience store."
Cheng Yanjin started the car: "You navigate, I'll drive."
The two grown men went to the convenience store together. Cheng Yanjin, his ears red, bought disposable underwear and was picky about choosing pajamas. The cashier spread his hands and said, "This is the only kind we have here." In the end, he reluctantly took a white cotton T-shirt.
"I might as well just take one from my closet."
Yuan Yinghe opened his clear eyes and said, "It really is possible."
Cheng Yanjin said fiercely, "No way! Why should I lend it to her?"
Yuan Yinghe smiled and said, "And skincare products, these are too hard to buy. It's best to ask about the brands you usually use, or you can borrow Afei's products when her friends come over."
Cheng Yanjin shook his head repeatedly and said in a trembling voice, "Using Feng Congning's things will bring you great misfortune."
In the end, the two of them were persuaded by the cashier's silver tongue to buy the most expensive item. Although they couldn't understand it, the price was there, and it was better than clicking around blindly.
After paying the bill and getting back into the car, Cheng Yanjin put the large bag of things on the back seat and then started dialing a number.
Yuan Yinghe asked in surprise, "What are you doing?"
Cheng Yanjin didn't even look up: "Make a call and have the housekeeper go to the door to get it."
"You, you've already bought it and driven it back, aren't you going to come in and give it to Lin Langyi?"
Cheng Yanjin's voice suddenly rang out: "Who said it was for her?"
Yuan Yinghe smiled, knowing better than to say anything, and showed him photos on his phone: "Did you see the photos of us playing water polo when you weren't here last time? I must say, Lin Langyi is really good at sports, you two should have a lot in common, right?"
Cheng Yanjin kept a straight face, but his body language betrayed him as he took the phone, stubbornly saying, "Who has anything in common with her? I'd like to see... Heh, she does seem quite convincing."
He started nitpicking like crazy:
"Can he really score? Don't just take pictures for show."
"How could you let her win? Do you even know how to play?"
"Her clothes clearly don't belong to a professional water polo player. Girls usually like flashy clothes, why would someone who plays water polo wear such fashionable clothes?"
Yuan Yinghe was somewhat confused: "Didn't you buy this swimsuit?"
Cheng Yanjin was even more bewildered: "How could I possibly buy her a swimsuit?"
The carriage fell silent. The light and shadow flickered. Yuan Yinghe wasn't sure if Cheng Yanjin was just being stubborn because he was angry, so he honestly said, "But back then, Brother Yu said that you bought the swimsuit. I heard from Yuan Fei that you ordered three more."
Cheng Yanjin flipped the photo back to the first one and looked at it carefully. When Lin Langyi was focused on something, she always gave it her all. No matter how the camera was shooting, as long as she was in the photo, her eyes were always following the ball.
He scrolled through the photos one by one, seeing her slightly curly black hair clinging to her cheeks and snow-white back, her bright, sparkling eyes reflecting the light of water, and her natural and generous smile when she laughed out loud without any embarrassment.
And, correspondingly, in the photo of him catching the ball, Yuan Chuyu holds the ball high, smiling gently at her in his arms.
Cheng Yanjin pointed at the photo, staring at it intently for a long time without reacting, until Yuan Yinghe also leaned over to look.
With a "click," Cheng Yanjin quickly swiped away the photo and immediately locked the screen, then tossed the phone back into Yuan Yinghe's arms.
He turned the car around immediately: "Send me a copy of all the photos. I'll take you back to the pool hall first, and then I'll go home. You guys can have fun."
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