No one could tell what kind of pressure lay beneath his cold exterior.
He is not a machine; he is a person with flesh and blood.
The pressure has been immense these past few years, keeping me constantly on edge, and I don't know when I developed a smoking addiction.
I can only catch my breath when I numb my nerves with nicotine.
Behind Boss Chen's back, he created the Dark Gate. Boss Chen's death, including Chen Jiu's rise to power, were all meticulously planned, and he couldn't afford to make a mistake at any step.
Making a mistake is like falling into an abyss of no return.
Is he afraid of death?
He was both afraid and not afraid, but more than being afraid of dying, he was afraid that Xia Linyin would get hurt.
Emotions do indeed make people vulnerable, making him tread carefully and cautiously with every step, not daring to give himself even the slightest chance to make a mistake.
Do you regret having feelings for someone?
No regrets.
If it weren't for Xia Linyin, he would have given up long ago and died long ago.
It was only through the memory of that beautiful image hidden deep in his heart that he was able to grit his teeth and persevere time and time again.
The beautiful memories of his high school years accompanied him through every dark day.
Whenever he thinks of it, it dispels the coldness in his body and prevents him from truly becoming a cold machine.
Now, he has finally completely broken free from the past and from his identity as Chen Shisan.
Soon, he will be able to fully embrace that warm light.
A warm light that belongs only to him.
Xia Linyin's parents have always been very loving, and their relationship is the envy of everyone.
Xia's mother is very satisfied with her current life; her daughter is outstanding, and her husband is a family man.
Although their family background is not comparable to that of the extremely wealthy, they have accumulated some wealth over the years.
This affluent life was achieved through hard work and struggle, starting from scratch with Xia Linyin's father.
When Xia Linyin was in elementary school, her parents opened a spicy hot pot restaurant in the county. Thanks to their unique recipe and good reputation, the business became better and better.
Later, with the increasing number of customers and the explosive growth of food delivery, they couldn't keep up with the demand and opened a branch in the county.
Later, they even opened stores in the city, built a brand, and formed a chain of stores.
Around that time, her family moved from the county town to the city, and Xia Linyin transferred to a high school in the city.
It was really tough when we first opened the shop. I almost cried from washing dishes in the dead of winter.
Later, she hired someone and things got better. Then, the store grew bigger and bigger, and more and more stores opened. After building a brand, she stopped managing things and focused on taking care of her family at home, becoming a full-time housewife.
Now that Xia Linyin has grown up, Xia's mother often goes out for afternoon tea with her girlfriends when she has free time, enjoying the envious glances from them.
Everyone envies her; she and her husband, Lao Xia, have been married for so many years and their relationship is still so good.
Old Xia didn't pick up the bad habits of other rich men, like keeping mistresses or having multiple mistresses.
Everyone says that men become bad when they have money, but Xia's mother is completely at ease with Lao Xia. No matter who else goes bad, her Lao Xia will never.
So when Xia Jianguo said he wanted to divorce her, Xia's mother was stunned, her mind buzzing as if she had been hit with a club.
The divorce papers slammed on the table were like a club, shattering her happy and fulfilling life.
She simply couldn't believe it was true, but Xia Jianguo had only one attitude—
divorce!
She's determined to get a divorce!
What's wrong?
Has her husband, Lao Xia, been cursed?
Xia's mother frantically pulled out her phone and called Xia Linyin.
"Hello, Mom."
Upon hearing Xia Linyin's voice, Xia's mother seemed to have found her pillar of support and burst into tears, "Yinyin, your father wants a divorce!"
Hearing the loud crying on the other end of the phone, Xia Linyin was also confused. What was her father doing?
She rushed home in a taxi, and before she even entered the house, she heard her mother's heart-wrenching cries, "I won't divorce! I won't divorce! I won't divorce!"
Xia Linyin rushed into the house. Her mother was sitting on the sofa, already crying through a pile of tissues. Her father stood to the side, not saying a word.
In the past, if her mother was unhappy, her father would have already comforted her.
"Dad! You want to divorce Mom?"
Looking at Xia Linyin, who had rushed over covered in dust, Xia Jianguo sighed heavily and said with some shame, "Alas, I am sorry for you and your daughter, but I have no choice. Xiaohui is already pregnant."
"Xiaohui? Liu Xiaohui?" Upon hearing this name, Xia's mother reacted violently, standing up and lunging at Xia Jianguo with bared teeth and claws.
"Xia Jianguo, you bastard! What despicable things have you done behind my back! When did you two get together? How did that bitch manage to hook up with you!"
Xia's mother tore at Xia Jianguo's clothes, her fingernails scratching bloody marks on his face. His neatly tied hair was a mess, and his face was covered in snot and tears. Xia's mother pulled at Xia Jianguo like a madwoman, crying and shouting, "Speak! Speak!"
Liu Xiaohui? She'd heard her mother mention her before; apparently, she was her father's first love.
Xia Linyin's face darkened. It seemed that without her and her mother's knowledge, her father had been secretly keeping a mistress and had gotten her pregnant.
For a moment, Xia Linyin's gaze toward her father became incredibly unfamiliar, as if she had never known him before.
The man in front of her was not the father she remembered.
Xia's mother is really going crazy. Xia Jianguo not only cheated on her and rekindled his old flame with his first love, but now they even have a child.
Xia Linyin hugged her mother's waist, pulled her aside, and called out, "Mom, calm down!"
Xia's mother cried her heart out, pounding her chest with her fists. Her heart ached so much that she could hardly breathe!
"Pregnant! Yinyin! Did you hear that? That woman is pregnant! How long has your dad been hiding this from us?! I can't live anymore!"
Xia Linyin hugged her mother tightly and said to her father, "Dad, I don't agree to your divorce. That woman is pregnant, so let her get an abortion."
Looking at Xia Linyin's cold expression, Xia Jianguo's lips moved slightly, and his eyes were filled with deep guilt.
Then, a look of determination and resolve flashed in his eyes as he said, "Xiaohui is pregnant, and the diagnosis is a boy. Yinyin, you know your grandparents have always wanted a boy. They're getting old, and this has always been their only wish. Yinyin, you've always been sensible, and I believe you can understand this."
Xia Jianguo looked away, not daring to look at Xia Linyin's expression. "I will do my best to compensate you and your daughter. I will give you the storefronts in the city center and this house."
Xia Linyin looked at Xia Jianguo in disbelief, unable to believe that her loving father would say such a thing.
She knew that her grandparents favored boys over girls, but her father always said that daughters were good, daughters were like warm cotton-padded jackets, and that his daughters were more successful than other people's sons.
But now you're saying such things.
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