Crisis resolved
Are you scared?
Of course she was afraid of him—afraid of his control, afraid of his indifference, afraid that he could easily decide the fate of her and her family.
This fear had long been ingrained in their very bones.
But just now, when he dealt with that rude young master Li, and used his cold hands to tuck her stray hairs away, making her feel the fear in the eyes of everyone around him because of his presence, she wasn't so afraid anymore.
Her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would burst out of her chest, and her fingers unconsciously clenched the expensive tie in her hand.
The warmth of his tie still lingered from his neck, spreading from her fingertips and making her cheeks burn.
She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
Her silence and the struggle and confusion surging in her eyes were all seen by Chi Zhuo.
He didn't urge him, but waited patiently.
This patience itself was an unusual signal for him.
He has always been goal-oriented and decisive, rarely wasting time on trivial matters, and even less so having the interest to delve into other people's inner thoughts.
But at this moment, all he wanted to hear was her answer.
Lin Tingyue took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.
She avoided his burning gaze, her eyes landing on the unsightly wine stain on his shirt collar, whereupon she found a lame excuse:
"Let's deal with the tie first, otherwise the stain might be impossible to remove."
She tried to turn and walk toward the sink to end the suffocating standoff.
However, Chi Zhuo did not move.
He even took a tiny half-step closer as she tried to move away.
The already narrow distance was instantly compressed to almost zero.
Lin Tingyue could even feel the fabric of his suit pants almost brushing against the hem of her skirt, and his warm breath brushing against her forehead.
Startled, she looked up sharply, only to meet his eyes again, which were inches away from hers.
"The answer." He parted his thin lips slightly, uttering only two words, with an undeniable insistence.
He seemed determined not to give up until he received a response.
That familiar yet uniquely his powerful aura enveloped her once again.
Lin Tingyue felt dizzy, pushed into an emotional corner by him.
A strange sense of grievance and an impulse to give up surged into my heart.
"I'm scared!" she finally blurted out, her voice trembling slightly, her eyes reddening.
"How could I not be afraid of you? You're so fierce, so domineering, making all the decisions without a word! You keep me trapped by your side, making me live in constant fear! How could I not be afraid of you!"
She seemed to have found an outlet, and poured out all the fear, grievances, and anger that had been building up over the past few days.
Chi Zhuo listened quietly, his face expressionless, but his eyes grew increasingly deep.
However, Lin Tingyue didn't finish her sentence. She took a breath, her voice lowered, filled with even greater confusion and disorientation, almost muttering to herself, "But...but just now I felt...it seems...I'm not so scared anymore..."
The last few words were as light as feathers, yet they clearly reached Chi Zhuo's ears.
After saying this, Lin Tingyue herself was stunned, as if she was frightened by her own true feelings.
She immediately bit her lower lip in regret, lowered her head, and dared not look at his reaction.
An eerie silence fell over the lounge.
Chi Zhuo looked at her slightly bald head, at her reddened ear tips, and at her helpless little gesture of biting her lip. His usually cold and hard heart seemed to ripple at this moment.
The frost in his eyes seemed to melt away slightly, revealing a subtle yet complex emotion.
I'm scared, but not that scared.
This answer surprised him, yet inexplicably pleased him.
He suddenly chuckled softly.
The laughter was soft and magnetic, vibrating the surrounding air and also vibrating Lin Tingyue's eardrums.
Lin Tingyue looked up in astonishment, almost doubting that she had misheard.
Chi Zhuo...smiled?
Although the smile was faint and fleeting, quickly returning to its usual indifference, that moment of respite was real.
"It seems you've made some progress," he commented calmly, his tone revealing neither joy nor anger.
Progress? What progress?
What kind of evaluation is this? Lin Tingyue couldn't understand his thought process at all.
Before she could think it through, Chi Zhuo had already snatched the tie from her hand and casually tossed it onto the sink.
"No need for that."
His attention seemed to have shifted away from the tie and the wine stains, as if they were just an insignificant interlude, or rather, an excuse for him to ask that question.
"Let's go, it's time to go back."
He picked up the hanging suit jacket, draped it over his arm to cover the stains on his shirt, and his expression returned to its usual calm and stern demeanor, as if the brief interrogation and faint smile just now were merely Lin Tingyue's illusion.
Lin Tingyue gave a blank "Oh," her mind still a jumble of thoughts.
He walked towards the door first.
Lin Tingyue looked at his back, hesitated for a moment, and then followed him.
On the way back, the two remained silent.
But this silence was completely different from when they arrived.
The silence that followed was cold, alienating, and full of resistance.
The silence at this moment, however, is imbued with an lingering ambiguity, a tacit understanding, and many unresolved emotions and questions.
Lin Tingyue turned her head to look at the dazzling lights rushing past the window, and Chi Zhuo's blurry profile was vaguely reflected on the glass.
Her fingers curled up quietly, as if the touch and warmth of his tie still lingered on her fingertips.
She couldn't help but recall his question and her terrible yet incredibly honest answer.
"I'm scared, but not that scared."
What kind of feeling is this?
She glanced quickly and furtively at the man beside her. He was resting with his eyes closed, his profile sharp and perfectly defined, revealing no emotion whatsoever.
This man was like an iceberg shrouded in mist; she had only glimpsed a tiny, insignificant corner of him.
-
In the days following the charity gala, a strange tension settled over the apartment.
Lin Tingyue tried to avoid running into Chi Zhuo.
He still leaves early and returns late, seemingly with endless tasks to handle.
She would retreat to her studio or bedroom, trying to fill her time with paint and lines, but she was always absent-minded, and the colors she painted were sometimes chaotic and sometimes carried a restlessness that she herself was unaware of.
Every time she recalls that conversation, her ears burn, and she feels a mix of regret and inexplicable excitement.
What exactly did he mean?
Was it mockery? A test? Or... something else entirely?
Chi Zhuo, however, seemed to be unaffected.
He remained calm, efficient, and sparing with his words.
However, some extremely subtle changes are happening quietly.
For example, during breakfast, while he was reading financial newspapers, his gaze would linger for a moment on her fingers as she unconsciously stirred the porridge bowl.
For example, one evening he returned home a little early and passed by the studio door. He heard a slight, irritating scraping sound coming from inside. He paused for a moment, but instead of leaving immediately as usual, he stood quietly for a few seconds before turning and walking away.
For example, one morning, Lin Tingyue found a new art magazine on the dining table, the one she really liked but which was hard to find in China.
She paused for a moment, then looked at the man across from her who was drinking coffee.
Chi Zhuo didn't even look up, as if he were just casually mentioning, "The secretary ordered an extra copy of the magazine."
Lin Tingyue held the smooth cover of the magazine and whispered, "...Thank you."
He didn't respond, as if he hadn't heard.
But Lin Tingyue's heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason. This was so unlike him.
She shook her head, telling herself not to be delusional, that it might just be a coincidence.
That afternoon, Lin Tingyue received a phone call from her father, Lin Guosheng.
On the phone, my father's voice carried a long-lost ease and joy.
"Yueyue, the projects that President Chi introduced have all been successfully launched! The funds have all been in place! That's wonderful! That's really wonderful! The Lin family has finally weathered the storm without any major incident!"
The father talked on and on about the project's progress, praising Chi Zhuo's abilities and efficiency, his tone filled with gratitude and a hint of barely perceptible flattery.
Lin Tingyue listened quietly, her feelings complicated.
She was naturally happy that the Lin family was saved; the heavy weight on her heart was finally lifted.
But this rescue came at the cost of her marriage and freedom.
After swiftly fulfilling the terms of the transaction, the man didn't even mention a single word to her.
He was like a silent hunter, setting traps, capturing his prey, and then providing the resources necessary for survival, without ever explaining or inquiring about the prey's feelings.
"Yueyue, how are you and President Chi getting along?"
Lin Guosheng asked cautiously, with concern and guilt, "Someone like him might be a bit cold-hearted, but you... try to be more agreeable to him, and don't throw a tantrum, okay?"
It's always like this.
Everyone expects her to obey and endure, because he is the giver and she is the receiver.
"I'm fine, Dad, don't worry."
She suppressed the bitterness in her heart and tried to make her voice sound relaxed, "It's good that everything is alright at home."
After hanging up the phone, Lin Tingyue sat on the sofa and stared blankly for a long time.
Her father's phone call was like a key, unlocking the floodgates of her deliberately suppressed emotions.
Her feelings for Chi Zhuo became even more confused.
Grateful? Yes.
The resentment? It has never completely disappeared.
Fear? It still exists.
The sense of security he provided and the palpitations he caused when he was near lingered stubbornly in my heart.
A mix of emotions swirled together, impossible to unravel.
When Chi Zhuo returned in the evening, he smelled faintly of alcohol, as if he had just finished a social engagement.
There was a hint of fatigue between his brows, but his eyes remained sharp.
He saw Lin Tingyue curled up on the sofa in the living room watching TV, the light from the TV screen reflecting on her face, flickering on and off.
She didn't seem to be paying attention; her eyes were somewhat vacant.
He took off his suit jacket and loosened his tie.
Hearing the noise, Lin Tingyue looked up and her eyes met his.
She sat up straight instinctively, looking somewhat reserved.
"Still not asleep?" he asked first, his voice lower than usual due to being slightly tipsy.
“…I’ll go right now.” Lin Tingyue was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on; she immediately got up and went back to her room, trying to escape this awkward situation of being alone together.
"Wait a minute," Chi Zhuo called out to her.
Lin Tingyue paused, her heart inexplicably racing.
He walked to the liquor cabinet, poured himself a glass of whiskey, added ice, and the amber liquid swirled in the glass.
He didn't look at her, as if he were just asking casually, "Your father should have told you everything about the Lin family, right?"
Lin Tingyue was taken aback, not expecting him to bring this up on his own initiative.
She nodded. "Yes, I said so. Thank you... thank you."
"It's just part of the deal, no need to thank me." He took a sip of his drink, his tone flat and emotionless.
really.
The tiny flame that had ignited in Lin Tingyue's heart because of his initiative to bring it up was instantly extinguished.
Yes, it's just a transaction. What is she still expecting?
She lowered her head, her fingers twisting the hem of her clothes.
Chi Zhuo, holding a wine glass, walked to the sofa but did not sit down; instead, he looked down at her.
His gaze carried a scrutinizing quality, as if he were assessing the value of an item or observing the reaction of a test subject.
“The problem is solved, but you don’t seem too happy,” he stated.
Lin Tingyue suddenly looked up: "I'm not unhappy! I'm very grateful to you for saving the Lin family!"
"Just gratitude?" he pressed, his eyes deep, as if he could see through all the struggles in her heart.
Lin Tingyue was speechless. It wasn't just gratitude, but also a multitude of other complex emotions.
But she couldn't bring herself to say it, and she didn't know where to begin.
Her silence seemed to be what he expected. He didn't press her further, but simply swirled his glass, the ice cubes clinking against the glass with a crisp sound that was particularly clear in the quiet night.
"Lin Tingyue," he suddenly called her by her full name again, a name that always made Lin Tingyue tense, "Do you still want to leave now?"
The questions were increasingly pointed, getting straight to the heart of the matter.
With the Lin family crisis resolved, the biggest shackle binding her has disappeared.
Based on her initial idea, she seemed to have the confidence and reason to leave.
But... should I leave?
The moment this thought popped into Lin Tingyue's head, it felt as if something had squeezed it tightly, causing a dull ache.
She discovered that she could no longer say "yes" without hesitation, just like she had at the beginning.
Chi Zhuo took in her subtle struggles and hesitations.
He didn't urge him, but waited patiently, like the most patient hunter, waiting for the prey to walk into the trap on its own.
After a long while, Lin Tingyue finally heard her own dry voice: "I...I don't know."
This answer seemed to satisfy him more than a clear yes or no.
A faint, almost imperceptible glint flashed in his eyes.
He downed the rest of the wine in his glass in one gulp, his Adam's apple bobbing, exuding a mature man's unique sexiness.
“Very well.” He put down his wine glass, his voice regaining its usual coldness. “Remember your current status. As long as I am your husband, you are not going anywhere.”
After saying that, he stopped looking at her and turned to walk towards the study.
Lin Tingyue was left standing alone in the living room, her mind in turmoil.
What did he mean by his last sentence?
She found that she understood this man less and less.
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