Chapter 1 Late Return 1
The winter chill has not yet completely faded in Beijing in February.
The night breeze blew, making people shiver with cold.
In the banquet hall, Fu Yin's fingers holding the tray stiffened slightly.
The rim of the champagne glass reflected her carefully drawn eyebrows, dark brown contact lenses, bright red lips, and even the ends of her hair were curled into unfamiliar arcs.
Tonight she was just a waitress at the cocktail party, not the financial reporter Fu Yin, nor the adopted daughter of the Lin family who lived under someone else's roof.
"Miss, open another bottle of champagne."
A greasy male voice sounded in her ears, and he was looking at her carefully with a lustful look.
She nodded in response, her neck bent in a respectful arc. When she picked up the bottle of wine to open it, the man in a suit suddenly reached out and grabbed her wrist.
"Have I seen you somewhere?"
The champagne glasses on the tray clinked gently, like her suddenly tightening heartbeat.
In the information the editor-in-chief gave her three days ago, the photo of the person in front of her was posted at the top of the evidence chain of the corruption case.
"Mr. Luo, you're joking." She curled her lips, revealing the dimples on both sides of her cheeks, and her nails almost dug into her palms.
"What are you pretending for?" The man suddenly tightened his grip on her wrist, recognizing the signature mole on her lip. "What are those people from Financial Weekly trying to do by sneaking in? Filming this?"
He kicked the gift bag under the table, revealing stacks of cash inside.
Mr. Luo suddenly stood up, picked up the wine glass, and poured the wine slightly.
Her ears were filled with the sound of glass breaking on the ground. She wanted to hide, but found that the expected wine did not splash on her face.
A tall figure stood in front of her, covering her body.
Fu Yin's face was pale. He opened his eyes slightly and a figure fell into his sight.
He raised his hand to block the glass of wine, most of the wine spilled on the ground, and a small part splashed on his hand.
The cuffs of his dark grey suit were lifted, and his bony fingers were slowly and methodically wiping the wine-stained watch.
She was very familiar with that hand. There was a light brown mole on the palm of her hand. Five years ago, she had secretly drawn a star on it with lipstick.
Mr. Luo's expression froze instantly.
"Lin...Boss Lin, I'm not attacking you, I'm..."
The man stammered for an explanation, his face horrified.
The people watching the show quickly suppressed their smiles and broke into a sweat.
Those who could come to the banquet were either celebrities and wealthy people or big shots who could not be messed with. The one in front of him was Lin Xu, the new investment banker who made everyone shudder.
He has all kinds of resources at his disposal, and became famous abroad three years ago. He has a sharp vision, and several venture capital firms he invested in have made considerable profits in the past six months.
It’s just that Lin Xu is a low-key person, and he has been abroad all the time, so it was not easy to invite him back to attend the Luo family banquet this time.
In addition to being a rising star in investment banking, he has another identity: the eldest son of the wealthy Lin family in Beijing. He has a sister who is rarely known and no one has ever seen.
Fu Yin was surprised to see her so-called elder brother wiping his hands with a handkerchief.
"Boss Luo, embarrassing a woman in public would be disgraceful to the group."
"Or, aren't you worried about those scandals being made public?"
His brow bones cast sharp shadows under the crystal chandelier, as if he was still the boy who pulled her out of the school thugs five years ago.
Lin Xu put one hand in his pocket, and just standing there gave people invisible pressure.
Mr. Luo's expression changed slightly, and he quickly lowered his head and responded, "Yes, yes, but she's a reporter. I think she's an informant for someone with ulterior motives..."
"I didn't know she was yours!"
Lin Xu raised his eyelids slightly, his expression full of impatience. He was too lazy to argue and said coldly: "I'll take the person away, the rest are up to you."
-
After coming out of the banquet hall, Lin Xu held her hand and went into the car.
Fu Yin sat in the back seat, her thin uniform sticking to her skin, and the cold air from the air conditioner made her shiver.
"It's been a long time since we last met. Why don't you call for help?" He suddenly leaned over, his breath brushing against the tip of her ear, his voice low and hoarse.
Fu Yin's expression froze slightly. The moment he met his deep pupils, he opened his lips slightly and said, "Big Brother."
"What did you call me?" Lin Xu curled his lips slightly, and pinched her chin with his thin and slender fingers and rubbed it gently.
Fu Yin said nothing and looked away.
I just feel a little embarrassed today.
"Didn't the Lin family teach you to bring a recorder when collecting evidence?"
Lin Xu reached out and loosened his tie, and the small mole on his Adam's apple rose and fell slightly with his breathing.
After not seeing him for five years, the lines of his profile have become sharper, his jawline looks like it was cut by a knife, and even the curve of his drooping eyelashes reveals a sense of alienation.
When did he return to China?
Fu Yin glanced sideways and kept watching him. It was the same as before. She always watched him secretly in the corner.
"Why aren't you talking?" His voice interrupted her thoughts.
She bit her lip, her heart choked, and she chuckled: "The Lin family only taught me not to covet things that don't belong to me."
The car was silent, the air was stagnant, and the temperature dropped rapidly.
The rustling sound broke the silence. Lin Xu took off his suit jacket and gently put it on her.
His tone softened a bit, his voice softening, "I'll take you home."
"Aze, drive."
The car started, and the streetlights on both sides of the city street emitted a warm yellow light, with cars passing through.
She looked out the car window. The trees on the street were intertwined, and the light and shadows were mottled, bringing her back to when she was twelve years old.
"I've said before that this child has a tragic fate. First her sister died, then her parents. Who would dare to take care of her? They think her life is too long."
At her parents' funeral, she knelt in front of the ancestral hall without shedding a tear. Her face was pale and weak, and she just stared blankly at the black and white photo frame.
"You're so hard-hearted. You didn't shed a single tear even after your parents died..."
The relatives around her kept making excuses and no one dared to take over this hot potato of hers, for fear of bringing bad luck.
When she was born, her superstitious elders asked a master to tell her fortune. The master said that she had a bad fate and would not have enough food to eat or warm clothes to wear. The mole on her lip was a symbol of disaster and must not be kept with her.
Until the end of the funeral, the relatives were still arguing over who would take care of her, and she could never forget the disgusted looks on their faces.
Finally, she was thrown into an orphanage.
In December of the same year, she was adopted by the Lin family.
It was a snowy day, and she met Lin Xu for the first time in the backyard of the Lin family villa.
The seventeen-year-old boy was full of vigor and vitality. He wore a snow-white cashmere turtleneck sweater and leaned lazily against the pear tree in the backyard.
"Ah Xu, this is your sister Yin Yin, come here quickly."
Mother Lin called out, and the boy turned his head, his dark eyes staring in the direction of the call.
A smile appeared on the corner of his lips, and his eyes were full of pampering and tenderness.
At that moment, the sound of falling snow disappeared, leaving only the sound of her heartbeat.
The Lin family was very welcoming. Lin's mother prepared a princess room for her, and everything in it was new.
Father Lin knew that she liked reading newspapers, so he would bring her the Beijing Evening News every day when he came home from get off work.
Lin Xu doted on her so much that they were inseparable every day. Their relationship was so good that they didn't seem like brother and sister.
After a long time, she often forgot to call him brother and only called him by his name.
Their surnames were different to begin with, and over time, she unknowingly attracted gossip from people around her. It was the first time in her years at the Lin family that she was scolded by the gentle and generous mother Lin, who warned her to be law-abiding and not forget her duties.
It was then that she realized.
In the Lin family, she is an outsider.
"I'm not going back to your house." Fu Yin was lost in thought, and her eyes ached when she came back to her senses. When she saw the familiar road outside, she realized that Lin Xu wanted to take her back to the Lin family.
"That's your home too." Lin Xu's voice was cold. In just five years, how come she didn't even know whose family she was?
Fu Yin felt bitter in his heart, and his voice became hoarse: "Auntie said you are getting married, so I moved out."
She actually didn't believe it, but after seeing him come back today, she believed it.
He must have come back because he was married.
Otherwise, why had he never contacted her in five years?
Not a single phone call, not a single text message.
Cut off their relationship completely, as if they had never met.
"I live in Jinwanyuan. Please turn around."
Fu Yin spoke in a low voice, his head leaning against the car window, his eyelashes drooping, his expression complicated.
The car stopped steadily at Jinwanyuan.
The neighborhood is old, the street lights in the alley flicker, the tangled electric poles are a mess, and the black cats running around in the grass make creepy calls.
The road sign was shaky in the wind, and Lin Xu couldn't help but frown: "You live here?"
“It’s close to the TV station and cheaper.”
Fu Yin reached out to push open the car door and got out. When he was about to leave, he suddenly thought of something. He glanced at the man's suit on his body and quickly took it off and put it on the seat.
"Thank you, brother. I'll go back first." After he finished speaking, the car door was slammed shut.
She turned around, her back looking cold and desolate.
Lin Xu did not get off the car. His pupils were as deep as a pool, and his eyes were filled with a calm emotion.
He tightened his lips and glanced at her back.
It's been five years. Is she okay?
His eyes were slightly dark, and seemed to be longer than the bottomless night.
"Boss, why don't you explain it clearly to Miss Fu?"
"She has such a proud personality, she's probably still mad at me."
"Let's drive."
After taking a few steps, Fu Yin's vision became blurred, his legs became slightly weak, and the next second his body fell uncontrollably.
"Boss, Miss Fu..."
The car engine turned off as soon as it started, the door opened, Lin Xu rushed out of the car, and took a few steps to Fu Yin's side.
He squatted down and saw that her face was pale and her lips and teeth were blue. He picked her up and put her in the car: "Let's go to the hospital."
When she opened her eyes again, Fu Yin frowned and rolled her eyes slightly. The blurry scene gradually became clear, and she saw a nurse changing her IV bottle.
"You're awake! You fainted due to severe anemia. Luckily you were brought here in time, otherwise you would have been rushed to the emergency room."
The nurse breathed a sigh of relief, thinking of the person who had just been sent in and was shouting hurriedly in the corridor. Looking at the beautiful scenery and the moonlit night, it was really scary to see him go crazy.
Maybe he was also frightened. After all, when he held her, it was like he was protecting his beloved treasure.
Fu Yin felt dizzy and rubbed his temples to ease the pain before slowly blinking his eyes. He looked up at the nurse beside him and asked, "Where is the person who brought me here?"
"He received a phone call. He said there was something going on at home, so he had to go back first." The nurse paused for a few seconds and responded softly.
"Thanks."
"Then you should have a good rest. Ring the bell if you need anything."
The nurse walked out of the ward, and she turned over and closed her eyes again.
The emotions that I had been holding on to collapsed at this moment, and tears flowed unconsciously from my eyes, soaking the pillow.
The author has something to say:
Small Theater:
Fu Yin: You even knew to come back, but you didn’t even contact me (hands on hips)
Lin Xu: Honey, I was wrong (I kneel down)
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