Chapter 147
You don't have any so-called chip on you.
The food stalls are simply decorated, with only a tarpaulin around the outside to keep out the wind and rain, which just happens to enclose the noise and smoky atmosphere of the diners.
Wei Yun ordered a table full of steaming local specialties. Seeing that Cheng Sangluo hadn't touched her chopsticks for a long time, he kept putting food on her plate and adding soup to her bowl, as if nothing had happened.
Cheng Sangluo picked up her chopsticks and stirred the rice a few times, but she really had no appetite and reluctantly put the chopsticks down. "I can't eat anything right now."
"If I were you, I'd be eating and drinking right now, and thinking about the rest later after I've filled my stomach." Wei Yun's words sounded like he was talking without thinking, but it was indeed true. If you don't eat your fill now, where will you get the energy to run around later?
Cheng Sangluo listened to advice and symbolically ate two mouthfuls of rice, which tasted dry and tasteless. All she could think about was where Lin Jin was.
She suddenly remembered something and immediately took out her phone to call Lin Jin, but her phone was snatched away by an outstretched arm.
Wei Yun fiddled with his high-end phone, joking carelessly, "Oh, you're using the latest foldable phone? These things aren't cheap, were they? Did Lin Jin give them to you?"
When Cheng Sangluo left the villa, she didn't even take a decent piece of clothing with her. However, a cell phone was a necessity, so she thought it would be a keepsake, and that's the only thing she took.
She treated the gift Lin Jin gave her as her precious treasure, quickly snatched it back, and carefully touched it twice before simply explaining, "Yes, it's a gift she gave me."
Wei Yun stopped talking about the phone and instead explained his purpose: "Actually, I came to see you today specifically to talk about Lin Jin. I guess it's my way of finishing what I started with you."
"A good beginning and a good end?" Cheng Sangluo muttered, tilting her head in confusion. "I don't understand what you mean."
Wei Yun hesitated for a long time before speaking to explain the whole story: "I want to confess to you that Lin Jin contacted me immediately after you were sentenced to prison."
It was around that time that I learned she had evidence to overturn your case, but for various reasons, we were unable to represent you in court at that time. So, I reached a cooperation agreement with her to prepare for your future overturning of the case.
Do you remember the stack of investigation materials I gave you after you got out of prison? Lin Jin prepared those materials beforehand, hoping that you could use them to unravel the old and new grudges between her and Lin Sheng.
She also promised me that she would hand over the evidence to you when the time was right, so we have been in contact during this period. However, because her plan involves military secrets, I have been hesitant to reveal this relationship to you.
I never understood why she made such a simple matter as handing over evidence so complicated, until she told me her story about you.
Do you want to know what the story is? Go find her and let her tell you herself. That way, all those years of waiting for her won't have been in vain.
After hearing Wei Yun's explanation, Cheng Sangluo's reaction was not strong, as if she had long been used to Lin Jin's secretive nature in speaking and acting. However, her expression was a mixture of emotions, neither resentful nor calm.
She stared intently at Wei Yun, a forced smile appearing on her face: "I'm sorry, I've caused you so much worry and trouble over the years. What have I done to deserve this?"
“I keep thinking... if I had told you these things sooner, would you have been in less pain? But looking back, no one can take back those three lost years for you…” Wei Yun picked up his teacup and drank it all in one gulp, then said firmly, “Sang Luo, I’m the one who should apologize. If I had another chance, I would have stopped all of this from happening now, instead of letting you suffer through those three years.”
“Actually, you didn’t have to worry about me at all, but you chose not to turn a blind eye. What’s there to apologize for? Even if you concealed the truth, it was all based on your willingness to help me to the end…” Cheng Sangluo was genuinely grateful, so she poured Wei Yun a cup of tea. “I respect you as a good leader. No matter when or where, you always think of me. I really don’t blame you, not at all…”
Cheng Sangluo suddenly paused, turning her head to look at Wei Yunshi as she drew circles on the rim of her glass with her fingertip. The topic changed abruptly: "Can you tell me... in your eyes... what kind of person is she?"
"Lin Jin?" Wei Yun raised her eyebrows in confusion, then fell into deep thought, probably carefully describing the woman she didn't like in her mind.
The atmosphere was tense for only a few seconds before Cheng Sangluo received the answer she wanted.
"To be honest, from the moment I met her, the only feeling I had for her was—disgust." Wei Yun's assessment was very apt, and it encapsulated her dissatisfaction with Lin Jin over the years.
She took a sip of tea and continued, "Lin Jin's arrogance borders on conceit, and her overbearing sense of superiority is something no one would like to see. But I have to admit that her mind is so meticulous that it's impeccable, and her methods are beyond the comprehension of ordinary people. That's my assessment of her."
Cheng Sangluo wasn't upset that the vocabulary contained too many negative connotations, because these descriptions did indeed construct the appearance of Lin Jin, but she felt something was missing and pressed, "Is that all?"
"Don't you know her well enough? Do you need other people's opinions to flesh out your impression?" Wei Yun's retort was incisive, but he didn't make things difficult for Cheng Sangluo. He smiled and said, "I've seen her softer side. Only when she talks about you does she put away all her sharpness, like a completely different person. She smiles gently, her eyes light up, and she even seems a little humble. If I had to describe this feeling, it would probably be a sense of redemption. Actually, I used to oppose her being with you, and I even strongly opposed the marriage of convenience. But later I realized that I was the one who was wrong. At least when it comes to loving you, her love is pure, unlike the behavior of a profit-driven businesswoman."
"Pure." Cheng Sangluo emphasized the most crucial word, as if she had collected a broken piece of Lin Jin's puzzle, a fleeting sense of satisfaction flashing across her face.
"I'm curious, you two worked together quite well for revenge, taking down those who needed to be taken down and putting the cases that needed to be overturned on the agenda, so why did you suddenly part ways at the last minute?" Wei Yun teased while eating his side dishes, but it seemed as if he was intentionally or unintentionally pushing the topic forward.
Cheng Sangluo straightened her back, her expression stiffening slightly. The fact that she had a chip implanted was always difficult to talk about, but knowing she couldn't escape Wei Lian's sharp, eagle-like eyes, she could only hunch her neck and stammer, "Um...it's that..."
“Just answer the question truthfully. When did you start talking so slowly?” Wei Yun seemed to know the inside story, so he teased deliberately: “Could she have put something on you that she shouldn’t have? That makes you so embarrassed and uncomfortable to talk about it.”
Upon hearing this, Cheng Sangluo's eyes widened, staring at the other person in disbelief. After a long while, she asked suspiciously, "You...you do know something?"
Wei Yun didn't answer the question immediately. Instead, he calmly took out a finely crafted box from his bag. "This is a chip developed by Zhongyao Technology. You could say it's a security chip that Lin Jin tailored specifically for you and her. There are only two in the world. One is with her, and this one should have been with you, but..."
The officer, who loved to keep people in suspense, didn't finish his sentence. Instead, he tilted his head and looked at Cheng Sangluo's increasingly embarrassed appearance. At first, his pupils trembled with surprise, but as his gaze focused, it turned into a voiceless self-reproach.
Cheng Sangluo no longer cared what came after the 'but'; all that remained in her mind was Lin Jin's mournful question: You'd rather believe the gossip of others than ask me for confirmation. Do you really understand me?
"This...this thing is in my spine...why...why is it in your hand?" She kept shaking her head, trying to escape the fact that she had wronged Lin Jin, so she grabbed her collar to show the wound, but her tone had turned into a trembling sob: "Look, look at my back, the implanted scars are still there, look!"
"Isn't that scar from a dog bite? Calm down, calm down!" Wei Yun couldn't hold Cheng Sangluo down with one hand, so he had to get up and push her back into the chair. He patiently explained, "Lin Jin did design this chip to implant in your body, and her intention was to ensure your safety. But she never consulted you about it, so it sounds absurd and disrespectful. You were bitten by Lin Sheng's dog and ended up in the emergency room. She arranged for someone to perform the chip implantation surgery, but she regretted it after everything was ready and terminated the surgery in time. I met with her a while ago. To thank the military for their long-term cooperation with Zhongyao, she donated the chip's R&D technology free of charge. So this chip was given to me as a gift. As you can see, you don't have any chip in your body."
Overwhelmed with anger, Cheng Sangluo's eyes were red and moist as she repeatedly muttered, "I'd rather believe hearsay than give her a chance to explain, I didn't even ask her what happened... Did I... did I leave when she needed me most, which is why she got hurt? But that doesn't make sense, she knew where I was, that day I was drowning my sorrows in a bar and she found me right away... she..."
The intermittent self-reproach abruptly stopped as Wei Yun tapped the foldable phone with his fingertip, as if to say, 'I already gave you a hint when I snatched your phone, how could you not understand?' He couldn't help but sigh helplessly, 'When did your counter-surveillance skills become so poor? You can't even understand such a simple principle?'
Cheng Sangluo panicked. This unprecedented sense of fear was like a wildly growing vine, which invaded all her nerves in an instant, making her face pale and unable to express herself.
She hurriedly slung her backpack over her shoulder, stood up, and prepared to leave, forgetting even to say a polite goodbye, fleeing in fear without uttering a sound.
"Hey, you haven't even touched the food much, where are you in such a hurry to go?" Wei Yun called out, gesturing with his head outstretched. He didn't actually stop Cheng Sangluo, who had already walked a few steps away, but instead shook his head and continued eating.
Only after Cheng Sangluo's figure disappeared at the entrance of the food stall did she smile and sigh, "Lin Jin, consider this my help to you two."
*
In the empty hospital room, Lin Jin's heartbroken sobs grew hoarse until they gradually fell silent.
Her emotions collapsed like a mountain rock, catching everyone off guard. Her body suddenly began to tremble uncontrollably, her whole body spasming so much that she couldn't straighten up, and her breathing became erratic.
"Lin Jin! What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" Gu Shinian gently shook her shoulders a few times, calmly instructing, "Keep breathing deeply, inhale, follow my rhythm, inhale, exhale..."
Lin Jin's face was still wet, but her complexion was now so pale and stiff that she looked like she was terminally ill. The sudden physical reaction left her unresponsive.
She stared blankly at the ceiling, but had lost the ability to speak; all she could do was convulse uncontrollably.
Gu Shinian pulled her into his arms and pinched her philtrum, but the effect was not satisfactory. He then took out his phone to ask for help, and fortunately the person on the other end answered very quickly.
In an instant, Gu Shinian's urgent and heavy cry for help echoed in the ward: "Qin Congyi, quickly bring the medicine up to Lin Jin's ward! Hurry, her condition is very bad, hurry!"
[Author's Note]
1. My pre-order novel, "The Sinful Lover," is available for collection.
2. I just had lithotripsy and I'm still feeling quite unwell, so updates will be short. I need to rest, so the completion date is delayed. Please forgive me.
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