Chapter 19
You're mine, so you have to obey me.
Perhaps because she hadn't fully recovered from her cold and had been severely beaten by a group of thugs, Cheng Sangluo's voice was hoarse as she asked the question, and her spirits became increasingly listless.
The humiliation inflicted by the madwoman was like the last straw that broke the camel's back, finally extinguishing her defiant spirit and leaving her only with intense exhaustion.
Cheng Sangluo lowered her head and smiled bitterly to herself. She laughed at Lin Jin's endless tricks, none of which could dispel the pride deep in her soul. Only tonight, when she bent down to pick up the money, was her proud backbone completely crushed into ashes.
Her previously sustained spirit withered like a rose, and the mere question about the transaction exhausted all her energy.
She gripped her trouser leg tightly with her fingertips, her nails digging into her fingertips and pressing hard into her flesh, as if her nerve endings were dead. She felt no pain, or perhaps the pain was too intense to bear.
Lin Jin was stunned and didn't respond for a moment. The whole world became quiet in the puppy's weak question.
The howling wind and the waves crashing on the shore seemed to be silenced, leaving only the pounding of the heart.
The ripples that spread were not only in my heart, but also in the thick darkness of the entire sky tonight, which quietly drew out the crescent moon behind the lingering clouds.
This feeling of finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel is not easy; it requires laying out a grand plan and the participation of all people, good and bad.
This is what she often lamented about how difficult it was.
"You can't escape, you can't be saved, this is your own personal hell." Lin Jin sighed, her eyebrows curving into a smile, her eyes glistening with tiny tears, before she smiled with satisfaction. "You stubborn little dog, you finally feel you've reached a dead end."
Cheng Sangluo was indeed not as tough as before. Her straight back was hunched over slightly from the beating, and her shoulders slumped.
She remained silent, waiting for Lin Jin to respond with the terms of the deal.
Lin Jin met those dim eyes and noticed the slightly stopped bleeding wound on the brow bone. Her face showed heartache, which she then quietly concealed. "You're penniless, have a criminal record, and are stuck with a family of bloodsuckers. What do you think you can offer me in exchange?"
Such harsh words, each one piercing to the heart, left Cheng Sangluo speechless, yet she seemed to have endured the humiliation, showing no sign of anger or resentment.
“I’ve said before that what I want is very simple, nothing more than you.” Lin Jin grabbed her collar and whispered in her ear, “I’m paying three million for your worthless life. I’m the only one who loses out in this deal. You can’t refuse and you have no way to refuse.”
Cheng Sangluo frowned, but still didn't say anything. Her heart was half dead. The countless times that had plagued her with the idea of sex work had finally become a reality instead of an impossible one.
As Lin Jin said, she was so poor that she only had one life left, and if someone was willing to pay money to settle the matter, she really had no reason to refuse.
After a moment of silence, she finally spoke, her lips trembling: "Before I agree to your conditions, I need you to answer one question: who was the instigator of everything that happened tonight, you or Xu Songheng?"
Lin Jin raised an eyebrow knowingly, realizing what the puppy was concerned about, since this person had always suspected her relationship with Xu Songheng.
She brushed the stray hairs off the puppy's face and asked with a smile, "Do you know about Russian nesting dolls?"
"What's the meaning?"
"Everything tonight is a series of interconnected events from the past, like Russian nesting dolls layered on top of each other."
It's like this: because you went to jail and lost your retirement pay, your brother started gambling recklessly to save money for his wife. Or, for example, Xu Songheng has always been wary of your existence. He set a trap to make your brother in debt in order to kill you, and to prevent you from resisting, he had your parents kidnapped.
I am above these predicaments, aware of everything that is happening.
I know more about your past than you think, and finding your family is easy; it's just a matter of how generous the offer is.
Do you remember that pool party? I was so sure you'd come looking for me, so of course I came prepared.
"Because back then, your brother should have had his fingers chopped off by the creditors, but Xu Songheng didn't dare disrespect me, so the matter was delayed until today."
Lin Jin was always so patient with the puppy, patiently explaining where the seven-day bet came from.
As they talked, a look of helplessness gradually appeared on her face—the helplessness of not being able to do anything about the puppy.
“Cheng Sangluo, I admire your backbone. You have not truly given in until now.”
I thought I had this bet in the bag, that you would be forced to submit to me by circumstances. In reality, I did achieve my goal of making you mine, but I didn't win.
Of course, it's not because you're so amazing, but because I was too soft-hearted towards you.
Lin Jin's eyes softened more than ever before, as if she had finally obtained the doll she had longed for.
She traced Cheng Sangluo's face with her fingertips; the touch wasn't as burning hot as it had been that day, and she couldn't help but smile with satisfaction: "It's good that the fever has subsided."
Cheng Sangluo remained expressionless, but her eyes flashed for a moment in the darkness, seemingly betraying her astonishment at Lin Jin.
She knew the madwoman was cunning, but the intricate web of schemes she had just witnessed was still unexpected.
She turned her head away from Lin Jin's hand, then looked at Xu Songheng and his group, pleading, "I agree to your conditions. I'll take on this debt. Just make them let my family go first."
"No rush, I still have an extra class today." Lin Jin waved her hand, keeping everyone in suspense, and looked at the couple who were tied up, her eyes as cold as ice. "As far as I know, you could have gone to a pretty good university, but to save money for the family, they tore up your acceptance letter and sent you to the army so they could use your discharge pay to help your brother get married. Now they want you to pay off a huge debt. Don't you hate them? Don't you resent these leeches at all?"
This rhetorical question revealed Cheng Sangluo's deepest pain, which she was most reluctant to show to others.
When she couldn't sleep at night, she often fantasized about another wonderful life.
On the lush university campus, she studied her favorite major, made a group of good friends, worked part-time to earn her living expenses, took beautiful graduation photos in her bachelor's gown, and then went to her first job interview in her neatly pressed business attire.
Those fantasies were shattered time and time again by the sound of emergency assembly. She thought that after retiring, she would take the exam again and be able to go to her dream university, stroll along the sycamore-lined avenues in the height of summer, listen to the cicadas chirping, and enjoy the carefree evening breeze.
Later, that dream was broken and could not be mended; it could only remain a dream forever.
Cheng Sangluo opened her eyes wide as if suddenly realizing something, then shook her head with a sense of loss.
She suddenly realized that no matter what stage of life she was in, she could not retrieve any beautiful memories to cherish; all she could have were fantasies in the dark of night.
Yes, how can you find it if you haven't experienced it?
She covered her face with her hands, concealing her painful and complex emotions. These feelings were like a tangled rope that she couldn't untangle, twisting and binding her, and in doing so, binding together the torment that didn't belong to her.
This inescapable pain coexisted with her until today, when finally someone stood up and told her that this feeling was called hatred, a kind of emotion that could give her great power.
Cheng Sangluo was no stranger to hatred, because she hated Xu Songheng, who had framed her, to the core.
But when it came to her so-called family, she complained about the unfairness and fantasized about their affection, but never thought of hating them.
After hesitating for a moment, she murmured to herself, "Hate? Can hate solve problems? Can hate take me back to the past?"
At this moment, she is like a piece of glass that has been shattered and pieced back together haphazardly; every crack tells her that she can never go back to the past, nor can she ever become brand new.
Lin Jin is the only person who can expose her vulnerability. He always uses hurtful methods to disguise helping, but it is mixed with a gentleness that he does not want to be seen through.
The puppy's question made her laugh. "You hate Xu Songheng, you hate me, and of course you'll hate your good-for-nothing brother and your parents who don't love you. Since fate is unfair, why not hate them even more thoroughly?"
Lin Jin, holding Cheng Sangluo's clothes, walked arrogantly to Cheng Xing. Staring at the somewhat similar face, an unprecedented disgust welled up in her heart.
She wanted to call someone to bring a dagger, wanting to peel off Cheng Xing's face herself, simply because this person didn't deserve to look like her beloved puppy.
For her, that white moon could not be tainted in the slightest, but she also found the flesh and blood too dirty and really did not want to touch it, so she had to try her best to suppress this evil thought.
Lin Jin didn't speak, but gestured to his subordinates with his eyes to bring something over.
Before long, someone brought over a baseball bat.
She picked up the stick, pointed at Cheng Xing, then at Cheng Yongqiang and Zuo Lan, and patiently taught the puppy: "They ruined half your life, yet you didn't utter a single complaint. Such cowardice is unworthy of your backbone. This is the last lesson I'm teaching you: even if you are related by blood, when you are treated unfairly or hurt, you must learn to sever ties with your own hands to prevent future troubles."
As he spoke, Lin Jin handed the baseball bat to Cheng Sangluo, saying, "Now that you're mine, you have to obey me."
Cheng Sangluo stared at the coldly gleaming stick, understanding Lin Jin's intention, but hesitated to reach out and take it.
"You, if only you were this soft-hearted towards me." Lin Jin sighed inwardly at the dog's soft heart, but did not take back the stick. He ordered again, "Come on, break his legs."
[Author's Note]
1. The story is expected to go live on Wednesday or Thursday, and soon we'll be entering our cohabitation life as a couple with a marriage of convenience!
2. Upcoming novels: "The Detective's Lover" [criminal investigation], "Becoming the Scandalous Lover of a Hong Kong Film Queen" (please add to your collection).
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