Chapter 121
Relative silence and silent resistance
The weather suddenly turned terrible; the sun was obscured by rolling dark clouds, and the gloomy atmosphere made people feel even more listless.
Cheng Sangluo, clutching the clothes she had packed from the dark room, appeared at the entrance of her new home like a malfunctioning robot, dragging her feet like a zombie.
Her mind went blank. As soon as she tried to think about something, her temples began to throb violently, and the pain pierced her eye sockets.
At this moment, she was in a state of utter confusion, not knowing what to do next or how to face Lin Jin.
As she walked dejectedly towards the living room, she caught a glimpse of a figure sitting at the dining table out of the corner of her eye, but it didn't arouse the slightest surprise.
That thin, frail figure had lost its former uprightness, as if all its strength had been drained away, yet it stubbornly refused to lean against the back of the chair, even though this person usually acted like a lazy cat, always wanting to lean on anything.
Cheng Sangluo stopped in her tracks, turned around, and stared intently at the silent Lin Jin.
She murmured, but couldn't utter a single word, and just stood there motionless.
"Sit down." Lin Jin's tone was calmer than ever before.
Clearly, this is the calm before the storm, like the gloomy sky outside the French windows, where a thunderstorm could sweep across the entire city at any moment.
"Okay." Cheng Sangluo uttered a single word, echoing the person in front of her who was sparing with words.
She walked to the dining table, pulled out a chair, and sat down, still clutching the clothes she had recovered. These were some of the few things she could still show off, carrying a value that money could not measure.
Lin Jin's gaze naturally drifted to Cheng Sangluo's arms, as if her eyes were being pierced by the varying shades of green, and her eyelids blinked involuntarily a few times.
The two sat at the table in silence, each silently resisting the other, dragging the deathly stillness into an abyss filled with icy coldness.
Cheng Sangluo finally placed the neatly folded clothes on the table and gently pushed them towards Lin Jin, "Is there anything you want to say to me?"
She wasn't angry at this moment, because her anger had already been released in the dark room. It was just that this cold question contained a self-deceiving weakness.
Cheng Sangluo even pleaded in her heart, begging her incredibly intelligent lover to weave some more lies to fool her. Even if the explanations were full of loopholes, she would try her best to convince herself to believe them.
Lin Jin stared at what was in front of her, her nose red with a sour feeling, unable to speak for a long time, as if she was suppressing her grief or organizing her thoughts.
She tried, but still couldn't say anything, only deep breaths tightening her neck, and the pain of a knife scraping her throat.
Cheng Sangluo looked at the medals pinned to her camouflage uniform, ultimately failing to receive an explanation to fool her, so she asked dejectedly, "Was it fun to lie to me?"
Lin Jin's hands remained on her knees, her fingertips clenching tightly at the question, the room card pressed against her palms causing her knuckles to ache. Even at this moment of confrontation, she did not immediately expose the person in front of her.
She breathed a long sigh of relief, the weight on her heart finally lifted, and the secret buried for so many years was no longer a secret.
She gasped, slumped her shoulders, and shook her head: "It's not fun, not fun at all, it's just the pain of a daily nightmare."
"When exactly did you meet me, and what was your real purpose in getting close to me? I've asked you these questions again and again, but you've never given me a straight answer." Every time Cheng Sangluo opened her mouth, she felt as if she were shattering again.
She finally realized that, whether then or now, she had never truly seen through Lin Jin. She had never understood his deep eyes, his treacherous thoughts, or his unpredictable methods.
Lin Jin remained the same stubborn and tight-lipped person, refusing to answer or explain even when tensions were high.
She saw Cheng Sangluo's injured hand resting on the table, and after moving it a few times, a faint bloodstain appeared. She reached out and pressed down on the other's arm, "Why are you injured?"
After saying that, she got up and walked to the living room, intending to take out the medicine box that was placed on the coffee table.
Cheng Sangluo also stood up, grabbed Lin Jin's arm, and pulled out a thick stack of documents from the pile of clothes with her other hand, slamming them hard on the table. The angry slap sounded like a slap across Lin Jin's face.
This person, who was usually the best at controlling her emotions, was the first to break down. Her desperate screams echoed in the silent space, "At a time like this, is there any need to put on this act? I just want an explanation. Why won't you answer my questions? Why... why do you always play games with me... why can't you just talk things out?"
Lin Jin's wrist was pulled so hard it left red marks, causing him to hiss in pain. His brows furrowed instantly, and the card he was clutching fell to the ground as his arm swayed.
Cheng Sangluo looked down at the floor following the sound. The moment her gaze fell on the room key, her pupils began to contract slowly. Helplessness mixed with fear burst forth from her, as if she had been stripped naked and had nowhere to hide.
She bent down and picked up the room key; it still had traces of tape on it, making it easy to tell where it came from. She then stared intently at the silent Lin Jin, "Where...did you go?"
Lin Jin used all her strength to pull her hand back. While rubbing her sore and red wrist, she calmly asked, "Can we treat the wound on my hand first, and then talk about other things?"
Cheng Sangluo didn't buy it, because this concern was the most hypocritical gesture in this deception. She also didn't dare to face the fact that Lin Jin had been to the rented house. She could only scream like a madwoman: "Why won't you tell me anything I ask? Do you have to force me to my death in this relationship before you're satisfied!"
Cheng Sangluo was at a loss. No matter how specific the questions were, no matter how many times she asked, she could not pry open those lips that were full of secrets.
For a fleeting moment, she felt a murderous urge amidst her desperate cries, but was then terrified by her own horrifying thoughts, causing her to instinctively take a few steps back, creating a safe distance between herself and Lin Jin.
"How do you expect me to explain this to you?" Lin Jin leaned limply against the table, her voice heavy with exhaustion.
This was an unprecedented exhaustion, so exhausting that I wanted to hide in the closet, like when I was a child, to escape the thunder and lightning, but I knew very well that I couldn't escape today's storm.
She snatched the room key from Cheng Sangluo's hand, squinting at him as she sneered and asked, "Why bother asking where I went? Or do you want a satisfactory answer from me? Echoing your question, 'Is it fun to lie to you?' Should I ask you in return: Is it fun to take advantage of me?"
Halfway through her sentence, she threw the room key onto the stack of documents for overturning the case. Two seemingly unrelated things were connected, yet they linked together the cause and effect.
Lin Jin gave Cheng Sangluo some time to calm down before going to the living room alone.
She took out the first-aid kit and returned to Cheng Sangluo. While rummaging through the kit to treat her wounds, she continued, "Isn't this wonderful? That night you still had to bend over and pick up the stepping stone I gave you, so that you could get what you've been dreaming of today. Isn't this a good outcome?"
As he spoke, Lin Jin twisted open the cap of the disinfectant alcohol and poured it all over Cheng Sangluo's injured palm.
In an instant, the excruciating pain swept through her entire body, causing Cheng Sangluo to regain her senses.
Compared to the physical stinging sensation caused by alcohol, she felt that Lin Jin's sighs were more painful, every word hitting her self-proclaimed pride and dignity.
She clenched her teeth and grimaced, but didn't utter a sound of pain. After Lin Jin bandaged her wound, she finally spoke: "From the day I was released from prison and met you, I knew you didn't have good intentions. But even though I was so wary, you still managed to sneak into my life. You bullied me, humiliated me, and arrogantly taught me your twisted and heretical theories."
I never understood why you did this. You gave me a reason I couldn't refuse. You said you could help me overturn the case. You said our common goal was to bring down Lin Sheng. I always doubted your motives, but I never questioned this cooperation.
But now I can't see through you. I don't know what you're thinking, what you want to do, or what you want to get.
You clearly have evidence that Lin Sheng and Xu Songheng framed me. This evidence could send them to prison at any time. You also know that I have been investigating the case to overturn the verdict. Why did you hide it? Why didn't you tell me?
If I hadn't discovered it today, were you planning to keep it a secret indefinitely?
Lin Jin's attention was focused on Cheng Sangluo's hands. She tilted her head and carefully bandaged the wound, her eyes filled with helplessness and a sense of frustration that had nowhere to go.
She was distressed that she had been used by the person she loved, and distressed that now was not the right time to explain everything. So she wanted to wrap up all these bad feelings and escape.
Cheng Sangluo felt she had asked too many "whys" today. Knowing she wouldn't get answers, why bother searching? She couldn't help but smile wryly and sit back in her chair. "You always say I'm stubborn, but aren't you just as stubborn? If you don't tell me the answer I want on your own initiative, I don't think I'll ever get it. Oh well..."
"Actually, I never wanted to drag you into this game."
I just love you so much that I want to keep you by my side, so I tricked you into signing a marriage of convenience agreement, thinking that one day you would be moved by me and realize that you would fall in love with me.
The reason I can confidently tell you that we will bring down Lin Sheng someday is because we have this trump card to overturn the verdict.
It's not that I'm unwilling to give you this information, it's just that the timing was wrong. If it were even one day later, we wouldn't have been able to inflict a devastating blow on Lin Sheng.
I've always known that when you receive this information, our relationship will come to an end. You'll resent me and try every means to distance yourself from me, and I'll have to bear the consequences of concealing and deceiving you.
See, before today, I was a very good lover, wasn't I? I wouldn't make you angry, I wouldn't bully you, and I had no other ambitions or desires than to win your love.
I always say that getting to where I am today wasn't easy. Entering your world and making you fall in love with me was no easier than taking down Lin Sheng...
Lin Jin choked back tears, gently closing her eyes that were brimming with tears. A single tear slid silently down her face, but it felt like a boulder crashing into Cheng Sangluo's heart.
Cheng Sangluo hesitated, even feeling a pang of regret. Despite her burning anger, she couldn't resist that single, delicate tear.
She reached out, wanting to wipe away the tears of the person crying silently, but hesitated and froze in mid-air, unsure whether she should approach.
Lin Jin sniffed, opened her eyes, and met her lover's impatient gaze again. She smiled faintly and sighed, "Could you give me three days? Within three days, I will go to Lin Sheng to get some information. At the appropriate time, I will notify you to take these materials to Ji Nanxing. Then we'll be even, okay?"
When Cheng Sangluo heard the person in front of her mention 'two clearings', her clenched jaw tightened even more.
She fell silent, hesitant to answer "okay" easily. She was in no hurry to hand over the information to Ji Nanxing, but she was afraid that if she agreed, Lin Jin would misunderstand it as her agreeing to the breakup.
Lin Jin seemed to see through her predicament, reached out and covered her face, her nose red as she pressed, "Do you still love me? Will you leave me?"
Cheng Sangluo sighed softly, her lips moving slightly as she whispered a reply...
Lin Jin couldn't look into her eyes to listen to the words squeezed from her lips, so she could only raise her hand to cover her lips and let out a heartbroken sob.
[Author's Note]
1. My pre-order novel, "The Sinful Lover," is available for collection.
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