SWNOVELS Chapter 23
Lin Xinyan stood by the door and stared at Bai Zhuwei.
Her staring made Bai Zhuwei uncomfortable, and she tried to see her phone screen. It was far, and she could not see what was on the phone. She had to stay dignified in front of Zong Jinghao, so she could only ask quietly, “Ms. Lin, why are you looking at me like that?”
Bai Zhuwei’s voice brought back Lin Xinyan’s focus. There was a split moment that she had wanted to impulsively rush and question her in front of Zong Jinghao.
Yet after she had calmed down, she did not do it.
Bai Zhuwei was the woman that Zong Jinghao loved. Whatever it is that she had done, Zong Jinghao would not punish the woman he loved for her, a wife in a marriage deal.
She gripped tightly onto the phone in her hand, and it took her a while before she could calm herself down.
She just gave Bai Zhuwei a smile.
“I just think that Ms. Bai is too pretty, so I couldn’t take my eyes off you. I hope Ms. Bai wouldn’t mind.”
She walked over to them as she said, and her gaze fell onto the folder on the coffee table. She reached out to pick it up. It was the contract for Repulse Bay.
She looked up at Zong Jinghao and smiled as she asked, “Is this for me?”
Zong Jinghao, who had never shown any changes in expression, hummed in response.
Bai Zhuwei widened her eyes. He— He was really giving this to Lin Xinyan?
Why?
Bai Zhuwei could not comprehend!
Lin Xinyan looked up at Bai Zhuwei, who was obviously angry but was restraining herself, and she sneered, “Ms. Bai, I’m Mr. Zong’s wife. It shouldn’t be a big deal if he gave me something.”
Bai Zhuwei trembled in anger. This damn woman was really thick-skinned!
Who was she to call herself Zong Jinghao’s wife?
If Zong Jinghao was not here, Bai Zhuwei would have given her a slap!
“Of course.” Bai Zhuwei lowered her head, and her tears fell as a silent complaint.
“Ms. Lin is the real deal, who am I to say anything?”
“You’re the woman that Mr. Zong likes. You’ve followed him so many years, and yet— Why do you still do this to yourself?” Guan Jing looked up at Lin Xinyan. Not only did she act improper, this woman was thick-skinned!
It was clearly a deal; did she think that she was the real young mistress?
However, she was indeed Zong Jinghao’s wife, so he could not publicly disrespect her even if he did not like her. So all he could do was to side with Bai Zhuwei and deliberately target her.
Lin Xinyan remained serene, as if she had not heard their sarcastic words to isolate her. She smiled and said, “Ms. Bai, since you have acknowledged my status, please, move aside.”
It was as if time had stopped.
All eyes looked at Zong Jinghao, who had yet to speak.
Did he acknowledge her status?
If he did, where would that put Bai Zhuwei at?
The flickering and dimmed lights could not cover the grimness of Zong Jinghao’s face.
“What status?”
She could smell an inexplicable scent of foreboding danger. Lin Xinyan held firm and looked into his eyes. “We’re husband and wife. Even if it’s just for an hour, we are still husband and wife. In this duration when we are still married, is there any wrong for me to ask to sit by your side?”
Lin Xinyan used his words to reply him.
She had been bullied for a long time. Even if she was wronged, it did not matter.
Yet for Bai Zhuwei to use Zhuang Zijin and cause her to have mental illness, that was not something she would tolerate!
If Bai Zhuwei was afraid that she would be close to Zong Jinghao, then she would deliberately be close to him.
Right in front of her!
Zhuang Zijin was her only family left, and she was her baseline. “Ms. Bai, although your relationship with my husband is strong, we have yet to divorce. Ms. Bai, please control yourself!”
Bai Zhuwei looked at Zong Jinghao. Right now, his gaze was at this witty woman.
This woman changed her attitude quick.
She was acting hurt and helpless earlier, but now she was aggressive.
What kind of woman was she?
Zong Jinghao’s expression was unreadable, even for Guan Jing, but Guan Jing knew that the two woman could not be in the same room now.
Although Guan Jing had not fully understood what was going on, he was clever, as seen in this moment.
He stood up and patted Bai Zhuwei’s shoulder. “Let’s go.”
Bai Zhuwei was discontented.
She wanted to see where she stood in Zong Jinghao’s heart.
Yet if Zong Jinghao really chose Lin Xinyan, she would be doomed. All her efforts in the past would have gone to waste. She knew that Zong Jinghao did not love her.
Zong Jinghao was only good to her because of that night, and that she had followed him for so many years.
There was no liking nor love.
She could not gamble on this.
She would not be able to take the loss.
“I won’t force Hao. You win.” Bai Zhuwei wanted to make things favorable to her before she left.
She was not admitting defeat, she just did not want Zong Jinghao to be in a dilemma.
She was kind; she knew how to see the big picture.
Soon, the room quieted down.
It was so quiet that even the soft breathing sounds could be heard.
This lasted for three minutes, and Lin Xinyan’s back had a layer of cold sweat. After a long while, she finally found her voice. “I’ll go back to my room.”
She only acted this way because of Bai Zhuwei.
Now that she was gone, she had no need to stay here.
Just as her foot lifted, her wrist was grabbed by Zong Jinghao. He pulled roughly, and Lin Xinyan’s body turned in an arc, and fell into his embrace.
She instinctively struggled, but her wrist was held firmly by him, and she could not move.
“What are you doing?” Lin Xinyan panicked.
Heh.
“Why? Weren’t you witty earlier?” Zong Jinghao grabbed her chin and said, “It seems like I’ve underestimated you.”
If it was not for Bai Zhuwei, she would not have wanted to offend him.
She knew the difficulties in life. From ten until eighteen, she had grown both in age and in maturity.
If she was gentle, others would only think that she was an easy target, so she could not be that in front of people who wanted to hurt her.
She had to protect her mother and the baby in her stomach.
She had to be strong, she had to be brave.
Lin Xinyan was motionless. She closed her eyes and stopped focusing on her sight and hearing.
Zong Jinghao had never been treated this way by anyone. This woman—
“Lin—”
Lin Xinyan was wearing a white shirt with a round collar. Now that she was half-lying in his embrace, the view of her chest was looming in front of his eyes.
She was skinny, but her breast development was not bad. Even in this looming state, he could somewhat see the two white buns, round and perky.
Her chest was rising and falling with her breaths, and it held a hint of seduction.
There was a fiery heat in him, rushing through his veins, before settling at his lower abdomen.
When Lin Xinyan did not hear Zong Jinghao’s response, her eyelashes fluttered and she slowly opened her eyes. She saw his stoic face that seemed like he was trying to stay calm.
His gaze—
Lin Xinyan followed his eyes, and looked down—
The anger of being looked at unleashed the hidden strength in her bones, and Lin Xinyan pushed him away.
It happened so sudden that Zong Jinghao could not react in time. He was now half-lying on the couch, a disheveled look.
Lin Xinyan covered her chest, and shouted, “Thug!”
She stood up from the couch in a hurry to leave this place, but perhaps she was too panicked as she did not notice what was on the floor. She tripped on Zong Jinghao’s leg and fell towards Zong Jinghao.
“Ah—”
Zong Jinghao could not move away in time.