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墨書 Inktalez
"Don't come any closer, or I'll kill you!"
Zhong Li Ming Jie stared intently at Lan Xin'en, puzzled by her extreme reaction. Although he had forced her, did she really need to display such utter disgust towards him afterward?
Who did she think he was? He was Zhong Li Ming Jie!
"What do you want?" Come on, he would satisfy her demands.
"Aside from signing the marriage certificate, I can agree to anything else."
Women, after all, always wanted to feign a little something as compensation afterward, didn't they?
He was well aware of the price he had to pay for that thin layer of innocence she possessed. Deep down, he had a measure to gauge what was worth giving.
"What did you say?" Lan Xin'en's eyes widened in disbelief at his words.
So his tenderness was fake, and his smile was also a façade. The man before her was the real deal, with hurtful words that cut deep; her naive assumptions were foolish, and her infidelity was her punishment!
She could push him away, but she didn't. She wasn't sure if she truly liked Lin Guangying; their relationship had simply been a result of both families' approval, so she had nodded along. Yet now, faced with this devil, she couldn't deny her feelings for him.
It was that slight flicker of attraction that shattered her rationality in an instant, turning her into a mere plaything for him to toy with. That was his purpose in getting close to her.
"Hurry up and speak; I don't have much patience."
Zhong Li Ming Jie stood up and dressed lazily while lighting a cigarette. He glanced back at her but was taken aback when he saw tears welling in her eyes—tears that didn't fall but stubbornly lingered in the depths of her proud gaze. He felt a jolt, even dropping his cigarette without realizing it.
"Give me a knife," Lan Xin'en said tremulously.
"A knife?"
Lan Xin'en slowly raised her eyes, tears finally falling from her eyelids as she gritted her teeth and said, "I want to kill you." She couldn't believe she had lost her dignity in an instant, leaving herself in such a disgraceful state.
Ignoring her lack of clothing, she lunged at him, pulling and tugging. "Who do you think you are? How dare you treat me like this? Just because you think you're some kind of chosen one, does that give you the right to trample on others?"
Saying she wanted to kill him was more about wanting to destroy the evidence that had nearly driven her to collapse.
She couldn't forgive herself for falling into such a pitiful situation, nor could she believe how quickly a man's facade could change; she hated her own foolishness, hated that she had taken a wrong step that nearly ruined her life, and hated that she had developed feelings for him.
"Xin En, calm down."
"I will never forgive you! Absolutely never!" she cried out.
* * *
She meant what she said; ten years had passed, and she still hadn't forgiven him.
Zhong Li Ming Jie did everything he could to make amends, slowly winning her over. Although she hadn't fully forgiven him, at least they could talk normally now, and the hatred in her eyes was no longer as pronounced.
Fortunately, after he handed over all the responsibilities he was supposed to bear, as she wished, she was doing well and managing her work excellently. There were no signs of the company Beiheng going bankrupt or any misappropriation of funds. As an Acting President, she performed so competently that he wanted to give her a thumbs up in praise.
Initially, he thought she would squander all his assets; it turned out he had overthought it. The fair and righteous Xin En would never do such a thing, no matter how much resentment she held. She also knew that if she did so, it would only play into his hands, which was why she wouldn't go down that path.
He was willing to give everything just to have her stop hating him, but she had never acted according to his wishes.
Her method of choice was like a chemical weapon poisoning his mind—cruel yet effortless; as long as she ignored him, he would wither like a flower abandoned in the desert.
He thought she must know his feelings but chose to turn a blind eye; meanwhile, he felt like a pitiful little husband waiting for her smile when she turned back to him to nourish his desolate heart.
"Daddy, what are you staring at? You look so dazed!" Zhong Li Fan followed his father's gaze and found him fixated on Lan Xin'en, who was hurriedly typing on the computer while also faxing something. "Daddy, you don't actually want to get close to Sister Lan, do you?" He was the first one to object.
Though he had intentionally waited here for his father, part of him genuinely liked Sister Lan. Otherwise, why would he obediently stay here? He was planning to cultivate a relationship with Sister Lan, and if his father emerged as a competitor, his chances would be even slimmer.
"What are you talking about?" His father was increasingly baffled by his son.
"I won't allow you to compete with me for Sister Lan. I want her," Zhong Li Fan said, lifting his chin defiantly, sounding very serious and not at all like he was joking.
Zhong Li Ming Jie was taken aback and cautiously asked, "Do you realize how many years apart you two are?"
What on earth was his precious son thinking? He was only eight years old! An eight-year-old wanting to date a girl? Moreover, the girl in question was his mother!
Should he have sent him to boarding school?
"Listen, my dear son, I advise you to give up. You two are really too far apart in age."
He never expected that his son's taste would be just as good as his own. Unfortunately, his son had no chance of competing; even if it pained him, he had to intervene before things went too far.
Son, don't blame your father for being harsh; it's just that you picked the wrong person.
"Daddy, Sister Lan isn't your type at all, and you're completely irresponsible. If you try to make a move on her, I will never forgive you," Zhong Li Fan declared resolutely, leaving no room for negotiation.
"Is it really that serious?" Zhong Li Ming Jie realized today that his son didn't like him.
It made sense; if he truly liked his father, why would he run away from home? He had thought that even if Xin En intercepted him, she might not be able to persuade him. Little did he know that this kid had a special fondness for her. Perhaps it was a mother-son bond! Otherwise, how could this little guy see Xin En without showing any signs of disdain? Among all his female companions, Xin En was the first who hadn't experienced his dismissive attitude.
Perhaps there truly was some inexplicable connection between mother and child; otherwise, given Xin En's dislike for children, how could she tolerate Xiao Fan?
But after she learned about Xiao Fan's identity, her demeanor changed from merely cold to something more distant.
His son might have sensed her coldness and thought it stemmed from his presence. Sigh! When he decided to have a child, he never imagined things would evolve into this.
However, at that moment, the overwhelming desire for her submission drove him to persuade her with his eloquence, completely disregarding the future.
He believed that if he couldn't even grasp the present, discussing the future would be utterly pointless.
"Anyway, you absolutely cannot mess with her. Otherwise, I will sever our father-son relationship." Zhong Li Fan thought for a moment, realizing that his father was a man of little principle. Who knew if he might devour her even if she didn't suit his taste? It was better to be cautious.
"By the time you grow up, she'll be old. At that point, I don't believe you'll still like her," Zhong Li Ming Jie said lazily, not taking his son's threat seriously at all.
At least his son had inherited something from him; even at a young age, he knew how to threaten others.
"I won't. At least I know I won't," Zhong Li Fan declared firmly. "Don't worry, Dad. I'm not like you; I know I have to take responsibility for the girl I like. If I truly like a girl, I'll marry her directly instead of being as despicable as you and just wanting to play around."
Zhong Li Ming Jie raised an eyebrow, finding it quite amusing. "I’d like to see how long this determination of yours lasts." He hadn't expected his son to provoke him.
Perhaps he had initially approached Lan Xin Si with some playful intent, but even if their relationship started from a physical standpoint, it could still spark genuine feelings. He had developed feelings for her, but she remained indifferent, waiting for him to provide status and wealth as compensation.
He wanted to marry her too; he thought that if she bore him children, she might change for their sake. Little did he know that his calculations were completely off.
If she refused to agree, what could he do?
Unable to let go or move on, he decided to wait. Year after year, perhaps one day in the future she would suddenly agree… Ha! Even he couldn't help but laugh at his own foolish fantasies.
"I can last a lifetime."
"Hmph! How long is your lifetime?" He was just a young boy who hadn't even matured yet and dared to talk about love? Come back in ten years! "Do you think she'll wait for you?"
"You..." Zhong Li Fan wasn't foolish enough not to hear the disdain in his father's tone. He couldn't help but shout, "You're clearly bullying me! You don't believe in me! I don't care; you're bullying me, bullying me..."
Seeing this, Zhong Li Ming Jie quickly pulled his son into an embrace, using one hand to restrain his flailing limbs while covering his mouth with the other hand to muffle his loud cries.
It was over!
Zhong Li Ming Jie looked up and indeed saw Lan Xin'en leaning against the door with a cold expression on her adorable pink face, her watery eyes radiating a chilling intensity.
He chuckled, "Xin En, what's wrong?"
She must be angry; she was definitely angry!
"Eldest Young Master, do you have any idea how busy I am?" She could almost hear the blood rushing through her veins, a sharp sound echoing in her ears. "You want me to take a break from work, and I’ve agreed to that; but the problem is I have a project proposal that I need to finish urgently, so I told you I don’t have time to entertain you. If you insist on staying here, then you need to be quiet!"
She was overwhelmed with work while he acted like a child playing around; he was clearly looking for trouble, a big nuisance, and on top of that, there was another little nuisance with him. Yet despite finding the little one annoying as well, she didn’t want to scold him because deep down she felt too much guilt.
After all, children are just noisy, and his noise stemmed from his father's issues, so… it was all Zhong Li Ming Jie’s fault.
"I know!" Ugh! This kid was going to drive her crazy. "Do you want me to help you?"
"If you really want to help me, why not just let me go to the office? Since you don’t want to reveal your whereabouts, then don’t go out. But you shouldn’t tie me down here; I’m not as idle as you are, okay?" Lan Xin'en wearily walked into the living room and poured herself a cup of tea. "You haven’t been back to Taiwan in a long time; you should go out for a walk. Otherwise, don’t you think it’s boring being cooped up here every day?"
In fact, she found it very annoying and couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t just leave.
She had never interacted with him like this before; they had never lived under the same roof. His sudden intrusion only made her feel an indescribable frustration, especially with Zhong Li Fan being there too. She really couldn’t believe he was her child; eight years of absence and now an infant had grown into a little adult—it was hard for her to accept.
Damn it! Facing Zhong Li Fan felt like confronting her past mistakes. If one day he found out she was his mother, how would he look at her?
She had never considered this aspect before; she never wanted to hurt a child like this.
"Staying in one place can be quite annoying, but since you don’t have time to take me out for a walk, I have no choice but to stay here," he said with an air of grievance.
Lan Xin'en spat out a mouthful of water, followed by a fit of coughing.
Zhong Li Ming Jie set Zhong Li Fan aside and walked over to her, gently patting her back.
"What happened? Can't you even drink water without choking?" He found it quite careless of her.
Lan Xin'en suddenly widened her eyes, staring at him as if she had seen a ghost.
What was wrong with him? Why was he being so gentle with her? In her memory, after he had taken her by force, he had also treated her with such tenderness, going to great lengths to please her. But ever since she had given birth to their child and signed the Acting President's contract, he had only returned once a year, rarely spending this much time with her. Usually, she would only realize he was back in England after coming to her senses.
But now, here he was, displaying such gentle actions and speaking in such a soft tone… it truly caught her off guard.
"What’s wrong? Did I pat too hard?"
It shouldn’t be too much; his touch felt similar to how he used to soothe little Xiao Fan to sleep. She should find it quite comforting.
"Daddy, your hands are so big and strong; Sister Lan will feel pain!" Zhong Li Fan would not let his rival take the spotlight. He slipped off the sofa and eagerly offered his assistance. "Sister, I’ll pat you; just bend down."
Oh no, he wasn’t tall enough! But that was okay; he would grow taller one day.
Lan Xin'en forced a smile that felt somewhat stiff. She wanted to refuse him but feared hurting his feelings, so she squatted down to let him pat her as much as he wanted, though it felt a bit strange.
It was an indescribable feeling—wanting to laugh yet wanting to cry at the same time.
"Xiao Fan, why are you calling her sister? You should call her auntie instead." Honestly, feeling jealous of his own son was the silliest thing ever, but he wasn’t really jealous; he just wanted to correct his son's address.
"She’s much younger than the aunties around Daddy, so of course I should call her sister," Zhong Li Fan replied with a mischievous grin.
Ha! Trying to win him over at this moment was futile because he absolutely wouldn’t allow Daddy—the rival—to get close to Sister Lan.
"Mom?" Lan Xin'en raised an eyebrow, beginning to understand.
"Yes, there are so many aunts around Daddy. Before I moved into boarding school, I could see different aunts sleeping in Daddy's bed every day, and..."
His malicious words were cut off as Zhong Li Ming Jie covered his mouth.
This little brat! Why did he have to stir up trouble at such a moment?
He had finally managed to have a normal conversation with Xin En, and this kid... How could a son be the one to disrupt his parents' reconciliation?
"Hmph!" Lan Xin'en let out a muffled sound, suddenly feeling the urge to laugh.
But she didn’t want him to see her smile, so she turned around and went back to her bedroom, slamming the door shut with a bang, leaving Zhong Li Fan's childish remarks outside.
"Xiao Fan!" He was his beloved son, yet here he was causing chaos.
"Who told you not to believe me?"
Zhong Li Ming Jie rolled his eyes in exasperation, truly at a loss for words.
He had thought that perhaps his son's unintentional arrival here was some sort of divine arrangement; however, judging by the current situation, it seemed that the arrangement was indeed meant to ensure that he and she would part ways completely.
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