Chapter 69

"Knowing this, why did we have to start in the first place!" Lin Zixian sighed, opened the trunk, and stuffed the two people's luggage inside. He then helped Xiaqiu into the car, but the woman didn't say a word, getting in herself with a stern face.

After driving away from the old town, Lin Zixian glanced at Xiaqiu, who was silently shedding tears with her eyes closed, and asked, "Where to?"

After several attempts, Xiaqiu finally exhaled and weakly said, "To the train station!"

"The train station?" Lin Zixian was surprised. "Why go to the train station? Are you leaving Donghai?"

"Go... go... go home..." Xiaqiu weakly smiled bitterly. "Do I have any reason to stay?"

Lin Zixian looked at Tian Juan in the rearview mirror and saw that she was staring out the window with a blank expression. He raised an eyebrow and asked, "Miss Tian, are you going home with Xiaqiu?"

Tian Juan remained silent, so Lin Zixian took it as a yes, shrugged, and continued driving.

Outside the car window, the city was bustling with people and traffic. Xiaqiu suddenly asked, "Brother Lin! Do you know Qin Yue's background?"

"From her demeanor and speech, she is extremely well-mannered. This kind of upbringing is reflected in every detail of her life, shaped by the environment she grew up in, not something a nouveau riche family can cultivate. That's why it takes three generations to make a noble. I've always been curious why someone like her would be here. Now it seems there's something unusual about her background." Lin Zixian glanced at him and said, "If you're willing to talk, I'm all ears."

Xiaqiu laughed bitterly and slowly said, "Brother Lin has keen eyes. Have you heard of the Qin family in the capital?... When I was studying in the capital, I hadn't heard of this family either. It was only after meeting Qin Yue that I learned about the Qin family, and Qin Yue is the third-generation daughter of the Qin family."

Lin Zixian responded with an 'oh' without showing surprise. To be honest, he hadn't heard of the Qin family in the capital either. Since he had never dealt with them, he had no interest in paying attention. There are many powerful families in the world, and who has the time to care about them all.

Xiaqiu continued, "After years of hard study, I finally got into the top university in China. It was there that I met Qin Yue and fell in love. Later, I faced mysterious pressure and learned that Qin Yue was the daughter of the Qin family in the capital. I thought about giving up because the gap between our families was too great. One in the sky, one on the ground, making me feel inferior. I couldn't give Qin Yue a better life. Especially at graduation, as a top student, I should have been sought after by many companies, but the opposite happened. My classmates, who didn't perform as well as me, got high-paying jobs, while I was ignored. Later, Qin Yue's father found me and said that if I gave up on Qin Yue, I would have a choice of high-paying jobs. That's when I realized the Qin family was behind it."

"After Qin Yue found out, she had a big fight with her family. Ha! She even ran away with me. If a woman can do this, what more can I say? Even under immense pressure, I had to face it bravely. I confidently swore that as long as she didn't betray me, I would never betray her. Later, we came to Donghai and worked hard together, determined to prove to her family that she hadn't made a mistake, and that I could marry her with pride."

"Ideals are beautiful, but reality is cruel. The Qin family, fearing Qin Yue's threat of suicide, didn't openly interfere, but the pressure on us was constant... You heard Mr. Sun's call the other day. This isn't the first time. Every time I made progress, an invisible hand would push me back to the starting point. I can't count how many times this has happened. Just the other day, it happened again, and I almost broke down. It's not that I'm not working hard, but I can't see any hope... That day, I hid outside and drank, and met Tian Juan. I couldn't control myself and went to her place, and we had a relationship. It wasn't about love, just a way to vent."

Seeing him say this in front of Tian Juan, Lin Zixian glanced at her in the rearview mirror and saw that she was still looking out the window, unmoved.

"Brother Lin, don't laugh, but I've known Qin Yue for five years, and we've only kissed, held hands, and hugged. We've never gone further. You can tell from the fact that we rented separate rooms. Ha! I was still a virgin before I met Tian Juan. Of course, it's not that I have strong willpower, but I wanted to prove myself, so I respected Qin Yue's so-called 'legitimacy' to show her family. But who knows the pain in my heart?... At least this way, I can feel less guilty."

Lin Zixian shook his head and said with a mocking tone, "The ancients returned the jade to Zhao, but you're returning the jade to Qin, completely the opposite. To be honest, if you had consummated your relationship with Qin Yue earlier, this might not have happened."

Xiaqiu remained silent, and Lin Zixian glanced at him in the rearview mirror. "Miss Tian, what's your relationship with the Qin family? Did you seduce Xiaqiu on their behalf?"

Tian Juan, who had been looking out the window, shook her head slightly. "I don't know the Qin family, but someone paid me to do this."

Lin Zixian asked directly, and she answered without hesitation.

Lin Zixian turned to look at Xiaqiu, who seemed unsurprised. He was taken aback and asked, "You knew all along?"

"Seduction isn't new. I guessed it that night. To be honest, I couldn't handle the pressure and gave up under the influence of alcohol." Xiaqiu laughed bitterly, a heart-wrenching laugh.

Lin Zixian hesitated. "If you can't let go, why not go back and explain to Qin Yue? Maybe you can still make it right. Qin Yue isn't heartless."

He slowed down and looked for a place to turn around.

Xiaqiu shook his head and said sadly, "Can I go back? Even if Qin Yue forgives me, I can't face the five years of commitment we shared. Let's go home and start over. I hope that when I see her again, I can stand before her with pride and face the Qin family without fear. I want to prove that she didn't make a mistake, and give her an answer. As for the future... Zhuangzi said, 'It's better to forget each other in the vast world than to live in misery.' I hope in another life, I can repay her as a horse or a cow."

Lin Zixian saw tears streaming down his face, accelerated, and sighed. Men don't cry easily, but only when they are truly heartbroken.

Xiaqiu, sitting in the passenger seat, suddenly remembered something, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a white jade hairpin. He handed it to Lin Zixian and said, "Brother Lin, do me a favor. In two days, it's Xiaqiu's birthday. This is a gift for her. I planned to break up with her after her birthday, but... Brother Lin, please give it to her. Whether she accepts it or not is up to her."

Lin Zixian took it, 'cracked' it, and threw it out the window. Xiaqiu and Tian Juan were stunned. "Brother Lin, what are you doing?"

"Helping you with this, I'd be crazy." Lin Zixian sneered. "You're breaking up with her, so why give her a birthday gift? Do you want her to remember you by the gift, or make her even more sad? Either go back and explain, or leave cleanly. Don't be so petty. If you keep nagging, I'll kick you out of the car. You're making me sick."

The car drove through the bustling city, and the car fell silent. Lin Zixian, holding the steering wheel, suddenly tapped the wheel and hummed an old song: "... Walking on the long road of life, every moment is happiness. For love, I bravely pay, and failure doesn't matter, even if I am alone. Looking back at the path I've taken, I am content with right and wrong, even if there are ups and downs, as long as I don't waste my life..."

The classic old song ended, and the car stopped in front of the train station. Xiaqiu looked at him and said solemnly, "Thank you, Brother Lin, for your encouragement."

"It's nothing, just my attitude towards life. Don't think I'm a bad singer." Lin Zixian laughed, opened the car door, and took out the luggage from the trunk.

Tian Juan suddenly took out her phone and dialed. "I've done it. They've broken up. The Qin family has finally gotten what they wanted." She hung up.

Lin Zixian was a bit surprised, handed her the luggage, and smiled. "Miss Tian, it's not easy to get a virgin. Are you going with Xiaqiu or do you want me to take you home?"

Tian Juan looked at Xiaqiu with a complex expression and said, "If he doesn't mind buying an extra ticket, I'll go with him."

"Ha! I can't decide that." Lin Zixian slammed the trunk shut.

Xiaqiu didn't respond to Tian Juan but said to Lin Zixian, "Take care, Brother Lin!" and walked resolutely towards the train station ticket hall. Tian Juan bit her lip and followed with her luggage.

Lin Zixian lit a cigarette and leaned against the car, watching their backs. After finishing the cigarette, he didn't see them come out of the ticket hall. His stomach growled, and it was past mealtime. Thinking about the atmosphere at the Sakura Snow apartment, he decided to eat at a small restaurant near the train station.

When he finished eating and came out, he saw Xiaqiu and Tian Juan walking side by side with their luggage towards the waiting hall. He muttered to himself, "Did they really turn the fake into real?" He grinned and drove away, leaving a trail of dust behind...

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