Chapter 20: Sigh! Confessions & Capitalism

The room was silent, with only the sound of their breathing overlapping in the darkness.

Lin Zhiyan placed the terminal beside the pillow and heard a low, hoarse sound spill from Li Siheng’s throat. His breathing was still uneven, yet he gripped her arm tightly, eager to sit up and kiss her.

She leaned over him, and he tilted his face upward in response, the corners of his lips curving faintly.

Just as they were about to kiss, he suddenly caught the scrutiny in her eyes.

“Smack—”

A sharp slap rang out.

Li Siheng’s vision darkened for a moment. A second later, he turned to look at her in disbelief. But before anything else, he noticed the flickering ceiling light, making his desire-clouded mind even harder to steady. Confusion filled his eyes.

“What are you doing?”

His voice was soft.

Lin Zhiyan looked at him and said, “It was you.”

Li Siheng’s lashes trembled as he snapped out of the lingering tenderness. “What?”

“You deliberately came at this time, didn’t you?” Lin Zhiyan stood and sat at the edge of the bed, quickly pulling on her clothes. “Whether it’s Le Mans, Aiwen, or Zefi—you knew about all of it. Or were you involved too?”

She didn’t say it clearly, because even she was only guessing.

If he was involved, he would reveal something.
If he wasn’t, then it would simply become a misunderstanding.

Either way, she didn’t have many options left now.

Damn it.

The confusion faded from Li Siheng’s eyes. He sat up and grabbed her arm again.

“Lin Zhiyan, what are you trying to say?”

“Stop pretending to be innocent. When you came to see me, how could the timing be that perfect?” Lin Zhiyan looked at him. “You knew Le Mans would come looking for you, and you knew Zefi would enjoy seeing all this, didn’t you?”

Li Siheng stared at her, panic stirring inside him.

A second later, he pressed himself against her back and rested his forehead on her shoulder.

“I know you’re worried about school,” he said softly, peeking at her face as if trying to divert the topic. “I’ll help you. I didn’t do anything. I just wanted to see you, so I came.”

Lin Zhiyan turned her head slightly. Their gazes and breaths tangled together.

Li Siheng’s eye sockets were red, making his eyes look like jewels set into ripe strawberries. He gazed at her, seeming about to kiss her again.

Lin Zhiyan turned her face away, letting the kiss miss.

“You don’t need to help me,” she said calmly.

He froze for a second.

“If I’m forced to withdraw,” she continued, “then I won’t attend any school at all. I’ll go back to District Sixteen and find a job that doesn’t require qualifications.”

Li Siheng’s eyes shook violently.

“You can’t do that.”

He sounded disbelieving.

“Have you gone crazy? Are you really willing to go back to a place like District Sixteen?”

Lin Zhiyan looked at him.

“Working hard in school, trying to earn teachers’ favor, struggling to finish assignments—only to lose to the grades you get through power and bribery… I’m already sick of it.” She paused. “I used to think maybe we… Forget it. None of this matters anymore.”

She had already finished dressing.

“You can’t do this.” Li Siheng repeated himself. Not even bothering to put on clothes, he crossed the room in a few steps and grabbed her arm.

“You can’t disappear again.”

It was as though he had never imagined this outcome. He hugged her tightly from behind, his tone nearly pleading.

“I’m sorry. Because you kept saying you wanted to sort out our relationship, I never thought you would…” His voice trembled. “I regret it too.”

“I never wanted to hurt you. I just thought—even if things with Zefi turned out that way—I could still choose a better school for you.” His lips trembled slightly as he kissed her ear in a placating way. “I’ll negotiate with Zefi. I won’t let you get expelled. Those courses were all arranged by Zefi anyway. I don’t know where you heard all this from, but I never meant to beat you using this method. Don’t be angry. Don’t leave, okay?”

He fell into complete panic, speaking quickly and incoherently as tears rolled down one by one.

Knock knock knock—

Urgent knocking suddenly came from outside the living room, each knock louder than the last.

Lin Zhiyan looked at Li Siheng and sighed softly.

Then she closed her eyes.

“Don’t leave the room.”

Tears had already soaked Li Siheng’s beautiful face—the face she had slapped, now tinged with faint redness. Even so, he still chased after her gaze.

“Okay.”

He stood there staring at her, then added:

“But I can help—”

“My mind is a mess right now.” Lin Zhiyan didn’t turn around. “Stay here. Unless you want me to disappear immediately.”

She turned off the lights and closed the bedroom door.

In an instant, the room fell into darkness.

Rain pounded endlessly outside, lightning occasionally flashing across the sky.

He heard the sound of her locking the door.

Li Siheng sat weakly on the bed, his thoughts equally chaotic.

He knew.

But—

He never expected things to become like this.

Nor had he expected her to say those words.

His fingers touched the soft fabric of the bed. Curling into himself, he breathed in the lingering warmth and scent she had left behind.

The louder the thunder outside became, the more clogged and deafening his thoughts felt, until he couldn’t think at all.

Knock knock knock—

The pounding on the door grew louder and louder.

“Open the door! Lin Zhiyan!”

“Open up! The lights are obviously on inside!”

“Lin Zhiyan!”

Even through the door, Le Mans’s voice was unbearably loud.

Lin Zhiyan felt like she was about to die.

Fortunately, she had changed the key permissions. Otherwise Le Mans would’ve barged straight in, and she would truly be finished.

But the problem was—now that he had already come all the way to her door, how was she supposed to stop him from entering?

Lin Zhiyan buried her face in her hands and rubbed her head. Finally, she turned and walked toward the balcony.

The moment she opened the balcony door, damp wind and rain splashed across her face.

She took a deep breath and silently repeated to herself:

It’s only the third floor. It’s only the third floor. I’ll be fine.

She placed her hands on the railing and looked down into the pitch-black night below.

…No.
She was still scared.

In the end, she withdrew her hand.

Closing the balcony door again, she inhaled deeply and opened the front door instead.

The instant it opened, she lunged outward and crashed straight into Le Mans.

Wrapping her arms around him, she hooked the door shut with her foot.

Click—

The door closed softly behind them.

Outside, Le Mans froze. The irritation on his face hadn’t faded yet; his eyes widened in shock. The bouquet in his arms shed petals from the impact, but before he could react, she had already thrown herself fully into his embrace.

Then he looked down and saw her face—expression calm, yet covered in tears.

Eyes closed, Lin Zhiyan clung tightly to him as though trying to steady herself, though her body trembled faintly.

Every thought in Le Mans’s head snapped blank.

His hand hovered awkwardly behind her back.

“Why are you crying?”

Lin Zhiyan buried her face against his chest, arms still around his waist.

After several seconds, she looked up at him.

“I was thinking,” she said, “if you still hadn’t given up by the count of ten, I’d open the door. At first I counted to ten, then later thirty, fifty…”

Le Mans raised a hand and wiped away her tears, his green eyes filled with confusion.

His voice carried annoyance.

“You had time to count but not time to open the door for me?”

Lin Zhiyan: “…”

This guy really couldn’t understand romance at all.

She paused for a second, but before she could speak, Le Mans suddenly added:

“Anyway, if you had time to count, then I had time to keep knocking.”

She stared at him in surprise.

His face remained stern, eyes fixed directly on hers.

“Lin Zhiyan, you can’t just push me away over the phone. I came here because I want a clear answer. Why exactly are you doing this?”

He held her shoulders and gently pushed her out of his arms.

Then he handed her the flowers, now slightly crushed from being trapped between them, and said seriously:

“I like you. Or rather… I just want to be with you. I want to talk to you. I don’t know if this counts as sincerity, but I want to date you.”

Lin Zhiyan was stunned. She accepted the flowers, looked down at them briefly, then couldn’t help looking back at him.

“Even after I told you not to contact me again, you still wanted to confess?”

“Of course.” Le Mans stood perfectly straight, gaze focused. “Those are two separate things.”

Then he said:

“Tell me your answer.”

His red hair clung damply to his face, his thin shirt soaked through. Red flower juice stained the fabric like blood, making him look even more like a deer that had burst out from the forest.

At that moment, Lin Zhiyan heard the sound of a car engine shutting off downstairs.

She thought:

Zefi’s here to catch us cheating.

Then she thought:
I wonder what expression he’ll make when he sees this.

She thought about many things after that—expulsion, Aiwen, Li Siheng.

And finally, she thought:

I should answer Le Mans now.

Lin Zhiyan grabbed Le Mans by the wrist and hurried downstairs.

Completely bewildered, he could only stumble after her, bent slightly as he shouted in frustration:

“Lin Zhiyan! What are you trying to do?!”

“Let go of me!” Le Mans yelled. “If you want to chase me away or reject me, then just say it!”

He kept shouting:

“Did you even hear yourself?! What exactly are you—”

Lin Zhiyan dragged him all the way downstairs.

Nearby sat a brand-new luxury car.

Rain fell steadily beneath the dark night sky, soaking the two of them.

Le Mans looked at the cars, confusion rising inside him.

But in the next second, he felt his collar being grabbed.

Turning his head, he saw her standing in the rain, black hair and pale face drenched, her eyes reflecting the streetlights.

He frowned.

“What exactly are you trying to do?”

Lin Zhiyan rose onto her toes, her face moving close to his.

Close enough to kiss.

Le Mans’s heart jammed hard in his chest. His eyes locked onto her lips.

But before he could kiss her, he heard her say:

“The reason I told you not to contact me anymore is because I received a warning.”

Le Mans’s pupils contracted sharply.

“What?”

“We were never meant to be possible. If we continue together… I might get expelled.”

She never named the person responsible. Le Mans would figure it out himself.

Tilting her face upward, she looked at him and said:

“But I’m willing to do it anyway.”

A strained breath escaped his throat.

His mind went blank, unable to decide which piece of news shocked him more.

Then, suddenly, Lin Zhiyan kissed him.

Rain continued to fall softly.

The windshield wipers swept rainwater endlessly from the car windows.

Inside the car, Zefi could see the scene outside with perfect clarity.

His brows lifted slowly.

For a moment, he genuinely couldn’t decide whether Lin Zhiyan was clever or foolish for doing something so openly provocative.

Click—

The car door opened.

Le Mans and Lin Zhiyan jolted apart from the kiss and looked over simultaneously.

One person stepped out first and opened an umbrella.

Then Zefi slowly emerged from the car.

Looking at them, he said:

“Le Mans. Come home.”

Le Mans turned to look at Lin Zhiyan.

His eyes were especially wet.

“Then why,” he asked hoarsely, “did you still say you were willing?”

By the end, his voice had thickened with emotion.

Lin Zhiyan looked at him.

“Maybe because I’ve never liked giving people what they want.”

Then she added softly:

“Or maybe because we’re standing in the same rain.”

Le Mans inhaled deeply.

He pressed a hand firmly onto her shoulder.

“I understand now.”

Then he turned toward Zefi, lifting his chin, light burning in his eyes.

“What? Feeling proud of yourself? Fine, I’ll go back with you. And I’ll tell Mother everything.”

“Le Mans, do you still not understand?” Zefi smiled faintly. “The control was never in your hands.”

“Of course you’ll be returning to see Lady Esela.”

One of the men had already stepped beside Le Mans and forcibly pulled him away from Lin Zhiyan.

In an instant, she was left alone again—a solitary shadow standing in the rain.

Zefi accepted an umbrella from his subordinate and walked toward her.

“Why not invite us upstairs for a visit?”

Lin Zhiyan looked into his icy gray eyes.

“You seem disappointed.”

Zefi’s eyes curved slightly as he held the umbrella over her head.

“A little,” he admitted.

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