Chapter 279: The Hidden Move

Hearing Yang Chen's sudden question, Li Jingjing's delicate frame trembled. She remained silent, head bowed, without uttering a word. From her active request to visit, to knocking on his door, to saying those words and embracing him, and especially mentioning those ambiguous and entangled words in front of Lin Ruoxi, Yang Chen quickly deduced that this was no accident.

He watched her for a while, then sighed deeply but didn't force her to speak. "I don't know why you did this, but I believe that the Li Jingjing I know would never deliberately and calculatingly use such underhanded methods to destroy someone else's relationship," Yang Chen said, staring at Li Jingjing. "If you don't want to talk now, I won't press you, but I hope this is the first and last time in your life that you act unlike yourself."

Upon hearing this, Li Jingjing couldn't hold back anymore. Tears started to fall to the floor, and she wept uncontrollably.

Yang Chen didn't comfort her, knowing that there was someone else who needed his comfort more urgently. He walked to the door, glanced at the shattered porcelain bowl and the scattered fruits on the floor, and felt a pang of pain in his heart.

At this moment, her heart must be as shattered as that porcelain bowl.

Yang Chen wasn't an emotionless fool. Over these past few months, Lin Ruoxi had begun to talk more with him, started to meddle in his affairs, and inquired about his past. Today, she even showed how she secretly learned to cook, trying to present herself as a diligent and capable wife.

Even if these signs didn't outright indicate that this woman had deeply fallen in love with him, they were enough to prove that she was earnestly trying to accept him, attempting to love him, and trying to be a qualified wife.

However, the words Li Jingjing had spoken while holding him were akin to a sharp, poisoned dagger that had pierced through the proud and pure heart of this woman.

In front of her, he had always pretended not to know Li Jingjing, and Li Jingjing had also kept their acquaintance a secret from her. Lin Ruoxi trusted Li Jingjing so much, treating her as a good friend, but she never expected to face the double betrayal of her husband and her friend.

Moreover, the betrayal was so thorough, so heartless and cruel.

Yang Chen often hated himself for being a man who wasn't emotionally faithful, causing trouble for women. But this time, his self-loathing was the heaviest it had ever been. Regardless of whether Li Jingjing did it intentionally or not, he bore part of the blame for it.

Yang Chen walked to Lin Ruoxi's room. Even with the excellent soundproofing, his keen hearing could pick up the faint sound of sobbing from inside. Yang Chen reached out, intending to knock on the door, but halfway there, he pulled his hand back. He wanted to explain, but what could he explain? He didn't even know why everything turned out this way.

After standing at the door for a long time, Yang Chen returned to his own room.

At this time, Li Jingjing was already sitting limply on the floor, her eyes red and swollen from crying. When she saw Yang Chen come back, she dared not look him in the eye. Yang Chen sat down slowly by the bed, dazed for a moment, then said, "Jingjing, tell me, why did you do this? If you don't explain, we might not even be able to remain friends."

Li Jingjing, with teary eyes, looked up at Yang Chen and said, "Brother Yang, I'll tell you, but please come with me to a place, okay?"

"Where?"

"The City Second Hospital."

Li Jingjing's words made Yang Chen feel that things were not simple, so he didn't ask further. After leaving the villa with Li Jingjing, he drove quickly to the City Second Hospital. When Li Jingjing led him to a special care ward, Yang Chen saw the patient lying in bed through the window.

"Old Li?"

Yang Chen was stunned. The patient lying in the room, asleep, was actually Li Jingjing's father, his old friend, Old Li!

Li Jingjing said softly, "Brother Yang, do you remember that day when I was supporting my dad to the hospital, and we happened to run into you?"

Yang Chen recalled carefully and indeed remembered that there was such an occasion. That day, he had treated Li Jingjing with deliberate coldness and had also greeted Old Li.

"Actually, during that time, my dad kept saying he didn't feel well. I brought him for a check-up, and the result..." Li Jingjing choked with sobs, "The result was a liver tumor."

Yang Chen felt a chill in his heart, as if he had thought of something, but he didn't speak. Li Jingjing continued, "At that time, our whole family was terrified. The doctor said that if the surgery wasn't done in time, and the cancer cells spread, it would be hopeless. But we simply couldn't come up with the money for the surgery. I suggested to my dad that maybe we could borrow from you, Brother Yang, but both my parents strongly opposed it and scolded me. They said if I bothered you again, my dad would rather drink pesticide and die quickly than have the surgery."

"I was so scared then, scared that my dad might leave us suddenly. But I had just become a teacher, and even if I took out a bank loan and mortgaged our house, I couldn't gather enough money," Li Jingjing said. "It was at that time that someone suddenly appeared. He said that if I did as he instructed, he would pay for all my dad's surgical expenses."

Yang Chen sighed inwardly. It was indeed as he had guessed. He asked, "Who was it?"

Li Jingjing looked up slowly, "Brother Yang, do you remember the person we met on the way when you accompanied me to buy furniture?"

Yang Chen recalled briefly and suddenly realized, "Zeng Xinlin?!"

That time, when he accompanied Li Jingjing to the furniture market, they had unexpectedly run into Zeng Xinlin. Although he thought Zeng Xinlin's smile was strange at the time, nothing significant happened afterward. He didn't expect that Zeng Xinlin had been eyeing Li Jingjing all along!

"Yes," Li Jingjing said, "He said that as long as I followed his instructions, he would provide all the money for the surgery."

"He really has patience," Yang Chen thought. He had assumed that after Zeng Xinlin was defeated by Lin Ruoxi in the business arena, he would withdraw from the battle. But he never imagined that Zeng Xinlin would keep Li Jingjing as a pawn, planning to cause trouble between him and Lin Ruoxi even after losing in business.

The two walked slowly to a secluded pavilion outside the hospital. Li Jingjing explained in detail the developments, allowing Yang Chen to fully understand what had happened. It turned out that when Zeng Xinlin noticed the ambiguous relationship between Li Jingjing and Yang Chen, he had someone investigate Li Jingjing's background and family. Unexpectedly, he discovered that Li Jingjing and Lin Ruoxi were both volunteers at the same orphanage. However, soon after, Zeng Xinlin suffered a harsh setback from Lin Ruoxi and withdrew from Zhonghai, making these pieces of intelligence temporarily useless.

After Old Li was hospitalized, Zeng Xinlin reappeared and told Li Jingjing that the woman she often met at the orphanage was actually Yang Chen's wife. He then instructed Li Jingjing to use her opportunities at the orphanage to get closer to Lin Ruoxi and find chances to sow discord between the two.

This was undoubtedly a mix of half-threats and half-instigation towards Li Jingjing. Zeng Xinlin knew that because of Yang Chen's sudden coldness towards her, Li Jingjing felt a sense of jealousy towards Yang Chen's wife and was also worried about her father's surgery expenses.

With both reasons combined, even though it was painful, she endured and agreed.

Moreover, Li Jingjing was just an ordinary young teacher and couldn't dare defy a powerful family like the Zengs. With just a casual threat from Zeng Xinlin, Li Jingjing wouldn't dare to reveal any of this.

After that, Li Jingjing continued to conceal everything, rapidly developing a relationship with Lin Ruoxi. By seizing the opportunity presented by Lin Ruoxi's sudden interest in cooking, she found a way to create the scene that played out today. This was exactly the outcome Zeng Xinlin wanted.

Zeng Xinlin, aiming to establish a foothold by leveraging the foundation of Yulei, found himself defeated in the business arena and lost his chance with Lin Ruoxi. However, by cunningly using Li Jingjing to insert herself between Yang Chen and Lin Ruoxi, he created a massive crisis in their relationship, even if it didn't result in him winning over Lin Ruoxi. Each person involved suffered, and he managed to regain some ground.

Yang Chen's expression changed repeatedly before he finally spoke, "Jingjing, you should have known he was using you. You should have told me sooner."

Li Jingjing said miserably, "I know I made a mistake, Brother Yang. But at that time, I was really out of my mind. Every time I saw you not even looking at me and treating me so coldly, I would have bad thoughts about Sister Lin. I just couldn't control myself. Now I know I was wrong, but I've hurt you and Sister Lin. I really don't know what to do. Brother Yang, you'll never forgive me, will you?"

"Everyone makes mistakes. I was too cold to you, which was also wrong. Perhaps if people were more understanding and forgiving with each other, this wouldn't have happened, and Zeng Xinlin wouldn't have had an opportunity," Yang Chen sighed. "Since things are already like this, take good care of your father. Don't mention this incident to him, just say it was a donation from an anonymous person. I need to go back now."

"Brother Yang!"

Li Jingjing cried out, stopping Yang Chen as he turned to leave.

"Is there something else?" Yang Chen felt weary.

"Do you... do you really not like me anymore?"

Hearing this tremulous question, Yang Chen froze in place.

Seeing no response from Yang Chen, Li Jingjing's tears began to fall again. Her heart was filled with despair as she spoke in a voice that sounded like she was talking to herself, "Brother Yang, I know you must hate me now, hate me for being hypocritical and foolish. But please, listen to what I have to say.

Do you know how I've been these days? I couldn't eat or sleep. That's just the basics. I would wake up in the middle of the night, which happened often.

I didn't understand why the person I was closest to, the one I loved most, suddenly turned into a stranger, not even looking at me. I didn't dare to tell my parents or anyone else, fearing their annoyance. So I could only cry alone where no one could see.

But the real pain was that the person I cried for seemed to have completely forgotten about me, while I was left alone, suffering, as if he was happily with another woman."

"I really want to die, but I can't because I'm afraid I'll never see that person again, never see you again, Brother Yang."

Yang Chen clenched his fists tightly, his body trembling. He then slowly loosened his grip, exhaled a deep breath of stale air, and left with large strides, not looking back.

Li Jingjing, as if she had exhausted all her strength, fell to her knees. She stared blankly at Yang Chen's receding figure, and in the solitude of the cold winter, she was like a delicate flower that could not withstand the ravages of time, silently withering away.