Chapter 45: Let’s start over

Xu Lin was locked inside the house by Ji Jinxuan.

He refused to sleep in the master bedroom, so Ji Jinxuan let him stay in the guest room. Xu Lin did not want to see him, so Ji Jinxuan silently stood guard outside the door. After Xu Lin fell asleep, he would slip in and quietly watch him for a while.

But Xu Lin was not actually asleep. He could not sleep at all.

He knew that Ji Jinxuan sat by his bed every day, watching him for a long time.

He did not understand. Ji Jinxuan clearly did not like him, so why did he insist on keeping him here?

If Ji Jinxuan really cared about the scar on his face, Xu Lin had already conceded and said he would let Qin Yu come treat him. Once it was healed, they could be completely done with each other, as Ji Jinxuan wished. But Ji Jinxuan still refused.

Doctor Qin had not even shown his face.

In Xu Lin’s eyes, the moment Ji Jinxuan’s lies were exposed and his true nature revealed, there was no point in continuing their relationship.

He could not figure out what Ji Jinxuan was thinking.

Things had gotten to this point—why was Ji Jinxuan still unwilling to let him leave?

Xu Lin had never been a patient person. It was only because he had been by Ji Jinxuan’s side all this time, loving him, that he had gone along with everything, indulged him. No wonder Ji Jinxuan thought he was easy to control, that he could be bullied and it would not matter, that after making a mistake, a simple apology would make Xu Lin shamelessly come crawling back.

No wonder he had been looked down on time and time again.

For the first few days of being confined, Xu Lin was like a lit firecracker. Unable to contain his anger, and with Ji Jinxuan refusing to listen to reason, he smashed everything he could get his hands on. Room after room was destroyed. Ji Jinxuan did not stop him—he let him go until he exhausted himself, then silently cleaned up.

Every strawberry Ji Jinxuan brought to appease him was knocked to the floor without exception.

He refused Ji Jinxuan’s approach and would not look at him.

Until one night, as he lay half-asleep in bed, in a daze he felt something cool on his hand.

He opened his eyes. Ji Jinxuan was sitting beside his bed, quietly trying to slip the ring back onto his ring finger.

The woman’s ring he had worn for six years.

Xu Lin’s eyes instantly turned red. Like a madman, he snatched the ring from Ji Jinxuan’s hand and hurled it into the distance.

His temples throbbed with rage, his heart racing at an abnormal speed. He screamed at Ji Jinxuan, calling him a madman, calling him an animal.

He could not calm down. He shouted until his voice went hoarse. Ji Jinxuan tried to soothe him, tried to hold him. Xu Lin shoved him with all his might, telling him to get lost.

He kicked and bit at Ji Jinxuan, as if he could not hear anything from the outside world.

Only then did Ji Jinxuan realize that Xu Lin hated that ring.

After that, the ring never appeared before Xu Lin again.

Ji Jinxuan put it away.

Xu Lin and Ji Jinxuan’s relationship had dropped to freezing point.

Because of this incident, Xu Lin developed a shadow over sleep. He stopped sleeping altogether.

Day or night, he would find a spot—a corner of the bed, the sofa, the floor—curl up with his knees to his chest, and stare blankly out the window at the sky.

No matter what Ji Jinxuan said to him, Xu Lin either ignored him or only repeated that he wanted to go home.

Xu Lin was visibly wasting away.

Ji Jinxuan cooked him different dishes every day to help him regain his strength. His once clumsy cooking skills gradually became proficient. He personally brought each meal to Xu Lin and tried to feed him, but every time, Xu Lin knocked it over.

When Xu Lin did not respond, Ji Jinxuan would talk to himself for a long time.

He said, “The wedding preparations are almost done. In a while, when the clothes are ready, we’ll go take new wedding photos.

“We’ll pick new rings. Whatever you like. We’ll invite your teacher and your friends to come.

“We’ll start over from the beginning.”

Xu Lin understood now.

Ji Jinxuan had never intended to let him leave.

He stubbornly believed that as long as he kept Xu Lin trapped, things could go back to how they were before.

Start over? How could he have the nerve to say such a thing?

They had never had a proper beginning to begin with, so how could they talk about starting over?

Ji Jinxuan had never had any sincerity toward him. Who was he putting on this act for now?

Did Ji Jinxuan really think that if he graciously bestowed another wedding on him, Xu Lin would accept it with tears of gratitude, and they would both live happily ever after?

Yes, he had been angry about the engagement banquet with someone else. But that was when he had mistakenly believed they loved each other.

Now that the truth was out, everything he had received from Ji Jinxuan was fake. Why should he still be upset over a fake engagement? There were already too many fake, painful things. One more or one less did not matter. After all, Ji Jinxuan had never given him anything real.

Xu Lin did not respond. Ji Jinxuan continued to perform his lonely one-man show.

At first, Xu Lin thought he was stupid—his eyes and heart had been clouded by fleeting pleasure, unable to see clearly. Ji Jinxuan’s flaws had been so obvious all these years, yet he had not noticed. He had smugly immersed himself in a marriage that only he had taken seriously.

But now, he found Ji Jinxuan even more pathetic. Why, after all this, was he still putting on an act? Had he not been acting for long enough?

If he wanted to play the devoted lover, why had he not acted when Xu Lin needed it most? Now that Xu Lin had completely given up, he was putting on a grand performance for everyone to see.

Xu Lin no longer held any illusions about Ji Jinxuan.

His only thought was to leave this place, to get away from this hellhole and never come back.

But Ji Jinxuan followed him everywhere, never leaving his side. Xu Lin could not find a chance to contact Zong Ningshuang. He did not know if she had managed to get the travel code.

More people appeared in the villa.

Xu Lin noticed unfamiliar women coming and going. The meals Ji Jinxuan brought him every day had also changed. He said he had hired a cook from District Thirteen, thinking Xu Lin might like the food.

He thought Xu Lin was not eating because his cooking was bad.

Xu Lin did not even look at it.

So what if he had specially hired a cook from District Thirteen? That did not mean he was actually back in District Thirteen.

“What will it take for you to let me go home?”

Ji Jinxuan did not answer.

“Is this fun?”

Ji Jinxuan brought the food to his lips, ignoring his question. “Try it.”

Xu Lin could not take it anymore. He slapped it away.

Half a month passed like this. One day, Ji Jinxuan went out.

He left several bodyguards to watch Xu Lin. They did not enter the house, but surrounded the villa inside and out.

Xu Lin took the chance to pull out his phone and contact Zong Ningshuang. When he turned it on, he saw a message she had sent the night before.

“I’ve been grounded by my brother. I can’t leave the house now. The travel code might take a few more days.”

As expected.

Xu Lin figured that Ji Jinxuan would not hide anything from his good brother Zong Xi. Of course Zong Xi knew everything about them. And right at the critical moment of Xu Lin’s conflict with Ji Jinxuan, coincidentally, Zong Xi had discovered the travel code Zong Ningshuang had applied for on Xu Lin’s behalf. He immediately knew that his sister was the one secretly in contact with Xu Lin.

Because she was his own sister, he dared not reveal a word to Ji Jinxuan, worried he would trace it back to her. He quietly confiscated the travel code she had prepared and grounded her at home.

She had already helped him so much.

She could barely help herself now.

Xu Lin sent a reply, “Thank you. I’ll figure things out on my own from now on. Don’t worry about me.”

“Shuangshuang, I’m glad I met you.”

He turned off the phone.

Xu Lin stood by the window. A small delivery truck was pulling into the yard—the driver who came every week with supplies. The driver had his young assistant with him. The two of them were hauling cargo, grunting with effort.

A few bodyguards stepped forward to help.

“Why isn’t the door open? We’ll just bring the stuff straight inside.”

“You’re not allowed in. Just leave the things here.”

Xu Lin could vaguely hear the exchange between the driver and the guards.

He turned and went downstairs, into the kitchen. He turned on the gas.

Outside in the yard, the driver wiped his sweat as he stacked boxes of fresh produce.

He glanced around, puzzled. Why were there so many bodyguards today?

Boom!

Suddenly, an earth-shattering explosion came from inside the villa.

The ground seemed to shake. The driver was thrown to the ground, his limbs and heart going numb.

“Holy shit, what was that?” He looked up. The villa behind him was billowing with thick smoke. Window glass had shattered. Flames shot up into the sky and instantly engulfed the entire house.

“Fire!!”

Pandemonium broke out.

The bodyguards saw the villa on fire and their faces changed, as if their lives depended on it. They rushed inside without a second thought—some grabbed fire extinguishers, others ran straight upstairs.

The driver and his assistant also grabbed tools and joined the firefighting effort.

“What are you all looking for at a time like this!”

“Save the valuable stuff later!”

Xu Lin had slipped out amid the chaos.

He found the spare keys to his motorcycle and was about to take off when he noticed the truck’s doors wide open in the yard. On the driver’s seat lay the driver’s travel code.

“We go out to the outer districts every week to buy supplies. The produce has to be delivered the same day it’s picked—can’t leave it overnight.”

“The company got us all these travel codes. They’re for general employee use. Every time we switch shifts, we hand them over. Once you’re more experienced, you can go out on your own. For now, you need to learn—follow me a few times and you’ll get the hang of it.”

The driver’s assistant was new. Xu Lin had overheard them chatting while unloading. The driver was sharing his experience with the younger man.

Back then, curious about travel codes, Xu Lin had asked, “Doesn’t this need facial recognition?” Like Ji Jinxuan’s ID card?

The driver had been courteous and explained, “This is our company’s travel code. It’s different from personal ID cards. It uses the company’s registration number. Hundreds of people go out to buy supplies every day. With this, we can use the employee lane directly—no need to open every package for inspection. It saves a lot of time. Very convenient.”

There was still a way out.

Xu Lin grabbed the travel code and the driver’s jacket from the seat, got on the bike, and headed straight for the dock.

He took the mountain back roads. Once he was out of the hills, he dared not stop. The fire had not been big—it would not buy him much time. The bodyguards would soon realize he was gone. Ji Jinxuan would know too.

He could not waste a single second.

Xu Lin gripped the travel code wrapped around his wrist.

He gritted his teeth. He had to try.

At the dock, Xu Lin put on the driver’s jacket, grabbed a random cap from a parked car, pulled it low over his head, took a deep breath, and walked in.

He blended into the crowd. The cap covered his shaved head. He tried to make himself as unnoticeable as possible.

Soon he found the ticket gates. Beside each gate was a staff member checking travel codes.

He picked the shortest line, his palms sweating.

The people ahead of him passed through without issue. When it was his turn, he handed the code to the staff member beside the gate—a male Beta. The Beta took it, glanced at it, then paused.

He only looked for a moment, but Xu Lin’s heart suddenly leaped. His hand inside his sleeve clenched into a fist.

He prepared himself mentally—if the Beta shouted, he would punch him and force his way through.

The Beta frowned impatiently and tossed the code back at him: “Employee lane is over there! How many times do we have to tell you people? Annoying.”

“…” Xu Lin relaxed his fist and pulled his cap lower. “Sorry, sorry. Got it.”

He went to the employee lane. The checker there was also a Beta, but older.

The people ahead of him in work uniforms all passed through. Xu Lin was less nervous now, having learned from before. When his turn came, he naturally handed over the code. It was scanned—beep—a green light showed it was valid.

Success.

Seeing victory within reach, Xu Lin could not help the corners of his mouth turning up.

But before the gate opened, the Beta’s walkie-talkie suddenly crackled.

A string of numbers was broadcast from it.

The Beta paused, pulling his hand back from the gate release switch.

There were still people behind Xu Lin. They called out, “Why aren’t we moving? What’s going on?”

“I’m in a hurry to deliver!”

The staff member said, “The machine seems to be broken.”

“What the hell?! It’s never broken before. Why today of all days? Don’t waste my time!”

A bad feeling crept over Xu Lin.

He lifted his eyes slightly from under the cap, meeting the Beta’s gaze for a moment. The other quickly looked away and spoke into the walkie-talkie: “The machine is down. Send some people over to check it out.”

The Beta smiled at Xu Lin. “Sorry, please wait a moment.”

Xu Lin’s heart sank.

He did not move, his eyes scanning the surroundings discreetly.

Whether it was his imagination or not, he kept catching glances from people who were clearly watching him but looked away the moment he turned.

Not far behind the gates was a row of glass doors.

Beyond those doors was the dock.

Many fishing boats and cargo ships were moored along the shore.

Just one step away.

In the reflection of the glass, he caught sight of several figures approaching him.

Xu Lin let out a scoff. Suddenly, he moved—one hand on the gate, he vaulted over it with agility and dashed straight for the dock.

“Stop him!!”

Shouts erupted behind him. Chaotic footsteps and sharp cries followed.

His cap fell off. Xu Lin knocked down several security guards who tried to block him. He did not slow down, pushed through the doors, and burst onto the dock. Just then, a small sightseeing boat was pulling in. Without a second thought, Xu Lin ran straight into the crowd of disembarking passengers. Like water hitting oil, the tourists scattered in panic, blocking the people chasing him.

“Move! Get out of the way!”

The commotion behind him was loud, but Xu Lin did not look back. He jumped into the open cockpit and shoved the pilot, who was about to clock out, out of the cabin.

The pilot fell to the ground, got up, and saw Xu Lin fiddling with things in his cockpit. He rushed to open the door, but Xu Lin had already locked it. He could not get in and could only pound on the door in desperation: “Hey! Don’t touch anything!”

“Who are you! Don’t do anything reckless!”

The boat’s main power was still on. Xu Lin looked around, spotted the keys the pilot had dropped when he was pushed out, and jammed them into the engine ignition. He turned.

He did not know how to drive this thing—he was mostly fumbling around. But somehow, against all odds, the engine roared to life, and the control panel lit up green. Xu Lin did not have time to celebrate. The next second, the boat lurched violently, and he staggered as the green lights on the console flickered and turned an alarming red.

A deafening alarm blared through the cabin.

He looked up and out.

On the dock, Ji Jinxuan stood with a dark, menacing gaze fixed on him.

Behind him, on the horizon, dark clouds gathered, rolling gray and ominous. The air was thick and humid with moisture.

A storm was coming.