At a window seat in the café, Ruan Sisi slowly stirred the sugar cube in her cup.
After her child's lineage was exposed at the banquet, she didn't choose to leave with Evan.
She was so close to getting involved with the Feng family. It must be Su Xianyu. She must have whispered something in Feng Lin's ear. Otherwise, how could she have been cornered like this!
Looking at Chen Xue's pale face across from her, she said, "Do you really think this will make Feng Lin fall for you completely?"
Ruan Sisi let out a soft laugh. "Saving him once on Island B? He's the heir of the Feng Group. There's no telling how many people would be willing to lay down their lives for him."
"However," she glanced at that innocent face, "it's not entirely impossible..."
Chen Xue's fingertips gripping the cup rim turned white. "He said he has a wife, but he didn't say they have a good relationship."
Ruan Sisi sounded as if she'd heard a joke. "What else can a woman like Su Xianyu do but act innocent? If it weren't for her..."
She suddenly stopped, a flash of cruelty in her eyes, then continued to coax, "In any case, Feng Lin doesn't have her in his heart at all! Go and find out. They didn't even have a wedding."
"Moreover, didn't you notice the way he looked at you? There was guilt and gratitude in his eyes. That's your chance."
"...Was there?" Chen Xue shook her head dejectedly. "But I saw today that he was very gentle with her."
"Gentle?" Ruan Sisi put down the coffee spoon and lowered her voice. "That's because Su Xianyu knows how to act!"
"She just knows exactly what Feng Lin likes—being weak, obedient, and always looking like she needs protection."
"Do you believe that as soon as she's gone, Feng Lin will quickly discover your goodness?"
"What do you mean?" Chen Xue suddenly looked up.
Ruan Sisi leaned closer. The scent of her perfume was so strong it made one dizzy.
"I mean, some obstacles must be removed." She tapped her fingertips on the table. "Just like weeds in a garden. If you don't pull them out, how can the flowers bloom better?"
"...I can't do it." Chen Xue stood up, picked up her bag, and was about to leave.
Ruan Sisi didn't stop her. She just said slowly as Chen Xue reached the door, "Do you think Feng Lin rejected you because he loves Su Xianyu? No, it's just out of responsibility."
"Back then, Su Xianyu got injured to save him. He doesn't want to initiate a divorce, but what if something happens to Su Xianyu by accident?"
Chen Xue's steps faltered.
"Think about that snowy night on Island B," Ruan Sisi's voice was extremely alluring. "If you had the courage to save him at that time, you should also have the courage to fight for what you want."
"Love is never something you wait for. It's something you seize..."
After returning to the hotel, Chen Xue threw herself onto the bed.
The neatly folded cashmere sweater in the suitcase was what she bought for Feng Lin on Island B.
At that time, he had a bit of a fever. She covered him with this sweater, and he mumbled "Don't go" to her in a daze...
Suddenly, the phone screen lit up. It was a message from Chen Shui.
[Don't listen to others' nonsense. Live a good life. I'll come to see you in a few days.]
She stared at the message for a long time. Her finger hovered over the delete button, but finally she turned off the screen.
A struggle flashed in Chen Xue's eyes, but Ruan Sisi's words were like poisonous thorns deeply stuck in her heart and couldn't be pulled out.
Three days later, Chen Xue showed up at a flower shop near the Feng Group.
She chose a bouquet of white roses. On the card, she wrote, "Thank you for your care back then. I hope to have the opportunity to express my gratitude."
When handing the flowers to the receptionist, she specifically emphasized, "Please hand them to President Feng in person."
The receptionist girl agreed, but as soon as Chen Xue left, she turned around and handed the flowers to Feng Lin's special assistant.
After all, she was just a junior employee. Everything had to follow the process. She couldn't make decisions for the president.
The special assistant checked and didn't find any dangerous items, so he put the flowers in Feng Lin's office.
"President Feng, a young lady sent these flowers to the reception. She specifically said they were for you. What should we do?"
Feng Lin reached out and pulled out the card from the bouquet. He saw the elegant handwriting on it.
[Wow~ Such beautiful roses. Could they be a new variety cultivated by the flower shop and sent by Sister Xiaoyu specifically?]
[I don't think so. The receptionist girl should recognize the president's wife, right? She would have sent the flowers up directly.]
[If it were really Sister Xiaoyu who sent them, Feng Lin would be grinning from ear to ear by now. Judging from his expression, he doesn't look very happy.]
[Could it be that girl they met on Island B? Didn't she come to City A? It's so far. It's really brave of her to come alone. Reward x10]
[Yeah, it's quite romantic. It would be so hard for me to choose if it were me...]
Feng Lin took out a card from the drawer. "If that woman comes again in the future, give this to her. Ignore everything else."
"Okay, President."
"President Feng," a moment later, the special assistant knocked on the door and came in. "It's Mrs. Feng on the phone."
The moment Feng Lin picked up the phone, most of the coldness between his brows melted. "What's up?"
"A Lin, are you coming back for dinner tonight?" Su Xianyu's voice was soft and full of smiles. "I've learned a new kind of soup."
"I'll be back. Wait for me." After hanging up the phone, he crumpled the card into a ball and threw it into the trash can. The special assistant wisely took the roses away.
Chen Xue waited in the hotel room until late at night. Her phone never rang until Ruan Sisi called.
"No news?" There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone. "Maybe he's being watched closely by that woman now. But it doesn't matter. I've found out that Su Xianyu goes to the orphanage every weekend."
"So what?"
"So what?" Ruan Sisi's voice was full of temptation. "Create an 'accident' and let Feng Lin see you risking your life to save her."
"By then, with gratitude, guilt, and the possible 'after - effects' left by Su Xianyu... What do you think he'll choose?"
Chen Xue's hand holding the phone was shaking. "I can't do this."
"You're scared?" Ruan Sisi goaded her. "Then just wait and watch them get married and have children. You'll always be just a passer - by on that snowy night!"
"Chen Xue, opportunities are few. Maybe this is your only chance. Think it over carefully."
On a weekend afternoon at Chenguang Orphanage.
Chen Xue hid in the stairwell and watched as Su Xianyu pushed a child in a wheelchair out. The two of them chatted and laughed all the way.
Just then, Ruan Sisi sent a message.
[I've already taken care of the safety lock in the fire escape. When she pushes the wheelchair there, you just...]
Chen Xue turned off the message. Her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was about to burst.
She watched as Su Xianyu pushed the wheelchair towards the fire escape. Almost instinctively, she rushed out.
"Watch out!"
The metal safety lock suddenly fell from above. The moment Chen Xue lunged forward, she only had time to push the wheelchair aside.
The moment the heavy object hit her back, the intense pain made her vision go black.
In a blur, Chen Xue heard Su Xianyu's panicked voice and Feng Lin's rapid footsteps rushing over.
"Xiaoyu!" The voice that was usually cold in front of her was filled with tremors and fear she'd never heard before.
But clearly, she was the one who was more seriously injured...