Chapter 23 Chapter 23

Chapter 23

1

The leaves were half-green and half-yellow, giving off a faint feeling of decay.

Lin Chenxin suddenly thought of something, her heart giving a sharp squeeze, but she remained silent, instead looking Mr. Chen straight in the eye.

Those eyes resembled Chen Gujun's—deep-set, with long, narrow outer corners and pitch-black pupils, the most captivating feature of his entire face.

But now, Mr. Chen's eyes glinted with a cold, dark light, and beneath those dark pupils, turbulent undercurrents seemed to swirl.

"You have some skill indeed, to have survived unscathed until now."

Mr. Chen stared straight at her, his dark eyes sharp-edged.

Lin Chenxin lifted her chin. She didn't respond. She wondered if Mr. Chen had summoned her just to offer a few words of praise.

Faced with her silence, Mr. Chen showed no anger. Instead, he brought up an unrelated matter.

"He likes you. Do you like him?"

Hearing this, Lin Chenxin's eyes flickered slightly.

Seeing her reaction, Mr. Chen smiled.

"You care about him."

Mr. Chen sat down, tilting his chin up in a posture that asserted his authority.

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Lin Chenxin said, her voice calm.

All this talk was about things she didn't want to hear.

She was still young, after all, and couldn't completely hide her feelings.

Mr. Chen saw the impatience in her eyes. He didn't take offense; instead, his smile widened.

His face was usually so stern and somber. Smiling now made him appear particularly stiff and eerie.

Looking at his face, Lin Chenxin found her mind wandering, wondering what Chen Gujun looked like when he smiled.

Probably more heart-stirring than spring itself.

Thinking of Chen Gujun, she was lost in thought but then caught a dark glint in Mr. Chen's eyes. She immediately looked back at him.

"Haven't you always wanted to know things related to him?"

Hearing this, a sudden chill ran down Lin Chenxin's spine.

But Mr. Chen didn't elaborate further. Instead, he said calmly, "I think you've already seen the changes in him. Don't you want to know why he suddenly became like that?"

She collected herself and spoke bluntly, "Is it related to these leaves?"

Mr. Chen gave her a deep look.

"Exactly. The Chen family has a centuries-old tree, that has seen generations come and go. That tree is inextricably linked to the fate of the Chen family, rooted deep beneath the Chen estate. This tree symbolizes not only the Chen family's honor but also its destiny!"

Mr. Chen slammed his hand on the armrest and stood up, his eyes wide with intensity as he stared at Lin Chenxin. "But now this tree is shedding its leaves! For centuries, this divine tree never withered, yet now it is showing signs of dying. Do you know what this means?!"

Under Mr. Chen's overwhelming pressure, Lin Chenxin struggled to breathe.

She leaned back slightly, looking at the leaves on the table. "What does it mean?"

"It means I am incompetent! I have failed to safeguard the Chen family's centuries of prosperity!"

After saying this, Mr. Chen suddenly deflated.

His gaze grew distant, as if looking back on the Chen family's past or peering into its uncertain future.

Lin Chenxin watched Mr. Chen's face.

He spoke incessantly of the Chen family standing firm for centuries, every word revolving around its honor and wealth.

But to Lin Chenxin's ears, it sounded like deeply ingrained obsession.

"So, what does this have to do with Chen Gujun?" she asked, her gaze sharp.

Hearing this, Mr. Chen's distant gaze snapped back to her.

The icy, bone-chilling undercurrent in his eyes made Lin Chenxin instinctively want to step back, but she steadied herself. Taking a deep breath, she stood straight-backed in place.

"The Chen family and he are bound together in prosperity and ruin."

Every word from Mr. Chen was clear, yet Lin Chenxin felt a suffocating oppression hearing them.

Keeping her voice steady, she said, "I don't understand. Does he exist solely for the Chen family?"

A twisted flame flickered in Mr. Chen's eyes.

"Ensuring the Chen family's enduring prosperity is his mission."

Lin Chenxin involuntarily clenched her fists, meeting Mr. Chen's eyes squarely. "Who decided this mission? Who chose him?"

But Mr. Chen stopped there, unwilling to elaborate. He averted his gaze, sat back in his chair, and said calmly, "He's dying."

Lin Chenxin's pupils contracted sharply.

Mr. Chen looked at her, his face twisting into a strange smile.

"Haven't you sensed it?"

Lin Chenxin unclenched her stinging hands, standing dazed in place.

Yes.

Chen Gujun, with his hair gone white, seemed completely unable to be exposed to sunlight.

These changes were deeply unsettling.

"You are his chance for survival. A pity, it seems he hasn't seized it."

True to his role as head of the family, Mr. Chen always skillfully maintained control of the initiative.

Watching the emotions Lin Chenxin couldn't hide, Mr. Chen took a sip of tea, a trace of mockery flashing in his eyes.

Emotions truly were a burden.

Thinking this, Mr. Chen's gaze drifted into some distant memory.

"What do you mean?" Lin Chenxin's tone was frosty.

Mr. Chen turned his gaze back to her, his eyes filled with aloofness.

"You are indeed clever. Knowing you are different from the previous two women, you began to do as you please. But that doesn't matter. I allow you to push your luck."

This tone of being completely in control made Lin Chenxin chafe.

She stared coldly at Mr. Chen, but her gaze didn't faze him.

"You drank his blood and survived, which means your body does not reject it. The next step is for you to sustain him in return. Only in this way can his fleeting life be maintained. You don't want to watch him die before your eyes, do you?"

After saying this, Mr. Chen added with a cold expression, "You are smart. I believe you understand what I mean."

Meeting Mr. Chen's eyes, Lin Chenxin's tumultuous thoughts suddenly calmed.

She recalled every word she had heard since arriving, and a clear picture emerged in her mind.

Mr. Chen's true purpose was not concern for Chen Gujun's life or death, but for the ancient tree inextricably linked to it, and even more so, for the Chen family, which thrived alongside that tree.

Lin Chenxin was no longer under his thumb. With eyes clear and determined, she said, "Don't sell my value so short. The fact that you came to me means he is not under your control, that you can't handle him. And his existence is tightly bound to the Chen family. If he dies, the Chen family's fate ends too. Am I right?"

Mr. Chen shot her a sharp look, but she showed no fear, instead holding his gaze.

"So, now you are requesting my assistance."

She did not use the word "beg," already showing him considerable deference.

"I came here voluntarily for your Chen family's money. Don't talk to me about feelings," she said coldly.

Mr. Chen looked at her for a long time before suddenly letting out a low, deep laugh.

"Are you bargaining with me?"

"I am merely reasonably stating my position," she replied calmly.

An amused expression appeared on Mr. Chen's face.

"He would rather shoulder the pain himself than harm you in the slightest. I wonder how he would react upon hearing your words."

At that moment, in the secluded and quiet Junzi Courtyard, Chen Gujun, standing on the long corridor, gently raised his head.

He looked at the glaring sunlight outside the window. Even standing in the shadows, the pervasive golden light seemed to pierce his eyeballs.

A drop of bright red blood welled up in his eye. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his pair of pitch-black eyes were stained blood-red.

Yet his expression remained impassive. With his white hair and white eyebrows, he let the wind lift his robe, like a wooden tablet about to erode away.

A moment later, he raised his hand and flicked his finger. A few crisp, tinkling sounds rang out from under the eaves of the long corridor.

"Actually, it surprised me that he could be capable of human emotion," Mr. Chen said, looking at her.

Hearing this, Lin Chenxin felt extremely uncomfortable, a sense of nausea almost making her retch.

She took a deep breath and shot back mercilessly, "He is human, of course he has human emotions. In that case, he has protected the Chen family yet ended up like this. I wonder what he thinks of you and the Chen family, especially since he is your own biological son."

Mr. Chen's expression changed, his tone sharpening as he said, "That is his mission, the meaning of his existence. He had no choice!"

"And I have more than one son," he added indifferently.

Lin Chenxin clenched her fists, cursing the old bastard in her heart.

"You say he had no choice. Was it truly that he had no choice, or that you didn't give him one? Why him? Why..."

"Whatever you want, the Chen family will give it to you, including the cure for your sister's illness," Mr. Chen said with a cold expression.

Her words died in her throat.

The air grew still, and her heart seemed to stop beating.

After a brief silence, she opened her mouth with difficulty.

"Keep your word."

Mr. Chen showed a dismissive expression.

"It's merely a trivial matter."

Lin Chenxin raised her eyes to look at Mr. Chen's face.

A life was so lightly dismissed by him.

This was the added value brought by money and power.

Pushing open the study door, sunlight fell on Lin Chenxin's head, dispelling the chill on her body but unable to shine into her heart.

She suddenly felt somewhat ashamed.

Compromising so easily made her previous arguments seem like a joke.

And though she had no intention of using Chen Gujun as a bargaining chip, in the end, it still became the condition for her gain.

When she used Chen Gujun as a topic in every word, wasn't it a slow, cruel betrayal for him?

She tilted her head back and closed her eyes briefly.

Yet even so, Mr. Chen remained tight-lipped about why Chen Gujun was imprisoned in Junzi Courtyard.

What bullshit mission.

She opened her eyes, looking at the clear, azure sky.

What other unspeakable secrets did the Chen family still have?

——

Returning to Junzi Courtyard, Lin Chenxin heard a series of crisp, pleasant tinkling sounds.

Her expression froze, and she quickened her pace.

When she passed through the final moon gate, a row of wind chimes swayed before her eyes, reflecting shimmering, rippling light.

Small, exquisite wind chimes hung neatly under the eaves of the long corridor.

And Chen Gujun stood at the door, quietly watching her.

Meeting her bright eyes, his lips curved into a faint smile.

Very faint, very slight, yet deeply moving.

Lin Chenxin was lost in a daze.

She had been mistaken.

What was spring compared to Chen Gujun's smile?

The wind set the bells chiming under the eaves.

Lin Chenxin forced a smile, but her heart was filled with a sorrow she'd never felt.