Chapter 49 Chapter 49

Chapter 49

1

Lin Chenxin stared down at her own shadow, then sneaked a look at the flowers in her bag.

A day had passed, and the flowers were somewhat wilted, their petals quivering in the breeze.

She didn’t know when she’d gotten so wishy-washy.

She’d steeled herself before coming back.

She thought she was tough enough, but when push came to shove, she just couldn’t be hard-hearted.

Everyone here is hurting too much—so intense you couldn’t ignore it, like it was somehow coming back to haunt her too.

She unclenched her fist and sighed, eyes shut.

“Lin Chenxin.”

At the sound of Chen Gujun’s voice, she opened her eyes and walked over, her expression softening a bit.

“Didn’t I say not to wait for me?”

She hurried over to Chen Gujun and took his hand as he reached out.

“How come you’re so cold?” she furrowed her brow.

Chen Gujun always ran cold, but not like this—cold as a corpse.

She looked up, wondering if it was just her imagination. In the dim light, Chen Gujun looked even more haggard, his back more stooped.

Her heart clenched, and for a long moment, she was speechless.

“Don’t wait for me next time,” she opened her mouth, choking back the bitterness in her throat, dropping her head.

Chen Gujun gave a faint smile and stayed quiet.

After a few steps, a finger touched her forehead.

The cold jolted her back to reality, and she looked up to find Chen Gujun looking down at her with his blind eyes.

“What’s with the frown?”

She gulped and murmured, “Nothing.”

Chen Gujun paused for a moment, then said gently, “Everything’s gonna be okay.”

Lin Chenxin let out a laugh. “Where’d you pick that up?”

Chen Gujun said softly, “You.”

She laughed and shook her head. “I’m not that great.”

Chen Gujun said nothing, just stared calmly ahead with his blind eyes.

Everything’s gonna be okay.

—

“The shirt’s too baggy at the waist, and the pants are too short.”

Lin Chenxin walked around Chen Gujun, then swatted his hand away as he reached for his collar.

“Don’t move!”

Chen Gujun let out a helpless sigh.

“Forget it, the tailored ones won’t be done that fast. We’ll just have to make do with these for now.”

That said, but Lin Chenxin’s eyes were sparkling with undisguised admiration.

Chen Gujun really suited formal wear.

The bookish air about him gave off a calm, refined vibe, and in a suit, he looked even more tall and composed—dignified but with a rare, gentlemanly charm.

The more Lin Chenxin looked, the more pleased she was. If only the clothes fit better.

Chen Gujun stood ramrod straight, not budging because Lin Chenxin said not to.

After a while, he asked, “Can I move yet?”

“Don’t move, I’m not done looking yet.”

Chen Gujun paused, his expression stiffening, and he lightly bit his lip, his fingertips hanging by his side curling up uncomfortably.

He asked softly, “Do I look good?”

Lin Chenxin was taken aback.

She looked at Chen Gujun’s profile turned toward her, and a bright smile spread across her lips.

“You look good.”

Chen Gujun’s expression relaxed slightly as he turned to face her.

“You look amazing,” she said, wrapping her arms around his waist.

Chen Gujun’s lips curled up slightly as he raised his arms to embrace her.

Soon, Lin Chenxin felt her waist tighten, and her feet left the ground. Her eyes widened in surprise as she found herself level with Chen Gujun’s face.

Though he couldn’t see, it felt like he was gazing at her.

Her heart stirred, and she lowered her lashes, leaning in to kiss his eyes.

Chen Gujun’s lashes trembled, his sightless eyes glistening with a soft, clear light.

Then, her nose felt a soft touch. She closed her eyes, sensing a gentle peck on the tip of her nose.

She opened her eyes and watched as Chen Gujun’s lips met hers.

It was a brief touch, leaving only a tender ripple.

She held his neck, lightly biting her lip as she lowered her head.

Chen Gujun kissed her brow again.

She hugged him tightly, resting her head on his shoulder, and said hoarsely, “Chen Gujun, you’ll be fine.”

"Mhm." Chen Gujun's voice came from right beside her.

"I believe you."

Her throat tightened, and she couldn't speak. She looked up at the patched-up window ahead.

The dim backyard was pitch-black, with nothing but empty darkness seeping through the cracks.

Her eyes blazed with a fierce light, bright as stars and sharp as a knife.

—

In the dead of night.

Watching Chen Gujun's gaunt face, Lin Chenxin reached out, tracing his silhouette in the air, finally stopping at his tightly shut eyes.

His pale lashes hung still and motionless, his breathing faint, making him look like a lamp about to burn out.

Time seemed to show little mercy to her or the Chen family.

She held Chen Gujun's cold hand and rested her head against his chest.

Through the thin fabric, she had to listen very carefully to hear his heartbeat.

It was the only sound that comforted her.

What she'd said earlier about her father dying in his sleep was true.

Even now, thinking about it terrified her.

Not the fear of her father's breathing stopping in his illness, but the dread that he might have had things left unsaid.

If only she'd stayed by his bedside every moment.

Lin Chenxin's eyes glistened with tears as she gently nuzzled into Chen Gujun's chest.

She was afraid he'd slip away just as quietly.

That fear choked her.

What she couldn't shake was the loneliness of him facing death alone in the dark.

That loneliness came back to her, and whenever she thought of it, she felt engulfed by an endless, suffocating darkness.

She closed her eyes, burying her face in his chest, counting each heartbeat one by one.

"Chen Gujun, I won't give up on you, so don't you give up either."

Chen Gujun, deep in sleep, showed no response.

His spread-out white hair had long since lost its luster, like withered autumn leaves.

—

Lin Chenxin woke up early—or rather, she hadn't slept at all.

She stepped out of the room and said over her shoulder, "I'm off."

A hand reached out from inside the door to grab the frame, followed by a leather-shoed foot stepping out, with neatly pressed trousers hugging long, straight legs, and above that, a white shirt tucked into the waist.

Chen Gujun lowered his gaze and said, "Come back soon."

Lin Chenxin looked up and smiled.

"Mhm."

She still didn't leave, and Chen Gujun didn't move either.

The two stood there in a silent "stare" at the doorway.

Until Chen Gujun cradled the back of her head, and her lashes fluttered; just as she was about to rise on her tiptoes, he lowered his head first.

A brief, light kiss stole Lin Chenxin's breath.

She instinctively closed her eyes, feeling their breaths, then opened them again to see Chen Gujun's face so close to hers.

Those dark eyes seemed to gaze back at her.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she said quickly, "I'm off."

Chen Gujun stood at the door, unmoving. He pulled back his fingertips and "looked" in the direction Lin Chenxin had gone for a long time, then swallowed, lightly biting his lips that still held a trace of warmth.

After walking a good distance, Lin Chenxin gradually slowed down, pressing a hand to her chest to calm her heartbeat.

A moment later, she lowered her head and bit her lip hard, trying to suppress the unsettling tingle.

—

Standing at the entrance of Chaoyang Courtyard, Lin Chenxin had completely cooled off.

She stood there for a while, the wind around her like biting blades of frost, chilling her to the bone.

Looking at the empty but exquisite courtyard, she kept tracing Chen Gujun's image in her mind, over and over, etching the desolate, lifeless Junzi Courtyard into her memory.

Only when her heart had turned as cold and hard as a blade did she take a deep breath and stride in with blazing eyes.

The young master, leaning against the bedpost, brightened at the sight of Lin Chenxin.

"Sister-in-law..."

But seeing her cold gaze, he fell silent.

He hesitated, standing up, his expression uneasy.

Lin Chenxin glanced at him, then at the second young lady still in bed.

"Is she still not awake?"

The young master twisted his fingers and whispered, "Mhm."

Lin Chenxin clenched her fists, turned around, picked up a cup of tea, and splashed it without hesitation.

"Sister-in-law!"

The young master was startled and quickly stepped in front of the second young lady.

Lin Chenxin dropped the cup, her expression blank, eyes lowered.

The young master looked at her with uncertainty, his eyes filled with unease and fear.

Lin Chenxin turned away from the young master's face.

No one knew that her clenched palms had long since gone ice-cold.

"Mm..." The second young lady lying on the bed let out a soft groan.

The young master quickly turned around: "Sis!"

The second young lady opened her eyes, touched the water on her face, and then saw the wet patch on her brother's shoulder. She immediately glared at Lin Chenxin.

"Are you crazy?"

Lin Chenxin lifted her chin, but she didn't look at them.

"Since you two are feeling better, come with me."

The second young lady threw off the covers, defiant: "Why would I?"

Lin Chenxin stopped in her tracks, talking with her back to them: "You're coming whether you like it or not. You're the only ones who can really fix the Chen family's mess."

Then she turned and walked out.

The young master looked back at the second young lady: "Sis..."

"Look at you, so pathetic. Weren't you the one who believed in her so much?"

The young master pressed his lips together, lowering his head without a word.

The second young lady stood still, staring hard at Lin Chenxin's back as she walked away.

"Since she says she has a plan, let's see what she's got."

Squaring her shoulders, the second young lady stepped forward, and the young master hurried after her.

But halfway there, though, the second young lady sensed something was wrong.

Lin Chenxin was heading for the ancestral hall.

Noticing this, the young master's face went pale too.

For some reason, the second young lady remembered old rumors—how Lin Chenxin had once raised hell in the ancestral hall, and from that day on, the Chen family's luck had changed.

At first, she had brushed off those words with a sneer.

How could an outsider like Lin Chenxin dare to cause trouble in the Chen household?

But now, she wasn't so sure.

As they drew closer to the ancestral hall, her heart pounded, and a deep unease crept over her.

If it was true...

What had Lin Chenxin done in the ancestral hall that day?

And why were they being taken there now?

"Sis..."

The young master looked up at the second young lady, only to see her face was drained of color, the hand gripping his was frighteningly cold.

At that moment, Lin Chenxin's earlier words echoed in her mind.

—"How much do you really know about the Chen family?"