Lin Leyao and Liu Fang were wearing the same riding outfits from the horse farm in the suburbs.
Is Lin Leyao with Liu Fang because she didn't come home so late tonight?
Because the faces of the other two people were not shown, Liu Fang stood out in the photo.
It's so conspicuous it's glaring.
Xin Ying's lips were tightly pressed together, and she gripped her phone tightly in her palm. This Liu Fang was becoming more and more repulsive to her.
The other two people in the ward were chatting and laughing happily, making Xin Ying feel like an outsider in this atmosphere.
She stood up and said, "I'm going out for some fresh air."
Xin Ying pushed open the door and went out. On the balcony in the corridor, Xin Ying made a phone call.
She dialed the home phone in the villa, and Xin Ying was only certain that Lin Leyao hadn't returned home until the continuous ringing on the receiver completely stopped.
Xin Ying stood on the balcony for a long time, feeling the cold wind. She thought about many things, but she didn't know what she was doing.
Although Lin Leyao is married to me, she is free to make friends.
You shouldn't feel dissatisfied with Lin Leyao's normal interactions with others just because you don't like Liu Fang.
but……
but……
Xin Ying didn't know what she was doing, but she just didn't like Liu Fang appearing next to Lin Leyao.
I don't know how long I stood on the balcony, but suddenly I heard footsteps behind me.
Xin Ying turned around, saw the person who had come in, and called out, "Sister Bai."
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Author's Note:
Let our confidante, Sister Bai, teach Xin a thing or two. Because it's her first love, she's a bit clueless when it comes to relationships.
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 00:41:42 on March 7, 2022 and 03:49:02 on March 8, 2022!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the grenade: 55157345 (1 grenade);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 48
Xin Ying asked, "Why did you come out?"
Bai Xin said, "Xiao Hong has been feeling dizzy. She was sleepy just now, but she's asleep now."
Bai Xin walked onto the balcony, stood next to Xin Ying, and asked, "What's wrong? You seem out of sorts tonight. Did something unpleasant happen between you and Le Yao?"
"No," Xin Ying shook her head. "It's nothing."
Bai Xin didn't press the issue to get to the bottom of it.
The two looked out of the corridor window at the flower garden below. After a while, Bai Xin slowly said, "We've known each other for so many years, and this is the first time I've seen you like this."
Xin Ying asked, "What?"
"Distracted and absent-minded."
Xin Ying smiled slightly but didn't say anything.
She held an unlit cigarette in one hand, because smoking was not allowed in the hospital, so she kept smelling the cigarette from time to time.
Bai Xin smiled and said, "You said you were fine, but you even took out cigarettes. You don't usually smoke."
Xin Ying laughed and said, "I don't usually smoke, but that doesn't mean I never smoke."
Bai Xin didn't continue on this irrelevant point. She said, "No matter what, Xiao Hong and I both hope you're doing well. Although you said your marriage to Le Yao was arranged, we can all see that you treat Le Yao differently. It's rare to see you so close to a girl after all these years, and we're all very happy. So don't overthink things on your own; talk to Le Yao more."
Xin Ying remained silent, the faint smile that had been playing on her lips freezing on her lips.
After a long while, Xin Ying asked, "Sister Bai, why did you and Xu Hong divorce back then?"
Bai Xin smiled gently and said, "We've been married for seven years. Apart from the first year when we had a fight because of the adjustment period, we haven't argued in the following years. Our divorce isn't because of outsiders or other objective reasons; the reason lies with ourselves. I don't know if Xiao Hong has told you, but she was the one who brought up the word 'divorce,' but I also bear some responsibility."
Xin Ying turned to look at Bai Xin and spoke.
Bai Xin has an elegant demeanor and has always been a gentle older sister to the children in their villa area since childhood.
They had never seen Bai Xin lose her temper even once since they were little.
No one expected that such a gentle person would end up with Xu Hong, who loves racing and fighting.
The bright lights in the corridor shone on Bai Xin's face, making her eyes look bright and clear.
Bai Xin slowly said, "You know Xu Hong's personality. She's fiery and passionate, like a little sun. With her around, even the coldest person can feel warm. When we were dating, same-sex marriage wasn't legal in China yet, so we kept our relationship a secret. When we got married, the marriage law had only been in effect for a few days, but we still chose to keep it a secret. These past few years, I've been filming, and each time I'm away from home for months at a time, Xu Hong is left alone at home. We both can't take it, but I can't always ask the crew for leave, and even if Xu Hong comes to visit the set, she can't visit too often. I feel sorry for her, but she doesn't feel that way at all. Every time she visits the set, she stares at me with eyes like a deer, and she's so happy just to see me. I also want to end this long-distance relationship as soon as possible, but you know that after my father's suicide, the major project accident he caused required me to handle the aftermath. I had to bear the hundreds of millions in compensation all by myself. In order to have more freedom in the future, I have to keep busy these past few years."
Hearing this, Xin Ying lowered her eyes. Although she knew Bai Jie's situation very well, she still couldn't help but feel sad.
Bai Xin continued, "Xu Hong knew I didn't want to accept her family's help, so she silently stayed by my side. But when two people in love feel sorry for each other, she feels sorry for me too. More than half a year ago, I rushed home from the film set to celebrate our anniversary with her. Because I had stayed up for several nights in the previous days, my stomach had been hurting before I boarded the plane that day, but I didn't take it seriously and endured it for several hours until I got home. I didn't expect that as soon as I saw her, I vomited a pool of blood right in front of her. I still remember the pale and terrified look on her face at that time. After she took me to the hospital, the examination showed that I had a stomach hemorrhage. After my condition stabilized, we had a fight."
At this point, Bai Xin smiled and said, "I just said that we haven't argued since the second year of our marriage, which is contradicting myself. The only time we argued was before our divorce."
Bai Xin continued, "Xu Hong never contacted me again after that incident. Because I still had a role to play, I went back to the film crew after being discharged from the hospital. We met again last month on my birthday. I went home from the film crew, and Xu Hong came back too. It had been half a year since we last met. As soon as we met, she looked at me with red eyes and said, 'Let's get a divorce.' A week later, I brought her the divorce papers to sign. She regretted it and didn't want to sign. I had to hold her hand and force her to sign her name."
Bai Xin turned to Xin Ying and asked, "Am I particularly heartless?"
Xin Ying looked at Bai Xin's moist and red eyes and shook her head.
Bai Xin took a deep breath and forced back her tears: "You've always been curious why our relationship hasn't changed much even after our divorce. What I want to say is that you can't judge a relationship by what you see or hear, but by what you feel in your heart. Use your heart to feel it, and once you feel it, you'll naturally be able to make your choice."
“The three of us are actually quite similar. We all look glamorous on the outside, but we all have some painful experiences behind the scenes, which makes it hard for us to let our guard down when we grow up. We also have to think and hesitate for a long time before we meet someone we want to get to know better. But, Xiaoying—” Bai Xin looked at Xin Ying, “Although I’m seven years older than you, Xiao Hong is three years younger than you. When she was sixteen, she dared to call me ‘sister, I like you’ every day. You’re thirty this year. You don’t have that kind of courage, do you?”
Xin Ying: "..."
Xin Ying nodded and said, "I understand, thank you, Sister Bai."
Bai Xin waved her hand: "I'm going back to my ward now."
After Bai Xin left, Xin Ying stood on the balcony for a long time.
After that, Xin Ying quickly said goodbye to the divorced couple who were still showing affection in the hospital room.
Just after midnight, Xin Ying received a message from Lin Leyao on her phone.
I'm almost home.
Editor Xin Ying replied: 【Okay, please be careful.】
A dozen minutes later, a sound came from the doorway, and the door was opened. Lin Leyao stared blankly at the brightly lit living room.
Seeing Xin Ying sitting on the sofa, fully dressed, Lin Leyao was quite surprised: "Haven't you taken a shower yet?"
Xin Ying shook her head.
Lin Leyao and Xin Ying's eyes met. After thinking for a moment, Lin Leyao asked, "So you were waiting for me?"
Xin Ying neither confirmed nor denied it, but said, "You have an early morning flight to the film studio in a few hours. There are only a few hours left. Will you be able to get a good rest tonight?"
Hearing this, Lin Leyao sighed and said with a helpless smile, "I thought I could come back early today. But after dinner, I ran into the investors of our film crew."
Lin Leyao paused for a moment and asked, "Did I not tell you that I saved the life of our film crew's investor's sister?"
Xin Ying was indeed very surprised to hear this. She had always been very curious about why Liu Fang kept appearing by Lin Leyao's side, and now she realized there was such a reason.
However, Xin Ying's thoughts were not on Liu Fang. She recalled what she had learned from Xiao Mi during her last visit to the set: Lin Leyao had been bullied by Wang Baoliang on set before going to Australia to visit her. She knew that Lin Leyao kept many things to herself and didn't tell her.
But there were things he hadn't told Lin Leyao either.
The two of them do not spend enough time together and do not know each other well enough. Because of what happened when they were young, I feel close to Lin Leyao, but for Lin Leyao, they have only known each other for a short time.
When she returned to the villa that evening, Lin Leyao had not yet come back. She sat alone on the living room sofa, lost in thought.
Because of the near-death experience caused by his own brother when he was young, although his physical health was later restored, the psychological trauma remained incurable.
Betrayed by her closest loved ones, Xin Ying developed hostility towards everyone who appeared around her.
Because of her psychological issues, she was sent abroad the following year to receive psychological counseling. Perhaps because she was far from home, or perhaps because the counseling was effective, Xin Ying gradually reduced her hostility towards others.
However, her personality changed drastically; she became much calmer and more silent.
She was able to accept treatment and become less extreme, but some psychological trauma left by the betrayal by her loved ones still could not be resolved.
For example, she can no longer trust other people, and she can no longer let her guard down with others.
Her father and several brothers felt sorry for her because of the accident, so they were more tolerant and even doting on her, but the estrangement between her and her relatives was always difficult to remove.
Three months ago, she attended a cocktail party and overheard some business friends talking about the Huanling Group. Xin Ying was reminded of the little girl who saved her when she was a child.
She made a special effort to search for information about Lin Leyao. There was very little information about the Ji family's youngest granddaughter, but she still managed to find out about the girl's current situation.
She never imagined that the little girl would grow up to be so beautiful and even enter the entertainment industry to become a star.
Because Lin Leyao had saved her life, Xin Ying wondered if she could lend a hand to the Ji family so that Huanling Group could overcome its difficulties.
Xin Ying made a special trip back to the Xin residence to discuss this matter with her father.
After hearing this, her father looked at her intently and said, "Xiaoying, you're not like yourself anymore."
After hearing this, Xin Ying was stunned for a long time.
Her father and she discussed many things.
They said businessmen are all driven by profit, and helping the Ji family would require too much effort and wouldn't yield much benefit. They argued that repaying the Ji family wouldn't necessarily be done in this way. They also questioned how she could be sure Ji Hongchen would accept her help, given her willingness to offer assistance. Wouldn't he think she was a hypocrite trying to take over the Huanling Group? How could someone who's lived for seventy years trust help without any ulterior motives?
After thinking for a long time, Xin Ying suddenly said, "Is it alright for me to marry Lin Leyao?"
She didn't know why her father would agree to her inexplicable suggestion; perhaps he was surprised that she had taken the initiative to propose marriage.
He probably thought he would never want to have close contact with others again.
When she first proposed the marriage, she did have ulterior motives. She thought it would be difficult for her to let her guard down with a stranger, so why not give it a try with Lin Leyao?
After all, Lin Leyao was a stranger to her, but also a very important person to her.
She thought that if she married Lin Leyao, she would treat her very well and make her happy after marriage. If Lin Leyao eventually felt uncomfortable in the marriage, she could choose to let go and let Lin Leyao choose her own happiness.
However, as they spent more time together, she became increasingly attentive to Lin Leyao and concerned about her every move.
"Those involved are often confused, while bystanders see things clearly." After talking with Bai Xin, she suddenly understood.