Lin Xingwan almost screamed. The next second, she clutched Zhou Jinbai's neck.
Because of Lin Xingwan's action, the man's struggling eyes instantly darkened.
The woman before him was too similar to Lin Xingwan.
But looking at this ordinary and bland face, Zhou Jinbai knew very well that this woman was not Lin Xingwan at all, but Duan Muxing's fiancée, Xu Qingdai.
"Let me down, I can walk by myself," Lin Xingwan frowned, her mood at the moment was incredibly tense.
For her, the more she interacted with Zhou Jinbai, the more likely he was to discover her secret in the end.
After all, this man was not stupid at all.
"Do you think you can walk for how long if you walk by yourself now?" Zhou Jinbai said, then glanced at the injured leg of the woman in his arms.
Lin Xingwan was finally speechless and said nothing more.
Soon, Zhou Jinbai carried Lin Xingwan back to the house where he was living.
The entire house was arranged exactly the same as when Lin Xingwan left last time. Even her favorite bouquet of flowers had withered in the vase.
It did not match the luxurious decoration style of the later period. Even if Zhou Jinbai forgot, the servants in the house should have cleaned it up.
But they let the bouquet wither, which could only mean one thing: Zhou Jinbai had specifically instructed them not to clean this bouquet.
Seeing this small detail, Lin Xingwan felt very sad.
"Sit here for a moment, I'll get some alcohol and cotton swabs."
After speaking, Zhou Jinbai went to get the alcohol and cotton swabs.
About two to three minutes later, Zhou Jinbai handed her the alcohol and cotton swabs.
Lin Xingwan began to carefully clean her wound and then applied a few band-aids. When she looked up again, she saw Zhou Jinbai standing about forty to fifty meters away, talking on the phone with someone.
Lin Xingwan looked at the man's back, her eyes filled with unconcealed affection.
Just as Zhou Jinbai hung up the phone, Cen Zhiyuan unexpectedly appeared at the door of Zhou Jinbai's room.
Cen Zhiyuan was wearing a simple black slip dress, but it looked very elegant and mysterious on her. Especially with her "cool sister" face, the moment she appeared, the surrounding atmosphere seemed to change.
Cen Zhiyuan saw Lin Xingwan first. No, in Cen Zhiyuan's eyes, Lin Xingwan was now Xu Qingdai, Duan Muxing's fiancée.
Cen Zhiyuan did not expect Xu Qingdai to be in Zhou Jinbai's room. Looking at the disinfectant and band-aids on the table, Cen Zhiyuan immediately understood that Xu Qingdai was injured.
"Why is Miss Xu here?" Cen Zhiyuan walked towards Lin Xingwan step by step in her high heels. Heaven knows how complicated Lin Xingwan's mood was.
On one hand, she couldn't believe that in such a short time since she disappeared, Cen Zhiyuan could freely enter Zhou Jinbai's room?
Were they going to get married next?
On the other hand, Cen Zhiyuan was not a fool. She was afraid of saying too much and exposing herself in front of this woman.
"I was just going to the restroom, but the Dongfang family's house is too big. I got lost while walking and accidentally fell. I happened to meet Mr. Zhou, and he brought me here to treat my wound first."
Lin Xingwan quickly explained, not knowing why she felt so guilty.
Zhou Jinbai also walked up to them. Before he could say anything, Cen Zhiyuan unexpectedly hugged his waist and threw herself into his arms.
Cen Zhiyuan even whispered something in Zhou Jinbai's ear in front of Lin Xingwan.
Their actions were too intimate. Lin Xingwan felt so uncomfortable that she could barely breathe.
"Let's go, the banquet has already started. It seems Grandma was right, only I can get you out. Since childhood, whenever you throw a tantrum, I'm the one who has to step in."
Cen Zhiyuan directly took Zhou Jinbai's hand and then said to Lin Xingwan, "Miss Xu Qingdai, I'll go to the banquet with Jinbai first. After all, Jinbai is the main character tonight. I'll send someone to take you back to your fiancé later."
Cen Zhiyuan was informing Lin Xingwan. After speaking, she left with Zhou Jinbai.
Lin Xingwan watched their receding figures and suddenly felt that even though Zhou Jinbai had told her he didn't like Cen Zhiyuan, their families, appearances, and intelligence were a perfect match.
Perhaps her appearance in Zhou Jinbai's life was just an accident, and in the end, Zhou Jinbai would have to return to the right path.
Lin Xingwan was very dejected. She put away the things on the table and returned them to their original places.
After finishing everything, Lin Xingwan did not rush to leave. Instead, she took out the diary from her pocket and began to read it carefully.
She had to read all of it. Otherwise, if she took it out but didn't read it, and something unexpected happened, she wouldn't have seen anything, which would be a waste of effort.
Lin Xingwan casually opened a book. The date was more than forty years ago.
She didn't expect Zhou Bingwen to start writing a diary when he was only six or seven years old.
In the beginning, these diaries recorded trivial matters.
For example, what Zhou Bingwen did in a day, or how his parents favored his younger brother again. In the entire family, everyone praised his younger brother, and no matter how well he did, he was still not favored.
Of course, Zhou Bingwen only complained a few words at first.
But as Zhou Bingwen grew older, the person in his diary seemed to become more and more insane.
He was jealous that his younger brother was liked by so many people wherever he went. He even began to fear being with his younger brother, because whenever he was with his younger brother, he was always the one being ignored.
He even wrote in his diary, why did his parents have another Zhou Nianqing after giving birth to him? Zhou Nianqing was here to snatch everything from him.
Zhou Bingwen fell in love when he was in junior high school. He liked a girl in school who could play the piano. Zhou Bingwen secretly loved this girl for two years. Finally, he confessed his love but was rejected. Later, Zhou Bingwen witnessed this girl confessing to Zhou Nianqing on the day of their junior high graduation.
Zhou Bingwen's emotions completely collapsed. He believed that if it weren't for his younger brother, that girl would definitely have liked him.
When Lin Xingwan read this, she was already certain that in Zhou Bingwen's heart, Zhou Nianqing's existence was no longer that of a brother, but a devil who was going to snatch everything from him at any time.
Zhou Bingwen even began to subtly frame Zhou Nianqing, speaking ill of Zhou Nianqing in front of others.
The rumors at school that Zhou Nianqing got a female classmate pregnant and abandoned her were also fabricated by Zhou Bingwen.
Not only that, but Zhou Bingwen had already begun to plan a murder.
He wanted to kill Zhou Nianqing and make him disappear without a trace.
But later, Zhou Nianqing was captured but managed to survive and return.
Zhou Bingwen had planned many such kidnappings, and the time they encountered Meng Chuzheng was also when Zhou Bingwen wanted to kill Zhou Nianqing.
However, by chance, he saved Meng Chuzheng. At that time, Zhou Bingwen was also amazed by Meng Chuzheng's stunning beauty and forgot to kill Zhou Nianqing for a moment, allowing Zhou Nianqing to escape again.
Later, Zhou Bingwen was called back by the family due to some matters, while Zhou Nianqing started dating Meng Chuzheng, even using his own name!
Zhou Bingwen loved Meng Chuzheng very, very much. He even humbly begged Meng Chuzheng. If she could be with him, he would give up everything and go to a place no one knew with Meng Chuzheng to live an ordinary life.
But Meng Chuzheng refused him and married Zhou Nianqing.
Zhou Bingwen's love turned into hatred. He hated not only Zhou Nianqing but also Meng Chuzheng. His immense hatred even made him want to die with Zhou Nianqing, as long as he could make this man die.
In the end, Zhou Bingwen used Meng Chuzheng, who was Zhou Nianqing's weakness, to directly kill Zhou Nianqing.
When Lin Xingwan read this, she felt a chill down her spine!
She never expected the truth to be this. It was Zhou Bingwen who killed Zhou Jinbai's father, making Zhou Jinbai endure such pain at such a young age.
Not only that, but Zhou Bingwen also wanted to use Zhou Jinbai's hand to take over the entire Dongfang family.
And he hated everyone in the Dongfang family, even wanting them all to die.
This meant that the Zhou Bingwen who was alive now was no longer the Zhou Bingwen of the past. Decades of living with hatred had twisted his soul.
The reason he was so good to Zhou Jinbai was only because he wanted Zhou Jinbai to manage the Dongfang family well, and then deliver a fatal blow to Zhou Jinbai.
Lin Xingwan's hand holding the diary didn't know when it had tightened.
As expected, Zhou Bingwen was the most dangerous person in the entire Dongfang family.
Just as Lin Xingwan was engrossed in Zhou Bingwen's diary, a male voice suddenly came from above, "Miss Gu, I'm here to take you to the banquet."
Lin Xingwan was startled and suddenly looked up, only to see a very unfamiliar man's face. He was wearing a bodyguard's uniform, and although his face was full of humility, his eyes exuded a coldness.
Lin Xingwan nodded and followed the man towards the banquet venue.
When she returned to Duan Muxing's side, Duan Muxing looked at her and asked, "It seems you got lost on your way to the restroom this time?"
Duan Muxing's words made all of Lin Xingwan's explanations stillborn.
She had originally wanted to use this excuse when Duan Muxing asked, but now, listening to the man's calm tone, she felt inexplicably guilty.
Lin Xingwan didn't want to explain anything. She felt that no matter how she explained in front of Duan Muxing, it would only be a cover-up.
As for Duan Muxing, he just said lightly, "You haven't forgotten the purpose of our visit tonight, have you?"
Lin Xingwan nodded affirmatively, "Of course not."
"Alright, that woman, Helian Diejin, is just ahead."
Duan Muxing said, pointing to the distance.
Lin Xingwan followed the man's gaze and instantly felt her legs stiffen, unable to move an inch. She even forgot to beat her heart for a moment.
Lin Xingwan's gaze locked onto a woman in a light gray evening gown. She elegantly tied up her hair and was arm-in-arm with a man with snow-white hair.
However, although the man's hair was all white, his face looked very young. Standing with Helian Diejin, they looked very well-matched.
Especially Helian Diejin's face, Lin Xingwan couldn't help but want to call her 'Mom'.
The shock she received was too great. Helian Diejin looked exactly like her mother, and even her demeanor was so similar now, as if Helian Diejin was deliberately imitating her mother.
"That woman is Helian Diejin, and the man beside her is Cen Jue, Cen Zhiyuan's uncle. Look, Cen Zhiyuan is holding Zhou Jinbai's arm and chatting with them. The world is really small, and it always comes back to the same few people."
Duan Muxing chuckled. To him, it was just ironic.
"When can we start our plan?" Lin Xingwan didn't want to waste any more time. Seeing Helian Diejin made her angry, and seeing Zhou Jinbai and Cen Zhiyuan made her sad. It was better to not see them.
"I've already chosen the location, just follow me."
After Duan Muxing finished speaking, he had Qingluan push him in a certain direction.
As for Lin Xingwan, she took one last look at Zhou Jinbai before turning around and leaving with a heavy heart.
All the way, Lin Xingwan's mood was not good. Whenever she thought that Zhou Jinbai was going to be with another woman and would have nothing to do with her for the rest of his life, Lin Xingwan still found it difficult to convince herself.
She was the one who gave up, she was the one who didn't want Zhou Jinbai, but why did her heart still hurt so much?
As for Zhou Jinbai and the others, they were constantly discussing business matters.
Cen Jue, who rarely socialized, greatly admired Zhou Jinbai and even said to him, "Zhiyuan has always had good taste. You two will go further together in the future."
After Cen Jue spoke, Cen Zhiyuan said nothing, but Zhou Jinbai replied, "It's impossible for me to marry her, because my heart already belongs to someone else."
"Is it that girl who fell into the sea? Those who fall from that place are almost certain to die. Her body hasn't been found yet, so she's likely dead. Moreover, Zhiyuan is more outstanding than that woman. Only Zhiyuan is worthy of you."