Lin Xingwan's expression turned cold. "Who gave you permission to enter my office? Get out."
Lin Shirou's smile grew more arrogant and radiant. She walked up to Lin Xingwan. "Seeing as it was your fiancé who saved me, you must be very upset, sister?"
Lin Xingwan coldly watched the woman prancing before her, her voice growing even colder. "I'll say it again, get out."
Lin Shirou let out a scoff. "Sister, all you can do is chase me away. What's the point of working so hard? In the end, your family dotes on me, your man loves me, and I spend the money you earn. I pity you. It's not a good feeling to be hospitalized alone, is it?"
Lin Xingwan was momentarily speechless because what Lin Shirou said was true.
No matter how much she gave to Gu Shaoting or the Lin family, in their eyes, it was all taken for granted.
Yet Lin Shirou did nothing and easily gained everyone's affection.
She used to think it was because she wasn't good enough, so she desperately tried to please them. But now, it all felt so meaningless.
"You picked up the chewing gum I spat out, chewed it over and over, and then bragged to me about how delicious it was. Lin Shirou, are you a garbage disposal?" Lin Xingwan glanced at the smug woman before her and walked towards her desk.
But the next second, she saw Lin Shirou pick up the coffee cup from the side and rush towards her.
Acting on instinct, Lin Xingwan raised her hand to knock the cup away.
But as soon as she touched the cup, the coffee inside splashed all over Lin Shirou.
"Ah... so hot..." Lin Shirou's voice was filled with pain.
"Lin Xingwan, how can you be so vicious!" Gu Shaoting's voice, dark and grim, rang out. Lin Xingwan quickly turned her gaze to the doorway.
"It wasn't me," Lin Xingwan immediately explained.
Gu Shaoting's face was filled with furious resentment. His sinister gaze locked onto Lin Xingwan, and he slapped her.
Gu Shaoting's force was immense. Lin Xingwan, wearing high heels, stumbled back several steps from the blow.
Lin Xingwan braced herself against the desk to steady her body. The intense pain in her cheek was enough to leave her dazed for a long time.
"Lin Xingwan, how could you treat your sister like this? I gave you a night to reflect, not to escalate things!"
Gu Shaoting looked at Lin Shirou's flushed cheek, his chest burning with rage.
"Shaoting, don't say that. Sister is still angry about that day. It's all my fault. If I hadn't attended the engagement banquet, so many misunderstandings wouldn't have happened. But I really wanted to see you and sister happy."
At this moment, Lin Shirou shed her arrogance and appeared fragile and helpless. The tears glistening in her eyes made Gu Shaoting's heart ache.
"Neither of us is wrong; Lin Xingwan is narrow-minded." Gu Shaoting stood in front of Lin Shirou, his eyes full of warning.
Lin Xingwan looked at the two people putting on a show, her heart turning to ice.
She let out a light laugh, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear with an elegant, slow movement. "Gu Shaoting, I realize now that the trust between us is so fragile. I've indulged you too much, which is why you have the right to hurt me."
Lin Xingwan looked at the man before her. She couldn't find any reason to love him anymore.
There was actually surveillance in the office, and Lin Xingwan had intended to prove her innocence. But seeing Gu Shaoting's mindless favoritism towards Lin Shirou, Lin Xingwan instantly gave up.
Even if she presented the surveillance footage, Gu Shaoting would only blame her for placing the coffee cup there.
Blind favoritism was the most fatal.
She shouldn't blame Lin Shirou for her cunning schemes; she should reflect on why she didn't fill the coffee cup with sulfuric acid.
"Sister, don't blame Shaoting. It's all my fault. I didn't hold the cup steady. I really didn't want you two to argue because of me." Lin Shirou's tears fell in large drops as she anxiously tugged at Gu Shaoting's clothes, pleading, "Shaoting, please comfort sister."
There's no harm without comparison. Gu Shaoting looked at the gentle and understanding Lin Shirou, then at the aggressive and cold Lin Xingwan, and wondered why his fiancée wasn't Lin Shirou.
"Apologize to your sister. Otherwise, we'll break off the engagement." Gu Shaoting's tone was full of command.
Although Lin Xingwan had also spoken of breaking off the engagement with Gu Shaoting yesterday, he had always believed she was just saying it out of anger. This woman loved him so much; she wouldn't really break off the engagement. When a woman threatens you, she's merely expressing her dissatisfaction.
But it was different for him. He was truly disappointed in Lin Xingwan now.
This woman had worn out his last shred of patience.
When he spoke of breaking off the engagement, he was genuinely warning her. But if she realized her mistake, he might give her another chance.
The crying Lin Shirou, upon hearing Gu Shaoting's words, couldn't help but freeze for a moment, followed by a hidden joy.
"Our engagement was broken off yesterday, Gu Shaoting. Please remember, it was I, Lin Xingwan, who didn't want you." Lin Xingwan lifted her chin, as proud as a queen.
"You're simply unreasonable! You'll regret this!" Gu Shaoting supported Lin Shirou and left the office. Lin Xingwan's feigned strength quickly crumbled.
She looked wearily at the empty doorway, one hand unconsciously clenching her clothes.
She couldn't be weak; she couldn't lose.
Not in the past, not now, and definitely not in the future!
Gu Shaoting, Lin Shirou, the Lin family, you all enjoy everything I've earned with my hard work, yet you treat me like this.
It's not like this even when you're feeding on someone's blood.
One day, I will take back everything that belongs to me.
Lin Xingwan, as if self-punishing, used intense work to numb her bleeding heart.
She rejected several brand contracts that intended to have Lin Shirou as their spokesperson. In the past, out of consideration for Gu Shaoting and the Lin family, she had turned a blind eye when company resources were skewed towards Lin Shirou.
But now, they didn't deserve to enjoy the empire she had built.
Since Gu Shaoting loved Lin Shirou so much, and the Lin family doted on Lin Shirou so much, then let them use their own abilities to elevate her to stardom!
By the time Lin Xingwan finished handling company matters, it was nearly seven in the evening.
She dragged her weary body home.
Due to the winter season, night fell quickly, and there were very few pedestrians on the road.
As Lin Xingwan drove back to the entrance of the residential area, she saw Zhou Jinbai's grandmother standing by the security booth, looking around anxiously.
In the bleak winter wind, the old woman looked very pathetic.
Lin Xingwan couldn't help but stop and ask, "Grandma, why are you here?"
The old woman immediately focused her gaze on Lin Xingwan. After squinting and observing for a moment, she smiled broadly. "Wanwan, is that you... Do you live here? I'm lost and waiting for my grandson to pick me up."
The security guard, respectfully holding a cup of hot water to offer the old lady, was bewildered.
Lost?
Had he heard correctly?
This old woman owned more than half the houses in this complex. Even he, the security guard, had to ask her about places he hadn't been to. And now she claimed to be lost?
"It's the middle of winter. By the time Zhou Jinbai gets here, you'll be sick from the cold. My home is right here. Why don't you come into my car and rest for a while?"
Lin Xingwan quickly opened the car door and urged the old woman to get in.
"Oh, that's too much trouble," the old lady said with a simple smile, and got into the car.
Security guard: ???
Lin Xingwan parked the car and helped the old lady back to her apartment.
"Grandma, why were you lost in our complex when you were perfectly fine?" Lin Xingwan handed the old lady a cup of hot water, her voice full of confusion.
The place where they lived was more than ten kilometers away from Lin Xingwan's complex.
The more Lin Xingwan asked, the more distressed the old lady became.
"Because I came here to find my grandson. We had an argument last night, and he ran away from home in the middle of the night. He hasn't returned yet, and he's not answering my calls. Later, his friend told me he was here, so I came looking. But this complex is too big, and I'm an old woman who can't remember directions."
As the old lady spoke, she wiped her eyes. Lin Xingwan felt a pang of sympathy.
"Grandma, what did you and Zhou Jinbai argue about?" Lin Xingwan felt that a man like Zhou Jinbai didn't seem like the type to argue.
"It's all about him not having a partner. My grandson is good in every other way, but he's completely clueless when it comes to relationships. He's twenty-eight this year and doesn't even have a girlfriend. I don't know how many more years this old body of mine can last. I just want to hold a great-grandchild before I die. Is that too much to ask?"
While wiping her tears, the old lady kept glancing at Lin Xingwan. "If Jinbai could find a girlfriend like you, Wanwan, I would have no regrets in this life."
Lin Xingwan didn't catch the old lady's underlying meaning and couldn't help but comfort her. "He'll definitely find someone, Grandma. Don't worry."
The old lady excitedly grasped Lin Xingwan's hand. "Wanwan, you're so kind. If I had a granddaughter like you, I wouldn't be angered by that brat every day. Tomorrow night is my birthday. Can I invite you to my home to celebrate with me?"
"Ah? This..." Lin Xingwan didn't know how to respond.
"In previous years, I would cook a large meal all by myself. Although I have a grandson, but... alas..."
The old lady's well-timed pause and sigh made Lin Xingwan imagine a lonely old person sitting at a dining table, sadly waiting for her grandson to return.
Spending a birthday alone was truly not a good feeling.
"Grandma, I'll celebrate your birthday with you tomorrow."
Lin Xingwan's answer was exactly what the old lady wanted.
Just then, the doorbell rang. The old lady immediately became cheerful. "It must be my grandson. Wanwan, hurry and open the door."