Chapter 122
Lin Juezhou’s words were like a cold, sharp blade, stabbing straight into the deepest part of Lin Mubai’s heart.
Whether it was because tears had blurred his vision, or because the blow was simply too great, at that moment Lin Mubai felt as though the whole world in front of him was swaying, so much so that his head spun and his legs turned weak.
By the time he finally came back to himself, Lin Juezhou was already gone, leaving behind only an empty Lin family home with not a single person inside.
Lin Mubai almost stumbled back home in a daze.
The warmth that used to be there was gone, leaving only a cold, lifeless house.
Never before had he felt so utterly isolated and helpless, as though the whole world had abandoned him—
No, no!
He still had hope!
Lin Mubai suddenly thought of someone, thought of that person’s stable favorability score. No matter how badly he was cursed by others, that person would still love him just the same!
In a panic, Lin Mubai opened the favorability interface and found the name Song Chuan—
The still-maxed-out favorability score made Lin Mubai let out a huge breath of relief, so moved he almost burst into tears on the spot.
After calming his emotions a little, Lin Mubai took out his phone and called Song Chuan.
Right now, he urgently needed to hear a voice telling him that he was not alone. Only by truly hearing Song Chuan’s voice could he really calm down.
But the call did not go through.
Lin Mubai refused to give up and called several more times in a row. It was only after that that the other side seemed to finally hear the ringing and picked up.
“Brother Chuan!” Lin Mubai opened his mouth at once, unable to wait. “I—”
But before he could finish, Song Chuan cut him off. “Mubai, I’m busy right now. It’s not convenient for me to talk for long.”
Lin Mubai’s voice stopped abruptly, and he stammered a little, “I-is that so…”
Perhaps realizing his tone had sounded a bit too harsh, Song Chuan immediately added, “I know your situation right now isn’t very good, but don’t worry. I’m here.”
His voice was gentle and full of strength, exactly the same as it had always been. That immediately steadied Lin Mubai’s heart, and his nose began to sting with the urge to cry again. “Brother Chuan…”
“Give me a few days, alright?” Song Chuan said warmly. “Once this period passes, I’ll come get you. Don’t worry. It’ll be fine.”
Lin Mubai sniffed and unconsciously tightened his grip on the phone. The unease in his heart was gradually soothed.
“Okay. I trust you, Brother Chuan,” he said. “I’ll wait for you at home.”
The call ended there.
Once he came back to himself, Lin Mubai gradually grasped the meaning in Song Chuan’s words.
Busy right now, a few days, once this period passes… could it be—
Lin Mubai quickly counted the dates. These next few days seemed to line up exactly with when Song Fengshi was supposed to run into trouble!
He immediately logged into a spare Weibo account, and sure enough, sitting at number one on the trending list was the very topic he had been waiting so long to see—
#Head of the Song Group Suspected to Have Sudden Severe Illness, Reportedly in Critical Condition#
There was even a bright red explosive tag attached to it.
Lin Mubai’s eyes lit up instantly! This was the news he had been waiting for all along!
Song Chuan’s recent busyness had to be his final preparations! Once Song Fengshi died, Song Chuan would successfully ascend to the position of head of the Song Group, and Lin Mubai would smoothly marry him—
When that time came, would he still have any reason to fear the public opinion online?
Those unfavorable public opinions would be something the future Song Chuan could crush into the dirt with a single finger. No—in fact, Song Chuan probably would not even need to personally do anything. By then, countless people would rush forward one after another, eager to curry favor with them, and would voluntarily help clean up these little problems for him!
Thinking of that beautiful future life, Lin Mubai tugged at the corner of his mouth and revealed his first smile in many days.
He was going to make every single person who looked down on him now pay the price!!!
And in the place Lin Mubai could not hear, the Heartthrob System silently let out a sigh.
*
At the same time, Lin Zhiqiao was sitting on the Song family’s sofa.
In his left hand he held the little cookies Madam Song had personally baked, and in his right he held the sweet fruit tea Song Fengshi had handed him. His whole body radiated an air of I am so satisfied.
Ever since finishing the filming of A Family together last time, Song Fengshi had been inviting Lin Zhiqiao over to the Song house every few days.
And Lin Zhiqiao had already gone from feeling awkward and embarrassed at first to now being completely at home—
He had even been given a key to the Song family’s front door!
To this day, Lin Zhiqiao still could not understand why Song Fengshi—who, outside, was plastered with labels like cold-faced and heartless—could put on an expression in front of him that practically said If you don’t want this, I’ll cry for you to see.
Okay, the phrase cry for you to see was admittedly a bit exaggerated, but not by that much.
Lin Zhiqiao took a bite of cookie, then a sip of sweet fruit tea, his thoughts drifting far away.
There were quite a few people in the Song house today. Besides Father Song, Mother Song, and Old Master Song, Song Fengshi had also invited a few relatives he had always been close with, making it a small family gathering at home.
With one sweep of his eyes, Lin Zhiqiao realized they were basically all familiar faces—
And even if he was not familiar with them, they were very familiar with him, warm and enthusiastic as though Lin Zhiqiao were one of their own younger family members.
At their first meeting, Lin Zhiqiao’s pockets had already been stuffed full of red envelopes.
The Song family elders were extremely generous with money. The red envelopes looked light and thin, but once opened—
Whoa! They had cards stuffed inside!
This was a brand new form of red envelope gifting Lin Zhiqiao had never seen before, and the sheer lavishness left him open-eyed in amazement.
Song Fengshi somehow sat down beside him at some point. Seemingly knowing what Lin Zhiqiao was thinking, he said softly, “They all like you very much.”
“Well, you’re the one who chose me, so of course they trust your judgment,” Lin Zhiqiao said with narrowed smiling eyes.
But Song Fengshi shook his head. “No. They like you not because of me.”
Lin Zhiqiao froze. [Good lord, am I really this charming?]
Song Fengshi only smiled and said nothing, while the people around them also wore kind smiles.
At just that moment, Lin Zhiqiao’s phone rang.
The caller ID was Ji Ran. The living room was noisy with so many people around, so Lin Zhiqiao waved at Song Fengshi to indicate he was stepping aside to answer the call, then lightly padded over to the small balcony nearby.
Song Fengshi followed him for two steps, then sat down on a sofa closer to the balcony.
Song Xinqiu was seated there too, holding warm milk in both hands and slowly sipping it.
When Song Fengshi sat down, she cast a sideways glance at him, set down her cup, and said, “I really didn’t expect you to actually manage to win him over this quickly.”
There was a trace of satisfaction in her tone, as though she were saying, You’re the best student I’ve ever taught.
For Song Fengshi, that kind of praise felt rather strange.
He paused for a moment, then still nodded slightly. “Mm. Thanks to the teacher’s good instruction.”
Song Xinqiu let out a little hum, her voice carrying a hint of pleasure.
Meanwhile, out on the small balcony, Lin Zhiqiao froze into a daze after hearing Ji Ran’s words.
He took the phone away from his ear, glanced at the screen, rubbed one of his ears, and asked, “Say that again? I think I didn’t hear you clearly just now…?”
On the other end, Ji Ran sounded anxious. “Didn’t you check Weibo? Song Fengshi collapsed from illness! Didn’t he tell you?!”
Lin Zhiqiao visibly fell silent.
If Song Fengshi had not been sitting right beside him, flirting and chatting with him just a minute ago, Lin Zhiqiao might actually have believed Ji Ran.
He glanced at Song Fengshi, who was sitting not far away on the sofa, and carefully asked, “He… um, got sick? Wait a second, I really don’t know. I’ll go ask.”
As soon as he said that, Lin Zhiqiao did not give Ji Ran any chance to continue and directly hung up.
Right then, Weibo pushed a notification to him—
#Head of the Song Group Suspected to Have Sudden Severe Illness, Reportedly in Critical Condition#
The wording was dramatic and specific, saying Song Fengshi had suddenly collapsed from severe illness while working and was suspected to be in critical condition, and that all core members of the Song family had already rushed to the family estate…
Lin Zhiqiao fell silent.
He lifted his head and looked at the Song family’s “core members,” who were currently happily playing chess, chatting, and watching TV in the living room, then glanced at the “seriously ill patient,” who had just been given a small cookie by Song Xinqiu.
As if sensing his gaze, Song Fengshi looked toward him and gave him a questioning look.
Lin Zhiqiao walked over and sat down, his tone hesitant. “I heard you collapsed from serious illness and are in critical condition?”
