Chapter 16

“Of course I love her. What kind of question is that?”

The moment the words left her mouth, Yu Baiyi looked at Xi Bingye and gave a cold snort.

“Xi Bingye, I know you’ve compared yourself to me ever since we were children. Whenever I wanted something, you wanted it too. That’s perfectly normal. Sometimes, seeing you doing well annoys me too. Fortunately, after all these years, you’ve never had anything worth envying…”

“But Lin Xiaogu is the exception. She can only belong to me. She will only ever be mine. Do you understand?”

At those words, Xi Bingye’s brow twitched.

She looked at Yu Baiyi with an amused expression, as though she had just heard something ridiculous.

Yu Baiyi grew irritated.

“Did you understand what I just said? Why aren’t you answering?”

Xi Bingye leisurely picked up a napkin from the table and wiped her hands. Only after a long moment did she slowly speak.

“I believe you’ve misunderstood something.”

“Regardless of how I feel about Secretary Lin, we are currently nothing more than ordinary colleagues. We haven’t crossed any boundaries or even had any deeper personal interactions.”

“Yet from your perspective, it seems that if Lin Xiaogu ever leaves you, it must be because of me. You even assume that we already share feelings beyond friendship.”

“Why is that?”

Yu Baiyi sneered.

“Xi Bingye, who are you trying to fool? Xiaogu is innocent and can’t see what kind of person you are, but I know you. You aren’t the charitable type. If you didn’t like Xiaogu, why would you defend her?”

The last trace of polite amusement disappeared from Xi Bingye’s face.

She looked outside the window, then turned back. Her voice was lower than before, yet exceptionally clear.

“She possesses something exceedingly rare.”

“She genuinely feels sorrow for other people’s pain and happiness for their joy. Neither you nor I possess that kind of pure empathy.”

“You and I deal with all kinds of criminals every day. We’ve seen far too many people smile for their own benefit [read the original at bailiantales.com]until it becomes impossible to distinguish sincerity from deception. That is why, as her superior, I admire and value her.”

“That is all.”

“Forget it. You wouldn’t understand even if I explained it…”

Xi Bingye tapped her fingertips twice against the table before changing the subject.

“Regardless, I have no interest in interfering in the affairs between the two of you. However, not allowing you to harm her is my bottom line—whether as her superior or as her friend.”

Yu Baiyi gritted her teeth.

“As long as she stays away from you, she’ll never be harmed.”

Xi Bingye shrugged without agreeing or questioning her claim.

Yu Baiyi glanced irritably at her watch, then toward the restroom.

“Why haven’t they come out yet?”

She stood.

“I’m going to check.”

“Lin Bin spoke to you about the drug, didn’t she?” Xi Bingye suddenly asked.

Yu Baiyi’s steps stopped.

“What?”

“If Lin Bin was willing to make Lin Ziyue contact me at any cost, it means she places enormous importance on the release of this new drug.”

Xi Bingye chuckled softly.

“It also means she lacks confidence in it.”

“She certainly wouldn’t place all her hopes on me. If she couldn’t reach me, she would approach you for assistance in her capacity as your future in-law.”

“Aunt Bai has always cared deeply about appearances. Even if she believed there were risks, she would still agree outwardly.”

“Am I correct?”

Guilt crept into Yu Baiyi’s voice.

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

Xi Bingye’s smile deepened.

“That’s all right. I’ve already received the answer I wanted. Thank you.”

“My mother isn’t stupid, and neither am I. Anyone can see that this matter shouldn’t be touched. Believe whatever you want.”

After leaving those words behind, Yu Baiyi strode toward the restroom.

Halfway there, she ran into Lin Ziyue, who had just emerged.

Yu Baiyi grabbed her arm.

“Where’s Xiaogu?”

Lin Ziyue pointed behind herself.

“She’s still inside.”

Yu Baiyi stared in the direction she indicated for several seconds before turning back and lowering her voice.

“What did you say to her?”

Lin Ziyue looked away.

“I didn’t say anything…”

Yu Baiyi glared fiercely at her.

Without time to say anything more, she turned and hurried into the restroom.

“Xiaogu? Lin Xiaogu?”

The restroom was completely empty. No one answered her except her own echo.

Yu Baiyi’s heart abruptly sank, and an ominous feeling rose inside her.

“Lin Xiaogu, answer me!”

“I’m… here.”

The stall at the very end slowly opened.

After a moment, Lin Xiaogu silently stepped out.

Yu Baiyi rushed forward and pulled her tightly into her arms.

“Lin Xiaogu, you scared me to death… Why didn’t you answer when I called you? Hmm?”

Yu Baiyi’s voice was soft, but Lin Xiaogu remained as still as a marionette in her arms.

Her gaze was vacant, and her face showed no emotion, as though she would fall apart the moment Yu Baiyi released her.

Yu Baiyi finally realized something was wrong. She waved a hand in front of Lin Xiaogu’s face.

“Baby, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

Only then did Lin Xiaogu return to her senses and slowly shake her head.

She looked at Yu Baiyi.

All the tenderness and warmth had been drained from her eyes, leaving only a nearly transparent, desolate emptiness.

The moment their gazes met, a faint ripple of confusion passed through them.

But it lasted only an instant.

As though burned by Yu Baiyi’s gaze, Lin Xiaogu hastily lowered her eyes and refused to look at her again.

“Where is Prosecutor Xi?” Lin Xiaogu asked softly.

“She left a long time ago.”

Yu Baiyi took Lin Xiaogu’s hand and was startled by how cold it felt.

“Xiaogu, have you eaten enough? They’ve both left. How about I take ​bailiantales.com​you somewhere for dinner?”

Lin Xiaogu gently shook her head.

“I want to go home.”

“All right. We’ll go home.”

“I want… to go home by myself.”

“By yourself?” Yu Baiyi frowned. “Xiaogu, let me accompany you. I won’t feel at ease if you’re alone.”

Yu Baiyi’s coaxing words fell heavily into Lin Xiaogu’s heart like stones.

Yet she discovered with sorrow that they did not make her happy at all.

In the past, if Baiyi had been willing to put aside her work and stay home with her, Lin Xiaogu would surely have been overjoyed.

Lin Xiaogu quietly stared into Yu Baiyi’s eyes.

They were still so beautiful.

But she could no longer tell whether they contained love or guilt.

Lin Xiaogu struggled to suppress the urge to cry.

Her emotions had nowhere to escape and no way to be released. They surrounded her like a rising tide, finally forcing her to say something she never would have dared to say before.

“Baiyi, just this once, let me go home alone.”

She was truly exhausted.

“All right, all right. Don’t cry. I need to take a call.”

Yu Baiyi turned away.

The restroom was too quiet, so the voice coming from the other end of the phone could be faintly heard.

After a while, Yu Baiyi turned back, her expression somewhat unnatural.

“Do you need to return to work?” Lin Xiaogu asked.

For some reason, upon learning that Yu Baiyi had to leave for work, she secretly felt relieved.

“Mhm. Fine. Just this once, I’ll let you go home alone.”

Yu Baiyi raised a hand to touch Lin Xiaogu’s face, but Lin Xiaogu avoided it.

“I’ll finish my work as quickly as possible, then come home for dinner. I’ve been craving your steamed snakehead fish. Will you make it for me tonight?”

Lin Xiaogu nodded.

Yu Baiyi kissed her one final time before reluctantly leaving.

Night slowly seeped into the cracks of the city like diluted ink.

Lin Xiaogu walked home alone. Gusts of wind swept her hair across her face and slipped beneath her collar.

What could be more pitiful than seeing the person she loved standing beside her fiancée with her own eyes?

Even more tragic was the fact that Lin Xiaogu still had to return to Yu Baiyi’s villa that night.

She had nowhere else to go.

After living in the Sixteenth District for so many years, she had not made a single friend besides Yu Baiyi.

In the silent night, that realization suddenly became unbearably sharp, piercing the softest part of her heart.

For all these years, her world had been so small that it seemed to contain only one person, one house, and one relationship without a future.

Was it over?

Was everything between her and Yu Baiyi truly over?

Although Lin Xiaogu already knew the answer in her heart, she still wanted to contradict herself as much as possible.

No matter what, they had lived together like an ordinary couple for so many years.

Every instant they shared, every minute and every second, had made Lin Xiaogu extraordinarily happy.

If Yu Baiyi were erased from all those past days, [read the original at bailiantales.com]if Lin Xiaogu could no longer kiss or embrace her from this day forward, could she continue living?

Or rather…

Would she still be herself?

At that moment, Lin Xiaogu suddenly remembered what Lin Ziyue had told her inside the restroom.

“Xiaogu, may I call you that? You don’t need to be nervous or hostile toward me. I only want to tell you a few sincere things. You may already have realized some of them, but you’re still unwilling to admit them. I’m only saying this because I hope you can see everything more clearly.”

“You understand Yu Baiyi’s family background. For children raised in families like ours, marriage has never been something we can decide for ourselves. To use a somewhat inappropriate metaphor: the one who wishes to wear the crown must bear its weight. We each have duties we must fulfill, and no one can change that.”

“I can see that Yu Baiyi is very important to you. She… probably loves you very much too. But love cannot solve everything. Even mutual love isn’t enough.”

“She and I may not have feelings for each other, but our marriage is already inevitable. No matter what happens, that will not change.”

“You’re very intelligent, and I like you too, so I don’t want to see you get hurt. Once you’ve made your decision and are ready to leave her, I can help you.”

Lin Ziyue had seemed about to say more, but footsteps sounded outside the restroom.

She paused.

“It sounds like she’s coming, so I’ll leave first. Think carefully about what I’ve just said.”

By the time Lin Xiaogu returned to her senses, she was already sitting on the living room sofa.

The lights were off.

Moonlight seeped through the floor-to-ceiling windows, reducing the furniture to blurred outlines. The air carried a hollow chill, and even her breathing seemed to echo.

Time passed second by second.

Occasionally, the sound of a car driving past came from outside, or the electronic chime of a neighbor’s keypad lock.

Sounds she normally would not have noticed were now infinitely amplified in her ears, stabbing at her nerves.

She was afraid that one of those noises would belong to Yu Baiyi.

Before she had completely sorted out her thoughts, she did not want to see Yu Baiyi.

She truly, desperately did not want to.

The phone on the table repeatedly lit and dimmed.

Someone seemed to be calling, but Lin Xiaogu was in such a terrible state that she could not bring herself to pick it up.

She simply allowed it to vibrate on the table.

The screen brightened and darkened.

The vibration sounded again and again.

One pulse after another.

After a long time, the ringing finally stopped.

Lin Xiaogu had only just breathed a sigh of relief when it abruptly began again.

She could no longer withstand the torment.

She reached out and picked up the phone.

The screen lit, and the first thing she saw was a message from Yu Baiyi:

Xiaogu, something urgent came up tonight, so I won’t be coming home. We both need some time to calm down. I’ll return early tomorrow, and we can talk properly. All right?

The message had been sent half an hour earlier.

Had Yu Baiyi called because Lin Xiaogu had not replied for so long?

Silently, Lin Xiaogu answered and pressed the phone to her ear.

Strangely, there was no sound from the other end either.

Had someone dialed the wrong number?

The living room was cold. Lin Xiaogu sniffed and was about to hang up—

Then a voice suddenly came through the receiver.

Gentle and calm.

It was not Yu Baiyi.

“Are you crying?”