My Paranoid Girlfriend Asks Me to Be Her Kept Woman (Rebirth) - Chapter 27

At Fengqing Café, the wind chimes on the door jingled.

Zhang Tai pushed open the café door.

His life these past few days had truly not been very good.

Madam Li of Jianming had placed all the blame for her son Li Junhao’s misfortune on him. Not only had she taken away all the resources in his hands, she had also spread word throughout the industry: whoever dared help him would be going against Jianming.

He had watched helplessly as the things in his hands disappeared little by little, yet Jianming still refused to let him go. After all, he was the one who had discovered Lin Yi. That was his original sin.

After thinking it over at home for several days, he finally remembered Lin Xiaolu.

He remembered that Lin Xiaolu used to be like a shadow behind Lin Yi. Who would have thought this shadow had harbored evil intentions? He had simply gone with the flow. Why not?

He had not expected that, in the end, Lin Yi would turn the tables from a desperate situation and catch him off guard!

Watching Lin Yi debut again, everything going smoothly for her, Zhang Tai was truly frightened.

Especially Madam Li. Now that Jianming was also deep in scandal because of Lin Yi and its stock price was plummeting, that crazy woman would definitely come after him again!

The man’s steps were unsteady. After only a few days without seeing him, he seemed to have grown even uglier.

Lin Xiaolu looked down on him very much.

Lifting her head, from her chin to the corners of her eyes, she exuded disdain.

“What do you want from me?”

Zhang Tai chuckled. “It’s been so long since we last met. Aren’t you going to buy me something to drink first?” As he spoke, he called the waiter on his own, ordered a cup of coffee, and shamelessly added a meal.

Lin Xiaolu had originally called Zhang Tai out only because she wanted to see what exactly he was trying to do. Now, seeing his attitude, she looked down on him even more. But afraid he might pull some dirty trick, she could only sit stiffly.

Zhang Tai wolfed down a plate of pasta like a storm sweeping away clouds, then devoured two pieces of cake. Finally, he picked up the coffee and drank it in one gulp. Satisfied, he burped loudly, paying no attention to his image at all.

Lin Xiaolu already looked down on Zhang Tai in her heart. Now, she frowned even more impatiently. “You’ve eaten, and you’ve drunk. What else do you want to say?”

The man patted his belly. Greasy light flashed across his oily face. He had eaten in such a hurry just now that he broke into a sweat, making him feel very comfortable.

He pulled a tissue from the table and wiped the shine from his face while scoffing, “What’s the rush? Young Miss has someone supporting her now, and a lover too. Your life is going so well. It really makes me envious.”

“What do you mean?!” Lin Xiaolu shot to her feet.

“What do I mean?” Zhang Tai casually tossed the tissue in his hand onto the table. “Last time, I saw it. The man driving that car had quite a presence.”

His tone turned mocking. “I still recognize a Rolls-Royce Phantom.”

“The license plate ended in six eights. A rich man.”

“That car alone must be worth tens of millions.”

Lin Xiaolu’s gaze darkened, and she slowly sat back down.

She gripped the chair beneath her. Her nails unconsciously dug into it.

“He was just a passerby who didn’t know the way.” She said lightly, “It has nothing to do with me.”

“Tsk.” Zhang Tai scratched his hair. “Someone who doesn’t know you gives you money? Calls you younger sister? Even asks you to come home?”

“Young Miss is playing at inspecting the people in disguise?”

“Or could it be that you’re not a young miss at all?”

Zhang Tai was leisurely as he watched Lin Xiaolu’s face gradually change. She could not suppress her expression at all.

“I remember your birthday seems to have been given to you by Lin Yi,” he flicked the coffee cup in front of him, making a crisp sound, like a death knell hanging above Lin Xiaolu’s head.

“Lin Yi is the one that man is looking for, isn’t she? Not you, this ugly duckling.”

Zhang Tai smiled maliciously. “Oh no, you’re nothing more than a toad like me.”

Breathing heavily, Lin Xiaolu snapped, “Enough!”

Her hands trembled, and her heart trembled too. She had not originally been born on the same day as Lin Yi. Because she said she wanted to break away from her past family, Lin Yi had shared her own birthday with her. Lin Xiaolu had never expected that a man driving a luxury car would find her and say she was the younger sister their family had lost.

How could she possibly be the younger sister they had lost? Lin Xiaolu clearly remembered how her parents, who valued sons over daughters, had cruelly abandoned her at the entrance of the orphanage.

She had cried and shouted, even knelt down and kowtowed, admitting her mistakes and begging them not to abandon her. But they still left without mercy.

Why? Why did someone come to take Lin Yi back after she grew up? And even say that back then, her family had not abandoned her?

Lin Xiaolu looked at the luxury brands on the man and the flashy luxury car he drove, and she silently accepted it…

Anyway, on the household registration for Little Sun Home Orphanage now, she was the only one whose year, month, and day matched the person the man was searching for. As for Lin Yi, her household registration had never been there from the beginning.

Besides, she had only tacitly accepted it. She had never said she was the person the man was looking for. He was the one who willingly acted on his own and gave her money and food.

Thinking of this, Lin Xiaolu’s gaze turned indifferent. She looked at Zhang Tai faintly. “What do you want?”

Zhang Tai lowered the leg he had been shaking over the other. To his surprise, the woman before him had quickly recovered her rationality and had not been frightened by his threat.

He frowned strangely, but he did not have much time, so he still stated his demand. “Give me five million.”

“Five million?!” Lin Xiaolu cried softly. “Are you insane? Even if you sold me, I wouldn’t be worth that much!”

The man smiled indifferently. “Then how much can you give me?”

Lin Xiaolu’s eyes darted around as she calculated quickly.

Zhang Tai knocked on the table impatiently. “Don’t play tricks!”

“You and I worked together to scheme against Lin Yi more than once! You made quite a lot of money selling her lyrics as ghostwritten work too! I even introduced some of those people to you. Don’t forget that!”

“You took money too!” Lin Xiaolu said angrily.

The man refused to acknowledge this account. “The money went into your hands. Who knows how much you sold them for?” After speaking, he smiled hypocritically again. “And poor Lin Yi treated you as a good sister. Her USB drive with her creations went missing several times, and who knows how many hands her lyrics and songs passed through.”

“She thought it was the company exploiting her, repeatedly taking her creations and giving them to others.”

“Little did she know she had been sold by the person closest to her, and that person was counting the money!”

“All right, stop calculating. I know you have two million. Give me the money, and I’ll leave.”

Under Zhang Tai’s words, Lin Xiaolu’s head hurt as if it were splitting apart. Unable to hold on, she pressed her hands against the table. The man thought she was ashamed.

After a long while, Lin Xiaolu suddenly raised her head, her gaze strange and secretive. “Come with me. I’ll give you the money.”

Zhang Tai stood up indifferently. He was a grown man. Could he be afraid of a little girl?

**

A sharp pain suddenly came from Lin Yi’s chest, and she could not hold on, collapsing forward onto the seat.

It felt the same as when Wuming had said the anomaly’s energy had gone berserk earlier. What had Lin Xiaolu been provoked by this time?

After enduring that wave, Lin Yi felt much better.

The driver turned the car smoothly. Ahead was Sangzhu Apartment.

After finishing the meeting at the company on how to prepare for the second hard battle against Jianming, Lin Yi had slipped away early.

Right now, the area downstairs at the company was full of reporters waiting to interview her.

Fortunately, the company had another underground passage exit. The car and driver assigned to her were also new and had not yet been targeted, so she smoothly escaped the encirclement.

As for her contract matters, she had already fully handed them over to Fan Texi. With both Shanhai and Zhao Group’s legal department stepping in, she thought they should be able to give her a very good result. Moreover, she had also handed over all the information she had obtained in her previous life to Fan Texi.

Presumably, even if they could not pull Jianming down this time, they would at least severely damage its vitality.

She had done everything she needed to do. Since things were chaotic lately, she should stay home properly with the woman, quietly wait for the right moment, and conserve her energy.

When she returned, she happened to arrive just as the old residence’s housekeeper came to deliver things. Lin Yi put down her bag and heard Zhao Qi and the housekeeper talking in the little garden.

“Miss, Master went back this time and quarreled with Madam again.”

Zhao Qi held a teacup and took a light sip. “Why did they quarrel again?”

The housekeeper hesitated and did not answer. Bitterness touched Zhao Qi’s lips. It was probably because of her again.

Back then, in a moment of youthful impulsiveness, she had been targeted by the mastermind behind the scenes. In order to protect her, Eldest Brother made a deal with a woman who had admired him for a long time.

Sister-in-law had always brooded over it and never believed that Eldest Brother and that woman had done nothing, yet could still safely send Zhao Qi abroad.

This anger had lasted until now. Little Zhao Zinuo was already three years old.

The housekeeper said, “Madam heard that Miss Lü was also in Europe…”

How could it be such a coincidence? Zhao Qi wondered.

The housekeeper continued, “After quarreling with Master, Madam went back to her maternal home in anger. Young Master is now alone at home.”

Zhao Qi frowned. “Is Nuonuo still being taken care of by Sister Zhou?”

“No.” The housekeeper bowed. “Madam felt Sister Zhou was always talking nonsense in front of Young Master, so she dismissed her and took care of him herself.”

“Nonsense!” Zhao Qi slammed the wheelchair hard. “How many days can she take care of him?”

“Who is taking care of Zhao Zinuo now?”

The housekeeper answered seriously, “Master arranged for servants from the old residence to take care of him, but Young Master does not seem very used to it.”

Zhao Qi knew that her eldest brother was very busy with work and simply could not look after a child. When her sister-in-law was there, there would naturally be no mistakes with Zhao Zinuo being cared for by his own mother. Usually, Sister Zhou was there too. Sister Zhou was an old servant of the old residence and was very experienced at caring for children.

When her brother and sister-in-law were not there, Zhao Qi was usually the one who took care of him the most. Now that Sister Zhou had been dismissed impulsively by Sister-in-law, a three-year-old child had different people taking care of him every day. How could he adapt?

She sighed, then looked at herself.

Why did she have to be injured at a time like this?

Thinking of the last time she went back to the old residence and the pitiful expression on that little one’s face, Zhao Qi’s heart softened terribly. But right now, even she herself needed others to take care of her. How could she properly look after the little guy?

Knock—knock—

Lin Yi knocked on the glass door beside them. The two turned back to look. She smiled shyly. “Sorry for disturbing your conversation. I accidentally heard what you were saying just now.”

“If the little one has no one to take care of him for now, perhaps you could bring him here. I can take care of him.”

“I should be resting for a while, so I have time to look after him. Also…” A shy blush appeared on Lin Yi’s cheeks. She pressed her lips together and said seriously, “When I was at the orphanage before, I often looked after the children who had just been admitted. I have some experience taking care of children.”

Looking at Zhao Qi, she unconsciously rubbed the tips of her toes against the floor, and her voice gradually lowered. “If that won’t work, then forget it…”

Would Zhao Qi misunderstand if she rushed forward like this, offering to take care of someone else’s child?

Would she think Lin Yi wanted to curry favor with their family?

After all, who would want to take care of a child? It was such a troublesome thing.

But she truly liked children, especially Zhao Zinuo, who looked somewhat like Zhao Qi. She liked him even more. Besides, the little guy really was adorable.

Thinking of the scene when she met the little one last time, when Zhao Zinuo had climbed Zhao Qi like she was a tree, Lin Yi could not help smiling until her eyes softened.

He was also just as stubborn as Zhao Qi. Once he decided on something, no one could persuade him otherwise.

The scene of Zhao Qi losing a debate against a child was enough for her to savor for a long time. Both of them were equally adorable.

Zhao Qi’s furrowed brows relaxed. She smiled and beckoned. “Come here.”

Lin Yi slowly walked closer. Zhao Qi handed the teacup in her hand to the housekeeper, then reached out and held Lin Yi’s hands.

“Then I’ll trouble you.”