My Paranoid Girlfriend Asks Me to Be Her Kept Woman (Rebirth) - Chapter 4

By the time they left the police station, the moon had already risen in the evening sky. Lin Yi and Zhao Qi stood facing each other.

Zhao Qi’s voice was cool and clear. “Where are you going?”

Lin Yi unconsciously rubbed her foot against the ground. At this moment, she truly felt abandoned by everyone.

The police station, fearing that the person who reported the crime might be connected to the interest groups behind the entertainment industry, had lied and said she had already been brought in, prompting the anonymous informant to jump out impatiently.

It was Lin Xiaolu.

The person she had treated like her own little sister.

It had been the same in her previous life.

She had been persuaded by Lin Xiaolu, step by step lured into the hell prepared by her manager and Li Junhao. Under their joint scheme, she fell victim to Li Junhao’s cruelty. Her body could not withstand the drugs and she was left with lasting damage. From then on, she was confined to her sickbed, seeking treatment for the rest of her life, and died one early morning at the age of thirty. Meanwhile, Lin Xiaolu used the songs she had created as a stepping stone, advancing smoothly along the glittering path to stardom.

While she was still alive, she had even felt relieved that Lin Xiaolu was not affected by her, carrying on with the dreams she herself could not complete, working hard while bearing the heavy burden of supporting her, staying behind the scenes and dedicating everything.

Until she was on her deathbed with a terminal illness.

—“Do you think I should still save her?”

—“Of course not!”

—“I hated her to death back then!”

—“If she wasn’t still useful, she should have died long ago!”

—“She should be grateful she has some talent and can pave the way for me!”

—“She’s just a fool who was played by me. If it wasn’t for me back then, Li Junhao probably wouldn’t have even noticed this insignificant person! So naive!”

Lin Yi’s throat tightened unconsciously. “I’m going to the place the station arranged for me.”

As a witness, the police station would provide her with protection.

Zhao Qi’s mind buzzed. Looking at the reddened eyes of the person before her, she felt her heart soften involuntarily. She clearly wasn’t the type to do this.

With a soft sigh, she said indifferently, “There are extra rooms at my place.”

“What?” Lin Yi was still immersed in her emotions and didn’t react immediately.

“Stay with me.”

As soon as Zhao Qi’s words fell, the last rays of the setting sun disappeared. Darkness enveloped everything, and neon lights flicked on with a soft click, scattering the darkness with flowing colors.

“Material witnesses also need a place to stay, right?”

“You don’t look well.”

Lin Yi looked at the woman, her eyes bright and swirling with emotion.

Zhao Qi did not avoid her gaze.

“Okay.” Lin Yi smiled strangely.

“I’ll go with you.” She reached out and proactively took Zhao Qi’s hand, which was hanging by her side.

Just like in her previous life, during those painful days, the woman had also held her hand like this, silently accompanying her.

After returning to the country, Zhao Qi did not live at the family home but in the apartment her eldest brother had given her when she turned eighteen.

The apartment was located in the most expensive area of Huai City. It was a large flat on the top floor of the building, complete with a private rooftop garden. The night view was exceptionally beautiful.

Lin Yi stood on the rooftop looking down. The entire city of Huai City stretched out before her eyes in a breathtaking, enchanting sight.

Zhao Qi came out from inside holding a bottle of wine in her right hand and a glass in her left. “Want a sip?”

Lin Yi took the glass and nodded.

Her heart was indeed in turmoil. The joy of seeing her beloved again could not completely suppress the pain of betrayal from her previous life.

She still couldn’t understand how the sister she had treated as family had always hated her.

All the suffering she endured in her previous life was nothing but a carefully orchestrated scheme!

Zhao Qi took a sip of wine and saw the dejection on the person beside her, along with the dark emotions in her eyes.

Feeling those unresolved emotions, her own heart ached for some unknown reason.

She pressed a hand to her heart strangely and swallowed the wine in her mouth.

Lin Yi finished the glass in one go and said in surprise, “It’s sweet?”

Zhao Qi’s eyes carried a smile. “Sparkling wine, 5% alcohol, lychee flavor.”

Lin Yi was stunned. In her impression, the woman had never drunk this kind of playful fruit wine.

She either drank red wine or expensive baijiu, and her tolerance was very high — even vodka didn’t affect her. However, Lin Yi had never seen her drunk. Perhaps, just like her personality, she would simply fall asleep quietly when she had too much.

The two of them finished most of the bottle while enjoying the night view. Zhao Qi stretched lazily. “Let’s sleep.”

Lin Yi replied, “Okay.”

After entering the house, Lin Yi was assigned the room next to Zhao Qi’s. After saying goodnight to her in the hallway, Lin Yi felt as if she had been separated from the world for a lifetime.

In her previous life, this was the room she had stayed in when she was sick. The woman felt that staying in the hospital would ruin her mood for recovery, so she had moved her out. She had even wanted Lin Yi to stay in the master bedroom, but after being refused, she placed her in the adjacent room and knocked a hole in the wall between them, installing a door so she could come over at any time.

Back then, Lin Yi’s hair had fallen out, her teeth were loose, and her skin was wrinkled like an old woman’s. How could she have wanted her beloved to see her like that?

……

Lin Yi pressed her hand against the spot where the door used to be and leaned her cheek against the wall.

Why let those troubling matters ruin their days? As long as they were both well, she would not let this second chance go to waste.

Zhao Qi leaned against the wall on the other side, as if sensing something, standing in the exact same position.

The screen of the phone in her hand lit up with a new message.

“Why aren’t you coming home? Everyone misses you.”

She picked up the phone, swiped it open, sighed softly, and replied: “I’ll go back tomorrow.”

**

The next day, just as the sky began to brighten, Lin Yi’s phone started ringing noisily. The caller was aggressive, as if they would not stop until she answered.

Lin Yi flipped her phone over and saw it was an unmarked strange number. She hung up without interest, intending to talk to Zhao Qi.

From what she remembered from her previous life, these next few days after Zhao Qi’s return would bring a major incident. At that time, she had been in so much pain from her illness that she only vaguely remembered Zhao Qi telling her own story to comfort her.

[You were always so envious that I have two good brothers, right?]

[But did you know I also have a third brother who once wished I would die?]

[When I had just returned to the country, I knew his mental state was very unstable, so I didn’t go home, afraid he would be stimulated again.]

[But I didn’t expect someone would deliberately set a trap and bring him to me. After being provoked, he took a knife and stabbed me without hesitation.]

[Look, the scar is still here. It hurts when it’s windy or rainy, but eventually, it will pass.]

[As long as you can endure it.]

At that time, her head hurt so much she wanted to bang it against the wall, but the woman took her hand and guided it to her soft abdomen, where a long, worm-like scar lay across the skin.

Her hands were held down by the woman, and in the end, she couldn’t help but fall into her arms and cry bitterly.

Because it hurt too much. Being sick really hurt too much.

Those days of leaning on each other had given her a lot of strength, but heaven did not fulfill her wishes. In the end, she still couldn’t endure it…

Lin Yi wiped her cheeks and calmed herself down.

Thinking about it, the woman should have returned to the country recently. Seeing that she had been acting normal these past few days, the incident probably hadn’t happened yet.

Lin Yi paced around the room several times.

How could she warn the woman and help her avoid this conflict?

Her phone, which she had just turned off, started vibrating again with a buzzing sound.

Feeling irritated from thinking and increasingly annoyed by the phone’s noise, Lin Yi grabbed the phone from the table. Seeing it was still the same strange number, she ruthlessly swiped to decline, but her thumb accidentally hit the answer button.

“You’re Lin Yi, right?! My little treasure was taken away because of you! Come and explain yourself right now! Tell them our little treasure didn’t do those things!” A woman’s sharp voice rang out, mixed with noisy background sounds.

“Ma’am! Ma’am! This is the police station! Please calm down!”

“You people arrest others randomly! Can’t I even say a few words?”

“My little treasure! My poor little treasure! It’s all those women’s fault! Why don’t you arrest them instead!”

“My little treasure only spent money to have some fun. How is that a crime? Why don’t you arrest the people who supplied him instead!”

The police officers were both angry and amused by the crazy woman in front of them.

When she first got out of the car, she had seemed like a refined rich wife. After all, Jianming Entertainment Media was a multi-billion-dollar enterprise. How could the lady of the house have such poor manners?!

“Lin Yi! Lin Yi! Can you hear me?!”

“As far as I know, your contract is still with us! If you want to stay in this industry in the future, you’d better get my little treasure released!”

“My little treasure, Mommy is here to save you.”

The police officers frowned deeply. This person was openly trying to get the witness to change her testimony right in front of them, and the threat came so naturally. Did she think they were dead?

The young officers nearby were all eager to act. This was their police station — they were just waiting for their superior’s order. The charge of “obstructing official duties” was inevitable!

Lin Yi heard the woman on the other end shout, “Aiyo! What are you doing? Is there no law anymore?!”

Then a young voice came through: “This is Zhai Xiang Police Station in Huai City. Miss Lin, are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Lin Yi replied, then asked, “What’s happening over there?”

“We officially issued an arrest warrant for Li Junhao this morning. His mother somehow got the news and came to the station to inquire.”

The voice on the phone didn’t sound like a simple inquiry at all, but Lin Yi didn’t say anything. She simply smiled coldly.

“Thank you for your trouble, officer.”

The young officer dutifully reassured their important witness again. “Miss Lin, please don’t be afraid. We will ensure your safety. Please make sure to appear in court on time.”

The corners of Lin Yi’s lips curled into a cold smile. Of course she would appear in court on time. In her previous life, during those days of unbearable pain, she had already mentally dismembered this damned man a thousand times!

Her voice was cold, yet her pleasant tone remained gentle. “I will.”

Knock knock—— knock knock——

As soon as she hung up, someone knocked on the door.

The calm, unhurried rhythm allowed Lin Yi to recognize it immediately — it was Zhao Qi.

Only she knocked like this: index and middle finger together, neither fast nor slow, two knocks followed by a brief pause.

She opened the door. Sure enough, it was Zhao Qi standing outside.

Zhao Qi said, “I’m going back home for a while. Here’s the access card and key for you.”

Lin Yi couldn’t help but purse her lips. Why was the timing so perfect? Was the day the woman got injured today?

Her heart started pounding violently. Could it be today?

Zhao Qi held up the key and saw that Lin Yi hadn’t reacted for a long time.

She asked in confusion, “What’s wrong?”