Chapter 102: He Has Been Waiting for You
Lin Xi’s forthrightness made Cheng Si feel somewhat embarrassed to speak. He dropped his usual easy tone and stammered, “It’s because of Third Brother, but…”
From Bai Xu, he had learned they’d all been together that night. So Cheng Si must have known about what happened between her and Qin Yu.
Lin Xi lowered her eyes, her voice betraying no emotion. “If it’s about that matter, Fourth Brother, there’s no need for you to say anything.”
She assumed Cheng Si had come to persuade her. “When it comes to feelings, you either like someone or you don’t. Fourth Brother, be careful with your words.”
Cheng Si was taken aback. He sighed helplessly, “I won’t interfere in this. I didn’t come to talk about that.”
He and Bai Xu had each chosen their side, yet they remained conflicted.
Cheng Si leaned more toward Third Brother, but he didn’t want to meddle directly in his relationship with Lin Xi. Bai Xu, on the other hand, kept fanning the flames.
What Bai Xu was thinking, he had no idea.
Things had turned out this way, and honestly, it wasn’t what he had hoped for.
“So what do you want to talk about, Fourth Brother?” Lin Xi asked, confused.
There was a silence on the other end of the line before Cheng Si spoke again, “It’s nothing. You should just come home.”
Lin Xi arched her brow in surprise.
That evening, Lin Xi returned to Jing City. Cheng Si met her at the high-speed rail station parking lot.
After getting in the car, Lin Xi glanced at him sideways. It had only been a couple of days, but Cheng Si seemed noticeably haggard.
“Fourth Brother, haven’t you been resting well lately?”
“Resting well is putting it mildly,” Cheng Si replied with a bitter laugh. “I’ve barely slept these past two days.”
Lin Xi was silent.
“Insomnia? I have some calming tea, do you want some?”
“No, no.” Cheng Si held the steering wheel with one hand, waving her off gently.
“If it were just insomnia, that’d be nothing. Sigh.”
He didn’t say what was really bothering him, but judging by his expression, much must have happened in the past couple of days.
On the way back, Lin Xi said nothing further, and Cheng Si drove her straight to her apartment.
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“I’ve already discussed the company matter with Huasheng. You don’t need to worry anymore,” Cheng Si said after parking, sharing the outcome from the group chat.
“It’s over now. Engineer Chen will return to work tomorrow. The company didn’t impose any real penalties this time.”
Lin Xi nodded, though she didn’t intend to let it pass so easily. “Did Huasheng say who sent the screenshots?”
“Anonymous email. Hard to track,” Cheng Si replied. “I’ve asked Lao Gao to keep an eye out. If there’s any result, I’ll let you know immediately.”
“But you and Engineer Chen shouldn’t try to hunt this person down, especially you.”
Lin Xi curled her lips. “Alright.”
“I’ll head back then.”
She unfastened her seatbelt, grabbed her bag, and got out.
Cheng Si followed, helping her unload her suitcase.
“Drive safe, Fourth Brother,” she said, stepping aside to give him room to reverse.
Cheng Si stood still, slightly turned, hesitating as he looked at her.
“Is there something else?” Lin Xi relaxed her shoulders, her eyes full of fatigue. “If you have something to say, just say it.”
Ever since they’d spoken while she was in Huai City, Cheng Si had been hesitant, wanting to tell her something.
Now, seeing his demeanor, Lin Xi guessed that if he didn’t get it off his chest today, he probably wouldn’t sleep tonight.
She didn’t want to make it too hard for him.
“Honestly, I don’t know how to bring this up,” Cheng Si said, taking a deep breath, visibly uneasy.
He rarely showed this side. Lin Xi swallowed her words and quietly said, “Just say it.”
“That night, after Third Brother left your place, Bai Xu and I took him out for a drink.”
“At first, we just wanted to help him vent a little. You know how Third Brother rarely shows his emotions, but bottling everything up isn’t good either.”
Lin Xi stood silently, making no response to Cheng Si’s words.
Seeing this, Cheng Si let out a breath. “Third Brother ended up in the hospital that night. He still hasn’t been discharged.”
Lin Xi’s head snapped up in shock.
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He’d finally said what needed saying, but Cheng Si felt no relief. Meeting Lin Xi’s bewildered gaze, he gave a bitter smile. “There’s nothing seriously wrong with him physically.”
“Third Brother told us not to say anything. Not even Aunt Rong knows. They all think he’s away on a business trip.”
“If you can, maybe you should go see him.”
“I don’t know what happened between you two that night, but Lin Xi, Fourth Brother swears to you, Third Brother’s feelings for you are genuine and pure.”
“These years while you were abroad, Third Brother was always by your side. Every month, he visited you without fail.”
“When you decided on surgery overseas, Third Brother stayed at Baiyun Temple for a week, getting up before dawn every day to clean the temple and light incense, all to pray for your safety.”
“When he learned your surgery was a success and you could remove your hearing aid, Third Brother went straight to see First Brother and your parents, sharing the good news with them.”
“When you faced racial discrimination at your foreign school, Third Brother flew over overnight, found the school authorities, and resolved the issue.”
“In places you couldn’t see, he did so much for you. He’s just not good with words, but all his feelings for you are shown in these details.”
“Xi Xi, you can see it, can’t you?”
Few people knew what Qin Yu had done.
Cheng Si was one of the few.
Seven years—from the day Lin Xi left the country until now, seven years without interruption.
Just like when Lin Xi moved to Lin City, Qin Yu rushed back from abroad to care for her.
These seven years, Qin Yu had always been by Lin Xi’s side, doing everything he could for her, personally handling almost everything related to her.
“Xi Xi, I don’t know what misunderstandings there are between you and Third Brother. What happened back then, I wasn’t there, so I really don’t know.”
“But these years, I’ve been with Third Brother. His love for you—even I, as a man, can feel it.”
“I know you’ve learned this place belongs to Third Brother. In fact, when you got into college, he started studying your major.”
“That’s why Feiyun exists. He wanted to give you a good working environment, somewhere you could show your strengths.”
“The place you live in now—this whole complex is actually Third Brother’s investment.”
“The other unit on your floor, Third Brother kept it empty just in case, so you wouldn’t be disturbed by neighbors.”
“Since you went abroad, Third Brother has been preparing everything, waiting for you to come home.”