Xiao Yue worried, "Is he interested in you?"
Lin Mei recalled Xiao Shu's words and assumed so, but she harbored no feelings for him. "Mom, you and Dad can rest assured. I just want to focus on my work right now."
Lin Mei chatted with Xiao Yue for a long time, and Xiao Yue finally felt at ease. However, after this incident, Lin Mei decided it would be best to maintain a distance from them from now on. Otherwise, with the news repeatedly surfacing, Xiao Yue and Lin Zhengde would constantly worry about her, which was not good.
Lin Mei blocked Xing Zheng's phone number, so he had to communicate with her on WeChat. Due to work, Lin Mei had not deleted Xing Zheng's WeChat, but she had not replied to a single message. Xing Zheng sent over twenty messages, none of which received even a word of response.
Shortly after the scandal subsided, Lin Mei returned to Nanjiang. Xiao Shu seemed to sense her desire to keep her distance and did not contact her privately again. In the future, apart from work, there should be no further interaction with Xiao Shu. Xiao Shu, unlike Xing Zheng, would likely not resort to threats and coercion.
With the past scandal clarified, when Lin Mei returned to Shuangmu, the attitudes of those around her had changed. Those who had gossiped and spread rumors behind her back had abandoned their disdainful demeanor and initiated conversations with her.
Seasonal flu was rampant, and Lin Mei had caught a cold recently. She had been coughing, sneezing, and experiencing a low-grade fever at work.
During lunch, Zhuang Wan came to the finance department and invited Lin Mei to the conference room upstairs. "Manager Lin, Lily said you were sick and prepared a patient's meal for you."
Because Lily was mentioned, Lin Mei didn't suspect anything and followed Zhuang Wan to the conference room. Upon entering, she saw Xing Zheng. The moment their eyes met, Lin Mei's expression turned cold. She deeply regretted her oversight, forgetting that this was Shuangmu, and that both Lily and Zhuang Wan were his people!
"Sweetened glutinous rice ball and white fungus soup, eat it while it's hot." He opened the insulated container beside him.
Lin Mei looked over. Besides the sweet glutinous rice ball and white fungus soup, there was also minced pork with green beans and red bean buns, all foods that suited her taste. But what was his intention?
Lin Mei refused to eat and turned to leave. The man stood up and blocked her path. "Be good and eat first."
"What exactly do you want?" Lin Mei couldn't understand him, nor had she ever. What did her illness have to do with him? Why was he bothering her instead of caring for his new flame?
"Eat," he repeated.
"I'll eat in the cafeteria," Lin Mei insisted.
Seeing her stubborn attitude, Xing Zheng directly picked her up and placed her on a chair. "Shall I feed you, or will you eat yourself?"
The man gazed at her lips, his intentions as clear as could be. Lin Mei took the spoon, cursing him silently as "shameless," but ultimately chose to eat herself.
Xing Zheng sat beside her. After she had eaten a few bites, he asked, "Is it delicious?"
Lin Mei replied with a noncommittal "Oh," adding, "It's okay." The taste was excellent, making it hard to stop eating, but she simply didn't want to praise it.
Xing Zheng smiled and said, "If you like it, I can cook it for you every day."
Lin Mei froze for a moment. Did his words imply that everything before her was made by him? Xing Zheng seemed to read her thoughts and asked again, "Who do you think made it?"
"It's not good!" Lin Mei answered evasively. Although her attitude was firm, in Xing Zheng's eyes, it seemed like a display of embarrassed anger. She clearly liked it immensely, and her stubborn refusal to admit it was amusing.
He laughed and reached out to pinch her ear. Lin Mei quickly dodged. "Don't touch me. If you move again, I'll call the police!"
"How did you catch a cold?" This time, he cooperated and, after hearing her warning, truly stopped moving. "Did you take medicine? I heard you have a fever."
Lin Mei ate her meal perfunctorily, unwilling to talk to him much. Xing Zheng had not forgotten the purpose of calling her here today. "Are you still in contact with Xiao Shu recently?"
Lin Mei frowned. Why was he meddling again? "Who I contact is none of your business. Mind your own."
"Xiao Shu is approaching you because of me." If he didn't explain it clearly, with her stubborn nature, she would surely contact Xiao Shu just to spite him. Currently, he couldn't fathom Xiao Shu's true intentions. If Xiao Shu was psychologically twisted, he might do anything. "Xiao Shu and I have some unpleasant history."
Lin Mei had never thought in that direction. She hadn't heard of any past interactions between Xing Zheng and Xiao Shu, nor did their companies seem to have any grievances. "What unpleasant history?"
"His ex-wife was my classmate in the same year. She pursued me for a long time," Xing Zheng explained to Lin Mei. "She stalked me, and I discovered it once. I said some very harsh words, and shortly after, she got together with Xiao Shu."
"So, what are you trying to say?" Lin Mei wasn't surprised that Xiao Shu's ex-wife had pursued Xing Zheng. A man like him would surely have been sought after by many during his university years. But why would Xiao Shu seek revenge on him for this?
Lin Mei retorted sarcastically, "You're not going to tell me that Xiao Shu's ex-wife, even after marrying him, still harbored feelings for you, divorced Xiao Shu for you, and now Xiao Shu is jealous of you and plans to use me to get revenge, are you?"
"Pretty much." She was as intelligent as he imagined. "I told you to stay away from him precisely because of this."
Lin Mei, however, laughed. "Where do you get the confidence to say that Xiao Shu and his ex-wife divorced because of you? Xiao Shu's circumstances are not much worse than yours. Why would he be jealous of you?"
"Fine, let's say, even if he is truly jealous of you, why would he come to me for revenge? Am I that important to you?" His logic was absurd. Did he take her for a fool? His forceful methods were useless, so he concocted such a reason to deceive her!
"You think I'm not important?" Her sarcastic attitude caused Xing Zheng's expression to darken abruptly.
"Anyone with a brain wouldn't want to use me for revenge," Lin Mei retorted. "Have you ever seen anyone use a plaything to get revenge on its owner? If Xiao Shu truly thought that way, Miss Jiang or that Miss Wen would be better choices."
"Wen Ke is my doctor. I have no ambiguous relationship with her. I can arrange for you to meet," he said, pushed to his limit by her words, revealing Wen Ke's identity.
However, Lin Mei seemed indifferent, her words equally so. "Not interested, and you don't need to explain to me."
After this conversation, she lost her appetite. Lin Mei got up to leave, but Xing Zheng pulled her back. She stumbled and fell into his arms. "Let me go..."
Before she could utter her protest, he sealed her lips with a kiss. His kiss maintained its usual style, brooks no resistance, and was intensely possessive.
Lin Mei's tongue was captured by his, and she felt his teeth gnawing at her. As he invaded her like this, the oxygen in her chest grew thin. Her cheeks, already flushed with a low-grade fever, became even hotter.
In her dazed state, she heard his voice, "Don't force me to lock you up."