Shen Keqin was so drunk she was unconscious, as if the scene in the car just now had never happened.
Jian Mubai looked at her small face resting on Lin Zhuyin's chest, then coldly averted his gaze. "No, I'm very clear about what I'm doing entering the Shen family."
Lin Zhuyin's brow furrowed tightly. "I told you, that's my grudge with the Shen family, it has little to do with you. You don't need to..."
Before Lin Zhuyin could finish, Jian Mubai interrupted. "It's too late to say that now. We don't have a way back."
With that, Jian Mubai got into the car and started the engine. He watched Shen Keqin in the rearview mirror. As her face gradually blurred and finally disappeared, he fiercely slammed the steering wheel in frustration.
His heart was in turmoil. Since childhood, he had always been calm and restrained, able to meticulously handle any storm.
But when it came to Shen Keqin, he couldn't stay calm.
He knew what he and Lin Zhuyin were doing would hurt her, but he had no choice.
He pulled the car over to the side of the road and irritably lit a cigarette.
His mind was filled with Shen Keqin's laughter and scolding. She was a little princess, doted on by everyone, who had never encountered major setbacks.
If the ivory tower she lived in was destroyed by his own hands, what would happen to her?
But she was innocent, and weren't Lin Zhuyin and he also innocent?
After smoking a few cigarettes, Jian Mubai gradually calmed down.
He had no way back, whether it was between him and the Shen family, or between him and Shen Keqin.
Therefore, he could not be soft-hearted.
The next morning, Shen Keqin woke up with a splitting headache and her body felt weak and limp.
The door was pushed open, and Lin Zhuyin walked in with a bowl of sweet pumpkin congee. "Qinqin, are you feeling any better?"
Shen Keqin rubbed her throbbing temples and moaned uncomfortably. "Not much. Sister-in-law, you're not at the shop today?"
"Mmm, here, eat this bowl of pumpkin congee."
"Oh... I'll go brush my teeth first."
Shen Keqin got out of bed with difficulty and walked to the bathroom door. She turned back to look at Lin Zhuyin. "Sister-in-law, how did I get back last night?"
She remembered feeling restless and depressed yesterday because Jian Mubai was going to resign, so she went to a bar to drink.
She drank a lot, and then seemed to see Song Qinian.
After that...
She reached up and touched her lips. Vague fragments in her mind told her that she might have kissed someone last night.
"Jian Mubai brought you back!"
Upon hearing this, Shen Keqin's face changed slightly, and her cheeks and ears instantly turned red.
So, the person she kissed last night was Jian Mubai?
This...
How was that possible?
Her rational mind told her it was impossible, but just the slightest possibility made her heart race.
Especially when she saw her slightly red and swollen lips in the mirror, she felt both shy and excited.
No!
If she and Jian Mubai really kissed, then Jian Mubai had taken advantage of her. What was she happy about?
Besides, he was leaving. Why should he kiss her!
The more she thought about it, the more agitated she became. After breakfast, Shen Keqin hesitated for a long time before calling Jian Mubai.
"What is it?"
Jian Mubai's cold tone was like a bucket of ice water poured over Shen Keqin's head, extinguishing the fire of excitement and exhilaration in her heart.
However, if she didn't clarify some things, she wouldn't be able to sleep.
So, she mustered up her courage and said, "Last night... you brought me home?"
"Mmm."
"Did we... kiss?"
As soon as she said this, Shen Keqin felt her heart about to leap out of her chest. She didn't know why she had to ask this question.
In their current situation, it would be better to pretend nothing happened.
But the past couldn't be undone. She just wanted to know how they kissed, whether she initiated it or Jian Mubai did.
Jian Mubai was silent for a few seconds. "No."
"No? I remember..."
Before Shen Keqin could finish her sentence, Jian Mubai's indifferent voice sounded again. "If you consider lips touching lips a kiss, then yes, we kissed."
Shen Keqin's expression changed. What did he mean by that?
What did he mean by 'lips touching lips'?
"You were drunk last night and couldn't fasten your seatbelt. When I was fastening it for you, I accidentally touched your lips, but it was just an accidental brush."
Just an accidental brush?
That accidental touch had bothered her all morning, yet to him, it was merely a fleeting contact.
Her mood immediately soured considerably. Before Shen Keqin could speak, Jian Mubai's cool voice sounded again. "Is there anything else?"
This question ignited the long-suppressed anger in Shen Keqin. She yelled into the phone, "No! You bastard Jian Mubai, don't let me see you again!!!"
After hanging up the phone, Shen Keqin angrily threw her phone onto the bed. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She clenched her fists and slammed them onto the bedsheets a few times.
Her phone suddenly rang. Shen Keqin thought Jian Mubai had a change of heart and was calling to apologize.
When she picked up the phone and saw it was Song Qinian calling, she slumped like a frost-bitten eggplant and listlessly answered, "Sister-in-law..."
"What's wrong? Are you not feeling well?"
"No, I'm just in a bad mood."
"Oh?"
Shen Keqin opened her mouth, wanting to tell Song Qinian everything that had happened last night, but then she held back. "It's nothing."
Song Qinian didn't know what had happened between Shen Keqin and Jian Mubai, but seeing that Shen Keqin didn't want to say more, she didn't press the issue. She simply said, "Qinqin, you've grown up. No matter what happens, you must follow your heart and don't leave yourself with regrets."
Shen Keqin paused slightly.
Follow her heart?
What did her heart want to do right now?
Shen Keqin reached up and touched her chest, a smile finally appearing on her face. "I understand, thank you, Sister-in-law!"
Her heart told her that she absolutely could not let Jian Mubai off the hook like this.
Whether it was accidental or intentional, he had touched her, and it was her first kiss.
How could she not make Jian Mubai pay a price for her lost first kiss.
...
Lin Qiutong finally understood what it meant to be a rat crossing the street.
Her future was gone, her career was gone.
Due to breach of contract and scandals, she owed a mountain of liquidated damages. The brands that had flattered her before were now suing her.
Her studio, unwilling to bear responsibility, pushed all the blame onto her.
To pay off her debts, her properties had already been repossessed by the bank.
The only people she could rely on, the Lin family, not only disowned her but also took back the shops they had previously given her.
She was also pregnant now, with no one to turn to for help.