Chapter 99 — Needless Concealment

“Ranran?”

At the name of the dearest burden in her heart, Lin Xiaowen went blank for an instant, and murmured in a low voice, “Ranran... she’s very well. You don’t need to worry.”

Xu Ningning was startled by Lin Xiaowen’s reaction and raised her voice. “Very well? A child that small hasn’t gone to kindergarten, and isn’t even with her mother... and you’re telling me she’s doing fine now?”

Xu Ningning’s fierce reaction was exactly what Lin Xiaowen had expected, so she soothed her and said gently, “Anyway, kindergarten is almost over. Going or not doesn’t make much difference. Si Nan found her the best primary school. I heard plenty of people would fight tooth and nail just to get into that school, and still might not make it in... Isn’t that good? We were worried about Ranran’s schooling before, and now it’s settled...”

“Lin Xiaowen!”

Xu Ningning cut her off in displeasure, her voice sharp. Frowning, she looked at her.

Lin Xiaowen’s indifferent tone carried neither joy nor sorrow. It reminded Xu Ningning of the maid who had taken her upstairs.

“You know perfectly well that’s not what I’m asking. And I know you staying here isn’t for this dark life, this cage-like existence either...” Xu Ningning stared fixedly into Lin Xiaowen’s eyes, dim in the gloomy light and just as lacking in any light of their own.

“Si Nan forced you, didn’t he? He used Ranran to threaten you, told you not to leave, and wouldn’t let you see her, right?” she pressed urgently.

A faint movement stirred in Lin Xiaowen’s frozen gaze. Parting her lips slightly, she said in a low voice, “No... it’s not what you think.”

She swallowed against her raw, dry throat and went on, “Every day Si Nan brings Ranran over. We have breakfast together... Sometimes in the evening he brings her over to stay for a while too...”

“What kind of life is that?”

Xu Ningning sprang up in fury, asking in disbelief, “What are you two to each other? And what does he take you for? Isn’t it just what I thought—bringing you and your daughter back to Hong Kong, or maybe just trying to seize Ranran’s custody? Keeping you under soft house arrest like this... Si Nan he... he...”

Angry and breathless, Xu Ningning got that far and suddenly could not continue.

The possibility hovering at the edge of her words was about to spill out.

“He... likes you?”

Xu Ningning managed to finish the sentence weakly. Lin Xiaowen froze, then actually smiled without a sound. That smile was both helpless and full of mockery.

“Like me? Heh...”

Lin Xiaowen let out a soft laugh. “How could that be... He’s only getting revenge on me.”

“Revenge?” Xu Ningning looked at her in confusion.

“Yes, revenge.”

Lowering her eyes, Lin Xiaowen said, “The whole Si family believes Si Dong died because of me... If I hadn’t asked Si Dong to take me to that shopping mall that day, none of this would have happened. The Si family wouldn’t have lost their proudest son, and Si Nan wouldn’t have been forced to accept the burden of taking his elder brother’s place and carrying the fate of the entire family on his shoulders... In short, everyone in the Si family hates me to the core...”

“Heh...”

Xu Ningning suddenly laughed. When she looked at Lin Xiaowen again, there was no joy or sorrow in her eyes. Perhaps there was only mockery—mockery of her foolishness, of her stupidity.

How could a man go to such lengths to keep a woman by his side, give her a good life and a future free of worries, and only be doing it for revenge?

Could this fool really not see what Si Nan felt?

Though Xu Ningning felt miserable inside, she also knew this was not the time to dwell on such things.

Taking Lin Xiaowen’s hand again, she sighed and said, “Xiaowen, then what are you going to do next? What about you and Cheng Yishu? Ranran is blood of the Si family. Even if you get away now, Si Nan will absolutely not make things difficult for Ranran...”

Lin Xiaowen’s fingertips twitched. The appearance of that name made her heart ache faintly as well.

“I broke up with Cheng Yishu.”

“Why? When did that happen?” Xu Ningning asked hesitantly. “So this time, what was said online was true?”

“What?” Lin Xiaowen’s heart gave a jolt, and for the first time there was a trace of life in her eyes.

Since moving into this cage, Lin Xiaowen’s phone had vanished without a trace. That was also why Xu Ningning, Su Nian, and the others could not find her.

So it made sense that Lin Xiaowen knew nothing of what was happening outside.

Xu Ningning gave a soft sigh. “As expected, those cunning tricks in the entertainment world really can’t be trusted.”

“What happened, exactly?” Lin Xiaowen pressed, her pulse racing.

Not wanting to see her so anxious, Xu Ningning said, “Wasn’t there rumor before about Cheng Yishu and that actress he was working with, the one named Anan? Even though neither side responded later, at the wrap party someone still caught them... a photo of the two kissing... And then those marketing accounts spread news that the two of them went back to Cheng Yishu’s place and spent the night together...”

“Just a few days ago, the whole thing was all over the internet... I told you long ago to keep an eye on Cheng Yishu. You said he only had a face that made people uneasy, but luckily he had a mouth that put people at ease. Now that old saying has come true—when two actors are playing lovers opposite each other, they spend eighteen hours a day acting out ‘I love you.’ Who knows when it stops being an act and starts becoming real...”

Xu Ningning kept talking on and on, never noticing that Lin Xiaowen’s face had grown even paler.

“So that’s all it was...” Lin Xiaowen curved her lips. “I thought it was something serious. Anyway, it has nothing to do with me anymore... Let’s not talk about him.”

“Xiaowen... do you really not care at all? You’re not upset at all that Cheng Yishu has already found someone new so quickly?”

Lin Xiaowen’s too-calm reaction made Xu Ningning uneasy.

“That’s good, isn’t it?” Lin Xiaowen smiled lightly at her. “It’s good that he can have a new relationship. After all, he and I were never people of the same world. It’s better to part early and return to our own tracks...”

After carefully watching Lin Xiaowen’s expression, Xu Ningning sagged where she sat like a deflated ball.

Even if Lin Xiaowen’s lying skills had improved, she could never fool Xu Ningning, who had known her for so many years.

“Lin Xiaowen, you really are disappointing me more and more.”

“Why say that?” Lin Xiaowen looked at Xu Ningning in confusion.

“What kind of bond do we have? I can read every movement you make, every look in your eyes, down to the last bit... Aside from Si Dong, who gave you your beautiful first love, Cheng Yishu is the only one who ever truly made your heart move. I don’t believe you could forget him this quickly, or be completely unmoved by the fact that he’s started seeing someone new...”

Lin Xiaowen opened her mouth in astonishment, not knowing how to refute Xu Ningning’s words.

She had thought the dim light would hide the look of despair on her face.

That was why she had drawn every curtain in advance...

She had thought that as long as Ningning could not clearly see the forced smile on her face, Ningning would be able to rest easy and let her drift toward ruin on her own.

But Lin Xiaowen had forgotten that the intimacy beyond blood ties had long since fused the two sisters’ senses and feelings into one.

What use, then, was her painstaking disguise?