Lin Wan suddenly lowered her head at his words, silent, causing Chen Zui to feel uneasy. He worried that she might be planning some sort of scheme again. Just as he was about to make his exit with the fastest route in mind, he saw her lift her head and was met with the tear-streaked face of a woman in distress.
Lin Wan bit her lip, her voice becoming soft and ethereal. "Wang Xiao and I were college classmates. He was a good person—kind, sincere, cheerful, funny—everyone loved him. We've been together for three years, and we were planning to get married by the end of the year. We had already bought a house, but…" Her voice broke as she started to sob. "I know. Your family has power and influence. I have no chance against you. So I gave up. I just want Wang Xiao to rest in peace. Chen Zui, I beg you, can you please go to his grave and apologize to him, so he can leave in peace? Is that too much to ask?"
A beautiful woman's tears were always powerful, especially when a strong, resolute woman dropped her guard. The vulnerability revealed under her tough exterior was impossible to ignore. Lin Wan's throat was still not recovered, and her voice grew hoarse as she spoke, laden with emotion. The combination of her raw, breaking tone made her even more compelling. A shred of conscience awoke deep within Chen Zui, and a flicker of guilt crossed his face.
"He was only twenty-three... so young, with dreams yet to be fulfilled. There were so many places he never got to visit. We see the sunrise and sunset every day, but he'll be forever sleeping, surrounded by cold earth, alone…" Lin Wan's voice trembled as she spoke, her sorrow suffocating her. She raised her hands to cover her face, her shoulders shaking violently, making her appear even more fragile, as if a gust of wind could blow her away.
Chen Zui stared at the trembling woman in front of him, suddenly realizing that her current state was his doing. Hearing her mention "twenty-three," just a few years younger than him, guilt surged in his chest. The weight of his actions overwhelmed him, spreading across his face, cracking his usual composure. Eventually, his head drooped, hands clutching his skull as he bitterly said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen."
Lin Wan looked up at him, her face streaked with tears as she choked out, "You didn't mean to, but your mistake took an innocent life."
Chen Zui was the type of person who, when caught up in a moment, would forget everything else. He loved drinking, loved racing, and had driven under the influence countless times. He'd crashed his own car and paid for damages to others. He had even killed other people's pets or destroyed public property. But he had never killed anyone. The image of the mangled, blood-soaked scene haunted him, sending shivers down his spine. He shook his head in pain. "I didn't see it. I swear, I didn't…"
Lin Wan stared at him with unwavering eyes and corrected him, "It's because you were drunk, and your mind was clouded. You didn't signal when you turned. Even if you had, we might not have been able to avoid it. You were driving over a hundred miles an hour, weren't you? Chen Zui, I'm right, aren't I?"
Chen Zui looked up, confused, locking eyes with her calm gaze. He replayed her words in his mind. She was right, but there was something about it that didn't sit well. Yet his mind felt clouded, like it was filled with thick molasses, preventing him from thinking clearly.
"Chen Zui, did you hear me?" Lin Wan pressed on.
"Mm," he replied, absent-mindedly.
"I'm telling the truth, aren't I?"
"Yes," he answered, defeated. He didn't fully understand why Lin Wan was going on about this, but before he could think more about it, he saw her stand up and look down at him from above. "Thank you. Finally, you're giving me some justice. You're the only one who's spoken the truth in all of this. You're much better than your brother, who turns everything upside down and distorts the facts."
Chen Zui struggled to lift his head, but he couldn't see her face properly, perhaps because her body was blocking the light. He braced himself on the sofa armrest, trying to stand up. He wanted to see her expression because, for the first time, he felt a deep sense of unease. But Lin Wan pressed down on his shoulder, forcing him to sit back down. She lowered her head slightly and raised a finger to her lips. "Shh, honest boy, enjoy your good time."
Her last words sent a cold shiver through him, and Lin Wan straightened her body, turning to leave without a second glance, her movements smooth and resolute.
The sound of the door closing echoed in Chen Zui's heart, causing his eyelids to twitch. An ominous feeling washed over him. He tried to recall every word from their conversation, and the unease in his chest grew even stronger. He quickly stood up, but his body wobbled. As he turned, he almost tripped on the sofa, his head feeling heavy. This sensation was all too familiar, but he had only had one low-alcohol drink.
Something wasn't right. It had to be a trick, no, a scam. Frustrated, he kicked the sofa and pulled out his phone to dial the number he knew all too well, his voice full of defeat. "Bro, I think I've gotten myself into trouble again."
On the other end, Chen Jin paused after hearing his brother's rambling and said calmly, "She probably recorded it."
"Huh?" Chen Zui panicked. "What do we do? Should we stop her before it's too late?"
Chen Jin chuckled condescendingly. "Don't worry, it's just a little trick."
"Bro, this woman is terrifying. She switches from crying to laughing, pretending to do some ghost tricks. I don't even know what's going on. Has she put a spell on me?"
Chen Jin scoffed. "Look at you. Relax. Even if she's the seventy-two transformations of the Monkey King, I'm still Buddha. But you, sneaking out and drinking, wait until I get back to deal with you." Then, he heard a loud scream through the phone.
Chen Jin hung up and immediately dialed another number. "It's me. Your daughter-in-law doesn't seem to be behaving…"
He hung up the phone and chuckled to himself. This kind of clumsy trick would only fool his idiot brother. But still, he imagined Lin Wan's ghostly, dramatic performance and shook his head. No, no. That wasn't how she should look. She should be in a white dress, with disheveled hair, eyes hollow and full of despair, drifting like a fragile flower ready to be blown away. The image of their first meeting replayed in his mind. She looked a bit disheveled, but there was a cruel, tragic beauty in it that drew him in even more.
He spun around in his chair, enjoying the thought of Lin Wan's face when she realized everything she had done was for nothing. It would be a look of utter disappointment, he imagined. He kicked the floor lightly with his long legs, spun the office chair half a turn, and gazed out at the cotton-like clouds.
This was the top floor of Zhicheng Tower, the peak of his kingdom. People often said that it was lonely at the top, but he had never felt the loneliness of his high position. Instead, he felt the satisfaction of controlling everything and looking down on others. Yet, recently, he seemed a little bored. Otherwise, why would he be thinking about a woman he barely knew?
In his thirty years of life, he had encountered countless passersby, and Lin Wan was just another fleeting person—someone he barely noticed. She should have been forgotten, just a passing glance. But instead, he remembered her and kept the memory locked in his mind. This wasn't boredom. Was it?