Chapter 2658 It’s raining in Nancheng tonight 19

Outside the window, thunder cleaved through layers of clouds, and lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the room for a moment as bright as day before plunging it back into darkness.

Xie Linzhou felt as if the thunder had struck him directly on the head. His fingertips went limp, and his phone fell to the carpet with a dull thud. It seemed to finally bring his wandering, absent-minded soul back to reality. A continuous buzzing sound filled his ears, and his stomach cramped and twisted in pain.

His face was pale. He pushed Jin Chen away and staggered toward the bathroom. He collapsed in front of the sink and began to retch violently.

My stomach was churning, and the alcohol I had just drunk was rising uncontrollably up my throat.

Xie Linzhou was trembling uncontrollably. In just a few minutes, he was drenched in cold sweat, which soaked the back of his shirt. His hair was also wet with cold sweat and stuck messily to his cheeks and forehead. He looked utterly disheveled.

After vomiting for a while, only sour gastric juice and bile remained. The burning sensation from the reflux made his throat and even his entire scalp feel numb and hot, and tears welled up in his eyes without warning.

Why is it like this again? Why is it like this again?

Everything is rotten.

He vomited until he was exhausted, but his stomach was still spasming relentlessly, tightening in waves, even more tyrannical than his chaotic emotions.

Xie Linzhou barely managed to support himself on the sink, his fingers trembling as he turned on the faucet. Icy water splashed up, wetting the back of his hands and cheeks. Water droplets mixed with tears, indistinguishable from one another.

A warm hand reached out from behind him, covered his cold hand, and turned off the tap.

Jin Chen supported Xie Linzhou's exhausted body, took a towel that had been soaked in hot water and wrung out half-dry, and gently applied it to his face to wipe away the cold water and tears.

The movements were so gentle and slow, it was clear that they were heartbroken.

Xie Linzhou still felt sad, and an uncontrollable chill seeped from the very marrow of his bones.

The speculations that arose from the Song Qi incident a few days ago have kept him awake at night, making it difficult for him to sleep.

He thought that by holding onto that faint hope, he could gradually move towards the happiness he had longed for, and that he had finally broken free from the shackles of the past. But when he looked back, he found that he was already deeply mired in the quagmire and would only repeat the same mistakes time and time again.

The tears seemed endless; just as they were wiped away, new moisture seeped from the corners of her eyes.

Jin Chen felt her heart clench as she looked at his pitiful state, unsure of what to do next, but knowing that running away was not the solution.

"I did not leak the design drafts."

Xie Linzhou raised his eyelashes to look at Jin Chen, his eyes filled with brokenness and pain, "But you lied to me..."

His eyes were red-rimmed, and his tone was stubborn, "You're a liar too, you're all..."

Xie Linzhou snatched the hot towel from Jin Chen's hand and held it tightly in his hand.

The water was wrung out of the towel and dripped onto the bathroom floor tiles, forming small puddles.

A silent, damp rain began to fall inside.

"Whether it was you who leaked it or not..." Xie Linzhou even felt a sense of disheartened exhaustion, "Now... does it still matter?"

“There is a difference, Zhouzhou.” Jin Chen reached out, her fingertips gently stroking the corners of his eyes that seemed impossible to dry, and firmly held his trembling shoulders, making him look at her.

"You can't just sentence me to death like this. I haven't helped Xie Shao, I haven't leaked any of your plans, and I haven't given him any information about you, except for getting close to you..."

"Then why did you tell me?"

Xie Linzhou suddenly interrupted him.

He seemed unable to comprehend it, his thin shoulder blades trembling uncontrollably with excitement. "Why couldn't we keep it a secret? Why... did you have to choose this time to let me know?"

If he didn't know, he could continue living in that false warmth, even for just a little longer.

Jin Chen looked at him, her voice low and hoarse: "It can't be hidden, Zhou Zhou."

Lies are like a snowball; they only get bigger and bigger until they eventually collapse.

He didn't want to wait until that day for Xie Linzhou to discover the truth from others or from an even more unbearable situation.

Xie Linzhou was still crying, and took a few breaths with his mouth open.

In the living room, the cell phone that had fallen on the carpet rang again, buzzing and vibrating, but no one paid any attention to it.

Xie Linzhou was pulled into Jin Chen's arms tightly.

He was embraced with warmth, but could no longer feel at ease, as Jin Chen whispered in his ear.

"How about I help you? I'll help you resolve this matter, resolve Liu Chi, and resolve Xie Shao."

Xie Linzhou lowered his eyelashes, tiny teardrops still clinging to them. He moved his lips with difficulty, his voice hoarse, "Let me go... I want to leave here."

He may never have been a brave person; when faced with unbearable harm, the only thing he knew how to do was to be weak and run away.

Jin Chen tightened his grip, refusing without hesitation, "No, I can't let you go."

He couldn't imagine what Xie Linzhou would become if he were left alone at a time like this.

Xie Linzhou spoke extremely slowly, as if he had used up all his strength.

"Jin Chen, don't force me... I hate you."

Jin Chen remained silent, took back the crumpled towel, re-wetted it with hot water, wrung it out, and continued to wipe away Xie Linzhou's tearful face.

"I don't want to believe you anymore. What's the difference between you and them...?"

Jin Chen hugged him loosely, her fingers reaching for the shirt buttons, wanting to help him take off his soiled clothes.

"Let me go..." Xie Linzhou struggled for a moment, his voice pleading, "I don't want to be with a liar..."

stab.

Jin Chen tore the shirt off his back, took it off, and threw it aside.

"Are you done talking?" Jin Chen asked in a low, hoarse voice, looking at him intently.

Xie Linzhou paused for a second, then suddenly tugged at the corners of his mouth, revealing a very ugly smile that was more heartbreaking than crying. "So what do you want me to do?"

During this time, he had already gotten used to relying on Jin Chen. It was as if as long as this person was by his side, he had a backbone and had nothing to fear.

But unexpectedly, even in such a heart-wrenching moment, he would subconsciously ask Jin Chen what to do.

Xie Linzhou himself found it both laughable and pathetic.

Jin Chen cupped his face in her hands, forcing him to look up and meet her gaze, looking deeply into Xie Linzhou's watery eyes.

"You are very tired and need to rest."

"Take a hot shower now, go to sleep. Leave everything to me, including Liu Chi's matter and the competition. I'll take care of it."