Chapter 2660 It’s raining in Nancheng tonight 21

The next day, the bedroom was quiet, and the clock struck 10:30.

Xie Linzhou sat up in a daze, his mind shrouded in a thick fog, working sluggishly.

He instinctively reached out to find Jin Chen, touching the empty, cool spot beside him.

After a few seconds of stunned silence, the chaotic and sharp memories of last night resurfaced, and a dull ache began to grow in my heart.

Xie Linzhou sat on the bed for a while before lifting the blanket. His legs felt weak, and it felt like he was stepping on cotton when he stepped on the floor. He didn't know what was supporting him so that he didn't fall down.

He opened the bedroom door and saw Jin Chen coming in from the entrance hall.

Jin Chen hung his coat on the hanger, still holding a breakfast paper bag in his hand.

The two exchanged a brief glance.

Xie Linzhou lowered his eyes, avoiding that gaze, and looked somewhat tired and lost.

"Jinchen," he said, his voice hoarse and dry as if he were hungover, "let me go."

Jin Chen remained calm, placed the breakfast bag on the table, and looked back at him, "Going to the firm? You should eat something first."

He went into the house and saw Xie Linzhou standing still, so he went over, took his hand, and led him to the dining table.

Xie Linzhou did not resist, letting him lead him, but his steps were a little slow, and his gaze was blank as he stared ahead, as if he had lost his focus, with a sense of bewilderment in his eyes as if he could not find a way out.

Xie Linzhou stopped at the dining table.

He raised his eyes, his vulnerability clearly visible, and his voice lowered, "Jinchen, give me some time... My mind is too chaotic, I don't want to see you right now."

Xie Linzhou felt a sharp pain in his heart and added in a breathy voice, "Don't make me... hate you..."

Jin Chen took out the soy milk and custard buns from the bag. Hearing this, she paused, looked up at him, and gently pressed her thumb against his slightly furrowed brow, repeating the same thing.

"Hate me?"

These two words made Xie Linzhou's heart skip a beat again, as if he had been stabbed by a hammer, a dull pain that lingered and never stopped.

It took him a long time to recover before he felt the tightness in his chest lessen, and he instinctively shook his head.

Just saying those two words already makes me feel incredibly bitter.

"I don't hate you, I don't hate you..."

Xie Linzhou said in a low voice, denying the extreme emotions he had momentarily lost control of.

Jin Chen then continued what she was doing, pushing the warm soy milk in front of him and placing the custard buns on a small plate.

"Eat breakfast first."

Xie Linzhou slumped back in his chair, feeling as if all his strength had been drained.

"I need to go to the firm... to deal with those messes, and I need time... to think things through."

Jin Chen sat down opposite him, looked at him, and asked directly, "If you've thought it through, will you let go, or come back?"

Xie Linzhou's gaze fell on the table, his eyelashes trembled slightly, and his voice was very soft: "...I don't know."

He genuinely didn't know. His thoughts were a jumbled mess.

Jin Chen looked at him for a long time, then said, "Okay, let's eat breakfast first."

Xie Linzhou then gave a barely audible "hmm," picked up the custard bun, and ate it in small bites, his movements somewhat dazed, the taste as if chewing wax.

He was too tired; his brain was like a rusty gear, unable to produce any effective thinking or response.

Breakfast was finished in silence.

Jin Chen got up to tidy up and went into the kitchen.

Xie Linzhou took advantage of the break to go back to his bedroom, intending to change his clothes before leaving.

But when he went into Jin Chen's dressing room and then to the storage room, he couldn't find the suitcase he had brought. Had Jin Chen put it away?

Xie Linzhou stood there stunned for a while, then had no choice but to give up.

He picked up his phone and laptop bag from the bedside table, walked straight to the entryway, changed his shoes, opened the door, and left.

Just like countless ordinary mornings on the way to work.

Outside the window, it was a clear, sunny autumn day with bright sunshine and comfortable weather.

But today, there was no farewell kiss, nor a hug before leaving the house.

As the door closed gently behind him, Xie Linzhou felt a pang in his heart, a subtle ache rising within him.

But he didn't stop; his figure disappeared at the elevator entrance.

More than ten minutes later, the apartment door opened again, and Jin Chen, whose face was so fierce it could scare people to death, came out.

-

Lead Wood Office.

Xie Linzhou walked into the office area, where employees were performing their duties and the atmosphere was quite relaxed.

Even Xiang Wenqing, who was frantic on the phone yesterday, was having a video conference in front of her computer screen at this moment. When she saw Xie Linzhou come in, she looked up from in front of the camera, smiled and greeted him as usual, and seemed to be in good condition.

Xie Linzhou found it a bit strange, but his brain was like an overload protection machine, unable to process unnecessary information, so he only notified the core team to go to the conference room for a meeting.

In the conference room, Xie Linzhou sat in the main seat, his face revealing little emotion, maintaining a calm and composed demeanor, though he spoke slightly slower than usual.

"Regarding the unexpected situation that arose during this design competition," he began, "I will handle it. Everyone doesn't need to worry too much. Let's first take some time to organize the design drafts..."

The team members looked at each other, and expressions of doubt gradually appeared on their faces.

Fang Ming, being the most straightforward, couldn't help but interrupt him, "Boss, what are you saying? Hasn't this matter already been resolved?"

Xie Linzhou stopped, looked at him, and asked with confusion in his eyes, "...What?"

Fang Ming looked even more puzzled than him.

"Your...super cool boyfriend, this morning, right after I got to work, he dragged Liu Chi to the office and apologized to each of us!"

An Yu picked up the thread, feeling relieved and satisfied, "Yeah, boss, Liu Chi was terrified of him. His face turned ashen, and he admitted that he had plagiarized our design. He even said that he had sent an apology email to the competition organizers and forfeited his participation."

Xiang Wenqing scoffed, "I don't know what method that cool guy used, but it was a ruthless move. Liu Chi's reputation in this circle is now completely ruined."

Xie Linzhou: "..."

The confusion in the depths of his eyes grew stronger, and it took him some effort to process the amount of information contained in those words.

"Then..." Xie Linzhou paused, "who leaked the design drafts?"

Speaking of this, everyone's emotions became visibly agitated. Even Zhang Luo, who was usually taciturn and never spoke unless necessary for work, couldn't help but speak up, his tone indignant, "It's Qin Xu! Liu Chi identified him himself. No wonder he suddenly took leave today, he must have been guilty and didn't dare to come."

"He was the one who volunteered to stay in the country to handle the daily operations. How long has it been since then? He's been bribed by Xie Shao!"

Upon hearing that it was Qin Xu, Xie Linzhou couldn't quite describe his feelings as disappointment or a wistful relief. At least, it wasn't the answer he feared most.

Xie Linzhou recalled last night when Jin Chen hugged him in the steamy bathroom and whispered that she would take care of it.

My heart started to feel empty and heavy again.

Xie Linzhou closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, only a weary calm remained in them. "I understand. I will follow up on this matter. Everyone has worked hard these past few days. You can go out now."

The team members got up and left one after another, with An Yu, who was at the back, gently closing the meeting room door.

Xie Linzhou was left alone in the huge conference room.

The rare autumn sunshine streamed through the blinds onto the long table, and tiny dust particles floated in the air.

He stared blankly at the brightly lit computer screen in front of him for a long time.

The busiest time after returning to China is over, and he no longer needs to be in the office. The most pressing problem has also been solved, and there is nothing urgent to deal with for the time being.

But Xie Linzhou sat there, not knowing where to go.

After a long time, he picked up his phone and contacted a cleaning company to schedule a cleaning service to clean the apartment he had lived in before leaving the country, which had been uninhabited for a long time.

After finishing this task, he subconsciously opened his WeChat chat with Jin Chen.

Xie Linzhou scrolled through the messages one by one for a long time, but ultimately typed nothing in and placed his phone face down on the conference table.