Chapter 224: Chapter 224: Is What They Say Online True? Did I Really Kill Someone?

Zhou Lin returned to Sparkling Sky City at ten o’clock at night, and Wang Mei had already gone home.

The house was quiet.

He went upstairs, opened the door to the master bedroom, and immediately saw Cheng Zhiwei nestled in the armchair by the window reading a book. A pale pink blanket draped over her made her look exceptionally delicate, and outside, the snow continued to fall lightly, the thick glass separating all the coldness.

Cheng Zhiwei hadn’t worn her hearing aid, unaware of Zhou Lin’s entrance until a shadow loomed over, startling her into looking up.

Zhou Lin lowered his head and found she was reading a book on sign language.

He reached out to touch her ear, and indeed, she wasn’t wearing her hearing aid.

Zhou Lin smiled, took the sign language book from her, picked her up, placed her on the bed, and then made a sleeping gesture.

Cheng Zhiwei smiled and made several gestures in response.

Zhou Lin couldn’t understand, so he pinched her nose, leaned in close to her ear and whispered, "Speak."

His warm breath fell on her neck, making her hairs stand on end, Cheng Zhiwei moved away and tugged at his clothes, "Did you go to the hospital? What happened?"

A faint perfume scent lingered on him, although it was masked by the smell of disinfectant, Cheng Zhiwei still detected it.

Zhou Lin’s expression remained unchanged, he took the hearing aid from the bedside, put it on her, and explained, "Secretary Zhang got a bit hurt; took him to the hospital."

Cheng Zhiwei nodded, burrowed into the covers. She didn’t want to expose his lie, especially since she had just seen Secretary Zhang that morning, and there was no such fragrance on him.

The smell of disinfectant on him was so strong yet it couldn’t mask the scent of perfume, which meant he must have been taking care of someone closely, someone obviously very important.

An image of Seo Zhenzhen appeared in her mind, Cheng Zhiwei closed her eyes, not wanting to ask further.

Zhou Lin took a shower, got into bed, and naturally embraced Cheng Zhiwei in his arms, feeling the stiffness of her body. He lowered his head and said, "Zhiwei, the New Year is approaching, why not stay at my parents’ house, it’ll be livelier."

Cheng Zhiwei gently shook her head, "That studio called me again to sign the contract, and I have several auditions scheduled later, I’ll be busy."

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhou Lin grabbed her shoulders, turned her body toward him, half propped up his body, his gaze intense, "Zhiwei, just stay at home and take care of your health, okay?"

Cheng Zhiwei was stunned, her fingers clutching the blanket, avoiding eye contact with Zhou Lin, "I’ve already agreed."

She clearly sensed that he didn’t want her to go.

Because of Seo Zhenzhen?

"Zhiwei."

"I want to go." Cheng Zhiwei’s expression was calm, revealing no emotion, yet stubbornly intense.

Zhou Lin fell silent, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulled her close into his embrace, and sighed helplessly, "Zhiwei, it’s not an easy path."

Cheng Zhiwei brushed his hand away, turned her back to him, "I have to try to know."

Zhou Lin moved closer to her from behind, and said no more.

The next morning, Cheng Zhiwei went to the studio. The same woman welcomed her, but her attitude was completely respectful and cautious, contrasting sharply with the day before.

As she entered the meeting room, Seo Zhenzhen was still there. She nodded and smiled at Cheng Zhiwei, "Sorry, Zhiwei, I didn’t know they had discussed a collaboration with you. I asked Ah Lin for help, but now that I know it’s yours, I’m willing to give the opportunity back to you."

She had stolen someone else’s slot but spoke as if she was being generous.

Cheng Zhiwei sensed a familiar situation, she smiled slightly, "I passed the audition on my own merit, unlike Miss Seo who has someone backing her up, able to steal anyone’s opportunity."

Seo Zhenzhen didn’t get angry but lifted her chin, "Please."

She didn’t care about losing this opportunity.

Cheng Zhiwei frowned, she had actually searched Seo Zhenzhen’s resume, and although she had only been famous for a little over two months, she had already accumulated quite a few fans and was quite well-known.

For a small studio like this, Seo Zhenzhen should not have been interested, yet she specifically came to snatch this spot.

Was she targeting her specifically?

Did they have any personal grudges?

With these thoughts in mind, Cheng Zhiwei quickly finalized the contract and went to record a short song for promotion.

Although her left ear was hearing impaired, the song was not complicated, and her completion, while not perfect, was very high.

She was very satisfied with herself, which greatly lifted her gloomy mood, so much so that when Zhou Lin picked her up to go to the Zhou Family for dinner, she was in a rare good mood.

It was just shortly after arriving at the Zhou Family’s home that her mobile phone suddenly pushed a news alert, it was trending on Weibo.

#ChengZhiweiCutInFrontOfSeoZhenzhen#

#ChengZhiweiIntentionallyHurtsSomeoneCase#

#ChengZhiweiStealsBestFriend’sBoyfriendLeadingToBestFriend’sCarAccident#

#BoycottChengZhiwei, BoycottCapital#

Three or four terms glaringly hung in the trending search, with view counts over ten thousand and reposts over a thousand.

Cheng Zhiwei’s mind buzzed as she held her phone, intending to go upstairs to ask Zhou Lin, but she heard Zhou Lin’s indifferent, deep voice as she reached the door.

"Have someone take down the trending search immediately."

"Find out who released the news."

"Clear it immediately."

Cheng Zhiwei stood outside the door, feeling her blood run cold from her head to her feet. She leaned against the wall, staggering, her mind a messy tangle. Did she really intentionally kill someone?

And she stole Seo Zhenzhen’s boyfriend and even caused her car accident...

Thinking of all the curses and attacks on her under the trending search, Cheng Zhiwei felt a splitting headache and a total lack of strength. Her phone slipped from her hand and hit the ground with a "thud."

The noise from inside the study suddenly stopped, and then she was pulled into a firm embrace.

Zhou Lin kissed her forehead, his palm soothing her hair, and Wen Ya’s gentle voice repeated comfortingly by her ear, "It’s okay, Zhiwei, everything will pass."

Cheng Zhiwei clutched his sweater, her eyes trembling, with the harsh white light of the corridor hitting her face, looking dismal, "Zhou Lin, is what’s online true? Did I really kill someone? Was my car accident because I pushed her sister?"

She asked urgently, her blank memory filling her with immense fear, seeking confirmation from Zhou Lin that she hadn’t done those things.

But Zhou Lin just held her, repeatedly comforting her, "It wasn’t your fault."

It wasn’t her fault... so it really did happen...

Cheng Zhiwei’s heart felt like it was plummeting into the abyss, then crashing harshly at the bottom.

"It was really me." She muttered, feeling all her strength drained, collapsing into Zhou Lin’s arms.

"Ah Lin, I saw the trending search online, wasn’t it handled cleanly back then? How come it’s..." Lin Yu’s remaining words stopped abruptly upon seeing Cheng Zhiwei.

She wanted to go over and comfort Cheng Zhiwei, but Zhou Chenyuan held her back and gently shook his head.

Cheng Zhiwei closed her eyes, tears silently rolling down, Lin Yu’s unfinished words felt like the final straw that broke the camel’s back.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read