Chapter 29: Chapter 29 She never cared for it

"What?" Cheng Zhiwei was stunned. "It wasn’t arranged by her?"

"Xu Tian tried to call you but couldn’t get through, so she came to me. Zhiwei, who exactly brought you home? You don’t have any recollection at all?"

"I... don’t." Cheng Zhiwei pounded her head lightly. "But it definitely wasn’t Wu Chengshuang."

Wu Chengshuang would never let her off the hook.

Seeing her soaked to the skin, He Ye comforted her, "Go take a shower and change your clothes, then we can talk."

"Okay."

The warm water washed away the sticky feeling on her body. Cheng Zhiwei lifted her head, eyes closed, reveling in that hint of warmth, but her heart was desolate.

She was wondering, who was it that brought her back that night?

After showering, He Ye handed her the phone, "It’s Xu Tian’s call. You should clarify things."

Cheng Zhiwei took it. "Da Tiantian."

Xu Tian apologised, "Sorry, Yueyue. I didn’t expect this to happen. It’s all my fault. I had drinks that day at a social event and completely forgot about it."

"It’s fine." Cheng Zhiwei offered a comforting smile. "Though I don’t know who it was, they did a good deed at least."

"There’s another thing, Zhiwei." Xu Tian said. "Auntie saw the news on the internet, asked me about it, and I told her the truth. Auntie asked you not to worry, she will handle it."

Cheng Zhiwei was taken aback, then responded with a thank you.

She didn’t want to trouble Lin Yu. After all, she was about to divorce Zhou Lin, and Lin Yu would soon cease to be her mother-in-law. She didn’t want to owe the Zhou Family too much.

Meanwhile, in the penthouse suite.

Zhou Lin stood by the window, "I didn’t know about this."

Lin Yu’s voice came from the phone, "Zhou Lin, someone intentionally released this kind of news at this critical moment to harm Zhiwei’s reputation. You know very well who did it. I warn you, if there is a next time, I won’t be soft-hearted, not even if Zhiwei herself steps in."

After finishing her statement, she hung up the phone directly.

Zhou Lin frowned deeply. Lin Yu was referring to the news online. He had been in a meeting early in the morning and was unaware of this matter.

"Secretary Zhang, go check," Zhou Lin ordered with a furrowed brow.

He thought of Cheng Zhiwei, drenched and miserable outside, and realized it was because of this incident.

Fine, seeing her in such a pitiful state, he was willing to help.

One hour later, the investigation results were in.

"It was Wu Chengshuang," Secretary Zhang said sympathetically. "He hired someone to post the photos online and then spread rumors that the Young Madam engaged in underhanded dealings."

Secretary Zhang added, "It could be deliberate retaliation for being fired."

Just then, the doorbell rang.

Secretary Zhang went to open the door and said with some surprise, "Young Madam."

"I’m here for Zhou Lin," Cheng Zhiwei stated at the entrance, cold and distant.

"Please come in."

Secretary Zhang allowed her in, then thoughtfully closed the door behind her before leaving.

The vast suite was silent.

Cheng Zhiwei walked to the edge of the sofa, looking at the man standing by the window, his figure tall and dignified. Standing this way, he exuded an extraordinary nobility.

She looked at herself, clad in a simple short sleeve shirt and jeans, bare-faced.

They truly were mismatched.

Cheng Zhiwei wasn’t putting herself down—she was simply accepting reality.

She didn’t speak, and as Zhou Lin exhaled a plume of smoke, he watched her with a sidelong, indifferent gaze, "Gone mute?"

A flurry of thoughts had surged up in Cheng Zhiwei, but they shattered when she was brought back to reality. She replied coolly and indifferently, "About the stuff online..."

As she spoke, Zhou Lin interrupted her with a mocking sneer, "Isn’t your senior pretty capable? Let him deal with the online issues. What are you doing looking for me?"

After getting Lin Yu’s call, Zhou Lin assumed Cheng Zhiwei was there to ask for his help, which is why he responded with undisguised sarcasm, expressing the dissatisfaction that had accumulated over the past few days.

Cheng Zhiwei clenched her palm, her eyes rimmed with red. "Zhou Lin, Bai Zhuzhu has already taken from me what she wanted. Why won’t you let me go?"

Zhou Lin’s mocking expression froze, disbelief clouding his brow, "What do you mean?"

Cheng Zhiwei bit her lip, tears pooling in her eyes, the frustration building beneath her anger now rising alongside it.

"I’m asking, why won’t you let me go?"

Clearly, when she had suggested they go their separate ways, he had agreed so readily.

"Cheng Zhiwei, you think I did this?" Zhou Lin ground his teeth, his tone icy cold.

Heh, this shameless woman. He regretted not staying out of sight in the parking lot that day, letting Wu Chengshuang take her away.

Before coming here, Cheng Zhiwei had intended to approach Zhou Lin with a better attitude and ask for his help, but his sarcastic tone and arrogant attitude made it impossible for her to suppress her emotional impulsiveness.

"That was an opportunity I earned through my own efforts, Zhou Lin, you’ve gone too far," she cried out sharply.

Zhou Lin extinguished his cigarette in the ashtray, walked over to Cheng Zhiwei, and his entire demeanor became domineering with the anger seething within him. His icy gaze hid a fearsome blade.

"Cheng Zhiwei."

"I worked so hard preparing for this audition, but the moment Bai Zhuzhu arrived, you took away what was mine just for her, so easily. Now that I’m no longer in her way, why are you still targeting me?" Cheng Zhiwei’s emotions surged, her lips trembling as she stared straight at Zhou Lin.

"What exactly do you want from me?" she practically screamed, on the verge of collapse.

Zhou Lin’s eyes darkened with cold fury, "Cheng Zhiwei, you’re caught red-handed behaving improperly, and now you’re blaming me?"

"Behaving improperly?" Cheng Zhiwei’s burning anger cooled in an instant, her nerves taut. As Zhou Lin’s lips moved, she felt as though she was being plunged back into that despairing time.

Back when she and Zhou Lin were found waking up in the same room, the most common scolding she heard was for being "improper."

In Zhou Lin’s heart, she had always been an "improper" woman.

Zhou Lin didn’t notice Cheng Zhiwei’s suddenly pale face; he was still caught in his own misunderstood anger, speaking harshly and unkindly.

"You know exactly what kind of person Wu Chengshuang is, yet you dressed like that to meet him, drank with him, let him take you away. Every single instance, every single act, was with your willing participation. Now that trouble has arisen, you’re accusing me?"

"Cheng Zhiwei, I don’t care what you want to do, but I hope you remember, you still bear the name of Young Madam Zhou. Don’t disgrace me in public."

Disgrace in public?

Cheng Zhiwei’s mouth curled into a sneer, "You think I care?"

She never, never, never cared.

With bitter sarcasm, a terrifying storm brewed in Zhou Lin’s expression.

Without a second thought, he blurted out, "If you don’t care, why did you get involved with me in the first place?"

His words stopped all of Cheng Zhiwei’s retorts in their tracks.

That incident firmly nailed her to the pillar of shame; any action she took was presumed to have an ulterior motive.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read