Chapter 38: Heaven and Hell!
Jiang Linlin looked at Shen Anyu with moved, beautiful eyes. The luxurious surroundings of the suite faded away, leaving only the man before her. He was her universe now.
Next to this man, the profound sense of security made her realize that her fragile shoulders no longer needed to bear the burden of a family alone. The weight of medical bills, tuition, survival, and the constant fear of the future that had pressed down on her for years suddenly lifted, replaced by a warmth she had never known.
Instead, a man who cherished and loved her would support her and provide her with a sky of her own. A sky where she could fly, where she could dream, where she didn't have to be afraid.
She could never repay him for all he had done for her! It wasn't just about money. It was about life.
He saved Grandma Zhong from the brink of death, giving her back the only family she had left. He annihilated the Shura Assassin organization that killed her parents, avenging a blood feud she didn't even know existed until today, freeing her from a past she couldn't remember but felt deeply. And he protected her from that big bad Wei Yun, the monster lurking in the shadows, the "brother" who turned out to be a demon.
As a sophomore girl with nothing but her youth, beauty, and a heart full of gratitude, she had no way to repay any of this with money or power. She had no empire, no armies, no billions.
But she had herself.
Jiang Linlin mustered her courage. Her heart hammered against her ribs like a trapped bird, deafening in the quiet room. She raised her head, her cheeks flushed with a mixture of shame, determination, and a blossoming love that terrified and thrilled her. She looked at Shen Anyu with shy, nervous eyes, her eyelashes trembling.
Her soft voice emerged, trembling slightly but filled with conviction:
"Brother Shen... Linlin wants to repay you."
Shen Anyu looked down at her, his eyes dark and unfathomable. A faint smile played on his lips—the smile of a hunter whose trap had snapped shut perfectly, capturing the most beautiful butterfly in the forest.
"Repay me?" he murmured, his voice low and magnetic, vibrating through the small space between them. "How do you plan to do that, little white flower?"
Jiang Linlin didn't speak. Words were insufficient now. Instead, she reached out with trembling hands. Her fingers brushed against the fabric of her own shirt, fumbling with the buttons.
One button. Two buttons. The fabric parted, revealing the porcelain skin beneath, flushed pink with emotion.
Shen Anyu didn't stop her. He watched, his gaze intense, drinking in her surrender. He reached out, his hand cupping her cheek, his thumb brushing her trembling lip.
"Are you sure?" he whispered, giving her one last chance to run, knowing she wouldn't take it.
"I am yours, Brother Shen," she whispered back, leaning into his touch. "Body and soul."
He smiled, a dark, possessive satisfaction filling him. He had won. The protagonist's white moonlight was now his.
...
[Ding! Detected destined heroine Jiang Linlin's favorability +10! Plundering +30,000 Destiny Points!]
[Ding! Detected destined heroine Jiang Linlin's total favorability 99! Plundering +100,000 Destiny Points!]
[Ding! Child of Destiny Wei Yun's main emotional line has experienced a huge fluctuation! Plundering +100,000 Destiny Points!]
...
[Location: Modu University – Main Gate]
In the afternoon, the sun was high in the sky, casting down scorching rays that baked the asphalt until it shimmered with heat waves. The air was thick and heavy, suffocating.
Yet, a figure stood motionless at the entrance of Modu University, allowing the scorching sunlight to bake him. He stood like a statue of despair amidst the bustling students, an island of misery in a sea of youth.
He wore a cheap security guard uniform that was soaked through with sweat. His cap was pulled low, but it couldn't hide the devastation on his face.
Sweat, like broken pearls, continuously dripped down from his forehead, stinging his eyes, mixing with the grime on his face.
Drip! Drip! Drip!...
Splashing and shattering on the ground, as if his heart was shattering along with them. Each drop was a testament to his pain, a physical manifestation of his internal bleeding.
"I can't find her... why can't I find her? Linlin, where has my Linlin gone?"
Wei Yun's eyes were bloodshot, rimmed with red, his pupils dilated with panic. His face was pale and gaunt, the skin stretched tight over his bones. He looked dazed and lifeless, like a walking corpse that had forgotten to fall down.
Earlier that day, he had gone to Grandma Zhong's house with full hope and expectation. He had run all the way, his heart filled with a desperate need to explain, to save her, to tell her everything. He had prepared his speech, ready to explain everything to Jiang Linlin, to expose Shen Anyu's true colors as a manipulative monster, and to finally confess his love and vow his eternal protection.
However, when he arrived at Grandma Zhong's house, it was empty.
The door was locked. The windows were dark. The life that had been there just yesterday was gone, erased as if it had never existed.
He had knocked until his knuckles bled. He had called out her name until his voice was hoarse.
After asking the aunt next door, he discovered the devastating truth: Shen Anyu had already moved Jiang Linlin and Grandma Zhong earlier in the day! He had spirited them away to a golden cage, out of Wei Yun's reach.
He had searched all night, all morning, and all forenoon. He ran through the streets of Modu like a madman, checking every place he could think of, every shadow, every corner.
He even broke his peaceful life to seek out top hacker friends from the Dark World, risking exposure to check various surveillance cameras to find Shen Anyu and Jiang Linlin's whereabouts. He called in favors, spent his hidden reserves, desperate for a lead.
But he found nothing!
All of Shen Anyu's information was top secret, encrypted by the best security the Shen Family could buy. It was a fortress of data he couldn't breach. How could he, a washed-up assassin hiding in the light, possibly find it?
At this moment, Wei Yun was exhausted and distraught. His spirit was fraying at the edges. His body screamed for rest, but his mind screamed for Linlin.
He had a terrible guess gnawing at his mind, a guess he found hard to accept, a nightmare he couldn't wake up from.
How many things could happen in one night when a pure, delicate, and incomparably beautiful girl like Jiang Linlin fell into the hands of a rich, powerful playboy like Shen Anyu?
Especially after Shen Anyu had manipulated her emotions so thoroughly? Especially after he had painted Wei Yun as the villain?
"No, it can't be," he muttered to himself, shaking his head violently, trying to dislodge the thoughts. "Linlin is so pure... she definitely wouldn't accept Shen so quickly… she wouldn't..."
But the doubt was a worm eating at his brain.
Wei Yun clenched his fists, his murderous fingernails digging deeply into his palms until crimson blood dripped down, mixing with the dust on the ground. The physical pain was grounding, a distraction from the agony in his soul.
At this moment, a passing couple began to exclaim, pointing at him.
"Hey, look at this little security guard. He earns a few thousand yuan a month, but is really working hard! Instead of hiding in the security booth under the big sun, he's standing at the school gate, so dedicated!"
"Shh, look at his face. That gnashing of teeth, that ferocious look... he looks like a watchdog whose bone was stolen. It's quite scary! Let's go around him."
"Don't be afraid, darling, with me here, even if it's really a dog, there's nothing to fear! I'll protect you."
Wei Yun, however, paid no attention. He was oblivious to everything around him—the mockery, the heat, the noise of the campus. His gaze was fixed straight ahead, staring down the road as if waiting for a judgment from the heavens.
He stood there for hours. The sun moved across the sky, baking him, dehydrating him, but he didn't move. He was a sentinel of sorrow.
Finally, in the evening, as the sun began to dip below the horizon, painting the sky in hues of blood and gold, he waited.
He waited for that red limited-edition Lamborghini, the one he would never forget even in his nightmares, to slowly drive over.
The car purred like a satisfied beast, its engine a low growl that vibrated in his bones. It gleamed under the streetlights, a symbol of everything he hated and envied.
He saw the driver's door open. A powerful female driver stepped out. Her aura was sharp and dangerous, close to that of a [Martial Arts Grandmaster]. She moved with lethal grace, scanning the area before she walked around and opened the passenger door.
Wei Yun held his breath. His heart stopped.
His beloved Jiang Linlin stepped out.
She was still so pure, delicate, and incomparably beautiful. But she had changed.
She was wearing a light purple Chanel dress that hugged her figure perfectly—a dress worth more than his life's savings. It was elegant, sophisticated, and utterly out of place for the girl he knew. Her hair was styled, her face glowing with a radiance that only a woman in love possesses.
"Hoo…"
Seeing this, Wei Yun let out a long sigh of relief. The ferocious expression on his face softened into a smile of immense relief.
She looked happy. She looked unharmed. She wasn't crying. She wasn't hurt.
This is great, his Linlin hasn't been harmed by that scoundrel Shen... wait…
Just then, as Jiang Linlin walked towards the gate, her stride faltered slightly.
The sharp-eyed Wei Yun, trained to spot weakness, suddenly noticed something.
Jiang Linlin's knees!
There were faint, reddish bruises on her knees. They were subtle, easily missed by an untrained eye, but to him, they were screaming. And her walk... it was slightly unnatural, a bit stiff, as if her legs were weak and sore.
Wei Yun was struck by lightning. His body trembled violently, and his mind went blank. The world spun around him.
He didn't even recover his senses as Jiang Linlin brushed past him, flanked by her new bodyguards. She didn't see him. Or maybe she did, and she didn't care.
His pure school beauty, Jiang Linlin, whom he adored and protected from the shadows for so long... had still been harmed!
The realization hit him with the force of a physical blow. Those bruises... that walk... the expensive clothes... the glow... there was only one explanation.
She had knelt. For a long time. She had submitted.
"No…"
Wei Yun fell straight to his knees on the hot pavement. The impact didn't register.
He roared to the sky, a sound of pure agony and despair that tore from his throat.
"NOOOOOO!"
His eyes filled with bloody tears. His heart shattered into a million pieces, the shards piercing his soul.
[Ding! Child of Destiny Wei Yun has a mental breakdown! Plundering +66,666 Destiny Points!]
[Ding! Child of Destiny Wei Yun is moderately blackened! Plundering +200,000 Destiny Points!]
...
Meanwhile, Jiang Linlin turned her head at the sound of the roar.
She saw the security guard kneeling on the ground, screaming like a madman. She recognized him instantly.
The monster. The killer. The liar.
She cast a look of disgust, hatred, and anger at Wei Yun. Her beautiful eyes, usually so kind, were now hard as flint.
"Brother Shen arranged a very, very powerful female bodyguard for me; I don't have to be afraid of that big bad Wei Yun anymore…" she thought, clutching her expensive purse tighter.
She felt safe. She felt protected. The fear that had gripped her when she saw him evaporated, replaced by the confidence Shen Anyu had instilled in her.
Thinking of Shen Anyu, the disgust faded, replaced by sweetness. Jiang Linlin felt nothing but warmth in her heart as she walked towards the dormitory with a smile and light steps, ignoring the broken man behind her who was screaming her name in his heart.
[Location: Modu University – Female Dormitory]
"Linlin, you're back! What happened yesterday? Why did you suddenly ask me to help you take leave?"
Just then, a charming little imp bumped into Jiang Linlin as she entered the room and asked with concern.
It was Jiang Linlin's best friend and roommate, Liu Mi!
Liu Mi's foxy, charming eyes were now looking at her best friend Jiang Linlin with worry. She was wearing a loose silk nightgown that barely concealed her voluptuous curves, her hair messy from sleep.
Jiang Linlin had always been diligent and hardworking, never having taken leave before. Her sudden absence yesterday had worried Liu Mi sick. She had called, texted, and paced the room all night. Jiang Linlin hadn't replied to her messages last night or this morning.
This made Liu Mi even more anxious. Was she hurt? Was she in trouble?
"Oh, Mimi, be gentle…" Jiang Linlin winced as Liu Mi hugged her tight, her body still sore from the "activities" of the past two days.
"Linlin, what's wrong?"
Liu Mi released Jiang Linlin, looking at her best friend with some surprise and great confusion. Hadn't they always been very close? And wasn't Jiang Linlin a delicate girl? Why did she wince at a hug?
Then, Liu Mi's sharp eyes scanned her friend. She noticed the change immediately.
The aura. The clothes. The subtle shift in her posture.
"Wait, Linlin..."
Liu Mi reached out and touched the fabric of Jiang Linlin's dress. Her eyes widened.
"The clothes you're wearing... isn't that the latest season's high-end custom light purple Chanel dress? It's worth hundreds of thousands! I saw it in a magazine just last week!"
"You..." Liu Mi looked at Jiang Linlin's glowing face, the faint bruises on her knees that she tried to hide by shifting her stance, and the expensive dress that fit her like a glove.
A realization dawned on her. A shocking, unbelievable realization.
"You... you didn't..."
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