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Very few people around her knew about Lin Che’s existence. The only ones truly in the know were Su Man and Xu Jiao.
By the time Qin Wei arrived at the private booth, not only had the drinks been ordered, but they had also called in six male models—each over 1.8 meters tall.
Qin Wei had no interest in male models. She found a single-seater sofa, sat down, and asked the bartender to mix her a strong drink.
Su Man asked, “Bad mood?”
Qin Wei replied, “No.”
Su Man and Xu Jiao exchanged a glance. When they had called Qin Wei earlier, they were already curious about what had happened.
“Weiwei, you still haven’t told us clearly on the phone. What’s going on between you and Lin Che?”
“Jiang Yu came back, so I told him to move out.”
Su Man pressed on, “Lin Che was willing to leave?”
“Even if he didn’t want to leave, so what? The house is mine.”
“You’ve been together for five years. Don’t you have any feelings for him?”
Qin Wei, in a bad mood, used alcohol to mask her emotions. She lowered her eyes, “The real one’s back. What do I need with a substitute? I was with him in the first place because he reminded me of Jiang Yu. If it weren’t for Jiang Yu, I wouldn’t have spared him a second glance.”
“So, what did Lin Che say when he left?”
Qin Wei closed her eyes, and instantly, the image of Lin Che leaving appeared in her mind, without the slightest hesitation or reluctance.
“He didn’t say anything. He was obedient. When he left, I gave him 200,000.”
“Only 200,000?”
Su Man was surprised.
Xu Jiao fell silent.
The reaction was understandable. Just looking at the amount of alcohol on the table, it was worth more than 200,000. Qin Wei had been too stingy with Lin Che. After all, he had been with her for five years.
Five years—Lin Che had gone from 20 to 25, and in those five years, he had taken care of Qin Wei with meticulous attention and tenderness.
Lin Che not only looked good, but his personality was also great. He could do everything, and the key was that he was willing to make unlimited compromises when facing Qin Wei’s bad temper.
No matter how badly Qin Wei treated him, he never got angry. Setting aside family background, Lin Che could definitely be considered a perfect partner. Even Xu Jiao, who was usually very picky, couldn’t find a single flaw in him.
At first, Qin Wei only approached Lin Che with the attitude of trying something new. Back then, people around her even bet that she would get bored of him in a month. Who knew that so many months had passed, and they hadn’t broken up.
Qin Wei scoffed, “Is 200,000 little?” She had only given Lin Che 200,000 because she felt he wasn’t worth more.
Su Man muttered, “For an ordinary person, 200,000 is more than they could earn in a year. But for you, it’s just one night’s spending. Honestly, after all this time, I thought you and Lin Che must have developed some feelings for each other. From how Lin Che usually treated you, I thought he would be the kind to cling to you no matter what. I didn’t expect him to just leave like that.”
Xu Jiao chimed in, “Lin Che probably pretended to be indifferent. On the surface, he might seem unconcerned, but deep down, he must care a lot. I bet he’ll be the first to reach out to you tomorrow.”
“Forget tomorrow, I’ll call him right now and have him pick you up. Do you believe he’ll be in a cab heading here immediately? He’s always like that, always ready to come when called. Where else could he find such a good benefactor like you after leaving?”
As they spoke, they began to tease Qin Wei again because she didn’t treat Lin Che as a person, and thus neither did they.
Qin Wei didn’t feel the need to explain herself in front of Su Man and Xu Jiao.
Qin Wei often kept things hidden, but during their gatherings, the three of them would frequently bring up Lin Che and jokingly make him perform the “dog training” act for them.
Lin Che also couldn’t tolerate anyone else around. As long as Qin Wei was by his side, his gaze would always be fixed on her.
Even though they had grown up with Qin Wei, Su Man and Xu Jiao probably didn’t understand her as deeply as Lin Che did.
How deep was it? Just with a single glance from Qin Wei, Lin Che would know exactly what she wanted, often handing her what she needed before she even raised her hand.
Lin Che also made an effort, growing more in line with Qin Wei’s preferences. He had become increasingly handsome, and from the recent photos of Jiang Yu, it was clear that Lin Che had surpassed him. Just looking at his physique—he looked slim in clothes but had a muscular build without them.
The years Qin Wei spent with Lin Che had been undeniably wonderful, so much so that even rich young ladies like Su Man and Xu Jiao couldn’t help but feel envious.
After hearing Su Man and Xu Jiao’s conversation, Qin Wei’s mood improved significantly. She swirled her wine glass and downed it in one go, the red stain of wine now on her lips. “Let’s not talk about him anymore.”
“Alright, we won’t mention him. Let’s talk about Jiang Yu instead. What do you think Jiang Yu would feel if he knew you had been keeping a substitute like Lin Che during the five years he was gone? Though not many people know about Lin Che, you know how small the circle is. There’s no such thing as a wall that doesn’t leak.”
Qin Wei was unconcerned. “I actually hope he knows, it’s just the right chance to use Lin Che to test him.”
She had grown up with Jiang Yu, and their parents had arranged a marriage for them since childhood. The plan had been to settle their marriage during university, but who knew Jiang Yu would suddenly decide to go abroad, throwing both families’ plans into disarray.
Such a big decision, and he didn’t even discuss it with her. He made all the arrangements on his own, and by the time Qin Wei found out, he had already booked his flight, catching her completely off guard.
Qin Wei had argued, yelled, even threatened him… but Jiang Yu remained indifferent and stubbornly insisted on going abroad.
She couldn’t understand why Jiang Yu was so determined to go to Y Country. Who was even there?
After Jiang Yu left, Qin Wei was filled with resentment, and she even fell into a phase of self-doubt. In this mindset, when she saw Lin Che, who resembled Jiang Yu to some extent, it was as though she had found a punching bag to vent all her frustrations.
She transferred all her anger onto Lin Che, doing things to him that she couldn’t do to Jiang Yu.
Lin Che became both a comfort to her wounded heart and a tool for revenge against Jiang Yu.
After all, all misfortune is measured in comparison. The better she lived, the more Jiang Yu would regret his actions.
Recently, Jiang Yu had started preparing to return to China and had taken the initiative to contact her, bringing up many things from their past. It felt like Jiang Yu was starting to care about her, but she wasn’t as happy about it as she had imagined.
The more she drank, the more the six male models surrounded Su Man and Xu Jiao.
Qin Wei, too, had started to feel tipsy. She didn’t like staying out all night, and now she just wanted to go home, to have the porridge Lin Che made to nourish her stomach.
Putting down her glass, she rested her head on her hand and said, “It’s getting late. I want to go home.”
Su Man squinted and asked, “What time is it?”
The male model next to her immediately responded, “It’s 3 AM.”
“Is it that late?”
“Would you like us to book three rooms for you, Miss Su?”
“Two rooms will be fine.” Su Man knew that Qin Wei didn’t like staying in hotels. No matter how good the hotel was, it couldn’t compare to the comfort of her home, where there was hangover soup, stomach-nourishing porridge, and someone to help with her washing.
She looked at Qin Wei and asked, “So, should we call Lin Che to come pick you up?”
Qin Wei replied with a simple “Mm,” one hand pressed against her stomach as she dialed a number.
The phone quickly went through, ringing twice before the system message played.
“Sorry, the number you have dialed is currently in use. Please try again later…”