Chapter 22

She had heard that spring in Iceland was also wonderful. 

 You could still see the Northern Lights, flowers would bloom, and you could witness the return of seabirds flying back from the south for winter, thousands of them sweeping majestically over the sea. 

But the honeymoon still didn’t happen, once again left unresolved. 

Zhou Yanjing started coming home less often, and when Lin Yuxi called, he was cold and distant. Even when he did come back, it was always very late. After showering, he would go straight to bed without saying a word to her. 

Lin Yuxi didn’t know what had happened. At that time, she was caught up in what she thought was love, utterly confused as to why Zhou Yanjing had suddenly grown distant. 

At that time, Zhou Yanjing had just left the Zhou Group and independently founded Boyu Investment Bank. As the proud second son of the Zhou family, he refused to rely on the family’s background. 

It wasn’t easy for a new investment bank to secure IPO underwriting deals for listed companies. 

Lin Yuxi comforted herself, believing that it was just because he was too busy with work, and too tired to talk when he came home. 

That was when she loved Zhou Yanjing the most. So, with courage, she went to an uninvited birthday party for Shi Tang, just to see him. 

And that was when she overheard those words words that haunted her, waking her up in cold sweats in the middle of the night. 

It wasn’t until someone at the party noticed her and the gazes turned toward her gazes filled with disdain and pity that she slowly realized the truth. 

Oh, it wasn’t that he was too busy with work. It was that she wasn’t worthy. 

It turned out he still loved Jiang Nan, and she was just the woman he had reluctantly married out of obligation. 

When he was in the mood, he’d spend time with her. When he grew tired of her, he’d toss her aside. 

Lin Yuxi left the gift she had brought for Shi Tang, and as she walked out, her back remained straight. No one knew just how humiliated she was. 

Her shattered pride was scattered all over the floor. 

It was Zhou Yanjing who had broken it with his own hands. 

He had lifted her up to the clouds, only to let her fall hard. 

After that, her relationship with Zhou Yanjing became completely cold. 

Not long after, Zhou Yanjing went to New York, and rumors spread. People said he still couldn’t forget Jiang Nan, that he was unhappy being forced by his family to marry a woman he didn’t love, and that he had gone overseas to reconcile with Jiang Nan. 

Lin Yuxi retreated back into her protective shell. For a long time, she didn’t speak to anyone except for Yu Jiaxiao. 

When Lin Yuxi returned to the villa at No. 9 Songyun Bay, the house was quiet. 

Chen Sao heard her and rushed out, saying excitedly, “I have a friend who works as a caretaker in Villa 12, looking after an elderly person. Their children have all settled abroad now, and the old man has nothing to do and feels so bored. The other day, I casually mentioned giving them one of our kittens, and she said she’d ask them about it.” 

“Today, she got back to me they want it! Their family even held a video conference to vote on it, making it all very official.” 

Chen Sao, feeling proud of herself, was a bit eager for praise. Lin Yuxi nodded. “Once the kittens are two months old and have had their vaccines, we’ll send one over.” 

“Oh, they need vaccines?” Chen Sao hadn’t realized there were so many details. “Their family has already prepared the cat bed, food, and everything. I’ll let them know.” 

“I have other friends too. I’ll ask around to see if anyone else wants one.” 

Normally, she had nothing to do at home, and after being caught playing mahjong by Lin Yuxi last time, she had stopped gambling for a while. Now that she had found something to do, she was very enthusiastic. 

“Once all the kittens are gone, there won’t be any worry about Second Young Master’s allergies, and then he can come home every day.” 

Lin Yuxi paused for a moment as she headed upstairs but didn’t tell Chen Sao that Zhou Yanjing’s absence had nothing to do with the cats. 

He just didn’t want to come home. 

At night, Lin Yuxi suffered from insomnia again, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. 

She got up and took a melatonin pill. After waiting half an hour for it to take effect, she finally started to feel drowsy, but even then, her sleep was restless, filled with chaotic dreams. 

At one moment, there was heavy snow falling outside the window, and she found herself beneath a man’s powerful, heated body. His soft breaths were swallowed by fervent kisses, and his voice, gentle enough to melt, whispered in her ear over and over, “Xixi…” 

The next moment, she was in the middle of a crowded, laughing group of people, feeling exposed, like a snail without its shell, vulnerable and anxious. 

Meanwhile, Zhou Yanjing, like a god high above, sat under a dazzling spotlight, his lips curled in a cold, heartless smile. His voice, indifferent and devilish, echoed in her mind, slicing her heart: 

“If I can’t marry the one I want, why can’t I just settle for someone else?” 

Lin Yuxi woke up in overwhelming sadness, her face cold. When she reached up to touch it, she realized she had been crying. 

Her chest felt hollowed out, a deep, spreading ache reaching through her entire body, tormenting her nerves. 

Yet she didn’t know what to fill that emptiness with. 

After waking, she didn’t sleep well for the rest of the night. Every time she closed her eyes, memories of Zhou Yanjing’s good and bad moments flooded back. 

She drifted in and out of sleep, and by morning, she woke with a terrible headache. 

At work, everyone who saw her asked, “Why do you look so pale?” 

Lin Yuxi explained that she hadn’t slept well. Xiao Cui, used to this by now, said, “You’re having insomnia again? Didn’t the Chinese medicine I recommended help you before? You got better after drinking it, so why is it starting again?” 

Recently, Lin Yuxi’s sleep had indeed been poor. 

Maybe it was because Zhou Yanjing had returned. 

“Do you want some coffee?” she asked, changing the subject. “I can bring you a cup.” 

“Sure, sure!” Xiao Cui was easily distracted. “I could also use some spicy snacks to wake me up.” 

Lin Yuxi went to the vending machine to buy a canned coffee, but by chance, there was only one left. 

She thought about picking something else, but after browsing for a while, nothing appealed to her. So, she chose a bottled tea instead, only to have the machine malfunction and the bottle get stuck halfway. 

She tried shaking the machine to get it down, using all her strength, but the bottle wouldn’t budge. 

Lin Yuxi suddenly felt very frustrated. 

Her luck was always bad. 

She felt like crying but thought it was so ridiculous how could a doctor get upset over a drink stuck in a vending machine? How could she maintain her dignity in front of difficult patients if she couldn’t handle this? 

She stood in front of the machine for two minutes, feeling as if she were being punished. Suddenly, she had the urge to ask Zhou Yanjing, “Why don’t you love me anymore?” 

Meanwhile, Xiao Cui was waiting and waiting for her coffee and spicy snacks but instead got a phone call. 

Lin Yuxi sounded out of breath and a little anxious, as if she was running. “Xiao Cui, do me a favor!” 

Xiao Cui immediately stood up from her chair. “What happened? Is someone trying to steal my spicy snacks?” 

Lin Yuxi almost laughed. “… Sorry, I didn’t buy them for you. I have something urgent to take care of.” 

“You scared me!” Xiao Cui sighed in relief, patting her chest. But after a moment, she realized that the result was the same her snacks were still gone. 

“So, does this mean no coffee either?” 

“I’ll buy you ten bags of spicy snacks and ten cups of coffee when I get back, okay? Just cover for me at work, please?” 

“No problem!” Xiao Cui replied enthusiastically. “But where are you rushing off to all of a sudden?” 

Outside the hospital entrance, crowds came and went, and even passersby and drivers on the busy street couldn’t help but turn to look. 

They saw a young woman in a white lab coat running down the street. The clip that had been holding her hair in place was loosening as she ran, falling out. She didn’t stop to pick it up, and her silky long hair streamed behind her as she sprinted, her beautiful face glowing in the golden sunlight. 

Lin Yuxi said, “I’m going to get an answer.” 

She ran across the pedestrian crossing and jumped into a taxi that had just pulled up. 

In the driver’s surprised gaze, she shut the door, breathless, and said, “To Boyu Investment Bank. Thank you.”