Luo Qin didn’t feel threatened by Qin Zhe’s words. He frowned slightly, “Mr. Qin, as just a friend to Lin Zhixia, you are too presumptuous.”

“It’s precisely because I’m his friend that I don’t want people like you to hurt him anymore,” Qin Zhe’s voice was still steady but his eyes were sharp, “Luo Qin, Zhixia is a very simple and good person. Don’t bully him using Xiao Ai.”

Luo Qin turned his head and gave Qin Zhe a deep look. After a moment of silence, he left the park and returned to the car.

It wasn’t his intention to come here today and argue with people.

By their conversation, it seemed Qin Zhe had investigated Luo Qin and could see the reason he had approached Lin Zhixia after so long. Qin Zhe’s assumptions naturally made Luo Qin the enemy.

Luo Qin closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the headrest. The words Qin Zhe had said surfaced in his mind.

He didn’t like that Qin Zhe. Luo Qin hadn’t liked him from the first moment he saw him, standing next to Lin Zhixia at the hospital, holding Lin Keai in his arms.

As Luo Qin sat in the car, the restaurant closed. He wanted to go and see Lin Zhixia but seeing him so busy, Luo Qin was reluctant to disturb him.

*

Lin Zhixia closed the restaurant door and walked a few steps with Xiao Ai before halting. Luo Qin was standing in front of the door, seemingly waiting for him.

Lin Zhixia sighed and walked over, “Why are you still here?”

“I’m waiting for you.”

Lin Keai saw Luo Qin and was very happy, opening his arms to ask for a hug. That familiar jealousy welled up in Lin Zhixia’s heart but he stayed silent. His little dumpling liked getting hugs from Luo Qin so Lin Zhixia endured, reluctantly handing the baby over to him.

Luo Qin was surprised and then couldn’t help but laugh.

He always had a cold, indifferent expression on his face and rarely ever smiled so happily, brows stretching and eyes twinkling. Seeing his smile, Lin Zhixia was in a daze for a long while.

Luo Qin was so handsome. No matter how often Lin Zhixia looked at him or what kind of mood the man was in, Lin Zhixia would always sigh dreamily in his heart.

But no matter how handsome Luo Qin was, it didn’t affect the way Lin Zhixia felt about him. He had suffered greatly because of Luo Qin. No matter how good his complexion, Luo Qin was extremely cold inside. He was best kept at a distance.

“I have my car. Let me take you home.”

Lin Zhixia was reluctant.

“It takes less than twenty minutes for us to walk back and the road to our house is very narrow. There’s no way your car can drive it.”

Luo Qin frowned, “Then I’ll walk you home.”

Lin Zhixia wanted to refuse but the traitor Lin Keai was very happy, smiling wide and throwing his arms around Luo Qin’s neck. Luo Qin smiled and carefully kissed Xiao Ai’s face. Then he said, “I have gifts in my car for the both of you. Let me grab them.”

Lin Zhixia was stunned. It was no surprise that Luo Qin had bought another gift for Lin Keai but he had never expected to receive one himself.

He followed Luo Qin to the car and watched him open the trunk, revealing two wrapped packages inside. The package on the left was powder blue and covered in the logo for a children’s clothing brand.

Part of having a little cub was being familiar with popular children brands, both domestic and foreign. Lin Zhixia recognized this logo immediately. It was a famous high-end foreign brand and the prices for their products were astronomical.

A small cotton jacket could surpass what the restaurant made in a month. It was unthinkable for Lin Zhixia to buy something like this for Xiao Ai. For Luo Qin, the scary price was a trivial concern.

The gap between the rich and the poor was truly insurmountable.

On the right was a black wrapped box that also had a logo printed on it. Lin Zhixia didn’t recognize the brand but if Luo Qin bought it, it was probably impressive.

Lin Keai was still clinging to Luo Qin so Lin Zhixia picked up both packages to carry home.

“I didn’t expect to receive a gift as well,” Lin Zhixia said with a smile, “Xiao Ai’s luck is contagious.”

“I didn’t give it to you because of Lin Keai. I wanted to apologize.”

“Apologize?” Lin Zhixia said slowly, “Because of what happened earlier?”

Although at the time Lin Zhixia had been very angry, after returning to the restaurant, his temper cooled. It wasn’t necessary for Luo Qin to apologize with a gift.

“Not just that. Four years ago, that night on the cruise ship, I wronged you. I didn’t try to investigate and understand the situation and I said a lot of awful things. Today, I learned the truth so I wanted to apologize to you.”

Luo Qin stopped and turned to gaze intently into Lin Zhixia’s eyes.

“I’m deeply sorry for all the harm I caused you.”

Lin Zhixia stared at him blankly.

The time he had spent in the Luo family manor had been very difficult. Lin Zhixia had been an orphan since he was a child, struggling to survive on his own. He had never been naive but he still worked hard to integrate himself into Luo Qin’s life, feeling a tiny bit of hope in his lonely heart that he had finally found somewhere to belong.

But Luo Qin had always been indifferent in the face of Lin Zhixia’s struggles and attributed anything he did to malicious intent.

After leaving the Luo house, Lin Zhixia had suppressed his memories of that place, pushing them down subconsciously and concentrating on living day to day.

But Luo Qin’s words pulled those dark memories from the depths of his mind.

It was good that Luo Qin knew the truth of the matter. But honestly, Lin Zhixia didn’t care much about it anymore.

At the time, Lin Zhixia had felt so wronged and depressed but now, looking back, it felt like it happened to him in a different life. It was so far removed from his life now that it seemed trivial.

Lin Zhixia smiled softly and his eyes fell on a sleepy Xiao Ai.

“It’s okay. It’s all in the past.”

Luo Qin seemed stunned by Lin Zhixia’s reaction, looking at him in a daze with a blank face. Seeing this, Lin Zhixia smiled even bigger, “What? You don’t believe me?”

“I really don’t blame you for the way you treated me then. After all, we got married because of my disgraceful actions. It’s not that surprising that you would be disgusted with me. But that’s in the past. We should move on.”

The cold wind blew around them, causing a bone-deep chill on this winter night. Lin Zhixia’s smile was warm but Luo Qin felt a dark hole open in his heart. The more indifferent Lin Zhixia’s smile and words became, the larger the hole grew.

Why was it so easy for Lin Zhixia to let go of the past? Because he didn’t care about it anymore…

This thought had constantly plagued Luo Qin since their reunion. Lin Zhixia didn’t care about their past and he didn’t care about Luo Qin.

“Although I am quite curious…I heard that you and Qiao Ruxu aren’t together.”

The atmosphere between the two had become awkward so Lin Zhixia tried to change the subject. He turned to look at Luo Qin, the desire for gossip making his eyes shine, “Why is that?”

Luo Qin seemed unwilling to answer and said impatiently, “There is no reason. We just aren’t.”

In the novel, Luo Qin and Qiao Ruxu had been in a push and pull, ambiguous relationship for many years at this point. From middle school to adulthood, the two of them couldn’t bear to admit that they liked each other. Because of this, it was easy for the original Lin Zhixia to take advantage and insert himself where he wasn’t wanted.

In fact, these two lovers should thank the original for helping them admit their feelings for each other. This vicious cannon fodder character could be considered the impetus for the novel’s happy ending.

The original knew that Luo Qin held Qiao Ruxu in his heart and as a typical cannon fodder villain, he tried to tear them apart. But all his horrible deeds did was drive the two of them into each other’s arms.

But after Lin Zhixia transmigrated, he didn’t follow the original plot and chose to divorce Luo Qin immediately. Had this decision irrevocably changed the outcome of the novel?

Maybe there would appear another cannon fodder villain to assist this fated couple. Then Luo Qin and Qiao Ruxu could live happily ever after.

Lin Zhixia brainstormed a lot of fantasies as they started to walk. Lin Keai was asleep already and Luo Qin’s arms were holding the little guy securely. With his own arms full of their gifts, Lin Zhixia gave in and let Luo Qin walk them home.

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lordanony t/n: