"I couldn’t find out. At first, I thought it was the paparazzi who took the photos and then sent them to me on purpose. Later, I began to suspect that it wasn’t a coincidence. Maybe you and Qiao Yiyang were set up as part of someone else’s plan."
Lin Xinlan’s heart skipped a beat as she asked incredulously, "Who is that person?"
Rong Shaoze’s mouth curved into an even colder smile, "I suspect there’s no one else but him."
Lin Xinlan hesitated, then ventured a guess, "You mean Rong Mingyan?"
"It should be him, he’s the only one who might have a reason to scheme against me. Plus, isn’t he acquainted with Qiao Yiyang?"
"You suspect Qiao Yiyang is involved too? Zhou Yu plotted against me, and he knew it all along... Was the photo taken on his orders?" Lin Xinlan asked, her flesh crawling with fear.
The more she thought about it, the scarier it became. If that was the case, wasn’t she just a pawn in someone else’s game?
Seeing her in a daze, Rong Shaoze cupped her face and said with a slight smile, "All right, stop thinking about these things. Leave the investigation to me. It might not be what you think."
Lin Xinlan looked up at him in surprise, meeting his brilliant gaze.
Was Rong Shaoze actually trying to comfort her?
She didn’t quite understand the feeling in her heart; it was complicated, and she couldn’t figure it out...
Averting her gaze, she said lightly, "You continue with your work. I’m going downstairs to grab something to eat; I’m a bit hungry."
"That’s perfect, I haven’t eaten either. Can you cook? Make something fresh and bring it up. Let’s eat together," Rong Shaoze smiled.
She instinctively refused, "My cooking isn’t great, you could ask..."
"Right now, I only want to eat what you make."
"...All right then," she reluctantly agreed.
The man kissed her lips, then let her go, satisfied.
Lin Xinlan went downstairs to the kitchen, which was stocked with all sorts of ingredients, including ready-made dumpling fillings.
She wrapped some dumplings, boiled them, and carried two plates upstairs on a tray.
Rong Shaoze ate with relish, finishing all ten dumplings on his plate.
After eating five, Lin Xinlan felt quite full. Seeing him eyeing the dumplings on her plate, she had no choice but to push her plate toward him.
"Do you want more? I’m full," she said.
"Then I won’t be polite," he chuckled as he took the plate, unfazed by the fact that they were her leftovers and quickly finished them off.
"Do you want more? Shall I go cook some?" Seeing his hunger, she suspected he hadn’t eaten for days...
"No, I’m full. Are you? If you’re not, I can go downstairs and cook for you," he offered in return, actually asking her.
Lin Xinlan nodded slightly, "I’m full."
The dumplings she had made were quite large, and a few were enough for her.
After cleaning up the dishes, she watched TV downstairs for a while before heading up to sleep. After taking a bath, she lay in bed, unable to fall asleep.
She had slept too much during the day and didn’t feel like sleeping now.
Rong Shaoze worked late before coming to rest, while Lin Xinlan kept her eyes closed, pretending to be asleep.
The man took a bath, tiptoed to the bed, lay down next to her, turned off the lamp with a gentle movement, and leaned close to her.
Smelling the jasmine scent on her body from the bath, his body reacted involuntarily, tensing up.
He didn’t care whether she was asleep or not, wrapping his arms around her from behind and pressing his thin lips against her skin.
Lin Xinlan shifted slightly, saying in dissatisfaction, "Don’t bother me, I want to sleep."