“That… is a long story too.”
Unable to withstand Yu Wenle’s persistent questions, Lin Huaiqing finally told him everything about becoming Qin Fan’s contract lover.
Yu Wenle was stunned.
“Wait, Huaiqing, don’t you like women? I remember you even had a girlfriend at university. You… how could you…”
His reaction made it clear that he was imagining more than had actually happened.
“If I’d known, I would have asked my dad to lend you more. Then you wouldn’t have had to suffer this humiliation over fifteen million.”
Lin Huaiqing hurriedly covered his mouth.
“Keep your voice down. He’s sitting right across from us.”
Qin Fan absolutely could not hear that. Otherwise, he would certainly be upset again when they got home.
“What’s he like, then? He hasn’t been bullying you, has he? Once my dad’s company has some funds available, I could help you pay him back.”
“No, really, there’s no need. You’ve already helped me so much. He treats me pretty well too. It’s only a year, and almost two months have already passed. I’ll just turn a blind eye, put up with it for a while, and it’ll be over.”
Perhaps he was imagining it, but the moment he finished speaking, Lin Huaiqing felt Qin Fan looking at him from across the pool.
He had been speaking quietly. Surely Qin Fan had not heard?
“All right. But if anything happens, you have to tell me. Don’t keep it to yourself. If Qin treats you badly, let me know. I’ll settle things with him.”
“I will. I promise.”
After their soak, Lin Huaiqing felt wonderfully relaxed, as though an entire week’s exhaustion had melted away.
Once they had said goodbye to Yu Wenle and Gu Chengyun, he chatted away to Qin Fan on the drive home.
“What kind of family does Dr. Gu come from? Do you know much about him?”
“Not really.”
“Did you know he and Yu Wenle are together? Don’t wealthy families investigate the backgrounds of their private physicians?”
“Didn’t know.”
Qin Fan drove with a cold, expressionless face, his replies perfunctory.
Lin Huaiqing could not stand being given the silent treatment. Irritated, he asked:
“Who’s upset you now?”
Without warning, Qin Fan braked and pulled over.
Lin Huaiqing, who had not fastened his seat belt, nearly pitched forward into the windshield.
Before he could complain, Qin Fan gave a bitter laugh.
“I just don’t understand. Is being with me really such an ordeal for you? Turning a blind eye, putting up with it again and again… Have I been asking too much?”
Something about Qin Fan’s strained smile and disappointed expression sent a chill down Lin Huaiqing’s back.
He really had heard what Lin Huaiqing had said to Yu Wenle.
“I… I was only…”
“You only accidentally spoke your mind in front of your best friend?”
“No… If you were listening in, why didn’t you listen to all of it? I really don’t find it unbearable. It’s just that I’m a man too. In front of Yu Wenle, I wanted to save a little face. That’s why I said it.”
Lin Huaiqing felt that no amount of explaining could clear things up. Had he known this would happen, he would rather have sacrificed his pride than let Qin Fan misunderstand.
Qin Fan opened the car door and lit a cigarette, trying to calm himself. Cold air swept inside, making Lin Huaiqing shiver.
Only after a long silence did Qin Fan murmur:
“Right… I’ve embarrassed you in front of your friends. I didn’t think things through.”
But his tone sounded nothing like a simple admission of fault.
Hoping to make peace, Lin Huaiqing softened his voice, coaxing him.
“Come on. Let’s go home.”
Instead, Qin Fan found a document in the car and held it out for him to see.
“This is the contract we signed. Ever since you put your name on it, I’ve kept it with me. But today…”
His eyes reddened. Pressing his lips together as though he had finally reached a decision, Qin Fan tore the contract to pieces.
“From today on, you’re free. You don’t have to repay the fifteen million either.”
Lin Huaiqing’s eyes widened. He could hardly believe what was happening.
Even if Qin Fan was angry about what he had said, there was no need to be this final.
“Qin Fan! What are you doing?”
“I know that ever since you signed this contract, you’ve forced yourself to be with me, feeling nothing but shame and embarrassment. But that was never what I wanted.”
“I never said that!”
“No, you didn’t. But I can tell. You don’t like men, and you like being with me even less. So I’m respecting your orientation!”
With his current mental capacity, Lin Huaiqing could not decipher what Qin Fan truly meant beneath those words.
All he knew was that Qin Fan was sending him away. Qin Fan did not want him anymore.
He did not even notice the tear slipping from his eye and soaking into his collar.
In the dim light, no one else saw it either.
“Qin Fan, I’m asking you one more time. Do you really want me to leave?”
“Get out. Go…”
For some reason, the moment Qin Fan said it, a needle-sharp pain pierced his chest. Even breathing tugged at the ache.
Like a doll, Lin Huaiqing climbed stiffly out of the car.
By the time he wanted to say something more, the car had already disappeared down the road.
【Ding! Excessive emotional fluctuations detected. To avoid affecting connection stability, please regulate your emotions, Host!】
Lin Huaiqing crouched by the roadside and took several deep breaths before he could suppress the urge to cry.
What was wrong with him?
Why did it hurt so much?
Wasn’t Qin Fan letting him go a good thing?
It meant that once he completed the additional task, he could leave this world soon.
In the end, Lin Huaiqing could not remember how he got home. He only knew that by the time he reached his little villa, he was nearly frozen stiff.
He ran a hot bath, yet did not get out until the water had gone completely cold.
Sure enough, he caught a cold the next day.
Dizzy and miserable, he wanted to call someone to take him to the hospital, but could not think of anyone.
The father who loved him most was in prison.
Yu Wenle was too easily worked up. If he learned that Lin Huaiqing was ill, he would certainly go confront Qin Fan.
His grandfather was elderly. He absolutely could not make him worry.
Thinking it over, he truly had no one left beside him.
But perhaps that was only right. He had come here alone, so naturally he would leave alone too.
He could bring nothing with him and take nothing away.
He spent a week in low spirits. By then, his cold had begun to improve. Despite his absence, nothing serious had happened at the company.
Several times that week, he had wanted to message Qin Fan, but each time he forced himself to stop.
Qin Fan had made things perfectly clear. He should not keep troubling him.
As for the money, he would find a way to repay it. Once he had sent Shen Jingyi abroad, he would sell the private jet. That would surely cover what he owed both Yu Wenle and Qin Fan.
From now on, he could only rely on himself.
That afternoon, Lin Huaiqing received word that the flight route had been approved.
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