Reborn to outshine My Ex and His White Moonlight
Chapter 230: A Fire Burned Down This Place

Chapter 230: Chapter 230: A Fire Burned Down This Place

Sister Zhou thought Lin Zhiyi had forgotten about it herself and turned to fetch it from the kitchen, placing it in front of her.

It was a low-key yet exorbitantly priced men’s watch.

Lin Zhiyi recognized it at a glance—it belonged to Gong Chen.

Because she owned an identical women’s watch.

But when she tidied up the kitchen last night, that watch definitely wasn’t there.

Unless... the person who had stayed with her when she had a fever was Gong Chen.

Sang Li never said he was the one who prepared the porridge, it was she who assumed it first.

Thinking about everything that seemed like a dream, Lin Zhiyi’s hand trembled slightly, and she knocked over the ginger tea.

Sister Zhou hurriedly grabbed a tissue to wipe it up, "What’s wrong?"

Lin Zhiyi turned her head towards the window, then suddenly picked up the watch and dashed out.

Standing in the elevator, she watched the descending numbers, silently counting in her heart.

Leaning against the elevator wall, she felt complex and conflicted, constantly reminding herself not to go any farther.

But she desperately wanted to know the answer.

She had already died once, through such painful means, yet she had toughed it out.

She simply couldn’t close the book on her past life in such a muddled way.

She rushed out of the building and ran to the snow-free open ground.

But after searching all around, she couldn’t find the owner of that gaze from before.

He must have left.

Clutching the watch tightly, she immediately pulled out her phone, but before she could make a call, Liu He’s call came through.

"Mom."

"Zhiyi, Lao San is preparing to get engaged to Miss Sang, the engagement is set before the New Year, and the wedding after. It was Lao San who took the initiative to propose."

Upon hearing this, Lin Zhiyi stood frozen in place.

Liu He’s voice became more distant, and finally, all she heard was the sound of branches breaking above her and a large swath of snow heading towards her, but she had no reaction.

Suddenly, a figure hurried over, swiftly pulling her aside, dodging the dead branches and snow.

It was Gong Chen.

It really was him.

Lin Zhiyi felt a sour tightness in her chest, like resentment mixed with grievance.

All those questions suppressed at the bottom of her heart almost burst forth.

Yet, facing his cold, frosty eyes, she found the bitterness hard to express.

He was about to get engaged to Sang Ran, and soon to marry.

Did the answers to those questions even matter now?

At that moment, a gust of wind arose, and the falling snow scattered over the two of them.

Lin Zhiyi suddenly remembered a phrase.

"If we could endure the snow together, we could be said to grow old together."

But whether in her past life or this one, she and Gong Chen had no ending.

Lin Zhiyi took a deep breath, the cold air filling her lungs—her body was cold, but her heart was colder.

"Thank you, Uncle. Don’t forget your belongings, or it might lead to misunderstandings."

She passed the watch to him with indifference.

Gong Chen’s gaze was icy as he stared at her, a chilling air about him, "Misunderstandings? With Sang Li? You’ve fallen for him?"

Lin Zhiyi didn’t hesitate, "Yes."

In that moment, it felt as if the air around them had frozen.

She clenched her fists as the cold wind caused her eyes to well with reflexive tears, forcing herself to calm down and fit the watch onto his wrist.

"Uncle, let it be."

She didn’t want any answers anymore.

Whether he was mistaken in the previous life or had unspeakable difficulties, she had entangled enough in this life.

However, when she let go, Gong Chen’s wrist muscles tensed, his veins bulging as he backhandedly gripped her wrist tightly, trapping her against his chest.

His dark eyes bore into her, terrifyingly intense, yet his lips curled with a trace of a cold sneer.

"Who said we were done?"

He seized Lin Zhiyi’s chin, harshly lifting it, "Lin Zhiyi, I’ve already told you, from the day you provoked me, you should know whether it’s time to end it. It’s not up to you."

Lin Zhiyi bit back pain, her teeth clenched as she said, "What about Miss Sang then?"

Gong Chen paused, showing concern—clearly, he cared about Sang Ran.

Yet his following words left Lin Zhiyi feeling as if she were in an ice cave.

"I will settle you in properly."

Her lips trembled, and it took her a long time to speak, "How will you settle me?"

Gong Chen didn’t speak; he simply pulled her into the car.

The scenery outside the window changed rapidly, and after who knows how long, it began to snow again.

When the car stopped and the door opened, another layer of snow had blanketed the ground.

As Lin Zhiyi got out of the car, a cashmere coat landed on her shoulders, and the man’s scent instantly enveloped her.

When she came to her senses, she was standing in front of a villa.

The expansive garden, even cloaked in a silvery white frosting, had a fairy-tale-like dreaminess, hinting at the spectacle it would be when the flowers bloomed.

Lin Zhiyi already had the image in her mind.

Because this was the house where she had self-immolated in her past life.

Through eight years of marriage, this place was like a luxurious prison.

She stared at the house and asked coldly, "What does this mean?"

Gong Chen’s eyes darkened slightly as he said indifferently, "I will have someone fetch your belongings from your apartment later. From now on, you will live here. I will arrange a driver and a housekeeper for you; if you need anything, just tell them directly."

Without asking, he had arranged everything.

Just like in her previous life, he brought her into the house and said that she would live here from then on, and that she shouldn’t go out unless necessary.

He spoke of her, not us.

Now, after all these twists and turns, she was sent back in yet again.

At this moment, Lin Zhiyi suddenly understood her position in his heart.

Even without Song Wanqiu’s scheming, other women would have appeared, women of noble status and illustrious family backgrounds.

To put it nicely, she played the role of a canary; to put it unpleasantly, she was no different from a prostitute.

She was just required to serve one man, that’s all.

Lin Zhiyi restrained the tears welling up in her eyes and pointed to the surrounding wall with a light laugh, "Plant roses over there; when they bloom, the petals will drift with the wind toward the second-floor terrace."

"Fine," Gong Chen said calmly.

She then pointed to the fountain, "Tear it down and make it into a fish pond. Plant lotus flowers. It will be especially pleasant in the summer, sitting under a parasol, eating watermelon, and drinking a cold beverage."

By the time she said this, Gong Chen’s gaze had changed, deep and scrutinizing.

Lin Zhiyi turned and pointed to an empty space in the corner, her fingertips trembling as she said, "Let’s just plant vegetables there, put in a small wooden sign at the entrance, writing ’whoever’s little vegetable garden.’"

As she spoke these words, her voice was somewhat hoarse, as if she saw Xingxing excitedly jumping up.

"Mommy, I want to grow my own vegetables just like in kindergarten, and it must have ’Xingxing’s little vegetable garden’ written on it."

"Mommy, don’t give the vegetables I grow to Daddy, I hate him."

"Mommy, can we leave this house, I don’t like it here."

Whoo—

A gust of wind blew by, scattering Xingxing’s figure.

The man beside her grabbed Lin Zhiyi’s shoulders forcefully, "Who are you?"

What Lin Zhiyi said matched exactly the house the little girl in her dreams stood behind.

"Who am I? Hasn’t Uncle already arranged everything? A prostitute, right? And a high-class one at that; not just anyone gets to live in such a nice villa!"

"Lin Zhiyi!" A flash of anger sparked in Gong Chen’s eyes.

"You know my grandfather is biased against me, yet you still force me to take on every accusation! What gives you the right! I will not let you manipulate me!"

"You don’t have a choice, unless you don’t want your mother to live well with the Gong Family. I’ve said it; I will arrange everything," Gong Chen commanded icily.

Lin Zhiyi choked, her face deathly pale.

"You and Grandfather are truly father and son."

She struggled to control her emotions, but when she spoke, her voice sounded twisted by an invisible force, every word heavy with significance.

Gong Chen narrowed his eyes and moved closer to Lin Zhiyi, but she took a large step back.

Seeing this, he drew her closer.

"I have always been this kind of person, Lin Zhiyi, I can’t let you go."

In the end, it was nothing more than a man’s possessiveness.

Lin Zhiyi’s eyes blazed red, "If you force me, then the day I move in here, I will set this place on fire."