The King of Urban Mercenaries
Chapter 102 - 102 102 Do you not like living with me

102: Chapter 102 Do you not like living with me?

102: Chapter 102 Do you not like living with me?

“Lin, it’s still early.

Take a breather.”

After dinner, Lin Fei was ready to take his leave, but Old Wang tried to keep him with courteous persistence.

“No need, I have things to handle back at the company.”

Lin Fei refused Old Wang’s invitation politely but firmly.

The reason Lin Fei was so adamant and quick to leave Old Wang’s house was not due to a lack of hospitality, nor because the amenities were substandard at Old Wang’s.

Although Old Wang had prepared plain fare, Lin Fei did enjoy drinking with the unassuming and sincere Old Wang.

With someone like Old Wang, Lin Fei could drop all pretenses, which was why Lin Fei would go out of his way to help Old Wang time and again.

When Lin Fei had just returned to Zhonghai, he often drank with Old Wang, and they always had a good time.

But tonight was different.

With Meng Xue’er present, who flushed with embarrassment and occasionally glanced at Lin Fei, he felt as if he was sitting on pins and needles.

No sooner had he left Old Wang’s house than Meng Xue’er caught up with him.

“Big Brother Lin, are, are you going home tonight?”

Her voice was still soft and gentle, but now with a slight tremble that was hard to detect.

Although Lin Fei hadn’t noticed the change in Meng Xue’er’s tone due to the quietness of her voice, he could tell something was off about the girl from Meng Xue’er’s careful facial expression.

Meng Xue’er was just too gentle and soft, and certainly the type of girl whose feelings were written all over her face.

If it had been someone else asking Lin Fei such a question, he would rebut with something like, “My going home or not is none of your damn business.” If it had been Shen Peini asking, Lin Fei would not hesitate to pick the woman up and rush to a hotel.

If it had been his wife Mu Shanshan asking, Lin Fei would definitely smile and move closer, saying, “Yes, definitely going home.” Of course, Mu Shanshan wouldn’t normally ask Lin Fei such a thing.

If any other woman or girl had asked him that question, Lin Fei would not have found it strange.

But this question had come, unexpectedly, from Meng Xue’er’s lips.

If it weren’t for Meng Xue’er standing right in front of him with flushed cheeks, Lin Fei would never believe she would ask such a thing.

Yet Meng Xue’er’s expression and the lingering voice in his ear clearly reminded Lin Fei that this question indeed came from her.

This shouldn’t be happening, this really shouldn’t be!

This kind of question, the most likely to come from Shen Peini.

Then Lin Fei would be off to a hotel, rolling in the sheets with the woman—that would make sense as the sequence of events.

Even if it had been Ling Weiwei who asked, Lin Fei would have instantly stepped forward to envelop her in his arms.

Unfortunately, the question came from Meng Xue’er.

Given Meng Xue’er’s pure and bashful demeanor, Lin Fei really couldn’t muster the urge to take her to a hotel.

It wasn’t that Lin Fei had suddenly changed, but if he were to do so, he himself would look down on himself.

The guilt would be too overwhelming; even with Lin Fei’s thick skin, he wasn’t prepared for that.

“Xue’er, is there something you need help with?

If so, feel free to tell me.

Big Brother Lin will definitely help if he can.”

No matter how you looked at it, Meng Xue’er did not seem like the type to actively seduce men.

If she were, Old Wang wouldn’t need to worry about Meng Xue’er’s employment issues.

With her assets, if the word got out, there would be no shortage of wealthy and powerful men wanting to keep her.

Eventually, Lin Fei figured that maybe Meng Xue’er was facing some difficulties and wanted to ask for his help.

Maybe because of her timid nature, she couldn’t come straight out with it, hence her question.

Once he understood this, Lin Fei sighed inwardly.

Even he wasn’t sure why, if Meng Xue’er wasn’t trying to seduce him, he felt relieved rather than disappointed.

“No, it’s not that.” To Lin Fei’s surprise, after he finished, Meng Xue’er’s white handsstarted fluttering about, and she kept shaking her little head.

Lin Fei’s expression darkened slightly, “Miss Meng, we’re not that close, are we?

Whether I go home or not doesn’t really concern you.” His tone indicated a growing distance with Meng Xue’er.

Although Lin Fei was quite laissez-faire when it came to the opposite sex, sometimes lacking self-control, this didn’t mean he had no principles regarding women.

Before, Lin Fei had taken a liking to Meng Xue’er because of her pure qualities and her shy character—qualities Lin Fei was seeing for the first time, and naturally, he had intended to treat her kindly.

But now, Meng Xue’er appeared to be enticing him, and if that were true, it meant that her pure and innocent facade was just that—an act.

The thought that he might have misjudged her and been deceived by Meng Xue’er stole all warmth from Lin Fei’s demeanor.

Being poor is not scary, what’s frightening is losing one’s natural character and dignity because of poverty.

If that’s the case, then the meaning of life is lost.

Meng Xue’er was very pure; it was part of her innate character, but that didn’t mean she was clueless.

Meng Xue’er definitely noticed the shift in the way Lin Fei addressed her and his tone.

At that moment, Meng Xue’er’s originally rosy cheeks turned deathly pale, and she spoke in a soft and aggrieved whisper, “I, I just wanted to ask.

If Brother Lin, you don’t come back at night, then I, I will lock the door.”

“Lock it?

How come…”

Lin Fei was taken aback; he really wanted to ask if Meng Xue’er was acquainted with Mu Shanshan and was planning to move into the Purple Garden Pavilion villa.

Otherwise, why would she ask him such an odd question, and how would she lock the door?

However, upon further thought, Lin Fei suddenly understood.

What Meng Xue’er referred to as “coming home” was totally different from what he had in mind; in simple terms, one home was not like the other.

Ever since moving into the Purple Garden Pavilion, Lin Fei subconsciously regarded it as his home.

He didn’t know when he had started, but whenever the word “home” surfaced, Lin Fei’s first thoughts were Mu Shanshan’s icy, ravishing beauty and the Purple Garden Pavilion villa.

Meanwhile, the “home” Meng Xue’er spoke of was clearly not Purple Garden Pavilion.

Instead, it was the rental he temporarily lived in when he first returned to Zhonghai.

Over a month ago, pressured by Mu Hong, Lin Fei had moved into Purple Garden Pavilion.

However, he hadn’t given up the rental but instead had taken in Meng Xue’er as a new tenant.

Out of kindness, Lin Fei did not inform Old Wang’s family nor Meng Xue’er that he had already moved out of the rental.

And Meng Xue’er, being unaware of the situation, naturally asked Lin Fei, the secondary landlord, if he would come back to sleep at night.

It made perfect sense.

After clarifying the ins and outs of the situation and looking at Meng Xue’er’s ghostly pale and pitiful, tear-stained face, Lin Fei nearly slapped himself in the face.

Deep down, he couldn’t help but curse himself fiercely!

“Xue’er, this, well, I have to work overtime at the company tonight and I’ll be sleeping there, so you go ahead and lock the door when you return,” he said.

Even with Lin Fei’s thick skin, he felt a bit uncomfortable at this moment.

Fortunately, Lin Fei’s psychological resilience was strong enough to withstand Meng Xue’er’s soft and plaintive gaze, which could soften any man’s heart.

He kept his composure, his heart not racing, firmly standing his ground.

“I, I understand.”

Meng Xue’er seemed to be a girl who didn’t know how to hold a grudge.

Even though Lin Fei had misunderstood her, she instead lowered her head under Lin Fei’s gaze, her fair little hands fidgeting with the hem of her skirt.

“Silly Xue’er, that was Brother Lin’s fault just now.

Please don’t take it to heart, okay?”

After a few seconds of contemplation, Lin Fei rubbed his hands and apologized to Meng Xue’er.

Lin Fei was not someone who easily said sorry; to be exact, he was not someone who would apologize at all.

However, this time, Lin Fei’s apology was definitely genuine.

To put it more precisely, he sincerely hoped to obtain Meng Xue’er’s forgiveness.

He couldn’t help it; the feeling of guilt was just too overpowering.

Even when he had killed people abroad or flirted with other women behind Mu Shanshan’s back, Lin Fei had never felt as guilty as he did at that moment.

The thing was, Meng Xue’er’s demeanor, with her head slightly lowered as if she had suffered a great injustice, had already deeply affected Lin Fei.

At this moment, Lin Fei had finally come to a full realization.

Girls like Meng Xue’er, who appeared as pure and unblemished as a sheet of white paper, could not be faked.

Such girls, whenever one appeared, were masterpieces of the Creator.

Given Meng Xue’er’s current emotional state, Lin Fei genuinely worried that once she went back by herself, she might hide in her bedroom and cry all night.

If that were to happen, Lin Fei would truly be a sinner.

“Brother Lin, you, you don’t need to apologize to me.

I’m, I’m fine,” Meng Xue’er said.

Perhaps sensing Lin Fei’s heartfelt contrition, Meng Xue’er slightly lifted her head, glanced at Lin Fei, whispered a small explanation, and then hurriedly lowered her head again.

“It’s fine then.

It’s getting late; you should hurry back,” Lin Fei said.

For a girl with Meng Xue’er’s temperament, lying was not a skill she possessed.

Meng Xue’er declared she was fine, so Lin Fei breathed a sigh of relief and turned to leave.

“Brother Lin, do you, do you dislike living with me?

If you do, I, I will move out tomorrow.”

“Silly girl, what nonsense are you talking about?”

Meng Xue’er’s abrupt question left Lin Fei both amused and annoyed.

With Meng Xue’er’s looks and temperament, Lin Fei couldn’t think of any man who wouldn’t like living with her.

“Then, why doesn’t Brother Lin come home to stay?”

“Silly girl, didn’t I tell you already?

Your Brother Lin is busy with overtime at the company,” Lin Fei replied.

Lin Fei had no choice but to dredge up the lie he told Old Wang once again.

As he spoke the falsehoods, Lin Fei comforted himself by thinking that it was a white lie and that he was doing the right thing.

He had already moved into the Purple Garden Pavilion, and it was clearly impractical for him to move back.

Not to mention Mu Hong, Lin Fei couldn’t even explain it to Mu Shanshan.