Chapter 118: I Time-Traveled from Two Years Ago
Hearing the news of the male and female leads' divorce, An Ling was terrified.
She was afraid of what would happen if Shen Linyan changed too.
If he became like them, his persona collapsing, completely losing the way he used to be.
To the point where she never considered that their personas might have been exactly like this all along.
When she called Zhou Wen, An Ling's mind was already a mess.
She didn't know which answer she wanted to hear.
Or perhaps... she already had the answer.
She just hadn't wanted to face it.
She was unwilling to believe it, unwilling to dig deeper,
but now, reality was laid bare right in front of her.
The male and female leads' personas were fake.
Shen Linyan's persona was fake too.
Her storyline had ended the moment she died.
But everyone else's storyline was still continuing.
She wouldn't even live to see the day their true colors were exposed.
She was a sacrifice, and the An family was a sacrifice.
An Ling forgot how she eventually left the An Corporation.
She only remembered staying in An Zhou's office for a whole afternoon, and finally, An Zhou drove her back.
Before she got out of the car, he hugged her gently and said softly,
"It's okay, An Ling. The system did all of that. Neither I nor Mom and Dad have ever blamed you."
They didn't blame her...
They didn't blame her...
But she blamed herself.
It was because she was the supporting female character, because her body was hijacked by the system to do those stupid things, that the An family ended up in this situation.
And now, she didn't even know if Shen Linyan would continue to target the An family.
What if he did?
After all, he wasn't the gentle second male lead.
He had originally planned to swallow up the An family.
What guarantee was there that he wouldn't do it in the future?
"Beep—"
The front door opened, and cold air drifted from the house, gently brushing against her hair. The woman's eyelashes trembled, the corners of her eyes still holding a faint redness from crying, as she stood quietly at the door without going in.
In the dim living room, the sound of rain pattered against the windows, like a cold, man-eating cage.
It swallowed her up silently.
And she was completely unaware of it, even feeling happy.
After an unknown amount of time, An Ling finally lifted her leg slowly.
She put down her bag, sat on the sofa, and lowered her head, staring blankly at her own hand. On her slender, pale ring finger was the same wedding ring as Shen Linyan's.
"Meow~" A very soft cat's meow came from beside her.
Huihui was lying on the sofa looking at her, its tail swishing back and forth behind it.
An Ling blinked, collapsed onto the sofa, and tilted her head to look at it.
Huihui turned its head to glance at her, then walked over and nestled into her arms.
In the freezing living room, the furry little ball felt exceptionally warm, like holding a small heater.
An Ling's eyes curved in a smile as she lowered her head and rubbed its head.
"It's rare to see you so well-behaved."
"Buzz—" The phone in her pocket vibrated.
She took out her phone, saw the caller ID, and pressed decline.
She opened the chat window.
The screen was full of messages.
Shen Linyan: [Madam, shall I pick you up tonight?]
An Ling: [No need.]
Shen Linyan: [Are you working overtime?]
An hour passed. Having received no reply, the man sent another message.
Shen Linyan: [What would you like to eat tonight, Madam? ^^ Do you want to eat out? I've booked a restaurant.]
Another hour passed.
Shen Linyan: [The rain seems to be getting heavier, can I come pick you up?]
Shen Linyan: [I want to see you.]
An Ling: [Fine, wait for me in the car.]
This felt more like a kind of revenge against Shen Linyan.
But this revenge didn't bring her any joy.
An Ling scrolled up through the chat history, her gaze slowly sweeping over the words, before finally turning off the screen.
Looking at these chat records now, she even felt they were full of hypocrisy.
Calculating the time, her colleagues should have all gone home by now. Shen Linyan probably noticed something was wrong, which was why he called.
An Ling hugged Huihui tightly in her arms, closed her eyes, and lay on the sofa.
She didn't know how long it had been, when a familiar sound came from the front door.
"Beep—"
The man stayed silent at the door for a while, then stepped inside.
The footsteps drew closer and closer, then stopped in front of her.
"Madam." The man's voice was very soft, as if he was afraid of disturbing the woman on the sofa.
An Ling's eyelashes fluttered slightly. She opened her eyes, her gaze staring blankly ahead, unfocused.
After a few seconds, she slowly shifted her gaze, her eyes landing on the man.
Shen Linyan stared intently at her, an imperceptible nervousness hidden in his dark eyes, the corners of his lips pulled tight.
His usually meticulously styled hair was now scattered across his forehead, and his shirt collar was slightly unbuttoned, making him look somewhat flustered.
An Ling slowly curved her eyes into a smile. "I lied to you. I didn't go to the company at all this afternoon. Are you angry?"
Shen Linyan's Adam's apple bobbed.
"It's okay, I'm not angry..."
He stepped closer and sat on the sofa. Just like usual, he reached out his hand, wanting to touch the girl's face.
"Why didn't you turn on the heating..."
The next second, however, the girl dodged it without any warning.
Shen Linyan's eyes suddenly froze.
His heart skipped a beat.
His fingertips stiffened in mid-air, and he stared blankly downward.
Huihui jumped out of her embrace. An Ling propped herself up on the sofa to sit up, putting some distance between herself and the man.
She acted as if she hadn't noticed his stunned expression, busying herself with fixing her tousled hair.
Once her hair was tidy, she turned her head to meet the man's helpless gaze.
"Shen Linyan, are you really not angry?"
Her pace was even as she slowly repeated, "Because I'm not entirely sure if you're just pretending."
Shen Linyan froze, clenching his fingers tightly.
He was just about to answer, but immediately after, the girl's words made his pupils contract sharply.
"After all, if I make you angry, I'm afraid you might just swallow up the An Corporation."
His heart gave a violent jolt. His eyes looked dazed, and he subconsciously lowered his voice. "...What?"
"Do you not understand?"
An Ling tilted her head to look at him.
She curved her eyes, but there was not a hint of a smile in them. Her red lips parted slightly as she enunciated every word clearly, "Didn't you marry me before just because you wanted the An Corporation?"
Shen Linyan's pupils trembled slightly, freezing in place as he looked at her.
An Ling slowly lowered her eyes.
"I'm right, aren't I?"
Outside the window, a violent storm poured down.
Inside the room, there was a dead, suffocating silence.
After what felt like an eternity, the man's hoarse and strained voice finally rang through the air.
"...Yes."
His voice was very soft, the trailing notes carrying a slight tremor. "But that was in the past, Madam. We aren't just a marriage of convenience now..."
An Ling's eyelashes fluttered lightly.
She turned her head slightly, her jet-black hair cascading down her shoulder, hiding her pale profile.
She pressed her lips together tightly, her slender fingers gripping the blanket beneath her.
"In the past..."
After a moment of silence, An Ling lifted her head.
"Shen Linyan, I told you before that if it were two years ago, I never would have imagined marrying you. Didn't you ask me why I specifically said two years ago?"
Under the man's stunned gaze, she spoke softly:
"Because, I transmigrated here from two years ago."