Chapter 448: Chapter 459: If you jump off the observation deck, I’ll let the child live.
Lin Yixun’s eyes changed color; that matter, she was indeed a bit puzzled back then. But at that time, she was just a naive university student and didn’t delve deeply into the reasons behind it.
However, now Cheng Ying mercilessly provided an answer, "The reason why Leng’s fell into a crisis of bankruptcy back then was entirely the handiwork of that mayor father of yours who loves you like his life."
Lin Yixun’s heart felt as if it was struck by a heavy hammer, widening her eyes in disbelief, "You’re talking nonsense! How could it be my dad?! My dad is not a businessman, how could he be involved with Leng’s matters!"
"Don’t forget, although your dad is not a businessman, he is the mayor. Sometimes power is more useful than money; it can help you achieve many things that money cannot." Cheng Ying spoke unhurriedly, the sarcastic smile on his face growing more intense, "Back then, it was precisely your father who, in collusion with Leng’s competitors, set up Leng’s, causing a break in its funding chain and pushing it to the brink of collapse. It’s really laughable when you think about it; who would have thought that a dignified mayor would abandon his professional ethics and do such low and despicable things for his daughter!"
"No, I don’t believe it, my dad is not that kind of person."
"Really?" Cheng Ying laughed softly, "Your dad might be a clean official, but he has a fatal flaw—he sees you as his life. In A City, who doesn’t know that the mayor dotes on his precious daughter without principles, pampering her to the point of lawlessness. Even the stars and moon in the sky, as long as the mayor’s daughter wants them, the mayor would find a way to get them down for her."
Cheng Ying’s description sounded somewhat exaggerated, but it was indeed true.
Lin Yixun’s parents got married right after graduating from university, but for nearly a decade after their marriage, they had no children. Her father loved children dearly and waited and hoped for ten years before finally having a daughter. So ever since Lin Yixun was born, she was pampered like a princess by Father Lin. He spoiled her without principles; any request she made, he would agree to, and anything she wanted, he would find a way to get it for her.
As for Leng Yixiu...
Lin Yixun’s lips trembled uncontrollably. Based on what she knew of her father, it was highly likely that he would do something disgraceful for her sake.
Seeing Lin Yixun’s pale face, Cheng Ying chuckled, "Lin Yixun, don’t you already have the answer in your heart? You wanted Yixiu, but he didn’t like you. So your father attacked Leng’s, cornering him until he had no way out, and then extended an olive branch, ensuring he wouldn’t refuse."
"No, you’re talking nonsense! Leng’s crisis was clearly an accident! My dad wouldn’t do such a thing!"
"Hehe... To this day, why are you still deceiving yourself? Why don’t you go find Yixiu and confront him? Ask him if the one who caused all this isn’t your dad?"
"No, things aren’t like that, you’re lying to me, you’re lying to me!"
Lin Yixun kept shaking her head, trying hard to deny this fact, but flashes of the past in her mind made her have to believe what Cheng Ying said.
She had never understood why Leng Yixiu’s mother would treat her so coldly and even look at her with hatred; she never figured out why, six years ago, Leng Yixiu would repay kindness with revenge, personally sending her father to prison, and pursuing her to the death.
But now, thinking about it, everything became clear: because of her obsession with Leng Yixiu, her father took action against Leng’s, causing it to fall into a bankruptcy crisis, leading Leng Yixiu’s father to jump to his death, then Leng Yixiu breaking up with Cheng Ying and marrying her, and then...
It all played out like a domino effect, turning into a chain reaction. And unknowingly, she had become the behind-the-scenes instigator of the first domino.
The truth came too suddenly, too cruelly. All these years, Lin Yixun had always thought that she played the role of a victim in this love story, not realizing that Leng Yixiu was also a victim.
Seeing Lin Yixun fall silent, Cheng Ying suddenly laughed coldly, "Lin Yixun, this is only part of the story. You don’t know that not only did you destroy Yixiu’s life, but you also completely ruined mine."
"Cheng Ying, back then, you and Leng Yixiu broke up partly because of me. But you lost love, whereas I lost my family, my love, my entire life. I don’t feel I owe you anything."
"Oh, really?" Cheng Ying coldly laughed, "You think love is all I lost?"
Cheng Ying’s eyes suddenly reddened, filled with unprecedented madness, "Lin Yixun, do you know how the child in my belly six years ago came to be!"
"That’s your private matter; it has nothing to do with me," Lin Yixun said expressionlessly.
"No, it has a lot to do with you, everything to do with you! Back then, Yixiu and I planned to get married after I finished graduate school. But because of you, and your father, Yixiu suddenly broke up with me. I was heartbroken, left A City without even completing my graduate studies. Later, by chance, I entered the entertainment industry. But the entertainment industry... you should know, to survive there, if you aren’t dead once, you would have to shed a layer of skin. The child... the child came to be during that time. Lin Yixun, if it weren’t for you, how would I have ended up being trodden upon by others? How could I have become pregnant with someone else’s child! Tell me, didn’t you ruin my life? Wasn’t it you?!"
Lin Yixun was secretly alarmed; although Cheng Ying did not spell it out clearly, Lin Yixun grasped the whole story from his words.
In the entertainment industry, hidden rules and such phenomena were very common. Sometimes, even if you wanted to stay clean, you couldn’t get out unscathed. When she used to work at Nightshade, she had seen many such sordid things, sometimes consensual, sometimes forced. But regardless of the outcome, it was undoubtedly unfortunate for women.
"Cheng Ying, even if I was the trigger for all this, I have already paid a price. Isn’t that enough?" Lin Yixun lowered her eyes and looked at the child in Cheng Ying’s arms, saying softly, "Cheng Ying, our grudges belong to our generation, but the child is innocent. Can you let go of the child and direct your resentment towards me?"
"Yes, you’re right." Cheng Ying lowered his eyes to look at the child in the swaddle with indescribable tenderness, but in the next moment, they turned venomous, "Fine, grudges have a head, debts have a master, you repay what you owe me yourself. Do you want to save this child? Fine, if you jump from the viewing platform, I’ll let her live!"