Chapter Eighteen: Because of Love-Don't Talk About Love When You're Lonely(A petty scholar bound by rigid interpretations)

"President Lin, please go ahead." Standing outside the elevator, Xiaoxiao spoke politely. Lin Shuo didn’t bother with any pretense and strode inside. Seeing her standing still, he asked, "Aren’t you coming in?" Xiaoxiao entered, but stayed far away. As the elevator doors closed, she caught a glimpse of Manager Huang’s smile, reminiscent of a pimp’s grin, through the gap. Not wanting to seem too deliberate, she searched for something to say. "Just now, President Tu seemed to treat you well. Did he know you before?"

"No," Lin Shuo replied, which greatly surprised Xiaoxiao. He quickly added, with a detached tone, "But he knows money."

They didn’t exchange another word until she saw him off to his car. Back at the company, President Tu had already vanished. Manager Huang’s attitude toward her was noticeably kinder. Xiaoxiao wasn’t surprised; ever since Lin Shuo arrived, she had sensed something—strange yet familiar—that made her heart tremble. Back then, he had appeared just as suddenly, backing her without question, indulging her without any principles.

"Since President Lin is interested in you, make sure to interact more with him from now on. Consider it making up for your past mistakes." Manager Huang spoke with a sanctimonious air, and seeing her hesitate, prompted again, "If you can secure his sponsorship, you’ll get the same commission as anyone else did before."

The terms were too tempting; Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but be moved. Manager Huang, sensing an opportunity, handed her a phone number copied from a business card and instructed, "He’s seen a lot in life. Don’t be petty with him."

Xiaoxiao immediately recognized the number as a perfunctory gesture for outsiders. Lin Shuo surely had a private number and wouldn’t print it on a business card so openly. She secretly laughed at Manager Huang’s oversight, tucked the slip of paper into her pocket as she left. Clutching her phone, Lin Shuo’s exclusive digits glowed on the screen, yet she hesitated to call.

After much deliberation, she decided to dial. In Lin Shuo’s eyes, she had long been a utilitarian woman; she didn’t care about being despised one more time.

Lin Shuo could not have predicted that Xiaoxiao would take the initiative to call him, especially using that number. He reached for the phone, a mischievous impulse arising, and carelessly tossed it onto the passenger seat.

"Sorry, the user you dialed is not answering. Please try again later." No disappointment showed on her face as she put away her phone; it saved her the trouble of crafting a conversation.

Ever since their ‘chance encounter’ at the fast food restaurant, Xiaoxiao seemed bewitched, scripting countless tender scenes in her mind every day, gradually realizing she had fallen hopelessly in love with him. One day, as she walked down the street, she overheard news about a student at the school—some boy beaten by a group of debt collectors at the gate, a scene described as utterly brutal. She paid little attention, but when Xiaobao mentioned the victim was Lin Shuo, Xiaoxiao could no longer sit still. Yet Lin Shuo seemed to have vanished; even Xiaobao couldn’t find out where he’d gone after being injured. In those few days, Xiaoxiao truly understood what it meant to lose all appetite and interest in life.

It was half a month before she heard word of Lin Shuo again. He was back at school, acting as if nothing had happened, and Xiaoxiao’s concern deepened. She hurried to find him. Lin Shuo was startled by her worried expression, and as she placed a box with a cute kitten motif in front of him, his face grew uneasy. She explained, "This is my saved pocket money. Use it to pay your debts."

"I don’t need anyone’s pity."

Xiaoxiao grew anxious. "It’s not pity, really, it’s not!"

"Then why are you being nice to me?"

"Because I like you." For the first time in her life, Xiaoxiao uttered these words to someone. She was awkward, but every syllable rang with sincerity. She hoped Lin Shuo could feel it, too. Yet Lin Shuo merely gave a cold laugh and ruthlessly asked, "So then what? We get together, argue, and break up again? If all that leads only to becoming strangers, why not accept things as they are?"

Xiaoxiao was left speechless. In her memory, Lin Shuo was strict as an interviewer, but never stubborn or pessimistic—he even had a hint of dry humor. But today’s Lin Shuo was entirely different. She couldn’t grasp the joke, and suddenly realized he wasn’t joking at all. She hadn’t expected Lin Shuo to reject her with the logic of a thesis defense, so rational, so excessively rational. Xiaoxiao felt utterly humiliated, fled the scene in panic, and forgot the box altogether.

Lonely Moments, Do Not Speak of Love, Chapter 18: Because of Love—Update Complete!