When the call ended, and he saw the figure on the balcony turn away, A Jin finally stepped out from the shadows below.
He couldn't see her expression earlier, but he felt her pain—raw, helpless, suffocating.
Every part of him had wanted to rush up, gather her into his arms, and tell her that even if the whole world abandoned her, it didn't matter—because he could give her an entire world of her own.
But his shoes might as well have been nailed to the ground.
He couldn't move.
He had never been a romantic man, and the spark of tenderness that flickered in him was quickly extinguished by the cold sea of reality.
The more he cared for her, the clearer the obstacles between them appeared.
He wondered whether he had been blind before—wearing sunglasses, perhaps—because only someone blind could commit those outrageous, unforgivable acts with such ease.
Looking back, it was obvious: just a matter of mindset.
He hadn't cared then.
He never imagined a future with Lin Wan.
So he behaved recklessly, without restraint.
Now he had no choice but to accept the old saying:
If you walk on the edge long enough, you'll eventually pay the price.
He slipped into the car and lit a cigarette. He was only halfway through when his phone rang—his cousin calling.
"Bro, weren't we supposed to play mahjong? We're all waiting to clean you out. How'd you disappear?"
A Jin glanced at the half-smoked cigarette.
"Went out to buy smokes."
"Come on. That excuse is flimsy. We have every brand under the sun here."
A Jin chuckled. "Not the one I wanted."
"Oh? Sounds like you're not after cigarettes… but a woman?"
That drew a real laugh from him. "You're not wrong."
"Please. Any man in love knows how it is. I was just telling my wife—we won't see each other for a day, and I'm already lovesick."
A Jin took a drag—and nearly choked.
He muttered under his breath,
"Wife… that's a nice word."
On his way back, he replayed his cousin's teasing.
A man in love.
He was indeed burning hot—
But it was a one-sided fire, a blaze with no warmth in return.
—
The New Year holiday made his grandfather's old courtyard livelier than ever.
Relatives abroad returned, students came home, and all the younger generation gathered together.
Seeing his descendants fill the home with chatter and laughter, the old General Yuan was deeply pleased.
He had fought half a lifetime, seen the world's storms—now he cared only for a growing family, for the chance to hold a great-grandchild someday.
But the younger generation seemed bewitched.
No one wanted to get married.
Those who were married refused to have children.
So the old man's stern gaze wandered from one grandchild to the next… eventually settling on A Jin.
After lunch, the whole family lounged in the living room.
The old general resurrected an old topic:
"What's going on with you and that Zhang family girl? They've gone quiet. Made all that noise at the start, then disappeared—spineless."
"I was never involved with her," A Jin replied.
The old man barked,
"Then who are you involved with? That woman you're keeping outside?"
A Jin drew a deep breath, stood up, and faced the room.
"Since everyone's here today, there's something I need to make clear."
His tone startled the gathering.
His parents exchanged confused looks.
His eldest uncle seemed to guess what was coming and immediately shooed the younger cousins outside.
The old general snorted.
"Spit it out. Don't act mysterious. Nothing you say will shock me."
A Jin inhaled once more, clenching his fists subtly before releasing the words.
It's about Lin Wan.
The woman you mentioned—yes, that's her. She was also the fiancée of the man who died in Chen Zui's accident.
His grandfather frowned.
"How the hell did you get involved with her?"
A Jin gave a weary, almost self-mocking smile.
"Because… I fell for her."
A sharp slap cracked through the room.
The sound came from his left.
A Jin turned just in time to see his father's furious expression—and the overturned teacup splashing water across the table.
His mother steadied the wobbling cup, staring at him in shock.
"So she agreed to be with you?" his father demanded.
"No. I forced her."
The words dropped like a lead weight.
A collective intake of breath echoed around the room.
"I threatened her with evidence that could put her fiancé's father in prison… forcing her to stay by my side—"
Before he finished, a teacup shattered at his feet.
His father's roar followed:
"You bastard! Do you have any shred of humanity left?"
A Jin met his father's eyes, calm to the point of coldness.
"Dad, let me finish."
His father's chest heaved, breath ragged with fury.
He looked ready to strike his son across the face.
He gritted out,
"Fine. Speak. Then we settle accounts."
A Jin let out a helpless little laugh.
I thought it was momentary interest.
But later… I realized I'd fallen in love with her.
Another wave of shocked gasps rippled through the room.
Even the old general stared at him as if he were speaking an alien language.
His father exploded again:
You think you're worthy of that word?
Love?
What you did is no different from robbery!
You're a bandit!
You and your brother are a pair of disasters—
One killed a man, and the other stole his woman—
You two are—
He choked, trembling with rage, unable to find words vile enough.
A Jin's vision stung.
Something hot surged behind his eyes, pressing to escape.
He forced it back with a hard blink.
"Dad," he said hoarsely, You're right.
I'm not worthy of calling it love.
"You're not even worthy of being called a man."
His father surged forward, grabbing him by the arm.
"Come home. Now."
"Wait," the old general finally spoke after a long silence.
His voice cut through the air like a blade.
Explain something first.
What exactly happened in Chen Zui's accident?
Are you hiding something from me?
Do you think I'm senile?
A Jin's pulse jumped.
He had handled that incident cleanly.
No one looking casually into the matter would ever find the truth.
In an era filled with privileged brats killing pedestrians, Chen Zui's case had quickly disappeared among countless others.
Only his parents and two uncles knew parts of the truth—fragments, not the whole.
He hesitated.
His grandfather was not like his uncles. He took everything to heart, and his health was precarious. The wrong shock…
But the old man thundered again:
You don't tell me?
You think I can't find out?
I'm not dead yet!
All of you think I'm blind!
A Jin exhaled heavily.
He spoke the truth.
Chen Zui killed someone while drunk driving.
To protect him… I used some connections and destroyed the evidence.
His grandfather listened in grim silence.
Then shouted:
"Liu!"
Uncle Liu hurried in.
"Bring the cane."
Liu hesitated. "Sir, it's New Year's—"
New Year makes murder legal now?
Go.
Don't make me say it twice.