Those Books

Jiang Qing's eyes darted evasively as she continued playing dumb. "Young Master Lin, why would you think that?"

Lin Xuan spoke in a low, measured tone, "Because with those photos in hand, Hua would have every excuse to lock me up in that damned black room."

Jiang Qing rubbed her nose.

Young Master Lin was just too sharp—how did he even figure this out?

"Young Master Lin," Jiang Qing chuckled awkwardly, "Boss Su has always been bothered by you being with other women. Why would she go out of her way to find photos of you being intimate with someone else just to upset herself?"

Even if Young Master Lin had already guessed the truth, she absolutely couldn’t admit it.

If she did and Boss Su found out, she’d be in deep trouble.

"Heh—" Lin Xuan let out a cold laugh. "Whether it’s true or not, Secretary Jiang, you know the answer."

So this was all part of Hua’s plan!

Damn it!

If he had known those photos were arranged by Hua, he wouldn’t have… sacrificed himself on the first day.

He would’ve just gone along with her scheme and let her lock him up.

His poor kidneys had suffered so much that day.

And the next day? Pure anxiety.

"There’s one more thing," Lin Xuan added.

Jiang Qing’s heart leaped into her throat.

Another one?!

Boss Su had pulled plenty of schemes in front of Young Master Lin—was he about to interrogate her about those too?

"Young Master Lin, go ahead," Jiang Qing said, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

"Earlier, when Hua had her episode and mistakenly thought there was something between us, you mentioned a book. What book?" Lin Xuan asked.

Hearing this, Jiang Qing exhaled in relief. Oh, just this? Thank goodness.

"Young Master Lin, it’s a novel. Boss Su once asked me for dating advice, but I’ve never been in a relationship—what do I know about dating? So I recommended that book to her."

Jiang Qing continued, "The story is about a female CEO’s secretary who gets involved with the male lead. The male lead happens to be scheming against the CEO, so the secretary teams up with him to bring her down. In the end, the CEO dies, the secretary takes over her company, and lives happily ever after with the male lead."

The more she spoke, the more she realized how idiotic she’d been.

Damn it, Boss Su is a female CEO, and I’m her secretary—just like in the book!

How could she have been stupid enough to recommend something like that to Boss Su? She must have had a death wish.

Lin Xuan’s expression twisted into something unreadable.

No wonder Hua had nearly strangled Secretary Jiang earlier—this was why.

"Secretary Jiang," Lin Xuan said slowly, "I think you should stop giving Hua these… questionable books to read."

"Understood," Jiang Qing agreed instantly.

Even if Young Master Lin hadn’t said anything, she wouldn’t dare recommend such books again.

"And not just that kind of book—others too," Lin Xuan added.

"What other books?" Jiang Qing blinked.

"Well…" Lin Xuan cleared his throat. "Like 99 Ways to Seduce a Man."

Or 100 Bedroom Positions…

His kidneys had suffered plenty thanks to those ridiculous books.

"Young Master Lin, that wasn’t my doing!" Jiang Qing protested. "Boss Su found those herself and ordered me to buy them. I couldn’t exactly disobey her, could I?"

Back then, Boss Su had been very thorough in her research.

She’d even posted an online bounty: How to make a man fall hopelessly in love with you—30,000 yuan per accepted suggestion.

It had trended on Weibo for days.

Naturally, people flooded her with book recommendations.

And since that was around the time Boss Su and Young Master Lin’s relationship had started heating up, she became convinced those books were working—so she obsessively collected more.

"Young Master Lin," Jiang Qing said with a grin, "Isn’t it nice, though? A woman going to such lengths for you?"

Lin Xuan let out a cold laugh. "How about you try it and see?"

Hua had him wrapped around her finger now.

Other things were manageable, but books like 58 Seduction Techniques? He couldn’t handle it.

Every time he became "Lin the Workhorse," he fantasized about burning every last one of those books.

"Young Master Lin, you’re joking—I could never!" Jiang Qing laughed nervously.

"Alright," Lin Xuan pinched the bridge of his nose. "I’m hanging up now, Secretary Jiang. Go back to sleep."

Just as he was about to end the call—

"Wait… Young Master Lin." Jiang Qing’s voice came through again.

"Secretary Jiang, is there something else?" Lin Xuan asked.

"Well…" Jiang Qing hesitated. "If—if—you ever recover your memories, and they turn out to be… unpleasant ones, would you still treat Boss Su as well as you do now?"

Jiang Qing didn’t know what those memories contained, but she was sure they weren’t good. Boss Su was probably afraid that if Young Master Lin remembered, he’d leave her.

Lin Xuan smiled. "Don’t worry. I’ll always be good to Hua. In this lifetime, I won’t fail her again."

"Then I have nothing else to ask," Jiang Qing said softly.

Right.

She didn’t need to worry. Young Master Lin was loyal and devoted, and now that he truly loved Boss Su, why would he revert to how he was before?

As an outsider, she could see it clearly—but Boss Su couldn’t.

Those two years of Young Master Lin pulling away had hurt Boss Su too deeply. She lived in constant fear that he’d leave her again.

And those memories…

They were probably something excruciating for Boss Su.

After hanging up, Lin Xuan didn’t return to the study immediately. Instead, he sat there in silence.

He hadn’t realized Shāng was still sending Hua these things.

They made her anxious, unsettled.

They really deserve to die.

He needed to find a way to eliminate Shāng quickly—only then would Hua truly feel at ease.

And he needed to recover his memories as soon as possible. Only then could he understand the root of Hua’s fears.

---

Meanwhile, Su Hua, deep in slumber, was trapped in another dream.

Scenes from the island played in her mind—those early days when they had only each other, relying on one another. That time had been pure happiness. She’d even imagined spending the rest of her life there with her Xuan.

But then Shāng arrived, shattering their peace.

And her Xuan… he had said things that tore her heart to shreds.

In the blink of an eye, the dream shifted to the present—Lin Xuan regaining his memories.

His cold, detached gaze made her afraid to approach. After one last indifferent glance, he turned and walked away.

"Xuan! Don’t leave me, please don’t leave me—" Su Hua jolted awake, gasping.

"Xuan!"

Her first instinct was to search for him.

But he wasn’t there.

The bedroom was empty.

I’m off to have some fun~

Goodnight~

(uwu)