Chapter 409: Chapter 409 I Miss You Very Much
Gong Chen parked the car along an unremarkable stretch of coastal highway.
It was an autumn evening, and apart from a few people strolling in the distance, the beach before them was empty, save for the three of them.
As soon as Xingxing got out of the car, she bolted toward the sand to start building. This was already second nature to her.
Lin Zhiyi stood by her side, watching Xingxing’s carefree deanor with a soft smile.
The sea breeze ca in bursts, and she couldn’t help but shrink her neck from the chill.
In the next mont, a leather jacket was draped over her shoulders.
She tilted her head to look up at the man beside her. Even the sea breeze seed partial to him.
The wind tousled his hair, strands fluttering across his eyes, which shimred with the faint gold light of the setting sun—deep and srizing.
“Am I more captivating than the sunset?” he asked suddenly.
It was only then that Lin Zhiyi realized she had been staring at him for a long while. She quickly turned her head away, feigning calmness as she explained, “I was looking at those people walking over there, not you.”
Faced with her unnecessary explanation, Gong Chen stepped forward, blocking her line of sight.
Standing against the light, his entire figure was outlined by a halo, and even the faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips seed warr because of it.
In that mont, Lin Zhiyi was reminded of the man who had co to her rescue when she was sixteen.
Gong Chen leaned in slightly, his gaze on her growing more intense and lingering.
In a low voice, he said, “I want you to look at .”
His words, carried by the sea breeze, left Lin Zhiyi’s heart in disarray.
The man’s presence overwheld all of her senses, and she instinctively wanted to escape.
But suddenly, his hand cupped her cheek, his thumb brushing the corner of her eye, his palm warm and steady.
When she ca back to her senses, his face was re inches away, their breaths mingling. His lashes trembled ever so slightly as his gaze dropped to her lips.
Just as he leaned in for a kiss, Lin Zhiyi raised her hand to stop him.
“What are you doing? There are people around.”
“They’re too far away to see,” Gong Chen replied with a hoarse voice.
“Xingxing is here,” Lin Zhiyi said, gesturing at Xingxing, who was crouched down, engrossed in her sandcastle.
Gong Chen’s eyes darkened, and he asked in return, “Is it only because there are people?”
Without thinking, Lin Zhiyi nodded.
Imdiately, she felt sothing was off.
Just as she started to relax, the leather jacket on her shoulders was yanked over her head by Gong Chen, covering them both completely.
“Now there’s no one,” he said.
Before Lin Zhiyi could react, Gong Chen tugged the jacket closer and kissed her beneath its cover.
“Mmm, mmm…” Lin Zhiyi raised her hands, pushing against his chest, but he didn’t give her the chance to retreat.
His kiss grew deeper, almost urgent, as though trying to prove sothing, consuming the words she couldn’t bring herself to say.
Only when her breathing grew irregular and she clutched at the sweater on his chest did he finally release her.
He gently lifted her head, their noses brushing as their eyes t.
“Zhiyi, I’ve missed you so much,” he said.
“…”
Lin Zhiyi felt an inexplicable sting in her nose. For a long while, she found herself speechless.
“Ahem, ahem, ahem!”
Xingxing coughed loudly to draw their attention.
Lin Zhiyi snapped back to reality, quickly pulling down the jacket as she flashed a smile at Xingxing. “What’s wrong?”
Xingxing waved at the two of them enthusiastically.
Gong Chen walked over.
Xingxing pointed at her sand creation. “Guess what this is!”
Lin Zhiyi chid in helpfully, “You can guess sothing from daily life.”
Gong Chen studied it carefully, then confidently declared, “An ice cream cone.”
“Wrong!” Xingxing pouted. “It’s a toilet, and that’s poop inside. I clearly made it very realistic.”
“Hmm…” Gong Chen dragged out the sound, then corrected himself, “It’s lifelike.”
Xingxing’s frown eased, and she bead up at him. “I’m going to add you two on top of it.”
“No need to thank us.” Gong Chen raised his hand coolly and suggested, “Feel free to add soone else. Maybe Uncle Du or Uncle Li…”
Lin Zhiyi stifled a laugh, montarily forgetting that Gong Chen held grudges.
But when Uncle Li, Li Huan, was ntioned, she recalled Li Huan’s attitude from earlier.
“What’s going on with Li Huan? When we left the hospital, he seed to be deliberately keeping his distance from .”
Gong Chen’s expression darkened slightly, and he replied evenly, “Nothing. He’s busy transmitting data back to Jing City. He gets like that when he’s focused.”
“Alright.”
In terms of professionalism, there was nothing to criticize about Li Huan.
Lin Zhiyi gently patted Xingxing’s head and murmured, “I’m so scared of Xingxing undergoing surgery, even if the risks are minimal.”
Perhaps it was the trauma from her past life that was haunting her.
As Xingxing grew older, every ti Lin Zhiyi thought about the surgery, it gave her nightmares.
Gong Chen placed his hand over hers. “I’ll have the doctors look for another solution.”
Lin Zhiyi pondered for a mont. “Du Qian said it might be related to the dication you took back then. Was what Ye Feifei gave you really just a regular sedative?”
Gong Chen paused, then nodded. “It was.”
At his words, Lin Zhiyi exhaled a long sigh.
At that mont, Xingxing grabbed their large hands, then placed Lin Zhiyi’s hand into Gong Chen’s.
Lin Zhiyi froze for a second and tried to pull her hand away, but Gong Chen held onto it firmly.
“Let’s go. It’s too cold by the sea.”
“Mm.” Lin Zhiyi looked down at their linked hands and tried with all her strength to pull free, but it was no use.
“Wait a minute.”
Gong Chen stopped Lin Zhiyi and took out his phone to snap a photo of the sand toilet adorned with a small figure on top that bore Li Huan’s signature wavy side-part hairstyle.
Then, he sent it to Li Huan.
“A gift from my daughter for you.”
“What is that? Why am I on top of a toilet? Are you saying Uncle Li is as sweet as ice cream?”
“Think that way if you want.”
“Are you back? I’ve got sothing to discuss with you.”
“Yes.”
On the way back, they passed by the entrance to Hai Yue Bay’s coastal highway, where reporters had once again gathered in droves.
So of the journalists were entering shops to interview the locals.
Lin Zhiyi suddenly understood Gong Chen’s intentions.
It seed they wouldn’t be able to return to the inn anyti soon.
…
Back at the hotel, Xingxing had already fallen asleep in Gong Chen’s arms.
Li Huan and Chen Jin stood up imdiately upon seeing them return.
Lin Zhiyi glanced at Li Huan deliberately. He had reverted to his usual cheerful, smiling appearance.
It seed she had been overthinking things after all.
Sensing that the two n had sothing to discuss with Gong Chen, Lin Zhiyi took Xingxing in her arms.
“I’ll take her to rest for a while. You all talk.”
“Alright.”
With that, Gong Chen led the two n into the study.
He got straight to the point. “Was there any issue with Xingxing’s tests?”
Li Huan didn’t beat around the bush and handed over Xingxing’s latest test report.
“I’ve marked the parts where there’s a problem. Most results are consistent with prior tests, but the tests Du Qian requested seem odd.”
“What do you an?”
“They’re too consistent.” Li Huan placed a comparison of all of Xingxing’s results from the past year side by side, explaining, “Most tests fall within a normal range and exhibit typical fluctuations, but the tests Du Qian specifically asked for match his predictions exactly. A year from now, these values will align perfectly with surgical criteria. Even a layperson looking up the numbers online would conclude that surgery is the best treatnt.”
Gong Chen’s eyes glinted coldly, like frost. “Are you saying Du Qian is manipulating Xingxing’s condition?”
“It’s hard to say. We have no concrete evidence. Even if there’s a diversion in today’s tests, it could still be considered normal. And to be fair, under his treatnt, Xingxing’s condition has remained stable. But…”
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