Having anticipated Ji Xinxin's reaction, Secretary Fan showed no surprise at all. Instead, he looked at her with absolute posure and said, "It's not as if you have never done it before."
If words were weapons, a sharp sword would have pierced Ji Xinxin's chest there and then.
She wanted to rebuke Secretary Fan for what he had said, but the latter cut in before she could.
"Haven't you been pretending to be your older sister before Mr. Li all this while?" Secretary Fan paused for a brief moment before adding, "Especially when you revisited Evergreen Nursing Home with him."
Ji Xinxin was so infuriated that her hands were shaking with anger. It wasn't easy, but she forced her rage down and swallowed her indignance.
… Secretary Fan is Li Xiaoxing's right-hand man. I can't go against him. Not yet.
Ji Xinxin took a deep breath and swallowed the humiliation.
She weakly placed her hand on the nearby wall to support herself and squeezed her eyes shut. After a short pause, she murmured, "Alright. I'll give it a try."
"Even if it doesn't work out… there's no need to take it to heart." Secretary Fan consoled her.
However, those words did little to soothe Ji Xinxin's heart. She ignored Secretary Fan and walked briskly toward the master bedroom with clenched teeth.
She instinctively wanted to call him 'Xiaoxing' as she usually did, but she stopped herself at the last moment upon remembering her mission. She took a moment to repose herself before attempting to mimick Ji Fanyin's polite yet distant tone. "Mr. Li."
There was no response, so Ji Xinxin pushed the door open and entered.
It was dark inside. The unbearable pain torturing Li Xiaoxing only continued to sear with greater fervor as the night deepened. His agonized but feeble moans were unsettling.
Ji Xinxin waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness before shambling toward the bed.
Li Xiaoxing didn't seem to have noticed her arrival.
Her first thought was to gently stroke his hair, but she swiftly abandoned the notion, knowing that Ji Fanyin wouldn't do that.
What would Ji Fanyin do?
How does she interact with Li Xiaoxing?
Ji Xinxin ran through all possibilities almost as if she was possessed, but she eventually chose not to do anything at all. Instead, she lowered her tone to mimic Ji Fanyin's pitch and called out, "Mr. Li?"
Amidst faint gasps of air, Li Xiaoxing opened his eyes and groggily looked at the silhouette in his room. "… Ji Fanyin?"
"It's me." A smile curled on her lips. She was gaining confidence from his acknowledgment, thinking that it wasn't as difficult as she thought it out to be. "Secretary Fan called me here."
"…" Li Xiaoxing propped himself up using his elbows. He looked a little more awake now. "Can you stay with me a bit longer today? Money is not an issue."
Ji Xinxin: "…"
Despite knowing that it wasn't a good time for that, she couldn't help herself from asking, "How much are you prepared to pay me?"
"Any amount you want." Li Xiaoxing's eyelids were drooping down. "… I remember you plimented my private jet. I'll buy you one."
Ji Xinxin was relieved that the room was only illuminated by a sliver of moonlight peeping through the curtains, or else she wouldn't have been able to conceal the slip in her expression.
"Alright," replied Ji Xinxin replied, "What would you like to hear from me today?"
"Continue from where you left off." Li Xiaoxing languidly raised his head to look at her. "You only told me half the story."
Ji Xinxin was stumped. How could she know what Ji Fanyin told Li Xiaoxing in their hour-long phone call?
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