Chapter 60 Confession

Lin Bai thought for a moment and waved his hand. "Forget it, let's stick to my plan. If there's nothing else, I'll head back first."

"Understood, Chairman. I'll see you out."

"In light of today's unexpected situation, I will personally handle all the necessary company access credentials for you afterward. Please rest assured, Chairman."

"Mhm."

...

On the way back.

"You... you're really the chairman of Zunhe Industry?!"

Qin Ruowei's reaction time was absurdly slow, finally dawning on her at this very moment.

"I told you, but you refused to believe me."

Qin Ruowei truly hadn't believed it, but what she had seen and heard today forced her to believe it.

"Oh my god... Lin Bai, Lin Bai, you're the chairman of Zunhe Industry?!"

"It's simply unbelievable. How is it possible? You're so young..."

"Didn't I tell you a while ago that I went to handle the share transfer procedures? That was the day I became the chairman of Zunhe Industry. I've only ever told you about this."

Qin Ruowei remembered. Lin Bai had indeed mentioned it before, but she simply hadn't taken it seriously.

The sky outside was gradually darkening. Ahead lay Jiangcheng University. Lin Bai drove past it without entering the campus.

"Hey, where are you..."

"To the hotel."

Qin Ruowei's pretty face flushed red. "Hate you."

...

Lin Bai took Qin Ruowei to the Serenity Pavilion, a place combining dining and accommodation, and checked into the Supreme Suite.

After a vigorous session, the two of them lay entwined, breathing heavily. Qin Ruowei's soft lips brushed against Lin Bai's face, her gaze hazy.

"Honey, you're too... you have to let me take a break halfway next time."

Lin Bai smiled and let it go. He patted Qin Ruowei's rounded hips, got up to put on his bathrobe, and walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window, letting out a soft sigh.

Moments later, Qin Ruowei walked up behind Lin Bai, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Honey, is there something you want to tell me?"

Lin Bai indeed had something to tell Qin Ruowei. Seeing that she had opened the topic, he turned around, his expression more serious than ever before.

"Yes, I do have something to tell you."

Qin Ruowei bit her lower lip. Suddenly, she covered her ears and shook her head continuously.

"I won't listen, I won't listen. Don't say it, I don't want to hear it."

Lin Bai grabbed Qin Ruowei's wrists, pulling her tightly into his arms as if he wanted to melt her into his very bones.

"I cheated on you."

Four simple words plunged Qin Ruowei into an absolute chill, her entire body stiffening.

...

Taking advantage of the moment Qin Ruowei remained silent, Lin Bai pressed on while the iron was hot.

"She's in our class, named Li Ruonan. She had been drugged. If I hadn't saved her, she would have been ruined by others."

"I don't have any feelings for her, but... she's pregnant."

Lin Bai blurted out everything he wanted to say in one breath, adopting an attitude of resigning himself to whatever consequences might follow.

Qin Ruowei still said nothing. Her entire body trembled slightly as silent tears fell.

Lin Bai's heart ached terribly.

He knew this matter would undoubtedly deal a heavy blow to Qin Ruowei. Even though he thought he had mentally prepared himself, seeing Qin Ruowei in this state still inevitably broke his heart.

"Ruowei, from beginning to end, I've only ever loved you. What happened between her and me was just an accident, but now that she's pregnant, I..."

Qin Ruowei pushed Lin Bai away hard, staring at him with bloodshot eyes.

"So what? So you want to take responsibility, is that it?"

Unwilling as he was to admit it, Lin Bai bit the bullet and nodded.

"Mhm! After all, it's my child."

"Ha!"

Qin Ruowei laughed. Immediately afterward, she turned around, frantically searching for her clothes and starting to dress.

Lin Bai didn't stop her. He remained standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, his voice drifting across the room.

"Ruowei, I told you this because I didn't want to keep secrets from you."

"I love you, but I must also admit that in the future, there will be many women."

"I can't give you any guarantees. All I can tell you is that to me, you will always be the irreplaceable one, my eternal unique exception."

"I know this is terribly unfair to you, but... I have no choice."

The room was preternaturally quiet, save for the gentle murmuring of the indoor water feature and the rustling sounds of Qin Ruowei getting dressed.

From start to finish, Qin Ruowei didn't utter a single word. Once dressed, she picked up her handbag and walked out the door without looking back.

Thud!

With the sound of the door closing, Lin Bai slowly closed his eyes, his expression exhausted to the extreme.

That night, Lin Bai went nowhere else and spent the night alone at the hotel.

...

Friday only had two morning classes.

As soon as the class ended, Lin Bai dialed Qin Ruowei's number, but it rang for a long time without being answered.

With a look of resignation that suggested he had expected this, Lin Bai had no appetite for lunch and instead walked toward the startup incubator park.

Tomorrow was the day of the match against the Azure Dragon Team, and he needed to check on Xu Youmeng and the others' training progress.

When Lin Bai entered the studio, only Xu Youmeng was playing ranked matches, currently locked in a tense and fierce team fight.

Lin Bai didn't disturb her, pulling up a chair to sit beside her and watch the game.

Xu Youmeng's side was at a slight disadvantage—turning the game around was possible, but not easy.

Seeing the hero controlled by Xu Youmeng about to enter the red buff zone to take the red monster, Lin Bai furrowed his brow slightly.

"You'd better not go. Watch out for an ambush."

Xu Youmeng shot Lin Bai a glare and said nothing.

Naturally, she didn't heed Lin Bai's warning.

And so...

The moment Xu Youmeng stepped into the red zone, four members of the opposing team burst out from the brush. In the blink of an eye, Xu Youmeng's screen turned gray.

With the marksman dead, the enemy team seized the opportunity to close out the match in a single push.

Looking at the bright red "DEFEAT" letters on the screen, Xu Youmeng slumped powerlessly against her chair and sighed.

Then, remembering that Lin Bai was still sitting beside her, she spun her chair around to face him.

"It's all your fault! You jinx!"

Lin Bai's eyes widened in disbelief. He had expected Xu Youmeng to ask him how he was so certain there was an ambush in the red zone, but instead...

As expected, pretty girls never dealt in reason.

"I..."

"What 'I' what? Who asked you to speak? Do you know you ruined my focus? What does a bronze-tier player like you know anyway?"

Xu Youmeng unleashed a torrent of complaints, rendering Lin Bai completely speechless.

Lin Bai shook his head without arguing with her and asked, "How has the training been going these past few days?"

Hearing this question, Xu Youmeng shook her head.

「Not great. It was fine at first, but later on, Fang Dawei got busy with who knows what. He missed several evening practice sessions, and the rest of us had to train by ourselves."

For some reason, a faint wave of unease rippled through Lin Bai's heart upon hearing this news.

"What is he busy with?"

"I asked, but he wouldn't say. I have no idea."

"Besides, his state during the last few training sessions was terrible, and his temper was awful..."

Prompted by Xu Youmeng's words, Lin Bai envisioned a rather grim possibility, though he kept it to himself.

"It's fine. Just play your best."

...

Meanwhile, at the neighboring Jiangcheng Mechanical Technology Institute.

Inside the professional training room, all five members of the Azure Dragon Team, including Lin Feng, were present, each of them engrossed in intense training.

Aside from the members of the Azure Dragon Team, Fang Dawei was also there, deep in conversation with team captain Lin Feng.