93: Chapter 93 You are Free

Coming out of the guesthouse, he hailed a taxi by the roadside.

After getting in the car, Lin Ning couldn't help but clear his throat. Damn, acting cool really does have its price; he had shouted his voice hoarse.

He rubbed his Adam's apple, but the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl upward.

In this life, he had family, a future, and goals. It was inevitable to be somewhat restrained in his actions, but today he had finally let it all out.

This outburst was truly satisfying!

He opened his phone and pulled up the video file in the cloud drive—from the Jiang family's threat for a 500,000 yuan bride price to the old man returning 100,000, the whole process was clear with clean audio.

Perfect!

If this were posted as-is on Douyin, riding the current hot topics of bride price disputes and extortion, it would definitely go viral. Too bad the netizens didn't have the luck to see it.

Lin Ning leaned against the back of the seat, resting with his eyes closed, exuding a lazy aura.

Downstairs at Linfeng Garden, Lin Ning paused.

Jiang Yu was sitting on the edge of a flower bed. She wasn't playing with her phone, just keeping her head down, unconsciously plucking the leaves of the evergreen beside her.

The afternoon sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting mottled shadows on her, making her look somewhat ethereal.

"When did you get here?" Lin Ning walked over, his shadow covering her.

Jiang Yu looked up.

Her eyes were a bit red, but there were no traces of crying; her gaze held a sort of blankness after the dust had settled.

Seeing her not speak, Lin Ning had to say, "Let's go up, I'll copy the video for you."

Jiang Yu stood up silently and followed behind him.

Inside the room, Lin Ning went to the desk to turn on the computer and found a USB drive. Just as he plugged it in, a suppressed, soft sobbing sound came from behind him.

He turned around; Jiang Yu had already walked up to him. Tears were falling silently, her lips were pressed tightly together, and her shoulders were shaking slightly.

Before Lin Ning could react, she suddenly took a step forward and crashed into his arms, her arms tightly encircling his waist as she buried her face in his shoulder.

"Wuu... wuu-ah..." The crying broke through the suppression, wailing out, and hot tears instantly soaked through his shirt.

Lin Ning froze in place, his hands raised awkwardly like a wooden post that had its pressure points struck.

The person in his arms was trembling violently. The crying was mixed with too many things—over twenty years of accumulated grievances, despair, fear, and the exhaustion after a narrow escape.

He slowly lowered his hands, hesitated for a moment, and then gently placed them on her thin back, awkwardly patting her one stroke at a time.

"It's okay... it's over now." His voice was a bit hoarse. "Everything is resolved."

These words seemed to open a floodgate. Jiang Yu cried even harder, her fingers clutching the clothes on his back tightly as if grabbing onto a piece of driftwood.

Lin Ning stopped talking and let her cry.

He could feel the damp heat on his shoulder expanding, and he could also feel the body in his arms going from tense to gradually relaxed.

The sunlight outside the window moved slowly, and dust motes danced in the beams of light in the room.

After an unknown amount of time, the crying gradually subsided.

Jiang Yu suddenly let go and took a sharp step back. She wiped her face messily; her eyes were swollen like peaches, her nose was bright red, and strands of hair were stuck to her wet cheeks, looking incredibly disheveled.

The next second, she cracked a grin and burst out laughing abruptly.

It wasn't a smile, but the kind of unrefined, toothy laugh where her eyes curved into crescent moons. She even hopped a couple of times and pumped her fist like a child who had finally won a fight.

"Hahahaha! I'm free! I'm fucking free!" She jogged two laps around the living room, her laughter crisp, carrying a joy that bordered on madness.

Lin Ning was initially stunned by this sudden change in vibe.

Then, seeing the unrestrained brilliance shining in her eyes, he couldn't help but laugh along.

He admired this spirit of Jiang Yu's—not weak, not submissive, but like wild grass that couldn't be burned away, a vigorous vitality.

Jiang Yu rushed into the bathroom, and the sound of rushing water came from inside. Lin Ning shook his head and copied the video file onto the USB drive.

When she came out with a wet, clean face, her emotions had calmed down quite a bit, but her eyes were still startlingly bright.

"Here." Lin Ning handed over the USB drive. "You can send them a copy too, let them find a lawyer to 'take a good look' at how solid this evidence is!"

Jiang Yu took it and tossed it casually into her small bag. "No rush for that."

She grabbed Lin Ning's wrist with considerable force. "Let's go, let's go, let's eat! My treat! I'm starving; I haven't been able to eat anything these past few days!"

The temperature of her palm was a bit high, damp from just washing her face. Lin Ning was pulled into a stumble by her.

"Slow down, slow down. How can I let you pay? It's my treat, to celebrate your..."

"Cut the crap! This lady is in a good mood today, I'm treating you to a feast!" Jiang Yu didn't look back, pulling him downstairs with a clatter.

Jiang Yu took Lin Ning to a Benbang cuisine restaurant hidden in an alley. The storefront wasn't big, but it was packed inside.

Jiang Yu held the menu, her eyes glowing.

"This! This! And this! We must have an order of Braised Pork, a fatty one! Sautéed River Shrimp! Yan Du Xian! Sizzling Eel Shreds! And an order of Clover with Wine..."

Seeing that she was about to go overboard, Lin Ning quickly pressed down the menu. "Sister, there are only two of us!"

"I'm hungry!" Jiang Yu said righteously. "I haven't had a proper meal in days! Today I have to eat it all back!"

Finally, they managed to simplify it to four dishes and a soup, plus two basins of rice—Jiang Yu specifically emphasized wanting "basins."

The dishes came quickly. The Braised Pork was glossy and tender, and the Yan Du Xian soup was milky white.

Jiang Yu served herself a full bowl of rice and buried her head in the task.

Her eating manner wasn't crude, even refined in a way, but her speed was extremely fast. Her chopsticks flew, her cheeks soon puffed out, and she chewed seriously and contentedly.

Lin Ning watched a bit blankly. This girl... she really doesn't put on an act.

He was hungry too, so he stopped being polite and started eating heartily. His upgraded body consumed a lot, and his appetite was no longer what it used to be.

The two of them seemed to engage in a silent competition, clearing the table like a whirlwind. The Braised Pork quickly hit the bottom, the river shrimp were swept clean, and the bamboo shoots and salted meat in the Yan Du Xian were fished out completely.

When Jiang Yu reached her third bowl of rice, her speed finally slowed down. She breathed a sigh of satisfaction, picked up the last shred of eel, and savored it with narrowed eyes.

Lin Ning also put down his chopsticks; ninety percent of the four dishes and soup had been demolished. He pulled a tissue to wipe his mouth, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over Jiang Yu.

Tiny beads of sweat broke out on the tip of her nose, her cheeks flushed with a healthy glow from the heat, and her lips were shiny with oil. After shedding all her defenses and worries, that already outstanding face radiated a most vivid brilliance.

Lin Ning's heart missed a beat for some reason.

He instinctively looked away and took a gulp of tea.

"Refreshing!" Jiang Yu leaned against the back of her chair without any concern for her image, patting her flat stomach. "I've come back to life."

Quite a few gazes from the surrounding tables had been drifting toward Jiang Yu since they entered.

But now, most of those gazes were withdrawn—probably intimidated by the girl's heroic appetite and the empty plates on the table.

Lin Ning, on the contrary, felt relieved. After his Psychic Power improved, he was overly sensitive to gathered stares, like an invisible alarm was constantly ringing. Now that the alarm was cleared, he felt more at ease.

"When did you start waiting downstairs at my place?" He found a topic.

"Around the time you called," Jiang Yu held her tea cup, her gaze somewhat distant. "Later they called to scold me... Heh, it used to be my mom being hysterical, but this time my dad took the lead. I knew then that it was done."

She smiled, a smile that held mockery as well as complete relief.

"Now, the choice is in your hands. The statute of limitations is ten years," Lin Ning said seriously. "This is a criminal case; it doesn't need a plaintiff. This video alone can send them in."

He didn't advise her on what to do. It was her life, her choice. He had simply handed the knife to her.

Jiang Yu was silent for a while, her long, thick eyelashes drooping, casting a small shadow under her eyes.

"Before..." she spoke softly, as if talking to herself, "I thought about working hard to make money, then going abroad, running far away so they could never find me. Is that very spineless?"

Lin Ning didn't speak.

"Actually, when I hated them most..." her voice grew even lower, almost inaudible, "I thought about setting a fire one night and ending it all cleanly. But I promised my grandfather I'd make something of myself. They aren't worth throwing my life away for."

The noise of the restaurant seemed to recede at this moment.

Lin Ning looked at her lowered profile, and a part of his heart was gently tugged.

"What about the future?" he asked softly. "Do you still want to go abroad?"

Jiang Yu looked up at him, her eyes brightening again, and shook her head.

"Not going. If I can live peacefully on my own turf, who would want to go to a foreign land and suffer?" Her tone lightened. "I plan to find a good job, rent a comfortable little apartment, raise a cat, sleep in on weekends, and go shopping with friends when I'm free."

As she spoke, she flashed Lin Ning an incredibly bright, cloudless smile.

"Lin Ning!" She only called his name, but her eyes seemed to speak, filled with gratitude and a different kind of emotion.

Sunlight filtered through the glass window, landing on her and giving her a fuzzy golden outline.

Lin Ning looked at her smile, and that unidentifiable emotion in his heart grew wildly.

He opened his mouth, just about to say something.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

The phone on the table suddenly lit up. The caller ID—Jin Er.

Lin Ning pressed ignore, about to speak again. The phone started vibrating frantically once more.

Lin Ning's brow furrowed instantly. He gave Jiang Yu a sign and pressed answer.

"Second Brother?"

"Lin Zi, that Malatang shop owner is going to run. Shitou spotted him, and we're following him. What should we do?" Jin Er's voice was kept very low, with heavy breathing.

Lin Ning's heart tightened.

What did "going to run" mean? And how were they "following" him?

This damn drug dealer!!

Why follow him? Call the damn police!