86: Forced Love Boss 11

Icy rain mercilessly lashed against Su Wanqing's face, mixing with the streaks of cheap makeup being washed away, leaving her in a disheveled state.

She couldn't care less; the twisted sliver of hope in her heart supported her like a lifeline, urging her to rush towards the mountaintop manor she had once fled, and now saw as her only salvation.

Relying on her memories from her previous life, she bypassed the heavily guarded main entrance of the manor and found a relatively secluded gap in the side wall, covered by dense roses—a secret passage she had accidentally discovered in her past life when she snuck out for air.

The slippery mud stained her cheap pants and shoes, and sharp thorns scratched her arm, stinging painfully.

But these pains were insignificant compared to the bone-deep regret in her heart and the fearful anticipation of seeing Li Jin.

She stumbled through the meticulously manicured garden, which now appeared cold and desolate due to the rain, like a drowned rat.

Finally, she saw the large, impeccably clean floor-to-ceiling window.

Inside the window, warm light streamed out, creating a stark division between heaven and hell with the cold, rainy curtain outside.

Su Wanqing's steps abruptly halted, her heart felt as if it had been fiercely clutched by a cold hand, instantly stopping its beating, then frantically pounding, almost bursting from her chest.

She saw it.

Inside the floor-to-ceiling window was the sunroom, an extension of the incredibly familiar, spacious, bright, and suffocatingly luxurious study.

Li Jin was there.

But he was no longer the stern emperor she remembered, always seated in a large leather chair, radiating an aura that kept others at bay.

He sat on a comfortable wicker lounge chair, in a posture of relaxation Su Wanqing had never witnessed.

He was slightly turned, his gaze fixed, even… reverently, on a reclining chair next to him, covered with a soft cashmere blanket.

On the reclining chair, a girl leaned quietly.

Wen Ci.

The name exploded in Su Wanqing's mind instantly.

Wen Ci wore soft, off-white loungewear, her long hair cascaded smoothly, and her profile was clean and gentle.

She held a book in her hands, her long eyelashes lowered, casting faint shadows on her fair cheeks.

The lamplight cast a warm halo around her. She was like a meticulously drawn still life, serene, peaceful, and detached from the world.

And Li Jin, the man whose eyes Su Wanqing remembered as always being like ice, now had an incredibly soft gaze.

It was a look Su Wanqing had never received, neither in her past nor present life—focused, cherished, with an almost cautious protectiveness.

He seemed not to be looking at a person, but rather gazing at a rare treasure, lost and found again, a fragile item that required all his devotion to protect.

Su Wanqing even saw a faint, yet undeniably real, curve at the corner of Li Jin's mouth.

That hint of a smile, like a ray of warm sunshine breaking through ice, stung her eyes.

Su Wanqing felt utterly cold, her blood seemed to freeze completely at that moment, only to be instantly ignited into a raging inferno of jealousy.

She was like a ghost abandoned in the ice and snow, peering through the cold glass at a warm paradise in another world.

That was a tenderness she had never possessed! It was a softness, even a tiny bit of gentle attention, that she had never gained in her previous life, despite all her schemes, her pampered willfulness, and even her deliberate provocations!

Li Jin had only ever shown her cold control, silent charity, and a bottomless possessiveness.

When had he ever shown such… such tender affection, as if towards a rare treasure?

“Heh… heh heh…” A broken, tearful laugh, filled with deep self-mockery, escaped Su Wanqing’s throat, and she almost lost her footing.

She thought she was escaping confinement; it turned out she was escaping a gentle haven she could never reach, one that belonged only to someone else!

Immense loss, the fury of betrayal, and bone-deep jealousy gnawed at her sanity like venomous snakes. She could no longer bear it!

“Li Jin—!”

A shrill, desperate scream, filled with all her unwillingness and regret, pierced the garden's silence.

Su Wanqing lunged at the large floor-to-ceiling window like a madwoman, her muddy palms slapping heavily against the cold glass, making a dull thud.

“Li Jin! It’s me! Su Wanqing! I’m back! I know I was wrong! I truly know I was wrong! Look at me!” Tears streamed down her face, which was a mess from the rain and tears, her carefully applied makeup long since smudged into a blur, leaving only desperate ferocity.

“It was my immaturity before! I shouldn’t have left you! Please forgive me, okay? I regret it! I regret it so much, Li Jin! Please…”

She cried out incoherently, like a hysterical madwoman, desperately pounding on the glass, trying to get the man’s attention.

The world inside the window seemed to have been muted.

Li Jin’s movement, at the instant of Su Wanqing’s scream, paused ever so slightly.

That was by no means the reaction Su Wanqing had hoped for—not shock, not bewilderment, and certainly not a trace of emotion.

He didn't even turn his head.

His gaze remained firmly and intently fixed on Wen Ci.

It was as if the heartbreaking cries from outside the window were merely an irrelevant dog's bark from afar.

Wen Ci seemed startled by the sudden noise; her fingers, holding the book, curled slightly, and her brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

Li Jin's aura, which had just softened for Wen Ci, instantly froze, and a chilling killing intent, more biting than the cold wind outside the window, silently permeated the air.

Then, he finally spoke.

His voice was low, cold, devoid of any emotional fluctuation, even carrying a hint of impatience at being disturbed, as if he were dealing with an utterly insignificant piece of trash.

“Who let this in?”

His voice wasn't loud, but it clearly penetrated the glass, striking Su Wanqing's ears like a thunderclap.

“Throw her out.”

Three words, cold and ruthless, decisive. No hesitation, no ripple, not even a hint… of recognizing her.

It was as if she were merely an irrelevant stranger who had trespassed into forbidden territory.

The next second, two black-clad bodyguards, who had swiftly appeared from nowhere, expressionlessly grabbed Su Wanqing, who was still desperately pounding and crying out.

“Li Jin! Look at me! I’m Su Wanqing! I…” Su Wanqing struggled fiercely, her voice shrill and desperate.

The bodyguards acted without the slightest hesitation, covering her mouth and mercilessly dragging her backward.

Su Wanqing was completely dragged into the cold rain, the bodyguards’ hands like iron clamps restraining her. The last thing she saw was Li Jin resuming his seat, his gaze still fixed on Wen Ci, as if the recent commotion had never happened.

In the sunroom, time flowed peacefully, with only him and his treasure.

And she, Su Wanqing, the canary once caged by him, was now like a piece of utterly discarded trash, disheveled and disappearing into the manor's shadows.

The icy rainwater filled her mouth and nose, extinguishing the last faint, unrealistic glimmer of hope in her heart.

It turned out she couldn't go back.

It turned out she no longer even had the right to make him look at her.

That paradise filled with “confinement” and supreme power and wealth… already had a new owner, treated with tenderness.

And her, even her right to jealousy, seemed so laughable and superfluous.