Chapter 65.2: “Just marry me.”

Every sentence he spoke was like an expert archer, hitting the mark accurately and steadily, each arrow piercing Bai Duan Duan’s heart, leaving her completely powerless to fight back and unable to react. She was so flustered that the porridge she had meant to bring to her mouth ended up accidentally smearing on her face.

Ji Lin quickly grabbed a tissue and then got up slightly, wiping away the porridge that had touched the corner of Bai Duan Duan’s mouth. But he still calmly continued the previous topic, “If you don’t think you can decide to be my wife all at once, you can start as my girlfriend.”

He analyzed confidently and calmly, “As my girlfriend, you can eat what I cook for every meal. You know, Lin Hui’s cooking is much worse than mine. I mentioned in the message I sent you yesterday that he is older than me and his learning ability will deteriorate as he gets older. So, you don’t have to expect him to change his bad habits. Men become more stubborn as they age. You broke up with him before for a reason, and you will continue to break up with him for the same reasons in the future. He is too old and can’t change his bad habits.”

“…”

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“…”

Ji Lin appeared calm and natural, but Bai DuanDuan didn’t know where to look. Her heart was pounding like a drum, and her hands were trembling slightly. She quickly put down the spoon and hid her hands under the table, trying to maintain a calm exterior.

Ji Lin could speak so calmly, so she couldn’t lose to him. After all, according to the logic, the one who was confessed to should be the one who takes the initiative.

Bai DuanDuan steadied her emotions and looked at Ji Lin. She pretended to be equally calm and said, “So you know what you did last night.”

Ji Lin pursed his lips, and his expression was so serious that it looked like he was negotiating. “I know what I did last night, so I will take responsibility for it. You can ask for anything you want.”

Bai DuanDuan was extremely nervous. If this were a negotiation, she would feel more at ease, but this was not a real negotiation. She had to avert her gaze. “But since you seem to be interested in me now, why didn’t you confess during the time we worked together? Why did you choose to confess when you were drunk? Don’t you think it lacked sincerity?”

“I wasn’t planning on saying those things when I was sober.”

Bai DuanDuan raised her eyes slightly and looked at Ji Lin. She was both nervous and persistent. “Then why did you end up getting drunk and doing all of this?”

Ji Lin remained very calm. He looked steady and determined, but his words carried a fleeting sense of unease. Then, he turned his gaze away and said, “Because I couldn’t hold it in.”

Ji Lin’s voice was dry, like he was reporting on work. “I had planned to find a suitable opportunity to say all this, but after drinking too much last night, I couldn’t control my emotions. I couldn’t take it anymore and when I sobered up, I found that I had already said it.”

Bai DuanDuan blinked. “So do you regret saying all that after getting drunk?”

If it were Bai DuanDuan, she would have been extremely embarrassed. After all, confessing to someone you secretly like is one thing, but attacking another “rival in love” is a bit too jealous.

“No,” Ji Lin replied confidently. “Why should I regret it?”

“For example, do you think it’s a bit embarrassing to have said so many bad things about Lin Hui after getting drunk?”

Ji Lin looked confused. “What’s there to regret? Isn’t Lin Hui older than me? Doesn’t he earn less than me? Isn’t his cooking worse than mine? I just stated the facts.”

“…”

Ji Lin’s blunt and straightforward response left Bai DuanDuan speechless. “Don’t you think that even if I were to be with Lin Hui, it’s not very magnanimous of you to say things like that, even if they are true?”

Ji Lin seemed to have heard something absurd. “Do you still need to be magnanimous when it comes to love? I like you, I dislike him, and I don’t want you to have anything to do with him. Isn’t that normal? Do we still need to talk about generosity, humility, elegance, and gentlemanliness in relationships?”

He pursed his lips and said, “Sorry, this isn’t my style. If I like someone, I go for it. If I can attack them legally, I will. It doesn’t matter if the approach is a bit underhanded as long as we achieve our goals. Am I breaking the law?”

It must be said that Ji Lin’s investigative style and his views on love were surprisingly consistent… As long as it’s legal and reasonable, he can use his profession to the fullest extent…

And yet Ji Lin still seemed dissatisfied, and at this point, he glanced at Bai DuanDuan, saying, “Besides, Lin Hui is not a good person at all.” His expression remained calm, but his voice couldn’t help but sound a bit sour at the end. “He’s only with you because he’s older than me. If I had met you earlier, he wouldn’t have had a chance.”

“…”

Bai DuanDuan felt it was necessary to explain this misunderstanding, “Actually, you don’t have to be so hostile towards Lin Hui…”

“Oh, should I be grateful to him?” Sure enough, when Lin Hui was mentioned, Ji Lin became sarcastic again.

Bai DuanDuan just smiled, “You should be grateful to him.”

“Grateful for breaking up with you?”

“No, grateful for forcing me to quit my job, so I could come to Sheng Lin and be with you.”

Ji Lin’s face showed a displeased and uneasy expression, as if she had finally broken his calm demeanor today.

Bai Duan looked into Ji Lin’s eyes, “But you don’t have to thank Lin Hui for breaking up with me.”

Ji Lin raised his head.

“I haven’t gotten back together with Lin Hui.”

Ji Lin’s furrowed brows relaxed a bit, as if his pent-up emotions were slightly appeased. Then, he quickly seemed to remember something, and became unhappy again at a rapid pace. “Oh, you haven’t gotten back together? Then why did you take a day off from work to go see the maple leaves with your ex-boyfriend? Do you still believe that exes can be friends after a breakup? Do you need those friends so badly? Why do you have to find them in your ex-boyfriend?”

Bai DuanDuan felt a little amused: “Are you stupid? I have never been together with Lin Hui, how can we reconcile?”

As expected, with her words, Ji Lin, who was always calm and composed, blinked his eyes quickly, and his long and curled eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings several times.

He looked at Bai DuanDuan abruptly, and his emotions were already difficult to conceal: “Isn’t he your ex-boyfriend?”

Bai DuanDuan finally calmed down, feeling like she had regained the upper hand: “Hmm, he’s not an ex-boyfriend, never was.”

Ji Lin stared at Bai DuanDuan, as if waiting for a further explanation.

Bai DuanDuan cleared her throat: “For me, Lin Hui does have many roles – university teacher, friend, benefactor, former boss – but never an ex-boyfriend. We are important participants in each other’s lives, and we have gone through the most difficult times together, but there has never been any feelings beyond friendship between us. Even calling it friendship is a stretch; for him, he is caring towards me as a senior to a junior, and for me, it’s more gratitude towards him.”

“When we went to Shang Lang mountain on a workday, it wasn’t to admire the autumn leaves, but to pay tribute to his deceased fiancée Ye Zhaoxia. Zhaoxia sister was very kind to me, and every year on her death anniversary, Lin Hui and I would go together to offer incense and bring offerings, not to have a picnic and enjoy the autumn leaves.”

With a clear explanation from Bai DuanDuan, Ji Lin’s face revealed a surprised expression that he was trying hard to suppress after learning the truth. However, soon after, he pursed his lips, looking somewhat skeptical. “But I heard that before you left ZhaoHui, Lin Hui was already very excessive towards you. Yet you insisted on staying. Do you really have no feelings for him…?”

“No,” she replied.