WIL CH 10

Chapter 10: He Said He Could Never Repay It in This Lifetime

As soon as they got in the car, Lin Xi leaned against the window and closed his eyes, unwilling to speak.

Wen Feng didn’t bother him either. The air inside the car felt heavy and oppressive. In his drowsiness, Lin Xi seemed to hear a faint sigh escape from Wen Feng’s direction. Before long, with a heart weighed down by exhaustion, he drifted off to sleep amidst the car’s steady motion.

When he opened his eyes again, the car had already stopped at the villa. He didn’t even know when they had arrived. Wen Feng hadn’t woken him.

Rubbing his sleepy eyes, Lin Xi’s voice was muffled. “When did we get here?”

“Just now,” Wen Feng replied.

“Oh.”

Dragging his tired body inside, Lin Xi’s mood was clearly foul. When he took off his shoes, he stomped down a bit too hard before shoving them into the cabinet. He slipped into his slippers and, without sparing a glance at Wen Feng behind him, headed straight to the bedroom. Once inside, he stripped off his suit jacket and tossed it onto the foot of the bed, then crawled under the covers and pulled the blanket over his head.

He hadn’t even warmed the sheets when a pair of strong hands yanked him out. Wen Feng’s sharp gaze pinned him down.

“Lin Xi, just attending Jiang Boqing’s engagement party hurt you this much?”

Lin Xi’s eyes widened in disbelief. He pushed away the hands gripping his shoulders, his voice rising several octaves. “Why did you even take me there? If I had known it was his engagement with Miss Xie, I wouldn’t have gone! I even took a day off—I lost my attendance bonus because of this!”

Every word Wen Feng spoke was like a blade. “So what? Tell me, how does it feel to watch the person you love getting engaged? Shouldn’t you give up now, Lin Xi?”

Lin Xi’s chest trembled with suppressed emotion. He wanted to say he wasn’t sad, that he no longer loved Jiang Boqing, that he had long since let go. But what came out instead was an outburst:

“Wen Feng, do you even have a heart?”

Wen Feng’s expression darkened, his tone low and threatening. “You’re just realizing I’m not human? Then you’d better behave, Lin Xi. Otherwise, I can’t promise what kind of twisted things I might do.”

The emotions Lin Xi had been holding back all day finally erupted. Why did Wen Feng have to treat him this way? Just because he owed him money, did that make him beneath him? He didn’t want things to be like this. He never wanted to owe Wen Feng that much. For three years, he had worked tirelessly, yet he was still far from paying off the one and a half million.

What more did Wen Feng want from him? Lin Xi never questioned his scandals, never said a word about the rumors surrounding him. But just because Lin Xi had fallen in love once—four years ago—why did Wen Feng have to keep bringing it up, as if to punish him for it?

It was cruel. It was deliberate torment.

Unable to hold back anymore, Lin Xi’s chest tightened painfully. His eyes blurred with tears, his arms limp at his sides. Even his crying was quiet—his sobs stifled in his throat.

It was the first time Wen Feng had ever seen Lin Xi cry. Not even during his lowest moments, when he had nowhere to go, had he shed a tear. Something deep in Wen Feng’s chest suddenly twisted painfully. He clenched his fists, teeth grinding as he growled, “You’re crying for him?”

He roughly pulled Lin Xi from the edge of the bed and used his hand to wipe the tears off Lin Xi’s cheeks—his movements too harsh, leaving red marks behind.

“Stop crying,” Wen Feng ordered, his voice sharp. “Hold it in.”

The bright imprint of his fingers stood out against Lin Xi’s skin, making him look pitiful—and heartbreakingly wronged.

The face that had just been wiped clean was soon covered again with bitter, salty tears. Lin Xi still refused to make a sound; he just trembled silently, shoulders shaking like a wounded puppy.

“Wen Feng… let’s break up.”

It took every ounce of Lin Xi’s resolve to say those words.

Wen Feng’s eyes widened suddenly, disbelief flashing across his face. He grabbed Lin Xi off the bed, pinching his chin hard as his voice seethed with anger.

“For him? You want to break up with me because of him? Lin Xi, how ridiculous can you be?”

Yes—it was ridiculous. Like something out of a cruel play. Jiang Boqing was the one who had cheated first, yet Lin Xi was always the one being blamed, always the one being humiliated.

His lips trembled as he spoke, tears streaming down his cheeks. “I can’t go on like this anymore… Is it because I owe you money that you have to treat me this way? I’ve been working hard. I’ll pay you back.”

Wen Feng’s fingers dug deeper into his jaw, forcing Lin Xi to look straight into his cold, vicious eyes. His voice was low, dangerous.

“Lin Xi, I’ll tell you this—you won’t be able to repay me in this lifetime.”

Each word struck like thunder.

“You want to leave me?” Wen Feng sneered. “Keep dreaming.”

He released Lin Xi’s chin with a violent motion and stormed out of the room.

A faint beam of light slipped through the curtains, followed by the sharp screech of tires and the roar of an engine. Within seconds, the car sped away—so fast it was clear Wen Feng had left in fury.

Lin Xi sat on the carpet, hugging his knees, his head buried as quiet sobs shook his body.

Wen Feng’s words echoed in his ears.

You’ll never repay me. You want to leave? Dream on.

Wen Feng wasn’t going to let him go.

Lin Xi sat there the entire night. Only when the sunlight pricked at his eyes did he realize dawn had arrived. He staggered to his feet, his head spinning so hard he nearly fell. Sitting on the bed for a few minutes, he finally forced himself to get up and wash.

The mirror reflected a haggard face—his once bright eyes were now swollen and red. The only thing that looked unchanged was the shirt he wore; not a single wrinkle, as though mocking how his world had fallen apart while everything else stayed pristine.

He and Wen Feng had rarely fought since their marriage—except for that first time. Usually, Wen Feng’s anger came in the form of cold sarcasm, not shouting. But last night had been different.

Every argument between them had always been because of Jiang Boqing. And just like three years ago, Wen Feng’s fury had burned so deep it was as if he wanted to strangle him.

Dragging his weary body, Lin Xi went to work.

When Kong Zhao saw him, he gasped dramatically.

“Damn, Lin Xi, what happened to you? Don’t tell me you sold your blood because you’re broke?”

Selling blood—that had been Lin Xi’s thought three years ago.

He couldn’t even tell how sickly he looked now. His complexion was pale, his lips drained of color, and even his voice lacked strength. “Of course not. I just stayed up late last night. I’m tired.”

Kong Zhao handed him a thermal flask, his tone half joking, half serious. “My housekeeper made breakfast this morning. You better eat it—don’t you dare die on me, my dear work partner. This porridge was cooked for three hours with oysters and goji berries. You’ll feel like new after drinking it.”

Lin Xi gently pushed it back. “Thanks, but I don’t have much of an appetite. You eat it instead—don’t waste it.”

He had been feeling nauseous since leaving home; the thought of food only made it worse.

“Xi Xi, are you rejecting my breakfast?” Kong Zhao feigned a wounded look.

Lin Xi couldn’t bring himself to turn down his kindness again. He took the thermos, twisted off the lid, and took a few sips in front of him.

But later, he couldn’t hold it down—he quietly went to the restroom and threw up.

That afternoon, Lu Mingyu called him into the office.

“Lin Xi, the new game character design you did—it’s excellent. The internal test version has already received great feedback. Tremendous improvement.”

Lu Mingyu sat in his chair, the gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose—he only wore them while working.

Embarrassed by the praise, Lin Xi rubbed the back of his head, his voice soft. “It’s because you taught me well, Teacher Lu.”

Lu Mingyu smiled. “Hard work and talent—you’ve got both. Even if a god came down to teach, they couldn’t produce results like this without those qualities.”

He remembered when Lin Xi had been recommended to him by his old university professor. At first, he hadn’t wanted to accept him, thinking it was a favor to someone. But his professor insisted, saying the school’s reputation was at stake.

Back then, Lu Mingyu had been curious—what kind of background could this person possibly have, that even his alma mater would treat it as a matter of pride?

Before even meeting Lin Xi, Lu Mingyu had already labeled him as a “connected hire”—someone with backing. And not just that—he hadn’t even graduated from university yet. But when Lu Mingyu finally met him, he realized Lin Xi was nothing like he imagined.

Lin Xi was handsome, polite, and diligent. He followed Lu Mingyu around every day, never once complaining about being tired. Later, when Lu Mingyu let him handle some technical tasks, no matter how big or small, Lin Xi completed them seriously and meticulously. That’s when Lu Mingyu realized—he had found a real gem.

“Teacher, you’re exaggerating,” Lin Xi said softly.

But his face was far too pale, and Lu Mingyu immediately noticed. “Lin Xi, are you feeling unwell? You still have a lot of unused annual leave—do you want to take some time off?”

Lin Xi quickly waved his hands. “It’s fine, I don’t need a break.”

Lu Mingyu nodded. “Alright. The reason I called you here is to discuss something. Would you be willing to attend the offline game launch with Kong Zhao? You’ll be responsible for explaining the characters’ skills and traits, and Kong Zhao will handle the dungeon scenes and map strategies.”

Lin Xi was a little surprised. Of course he wanted to go—but he wasn’t sure he could handle it well. He had a touch of social anxiety; being in front of large crowds made him nervous. What if he forgot his lines? That would be disastrous. He understood just how important this launch event was.

He hesitated. “Teacher Lu, I get nervous easily… I’m afraid I might forget what to say.”

Lu Mingyu set down the event documents and said reassuringly, “Don’t worry, there’ll be a teleprompter at the venue.”

Seeing Lin Xi’s lingering hesitation, Lu Mingyu added, “It’s okay, take your time to think about it.”

Lin Xi nodded. “Alright, Teacher Lu. I’ll think it over.” He then turned and left the office.

Just as Lin Xi sat back down at his desk, Kong Zhao was called into Lu Mingyu’s office. Lin Xi hadn’t even had time to share the news with him yet. Thinking he was about to be scolded again, Kong Zhao frowned, stomped his foot, and marched into the office—bold as ever.

(To be continued…)