CHAPTER 294: UNSPOKEN PASTS

"Someone like you, who sleeps at 2 AM every day, will definitely get cerebral hemorrhage, high blood pressure, bone spurs, cervical spondylosis, lumbar bone spurs, and infertility. Soaking in hot springs can cure illnesses. Be good, soak for half a month before going back." Lin Ning looked at her with a look of profound compassion, as if he had just saved a terminally ill cancer patient. His expression was truly one-of-a-kind.

Cai Xiaojing nearly coughed up blood. Cerebral hemorrhage, high blood pressure, and cervical spondylosis were bad enough, but why infertility?

Damn it, was he cursing her?

"Don’t be angry, don’t be angry. When you get old, anger causes wrinkles. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, these hot springs also have another benefit: they can whiten and nourish your skin, reduce wrinkles, and make your skin look young and charming. Perfect for you," Director Lin said earnestly.

Cai Xiaojing clenched her fist, smiled slightly, relaxed her fist, then clenched it again. No anger, no need to be angry with this scoundrel, don’t get angry...

"Go to hell!" Cai Xiaojing kicked Director Lin into the hot spring pool while he was smiling. Director Lin, caught off guard, fell into the pool with a splash. Cai Xiaojing turned around angrily. Lin Ning rose from the water, shaking his wet medium-length hair. "Xiaojing, aren’t you really considering coming over for a lovers’ hot spring soak?"

Cai Xiaojing turned, glared fiercely at him, and then turned to go back to sleep. Lin Ning climbed out of the hot spring pool. "So rough!"

It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy these days.

It had been seven days; she had enjoyed enough.

To steal half a day of leisure from life, who wouldn’t like such a life? But she still had so many things to do. How could she calm down and enjoy this kind of life? Lin Ning, that scoundrel. They were staying in the same wooden cabin villa. In the afternoon, Lin Ning slipped in, smiling like a cat that had stolen fish. "Hey, let’s go for a stroll around the farm."

"No."

"Come on, aren’t you bored? The nearby farm is quite beautiful."

"Get lost!"

"Don’t be like that, let’s get lost together." Lin Ning’s thick skin was arguably world-class. He seemed not to notice Cai Xiaojing’s pale face, pulling her up and out of the villa, walking with his arm affectionately around her waist.

"Let go of my hand!" What was their relationship that he dared to be so presumptuous?

"Don’t worry, I won’t mind if you have fat on your waist."

"Ahhh, Lin Ning, I’m going to kill you!" Cai Xiaojing exploded in anger, chasing Lin Ning to hit him. Where did she have fat? Where did she have fat???? This was too much. He called her old, and now he was commenting on her figure. She had seen scoundrels, but never one so utterly despicable.

Lin Ning ran forward, laughing, as she chased him. He stopped in front of a bicycle. Lin Ning turned around and trapped the raging Cai Xiaojing in his arms, smiling. "Alright, alright, alright, stop it."

"Who’s fooling around with you? Get lost." Cai Xiaojing stepped on him. Lin Ning dodged with a grin. She looked at the bicycle nearby, her lips twitching. "We’re going on this?"

"Did you want to drive a Mercedes?"

"Damn it." Cai Xiaojing decisively turned her head. "I’m going back to sleep."

"No, no, no, let’s go for a walk." Lin Ning grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "Don’t worry, my skills are pretty good. I won’t let you fall."

Lin Ning got on the bicycle and called out, "Get on!"

Cai Xiaojing glared fiercely at him, clearly not trusting his skills. In the end, she still got on the bike. Lin Ning pedaled along the road. The camphor trees on both sides were tall and large, with dense leaves, and sunlight filtered through the gaps, warmly enveloping them.

A gentle breeze blew, bringing a touch of warmth even in late winter.

Cai Xiaojing’s anger slowly dissipated. She wrapped her arms around his waist. Lin Ning looked down at her hands, a triumphant smile on his lips. He was beaming with pride.

She hadn’t ridden a bicycle in over ten years.

Let alone riding on someone else’s back, passing through such a long camphor tree path.

The path twisted and turned, with rows of camphor trees on both sides, verdant and swaying, creating an inexpressible sense of romance.

"I haven’t ridden a bicycle in many years," Cai Xiaojing suddenly said.

Lin Ning said, "I haven’t ridden one in many years either."

"The last time I rode on someone else’s bicycle was in junior high school," Cai Xiaojing said.

"The last time I carried someone on a bicycle was in high school," Lin Ning said.

They had both grown up. After so many years, enduring countless hardships, their hearts were long since scarred. They were no longer the young boy and girl they once were; they were no longer young.

"Do you still remember Wang Jing?" Cai Xiaojing asked, her voice much lower, carried away by the wind into the camphor forest, leaving nothing. Her voice was so low he could barely hear it.

Cai Xiaojing gave a bitter smile. "Forget it, why ask?"

He probably didn’t even remember who she was.

When Cai Xiaojing was in her first year of junior high, Lin Ning was in his final year of high school. One day, she went to visit her sister and ran into Lin Ning in the high school section. At that time, Lin Ning was deeply in love with a girl, though Cai Xiaojing didn’t know it. She simply fell in love with Lin Ning at first sight.

Young and naive, she wrote Lin Ning a love letter despite her sister’s objections.

The school’s atmosphere wasn’t as open back then, and junior high students weren’t allowed to date. She was just starting junior high, making it even more forbidden, so she secretly asked her sister to deliver the love letter to Lin Ning.

She had thought Lin Ning wouldn’t like a "yellow-haired girl" like her. He was a popular figure in school back then; older and younger girls all liked him. Mentioning the name Lin Ning would make anyone’s heart flutter.

She was one of them.

After handing over the love letter, she unexpectedly received a response from Lin Ning, agreeing to date her for a while. She was overjoyed, but because of school rules, their romance was clandestine.

Her sister said that Lin Ning was a philandering man, with many women around him, including an official girlfriend at school and others at different schools. He wouldn’t truly fancy a girl like her; he was just playing around.

Back then, she was naive and didn’t heed her sister’s advice. During that period of dating, she was incredibly happy. Though it lasted only a brief month, it remained her most cherished memory. Before the college entrance exam, Lin Ning suddenly broke up with her.

He brought his official girlfriend, a beauty from the high school section, very pretty and with a good figure. Lin Ning said he had only tried dating her because he had never dated a junior high student, that it was just a game, and she shouldn’t take it seriously.

His tone back then, it deeply hurt her as it was her first love.

Lin Ning said she was rigid, boring, just a "yellow-haired girl," and even kissing her felt too innocent. He liked mature and sexy girls.

During the breakup period, her grades plummeted.

She hit rock bottom in the final exams.

She was heartbroken and sad. She hadn’t seen Lin Ning since then. He didn’t take the college entrance exam; he went to study abroad, reportedly with his fiancée. Cai Xiaojing completely gave up hope.