Return to before death

“Xuanling, look at her…” She bit her lower lip lightly, tears glistening in her eyes.

Her acting was superb; even Yan Ran wanted to applaud her.

"You two should sort out your own problems," he said, a slight smile playing on his lips. He gently lifted the other person's chin with his fingers, leaned down, and his magnetic voice, emanating from his vocal cords, chuckled softly, his eyes filled with deep affection. "Hmm?"

"Okay..." Lost in this false tenderness, like a mother cat whose fur had been soothed, Liu Xinyin nodded obediently.

Looking at this handsome man and beautiful woman together, Yan Ran felt like an outsider who didn't fit in at all. She suddenly wanted to leave silently so as not to become a "stumbling block" for this "beautiful couple".

She thought it that way, and she did it that way.

Yan Ran glanced at the two of them indifferently at the elevator entrance, then turned around and pressed the button next to the elevator.

"Didn't you just say you had important business to discuss? What? Are you leaving now?" Liu Xinyin quickly spoke up to stop Yan Ran when she saw her preparing to leave.

Seeing Yan Ran turn around to look at her, but remain silent, as if remembering something, she crossed her arms and raised her voice arrogantly, mockingly: "What? Are you feeling guilty?"

The man beside her was like her shield and pillar. Liu Xinyin felt extremely safe and secure by his side, but she did not see the pitying look in his eyes.

Yan Ran looked at the person and sneered, "Heh, yes, so as not to disturb your time together."

Hearing this, Liu Xinyin was even happier, her eyebrows beaming with joy, and she chuckled boastfully, "Since you're so sensible, I'll let you go for now."

"You're the one who should know what's good for you, aren't you?"

Suddenly, a voice filled with pity and mockery rang out beside her. The voice was deep and magnetic, and Liu Xinyin turned around in surprise... Sheng Xuanling.

"Xuan...Xuan Ling, what do you mean?" Liu Xinyin looked at him with a trembling voice, her face pale and on the verge of tears.

She didn't understand why the person who had just been laughing and talking with her had suddenly become so cold and wanted her to leave.

"That's the gist of it. I have important business to discuss with Miss Yan. Please make yourself at home." Sheng Xuanling responded to the woman's question indifferently while organizing the documents in his office.

Liu Xinyin gently covered her mouth with both hands, looking at the person with disbelief and taking a few steps back: "Xuanling... Xuanling, you can't do this to me!"

"I was pregnant with your child! Have you forgotten?" Liu Xinyin's tears finally fell uncontrollably, and her once alluring breasts trembled slightly as she gasped for breath.

She thought... she even thought that he had believed what she said, that at least there was still room for them, and even... his gentleness just now made her feel that he was on her side, and that they might be able to reconcile and renew their engagement.

However, the words spoken by the person with the amused expression in front of her shattered her illusions like a stone. Perhaps it was just a fleeting, illusory dream that vanished without a trace with the slightest touch.

"Do you think I don't know what you did to me back then? That night at the Qingji Hotel, if I hadn't known someone had stopped you, I would have almost believed you when you first showed me the prenatal checkup report." Sheng Xuanling took in all of Liu Xinyin's changing expressions, covered his face with his right hand as if he had heard a very funny joke, and chuckled softly.

"And about the DNA thing, I don't want to repeat myself, but I'm just doing this to appease my sister and play along. Getting too involved isn't good." Seeing the woman standing there blankly, he couldn't help but add.

"No, Xuanling, let me explain... let me explain..."

Liu Xinyin's face instantly lost all color, just like that night when she was exposed and "abandoned."

Upon hearing the familiar hotel name, Yan Ran's heart skipped a beat. She rubbed her temples and squinted at the two people in the farce.

Noticing his gaze, Liu Xinyin turned to him with tear-streaked face.

Liu Xinyin's gaze was like a knife flying into her face. Yan Ran was stunned and didn't know what to say. She couldn't just not say anything, otherwise it would seem very impolite, right?

Facing the people, he quickly stepped aside to clear the way to the elevator entrance, smiling calmly without a trace of ulterior motive.

"Ding..." The elevator arrived just in time and slowly opened its doors to both sides.

Liu Xinyin cried so hard she could barely breathe, and looked at Yan Ran with anger, her body trembling slightly.

"What are you standing there for, Miss Liu?" Sheng Xuanling, who was leaning against the wall, made way for Liu Xinyin.

Liu Xinyin turned her head and looked at him in disbelief, shaking her head like a rattle drum and waving her hands incessantly. She leaned back and retreated, as if the two people in front of her were some kind of man-eating demons or monsters.

"Do you want me to help you recall it all? For example, have the person who stopped you confront you and see if you can go through it again?" Sheng Xuanling raised an eyebrow with his arms crossed. "The engagement is already done, so there's no need to waste any more time."

"You...you guys!" Liu Xinyin could no longer tolerate their "insults." She forgot to take her bag, covered her face, and ran into the elevator, pressing the button for the first floor and the close button repeatedly.

Watching the alluring figure leave in a disheveled state, Sheng Xuanling straightened up, tugged at the collar of his suit jacket on both shoulders, and then bent down to adjust his blue and white striped tie.

When he looked up, Yan Ran had already walked up to him, with only a desk separating them.

Sheng Xuanling straightened his expression and asked the person who came in, "How's it going on your end? What did you find out?"

"It's the ones I told you about last time. I just brought the photos with me this time. I was going to email them, but I felt it wasn't safe, so I brought them in person." Yan Ran took out his phone and searched for the photos he had taken. Because he was worried that if he accidentally lost them, someone might steal them and see the contents, which would be bad. So he hid the files in a very well-hidden and locked place.

"Yeah, I also feel that some things are inconvenient to say over the phone, what if someone overhears..."

He paused, glanced around, then turned back to Sheng Xuanling and asked softly, "Aren't you afraid the walls might be eavesdropping?"

“My office and the parts that aren’t fully public already fill this floor, and I’ve also assigned people to guard it, so there’s no need to worry about it.” Sheng Xuanling answered his question with extreme confidence and swagger, as if he had heard some funny joke.

"Mind your own business? Why do you always talk like that?"