How many loves can be relived in the story of a devoted CEO pursuing his wife?

Liu Sisi snuggled closer to him, her tone devoid of reproach, only pure curiosity: "So you used Zeng Ziyan as a smokescreen?"

"I'm sorry..." Lin Xuedong frowned, gently brushed his fingertips across the top of her head, and then lowered his head to kiss her hair. His voice was deep and hoarse. "Back then, I was always afraid of giving myself away when I was with you. Only by talking about her could I feel at ease and not feel guilty."

"As for Lin Lan, I have never had any inappropriate thoughts about her."

After saying that, he shifted his weight, still not fully recovered, his elbow scraping against the sheets with a soft rustling sound, as he hurried to reach for his phone on the bedside table.

The blue light from the screen instantly illuminated the certainty in his eyes, making his face appear even paler. His lips trembled slightly, as if he was afraid she would waver if she waited even a second longer, or as if he was afraid that if he was a step too late, he would lose even the chance to prove himself: "I recorded the night I confronted her. You can listen to it if you don't believe me."

Liu Sisi blinked and looked up at him.

It turns out this man had a backup plan; he had even recorded the conversation.

Ultimately, it was Lin Lan herself who failed to seize the opportunity and cherish it.

She shook her head gently and sighed, "I believe you."

"Do you think I'm too scheming?" Lin Xuedong smirked, his fingers gripping his phone tightly. "At the time, I thought I should find a pretext to cover things up. Firstly, I was afraid the Lin Group's project would be affected, and secondly..."

He paused, then looked down at the woman in his arms, his gaze softening instantly. "I'm afraid you'll be sad, even devastated, if you knew. You care so much about this 'best friend,' and you can't tolerate even the slightest imperfection. I don't want Lin Lan and the child... to ruin our marriage."

"Sending her away was also to leave her a way out. After all, she was raised by the Lin family, and we didn't want to be too ruthless."

In the silence, the slight bitterness in Lin Xuedong's voice was particularly clear, but he deliberately kept his tone steady, as if he were talking about someone else's past: "So I made a promise with Lin Lan that in this life, I will only treat them as her and her son as their uncle."

“I was thinking of telling him the truth when he’s older. By then, he’ll be able to handle it, and you might have our baby by then… He probably won’t care so much about my past mistakes.”

"Then why didn't you send her off in the end?"

Lin Xuedong pursed his lips, his fingertips rubbing the phone case repeatedly until the texture of the plastic was almost smoothed out: "Last year, when there were demonstrations and riots in Paris, I asked A-Xiao to move her to Hong Kong. But I never expected... you would suddenly ask me for a divorce, and you even went to Hong Kong alone without telling me."

“At the time, I wasn’t sure how much you knew, but no matter what, I couldn’t let you go.”

At that time, Lin Xuedong was already besieged on all sides.

With Li Songze and Zeng Ziyan constantly causing trouble in front of him, and Lin Lan posing a potential threat of exposure at any moment, he was afraid to even close his eyes at night. But when he opened his eyes, he saw Liu Sisi resolutely turning away.

"So how many awful things have I done? I told you I wouldn't lie to you anymore, but when I thought about keeping you by my side... I still resorted to any means necessary." He kissed the woman's forehead, his tone tinged with grievance: "But I had no other choice. I'm more afraid of losing you than I'm afraid the sky will fall."

This matter is too convoluted; he feels like he can never keep up with the pace of change. He has so much to say, but he doesn't know where to begin.

Taking a deep breath, Lin Xuedong looked away, forcibly suppressing the trembling heartbeat in his chest, and tried to keep his tone calm: "On the day the child was born, I had my uncle secretly arrange for the child to be sent abroad first, and then brought back to S City to register the child's household registration when the time was right. But I was still worried about Lin Lan, so I prepared a stillbirth certificate at the hospital in advance, and even tampered with the DNA report."

A sudden chill ran through Lin Xuedong's eyes, but he didn't dare touch them. "This time, I just had to be soft-hearted, and that hurt you, hurt our second child... It wasn't until the night you took Lin Lan to see Du Zhentao that I finally woke up and realized I couldn't let her hurt you anymore."

That very night, he made Xie Zhanming completely remove all traces and evidence.

At that time, Xiao Zhiyuan had already been registered under his and Liu Sisi's household registration. The next thing to do was to get rid of Lin Lan, the biggest hidden danger that could explode at any time.

What Lin Xuedong truly could not tolerate was that this woman was determined to kill his wife and children!

In that car accident, they almost died, and in the end, he couldn't even hold onto the tiny thread of pregnancy in Liu Sisi's womb.

Zeng Ziyan, Chen Meiyuan, Huang Minqiu, Lin Lan... He could not forgive any of these people.

How could he not see through Lin Lan's ulterior motives behind her deliberate attempts to be friendly?

“I originally planned to send Lin Lan back to Paris after our wedding and never let her come back.” He didn’t do anything else, but his breathing became heavy, and with some unsettled emotions, he breathed on Liu Sisi’s cheeks. “This is the greatest leniency I can give you, and it’s also what I promised you: to give you a peaceful and undisturbed life.”

But Lin Lan just couldn't hold back.

Ignoring his warnings, she revealed the child's parentage to Zeng Meiyu, further shaking Liu Sisi's already wavering resolve, and even leading her to decide to divorce him.

No sooner had Liu Sisi stepped out of the Lin Group's president's office than news came from the old mansion: Xie Xue had led a group to Weilan Tianfeng to demand Lin Lan's return, but Lin Lan had disappeared without a trace.

A sudden, inexplicable fear surged through Lin Xuedong's mind. Almost instinctively, he took long strides and rushed out of the Lin Group building without stopping, with only one thought in his mind—he couldn't let anything happen to her.

A figure stood by the roadside, head down, talking on the phone. Sunlight fell on the person, but he felt no peace of mind whatsoever. Only endless panic gripped his heart, tightening around every nerve in his body like vines.

This unease was fully confirmed when I caught a glimpse of that bright red color out of the corner of my eye.

At that moment, Lin Xuedong didn't think twice and rushed forward to shield Liu Sisi, taking the first blow himself.

The moment the knife pierced his flesh, his vision blurred, and his clearest thought was: I can finally lean on this little woman again.

He silently prayed in his heart: Sisi, don't go...

But she tried to push him away forcefully, and as always, shouted with a hint of disgust, "Lin Xuedong, are you ever going to stop?"

He wanted to tell her that he had no choice...

The second knife plunged in, the pain contorting his face. His body felt like a rapidly melting ice sculpture, barely able to stand. His only sensation was the trembling body of the little woman in his arms, a body that burned even into his bones.

As the final blow fell, his pupils began to dilate, yet he still used his last strength to say to her, "I agree to the divorce, not because I don't love you anymore... but because I want us both to let go of the past, and wait until I'm a completely new person before I win you back..."

Unfortunately, her familiar figure became increasingly blurry in his eyes, and he never received a response.

He struggled desperately in the boundless darkness, unwilling, reluctant, and unable to give up.

He has to go back!

He hasn't won that little woman over yet, and he hasn't spent enough time with her for the rest of his life.

“After the knife wound, I took Lin Lan to Paris and had no intention of letting her return to China.”

"If she can finally behave herself, she can stay abroad until Zhiyuan turns 18 and they can reunite; otherwise..."

Lin Xuedong put down his phone, his palms still slightly sweaty, and gently cupped Liu Sisi's cheeks. A tear welled up in his eye, hesitant to fall, but instead rolled halfway down his cheek before landing tremblingly on the back of her hand.

That little weight felt like it hit his own heart first. "Sisi, you silly little thing, why did you have to appear in front of me when I was at my most desperate?"

Liu Sisi's heart skipped a beat, her fingertips unconsciously clenching the fabric of his shirt. Her mouth opened and closed again, finally narrowing her eyes like a kitten, "Because in my dreams, you've never given up on me."

"In a dream...?" Lin Xuedong seemed a little dazed, sniffed, and looked at her.

"Mmm." Liu Sisi nodded, raised her hand to wipe the corner of his reddened eyes, then stretched her neck and gently kissed away the tears on the man's eyelashes. "I dreamt that you planted flowers all over the rooftop glass house, smiling and reaching out to me, saying..."

She paused, mimicking his tone, and spoke softly, each word as gentle as cotton, "'Mrs. Lin, welcome home.'"

Half a month later,

Outside the Paris women's prison, a prison van slowly drives through the gates.

In front of the camera at the registration desk, Lin Lan held her prison tag number and turned her face to the side towards the lens.

She was so thin she was unrecognizable, her dark brown prison uniform hung loosely on her body, and her eyes were filled with a deathly stillness.

"Lin Lan, a 29-year-old Chinese woman, intentionally abducted and attempted to harm a young Chinese child, Lin Zhihe (under one year old), on the 11th-floor terrace of the Philippe Restaurant in Paris at 8 p.m. on November 27. The appeal was rejected, the conviction was upheld, and she was sentenced to five years in prison, to be served immediately..." The judge's voice was firm and resounding, but the courtroom was empty.

Finally, the prison officer's voice rang out: "Turn to face!"

With a click of the shutter, the woman in the picture finally found her inevitable... destiny.