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He was very close, and the sense of coercion was even stronger.
Su Ling reached up to pry his hand off her head. Her cheeks were flushed: “Can you not make such requests?” Shameless.
He was still looking at her, and Su Ling’s feeble strength couldn’t break free.
He wasn’t smiling; the light in his eyes was cold. He was truly angry.
The only time he had ever fallen in love in twenty-seven years, and she didn’t take it seriously. Now she returned to Coral Town, but what about later?
He wasn’t a good person, and his values weren’t exactly upright.
Unlike Su Ling, who had received a formal education, Qin Xiao dropped out early. Back in school, he relied on his fists to speak, and later took over the company using ruthless tactics.
His father, the typical rich man who died young, and Madam Wen didn’t manage him. No one taught him that when giving someone something, he should consider whether they wanted it or not.
“No choice, huh?”
Su Ling was scared to death. How could she choose this?
Such a shameless request—how could she possibly agree?
She tried to reason with him softly: “You went to L City on your own; I didn’t ask you to follow me. I don’t like that anklet; I was afraid… so I left. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have left you alone in L City.”
He seemed to chuckle, but it was cold and chilling.
The next moment, the world spun, and Su Ling was hoisted onto his shoulder. Her abdomen pressed against his shoulder, and upside down, all she could see was the ground.
“Qin Xiao… what are you doing! Let go.” She struggled continuously.
“Save your strength, don’t shout.” Qin Xiao seemed particularly heartless this time, without any tenderness for beauty. He slapped her buttocks.
It didn’t hurt, but it was especially embarrassing.
Su Ling’s cheeks and ears turned bright red. She was more panicked because no one knew Qin Xiao’s moral bottom line.
He had excellent physical fitness. Even when angry, he didn’t embrace her but carried her effortlessly. Su Ling found it hard to endure being upside down.
Qin Xiao’s luxury car was parked not far away, and he directly threw Su Ling into the back seat.
Su Ling couldn’t catch her breath, her head was spinning from the rush of blood.
The man leaned down.
At the end of August, the summer heat hadn’t subsided, and the air conditioning in his car hadn’t been turned on yet, making it stuffy.
Coming back to her senses, all she could see were his pitch-black pupils, filled entirely with her reflection. All the intense, terrifying, desperate desires were reflected in those cold, sharp eyes.
She couldn’t tell how much tenderness was in them.
His hand brushed her cheek. Despite the heat, she shivered.
He gently played with her bangs. Su Ling felt warmth on her forehead as his lips landed there.
His kisses moved downward, not rough, brushing over her eyelashes and landing on her eyes. This extremely slow pace was like an elegant form of torture.
Su Ling’s wrists were pinned by him, her legs too. She could hear his rapid breathing sweeping across her cheeks. Her heart tightened, and that sense of fated, terrifying confinement made her tremble slightly.
Why was it always like this? Why was he always like this!
She hated him, she despised him! No matter how many lifetimes, she would never fall in love with such a person.
Arrogant, selfish, conceited, ignorant.
She was so scared, so hateful, that just before he kissed her lips, she burst into tears.
She cried out two lifetimes of grievances, venting with reckless abandon.
“Qin Xiao, I hate you, I hate you no matter what, I’ll hate you forever…”
“Why… why did you come to find me? Can’t you stay away from me…”
“I hate you, I hate you…”
His body stiffened, and the boiling emotions in his black eyes slowly cooled.
His hand holding her wrist began to tremble.
It was unclear who was suffering more.
In the end, he gently wiped her tears. When she cried, it was endless—either she held it in or let it all out. He felt the tears scorching his fingertips, seeping into his bones, punishing his blood, and his heart ached along with it.
He no longer had the thought of finding her beautiful while she cried. His heart bore the weight of thunderous force, and there was only this delicate flower.
He liked her so much; she was the only thing he had ever strongly liked in his twenty-seven years. Liked to the point of losing rationality, no matter the means, even if it meant bankruptcy—he had to have her.
But she hated him.
Why did she hate him? Was he really that terrible?
“Stop crying; I didn’t mean to do anything to you.” His voice was also stiff, and the earlier ferocity was completely gone.
He sighed, gently picked her up, and slowly tidied her disheveled hair.
That little face looked pitiful when crying. She appeared fragile but rarely cried genuinely.
At least he had only seen it twice: once at her uncle’s doorstep and once today.
In just two days, she had been upset twice.
He and those bastards weren’t much different.
So she hated him.
She loathed him.
“Su Ling,” he called softly, and she was still in his arms, soft and pitiful. “I won’t bully you anymore, okay? I won’t ever bully you again. You… can you…”
Can you try to like me a little bit?
She was still sobbing when Qin Xiao suddenly frowned and covered her lips with his hand.
Outside, Director Wen drove into the town and stopped nearby.
Also in the car was Shen Yi, the male lead of Twelve Years of Dust . Shen Yi raised an eyebrow and whistled upon seeing Qin Xiao’s black car: “A luxury car, huh.”
Director Wen found the car somewhat familiar.
The first person he thought of was Boss Qin. If Qin was indeed in the car, it wouldn’t be good not to greet him. So he signaled Shen Yi: “Let’s get out and see. If we run into Clear Entertainment’s boss, we need to be smart about it.”
Shen Yi agreed, and the two stepped out into the blazing sun.
Su Ling didn’t understand why he suddenly covered her lips. She opened her big eyes to look at him. Those almond-shaped eyes were like a rainy sky, clear and clean. Her eyes were red-rimmed, and he softened at the sight, whispering in her ear: “Wen Zhi is coming.”
She blinked, shedding two more tears, momentarily bewildered, her expression changing.
Qin Xiao naturally didn’t care about Wen Zhi or Shen Yi. He lived life freely and recklessly, and no one dared to criticize him.
But he knew Su Ling didn’t want to be associated with him.
What to do now depended on Su Ling.
He released his hand and wiped the tear streaks off her face: “Don’t want them to see you?”
Su Ling nodded. She didn’t want him wiping her tears and did it herself with the back of her hand.
“Then can you stay still?” After saying that, he turned her around and positioned himself facing Wen Zhi.
She was petite, and Qin Xiao held her, letting her head rest against his chest.
He didn’t roll down the windows. Wen Zhi and Shen Yi could only vaguely see a silhouette, both feeling a bit awkward.
Wen Zhi coughed, fearing to disturb the big boss: “Let’s go.”
Shen Yi naturally agreed, and the two got back in the car. Wen Zhi quickly started the car and left, sighing in relief after driving quite a distance.
Shen Yi pondered: “Director Wen, do you think who that woman was?”
They hadn’t seen her clearly; Qin Xiao had shielded her well, and they couldn’t even see what she was wearing.
Wen Zhi clicked his tongue: “Boy, don’t meddle too much.”
Shen Yi laughed: “Could it be Ren Xuebing?” It was reasonable to guess that if Qin Xiao was here filming, the most likely person in the car would be a female actress from the crew.
Wen Zhi didn’t say anything. In truth, he felt… Qin Shao really looked down on Ren Xuebing. He thought of the diligent girl Xiao Jiu Li in the crew and sighed with amusement.
If it really was her, seeing how Qin Shao treated her like a treasure, her future… would be limitless.
The two of them left.
Su Ling pushed Qin Xiao away. She didn’t look at him and didn’t cry anymore. The streets of Coral Town were ancient and quiet, especially at the entrance, the most peaceful part of the small town.
Qin Xiao’s car was parked in the shade.
The sunlight outside was scorching, and the air felt like a giant steamer—it was the hottest time of the year.
Just a little later, when autumn arrived with its harvest, it would be Su Ling’s twentieth birthday.
Qin Xiao turned on the car’s air conditioning and then got out of the car.
He glanced at the girl inside, twirled the keys in his hand, and pressed the lock.
His car was luxurious, locking people inside effortlessly.
Unless they smashed the car window, there was no way out.
Suppressing the strange restlessness in his heart, he walked towards the town.
Su Ling tried opening the car door but found it locked.
She was furious with this jerk!
Although he had said he wouldn’t bully her anymore, she didn’t believe it at all. But now, being locked inside his car, she still felt incredibly frustrated.
Fortunately, it was cool inside the car.
Qin Xiao’s car could turn on the air conditioning without inserting the key.
After calming down a bit, Su Ling remembered what she had said earlier. She accidentally… spilled everything from her heart.
In her previous life, until she died, Qin Xiao never heard her say the word love. He seemed to care deeply about it, but he didn’t know she hated him.
Born into privilege, he was used to controlling others’ lives.
Su Ling should have been the easiest type of person to control. She was framed, surrounded by rumors, unable to continue her studies. Her grandmother was seriously ill, and her uncle addicted to gambling. With so many vulnerabilities, he held them all in his hands.
And he exploited them all.
He was shameless in broad daylight.
Su Ling knew Qin Xiao had helped her a lot. Everyone couldn’t expect others to treat them kindly unconditionally. Not helping was their duty, and helping was kindness, so repaying favors was only right. However, she preferred earning money to repay him.
She owed him money, not feelings.
Su Ling didn’t want to be his mistress.
During those countless days of being criticized behind her back, Madam Wen looked down on her, Zheng Xiaoya looked down on her. They were like Ni Jianan from her childhood, making her feel powerless.
She lived under someone else’s roof in the Ni family, and similarly in Qin Xiao’s villa.
Qin Xiao had people plant many roses outside her villa. He gave her countless jewels and kept her hidden like a treasure.
But his possessiveness was so strong and unconscious. He wanted to possess her completely, body and soul.
Others weren’t allowed to look, touch, or even covet her in thought.
During the few years she was with him, she rarely left the villa.
Su Ling didn’t have Stockholm Syndrome; she wouldn’t fall in love with such a person.
She stayed in the car for a while before seeing Qin Xiao’s figure. His black bangs were soaked, and his body drenched in sweat. He had walked a long way and returned with two bottles of water.
Su Ling heard a beep, and Qin Xiao unlocked the car.
He leaned in, his thumb wanting to touch the corner of her eye.
Su Ling turned her head away. He didn’t mind and smiled: “Drink some water.” He originally wanted to say, don’t be angry, you’ve already been kissed. But that was too shameless, so he ultimately didn’t say it.
Then he handed her the slightly cool bottle of water. Su Ling took it, and where he had held it still retained a burning heat.
The half-open car door brought in the heat from outside, the clamorous temperature of summer.
The bottle given by Qin Xiao was already opened, and it was easy to open again.
She hesitated, noticing he was still watching her. Qin Xiao’s gaze briefly lingered on her water bottle.
Su Ling: “…” She suspected this pervert had kissed the bottle’s mouth.
However, such a horrifying thought couldn’t be verified.
Qin Xiao closed the car door and leaned against the ancient banyan tree nearby. Sweat ran down his forehead as he twisted the cap and took a few gulps.
His gaze fell lightly on the town entrance, where a stone monument stood with “Coral” engraved on it.
Su Ling hesitated. In the end, she decided to trust that there was still basic trust between people and took a small sip of water.
It was cool inside the car, but outside looked sweltering.
She sat in the backseat watching him. He seemed to notice and turned his head.
Su Ling lowered her head, the water in her hands still slightly cool. Her eyes were still slightly red, and her fingers tightened.
Qin Xiao had started smoking at fifteen. He patted his empty pocket and realized he hadn’t touched the stuff in two months.
After a while, Qin Xiao opened the driver’s door and sat inside: “I’ll drive you over.”
Her eyes were no longer red, but they had been wet from crying earlier.
“No need.” She tested and found the car door could be opened, so she immediately got out.
He didn’t turn around but watched her through the rearview mirror. Girls at this age were slender, curvy, dressed simply in T-shirts and shorts, yet she wore them with a unique charm.
Her exposed calves were very thin and white.
Yellow socks hugged her ankles.
Such delicate ankles, fitting perfectly and exquisitely in one’s palm.
She was still scared from his previous actions, still distrustful of him, fearing he might go crazy. After walking a few steps, she turned back: “Qin Xiao.” She was a bit nervous. “I’m leaving, okay?”
He smiled.
Originally, a heart placed on fire, scorched until it felt no warmth from the world, was now gently lifted and softened with a breath.
But she knew nothing. Whether his heart had already collapsed or screamed itself hoarse.
Following his heart, he opened the car door again.
Su Ling: “...!”
His eyes curved with a smile: “Look again, and you won’t leave.”
This time, she didn’t look back, almost fleeing in panic.
He waited a long time after Su Ling left before leisurely returning to the car. Inside the car’s hidden compartment was a black velvet box, and inside it was the amethyst anklet.
When he bought it, he couldn’t read the long French introduction.
Only four Chinese characters were annotated—True Love of This Life.
She hated it, just as she hated his love.
But what could be done? In this lifetime, he was extreme, stubborn, incapable of change. Just looking at her and not touching her nearly suffocated him alive.
Yet, probably even in death, he wouldn’t learn the words “let go.”
At the beginning of September, the university welcomed fresh blood. Junior and sophomore students came in, and previous batches advanced a grade.
Su Ling was in her third year.
Twelve Years of Dust successfully wrapped up, and Su Ling didn’t encounter any incidents, which made her very happy. Since the leg-breaking incident changed, she believed the accident of Yun Bu falling from the wire could also change, giving her immense confidence.
The remaining payment was transferred, and Su Ling was finally not a penniless debtor.
A total of eight hundred thousand yuan. She copied the card number Qin Xiao had given her earlier and transferred seven hundred thousand back. She paid off both the principal and interest.
She still had one hundred thousand yuan, enough to finish university.
Ni Haoyan enrolled in the neighboring Q University, very close to Z University, almost just two alleys apart.
She had been his sister for nineteen years. Long ago, she had thought of sending him to university at this time.
Z University was bustling with people. Seniors warmly welcomed freshmen, but Su Ling ultimately didn’t go to see Ni Haoyan. She signed up as a volunteer for the school’s new student welcoming event, helping the juniors from the performance department carry things and guide them.
After several months in the crew, Su Ling became much livelier, no longer as subdued and shy as when she first returned.
The juniors she guided stared at her intently, and a few joked: “Are all seniors in the performance department this beautiful? Too scary, can we even survive?”
Su Ling used to blush and become flustered, but now, although still shy, she smiled and replied: “You’re all very pretty; you’ll all be great in the future.”
She spoke earnestly, sincerely blessing them, unlike their playful banter. Even though the juniors were a year or two younger, they were utterly charmed.
Goodness, this senior was both beautiful and adorably clumsy.
Su Ling deeply reflected. Her family environment shaped her timid and self-conscious personality. For ten whole years, she had yielded to Ni Jianan and Ni Haoyan, resulting in her often being passive in relationships.
All the tragedies of her past life were related to her personality.
She was raised by her grandmother, who often told her to be well-behaved.
Being obedient to the point that she couldn’t muster any rebellious thoughts.
But this life, her perspective was different. Since she got a second chance, she had to be more cheerful.
Back at school for half a month, besides Tan Qing, several girls who originally liked her began to be friendly.
Actually, Su Ling had been so kind to Yun Bu, making others envious.
Previously, they didn’t know how to interact with Su Ling.
After returning from summer vacation, they discovered that the department’s flower had become much more outgoing! Goodness!
Su Ling had an exceptionally good temper. Whether asked to bring food or bubble tea, she never refused. She spoke softly, and her hairstyle… was also very cute.
Unconsciously, Su Ling gained a lot of popularity.
Yun Bu was almost jealous to death, fearing that Lingling would be taken away.
As for Ni Haoyan, he hadn’t sought out Su Ling either. The siblings seemed to have become strangers since that day.
Sometimes Su Ling thought about it and felt sad. This brother, she truly loved. But he must have been very disappointed in her, as she eventually chose to leave them.
One morning, after memorizing vocabulary, Su Ling received a call from an unknown number, but the other side remained silent for a long time.
She guessed: “Ni Haoyan?”
The other side still didn’t respond and eventually hung up.
Su Ling called back several times and discovered it was a public phone.
A public phone on campus.
She couldn’t describe her feelings and ultimately stopped calling.
Su Ling rarely browsed Weibo before, but later, Wan Baitai encouraged her to register a new account. The username was 【Su Ling Must Work Hard Today】.
Wan Baitai said: “You’ll be famous sooner or later. See? Although the follower count here is currently 8, one day there will be seven zeros added.”
Su Ling thought it unlikely and just smiled it off.
Many people from the crew followed her. Their fans noticed their idols following Su Ling, traced back, and became curious about this slowly growing Su Ling, even following her.
Some guessed correctly—wasn’t she the unknown actress who acted opposite Ren Xuebing and made headlines?
Damn… so few fans?
A brand-new rookie actress.
Su Ling didn’t post on Weibo, and her page remained blank. Everyone was curious about who Su Ling was, but no one dug her up.
Twelve Years of Dust was originally scheduled to premiere during the New Year, but the higher-ups suddenly moved it to October.
The premiere was on National Day, first on TV then online.
From September to October, the entire Clear Entertainment planned to heavily promote this drama. They bought various headlines and stirred up rumors with photos of the male and female leads, gaining temporary popularity but delaying the release of makeup test photos.
With the gimmick of reincarnation, the drama drew significant attention. Mid-September, the makeup test photos were released, causing a stir online.
Wan Baitai and Shen Yi gained high popularity, and Ren Xuebing’s popularity was also decent.
However, many initially went to see their idols and ended up being captivated by the last makeup test photo.
A maiden dressed in white, holding a black long sword, her features pure and bright, with bells tied around her ankles.
Her background was clouds and mist, with the rising sun behind her. Her smile was radiant, and a colorful butterfly spread its wings on her hand gripping the sword hilt.
Beside it were a few lines of running script: 【Su Ling — Plays Jiu Li】.
Wan Baitai saw the skyrocketing popularity and exclaimed to her assistant: “See that? I feel like I’m going to be super famous.”
Before the assistant could ask, she grinned: “When a big shot wants to promote someone, it’s unstoppable.”
This was the beloved little darling of someone influential; getting stained was extraordinary.
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