“My dad said that if I continue to be involved with you, he will kick me out of the family, but… Jin, I am not afraid of anything else as long as I am with you!”

Lin Xueya became emotional in an instant and clung onto his shoulders tightly with a flushed face. “As long as I am with you, who cares if I am no longer the Lins’ missus? Who cares if I end up living a dull and poverty-stricken life? As long as I am with you… there’s nothing I am afraid of.”

She paused for a moment before biting her lower lip as tears trickled down her face. She hugged him and begged in an almost petty and low manner, “Now, you no longer have to worry. I left my family due to a confrontation last night. I want you no matter what, so…”

So…

Since she had made such a compromise for him to this point, could he love her even a bit?

She did not care if this love stemmed from pity.

“Jin, let’s be together properly, alright? I don’t have anything else besides you… so let’s be together, okay?”

As Lin Xueya finished her words, Hua Jin continued to hug her with an expressionless face. There was no fluctuation in his heart at all, and it remained unnervingly calm.

She did not dare to ask him again as she understood what his silence meant.

Everything in her world collapsed at that instant.

Her body fell limp, and she gradually sank into the bathtub, her eyes empty and lifeless.

In all honesty, she had already known what his answer was going to be.

No matter how excellent his acting skills were, a meticulous woman like her knew very well that such tender sentiments and adoration were all just pretense.

“Are you… just using me?”

In a daze, she raised her head suddenly and asked while feeling devastated, “I’ve sacrificed so much for you. Why are you so miserly that you can’t even spare me a glance?! I gave up so much for you; I’m even willing to abandon my family, but why isn’t there even a small space in your heart for me?!”

Hua Jin’s complexion remained sluggish as he continued to look at her with an empty gaze. When his eyes finally fell on her, they only showed pity.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

She gripped his shoulder tightly; her unwavering eyes remained on his face as she begged, “Hua Jin, say it—say it! I want to hear the truth; I don’t want to lie to myself anymore! You don’t have to act anymore, alright? Tell me, please. Have you really never loved me before, not even a bit? It’s fine even if I only have a very small space in your heart!”

The man remained silent.

“Say it. Say it…” Lin Xueya urged him as she trembled in fear.

However, if he opened his mouth and said that he liked her or cared about her, even if it was just a bit, she would be fearless.

Even if her world were to collapse, she would have no complaints or regrets.

Even if it was just one word from him.

“Yes.”

She was willing to sacrifice everything for him until the end of the world.

However, after a long bout of silence, Hua Jin finally looked up and said indifferently, “You don’t have to be so persistent.”

As he said that, he reached out to brush away her hand, which was holding his shoulder tightly.

This action of his left her petrified.

Lin Xueya widened her eyes in fear. No matter how hard he tried to pull her hand away, she refused to let go.