Chapter 466 - Weird Woman
When Rose walked out of the house and noticed the figure standing outside, she instantly stopped moving. She couldn’t help but blink her eyes repeatedly to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.
Outside the old-fashioned, western-style, giant front gate made of steel, there stood a tall and slim lady wearing a white undershirt and a light blue outer coat coupled with a light brown skirt. The black stockings she wore revealed her flawless legs, while her posture made her look like a magnolia flower shining in the sunlight.
Of course, if it wasn’t for her impeccable but cold face, Rose might feel admiration instead of anxiety.
Why did she come over? Rose thought.
Although they stayed next to each other, Rose’s heartbeat quickened when Lin Ruoxi rang her doorbell.
Honestly speaking, Rose was less anxious even if there were hundreds of bloodthirsty men with knives standing at her door.
No matter what, Rose wasn’t a coward. She walked forward and smilingly opened the gate. Looking at Lin Ruoxi’s crystal-clear eyes, Rose made a gesture to invite her inside. “I’m glad that you’re here, although I’m a little surprised.”
Lin Ruoxi hummed in acknowledgement before walking inside and following Rose into the house, as if she was in contemplation.
“I only found out about it not long ago.”
“Hmm?” Rose looked at Lin Ruoxi.
“I said I only discovered that you’re my neighbor recently. Qianni didn’t tell me about it,” Lin Ruoxi said.
Rose was slightly stunned. She didn’t expect Lin Ruoxi to say something so ordinary.
Smiling, Rose replied, “Oh, Qianni hadn’t mention it as well. Why do I feel that Qianni is hiding it from us intentionally?”
Lin Ruoxi shook her head. “That isn’t the case. I’m sure she just forgot about it. She’s very busy these days. The company is facing some issues, and she’s a really serious person. She’s been helping me out all this time.”
Rose was startled slightly at her words. She was merely joking, but Lin Ruoxi answered her questions so strictly and honestly.
She’s such a weird woman, Rose thought. However, the initial uneasiness had completely dispersed.
When they walked to the living hall, Lin Ruoxi opened her mouth slightly in shock when she saw the breakfast on the table. “I didn’t know you were having breakfast. I’m really sorry for disturbing you.”
Rose smiled and answered, “Don’t be, it’s nothing. Unlike you, I don’t work from nine to five nor do I manage a huge public company. I’m generally very free, I can eat and sleep whenever I want. I’m glad enough that you’re willing to come over. Why would I be bothered because of the breakfast?”
“This is damaging to the body. We need to discipline ourselves when it comes to work and rest,” Lin Ruoxi replied seriously. “Although I often stay up late, it is for your own good to stick to a regular schedule.”
Rose was once again astonished. She couldn’t figure out the logic in Lin Ruoxi’s speech. Why is she giving me advice now?
It was quite laughable actually that the first person who was concerned about her working pattern wasn’t her parents, seniors, relatives, or even her lover, but the woman in front of her who was supposed to hate her the most.
Lin Ruoxi thought Rose was displeased when Rose looked at her with a strange gaze. She sighed, “Did I cross any boundaries? I’m not trying to imply anything. I’m actually jealous of your freedom.”
“Really? But why do I always feel that I should be jealous of you instead?” Rose said softly before mocking herself. She said to Lin Ruoxi, “Please have a seat. I’m not in a rush. I’ll make you a cup of red tea.”
Lin Ruoxi nodded, but didn’t sit down immediately. She slowly walked around in Rose’s spacious living hall, appreciating the sculptures and oil paintings found there.
The ground floor of the house was decorated differently in different sections. There were armors of European knights in the Middle Ages, oil paintings from the Romantic era, artworks by Impressionists, and some jade carvings.
When Rose delivered two cups of red tea to the coffee table, Lin Ruoxi sat down on the woven chair and said, “Thank you.”
Rose asked, “Do you like them?”
“Ah?”
“These oil paintings and sculptures. If there’s something you like, I’m more than happy to gift it to you,” Rose said. “Of course, I’m not implying that you can’t afford it yourself. I know that you’re one of the wealthiest women in the world, but I’m not a huge fan of these things. They make the house ghastly, so I’ll give them to you if you like. As far as I know, some of them are the creations of well-known artists.”
Lin Ruoxi seemed confused. Frowning, she asked, “Why do you put them on display if you dislike them so?”
Rose smiled as she answered, “I’m not the one who got them. They’re my father’s collection.”
Lin Ruoxi nodded and took a sip of the boiling-hot red tea. She hesitated for a bit before saying, “I have heard of your other identity.”
Rose found Lin Ruoxi’s shy look refreshing. The woman in front of her behaved like a little girl who was so innocent and clueless to the outside world. She looked nothing like the person behind a multinational corporate. When compared to Rose, Lin Ruoxi appeared more than ten years younger.
“Don’t put it that way. I’m the head of an underground syndicate called Red Thorns Society, the largest gang in Zhonghai. To put it simply, I am what people call the boss of bad guys.” Rose winked at Lin Ruoxi. “You inherited the legacy of a businessman from your grandmother while I was influenced by my father.”
It was the first time Lin Ruoxi heard about it. She felt slightly surprised. “Uncle is one as well?”
Rose chuckled. “Yeap, he’s even one of my enemies. But I sent him overseas after defeating him, so I’m not interested in keeping the stuff he left here.”
Lin Ruoxi found it hard to accept. She got rid of her own father? They’re even enemies in the underworld?
However, Lin Ruoxi excelled in making rational analysis after all. Although she was surprised, she quickly got a clue or two. She asked, “Those things are related to that man, aren’t they?”
Rose sipped on her tea and stopped smiling. She nodded and said, “Yeah, you’re right. If it wasn’t for him, I would’ve left this world long ago.”
Coldness appeared in Lin Ruoxi’s eyes once again. “Did Uncle…”
“My father tried to kill me once, but he failed because Yang Chen intervened. He even got defeated by me at last. As a result, I became the only syndicate head in Zhonghai,” Rose explained briefly.
Lin Ruoxi’s hands which were holding the porcelain cup shivered a bit. Rose made it sound insignificant, but Lin Ruoxi was sure that it was not the case, far from it.
The father wants to kill his own daughter? The daughter defeated her father and sent him abroad? What kind of twisted few years it must have been.
The man had single-handedly made the gorgeous woman the head of Zhonghai’s underground syndicate without his wife’s knowledge. Lin Ruoxi felt rather bad in her heart. Being his wife, she had to make a deal to make him save Yu Lei International, but he had selflessly pushed the woman in front of her to where she was today.
However, Lin Ruoxi knew that it wasn’t the time for her to get jealous, and she wasn’t one to get jealous anyway.
“Other than getting to know you officially, I actually came today to thank you for saving me,” Lin Ruoxi said gently.
“Don’t thank me. I’m doing it for myself as well,” Rose said. “I’ll blame myself should anything happen to you. I’ll be more sad if he is sad than if I were to die.”
Lin Ruoxi held the tea cup forcefully with both her hands. Rose’s word were just like sharp needles poking her heart. Rose was indirectly telling her that she wouldn’t take a step back from the relationship.
However, in fact, even if Rose hadn’t made the confession, Lin Ruoxi knew that she would never give up.
Lin Ruoxi let out an exhausted smile when she thought about it. “Let’s not talk about him. We should talk about us. Do you know that my father tried to kill me as well? I was saved by that man, just as you have. But I have to say, I haven’t been through as much as you. Although I find it comical, we’re both people whom our family tried to kill.”
Rose was stunned. The expression in her gaze changed repeatedly. At last, she sighed, “I didn’t realize you were suffering all this time as well.”
Lin Ruoxi put down the tea cup and stretched her slender arm out to Rose. Smiling gently, she said, “Nice to meet you.”
Rose reached her arm out to shake her hand and felt rather warm. “Me too.”
Lin Ruoxi wasn’t a talkative person. After saying what she had in mind, she stood up and said, “I have to leave for work now, but please let us continue when I have the time in the future. We can even invite Qianni together.”
“Alright. I’ll send you off.” They behaved like old friends instead of a wife and a paramour of her husband.
When Lin Ruoxi walked out the living hall, Rose suddenly said, “Take good care of yourself. You’re the woman who is going to be by his side the longest after all.”
Lin Ruoxi stopped moving. However, she didn’t say a word nor did she turn around. She continued walking away.
At this moment, at the courtyard shone upon by the warm sunlight, Lin Ruoxi’s figure was covered with a layer of thin golden light as she walked toward the gate. Aren’t you the one instead? she thought.