In the depths of the night, some people are invited by the Duke of Zhou to play chess and sleep soundly, while others remain untouched no matter how persistently the Duke tries.
Dr Lin was the one suffering from insomnia.
He was still at the seaside hotel. At dawn, he would drive his parents back to the city and go straight to the hospital for their check-ups.
His parents and He Yuehua were probably asleep by now.
He and He Yuehua had both booked single rooms, while his parents had a double room on a different floor.
The room next door happened to be He Yuehua’s.
Two hours earlier, He Yuehua had returned to the hotel with packed barbecue and beer, knocked on his door, and asked if he wanted to share the food and drinks. He had refused.
He explained that he had to drive early the next morning and should avoid alcohol.
In truth, he simply did not want to be alone with He Yuehua.
After that, He Yuehua had left.
Now, it was past eleven at night. Normally, at this hour, Dr Lin would already be asleep. He rarely stayed up late, knowing how harmful it was to the body. As a doctor, he took his own health very seriously.
He avoided anything that went against good health practices.
Yet tonight he tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep.
One moment he found the room lights too bright and glaring, disturbing his rest.
After switching off every light, he felt the darkness was too oppressive. He did not like complete blackness, so he turned on one small lamp, but still sleep evaded him.
He knew the problem was not the lighting. Something was weighing on his mind.
Learning the true identity of his rival had dealt him a devastating blow.
When he had phoned Xiaoya to tell her the news, she had replied that she had known all along, from the very beginning she had known Zhan Yue’s real identity.
Only he had been completely fooled by Zhan Yue. No, the man had not actually deceived him. He himself had failed to investigate his rival properly and had jumped to conclusions, branding him as someone who lived off his brother and sister-in-law.
It had been jealousy. He was jealous of Zhan Yue’s obvious excellence, jealous of his striking looks. Out of that jealousy, he had questioned whether Zhan Yue was truly capable.
Who could have imagined that the man was a young master of the wealthiest Zhan family, with money he could never spend in a lifetime, no need whatsoever to sponge off relatives.
Besides helping manage the family empire, he had his own businesses. The assets of the eighth young master Zhan were probably far beyond anything Dr Lin could ever achieve.
His rival was so outstanding, performed so well, and had won the affection of the entire Zeng family. It created immense pressure.
Dr Lin felt his own chances growing slimmer by the day.
How had things turned out like this?
How could Zhan Yue possibly be a young master of the richest Zhan family?
How could a Zhan family young master take an interest in Zeng Xiaoya? The Zeng family had a respectable background, certainly excellent compared to ordinary families like his own, but compared to the Zhan family the gap was enormous.
Zhan Yue must simply be after something novel, wanting to play around. He had warned Xiaoya, but she refused to believe Zhan Yue truly liked her.
That bastard Zhan Yue clearly liked Xiaoya yet refused to confess. Exactly, by not confessing, he was just playing games, which was why he stayed silent.
Dr Lin decided that tomorrow he would find another chance to speak to Xiaoya alone. Even if she did not choose him in the end, he could not bear to see her become a rich young master’s plaything.
The Zhan family was a thousand-billion-yuan dynasty. Countless heiresses would fight tooth and nail to marry in.
Zeng Xiaoya was not from any famous clan. How could she ever compete with those heiresses?
These were the thoughts that filled his mind, yet Dr Lin still could not sleep.
He sat up once more.
