Standing Next To You-Chapter 493: Banished

The effects of the drug didn’t completely wear off for several hours. Bei Sangyun managed to move some parts of her body, but every time she tried to stand, her strength gave out. She could only manage minimal movements.

Because of this, Fei Chuan insisted she stay the night.

"I’ll sleep on the couch. Just for extra security," he said firmly, leaving no room for argument.

Without waiting for Bei Sangyun’s response, he set up his makeshift bed on the small couch in the bedroom. It was far too short for his tall frame, leaving his legs dangling awkwardly off the end.

Bei Sangyun felt a pang of guilt and suggested he find another room to rest in, but Fei Chuan refused.

"You once said you didn’t want to come back here because this place gives you nightmares. If you have one tonight and can’t leave the room for air, just call me. I’ll take you outside."

Bei Sangyun froze, stunned. He still remembered that?

That conversation had happened during a late-night phone call four or five years ago. She’d mentioned it in passing, never expecting him to hold on to it.

Her heart softened.

"Don’t overthink it. Just get some rest. By the time you wake up, you’ll be able to move again," Fei Chuan said gently, offering her comfort.

Bei Sangyun smiled faintly and sank into the pillow. She turned to face the couch, where she could just make out Fei Chuan’s head from the distance. Being with him in the same space made her heart and soul at peace. How she wished she could have this forever.

"Thank you. Good night, Fei Chuan."

Perhaps it was the exhaustion of the past four years finally catching up to her, but within five minutes, while staring at the outline of Fei Chuan’s figure, Bei Sangyun drifted into a peaceful sleep.

Fei Chuan opened his eyes. He sat up quietly and approached the bed, crouching down to gaze at Bei Sangyun’s serene, sleeping face.

Like her, he had also been watching—always.

Gently, he brushed a strand of hair away from her face.

"It’s been so long since I’ve seen you sleep like this," he murmured softly.

"How can you fall asleep so easily, with me in the same room, just a few feet away from you?" His voice trembled as his fingers lightly traced her cheek. "Aren’t you worried I’ll do something bad to you? Have you already begun to trust me this much?"

His gaze softened, but within it burned a trace of madness, a smoldering obsession.

"...I can’t, Bei Sangyun," he whispered, his voice filled with anguish. He couldn’t be as carefree as she was. When she was near, he was always on edge—constantly alert, painfully aware of her every movement. frёewebnoѵēl.com

How envious he was of her. How he wished he could feel that same ease around her.

Fei Chuan stood and retrieved the antidote. With quiet precision, he poured the liquid from the syringe into the glass of water on the bedside table.

"It’s a pity," he muttered to himself. "But this has to end soon."

Straightening, he dialed a number on his phone.

"Send those people to Lin Sanju. Let him handle the situation for now, but keep watching ’him’."

His gaze flickered back to Bei Sangyun, peacefully sleeping on the bed.

"When I’m done, I’ll deal with ’him’ myself," he added coldly before ending the call.

.....

"You are accusing me! I don’t know any of them!" Lin Zhe stubbornly denied the claims, insisting that the confessions of the three people—the man in the dark blue suit, the waiter, and the maid—were fabricated.

"Look at their hands! You broke each of their fingers and threatened them to pin the blame on me!" Lin Zhe turned to Old Master Lin, his tone desperate. "Believe me, Grandfather, I had nothing to do with this!"

"My son congratulated you and your branch sincerely! He’s been sporting and gracious all along. We’ve already admitted defeat—why are you trying to crush us completely?" Lin Baozhi’s voice was sharp as he glared at Lin Sanju. "He is innocent!"

"That’s right, Father! There’s no reason for my son to do this. Please, believe him!" Lin Baozhi’s wife pleaded, her eyes filled with desperation.

"No reason, you say?" Lin Fei interjected, his tone mocking and cutting. "Then why did he bring up the tale of the First Wife, the one intentionally erased from the family records? If he had no ulterior motives, why mention it and guide the guests toward that room?"

All eyes turned to Lin Fei, the weight of his words sinking into the room.

"Stay out of this, Lin Fei! You have no right to interfere," Lin Zhe snapped, his composure slipping.

Lin Fei merely shrugged, his point already made.

Lin Sanju remained unmoved by the first branch’s pleas. He turned instead to the silent Old Master Lin, his voice steady and resolute.

"Grandfather, I have presented the evidence. He may be my cousin, but what he’s done has crossed the line. I am not pursuing this because the victim is me, but because he has harmed his own kin and risked dragging the family’s reputation through the mud. Please, allow me to administer the punishment he deserves."

Old Master Lin closed his eyes, his expression unreadable. Even without the confessions, anyone with discernment could see through Lin Zhe’s schemes. His earlier acceptance of defeat now seemed less like grace and more like a calculated ploy.

It all made sense—Lin Zhe had planned this from the start.

He was utterly disappointed. But Lin Sanju was right—Lin Zhe had gone too far by exposing the family’s dark scandal in front of the guests and even orchestrating an incestuous scheme against the future head of the family.

"Do what you have to do," Old Master Lin said, his tone heavy with finality.

"Grandfather!" Lin Zhe was stunned, his face pale. He turned to Old Master Lin, pleading desperately, "It was a terrible mistake to reveal the First Wife’s scandal, but please forgive me this once! I’ve been trained since childhood to lead this family. I’ve worked tirelessly, all for the family! Please..."

Old Master Lin stood up, his expression stern, and walked away without a single glance at Lin Zhe or the first branch’s desperate cries.

After the patriarch’s departure, Lin Sanju’s cold voice broke the tense silence.

"This is my first order as the official heir: From this moment forward, Lin Zhe of the first branch is banished and will never set foot on Lin family premises again. His name will be erased from the family records."

"No! You can’t!" Ye Qiao screamed, her voice trembling with rage and disbelief. "Lin Zhe is a true Lin! How can you banish him like this?"

"You can’t do this! Lin Zhe is your cousin!" Lin Baozhi argued, his voice shaking with desperation as he tried to defend his son.

Lin Ginxian, who had been silently smoking at the side, took a long puff, smokes obstructing his angry expression. His cold gaze pierced through the first branch.

"Cousin?" he scoffed, his voice low and menacing. "If Lin Zhe ever considered an ounce of familial bond to his ’cousins’, he would never have orchestrated such a vile scheme. What if he had succeeded? The family’s reputation would have been irreparably destroyed, and those involved would suffer the consequences for the rest of their lives. How dare you use this ’word’ now?"

Lin Ginxian turned his deadly glare toward Lin Zhe. "If I ever see you set foot in the capital again, I’ll personally throw you back to the gutter where you belong. Be grateful Lin Sanju isn’t taking your life—because I would."

With that, Lin Ginxian crushed the remnants of his tobacco in the ashtray and walked out of the room, leaving behind a suffocating silence.

Despite the first branch’s desperate pleas and resistance, Lin Zhe was still thrown out of the Lin family mansion with nothing but a single suitcase left at his side.

He stormed to the gate and began pounding on it furiously. His fists slammed against the iron bars until his knuckles were red and raw. When his hands hurt too much, he switched to kicking the steel gates, each blow fueled by frustration and rage.

Inside the gate, Lin Sanju stood calmly, his expression icy and detached as he watched the display.

Lin Zhe’s strength eventually gave out. Exhausted, he leaned against the gate, panting heavily, before spitting on the ground in front of it.

"This family was cursed and doomed from the start! To hell with all of you!" he roared, his voice hoarse from shouting. His crazed gaze shifted from Lin Sanju to Lin Fei, who stood watching from a distance. A wild, unsettling grin spread across his face.

"Yeah... This family will be doomed. I’ll sit back and watch it crumble under your hands, Sanju."

Lin Zhe ignored the suitcase that Lin Sanju had arranged for him. His pride refused to let him take anything from the family that had just discarded him.

Although he was now banished and forbidden from using the Lin family’s name, he still had plenty of money and properties stashed away—years of embezzling from the family had been worth it.

With that capital, he planned to rebuild his life, create his own empire, and forge powerful connections. One day, he would return—not as Lin Zhe of the Lin family, but as a man of power and vengeance. The Lin family, and everyone in it, would pay for this humiliation.

As Lin Zhe’s mind churned with plans for revenge, he failed to notice a shadow lurking nearby, silently following him from behind.