Standing Next To You-Chapter 502: A token of debt and gratitude

Lin Fei stepped out of the penitentiary gates. He looked thinner, with dark bags under his eyes. But despite his haggard appearance, his spirits were high.

He took a deep breath of fresh air, only to cough as dust from the pavement filled his lungs.

"Oh gosh, you look worse. If you’d stayed in there any longer, you might have turned into a walking zombie," Lin Sunji said as she stood next to a car, her eyes scanning him up and down with a mix of shock and concern. "Are you sure you can even walk? I should’ve brought a wheelchair."

"Shut up. It’s just the withdrawal symptoms. Where’s your brother?" Lin Fei asked, walking toward the car.

"He’s busy. The mess you caused had a huge impact on the company. We almost lost more than half of our business partners. If it weren’t for my brother, the Lin family would’ve sunk by now."

Lin Fei knew the scandal had delivered a hard blow to the entire Lin family. He hesitated in returning, but he quickly dismissed that thought. If the family chose to banish him upon his return, he’d accept their decision. After all, it was partially his fault this disaster had occurred in the first place.

He climbed into the car while Lin Sunji slid into the driver’s seat. Settling into the back, Lin Fei felt something hard in his pocket. He reached inside and pulled out the necklace the beggar had given him on the night of the banquet.

He had almost forgotten about it.

When the police took him away, he had been clutching this necklace.

After the banquet, he’d had the gem inspected, and the results had shocked him. The entire jewel was genuine, made of pure blue crystal rock.

Where it had come from remained a mystery. He’d been mulling over its origin when the police interrupted his thoughts by barging in. Before being dragged away, he’d shoved it into his pocket.

"Right, my brother said you should thank Fei Chuan. He handled most of the work to get you out quickly. Without him, this would’ve taken more than a couple of months," Lin Sunji said, her eyes meeting Lin Fei’s through the rearview mirror.

Lin Fei, still examining the necklace, froze.

Lin Sunji continued, "Although the only reason he helped you is clearly because of Bei Sangyun, you should still thank him personally. That’s what my brother said."

Lin Fei’s expression grew solemn as he nodded. No wonder the case had been resolved so quickly—it was the combined effort of three powerful individuals. Fei Chuan, in particular, must have pulled significant strings. Lin Fei suspected Fei Chuan held a secret that made the James family value him so highly. And that he had used that for this case.

As he ran his fingers over the smooth, cold surface of the blue crystal, Lin Fei made his decision.

"Drive me to Fei Chuan first. I want to thank him personally."

.....

Fortunately, Lin Sanju knew exactly where Fei Chuan was at the moment and told the two the address.

Lin Sunji and Lin Fei arrived in front of a two-story villa. During the drive, Lin Sunji had been unusually quiet, seemingly lost in thought. Even now, as she stared at the gate before them, she was still in a daze.

Lin Fei noticed her expression and couldn’t help but ask, "Why do you look so surprised?"

"Oh..." Lin Sunji snapped out of her trance. "It’s just that... I’ve passed by here before."

Lin Fei raised an eyebrow. "...And?"

Lin Sunji pointed to a street on the left. "If you keep going straight down that street, in five minutes you’ll reach Bei Sangyun’s house."

Lin Fei: "...Oh."

Lin Sunji shook her head, a mischievous grin forming on her lips. "They’re in the same village. I bet Bei Sangyun doesn’t even know about this. Tsk, tsk. The power of love."

Lin Fei looked back at the villa in front of him. Fei Chuan did not change. Still the same stalker.

Assistant Cheng was already waiting for the two at the entrance.

"My master is currently in his study. He’s not feeling well, so I hope you two can keep this brief," he reminded them politely.

They were then escorted to Fei Chuan’s study.

As they approached the door, they heard an elderly woman’s voice scolding Fei Chuan from inside.

"—Aren’t you afraid your illness will relapse again? If Cheng Li hadn’t called me to tell me you’re overworking and have fallen sick, I wouldn’t have known! I’m staying here. I’ll have to watch over you myself."

"Grandma, it’s nothing serious. I have a doctor on standby," Fei Chuan replied, his tone laced with exhaustion.

"Even so! Look at you—you’re sick, yet you’re still working on your computer. The screen, the lights... they’re making you sicker."

"...I’m using an anti-radiation screen," Fei Chuan muttered.

"And why are you staying here? Why don’t you stay at Village C?" Grandma Pei ignored his retort and continued her scolding. "The house there is much bigger, surrounded by greenery. This place is too close to the capital. Once you step out of the village, and you’ll be breathing in pollution."

A knock on the door interrupted her tirade, saving Fei Chuan from further scolding. Both of them turned to look as Cheng Li stepped inside.

"I’m sorry to intrude, but the guests are here," Cheng Li announced.

Grandma Pei retreated from the room with a huff, leaving Fei Chuan behind. Fei Chuan shot a glare at Cheng Li, silently blaming him for telling Grandma Pei about his condition and causing her to fly all the way from Country F to check on him.

Cheng Li, fearing that he would be reprimanded by his boss, quickly excused himself. Lin Sunji had nothing more to say, so she followed him out, leaving Lin Fei alone with Fei Chuan in the study.

Fei Chuan leaned back in his chair. Despite his illness, he retained his striking handsomeness, though his complexion was paler than usual. The dark blue silk pajamas he wore only added to his fragile look with elegance.

Lin Fei broke the silence. "I heard from the twins about the help you provided in my case. Thank you. I know I don’t have much to offer in return for what you’ve done, but if there’s anything I can do for you, please let me know."

Fei Chuan responded in a relaxed tone, "I didn’t do it for you."

Lin Fei smiled knowingly. "I know. You did it for Bei Sangyun. If not for her, you wouldn’t have lifted a finger for me. Still, it’s because of you that I was able to get out so quickly."

Lin Fei reached into his pocket and pulled out the necklace he had been carrying. He placed it carefully on Fei Chuan’s desk. "This is all I have with me. Let this be a token of my gratitude and debt to you. If, in the future, you need my help, present this to me, and I will repay you—no matter what it is."

Fei Chuan’s gaze shifted to the necklace, his interest piqued. "Unconditionally?"

"Yes," Lin Fei replied. He hesitated briefly, then added, "Consider it my way of making up for being rude to you in the past."

Fei Chuan picked up the necklace, his dark eyes reflecting the vibrant blue of the crystal gem. The gem, set in an old-fashioned chain design, caught the light and shimmered like the depths of the ocean. For a moment, an image of someone came to his mind.

This... would look good on her.

He turned the necklace over in his hands, inspecting it carefully. Something about the gem felt oddly familiar.

"Can I keep this?" Fei Chuan asked.

Lin Fei blinked in surprise. Did he actually like it?

"Well," Lin Fei said after a moment, "the gem is genuine, and with its antique design, it’s probably worth a fortune. But compared to what you did for me, it’s nothing."

Besides, he got it from a beggar for free. He looked into the beggar afterward—wanted to know who he was—but he couldn’t find anything about him. It was as if he appeared out of thin air.

Lin Fei’s mind wandered to the beggar’s cryptic words: That he had stolen this a long time ago and had to return it.

Those words doesn’t make sense. He did not even know the existence of this necklace, so how could he stole it? Since it was nonsense, he did not believe or take any heed of them. But now, he was suddenly remembering it.

Who was the ’him’ the beggar had been talking about?

"...It’s not actually mine. But you can have it," Lin Fei said, deciding to leave everything to fate since he had no answers of his own. "I don’t know where it came from. Despite my efforts to search, I still haven’t found anything. If you have the time, you can look for the answers instead of me."

Fei Chuan raised a brow. "What if this cost a huge fortune, are you’re still willing to hand this over to me?"

"Yes," Lin Fei replied without hesitation. "It came to me by chance. Now, I’m giving it to you—also by chance."

Fei Chuan’s lips curled into a faint, skeptical smile. "An unconditional favor and a mysterious necklace whose value is undetermined. Aren’t you afraid you’ll regret giving me these?"

Lin Fei smiled faintly. "No."

Fei Chuan studied him carefully, his sharp gaze searching for any trace of hesitation or doubt. Finding none, he finally accepted the necklace, his fingers curling around the cool, smooth crystal.

There wasn’t much more to say between the two of them. And since Fei Chuan was still unwell, Lin Fei excused himself.

But before leaving, Lin Fei hesitated at the door. Turning back, he spoke softly, "...I want to apologize for my behavior when we first met. Now, I can see that you’re sincere about her. I don’t know why the two of you broke up, but it’s clear you still have feelings for her. From what I know, she deeply cares about you too. Please... don’t hurt her. Stay with her until the end."

The room fell silent after Lin Fei’s departure.

Fei Chuan leaned back in his chair, his pale fingers turning the necklace over and over.

Lin Fei’s last words seemed to echoed in this room.

’...she deeply cares about you too.’

Lies.

His dark eyes stared at the blue crystal, unfocused, as if searching for answers in its depths.

The room was utterly silent, save for the quiet storm brewing in his mind.