My Dongguan Love Story

When I heard Lin Guilian's words, I caught a glimpse of the cunning glint in her eyes out of the corner of my eye. My heart sank to the bottom, and I was so frightened that my whole body tensed up and I was completely terrified.

If she tells Tang Yan about the text message chat history she just saw between me and Lin Huimin on my phone, Tang Yan will be furious, and then we'll both be finished.

Thinking of this, my palms started sweating with anxiety. I quickly interrupted her, my tone betraying a barely perceptible panic: "Yan'er, where are we going later?"

Tang Yan was wondering what Lin Guilian wanted to say to her when I interrupted her. Without turning her head, she replied, "Yeah, let's go back to the rented room."

After saying that, she turned to look at Lin Guilian, her eyes full of doubt: "Guilian, you said you had something to tell me?"

My heart jumped into my throat again. I frantically winked at Lin Guilian and secretly made a pleading gesture, signaling her not to tell anyone.

Seeing my flustered and nervous state, Lin Guilian smiled knowingly, then turned to Tang Yan, her tone flat and emotionless: "It's nothing, I just forgot for a moment. I'll tell you when I remember!"

Tang Yan didn't think much of it. Her family and Lin Guilian's family lived very close to each other. They often played together when they were young and had a very good relationship. However, as they grew up, they became busy with their own lives and gradually had less contact, and their feelings for each other faded.

The two families lived in the same town and had a close relationship. When Lin Guilian wanted to come to Dongguan to work, she asked her parents to ask her to come along. Tang Yan readily agreed and asked her parents to bring Lin Guilian over to stay in her rented room temporarily.

At that moment, Tang Yan's mind was entirely on me, and her thoughts were filled with things related to me. Naturally, she didn't notice the subtle, unusual look in Lin Guilian's eyes, nor did she delve into her perfunctory words.

The three of us walked out of the restaurant together. I rode the motorcycle, Tang Yan sat on the back, clinging tightly to my waist, while Lin Guilian sat behind Tang Yan, silent the whole way, her cool gaze fixed on the night scene by the roadside, lost in thought. The motorcycle sped off towards the rented house, carrying the three of us.

By the time I arrived at the rented apartment building, it was completely dark, and the evening breeze was chilly, making me feel a bit cold. I was still worried about Lin Huimin, afraid she was getting impatient, and also afraid she might suddenly call and Tang Yan and Lin Guilian would see, so I made up an excuse:

"You guys go up first, I'll go to the convenience store next door to buy a pack of cigarettes."

Tang Yan trusted me completely. She gently patted my back and said, "Hurry up and don't take too long." After saying that, she took Lin Guilian's hand and turned to walk towards the stairwell.

I watched their figures disappear at the top of the stairs before letting out a sigh of relief. I turned and quickly walked towards the nearby convenience store. After buying cigarettes and paying, I just took out my phone, ready to call Lin Huimin, when a gentle yet somewhat distant voice suddenly came through my ear:

"Buy me a pack too?"

I looked in the direction of the sound and saw that Lin Guilian had returned at some point and was standing at the entrance of the convenience store. The moonlight shone on her face, making her eyebrows and eyes even more beautiful, but her expression was somewhat cold.

My heart skipped a beat. Why had she come all this way to see me? I was a little confused, but I didn't want to ask too many questions. Mainly, I was a bit reluctant to spend more time with her. I took out some money, gave it to the shopkeeper to buy a pack of cigarettes, and then turned around and handed the cigarettes to her.

Lin Guilian took the cigarette, skillfully tore open the packaging, pulled out one, lit it, brought it to her lips, took a deep drag, slowly closed her eyes, and exhaled a smoke ring with a look of enjoyment. The white smoke drifted slowly in front of her, swirling around her beautiful face.

She took a few slow breaths before opening her eyes. Her gaze fell on me, a faint smile still playing on her lips. She said calmly, "Shall we talk?"

After saying that, without waiting for my response, she turned and walked towards a dark, secluded corner not far away.

I watched her back with a puzzled look, watching her sway her voluptuous hips as she walked step by step to the corner of the wall, where she casually leaned against it, then crossed her arms and looked at me with a half-smile.

I was completely baffled, unable to fathom her intentions. Was she trying to keep it from Tang Yan, or was she trying to manipulate me? But we were complete strangers; why would she help me? If she didn't want to help me, why didn't she expose me in front of Tang Yan earlier?

There was no one around, and the evening breeze was slightly cool. I suppressed my doubts and forced myself to walk towards her.

Standing in front of her, I couldn't hold back any longer and asked directly, "What exactly do you want? Why didn't you tell Tang Yan earlier?"

Lin Guilian glanced at me, but didn't answer my question. She simply took two more puffs of her cigarette, the butt flickering in the darkness. After a moment, she spoke slowly, her tone still cold, yet carrying an undeniable air of authority: "Could you lend me five hundred yuan?"

I was stunned for a moment, looking at her with a puzzled expression, not understanding what she meant. Why would she suddenly want to borrow money? Was she trying to extort me, or was she genuinely in trouble?

Seeing my hesitation, Lin Guilian remained expressionless, simply adding, "If you don't want to lend it, then forget I said anything!"

After saying that, he made a move to turn around and leave.

My heart skipped a beat, and I quickly called out to her. Five hundred yuan wasn't a lot, and I thought that if I lent her that five hundred yuan, perhaps she would really help me keep Tang Yan's matter a secret out of consideration for our relationship, and save me from worrying about it in the future.

So I quickly took out my old wallet with peeling edges, opened it, pulled out five brand-new red bills, and handed them to her.

Lin Guilian took the money, casually stuffed it into her bag, her face still expressionless, and simply said, "Thanks."

There were no further pleasantries, no promises made. She turned and walked towards the rented apartment in her high heels.

I was left standing alone in the dark corner, my body tense as I watched her departing figure. I didn't know if I had fallen into her carefully laid trap, but I really hated this feeling of being manipulated.

After watching her walk into the stairwell, I stubbed out my cigarette, took out my phone from my pocket, and called Liu Huimin.

Lin Huimin's phone vibrated gently. The moment she saw the caller ID, her cool demeanor softened instantly. She slowly swiped to answer, her voice soft and gentle, brimming with undisguised sweetness: "Dazhuang, are you back in Dongguan?"

"Yes! I'm back, just arrived." I had told her this on the cruise ship, so I didn't hide it from her.

"Can you come see me? I miss you." Lin Huimin blushed as she spoke, especially the last word, "I miss you," which carried a hint of tenderness, like silk being drawn, making one's heart itch.

I know she doesn't just miss me, she wants to do something special with me. But I'm pretty much out of steam today, and I don't want to think about that for now.

Moreover, Tang Yan definitely wouldn't let me leave easily tonight. So I reassured her that I would come over to keep her company the day after tomorrow when I was free, and then hung up the phone.

Feeling a bit annoyed after hanging up the phone, Tang Yan wanted to smoke a cigarette to relieve her frustration, but worried that leaving for too long would make her overthink things, so she headed towards her rented apartment.

As soon as I stepped inside, I saw Tang Yan excitedly making a phone call: "Li Qing, I introduced Dazhuang to my parents today, and they really like him. We're getting ready to get married!"

I overheard her conversation with her cousin-in-law and stepped forward to stop her, but I lowered my hand halfway through because I couldn't find a suitable reason to stop Tang Yan.

I stood frozen to the side, barely daring to breathe, my eyes fixed on Tang Yan's phone, my heart pounding wildly, worried that my cousin-in-law would tell Tang Yan about my affair with Lin Huimin.