Lin Mian's eyes flickered with panic, her voice slightly hoarse.
"You know all about it?"
Shi Lin's dark eyes deepened as he calmly stated,
"Civil servant, good family background, owns a house and a car, dowry of fifty thousand, and if a son is born, an additional ten thousand in pocket money."
"All this money will be used to find a wife for your brother."
Lin Mian's face turned deathly pale.
Shi Lin looked at her firmly, his profound black eyes concealing unknown emotions, unfathomable.
Silence filled the air.
Neither of them spoke.
He was waiting, waiting for her compromise, waiting for her to take the initiative to say she would follow him.
For Shi Lin, this was a sure win.
There was nothing more controllable than a lack of money.
If she had integrity and attitude, he might not have taken her.
If she had boundaries and principles, he might not have taken her.
But if she lacked money... everything would be different.
Shi Lin's eyes grew deeper, his calm gaze betraying his certainty of victory.
Lin Mian clenched the heated phone, her fingertips trembling uncontrollably, but she forced herself to remain composed.
"It seems Dr. Shi knows quite a bit," she forced a smirk, her tone stubborn, "But so what? I won't choose a civil servant, let alone be someone's mistress."
Shi Lin smiled faintly, "Don't be so absolute with your words."
Lin Mian gritted her teeth, her eyes filled with tears, trying hard to hold back her emotions.
Her heart was in turmoil, unable to catch her breath, with even her stomach twitching and aching. She couldn't help but clutch her upper abdomen, her face growing paler.
"Dr. Shi, I'm not feeling well, so I won't keep you for breakfast. Please go."
Shi Lin didn't say anything. He grabbed her wrist, his long fingers resting on her pulse, checking her heartbeat.
Lin Mian tried to pull away, but he held her firmly.
It wasn't until half a minute later that he slowly released her hand and calmly uttered a few words, "You have a stomach spasm due to hunger."
Lin Mian withdrew her hand, not saying anything to him.
Her irregular eating habits had triggered her old stomachache problem, and she had been aware of it.
Shi Lin didn't argue with her either. He got up to leave, but before he went, he pointed to the medicine box on the bedside table and gave a faint instruction.
"Take the medicine later. There's stomach medicine inside. Take two pills at a time before meals."
Lin Mian bit her lip without a response.
He turned and walked away.
Listening to the sound of the living room door being locked behind him, Lin Mian slowly slipped to the floor, leaning against the bed, feeling a huge sense of powerlessness in her heart.
She endured the pain as she leaned over and opened the medicine box on the bedside table, took out a bottle of stomach medicine she had taken before, unscrewed the lid, poured out two pills, and swallowed them dry.
She caught sight of the forehead thermometer and wet towel beside her, her eyes widening in surprise.
He had used a towel to help her with a physical fever reduction.
Suddenly, a question popped into Lin Mian's mind.
How did Shi Lin know her door lock code and manage to enter successfully?
Before she could figure it out, her phone vibrated with a "buzzing" sound.
Lin Mian glanced at the screen with the jumping numbers, matching exactly what Shi Lin had just mentioned.
Taking a deep breath, she adjusted her emotions and slid her finger across the screen to answer the call.
"You daring girl, you finally turned on your phone, right? I told you about the blind date yesterday. Remember it well, you must come back this weekend, or I'll personally go to the North City to bring you back. Got it?"
Lin Mian didn't even need to ask again; she already knew the whole situation from Shi Lin and Lin's mother.
She clutched her upper abdomen with one hand and defiantly said, "I won't go on that blind date, and I won't marry just anyone."
"Who said you're marrying just anyone? Didn't I tell you, the other family has excellent conditions, very wealthy? I deliberately found a good family through a matchmaker, which can support our family in the future. This is a rare opportunity. After studying outside for a few years, you think highly of yourself, with a thin life like a paper!"
Lin's mother scolded her with a bad tone on the other end.
"I'm not going back, I said I'm not going." Lin Mian's stubbornness rose, unable to help but shout into the phone.
"Bang!"
Something on the other end seemed to have broken, followed by Lin's mother's sharp voice cursing.
"You despicable thing, don't you dare to defy me, I told you nicely, but you didn't listen. You want me to scold you before you're happy. I warn you, you little brat, if you don't come back, I'll directly send that page of your household register to them. Even without you in person, they can still find connections to get the marriage certificate!"
Lin Mian's breath stopped, trembling uncontrollably all over.
"Are you threatening me?"
"What threat? Parents' orders, matchmaker's words. You crawled out of my belly. I have the right to deal with you. Let's see who dares to defy me."
Lin Mian clenched her lips tightly, trying to suppress the anger in her chest, and asked:
"Does my dad know?"
"Don't count on your dad. He's currently in the hospital for recovery, and his emotions can't be stimulated. If you want to disturb him and make him limp for the rest of his life, then go tell him."
Lin's mother was proud on the other end, choosing this time to deal with this stubborn girl.
Lin Mian closed her eyes wearily, her nails digging into her flesh without any feeling.
"I understand."