Vows in Vain, Ten Years, One Betrayal - Chapter 11
Zhou Xuyan’s car stopped downstairs.
When the servant came out to greet him, he asked as usual, “Has Madam already gone to bed?”
But the servant, just taking his coat, was startled. “Madam isn’t with you?”
Zhou Xuyan suddenly froze in his tracks. “What did you say?”
The night was deep and heavy, with only the lights from the house enveloping him.
“Madam went out shopping and for tea this afternoon.”
“When the driver was supposed to pick her up in the evening, Madam said it wasn’t necessary, that she was dining out with you.”
The more the servant spoke, the more frightened she became, her voice trembling.
“When Madam left this afternoon, she specifically said there was no need to prepare dinner tonight.”
Zhou Xuyan abruptly stepped forward and grabbed the servant by the collar. “What else did she say? Not a single word is to be left out-tell me everything, clearly.”
The servant was so scared her face turned pale. “Nothing else, nothing else, Madam only said not to prepare dinner.”
Zhou Xuyan suddenly let go and pushed her aside.
He strode quickly upstairs, pulling out his phone to call Xu Zhen.
“Are you looking for Bihan?”
“We didn’t meet today.”
“But this afternoon Bihan said she had plans to have dinner with you.”
Zhou Xuyan’s voice was chillingly calm.
So calm, even he himself could hardly believe it.
No one saw that the hand gripping his phone was shaking uncontrollably.
“Bihan did call me, but I had a surgery scheduled. We agreed to meet another day.”
Zhou Xuyan didn’t even know how he hung up the phone.
He called other friends who were close to Lin Bihan.
But all of them said they hadn’t been in touch or met today.
Zhou Xuyan stood outside the master bedroom, the door tightly shut.
In that instant, he didn’t even have the courage to push it open.
Lin Bihan was such a clever woman-how could he have been so foolish as to cling to a sliver of hope?
Did he really believe she knew nothing about all he had done?
But when did she find out?
How much did she know?
Could he… still hope for her forgiveness?
Zhou Xuyan’s mind raced back to years ago.
Back then, they were both in college.
Because of club activities, he got a bit close to a junior.
That junior had a crush on him; it was obvious to many.
Lin Bihan had mentioned it to him twice, but he hadn’t taken it seriously.
After all, he loved her so much, he couldn’t even look at another woman.
Later, at a club dinner, he shielded the junior from drinking too much and gave her a ride back to her dorm.
Lin Bihan didn’t argue with him-she just broke up with him, straight out.
He was completely stunned at the time, as if the sky had fallen.
After that, for a whole half year, he could hardly remember how he got through it.
He could barely recall how much effort it had taken to win Lin Bihan’s forgiveness.
To be given another chance to reconcile.
When he pushed open the door, Zhou Xuyan’s hand was trembling violently.
The room was pitch black, the bed neat and tidy.
Empty.
It was as if even the air that belonged to her had vanished without a trace.
Zhou Xuyan hurried inside, futilely opening every door.
But every room was empty.
With shaking hands, he dialed her number.
It rang, but no one answered.
Zhou Xuyan forced himself to calm down.
He lit a cigarette and took a hard drag.
Then he pulled up Lin Yue’s number and called.
“Lin Yue, get someone to look for her. Right now. Get someone to check.”
“Mr. Zhou, what do you want me to check?”
He told Lin Yue about the club Lin Bihan had visited during the day.
“Find out where she went after leaving the club, where she is now, who she’s been in contact with these days.”
“Lin Yue, check her documents, the airport, high-speed rail station, bus station-don’t miss any place.”
“And check her phone’s location. Notify me the moment you have any news.”
