Reborn: The Return of the Villainous Mr. Liu-Chapter 1148: Infuriating

It was messy getting Lin out of his arrest that his parole officer, Chang Fang had wrongfully done so, but it got Shui to learn some things about him.

Though she hated his connection with Yahui, she had to give it to him that he was an honest and upright man. Neither did he approach Jun for help nor that mysterious and influential elderly man who he met in prison.

Further, she learned that he had rejected a very gracious offer from that same man to set up whatever business he needed. But Lin had declined it, despite knowing that life after release would be filled with hardships.

"This man is really a saint," her uncle, Yunru, had said as he looked over his files. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"It’s written here that there was a phase where some other prison inmates had tried to mess with him," he sighed, "Many inmates are bullies there."

Shui looked surprised. "So did he get into fights?"

"Not at all. He took beatings every single time. He didn’t open his mouth nor complained even once against those bullies."

"That’s...stupid."

Yunru smiled. "Not from his perspective really. If he was aiming for parole in the near future, then it was absolutely crucial that he didn’t get into such unsavory fights. Sometimes things get complicated. It really doesn’t matter who started the fight. Officers will only see who participated."

"But why not officially complain?"

"The prison world is quite messy, dear. Those same bullies would come back at him, twice, maybe thrice the force than before just to take revenge for submitting a complaint. Life would have become even more miserable."

"Does that mean this bullying went on for six years?" Shui felt her stomach churn at that imagination.

"No. The bullying continued for just over a year and then it stopped."

She blinked twice.

Yunru sighed. "Don’t ask me. It’s not written anywhere but if I read in between the lines, then somebody more powerful than those bullies sided with Hou Lin. Only power can defeat power."

Though Shui admired Lin’s spirit, she couldn’t help but feel a bit pitiful for him. The hope for a free life had left him helpless in front of those bullies. She couldn’t imagine herself yielding to anybody bullying her and she was well aware that that privilege came from being the Han family’s daughter.

Like Yunru said - only power can defeat power.

But that image of a weak Lin shattered when she came close to being assaulted in a parking lot by a goon who was colluding with Chang Fang against Lin.

At first, she didn’t recognize who that shadow was. He walked so quietly that she could not feel even a slight disturbance in the air. Then out of nowhere, he grabbed the goon and subdued him - all within seconds and with a deadpan gaze.

Shui watched him, stunned, only one question running back and forth in her mind.

Is this the same man who allowed himself to be bullied in prison?

It was then one of those days close to the fashion show when Shui met him again in the bowling arena - though this time, her temper wasn’t as aggressive as before.

Once again, her shots weren’t landing at all, but this time she wasn’t thinking about Lin’s perfect scores. In the past days, she had come to realize about Jin’s feelings for Alix.

She dazedly held another ball and spun it on the course, but it completely went to the side and she missed her mark. She exhaled quietly, letting her shoulders sag.

She was happy for Jin. At one point, she had begun to wonder if he would choose a life of loneliness. She had no idea how life would take turns from now on, but she welcomed this development because it meant that Jin was finally moving on.

Maybe not towards her but at the very least towards his own happiness.

After some tries, Shui felt tired. She had no more energy to see herself lose over and over again, so she decided to leave. But she stopped behind Lin. After a minute or so, she approached him and cleared her throat.

Lin looked back. "Miss. Han."

"I just wanted to thank you for that day...Thank you for the shawl and the coffee. The coffee was really good."

"I’m glad you like it."

"You didn’t have to go out of the way though..."

He blinked. "I thought it would serve me a good purpose too. If people from the arcade taste my new coffee recipe then I can earn some new customers."

"..."

"Apparently, I did. Cai was very happy, but he also scolded me for being in work mode."

Her brow twitched incessantly.

Wait, why did I make it sound like...

A wave of embarassment flushed within her and her face turned red. She gritted her teeth and glared at him.

"Miss. Han?" His head tilted, confused as to why she looked disturbed again.

"Nothing!"

Shui went her own way to practice bowling again but she was nowhere near Lin’s score.

Ugh, so frustrating...!

"You have improved."

She jolted. Just until now, he was far away at his own side and now he suddenly appeared beside her. She looked at the scoreboard and frowned.

"Are you mocking me?"

"No."

Lin had a very particularly honest manner of speaking so she knew he was telling the truth.

"Your score is still too hard to beat."

He looked surprised. "You are competing with me?"

"..."

Huh? Did I make it sound like that?

"Well, this is the game plaza! Obviously, everybody is competing here."

"I’m not."

"Then you are just casually topping the scoreboard for nothing?"

"I use the games as a way to increase my focus."

At that moment, Shui unequivocally felt every other player’s innermost feelings who happened to hear Lin.

You and your rizz bastard!

People had been sweating buckets in order to beat him but it so happened that the subject in question wasn’t even looking at them as a challenge.

Shui’s lips twitched. "You are very infuriating."

He looked away for a moment. "Strange. Everybody I meet ends up telling me that."