Chapter 30 — Lin Jingran’s Last Bargain
Lin Jingran didn’t leave the examination city.
He lingered like a bruise.
On the day the candidates emerged, he appeared near the gate again, lurking just beyond the guards patience.
I saw him before Shen Yanci did.
He wore the same fur-trimmed cloak, but his face looked thinner, his eyes sharper with sleeplessness.
When he spotted us, he moved fast.
“Nanzhi,” he hissed, catching up as we turned into a side street. “I need to talk.”
I didn’t stop walking.
Lin Jingran grabbed my sleeve.
Shen Yanci“s hand shot out, calm and precise, catching Lin Jingran”s wrist.
Not violent.
Just immovable.
Lin Jingran“s eyes blazed. ”Teacher Shen
“Let go,” Shen Yanci said quietly.
Lin Jingran stared at Shen Yanci’s hand like it was an insult.
Then he released me, breathing hard.
“Nanzhi,” he said, voice raw, “I can fix this. I can”
“You always say that,” I replied, still walking. “And it”s always for you.
Lin Jingran“s face twisted. ”For me? I“m offering you security!”
“You offered me delay,” I said calmly. “Security is what I built without you.”
He opened his mouth, then shut it, as if the words had been slapped out.
His eyes darted to Shen Yanci’s exam kit.
“Did you pass?” Lin Jingran asked suddenly, voice sharp.
Shen Yanci didn’t answer.
Lin Jingran“s mouth curved cruelly. ”No answer means you failed.
Shen Yanci“s gaze stayed steady. ”Results aren“t posted yet.”
Lin Jingran laughed bitterly. “And when they are, you”ll be nothing. A poor teacher with a stolen wife.
Something in me went quiet.
Not fear.
Not pain.
Just finality.
I stopped walking.
Lin Jingran’s eyes lit with hope, mistaking stillness for softness.
“Nanzhi,” he whispered, stepping closer.
I turned and looked at him fully.
“Lin Jingran,” I said, voice level, “you can keep your bargains.”
His brows knit. “What?”
“I don”t want your money,“ I said. ”I don“t want your ”next year.“ I don”t want your regret.
His breath hitched.
I continued, each word clean.
“I want you to remember,” I said, “that the only reason you”re standing here desperate is because you believed I had nowhere else to go.
Lin Jingran’s face went pale.
I stepped closer, not aggressive, just certain.
“And now you see I did.”
Lin Jingran’s lips trembled.
For a moment, something like grief flickered through him.
Then his pride surged, ugly and sharp.
“You think you”re above me now, he spat.
I smiled faintly. “No. I think I”m beside myself.
I turned away.
Shen Yanci“s hand found my sleeve, steadying me like he”d steadied me on the cart.
We walked on.
Lin Jingran stood in the street behind us, frozen, as if the city had finally refused to carry him.