Sweetie, don't look at him, kiss me.

"What did you say?" Lin Qingqing's voice rose several octaves, drawing the attention of customers at the next table. She lowered her voice, but the sharpness in her tone remained undiminished: "Lin Qingmian, do you know what you're saying?"

"I know." Lin Qingmian picked up her Americano and took another sip, her movements unhurried, as if they were discussing not a threat that could ruin her future, but rather the temperature of a cup of coffee: "I said, I won't back out."

Lin Qingqing stared at her for a few seconds, then sneered and slowly collected the manuscripts on the table one by one, her movements deliberately slow and defiant.

"You think everything will be fine just because you married Ji Linzhou?" She put the manuscript into her bag, zipped it up, and looked up at Lin Qingmian with a complex and sharp emotion in her eyes: "Lin Qingmian, since I dared to come to you, I have more than just this."

"You really think I only have these few drafts?"

Lin Qingmian met her gaze, her heart tightening slightly for a moment, but her expression remained calm: "Then what else did you take?"

Lin Qingqing didn't answer directly. Instead, she stood up, picked up her bag, and looked down at her: "I'll give you three days to think it over."

"If you haven't changed your mind after three days, you'll see those things in the inboxes of everyone you know."

After saying that, she walked out of the coffee shop in her high heels without looking back.

The doorbell rang, and the woman's figure quickly disappeared into the crowd at the street corner.

Lin Qingmian sat in the booth, staring at the completely cold Americano in front of her for a long time. Sunlight streamed in from the window, casting a warm glow on the table, but her fingers felt a little cold.

She looked down, picked up her phone, found Ji Linzhou's number, and dialed it.

The phone rang once and was answered.

"Finished talking?" Ji Linzhou's voice came through the receiver, deep and steady.

"We've finished talking." Lin Qingmian leaned back in her chair, her voice tinged with weariness. "She gave me three days."

"You refused?"

"Um."

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone, then Ji Linzhou's voice rang out again, carrying a reassuring certainty: "Where are you? I'll come pick you up."

"No need, I can just take a taxi back myself."

"Location."

His tone left no room for refusal.

Lin Qingmian smiled helplessly, gave the name of the coffee shop, and then hung up the phone.

Less than twenty minutes later, the familiar black Cayenne pulled up in front of the coffee shop. When Lin Qingmian stepped out, Ji Linzhou was already out of the car, leaning against the door waiting for her. Seeing her come out, he reached out and opened the passenger door, the movement as natural as if he had done it countless times.

Lin Qingmian walked over and got into the car, while Ji Linzhou went around to the driver's seat but didn't start the car immediately.

He turned his head to look at her, his gaze lingering on her face for a few seconds.

"You don't look well," he said, reaching out to touch her cheek. "What did she say?"

Lin Qingmian repeated Lin Qingqing's words—she had more than just those manuscripts; if she didn't withdraw from the collaboration within three days, everything would be exposed.

Ji Linzhou listened quietly, his expression unchanged, but Lin Qingmian noticed that his fingers gripping the steering wheel tightened slightly for a moment.

"The collaboration she wants you to withdraw from, is it the one with the Italian buyer?"

"Um."

Ji Linzhou was silent for a moment, then started the car: "Let's go home first."

The two of them barely spoke the rest of the way. Lin Qingmian leaned back in the passenger seat, looking out at the fleeting street scenes, her mind racing—what else did Lin Qingqing have? What else could she do? What exactly were those "more things"?

After the car entered the underground parking garage of Deep Blue Apartments and came to a stop, Ji Linzhou did not rush to get out of the car.

He unbuckled his seatbelt, turned to face her, and asked in a serious and steady tone, "What do you plan to do?"

Lin Qingmian thought for a moment and said truthfully, "I want to organize all the evidence I have first. Drafts, revision records, email correspondence—these can prove that those design drafts are my original creations."

"Also," she paused, "I'd like to hire a lawyer."

"Ideally, someone familiar with intellectual property cases."

Ji Linzhou nodded: "I know a lawyer who specializes in these kinds of cases. If you need, I can have him contact you."

"it is good."

The two got out of the car and entered the elevator. As the elevator doors closed, Lin Qingmian suddenly reached out and grabbed Ji Linzhou's sleeve.

He looked down at her and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I..." Lin Qingmian's voice was a little muffled, "Actually, I'm not completely without fear."

"Well... after she said that, I kept thinking about what else she might have. I was afraid there was something I hadn't considered."

Ji Linzhou took her hand in his own, their fingers intertwined, his palms warm and dry.

"Being afraid won't help," he said, his voice low and calm. "But I'll think about it with you."

The elevator arrived, and the two walked out side by side. Lin Qingmian felt much more at ease as he held her hand.

Once home, Lin Qingmian immediately turned on her computer and began searching through old files and emails. She found photos of the original design drafts from several years ago, timestamps of revision records, and the original emails she sent to Lin Qingqing when she first drafted them.

She organized everything, saved it in an encrypted folder, and then let out a long sigh of relief.

Ji Linzhou brought over a cup of hot milk and placed it beside her, glancing down at the densely packed email timeline on the computer screen.

"Have you been saving these for several years?"

"Hmm." Lin Qingmian looked up and smiled slightly at him: "Maybe it's because she's afraid of being robbed of hers."

"Ever since she first submitted my manuscript to a competition, I've developed a habit of keeping copies of all the files I send out and never deleting any chat logs."

Ji Linzhou looked at the faint weariness in her eyes, reached out and ruffled the top of her head: "You did a great job."

"If this evidence is presented, it will be sufficient to prove that those design drafts are your original works."

Lin Qingmian nodded, picked up the milk, and took a sip. The warm liquid slid down her throat, relaxing her tense nerves a little.

"But I don't know what else she has." She put down her cup, her gaze falling on the night outside the window. "She said 'it's more than just this,' and I still feel uneasy."

Ji Linzhou thought for a moment, then picked up his phone and made a call.

He walked to the window, his voice lowered. Lin Qingmian couldn't quite hear what he was saying, but she could vaguely make out a few words—"investigation," "her social circle," and "recent movements."

A few minutes later, he hung up the phone and walked back: "I'll have someone investigate who Lin Qingqing has met recently and what she's done. If there's any material that's detrimental to you, we'll intercept it before she releases it."

Lin Qingmian was stunned for a moment: "You...you can even check this?"