Chapter 3: The Secret Beneath the Ice

A few weeks later, an unexpected incident showed Hạ Vy another side of Lâm Thừa Dịch.

That day, her mother called in tears, saying people had come all the way to their house in the countryside demanding money, threatening to make a scene if they weren’t paid at once. Hạ Vy had thought her father’s debt had been settled with the money from the marriage contract, but it turned out that had only covered part of it. The rest was a loan-shark debt with crushing interest she had never known about.

She hurriedly asked for time off, planning to catch a bus home that very night, when Lâm Thừa Dịch appeared at the door of her office, his face unusually grave.

“Get in the car. I’ll take you home,” he said, not giving her a chance to refuse.

“How did you know?” Hạ Vy was stunned.

“Mrs. Lý heard you crying on the phone and called me.” He opened the car door, his voice softening a little. “Tell me what happened.”

On the way to the countryside, Hạ Vy told him everything through her tears: about her father, addicted to gambling, who died and left an enormous debt; about her mother, who struggled alone to put her through school; about the years she had worked every kind of side job to help her family.

Lâm Thừa Dịch listened in silence, gripping the steering wheel until his knuckles went white. When the car stopped in front of the old single-story house in the village, where a group of tattooed men stood blocking the door and shouting threats at her mother, he got out without a word, radiating a chilling coldness.

“Who gave you permission to make trouble in front of someone else’s home?” His voice was low but full of authority, and the men stopped short.

“Who are you to stick your nose in this?” the leader asked, frowning.

Lâm Thừa Dịch took out his phone, dialed a few numbers, and handed it to him. “Call your boss. Tell him Lâm Thừa Dịch wants a word.”

Just a few minutes later, the men’s attitude changed completely. They bowed their heads, apologized over and over, and hurried away. Hạ Vy watched it all, speechless at the frightening power of her husband-in-name.

That night, after settling the debt and calming her mother down, the two of them rode back to the city in silence. Hạ Vy spoke softly. “Thank you. But I’ll pay back the money you just spent.”

“No need.” He glanced at her. “Consider it a benefit for the wife of the chairman of the Thừa Dịch Group.”

“Do you always use that excuse to hide the good things you do?” Hạ Vy laughed softly, looking at him far more gently than before.

Lâm Thừa Dịch paused, not expecting to be seen through so easily. He didn’t answer, but the corners of his mouth curved into a smile he didn’t even notice.

The car drove through the dark night, streetlights sliding past the window and casting dim streaks of light over their faces. Hạ Vy leaned her head against the window. She didn’t know when it had started, but her heart had begun to beat strangely whenever she was near this man.

As for Lâm Thừa Dịch, he glanced out of the corner of his eye at the girl dozing beside him, quietly slowed the car, and turned the heat up a little, his usually cold eyes now full of a tenderness no one had ever seen.

After what happened in the countryside, the two of them grew much closer, though both silently understood it and neither would say it out loud.

One evening, Hạ Vy’s company held a party to celebrate successfully signing the partnership with the Thừa Dịch Group. Because of her role, she had to mingle a lot with the partners, including Tưởng Duy Kiệt, a handsome young man, son of a major partner, who made no secret of his interest in her all evening.

“Hạ Vy, you’ve gotten so much prettier lately.” Duy Kiệt topped up her glass, his eyes flirtatious. “I hear you got married, but your husband’s always away on business. That’s such a shame for you.”

“Please don’t say that, Kiệt,” Hạ Vy said with a forced smile, skillfully steering away from the topic.

Just then, a warm hand settled on her shoulder, and a familiar voice said, “Sorry I’m late, darling.”

Hạ Vy turned in surprise to see Lâm Thừa Dịch standing there in an immaculate suit. His icy eyes swept over Duy Kiệt with a clear warning before he turned to her with a strangely tender expression.

“You… what are you doing here?” she stammered, still not over the sweet way he’d just addressed her for the first time ever.

“I heard my wife had a party, so I came to take her home. What else?” He slipped an arm around her waist as if it were the most natural thing in the world, looking at Duy Kiệt meaningfully. “Thank you for looking after my wife. But from now on, I’ll take care of that myself.”

Duy Kiệt stared at the scene, smiled awkwardly, and found an excuse to leave. The whole party buzzed over the rare display of affection from the famously cold chairman.

On the way home, Hạ Vy was still in shock. “Why did you do that? Didn’t we agree not to interfere in each other’s work?”

Lâm Thừa Dịch gripped the steering wheel, irritation etched across his straight profile. “I didn’t like the way he was looking at you.”

“Are you… jealous?” Hạ Vy teased, but her heart was racing as she waited for his answer.

He was silent for a long time, then answered quietly, so softly it was almost only for himself: “Maybe.”

Hạ Vy spun to look at him, not believing her ears. It was the first time this proud man had ever admitted to such a vulnerable feeling.

“Don’t look at me like that.” He felt her gaze, the tips of his ears turning slightly red as he tried to stay composed. “I just don’t want the Thừa Dịch Group’s reputation damaged because someone dared to flirt with my wife in front of everyone.”

“The reputation excuse again?” Hạ Vy laughed out loud, a sweetness she couldn’t describe filling her heart.

The car stopped in front of the mansion. Lâm Thừa Dịch turned off the engine but didn’t open the door right away. He turned to look at her, his eyes deep in the dim light of the car. “Hạ Vy, stay away from Tưởng Duy Kiệt from now on.”

“Why?”

“Because…” He hesitated, then finally said something that surprised even himself. “Because I don’t want to share you with anyone.”

The car suddenly went so quiet it was hard to breathe. Hạ Vy looked straight into his eyes, her heart pounding wildly, and in that moment she knew that the fake feelings they had started with had long since turned into something far more real.