Chapter 25: Lin Jianxia's Secret

"..."

"..."

"So you *can* speak, Lin Tingwan!" Jiang Yubai exclaimed, as if suddenly enlightened.

"Jiang Yubai!"

Lin Jianxia's voice involuntarily rose a few pitches, but she abruptly shut her mouth as if suddenly realizing something.

She bit her lower lip, her heart pounding, and couldn't help but lower her head. She didn't dare to look at Jiang Yubai's expression beside her.

Before she even opened her mouth, she had rehearsed countless humiliating scenarios in her head—being mocked by him, suffering social death on the spot. Even when she blurted out the truth just moments ago, that anxiety-inducing sense of shame had still gripped her chest.

But after the words proving she was 'Lin Jianxia' actually left her lips, another indescribable panic quietly welled up. It slowly submerged her chest like a rising tide, suffocating her until her breathing grew tight.

"Will Jiang Yubai... think I've been lying to him this whole time?"