Liang Mulan looked at Tuan Tuan and thought that her other friends all had grandchildren. She couldn't help but nag Lin Chen a little.
"This kind of thing is destined by the heavens. When the time comes, the grandson will come … Don't worry blindly!" Lin Jingquan couldn't help but say.
"Don't worry?! Your son isn't even concerned about his marriage. If you don't worry, when will we be able to carry our grandchildren? "
"Look at you. Do you think you can make your grandchildren grow up just because you worry about them?"
As Liang Mulan and Lin Jingquan argued, the atmosphere in the living room became lively. The lingering warmth in Lin Chen's heart and lips dissipated … It was so quiet that he could almost hear the sound of the wind.
Without the cigarette between his fingers, Lin Chen felt as if something was missing from his heart.
There were some things that Lin Chen couldn't ask in front of the child and his parents. As the argument between his parents became more and more intense, Lin Chen said, "I'm going out for a smoke …"
Seeing Lin Chen get up, Liang Mulan thought that her son didn't like her mentioning marriage, so she turned to look at Lin Nuan and gave her a look.
Lin Chen took out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his suit pocket. Standing under the eaves, he shook out a cigarette and bit it at the corner of his lips. With one hand shielding the flickering flame, he lit the cigarette.
The afterglow of the setting sun dyed the sky a rusty color. Lin Chen stood there silently with one hand in his pocket. His side profile was also dyed in a rusty red color. His deep eyes reflected the sky, as if there was a ball of fire burning in them.
The cool breeze penetrated through Lin Chen's thin shirt. He exhaled a thin puff of smoke and tapped the cigarette ash. Before he could bring the cigarette back to his mouth, he saw Lin Nuan come out, wiping her hands with a wet tissue.
She wasn't wearing a jacket, just a thick black V-neck.
In the T-shirt, Lin Chen asked, "Aren't you cold?"
Lin Nuan smiled. "It's alright …"
Standing beside Lin Chen, Lin Nuan hesitated for a moment before saying, "Brother, Fu Huai 'an and I have registered our marriage."
Lin Chen wasn't stupid. When he saw Tuan Tuan at home, he had a vague guess.
He took a puff of his cigarette and said, "Tell me the truth, why did you marry Fu Huai 'an? To return the favor … or do you really like her?! "
Lin Nuan's hand was holding onto the wet tissue that she had used to wipe her hands with. She smiled and said, "At first, I was trying to return the favor, but later … I really liked him."
"What do you like about him?" Lin Chen smoked his cigarette and looked at Lin Nuan. The rising white smoke blurred Lin Chen's unfathomable gaze.
Lin Nuan couldn't help but smile. "I feel like there are many things I like about him, but I can't quite put my finger on them …"
Lin Chen smiled and narrowed his eyes. He stared at the flickering flame on his fingertips, seemingly enjoying the cigarette. "Has the wedding date been set?"
Lin Nuan pursed her lips. After a while, she said, "I don't want a wedding. I think it's fine this way …"
Lu Jinnan's words were engraved in her mind. She didn't want Fu Huai 'an to become a topic of conversation among the upper class.
Lin Nuan always felt that there were very few things she could do for Fu Huai 'an, and this was one of them.
Lin Chen had a stomach full of words, but he didn't say a single one …
He didn't finish his cigarette. Seeing that Lin Nuan wasn't going to wait for him to smoke if he didn't go in, he could only surrender and put out the cigarette, following Lin Nuan into the house.
Liang Mulan nagged about Lin Chen's smoking addiction, and he agreed to smoke less in the future. He took his suit jacket and went upstairs to change into his home clothes, instructing Lin Nuan to make him a cup of tea.
…
In the small kitchen beside the stairs of the Lin house.
Lin Nuan had just put the tea leaves into the teacup and turned to get the kettle, but Lin Ran was one step ahead of her with the kettle.
Lin Ran gave Lin Nuan the folder and went upstairs, saying that she didn't sleep well in the morning. But Lin Nuan didn't look like she had slept.
Lin Ran held the kettle in one hand and her mug in the other. Knowing that she was going to pour water, Lin Nuan placed Lin Chen's mug on the counter and let Lin Ran use it first.
In the small kitchen, the two of them looked at each other in silence …
Lin Nuan didn't stand at the side waiting for Lin Ran. Hearing the sound of hot water being poured into the mug, she put the box of tea leaves into the cupboard and filled the electric kettle.
She stared at the tap, lost in thought.
Lin Nuan didn't know what to say to Lin Ran. Every time they met, Lin Ran would be at odds with her. Today, Lin Ran was smiling and talking to Lin Nuan in front of Liang Mulan and Lin Jingquan, which made Lin Nuan a little uncomfortable.
She couldn't figure out how to interact with Lin Ran and didn't know what to say, so she just kept quiet.
Lin Ran put the kettle aside and leaned against the counter with the mug in hand, as if admiring Lin Nuan's smooth movements. Lin Nuan had lived here longer than she had, so she was more familiar with everything here than Lin Ran.
Lin Ran didn't know where Lin Chen kept his tea leaves, and Lin Chen never asked Lin Ran to make tea for him.
Compared to Lin Nuan, Lin Ran felt like she was the outsider.
The phone in her pocket vibrated. Lin Nuan put the kettle on and pressed the switch. Seeing that it was Fu Huai 'an, she picked it up …
Lin Nuan glanced at Lin Ran, who was still in the kitchen, and lowered her voice. "Hello …"
"At the Lin house?" Fu Huai 'an's voice was moving.
"Yes …"
"I still have to work overtime at the company, so I'll be back as soon as possible tonight. If I can't pick you and Tuan Tuan up in time, I'll get the driver to go over …"
"Okay, it's okay, go do what you need to do! Don't worry about me and Tuan Tuan! "
Lin Nuan hung up the phone and went to get the kettle. Lin Ran slowly blew into the mug and put one hand on the counter. She said calmly, "There's no water …"
Seeing that Lin Ran had no intention of leaving, Lin Nuan asked, "Do you have something to say?"
"Didn't you say that you wouldn't have anything to do with the Lin family in the future? Why are you here again? "Lin Ran's tone was indecipherable.
"Sorry!" Lin Nuan pursed her lips. "Mom called me today, I …"
Lin Nuan felt guilty towards Lin Ran. It was her fault for going back on her words … She was like a fickle person, so she didn't continue to explain.
She didn't want to find an excuse to say that she couldn't let go of the relationship she had with Liang Mulan and Lin Jingquan that lasted for more than twenty years. Her reluctance to let go hurt Lin Ran deeply.
"I'll give you those assets. Can you stop coming here in the future and stay away from my parents?" Lin Ran's lips curled up into a slight smile. She was no longer as angry or hurtful as she used to be.
Lin Nuan's hands clenched. She knew that right and wrong was one thing, but whether she could let it go was another.
"Don't say that you don't want it. I'll be worried if you don't take it. Who knows what you're plotting against our family?" Lin Ran smiled lightly.
The kitchen was silent, and only the sizzling sound of the kettle could be heard.
Lin Ran looked at Lin Nuan. "Lin Nuan, do you know what you're feeling right now? To use an analogy that you can understand, you're essentially no different from a mistress! You know deep down that it's wrong to be a mistress, but you still keep pestering that married man, even though you've already promised the wife to stay away from her husband! "
Lin Nuan's ears burned. She couldn't refute that.
Lin Ran wasn't wrong.
Even if it wasn't Lin Nuan's decision to switch identities back then, even if Lin Nuan was a victim, even if the parents who had raised her for more than twenty years suddenly became someone else's, she couldn't accept it emotionally and psychologically!
In essence, her actions were indeed no different from a mistress.
"Dad and Mom hope that we can get along peacefully and treat you as a younger sister. Don't you think that's ridiculous? It's like a wife and a mistress becoming friends … it's unheard of! " When Lin Ran said this, her smile had already darkened. "Lin Nuan, every time you appear at my parents' house, it's like stabbing a knife into my heart! What kind of sister do you think I can be with you? "
Lin Ran placed the mug on the countertop and crossed her arms. "You guys chat and laugh downstairs, and I'm upstairs alone. It makes me seem like I'm the outsider! I only feel this way when you're here! When you're not at my house, both Dad and Brother treat me very well, so I hate it when you come! Do you understand? "
Lin Nuan nodded.
"I've fallen out with you before. Things that are torn are torn, even if they're put back together. I can't sit next to you and pretend to be a good sister without any grudges. You haven't lived the life I once lived, so you don't understand the hatred in my heart!"
This was probably the first time Lin Ran had calmly spoken to Lin Nuan, and she listened carefully.
"Brother is right. You're innocent, and I was raised by your parents. I understand the logic, but hatred is hatred. I won't fake it …"
…
Lin Ran came out of the small kitchen first and sat in the living room, playing with Tuan Tuan.
Tuan Tuan was introverted and didn't like to talk. He had a cute little face as he sat there and looked in the direction of the kitchen.
After the water was boiled and Lin Nuan brought out the tea, he had already gone downstairs.
Tuan Tuan missed his father a little, so he slowly moved to Lin Nuan's side and tugged at her sleeve.
Lin Nuan bowed and heard Tuan Tuan whisper in her ear, asking when they were going home.
Lin Nuan chuckled and rubbed his little head, her eyes reddening. "Tuan Tuan wants to go home?"
"En!" Tuan Tuan nodded.
Sensing that Lin Nuan wanted to leave, Liang Mulan frowned. "What's the hurry? Dinner will be ready soon … I've made a few of your favorite dishes! "
Lin Ran crossed her arms and sat on the sofa. This time, she didn't make a fuss and was very quiet.
She was no longer agitated because her heart was gradually turning cold. The better her parents treated Lin Nuan, the colder her heart became.
"I just received a call from Huai 'an. There's an important document I have to go back to get and send to him!" Lin Nuan lied.
Lin Ran and Liang Mulan walked out of the kitchen one after another, and Liang Mulan subconsciously looked at Lin Ran.
Lin Ran didn't say anything, but she tightened her arms around her chest, her knuckles turning white.
"Lin Nuan just received a call …" Lin Ran said.
Sending documents wasn't something that could be delayed. The Lins knew that important documents to the company … could only be sent by the most trusted people.
"I'll send you …" Lin Chen wanted to go upstairs to change.
"No need! I just used the app to call for a taxi, and it'll be there soon. Just tell the security guard to let the taxi in later! "
Although Liang Mulan couldn't bear to see him go, she didn't stop him.
At the entrance, Lin Nuan squatted down and helped Tuan Tuan put on his kindergarten uniform jacket. Tuan Tuan stood there obediently, letting Lin Nuan help him button up and put on his little backpack.
Lin Nuan straightened up, and the taxi was already at the door.
She put on her cap, grabbed her jacket, and put on her shoulder bag. She smiled and said, "I'll leave first!"
She didn't call them Mom and Dad in front of Lin Ran anymore.
Lin Ran handed the document to Lin Nuan. "Take it …"
Lin Nuan looked up at Lin Ran and didn't take it. "I won't take this, it's not convenient!"
Carrying Tuan Tuan, Lin Nuan looked at Liang Mulan and Lin Jingquan standing at the door, then at Lin Chen standing behind them with his hands in his pockets. Her eyes were filled with tears.
She solemnly said goodbye to the Lins in her heart.
Afraid of being seen through, Lin Nuan turned around with Tuan Tuan in her arms and got into the car without saying a word.
After closing the car door, Lin Nuan held Tuan Tuan in her arms and didn't turn her head to look. Her eyelashes were wet.
…
She didn't have any documents to send to Fu Huai 'an, but Lin Nuan said it in front of Tuan Tuan. She didn't want Tuan Tuan to feel that she was lying.
She thought about it and said to Tuan Tuan, "Go to the company with Mom to look for Dad, okay?"
Tuan Tuan nodded vigorously. He missed Dad!
Lin Nuan wasn't the kind of person who was good at surprise attacks and creating surprises. She honestly sent Fu Huai 'an a message, saying that she lied in front of the child and said she was going to send him some documents. She asked if it was convenient for him to let her bring the child over.
Very quickly, Fu Huai 'an replied. It was convenient.
Those three words made Lin Nuan's gloomy mood brighten up, and her lips curled up.
Lin Nuan remembered that Fu Huai 'an hadn't eaten yet, so she asked the driver to drive to Wangjiang Restaurant to pack some food. She planned to go to the company and have a meal with Fu Huai' an.
Fu Huai 'an asked his assistant, Little Lu, to wait for Lin Nuan and Tuan Tuan at the entrance of the company.
The moment the taxi arrived, Little Lu guessed that Lin Nuan had arrived. He opened the backseat door in a gentlemanly manner and took out the takeaway food that Lin Nuan had left at the side. "Mrs. Fu, Mr. Fu asked me to pick you and Tuan Tuan up."
Lin Nuan wasn't used to hearing someone call her that, so she smiled and nodded. "Sorry to trouble you!"
As she carried Tuan Tuan and Little Lu into the Kaide Corporation building, someone curiously sized up Lin Nuan and Tuan Tuan. Seeing Little Lu's respectful attitude, they guessed Lin Nuan's identity.
The elevator mirror reflected Little Lu, who was standing half a step behind Lin Nuan. She saw that he was only wearing a shirt … his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, and he had a work pass around his neck. He didn't look as meticulous as he usually did, so Lin Nuan guessed that they were especially busy today.
Lin Nuan couldn't resist asking Little Lu, "Are you guys especially busy today?"
Little Lu looked up and smiled. "En … we're especially busy today. The board of directors suddenly wants to audit the accounts, and it's urgent. We have to hand it in early tomorrow morning, so the company's finance department is working overtime. After the finance department is done, our president's office has to go through it again."
At this hour, no one in the Kaide Corporation's finance department had gotten off work. The president's office didn't mention the accounts …
Even if they had nothing to do, they couldn't leave …
"Does Huai 'an need to go through the accounts as well?" Lin Nuan asked.
"President Lu will go through the accounts!"
Lin Nuan nodded and didn't ask further.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
