427 She Gazed at Fu Huai’an’s Back View

Lin Chen's vision turned towards Lin Nuan. The phone on the table vibrated. He hung up the call, shut off the phone, and lit up a cigarette.

He understood what Lin Nuan meant and nodded. "I'll go back and talk to Mom."

Regarding Lin Ran's decision to leave, Lin Chen had reflected upon it.

He recalled the conversation he had with Lin Ran when he took Lin Ran to the airport.

She said, "Big Brother, actually, I know I shouldn't hate Lin Nuan. I remember last year on my birthday, when we were eating with Grandpa and Grandma, Granny suggested celebrating mine and Lin Nuan's birthdays together since it had been a long time since she has seen her. Later, I found out that Mom went to look for Lin Nuan but was rejected by her. She said if they were to celebrate our birthdays together at the Lins' home, what would my position be like! Clearly, I knew she was being considerate of me, but that made me hate her even more! Because she's on the mind of everyone close to me…"

Lin Chen remembered, when granny was making that suggestion, he was all for it!

If only Lin Chen could have been more rational and spoken up for Lin Ran a little more, perhaps she wouldn't have felt so aggrieved at the Lins for so many years. Perhaps she wouldn't feel such great animosity towards Lin Nuan, to the point where she couldn't tolerate Lin Nuan at all…

"Brother…" Lin Nuan's eyes started tearing up. She was finding it hard to say what she was about to say. "In the future, tell… your parents never to mention me in front of Lin Ran again."

Lin Nuan's usage of the words "your parents" made Lin Chen incredibly uncomfortable. His brows furrowed, which made his eyes appear all the more deep-set.

Lin Nuan toughened her stance and didn't dare look at Lin Chen's eyes, only staring at the cup of hot water with steam gently rising from it. She spoke again. "Lin Ran is their biological daughter, not me. She has always been one who is unafraid to love or hate, is straightforward, and doesn't resort to playing tricks behind people's backs. These kinds of people… might speak tough, but they're actually tender and fragile at heart. She's actually not as tough as what you see on the outside. She… is more at a disadvantage compared to someone like me who likes to bottle it all up inside!"

Recalling what Lin Ran said to her in the Lin's home kitchen, Lin Nuan gripped her teacup tightly and, while holding in her gastric pain, smiled at Lin Chen. "Perhaps you might think I'm innocent. Lin Ran is by your side, and I am not, hence you're more concerned about me. But to Lin Ran, it was no different from an emotional form of torture!"

"I'm very sorry, all of this is caused by my biological father…" Lin Nuan's lips curled, and her nose slightly flared up. She was almost unable to hold back the tears in her eyes, and her throat was hurting because of the choking feeling. "Even if he helped to raise Lin Ran, he can't deny the fact that he helped his own daughter steal Lin Ran's life away from her! In actuality, my biological father should apologize to everyone in the Lin family. It was his every action that caused everyone to end up in such an awkward and painful position. In this story… I'm the most innocent party, that's right, but the most pitiful one is Lin Ran, then everyone else!"

"I've returned Lin Ran's identity, but the kinship that ought to be hers, I'm still hogging it!" Lin Nuan smiled lightly with much difficulty.

Outside the French window behind Lin Nuan, the heavy rain had yet to stop.

Raindrops streaked the glass window, reflecting the lonely chandelier lights in the private dining room. The brilliant yet gentle light was that of a warm orange shade, outlining Lin Nuan's thin shoulder frame.

Lin Nuan was ruthless in her speech, especially in the usage of those two words, "your parents."

But if Lin Nuan didn't come to a decision now, the Lins might lose Lin Ran forever. Lin Ran was a girl with fiery sentiments about relationships, and once someone like that made up her mind, no one could dissuade her from it.

"Brother, we're not the same anymore. I have a family now! I have Huai'an! And also Tuan Tuan! I have a family, but Lin Ran doesn't. She only has you guys!"

The cigarette in Lin Chen's fingertips continued burning…

What Lin Nuan said wasn't wrong. Because Lin Ran was by their side, their parents subconsciously neglected her and subconsciously missed Lin Nuan, concerned if she ate well and dressed warmly like Lin Ran.

"In the future, I won't go to the Lins if there isn't anything important. Since I'm already married to Huai'an, our residences should be tied together, else it'd be really inconvenient…"

It was better to deal with painful things quickly; it was better just to rip the Band-Aid off now. Precisely because Lin Nuan was unable to cut her ties with the Lins, she kept dragging things on and ended up causing Lin Ran so much pain. Looking at Lin Nuan from Lin Ran's point of view, she was indeed abominable.

Just as Lin Ran said, Lin Nuan was like a third party who, despite knowing deep down that being a homewrecker was wrong, still continued to pester that married man despite having already promised his wife that she would stay far away from her husband!

Undeniably, on this issue, Lin Nuan, the person who had the most power over how things unfolded, didn't handle the matter well!

It was never too late to change things.

If Lin Nuan continued to be so indecisive, greedy for the warmth of kinship the Lins had given her, she might cause Liang Mulan and Lin Jingquan to lose their biological daughter once again; this was something Lin Nuan didn't wish to see!

Because, in Lin Nuan's heart, Liang Mulan and Lin Jingquan were her parents. She didn't wish to see them upset.

The cigarette held in Lin Chen's fingertips finished burning, though he didn't smoke much of it. He tipped the cigarette ash into the ashtray, at which point the waiter had entered the room with the dishes.

"Eat first!" Lin Chen said to Lin Nuan.

In the span of a day, for two consecutive meals, Lin Nuan found it hard to stomach any food.

Not wanting Lin Chen to detect anything peculiar, Lin Nuan lowered her head, holding back the subtle pain in her stomach and eating little morsels at a time in a delicate manner.

Her phone vibrated at the receipt of Fu Huai'an's message.

'Fu Huai'an: Are you done?'

Lin Nuan put down her chopsticks and replied to Fu Huai'an's message.

'Lin Nuan: I'm done here. Just ran into my brother.'

After the meal with Lin Chen, Lin Nuan's gastric pain eased by a great deal, only feeling a little swollen.

She gave Uncle Hu a call and asked him to pick her up in 20 minutes at Sunshine Plaza, which was at the intersection of Renmin Road and Qujiang New Road.

…

Inside the Kaide Corporation CEO's office, Fu Huai'an bit on an unlit cigarette at the corner of his lips. Using the hand that held onto his phone, he tugged at his tie to make it looser. With his other hand, he opened the window a little, allowing a mixture of wind and rain to blow into the room.

The transparent window that had been washed by the rain reflected Fu Huai'an's cold and tough facial features. His brows were tightly furrowed as he lowered his gaze, struck his lighter, and lit up his cigarette with the violently quivering flame.

Old Madam Fu was still seated on the sofa. Looking at Fu Huai'an's back view, as her vision swept across the glass panes with the reflected flame, she felt nervous.

She came here, prepared to come clean to Fu Huai'an about her looking up Lin Nuan…

Although Old Madam Fu was getting on in age, her mind was still clear. The chauffeur was just about to drive into the Fu Mansion when Old Madam Fu told him to turn around and drive to the Kaide Corporation.

She knew very well that things could sound vastly different coming from her mouth versus letting Fu Huai'an hear it from Lin Nuan.

She also knew well that the grandmother-grandson bond between her and Fu Huai'an wasn't that strong.

Under the cool-toned lighting of the office, Old Madam Fu adjusted her shawl and gracefully put down her cup on the coffee table. "I know it's not befitting of an elder to look for Lin Nuan in private and tell her not to announce your wedding publicly, but I'm willing to compensate her with all my means for that!"