Lin Nuan remembered that Lin Chen only drank West Lake's Longjing tea specifically harvested before a rain, but she didn't have any, so she asked him if he wanted red tea.
Seeing Lin Nuan boil water in the kitchen, Lin Chen stood still in the living room as he took in Lin Nuan's living environment. His gaze fell on the passport placed on the coffee table so he bent down to pick it up.
After flipping a page, it showed Fu Huai'an's name, and Lin Chen narrowed his black eyes.
Lin Nuan carried out the cups and saw Lin Chen looking at the passports, and she said, "Brother, drink some water…"
"When are you going to hold the wedding?
Lin Chen's voice remained calm and neutral as he placed the passport back.
"We don't know. We didn't get to sign the certificate the last time…"
Lin Chen glanced to the side and watched as Lin Nuan bent over to place the cups onto the coffee table. His usually deep and calm gaze had a touch of emotion to them. He removed his blazer and casually placed it on the one-seater before sitting down, asking, "Why didn't you manage to sign it?"
Sitting down, Lin Chen took out his gold lighter to open it, but eventually closed it and put it back down.
Lin Nuan was unable to truthfully say that they were going to date before getting married, so she said, "Before we get married, we want to have more time to understand each other…"
Under the light, Lin Chen nodded his head approvingly and reached over to take the glass that still had hot steam rising from it, lowering his gaze as he blew at the liquid. The rising mist blurred his deeply carved features and he took a sip before saying, "Mm, you should try and understand each other better."
Lin Nuan recalled that before Lin Chen came in, he said that he had something to tell her, so she watched as he put down the glass and sat down. She held onto her left wrist with her right hand before deciding to open her mouth first, asking, "Did Mom blame me for leaving without saying a word?"
Lin Chen glanced at her with an unreadable expression, saying, "You still know that?"
She tightened her grasp on her wrist and said in a lowered voice, "Brother, I just thought that if I kept appearing in front of all of you, it would be unfair for Lin Ran…"
Hearing Lin Nuan's words, Lin Chen furrowed his brows slightly and he subconsciously reached for his cigarettes box. In the end, he put it down the moment he took it out.
"You can smoke, it's fine…" Lin Nuan's voice was soft as she stood up to open the windows. "I'll just open the windows."
She heard Liang Mulan say that these years when Lin Chen had taken over the Lin organization, he had been rather tired and stressed. It was just that Lin Chen and Lin Nuan were both similarly introverted and were unwilling to say it out loud. Instead, his smoking addiction grew heavier as the days passed to the extent where he needed to have a cigarette in his hand at all times.
Lin Nuan could tell that ever since Lin Chen entered her apartment, he had been trying to hold back.
The pouring rain outside had yet to stop so once Lin Nuan opened the window, the cool air mixed with moisture blew inside with a flurry.
Lin Chen took out a cigarette and watched Lin Nuan's back as she tugged at the translucent curtains gently. He moved the cigarette to his lips before lowering his gaze to light it up.
Hearing the sound of Lin Nuan sitting back down, Lin Chen took a puff of the cigarette as his dark gaze looked at Lin Nuan, asking, "Unfair towards Lin Ran, but by not interacting with us, your family, is that fair to you?"
He saw Lin Nuan opening her mouth.
"All these years, Dad and Mom… and me, our relationships with you aren't computer programs, they can't be deleted just because someone said so. Tell me, how different are your actions from taking a knife and stabbing it in our family's hearts?"
Lin Chen spoke smoothly, his deep voice was stable and sounded extremely convincing and trustworthy, making his words a stab to the heart.
After speaking, Lin Chen took a look at the cigarette between his fingers and asked, "Do you have any disposable cups?"
The rims of Lin Nuan's eyes reddened and she had no words to defend herself with, so she could only nod her head and stood up, saying, "I'll go get one…"