Lin Jingquan tapped his cigarette as he spoke.
Speaking from the heart, before Lin Nuan found out that she was not the Lin family's birth daughter, she thought that although Lin Jingquan wasn't a good husband, he was definitely a good father.
To him, Lin Nuan was the precious daughter he had barely managed to recover, so he had doted on her ever since she was young.
"It doesn't matter if you and your brother don't have romantic feelings towards each other, that can be nurtured. Your brother has always doted on you, once you get together and get married… He'll still treat you like he used to. Both you and your brother are no longer young, so this matter has to be settled sooner rather than later. Just nod your head and I'll call your brother over too. We can just sit down here today and discuss what to do next."
These words meant that he had decided on it.
"Papa, feelings-wise, I can't accept being together with my brother—"
Before Lin Nuan could finish speaking, Lin Jingquan raised his hand to stop her from continuing and said, "Feelings can be nurtured. It's fine if you can't accept it for now, our whole family can still go back to how we were before. Your room… Your mother has always been keeping it ready for you. Once the two of you settle your marriage, you can stay in your room temporarily."
Lin Nuan wanted to open her mouth once more but Lin Jingquan spoke before she could, his tone furious and his words turning nasty, "As parents, who wouldn't be concerned and plan for their children? Even if you aren't our birth child, we can't take back the love we showered on you for the past twenty-plus years! I raised you, so I am your father! Did I not give you enough fatherly love when you were younger? Why must you find a man so much older than you to marry? What kind of man is that? Saying he wants to marry you but then turns around just a few days later to mess around with some female celebrity! What are you still going after him for? We've always been calling you intelligent ever since you were young, but when it comes to marriage, where did your brain go? If you don't want to acknowledge me as your father from now on, then continue to go against me!"
It was rare for Lin Jingquan to be so agitated; his eyes were red and his hands aggressively pressed the cigarette into the coffee table as he released a few years worth of pent-up anger.
Lin Nuan grew up beside him and he knew her too well. She was a child who would swallow her teeth and blood if she got beaten up—she would keep everything to herself, refusing to cry. She always looked peaceful and fine on the surface, but who knew how many tears she had shed behind their backs.
Especially when he heard Liang Mulan say that that man who had a child and was much older than Lin Nuan had actually shared an intimate embrace with a female celebrity. Lin Jingquan felt as though his heart had been stabbed with a sharp knife.
When Lin Jingquan fooled around with other women behind his wife's back, the slight guilt in his heart was always quickly replaced by pleasure, but when it really happened to his daughter, as a father… he couldn't accept it.
How could he let other people bully and trample on the daughter he raised and doted on?
Lin Nuan felt an urge to cry. Even though it was the first time she was scolded so severely by Lin Jingquan, her heart was filled with warmth.
At that moment, she was unable to lie to herself that she couldn't interact with the Lin family at all.
"Papa…" Lin Nuan spoke with a slightly hoarse voice.
Lin Jingquan put out his cigarette and sighed out a puff of white smoke. Ultimately, his heart softened and he said, "Choose… it's either your brother or Liu Mingchen. I can only relax when there's either one of them by your side!"
Relax knowing that Lin Nuan would not return to Fu Huai'an's side.
Lin Jingquan hadn't had any interactions with Fu Huai'an on the field of business, but he heard plenty of rumors. Regardless of whether they were true or false, Fu Huai'an was a man who was hard to deal with and hard to read—he had a lot of hidden stories behind him.
Lin Nuan was a stubborn and loyal girl. If she really ended up with a man like Fu Huai'an and fell for him, then as long as Fu Huai'an wanted to, Lin Nuan would be eaten up without even leaving behind any bones.