The driver was wondering which family the chubby kid was from because the rich predominantly lived in this residential area. It was said that even if one was rich, they may not be able to live inside; they must not only be rich but also n.o.ble.
"Kiddo, won"t your family be worried that you"re out here yourself?" The driver asked out of kindness. If this would not do, he considered sending the kid to the police station.
"Uncle, did you not hear what I just told you? I already called my dad and he knows!" Yan Ningbai said, "Don"t, don"t you bring me somewhere else!"
The driver himself was not certain so he brought Yan Ningai to the orphanage, thinking that he was lucky to meet him. What would happen to this kid if he actually met someone who had a malicious intent?
"Uncle, do wait here for a while." Yan Ningbai called the orphanage once more. This time, it was s.h.i.+ Tou who picked up.
He wanted s.h.i.+ Tou to pa.s.s the phone to Mo Jinxi, letting him come out quickly.
Mo Jinxi did not expect Yan Ningbai to have such a strong initiative. After telling s.h.i.+ Tou to cover for him, he ran out while carrying his backpack.
He saw Yan Ningbai opening the car door of the back seat, beckoning him to come. "Hurry up."
Mo Jinxi looked at his left and right side. As he turned back his head, he was shocked to witness a row of people standing by the window of the living room on the first floor of the orphanage. Gazing carefully, it turned out that s.h.i.+ Tou, Tian Tian, and others were waving at him!
Mo Jinxi exhaled a sigh of relief, rubbing his chest where his heart was beating frantically. He scrambled into the car and shut the door.
Yan Ningbai announced the address of the courthouse.
The driver felt even stranger now; he kept glancing at Mo Jinxi on the rearview mirror.
Mo Jinxi was warier than Yan Ningbai, glaring at him with vigilance with a pair of black round eyes. "Uncle, why do you keep peeking at me? Don"t you dare think that you can bully someone just because there isn"t any a.d.u.l.t around!"
The driver, "…"
He should not have let these two brats get into his car!
The driver had become smarter; he no longer looked or asked them anything throughout the whole journey. He finally parked his car safe and sound in front of the gate of the courthouse.
Yan Ningbai studied the number displayed on the fare meter quite a while, took out 100 bucks and gave it to the driver. He also used the calculator in his phone to calculate the change; he was very shrewd with his big eyes darting here and there.
At this moment, a lot of people were walking towards the court. Both of them followed the crowd and entered; the security guard did not pay much attention to them as he a.s.sumed that they were the children of a particular family in the crowd.
Once they were inside, Yan Ningbai looked for someone to inquire about the location of the trial while tugging Mo Jinxi with him.
The trial was about to begin soon when they found it; two small heads sneaked inside through the door.
Only when Yan Ningbai came inside secretly, he waved his hand to the back. "I just saw big nephew. Let"s go over there."
Behind him, Mo Jinxi followed.
The hearts of the two small fellows were beating frantically for it was their first time coming to a solemn place such as the courthouse. Mo Jinxi was very scared inside but he did not want to show it. He put on a serious look on his face and advanced ahead. His eyes, on the contrary, kept darting both sides, evaluating covertly.
Yan Ningbai stroked his small stomach. Before running out of the orphanage in secret, he intentionally ate a piece of cheesecake to pluck up his courage.
"Go." Yan Ningbai dragged Mo Jinxi"s hand, looking askance at him. "You"re afraid?"
"Who"s afraid!" Mo Jinxi showed a c.o.c.ky look, facing Yan Ningbai with his nostrils flared in exaggeration.
However, while speaking to sound brave, he raised his voice somewhat accidentally.
Yan Beicheng, Yan Huaian, and Yu Zi turned around subconsciously upon hearing a kid"s voice.
"…" Yan Huaian stood up slowly. "This brat!"
As he spoke, he walked towards them with large strides.
Yan Beicheng followed him. He saw both of them having guilty looks on their faces and asked unsympathetically, "Why have you two come here?"
"We"re worried about big niece-in-law!" Yan Ningbai said while raising his head. He was still slightly scared, even his palm that was holding Mo Jinxi"s small hand was sweating.
Mo Jinxi clenched his teeth and stepped forward. "I was the one who called him because I was worried about Chu Chu"s matter. So we decided to come here together."
"Since you"re already here, I"ll deal with both of you when we return." Yan Beicheng said in a deep voice with his lips pursed and extended his hand towards Mo Jinxi.
Although Mo Jinxi felt rather ashamed, he still took Yan Beicheng"s hand. He was much more at ease, knowing that an a.d.u.l.t was by his side.
He, however, still puffed up his cheeks and said, "Don"t…don"t a.s.sume that I"m okay with you. You"re still my enemy!"
"…" Yan Beicheng sneered at him. "I don"t even care about you."
He, subsequently, led Mo Jinxi back to have a seat.
Yan Huaian also dragged Yan Ningbai"s tiny chubby hand. He still could not resist himself from hitting his b.u.t.tocks lightly. "I"ll deal with you once we get home.
When they returned to sit down, Yu Zi pinched Yan Ningbai"s nose with irritation. "Do your Eldest Uncle and Eldest Auntie know that you"ve run out of the house?"
As Yan Ningbai"s eyes turned around, Yu Zi knew what was going on. She went out to call the mansion in an instant and explained the situation. She then called the orphanage, telling the Princ.i.p.al not to worry about Mo Jinxi as he was with them.
As the trial began, Lin Yuwen was brought forward and entered the dock. Su Changxin, who sat on the bench located at the other side of the corridor, called out involuntarily, "Yuwen!"
Tears kept trickling down her cheeks. Looking at Lin Yuwen who became very thin, Su Changxin sobbed and rested in Lin Zhenghe"s embrace.
No one knew exactly what sort of hardsh.i.p.s Lin Yuwen was subjected to. As if a void existed beneath her feet, she could not walk properly. Her face was so pale to the extent that no color could be seen; she even looked worse than the day of her abortion.
The skin on her cheeks had all sunken inwards, her cheekbones were increasingly protruding in an obvious manner, her eye sockets were slightly hollow and shadows surrounded from below.
The moment Lin Yuwen got out, she turned her head to look for the silhouette of her parents in the gallery. She cried and called out when she saw Lin Zhenghe and Su Changxin, "Dad! Mom! Help me! Help me! I don"t want to go back again. It"s so scary, I don"t want to go back anymore! Help me! Help!"
Su Changxin wanted to say something but she did not dare to speak after she got cut off by someone who said "silence" sternly.
"If the gallery still wants to make a racket, the bailiff will remove you from here!" said the judge severely.
Su Changxin and Lin Yuwen did not dare to speak anymore. Lin Chu sat by the plaintiff"s table with Lawyer Zhou, dealing with each inquiry and defense made and evidence submitted by both parties.
Lu Lixin, Zheng Yuntong as well as the car owner from that day were attending the trial as witnesses.
Lin Yuwen was ultimately convicted with the criminal charge of deliberately inflicting minor injuries and sentenced to put under surveillance for a year.
Su Changxin sighed with relief. In any case, she did not have to be imprisoned anymore.
After the trial ended, the Lin Family and Cheng Family waited together for Lin Yuwen to come out.
Su Changxin always thought about how haggard Lin Yuwen looked. As her eyes fumed with anger, she rushed towards Lin Chu when she ran into her at the doorway.
"Lin Chu, you"ve mistreated my daughter to such an extent. I"m not done with you!" Su Changxin shrieked. She waved her hand, wanting to hit her yet Yan Beicheng blocked her as he gripped her wrist forcefully.
It was so painful that Su Changxin regained a bit of rationality. She fell into Yan Beicheng"s cold gaze that did not contain a slight thread of emotion at once, making her s.h.i.+ver for no reason. Yan Beicheng flung her back roughly; her body could not help but fell backward. Both of her limbs were flapping in mid-air, her body was swaying and she was about to fall. Lin Zhenghe, fortunately, caught her on time.
"If you don"t know how to speak human language, shut up. Don"t go mad here," Yan Beicheng said indifferently.
"You can"t bully Chu Chu!" Mo Jinxi was like an angry little beast; he leaped up, using the strength of his whole body and kicked Su Changxin"s s.h.i.+n ruthlessly.
Since the front of the s.h.i.+n did not have much flesh and it was where the bone stuck close to the skin, such a kick was excruciating.
Along with a painful yelp, Su Changxin gazed at a Mo Jinxi with a sinister look.
"What a poorly raised b.a.s.t.a.r.d!" Lin Zhenghe lifted up his hand, about to slap Mo Jinxi.
Not only he could not afford offending Yan Beicheng, but also he could not do anything to help her only daughter who was suffering such misfortune. They could not teach Lin Chu — who they could beat and scold at will in the past — a lesson because of the relations.h.i.+p she currently had with Yan Beicheng. Instead, they had to be deferent to her now.
The increasing hatred had brewed anger; even a b.a.s.t.a.r.d who came out of nowhere dared to hit Su Changxin now.
With a change on her face, Lin Chu advanced forward to protect Mo Jinxi.
A little fellow who was in close vicinity to Mo Jinxi moved faster.
At this moment, Yan Ningbai"s soft voice shouted in exasperation "You dare to hit him!"
He was already standing beside Mo Jinxi to protect him, wondering if Lin Zhenghe dared to hit him.
Sure enough, Lin Zhenghe paused for a while as he did not dare to touch Yan Ningbai. Instead, he changed his direction and moved towards Mo Jinxi.
Yan Huaian advanced ahead quickly and pulled both of the kids behind him to safeguard them. He looked solemnly at Lin Zhenghe. "We"ve witnessed the real Lin Family today!"
As his movement halted, Lin Zhenghe became livid and withdrew his hand. No matter how furious he was, he did not dare to raise his hand while Yan Huaian blocking in front of him. His chest, in the meantime, were heaving constantly and his teeth were almost broken from grinding.
Su Changxin was in pain, so much so that she had to hug her legs. w.a.n.g Jinglin then helped her up beside her.
Yan Huaian handed over the two kids to Yu Zi and Lin Chu to look after them. Some people just left the court without paying attention to the Lin Family.
They left a while later, Lin Yuwen was brought outside.
Once she saw Su Changxin, Lin Yuwen ran to her. "Mom! I want to go home, bring me home quickly!"
"Alright, alright, Mom will bring you home. Are you…alright?" Su Changxin did not dare to touch Lin Yuwen"s skinny face as she hugged her.
It had only been a few days but she became this weak and wan.
Once mentioned, Lin Yuwen bawled, wanting to vent all the grievances and crimes she suffered and the pent-up anger she had.
After bawling her heart out, she began twitching all of a sudden. She fainted as both of her eyes rolled, falling down from Su Changxin"s embrace.
"Yuwen!" screamed Su Changxin. Lin Zhenghe went forward to hold Lin Yuwen up instantly.
Cheng Ziming came and carried Lin Yuwen; they then hurried to the hospital.
In the ward, Lin Yuwen was still in a coma. The doctor called for Lin Zhenghe and the other family members and said, "The patient didn"t take care of her body properly when she had a miscarriage. I don"t know how you all looked after her but her body is very weak. Not only her nutrition isn"t sufficient, but also she"s caught a cold. It"s very severe."
"Very severe? That"s…that"s…" w.a.n.g Jinglin blurted.
What she cared the most now was whether Lin Yuwen could still give birth.
The doctor said with a grave look, "Her body has weakened too much because of the miscarriage prior. If her body is well taken care of, it"ll take a year or two later to be fully fit. Not to mention, her current state with the inadequate amount of nutrition and her catching a cold have already harmed the core. I"m afraid that in the future ⸺"
The doctor sighed. "It"s very difficult for her to get pregnant. Now that her health has deteriorated to the core, she"ll be struggling to give birth later on even if she does manage to get pregnant. Either it"ll be extremely easy for her to have a miscarriage or she"ll run the chance of losing the baby or her life while giving birth which is very critical. If not, both of them ⸺"
The doctor looked at them and continued saying, "You all, therefore, have to think things through. Not only Ms. Lin"s fertility is at stake, but also her own health. It"s impossible for her to be as healthy as before and live like an ordinary person. Also, it"s compulsory that she consumes medicine and goes to the hospital for check-ups and injections on a regular basis. Due to a lack of energy, she can"t do vigorous exercises. It"ll take her time to have a normal life. The s.e.x life of the couple needs to be restrained as well after the recovery."
Glancing at Cheng Ziming, the doctor said, "In the short term, she should abstain from s.e.x."
"What? Are you suggesting that my son can"t have a child?!" w.a.n.g Jinglin always had a gentle temper and talked in a soft tone yet she suddenly screamed at this moment.
Finis.h.i.+ng the sentence, her eyes rolled back and she fainted.
Su Changxin glared at w.a.n.g Jinglin who pa.s.sed out.
Lin Yuwen was already in such bad shape now but all w.a.n.g Jinglin was thinking about was her not being able to bear a child for the Cheng Family. She absolutely did not care about Lin Yuwen"s life!
How could she not be angry!
Cheng Ziming could not describe how he felt now. Lin Yuwen could no longer conceive; he, thus, could not have his own child. He still had to do what the Lin Family felt and wanted. Feeling very downhearted, he looked gloomy. He obviously knew that Lin Zhenghe and Su Changxin were unhappy now because of what w.a.n.g Jinglin said, but he did not have the heart to explain and ingratiate himself with them.
He merely had a single ward made for w.a.n.g Jinglin. Cheng Jindong was considered kind and considerate as he did not comment much.
Lin Zhenghe comforted Su Changxin. "Don"t you worry, this is simply what this hospital said. Yuwen"s body doesn"t have to be treated at only this place. Plus, this hospital isn"t as famous. Once Yuwen wakes up, we"ll transfer her to another hospital, the Chu Tian Hospital. Their equipment is the most advanced and the doctors there are unparalleled to other hospitals."
Lin Zhenghe said all of these in front of the doctor. The doctor"s face sank and turned to leave, no longer paying attention to them.
Lin Zhenghe looked at Su Changxin with a meaningful glance. She then closed the door of the ward.
When returned, she heard Lin Zhenghe telling Cheng Jidong and Cheng Ziming, "I don"t trust this hospital. She, nevertheless, has to try being treated by the Chu Tian Hospital. Even if the Chu Tian Hospital still can"t do anything, I"ll figure out how to look for professionals abroad to treat Yuwen. Therefore, I hope that Yuwen doesn"t have to know about her having a weak body and that she can"t bear a child. I also hope that you lot don"t mention anything in front of her."
"Now that her health is fragile, she can"t overthink. If she has too much mental strain and develops some sort of issue in her mental health, it"ll be increasingly difficult to recover. Yuwen just went through a lot. The most important thing now is to make her feel better and not to fret about these matters," Lin Zhenghe said in a deep voice.
Su Changxin nodded beside them, agreeing with what he said. Her body was unwell since the very beginning. If she was not optimistic and wallowed in misery all day long, it would be harder for her body to recover.
Lin Zhenghe glanced at Cheng Ziming with a meaningful gaze; he was aware of the ambition Cheng Ziming possessed and spoke in a deep voice, "As long as you treat Yuwen well, I won"t treat you poorly. I know you all are worried about the child. Having such a big family enterprise, we, the Lin Family, are more anxious than you. We need an heir as well to inherit Lin Mao. Yuwen, hence, will recover no matter what. As long as you treat Yuwen well and attentively, I will not treat you poorly."
Cheng Ziming nodded. Although he did not look as depressed as before, yet he did not appear happy either. As he seemed fairly sorrowful for what the mishap Lin Yuwen went through, his reaction before and after were more or less the same and he actually looked rather natural.
"I won"t do anything that will hurt Yuwen even if you didn"t mention all these." Cheng Ziming carried a stance that was neither obsequious nor supercilious without a change in his facial expression. "Don"t worry, I"ll tell my mom not to mention about all these to Yuwen."
Satisfied with how tactful he was, Lin Zhenge did not say anymore.
As the weather became warmer, Lin Chu"s wrist had almost healed. She still could not lift heavy objects and had to be careful not to get hit after removing the bandage. Other than that, she could function with agility. She would fully recover sometime later.
Lin Chu was also aware that Lin Yuwen was in poor condition and could not give birth. Although the Lin Family had transferred her to the Chu Tian Hospital, her state remained the same. Perhaps she could conceive but the odds were too little. With Lin Yuwen"s state, she would not be able to handle the pregnancy even if she did get pregnant. Not only the child may lose its life, but the mother might also die.
Lin Chu always thought that this was the true purpose of Yan Beicheng suing Lin Yuwen. He clearly knew that Lin Yuwen would eventually have a light sentence yet he insisted on suing her. The aim was never about the outcome of the trial but the hards.h.i.+p Lin Yuwen experienced in the detention center during the process and the consequences after she was released.
Lin Chu, however, absolutely did not sympathize with Lin Yuwen, for she attempted to kill Lin Chu. She was not the V.i.r.g.i.n Mary; conversely, she also pitied Lin Yuwen.
Since this was the method Yan Beicheng chose to vent her resentment, he did not want to explain much to her. It was uncertain if it was because he was afraid that she might have thought that his method was too ruthless.
Lin Chu thought that he would be overthinking if Yan Beicheng truly felt that way. She never thought it was excessive when it came to him making things happen to help vent her grievance.
Well, she would just pretend she did not know anything since he did not tell her blatantly, instead she would remember how well he treated her in her heart.
Glancing at the time, Yan Beicheng would be talking about business with President Xu tonight; it would be unavoidable that he drank a little. Lin Chu later immersed lemons with honey, getting ready to wait for Yan Beicheng"s return to make him some honey lemon water.
She did not ask Aunt Zhuang to make it. Ever since she started living here, she would always personally make the things she gave Yan Beicheng.
As she placed the honeyed lemons inside a container and put it inside the refrigerator, she heard the doorbell rang.
She, however, did not hear anyone entering for a while but only heard Aunt Zhuang"s voice coming faintly from the doorway, "May I ask who are —"
Lin Chu walked out with suspicion. When she arrived at the doorway, she saw a woman standing outside the door, wearing a cla.s.sic trench coat from some sort of luxury brand that was famous for trench coats with a decent black and white patterned frock inside and a pair of high heels. Her temperament was elegant and mature.
Lin Chu could not really tell her specific age but she was certain that the woman did not surpa.s.s thirty. Judging from her mature and seasoned temperament, she reckoned that she was older than her.
The woman replied to Aunt Zhuang"s previous question politely, "Hi, I"m Beicheng"s friend. My name is Lu Weining."
"Oh, oh." Aunt Zhuang did not really know who she was and whether she should invite her to come in. She then turned her head and looked at Lin Chu.
Lin Chu thought that Lu Weining seemed familiar but she could not remember. Since she said she was Beicheng"s friend, it would be rude of her to not let her come in. Perhaps the visit was work-related?
For some unknown reason, Lin Chu felt that she would not like her regardless of who Lu Weining was and what she did.
For instance, the way she uttered Beicheng"s name in such an intimate manner. Her expression was pretty mysterious when she said it; it was somewhat ambiguous as if…as if she was talking about her own man.
Lin Chu smiled faintly and stepped aside. "Ms. Lu, please come in."
Lu Weining took a glimpse at Lin Chu with surprise, as if she did not expect that Lin Chu could act like the master of the house.
Once inside, her gaze hung down slightly and raised her head in an instant. She asked, puzzled, "Is Beicheng not present?"
It was the first time that Lin Chu felt so disgusted by the two words. She smiled in a distant and vague fas.h.i.+on, replying, "He has a business dinner tonight; he"ll return late."
Lu Weining felt increasingly uncomfortable. Though Lin Chu"s words were normal, she believed that the woman before her eyes seemed to be very close with Yan Beicheng.
"Ms. Lu, please have a seat. I think he"ll be back soon," Lin Chu said, pointing at the sofa.
Once seated, a flash crossed Lu Weining"s mind and she smiled once more. "I"ve come over in such a presumptuous manner as I was thinking about giving Beicheng a surprise since I come to B City for work. So, I just came over without contacting him beforehand but I didn"t expect that he wasn"t home. It"s my bad, he must not be at home often because he"s so busy."
Lin Chu"s facial expression did not change as she sat down calmly. She also did not understand Lu Weining"s subject of the discussion.
Lu Weining was actually counting on Lin Chu to ask her about her ident.i.ty. She felt like a fist punching into cotton, exerting force nowhere in this soft object.
Lu Weining could only laugh by herself, cheering on herself by continue saying, "It"s pretty coincidental that when Beicheng and I almost got engaged when we were kids but both of us knew that it was a joke made by the elders of the family. No one took it seriously."
At this moment, Aunt Zhuang brought some refreshments. She gazed at Lu Weining with a displeased look.
Wondering in her heart, where did this woman come from? She had such thick skin and told Ms. Lin about her childhood once she came in. Who gives a d.a.m.n about her childhood!
She placed the cup in front of Lu Weining with a droopy face and handed another cup to Lin Chu.
Lin Chu"s and Yan Beicheng"s cups were of the couple"s version. During the Chinese New Year holiday, Yan Beicheng specially dragged her and drove to the market to buy the cups along with towels, chopsticks, and spoons. Anything that could be changed into the couple"s version was changed.
Lu Weining recognized the difference between Lin Chu"s cup. She knew about this brand and really liked the style of this cup. She once thought of buying them to use it with Yan Beicheng.
When her eyelid flinched, she laughed sheepishly. "I just talked about myself the moment I arrive. I haven"t asked who you ⸺"
"I"m Lin Chu, Yan Beicheng"s girlfriend." Lin Chu sipped the tea calmly, savoring a mouthful of tea fragrance.
While holding the cup, the hot air turned into white smoke and gradually drifted into the air, forming a frail boundary that separated her and Lu Weining.
Being separated by the white smoke, Lin Chu recalled why she found Lu Weining familiar. She asked in a collected fas.h.i.+on, "Judging from Ms. Lu"s accent, it doesn"t sound like the citizen of B City."
"I"m from Ning City." Lu Weining sipped the tea and said with an apologetic look, "Sorry, just now… I thought you were the maid. I didn"t realize that you"re ⸺"
"Ms. Lu always stayed at Ning City. I understand that you don"t know about Beicheng"s situation," Lin Chu said mildly.
Lu Weining placed her cup down. "I mainly don"t know that Beicheng has a girlfriend. The last time he went to Ning City, I didn"t hear him mentioning about this when we met. If I had known earlier, I wouldn"t have come rashly and cause a misunderstanding again."
"It"s nothing. He was chasing after me at that time. We weren"t officially together yet," Lin Chu said serenely. At that moment, both of them actually just got together and she was not really used to being in a new relations.h.i.+p. Of course, she could not tell Lu Weining the truth. "Even if it"s the present, there won"t be any misunderstanding. I trust him."
Lu Weining smiled coldly, no longer talking.
Lin Chu was uninterested in responding to her. Lu Weining clearly came here with malicious intent; she, thus, did not bother chatting and laughing with Lu Weining. She was not even willing to pretend.
It was unknown which corner did Chu Xi sleep prior, but it came out with blurry eyes while wagging its tail and moving towards Lin Chu"s legs. Its paws kept pulling on her legs, trying hard to hop onto her knees.
As she laughed, Lin Chu picked up and carried this tiny thing. Chu Xi was already longer than half of her arm now and it had quite a weight.
Chu Xi twirled on Lin Chu"s legs and toppled over when it found the right spot. Its head pus.h.i.+ng and leaning against Lin Chu"s belly to urge Lin Chu to caress its head. Lin Chu had only stroked it a few times before it got so comfortable that it squinted its eyes, almost falling asleep.
"This little fellow is so cute." Lu Weining smiled. "I recall that Beicheng doesn"t like to keep such pets."
"I was the one who brought it here," Lin Chu said indifferently, implying that Yan Beicheng would not keep other"s pets but he certainly would make an exception if it was brought by her. Nothing much would be discussed.
Lu Weining gave a rigid smile. "Can I pet it?"
Ever since Chu Xi was brought back, it did not encounter any stranger. Yan Huaian and others had gotten familiar with Chu Xi early on.
Lin Chu nodded. Who knew Lu Weining just extended her hand and had not even touched its head yet, Chu Xi suddenly opened its eyes and wailed. It was unwilling to allow Lu Weining to approach it.
A pair of azure eyes stared at her in disgust. It turned its head and buried itself into Lin Chu"s belly, not bothering to look at Weining. It was especially annoying to witness such a disgusted look.
The corner of Lin Chu"s lips slightly twitched, thinking that this tiny fellow was pretty smart and knows who was annoying.
An apologetic smile still hung on her face. "Sorry, the little fellow isn"t normally like this; it"s really friendly with people. I don"t know why it treats you ⸺"
"It"s alright," Lu Weining said while looking somewhat unhappy; she got the hint of the implied thorn in her words.
Hiding in the kitchen, Aunt Zhuang was hesitant in whether she should call Yan Beicheng or not. He returned home at last.
As she heard the sound of the door opening, Lin Chu got up and headed towards the doorway. Yan Beicheng entered; his body somewhat carried a faint smell of alcohol.
Wearing an all-black outfit, the cold air from outside clung to his overcoat. Long legs strode inside with a steady and sober pace, unlike the people after the business dinner that Lin Chu encountered who would be coming back intoxicated and showing all their ugly sides. Even Lin Zhenghe was as such.
Yan Beicheng went out to attend business dinners frequently while Lin Chu lived together with him. Every time he returned, however, would always be stable as usual. He was never seen forgetting his manners and would not make things difficult for her.
When he saw Lin Chu was welcoming him, Yan Beicheng bowed his head and his gaze that became as gentle as water fell on Lin Chu"s face, observing how she bustled before his eyes. She first took his slippers, bent her back and placed them in front of him; she proceeded to take off his overcoat.
Her familiar movements and natural vibes resembled how a wife busied herself for him.
Yan Beicheng"s gaze became softer; the corner of his lips could not help but to curl upwards; his black eyes stared at Lin Chu"s face in an instant to the point that her face became red. He raised his head and rolled his eyes.
"How much have you drank?" Lin Chu took his coat and handed over the slippers.
"Not a lot." Yan Beicheng smirked, removing his shoes and put on the slippers. "I let Zuo Qiu drink most of it. I remember that you told me to drink less."
Lin Chu tiptoed near his chin and smelled it. He felt ticklish from the breathing that sprinkled on his chin.
As Yan Beicheng"s heart became hotter, he took her into his arms at once, held her up, pressed her against the wall and kissed her lips, rolling inside her mouth for a while and embedding her into his embrace with all his strength.
Tangling like this for a moment was not fully done yet. Two lips attaching to her lip tightly with some tipsiness; his throat overflowing with soft smiles as if he was directly feeding jade beads from his throat into her mouth.
The vague smell of alcohol was not unpleasant at all but it caused Lin Chu to blush a lot.
She was originally unhappy because of Lu Weining; she could not bother about her at this moment.
"The smell of alcohol isn"t heavy, right?" Yan Beicheng asked in a soft tone.
"Let go of me, a guest has come over." Lin Chu"s face was flushed scarlet; she grabbed onto his shoulder and firmly pinched it, seizing the opportunity to vent when her annoyance had returned the moment she thought about Lu Weining. What she uttered, however, came out gently, "We"ll be seen as a joke."
It was so painful that Yan Beicheng became stiff for a moment. He did not dare to cry out in pain, instead, he endured it and put her down. Only then did he turn his head. Gazing at Lu Weining who looked awkward sitting in the living room, his eyebrow raised, looking like he did not know she was.
When Lu Weining saw Yan Beicheng entering just now, she was about to stand up and greet him as well but she realized that Yan Beicheng was not aware of her existence from the very beginning until she spoke.
His focus was all on Lin Chu ever since he got in, looking at her with intense concentration.
With the opportunity of the elders" family meetup held at Ning City last time, she was brought to attend as well. When she met Yan Beicheng, he never paid attention to her at that time either.
She tried to take the initiative to talk to Yan Beicheng yet he always responded with a frigid short grunt. It was absolutely impossible to continue talking.
He looked indifferent at that moment; she thought that he just looked cold and detached that matched with his n.o.ble disposition. It was always difficult to forget him, especially placed in people"s hearts.
Yan Beicheng and Lin Chu did not speak loudly just now, but it sounded faint and distant. It was evident that Yan Beicheng"s tone was extremely tender, although the whole content of the conversation could not be heard.
She did not expect that the apathetic man she met in Ning City had such a gentle and affectionate side.
Seeing how natural and well they interacted with each other, she could not tell how long they had been living together.
When both of them were together, it became a little world by itself. No one else could enter and partic.i.p.ate. Their aura between one another was very pleasant, warm and well-matched.
She felt that her legs became feeble just now; she then fell back to the sofa, thinking that she was merely superfluous.
Yan Beicheng just glanced at Yu Weining indifferently, turned his head and asked Lin Chu, "Your friend?"
"…" Lin Chu felt a lot better upon hearing that and shot a glance at Lu Weining"s reaction. Seeing how embarra.s.sed she looked, her mood was lifted up further.
The way she looked at Yan Beicheng, however, was still cold and very wicked. "This is Lu Weining. Ms. Lu said that she"s your friend and she came here to look for you."
Yan Beicheng raised his eyebrows, visibly trying to recall where did this person come from.
Lin Chu turned and went to the kitchen; the words she mumbled to herself flowed delicately into his ears, "He"s still not willing to admit that he"s grown old; he can"t even remember his own friend."
Yan Beicheng, "…"
He narrowed his eyes at Lin Chu"s back; now what he wanted to do most was to press her onto the bed and punish her small mouth fiercely!
"I"m sorry that I came over presumptuously," Lu Weining said sincerely; she sounded well-mannered and at ease.
Yan Beicheng raised his eyebrows. "Ms. Lu, where did we meet? I don"t have many friends so I remember all of them."
When Lin Chu brought the honey lemon water, she caught what he said just in time. She almost wanted to laugh out loud from glee.
"Drink this. It"s for you to sober up," Lin Chu said as she handed over the cup.
Yan Beicheng took the cup and drank it obediently. Lu Weining was right that both Yan Beicheng"s and Lin Chu"s cups was actually the couple"s version.
"We had a meal together previously at Ning City," Lu Weining said nonchalantly.
Lin Chu even admired how thick her skin was.
Yan Beicheng frowned, looking like he was trying to recall strenuously. He said with uncertainty, "I indeed had a meal with a few elders at Ning City in the past."
Contemplating for a while, he seemed to roughly recall something. "Ms. Lu was with President Lu at that time?"
A change finally appeared on Lu Weining"s face. Lin Chu did not expect what came out of her mouth was, "Beicheng, isn"t it boring if you continue pretending? Both of us aren"t even strangers; we knew each other when we were young."
"Ms. Lu, don"t speak of words that will cause people to misunderstand. You can"t say that we"ve known each other since young. You were merely mentioned by the elders of the family once or twice when I was younger. Also, we only met once or twice and barely talked. Come to think of it, the meeting that we had previously at Ning City was simply once after so many years. We"re actually not close," Yan Beicheng replied coldly, finis.h.i.+ng the honey lemon water and putting the cup down.
"Apparently, I"m the one who has wishful thinking. I always thought we"re considered as friends." Lu Weining smiled calmly. "Aunt Jiang always brought you to our home when we were young. It turns out that you don"t remember at all. I ⸺"