Lin Nuan found the words less unacceptable when she heard them coming from Lu Hanzi.
When Lin Nuan left Lu Hanzi's office, the sky had already turned dark, and the wind was cold, so she hailed a cab to return home.
Sitting in the backseat of the cab, Lin Nuan looked to the side outside the window at the bright intersecting colors of the traffic light, her mind full of the last words Lu Hanzi had seemingly carelessly left her with.
She had said, "Nuan Nuan, those who have loved before often can't handle plain marriage life…"
When the phone in her bag rang for the second time, only then did Lin Nuan, after the driver's reminder, take it out and accepted the call.
"Dad…" Lin Nuan called out to Lin Jingquan, trying to sound more energetic.
"Nuan Nuan, come home right now!"
Lin Jingquan's deep voice sounded heavy and serious.
Lin Nuan pursed her lips, keeping quiet.
"Ran Ran is here too, both she and your brother know that I'm calling you back, don't dawdle… Come back now. I have something to address."
Lin Nuan could sense the seriousness of the matter through Lin Jingquan's voice.
After a slight hesitation, Lin Nuan agreed and said, "I got it, Dad, I'll head over now…"
After she hung up, Lin Nuan gave the driver the new address.
At the crossroad section, the driver made a u-turn and drove towards the Lin family's house.
…
When Lin Nuan arrived, the whole house was left with Lin Jingquan, Liang Mulan, and Lin Ran who sat in the living room with serious faces.
She tightened her grip on her shoulder bag as she changed her shoes and stepped in from the entryway, standing there in silence.
Liang Mulan gestured with her hand for Lin Nuan to go over and said, "Come and sit down…"
Lin Jingquan raised his hand to glance at his watch before he put out the cigarette in his hand, saying, "We're not going to wait for your brother, come and sit down, I'll tell you all about it first."
The tense atmosphere of the Lin family made Lin Nuan's heart grow heavy. She sat opposite to Lin Ran, and a thin layer of perspiration appeared on her palms.
Lin Jingquan took out four packets of documents which had "Liang Mulan", "Lin Chen", "Lin Ran", and "Lin Nuan" written on each of them separately.
"I won't be telling you the details, but the Discipline Inspection Committee has thoroughly investigated your second uncle, and soon, I will probably be brought away by the Bureau of Audit for investigation too. This is the money from the overseas bank account. I managed to get it after selling the bonds untied to my name and the unmovable property, and I split it into four, your mother, your brother, and both of you will each get a share!"
Lin Jingquan passed the bags with Lin Ran's and Lin Nuan's names to the two respectively.
"Dad…" Lin Nuan said, not reaching her hand out to take the bag. "Is it very serious?"
So serious to the point that Lin Jingquan acted like he was talking through his will?
Lin Nuan wasn't a little kid; she knew that for the Lins to be able to achieve what they had today, there was much credit due to her second uncle, Lin Jinghui, who worked as the governor's secretary. Lin Nuan wouldn't believe it if someone said there wasn't at least a little bit of dirty work involved.
Lin Nuan looked towards Liang Mulan, who had been sitting at the side in silence. Liang Mulan looked as though she had been crying, the rims of her eyes red as she wrapped her shawl tighter around herself. Her face seemed to have aged overnight, and she looked devoid of energy.
"This isn't what children like you should be concerned about." Lin Jingquan said with a tight face before continuing, "I've already arranged everything and I'll be sending your mother and Ran Ran overseas tonight. I've called you here today to ask you… Are you willing to go overseas with your mother? It's too rushed, so there's likely no time for you to say goodbye to your friends, but I've already made all the proper arrangements overseas so if anything happens, Ran Ran's, yours… And your mother's lives will surely be well taken care of! If there are no issues, I'll then fetch all of you back."
As Lin Jingquan spoke, Lin Nuan's heart sank even further.
"Dad!" Lin Nuan said, interrupting Lin Jingquan, "What about you and Brother?"
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