With such a thing happening to the Lin family, Liang Mulan's mental health appeared to be worse. Lin Nuan couldn't bring herself to ignore Liang Mulan and not care for her.
She could ignore trying to figure out what she can help with for the moment, and it would always be a good choice to stay and accompany Liang Mulan.
Liang Mulan understood Lin Nuan's feelings and reached out to grab her hand, saying, "It's not that Mom doesn't want you to stay, but in this situation… It's best for you to draw a clear line between you and the family!"
"Mom! I just want to accompany you!"
The scene of the mother-and-daughter pair's deep love hurt Lin Ran's heart. She acted as though she didn't care and turned her head away to avoid looking at them, but she ultimately didn't take any sarcastic jabs or throw a tantrum.
"I'm rushing to Jincheng overnight, and I'll rush back tomorrow morning…"
Lin Chen had to go to Jincheng.
For the Lin family to be able to reach their status, it was true that they relied mainly on their second uncle Lin Jinghui, but it wasn't that the Lin family didn't have any other methods. If they still wanted to stay strong in Haicheng, they had to let others know that the Lin family would remain standing tall and firm and that it had a strong foundation.
Lin Nuan, too, stood up to send Lin Chen off, but Lin Jingquan waved at her and said, "The two of you should accompany your mother…"
Lin Jingquan placed the remains of his cigarette into the ashtray as he stood up and called Lin Chen over to the door to talk, clearly about to say something he didn't want Liang Mulan and the rest to overhear.
Lin Ran stood up and went upstairs without a word.
"Mom, how about I accompany you upstairs so you can rest?" Lin Nuan placed her bag on the couch and walked to Liang Mulan to support her arm.
Liang Mulan grabbed Lin Nuan's delicate hand resting on her arm and squeezed it tightly as she stood up, trying to resist her tears, and walked upstairs with Lin Nuan.
Lin Nuan didn't hear everything Lin Chen and Lin Jingquan were talking about, but when she was upstairs, she purposely slowed down her walk and vaguely heard Lin Chen say…
"… If it really gets to that point, this will be an especially tough court case. There aren't many lawyers who are excellent at handling this kind of case, plus the pressure from the ones up there… I'm afraid there aren't many lawyers brave enough to accept the case."
Lin Nuan didn't know why, but Fu Huai'an appeared in her mind.
She heard that, in court, Fu Huai'an… Hadn't tasted failure.
Outside the door, under the lights of the corridor, moths fluttered their wings and buzzed about the light source. Their shadows fell onto Lin Chen's face and his broad back under his blouse and vest.
Lin Chen brought a cigarette to his lips and lit it up. He took a deep drag and let the white smoke surround his unreadable gaze before he calmly said, "Dad, once this is over, you should retire! Lead a simple and relaxed life with Mom."
When Lin Jingquan looked at Lin Chen, he suddenly felt that he was getting old.
Lin Jingquan stuck both of his hands into his pockets and the unwillingness in his heart slowly dissolved. After the incident happened, what he thought of doing… Was to find paths of retreat, but his son planned on facing it head-on and standing strong through the ordeal; it was indeed hard for Lin Jingquan to not face his old age.
After sending Lin Chen's car from the Lin family's house, Lin Jingquan let out a long sigh.
When it was settled, if he still had his life, he would pass the Lin organization to his son and stay at home to accompany Liang Mulan more. He remembered that Liang Mulan often used to say that she wanted to travel around the world with him, but the past ten plus years, she never mentioned it again. If he could stay alive, he felt that he should start planning for it.
…
The next day, when Lin Nuan woke up, Lin Chen had already returned from Jincheng. When Lin Nuan pressed on for more information, Lin Chen simply told her not to worry before he went to shower.
Liang Mulan and Lin Jingquan seemingly talked until a late time the night before, so they weren't up yet.
Lin Nuan sat alone at the dining table, playing with her phone in her hand absent-mindedly.
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