"What... what are you staring at? Never seen a beauty before?" Shen Jingrou glared back at him, annoyed and embarrassed.
"So, tell me, how did you two meet?" Lin Yue crossed his legs, looking at her lazily.
It seemed like she couldn’t avoid this topic, could she? Shen Jingrou felt a sense of helplessness.
After some thinking, she said in a calm voice, "He’s my friend."
"Friend?" Lin Yue slowly savored the word, his tone full of mockery, "A friend like us or something else?"
"Lin Yue, what exactly are you trying to say?" Shen Jingrou’s patience was pushed by his malicious words, and she stood up, looking at him with dissatisfaction.
"Heh..." Lin Yue looked at her in a flustered state, his expression turned cold, "I haven’t even said anything yet, and you’re already anxious? You’re feeling guilty, aren’t you?"
Lin Yue’s casual demeanor vanished, his entire face becoming slightly frigid.
"You..." Shen Jingrou pointed at him, her hand trembling with anger, "You’re being unreasonable. I can’t be bothered with you."
After saying that, Shen Jingrou pushed the chair aside and turned around, heading straight for the door.
"Don’t think about leaving without explaining." Lin Yue glared at her viciously. As she turned away, he reached out and tightly grabbed her wrist, making her unable to move.
"Let me go." Shen Jingrou looked at the man incredulously, not expecting him to be so abrupt.
"Shen Jingrou, if you don’t make yourself clear today, don’t think about leaving here." Lin Yue slowly stood up, his powerful stature standing in front of Shen Jingrou.
The man was a head taller than her, giving off an intense sense of oppression.
"Then kill me." Shen Jingrou tilted her head up, looking into the man’s cold, sharp eyes.
In Lin Yue’s ears, her words seemed to take on another meaning.
She was defending that young guy? Lin Yue stepped forward, closing the distance between them, "Don’t try to threaten me." He spoke with a sullen expression.
The man’s breath brushed lightly against Shen Jingrou’s nose, and the faint scent on him made her heart race. She took a step back, trying to distance herself from him, but her wrist was held too tightly by him, leaving her unable to break free.
The atmosphere inside the room gradually became very tense.
The two attendants present exchanged glances with each other. One who was slightly bolder spoke up, "Mr. Lin, Miss Shen, please calm down, how about sitting down for a cup of tea?"
Before the attendant could finish, Lin Yue picked up the teacup on the table with his other free hand and smashed it onto the ground, the crashing sound particularly harsh.
The attendant was so scared that she ran out without thinking and reported the situation in the private room to the supervisor. However, they simply mentioned it; after all, this was the Lin Family, who dared to intervene?
As the sharp sound rang out, Shen Jingrou was also startled, instinctively wanting to cover her ears, but her hands were under the man’s control.
Seeing that he was truly angry, Shen Jingrou took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. She nearly gritted her teeth as she spoke, "I already said, we’re just friends."
"How did you meet?" Lin Yue’s dark eyes were nearly obsessively persistent.
Lin Yue, as a person, was quite easy-going and carefree when not angry. However, once angered, he would go for broke.
Knowing him since childhood, Shen Jingrou was aware of his temperament, which is why she chose to show weakness. Otherwise, if Lin Yue went berserk, he would be comparable to Qin Huai.
Lowering her head, Shen Jingrou recounted how she met Gu Qingyun.
After Lin Yue listened, his tense back remained unrelaxed, "And today? Why did you arrange to have lunch together?" The reason Lin Yue knew about Shen Jingrou and Gu Qingyun having lunch together was because one of the attendants made a casual remark.
In the past, he and Shen Jingrou often came here to eat, but since she got married and had children, they never came again. Today, on a whim to come over for a bite, just as he stepped into the hall, an attendant approached him with the usual enthusiasm saying, "Mr. Lin, Miss Shen and another gentleman have already arrived, please follow me." Before the attendant could finish, the person next to her quickly tugged at her, and she immediately realized she misspoke and clammed up.
Lin Yue stood still, pondering the attendant’s words, and soon his dark eyes turned icy, "Take me there!"
Once he spoke, how could the attendant refuse?
The young master Lin in front, wasn’t someone a mere staff member could afford to provoke.
The man’s recollection slowly faded, and seeing her lower her head, he lifted her chin, forcing her to look directly at him, "Speak!"
Her chin ached slightly, and Shen Jingrou frowned, "It hurts, let go of me first." ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝓷𝓮𝓽
Lin Yue also noticed the red mark on her chin, and he eased his grip slightly, "Shen Jingrou, stop testing my patience."
Looking up at this tall man with a fierce face, Shen Jingrou felt a pang of bitterness in her heart.
After moving out from the Lin Family, she took a long time to recover and pull her life together. The man in front of her was most instrumental during those dark days, sitting with her through them, so to her, this man was different.
He seemed like family and a confidant. Before him, Shen Jingrou could freely express her grievances and dissatisfaction. To Shen Jingrou, Lin Yue was like her reflection.
She didn’t want this relationship ruined!
However, this moment, the madness in his eyes terrified her. It felt like going back to that day.
The day she told Lin Yue she intended to become his sister-in-law.
He was just as irrational, extreme, and angry.
Lin Yue saw her pressing her lips together and not speaking, his heart burned thoroughly, a hint of red tainting his gaze, "Are you planning to act first and report later, again?"
"Did you sleep with him?"
"Are you pregnant with his child?" Lin Yue’s hand, which was on her chin, moved to her neck, and with each word, his grip tightened.
Soon, Shen Jingrou’s face began to redden.
"You... let... go..."
"Lin... cough, cough..."
With one hand bracing herself against the dining table, Shen Jingrou felt her breath quickening, her vision blurring. In desperation, she thought of her daughter’s childish face. Mustering her last bit of strength, she raised her hand to slap the man’s face.
A crisp sound rang out as the man’s face turned to one side, and he was momentarily stunned. The bloodshot eyes shifted, Lin Yue’s dark pupils briefly flickered with confusion as he realized what he had done. Stumbling back a few steps, he looked utterly defeated.