The world treats me like a blade of grass, only you see me as verdant mountains!
Her lonely helplessness, only he felt pity for her; his confusion and hesitation, only she understood him. Eve...
(176)
A big question mark rose in Ye Wenyu's mind. She mustered up her courage and tentatively asked, "Do you mean your younger brother and your younger sister?"
Lin Tingfeng nodded, but the smile on his face gradually disappeared as he seemed to suddenly recall many unpleasant memories.
Ye Wenyu glanced at him and asked softly, "Why are they afraid of you?" It's so strange. He's such a good person, and he's the eldest brother. Why would his sister-in-law be afraid of him?
If she had an older brother like Lin Tingfeng from a young age, she would have felt a tremendous sense of security.
Lin Tingfeng glanced at her, then said after a moment, "I don't know either." He seemed unwilling to elaborate, as if there was some hidden reason. The two fell silent. Ye Wenyu, sitting in the passenger seat, stole glances at Lin Tingfeng. He seemed unhappy. From the day she met him, he seemed to have been depressed and melancholic. Her feeling was that he was hopelessly weary of his current life and wanted to escape.
A smile only appears on his face when he is with her; however, once he thinks of other people or things, he reverts to his former self, as deep and silent as the ocean.
Unable to contain her curiosity any longer, Ye Wenyu asked again, "Lin Tingfeng, how many younger brothers and sisters do you have?"
Lin Tingfeng slowly said, "One younger sister, one younger brother, three siblings."
Ye Wenyu asked softly, "I've met your sister before. Her name is Lin Tingyue. She's very beautiful. Last year, when I returned from England, your sister suddenly decided to fly economy class. She happened to sit next to me, and that's how we met. Later, she seemed to like me a lot and invited me to your Lin family's banquet, saying she wanted to introduce you to me. She also said—"
Ye Wenyu remembered what Lin Tingyue had once said, "Ye Wenyu, I think you're my brother's type." She suddenly blushed and fell silent.
Lin Tingfeng became curious and asked her, "What else did she say?"
Ye Wenyu immediately replied, "It's nothing."
The two fell silent.
After a while, Ye Wenyu said, "In fact, we are together thanks to your sister. If she hadn't invited me to the Lin family's banquet, I wouldn't have met you. Although when I first saw you, I never imagined you were Lin Tingfeng." If she had known from the beginning that the man who had won her heart was Lin Tingfeng, she wouldn't have fallen for him.
Lin Tingfeng smiled as he recalled the past. He felt happy. Thinking back to how much effort he had put into getting her, the anxiety, the determination, and the lack of confidence he felt, it all seemed quite amusing now.
He looked at her for a moment, then said thoughtfully, "You are the only girl I've ever put so much thought into." He had never cared for any other woman like this before.
I was restless and couldn't eat or sleep. Then, I kept thinking about it, and eventually, it came to me.
Ye Wenyu blushed, and after a moment, she mustered her courage and said, "Really? Actually, you don't need to put in so much effort; I would agree anyway, because, because—" she stammered, finally mustering her courage to say, "From the first time I saw you, I, I, I had a crush on you!"
Really? Lin Tingfeng's face was full of smiles. He was extremely happy, and his smile was like overflowing water, constantly flowing from his face. After a long while, he slowly said, "But I don't know. I lack confidence. I think I'm so much older than you, and you're so smart and beautiful. If I don't put in the effort and just confess to you directly, I definitely won't have a chance."
Ye Wenyu thought about it and realized that what he said made sense. It turned out that even he, who was so unapproachable, had once lacked confidence because of her, and her heart couldn't help but feel sweet.
Because of what he had just said, she became happy, and her mood improved considerably. She asked him, "What about your younger brother? What's his name? What does he do?"
The smile on Lin Tingfeng's face disappeared again, and he slowly said, "He is the second oldest, named Lin Tingxuan—" as if he would be unhappy if he thought of his younger brother and sister.
Ye Wenyu thought to herself, "The names of the three siblings, Lin Tingfeng, Lin Tingxuan, and Lin Tingyue, are also very good. They must have been born into a wealthy family."
She said softly, "The names of you three siblings are all very beautiful."
Lin Tingfeng was silent for a moment before saying, "He is a painter."
A painter? Ye Wenyu's eyes widened. She never expected Lin Tingxuan to be a painter. The older brother was a businessman, but the younger brother was an artist.
Such two completely different people.
She mustered her courage and asked, "Why didn't he do business like you?"
Lin Tingfeng stopped looking at her and focused on the road conditions. He was relieved and happy. After a few minutes, he slowly said, "Because I am the eldest brother, I have to inherit the family business. He is the younger brother. I will be in charge of the family business, so he can do what he likes, such as painting. He has loved painting since he was a child."
Lin Tingfeng spoke these words fluently, as if he had said them countless times to others, and he was very emotionless. When talking about his younger brother, his tone did not carry much emotion.
It feels weird.
Ye Wenyu looked closely at his face, trying to deduce the relationship between the brothers from the expression on his face when he talked about his younger brother. As a result, she found that when he talked about his younger brother and sister, he was like introducing an unrelated stranger. There was no smile on his face and no warmth in his eyes.
It seems that only when he looks at her does he smile and his eyes show warmth.
Ye Wenyu noticed this and felt a warm glow in her heart, but at the same time, she became curious about why his brotherly and sibling relationships were so strange.
Logically speaking, if they are brothers or siblings who grew up together, they should have a very good relationship.
She thought of her childhood neighbor, a boy she had grown up with. Although they had lost contact, thinking of him still warmed her heart. Occasionally, when she thought of him, she wondered what he was doing or where he was in the world, and she would miss him dearly.
Why is Lin Tingfeng so cold to his younger brother and sister? He even said they were afraid of him?
Why are his younger brother and sister afraid of him?
Ye Wenyu pondered silently, her mind filled with many questions. She felt that entering the Lin family and getting close to its people was like entering a maze, approaching one riddle after another.
As for when the mystery will be revealed, she has no idea.
Next, Ye Wenyu sensed that Lin Tingfeng didn't seem to want to talk much, so she wisely fell silent as well. However, everything about the Lin family was like floating clouds that disappeared and reappeared on the horizon, surrounding her and leaving her completely bewildered.
The car finally arrived. Lin Tingfeng got out of the car, then walked to the passenger side like a gentleman, opened the door for her, helped her out of the car, and then handed the keys to the hotel staff so that he could park the car.