Chapter 87 "Let you use your professional expertise?"
At this moment, the deliberately suppressed discussions at the neighboring table clearly entered the ears of Lin Che and Zhou Xuran.
"Hey, isn't that Lin Che?" A female voice asked with a hint of excitement that was deliberately suppressed.
"Damn, did you hear about that incident in the hallway a few days ago..." another male voice chimed in, his tone full of gossip and inquiry, "It was quite a big deal."
"Shh...keep your voice down!" the first female voice warned nervously, but the volume didn't really drop much. "I heard it from others...I heard that his marriage was arranged?"
"Marriage by agreement?" The man's voice rose a half-note, full of disbelief. "Oh my god... I thought he was so lucky to marry such a good husband... Tsk tsk, it's hard to say what happens in wealthy families..."
"Who knows?" the woman's voice said with a hint of self-righteous insight. "Maybe it's a body double? Rich families love to play that trick. Isn't that how it's played out in TV dramas..."
Those deliberately suppressed discussions seemed unusually clear and harsh amid the noisy background noise of the cafeteria.
Lin Che was about to wipe the corner of Lu Yu'an's mouth with a tissue in hand when she paused imperceptibly.
The pause was extremely brief, less than half a second, so fast that it seemed like an illusion.
The expression on his face did not change at all, still maintaining that calm and aloof look, as if those malicious speculations and rumors were just a breeze blowing past his ears.
He continued what he was doing, gently wiping off the icing sugar from the corner of Lu Yuan's mouth with a tissue, his movements steady without a trace of trembling.
It seemed as if the pause just now was just an illusion of Zhou Xuran.
"I didn't send the photo to Lu Yu." Zhou Xuran took the initiative to break the deadlock, mechanically stuffed the tasteless broccoli into his mouth, chewed it slowly and said softly.
"I know." Lin Che didn't seem surprised.
This answer surprised Zhou Xuran. He subconsciously asked, "You know?"
"You... wouldn't resort to such childish tactics, would you?" Lin Che raised his head and looked directly at Zhou Xuran without hesitation.
“Heh…” Zhou Xuran paused chewing for a moment. After hearing Lin Che’s answer, he didn’t know whether he was happy or disappointed.
He was happy that Lin Che chose to believe him at the first moment, but he was disappointed that the image of him in Lin Che's heart might be even more despicable than he imagined.
"But... I still have to say sorry." Zhou Xuran put down his chopsticks and continued, "When I ran into you in the supermarket that day, I did see someone taking pictures of you but I didn't stop it, so... I still have to say sorry."
Lin Che hadn't seen Zhou Xuran for a long time since the last time they went to the ski resort. It was quite surprising that he took the initiative to apologize today.
Lin Che carefully tied the scarf around Lu Yu'an, covering his small chin tightly. When he heard Zhou Xuran's question, he didn't stop his hand movements, but just said "hmm" softly, accepting the other party's belated apology.
Seeing Lin Che preparing to leave with the child in her arms, Zhou Xuran couldn't help but ask, "These rumors... don't you mind at all?"
Lin Che didn't stop hugging Lu Yu'an. The little guy naturally hugged his neck and buried his little face in the crook of his neck. He seemed to feel the strange atmosphere around him and the vague prying eyes.
"Zhou Xuran, do you think I care about these things?"
Zhou Xuran actually regretted asking this question the moment he asked it. Rumors and gossip were nothing to him, as he had endured far more cruel and ruthless things.
Lin Che thought this was enough to end this meaningless conversation.
However, Zhou Xuran's next words carried an even deeper sting, "If Lu Yu truly loved you, how could he bear to let you bear such rumors?"
"Zhou Xuran..." Lin Che turned around quietly while holding Lu Yu'an. His voice was terribly low, and each word seemed to be wrapped in ice. He asked word by word, "Who do you think you are?"
“Why do you…” Lin Che’s Adam’s apple rolled violently, and he forcibly suppressed the roar that was about to burst through his throat, leaving only a colder and sharper question.
"What gives you the right to question him? And what gives you the right to..." Lin Che leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice even lower, with a determination that Zhou Xuran had never seen before, "What gives you the right to test my bottom line?!"
After being asked three times in a row, Zhou Xuran was completely speechless.
Perhaps it was the huge loss and long-suppressed resentment that completely broke down the dam of rationality, or perhaps it was Lin Che's last word "Why" that aroused the last bit of desperate courage in Zhou Xuran's heart.
In the suffocating silence, at the last moment when Lin Che was about to turn around and leave with the child in her arms, Zhou Xuran blurted out.
"So... you love him so much? Even if it gets you into rumors, what about me?"
"Zhou Xuran, listen to me carefully—"
"In my eyes, you're nothing but a hypocrite who trampled me into the mud, watched me struggle, and then hypocritically handed me a barbed rope. From the beginning to the end, I've never had any real feelings for you."
After saying the last words, Lin Che didn't want to stay any longer, so she turned around and left with Lu Yu'an in her arms.
When passing by the table where the discussion was the loudest, Lin Che paused while holding the child. He stood at the side table without saying a word. The people at the table were so frightened that they dared not breathe.
Lin Che didn't look at any of them.
He didn't even tilt his head.
Those people, including the female doctor who thought she knew everything and the male doctor with the high-pitched voice, were frightened out of their wits when Lin Che suddenly stopped at the table holding the child!
They held their breath instantly, forgetting even to chew. Their faces turned pale, their eyes darting around in fear, and they wanted to bury their heads in their plates, not daring to make eye contact with Lin Che again.
Lin Che just lowered his eyelids slightly, his gaze fixed on An An's little face in his arms, and he pulled up the hood of the child's down jacket to cover his palm-sized face.
The movement was incredibly gentle, forming an extremely strange contrast with the cold aura emanating from him, which now enveloped the entire neighboring table.
The eyes of the entire cafeteria, no matter how far or near, were focused here. Everyone held their breath and concentrated. In fact, everyone in the small cafeteria could hear the discussion clearly.
In this suffocating silence, Lin Che, holding the child, spoke in his uniquely cold and steady voice without any ripples.
"Everyone," Lin Che said calmly, as if discussing the weather, without a trace of anger in his voice, "Do you need me to go home and show you my marriage certificate?"
"Puff—cough cough cough!" A young doctor who was nervously drinking soup at the next table choked and became red in the face, looking very embarrassed.
The faces of the people at the table turned from pale to liver-colored in an instant, with fear and embarrassment intertwined together, which was a wonderful scene.
The male doctor who had raised his voice earlier suddenly broke out in cold sweat on his forehead, his lips trembled, and he couldn't utter a word.
Lin Che seemed oblivious to their embarrassment. He kept his eyes downcast and continued in a tone that was almost polite and inquiring, "Or... if you're particularly interested in 'substitute literature'..."
Lin Che finally raised his eyes slightly. His gaze wasn't focused on any particular person, but rather, with a condescending, cold scrutiny, he slowly scanned the frightened faces. A faint, yet heartless, smile curved his lips. "...I could also ask my lawyer to help you contact a few film and television production companies that specialize in this type of subject matter? I'd like you to use your expertise there."
After Lin Che finished speaking, she hugged Lu Yu'an and walked away.
It was not until his figure disappeared at the cafeteria door that the suffocating feeling of oppression suddenly dissipated.
"Huh..." The young doctor who choked on his soup at the next table finally caught his breath and started coughing violently, his face flushed red.
The other people looked at each other, their faces turned from liver color to pale, and cold sweat soaked their backs.
The female doctor who had been gossiping initially murmured with trembling lips and a vacant look in her eyes, "It's over...are we...in big trouble?"
"Shut up!" The male doctor who had raised his voice before lowered his voice and roared with fear that was hard to conceal, "Isn't it embarrassing enough? Get out of here!" He almost jumped up from the chair using his hands and feet. He didn't even bother to clean up the plate and hurried away with his head down.
The cafeteria's buzzing noise returned, but the focus of discussion had completely shifted. Everyone was whispering about the shocking scene that had just occurred.
"Oh my god... Doctor Lin usually looks cold and indifferent, but when he gets angry he's so scary..."
"That's not even getting angry. That's just crushing with your aura..."
"Those guys deserved it. They were so mean, and in front of everyone..."
"But... he mentioned lawyers and film companies at the end... he couldn't be serious, right?"
"Who knows? But looking at him... it doesn't seem like he's joking..."
"Are the Lu family members so easy to manipulate?"
Zhou Xuran still sat there stiffly, the broccoli on the plate in front of him had already gone cold.
Lin Che's final words were, "In my eyes, you're nothing but a hypocrite who trampled me into the mud, watched me struggle, and then hypocritically handed me a barbed rope. From beginning to end, I've never had a single ounce of true love for you."
Like the sharpest poisoned dagger, it accurately pierced through all his remaining fragile fantasies and nailed him to the pillar of shame.
It turned out that his self-righteous "help" and "closeness" were so unbearable and disgusting in Lin Che's eyes.
He doesn't even deserve to be hated, and only deserves the contemptuous title of "hypocrite".
Lin Che had never had a single ounce of genuine love for him.
The huge loss and overwhelming shame almost overwhelmed him. He could even feel the vague gazes of people around him, filled with pity or ridicule, sweeping over him.
He was like a clown. His carefully planned temptations and desperate questioning were met with only complete and merciless contempt and expulsion from the other party.
Zhou Xuran's face was as pale as paper, his lips tightly pursed as he stood up suddenly. The legs of the dining chair made a harsh friction sound as they scraped across the ground, attracting more attention.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
