Chapter 142: I Actually Think the Two of Them Make Quite a Good Match

"Uh..."

A flash of Chu Lingshuang's face crossed Lin Feng's mind, and he instantly felt a chill run down his spine.

Chu Tianli gave Lin Feng a deep look, smiled, and said, "Wife, don't be so anxious. Since everyone is right here, where could he possibly run?"

Although spoken with a smile, Chu Tianli's gaze lingered on Lin Feng like a predator eyeing its prey, making Lin Feng's scalp tingle.

Chen Wanqing pouted playfully, "How can I not be anxious? Our daughter has been running wild for all these years, and now that she's finally found someone she likes—what, are you, her father, getting jealous?"

"How could that be!"

Chu Tianli smiled, his gaze shifting back to Lin Feng with a rather enthusiastic warmth. "Xiao Feng, how did you and my daughter meet? You kept it well hidden."

Lin Feng swallowed hard. At that moment, he didn't even dare to touch his chopsticks.

Meeting the curious gazes of both Chu Tianli and Chen Wanqing, he said cautiously, "It was a rainy night..."

*When your daughter forcibly kidnapped me...*

Of course, he kept the latter part to himself. After all, right in front of someone's parents, you really couldn't just blurt out things like that.

"Then that must be destiny!"

Chen Wanqing's eyes sparkled, seemingly reminiscing about her own youth. "Back then, your Uncle Chu and I met at a racetrack. Your Uncle Chu's racing skills were so terrible, he couldn't beat me no matter how hard he tried..."

Looking at Chen Wanqing's somewhat proud expression, Chu Tianli remained silent, though his eyes were filled with absolute indulgence and affection.

Seeing it with his own eyes, Lin Feng could tell that Chu Lingshuang's parents had a wonderful relationship, even playful to some extent.

Yet, a family like this had somehow raised Chu Lingshuang to be cold, arrogant, and somewhat unhinged...

Lin Feng couldn't help but say, "Uncle Chu, Mrs. Chu, I don't have any plans to get married yet..."

Even if it was the wrong thing to say, he had to say it.

One only needed to look at Chu Tianli and Chen Wanqing to understand: if two people loved each other, being together was happiness; if they didn't, it was a prison.

Especially since even with love, staying together didn't guarantee happiness.

The odds of that happening were simply too slim. More importantly, he didn't like Chu Lingshuang at all.

At best, they were mere acquaintances.

Matters of the heart could not be forced or defined by mere circumstance.

Hearing this, Chen Wanqing grew anxious. "Xiao Feng, you look to be around the same age as our daughter. If you marry her, the Chu family will be your backing from now on..."

At this point, Chen Wanqing raised an eyebrow, her expression suddenly tightening. "Could it be that you look down on our daughter?"

Instantly, the atmosphere dropped to freezing point.

Lin Feng hurriedly said, "No, Mrs. Chu, you've misunderstood. I..."

Before he could finish, Chu Tianli interrupted, "Wife, don't rush. I don't think that's what Xiao Feng meant."

As he spoke, he motioned for the surrounding servants to withdraw, fixing his gaze squarely on Lin Feng.

Without a doubt, he wanted an explanation from Lin Feng.

Lin Feng knew very well in his heart that this day would come sooner or later. He took a deep breath, suddenly stood up, bowed to the couple, and explained without a trace of fear:

"I don't like forced relationships. I believe that right now, I am not yet qualified to love anyone, nor do I want to be distracted. I hope Mr. Chu and Mrs. Chu will understand."

This time, he used formal honorifics, completely devoid of any attempt to cozy up to them.

Yet these words caused Chu Tianli's gaze to darken.

"But..."

Chen Wanqing wanted to say more, but Chu Tianli cut her off.

"Wanqing."

He called out softly, then shook his head slightly as he looked at Lin Feng. "Let's eat first. Afterward, have Lili pick out a few outfits for you. You've only just returned to the Lin family, and life must be quite inconvenient. Just let her know if you need anything."

"Mm, mm."

Chen Wanqing also nodded understandingly, looking at Lin Feng with a hint of heartache. "You must be exhausted after drifting outside for so long. Let's not talk about all that for now. Eat your meal, take a nice bubble bath afterward, and get a good night's sleep."

Hearing this, Lin Feng lifted his gaze slightly, deeply touched.

Compared to when he first returned to the Lin family—where the old master of the Lin family hadn't mistreated him, yet everything was calculated from the perspective of the Lin family's interests—the Chu family, people he had never interacted with before, were genuinely concerned about him as a person.

Even though this might be partly due to his father's influence, the fruits of the older generation's grueling efforts were his to accept as a matter of course.

Because these were the foundational conditions they had created for him.

"Thank you, Mr. Chu, Mrs. Chu."

Lin Feng gave a purely formal reply, sat back down in his chair, and began to eat.

At the dining table, as she watched Lin Feng eat, Chen Wanqing tried to speak up several times, only to be cut off by Chu Tianli each time.

With a stomach full of words she couldn't vent, she was nearly dying of impatience!

Once Lin Feng had finished and left, Chen Wanqing truly couldn't hold it in any longer. "Darling, what do you mean? I think the boy is wonderful! He's polite and knows how to carry himself. That hotheaded girl Ranran throws tantrums all day long—she needs someone like Lin Feng to rein her in."

"They're such a great match! Why didn't you let me finish talking..."

Before she could finish, Chu Tianli raised a hand and flicked her forehead.

"Wanqing, have you been playing around so much these past few years that you've rattled your brain?!"

With eyes full of pampering affection, he said, "Didn't you even notice that the boy Lin Feng has an emotional knot in his heart?"

Instantly, Chen Wanqing fell silent.

Chu Tianli sighed softly and said, "I had a brief chat with him in the study just now. That boy's emotional knot is just like Lingshuang's."

"You mean..."

Chen Wanqing's face turned somewhat pale as she half-covered her mouth, looking at Chu Tianli in disbelief.

"Do you remember how Lingshuang changed after that incident when she was seven?"

"How could I possibly not remember..."

At the mention of this, a trace of sorrow flashed across Chen Wanqing's eyes. That was a past she least wanted to bring up, but...

"Why bring this up? Could it be that Lin Feng also..."

"No."

Chu Tianli shook his head gently. "The two of them are exact opposites."

"After that incident, Lingshuang always liked to use extreme methods to strip things away, but Xiao Feng is the exact opposite. He likes to run away and avoid things."

"The only thing they have in common is that they both like to weigh gains and losses in terms of interests."

"Come to think of it, I actually think they make a rather fitting match."

At this point, Chu Tianli suddenly smiled. "However, having said that, I do genuinely think Lin Feng is a good kid. Think about it: when he was driven out of the Xu family, he didn't seek revenge, which shows he knows how to be grateful."

"Later, when the Xu family repeatedly provoked him, he produced evidence to strike back, catching them completely off guard. That shows capability."

"If Ranran marries someone like this in the future, her runaway personality might actually be reined in, and perhaps she could even help her older sister, making things a bit less exhausting for Lingshuang."

Hearing this, Chen Wanqing also smiled. "After saying all that, I thought you were against it. But an emotional knot isn't easy to untie, after all—Lingshuang has remained that way for all these years..."