Chapter 143: There Is No Escape For You

"There is no need to rush. Lings霜 has her own destiny. As parents, all we can do is our best."

Chu Tianli responded, raising his hand to gently rub Chen Wanqing's back with a touch of heartache.

"Sigh, this matter is a bit tricky."

Chen Wanqing frowned. The next second, a flash of inspiration crossed her mind. "How about this? I'll call Ranran right now and ask her to come back for dinner so we can talk. Then we can let the two young people have some private time together. It shouldn't be much of a problem."

"Alright."

Chu Tianli nodded in agreement and added, "Tell Lingshuang as well. See if she can manage her time to come back too, and meet her prospective brother-in-law."

"Done!"

Chen Wanqing nodded with a smile and went off to make arrangements.

Lin Feng, having just stepped out of the dining room, originally intended to leave. After all, he was not a member of the Chu family, and taking a bath in someone else's house like this was not quite proper.

However, before he could reach the main entrance, Li Li hurried over with a smile, handing him a tablet computer in her hands.

"Young master, this contains all the men's clothing options. You just need to add them to your shopping cart, and someone will have them delivered directly to your door shortly."

Glancing at the tablet, Lin Feng shook his head slightly. "Thank you, Aunt Li, but I think I'll head back first. Please relay my thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Chu, and I will visit again when I have free time."

He showed no airs of a young master whatsoever and spoke very politely.

This made Li Li's eyes light up.

She hurriedly said, "Young master, this was instructed by the master and madam as well. They hope you can stay here for the night."

"Stay here?!"

Lin Feng exclaimed in disbelief, "This... wouldn't that be inappropriate?"

As a young master of the Lin family who had just been brought back, his seat hadn't even warmed up yet, and he was going to stay at the Chu family's residence on his very first night?!

"Rest assured, Elder Lin has also agreed. Your driver, Wang Shu, has already returned first to report back."

She didn't mention how Lin Feng would be allowed to leave later, but her words effectively kept him cornered inside the Chu family villa.

He hadn't expected the Chu parents to be so overwhelmingly hospitable.

Since things had come to this, he couldn't say much more and could only nod as he accepted the tablet. "Very well."

Opening the tablet, a simulator popped up on the screen, displaying the latest season of haute couture clothing. Glancing through them, the average prices were all well upwards of hundreds of thousands.

Compared to this, the meager amount of money in his bank account was merely a drop in the ocean.

Yet different people naturally have vastly different desires, and Lin Feng was simply not interested in such luxury items.

He casually selected a few ordinary pieces, added them to the shopping cart, and handed the tablet back to Li Li.

Looking at the clothes Lin Feng had chosen in the cart, a trace of surprise flickered in Li Li's eyes.

Yet the surprise quickly turned into admiration. She smiled, closed the tablet, and bowed respectfully to Lin Feng, "Young master, you may go ahead and take a bath. The clothes will be delivered shortly."

Matters having reached this point, Lin Feng could no longer object. He nodded, "Alright."

...

Lvyue Villa.

It was rare for both young misses to return home for dinner at the same time. In the villa, Mother Wang led more than a dozen maids who stood ready and busy, creating an unprecedentedly grand scale.

During dinner, Chu Yunran's phone suddenly rang.

Chu Lingshuang raised her eyes slightly.

"It's Mom."

Glancing at the caller ID, Chu Yunran muttered with slight annoyance before answering the phone.

"Huh? I'm at my sister's place right now... Come home tonight? Do I have to... A surprise?"

"Fine, as long as you aren't planning some kind of scare... Alright, I know..."

Hanging up, Chu Yunran noticed Chu Lingshuang observing her from the corner of her eye and pouted. "Mom says she's prepared a surprise for me, and she asked if Sister is free to come back with me."

With that, she tilted her head back in a dramatic, agonizing sigh. "Why did Mom and Dad suddenly come back? Aren't they supposed to be vacationing abroad..."

Chu Lingshuang said nothing, quietly continuing to eat while watching Chu Yunran throw her little fit.

Once her fit subsided, Chu Yunran poked at her food and looked at her older sister pleadingly.

"Sister, can you come back with me? I'm afraid Mom's going to pull some weird stunt to scare me again..."

Chu Lingshuang gave her a faint glance, put down her fork, picked up a cup of mouthwash and a towel from the side, and gracefully rinsed her mouth.

"Sister, please come back with me. Dad will definitely be there too, and I'm scared..."

Chu Yunran also put down her chopsticks, pressed her hands together in front of her face, rubbed them frantically, and put on a begging expression.

"It has indeed been a while since I last saw them."

Chu Lingshuang's voice was cool and detached. She glanced at Mother Wang and commanded coldly, "Go prepare the car. We leave after noon."

Mother Wang acknowledged, "Yes."

Chu Yunran instantly beamed with excitement. "Thank you, Sister! I love you the most!"

She stood up and lunged forward, attempting to give Chu Lingshuang a big bear hug, only for Chu Lingshuang to shift her chair back just an inch and dodge out of the way.

Losing her balance, Chu Yunran nearly fell, saving herself at the last second by grabbing the edge of the table.

The surrounding maids seemed entirely accustomed to this scene.

Chu Yunran simply stood there, foolishly flashing a sheepish smile at her sister.

Chu Lingshuang wore an indifferent expression, elegantly crossing one leg over the other. Her gaze turned fierce and cold, carrying a distinct warning. "Don't let me down at the banquet in a few days."

"No problem at all! You can count on me, Sister!"

Chu Yunran replied with a cheerful smile.

After the meal, Chu Lingshuang went to her study to process some computer files. When she picked up the paper contract on the desk once more, Lin Feng's figure suddenly flashed before her eyes.

In the resort island hotel, Lin Feng had sat beside her just like that, obediently, occasionally discussing the contract notes with her.

When she grew tired, he would pick up a pastry from the table, hold it gently, and carefully feed it to her lips.

Unconsciously, she raised her hand to touch her lips. The moment her fingertips brushed against them, she jolted awake from her reverie!

Before her lay an empty desk—

There was no Lin Feng, nor any of that tenderness.

The official seal rested flat on the desk, and upon it, Lin Feng's fingerprints still lingered.

He had promised that he would never leave her side in this lifetime.

Chu Lingshuang felt somewhat dazed. She gently propped her head in her palm and gazed fixedly at the phone screen, where that flawless profile was set as her wallpaper—

Suddenly, she smiled, though her eyes blazed with an unprecedented, predatory intensity.

"You can't escape anymore, good little dog..."

"In this lifetime, you belong entirely to me..."

...

Lin Feng, having finished his bath and wrapped in a bathrobe, was dozing in the room prepared for him by Li Li. Just as he was sleeping soundly, his entire body suddenly shuddered, jerking him awake in terror!

Instinctively, he raised his hand, staring at his somewhat numb palm with an expression of sheer disbelief!

Was it a dream?!

He couldn't be certain. In the dream he had just experienced, he had been restrained on a wooden bed, his hands and feet secured with cuffs in a spread-eagled position.

Then, dense, countless electrical currents had surged through his body...

And nearby, a man's voice had echoed intermittently.

He hadn't caught what was said, yet the dream had felt terrifyingly real...