Chapter 153: Going With the Heart!

Watching the red rope being tossed down, Lin Feng maintained his calm and vacant expression. Chu Tianli bit his lower lip so hard that his breathing was shallow enough to make his body tremble.

After several seconds of a tense standoff, Chu Tianli closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and reopened them with a look of utter compromise.

"What I said about your father is true. I have no reason to fabricate such a thing to deceive you."

Taking the graceful exit Lin Feng offered, he went along with the flow: "Keep the red rope then; it was indeed purchased by your father. As for the other one, please hand it to your younger sister, as it would be inappropriate for me to appear."

Lin Feng’s eyes flickered. Indeed, Chu Tianli had no motivation to lie about this.

He stared intently into Chu Tianli’s eyes for a few seconds before finally sliding the red rope into his pocket.

Chu Tianli’s expression drifted slightly as he changed the subject: "Indeed, I acted without sufficient consideration in this matter. I simply felt terrible for that child Lingshuang, and she desperately needs someone to help her move past it..."

As he spoke, he still gazed at Lin Feng with a glimmer of hope.

Instead, Lin Feng chuckled and shook his head. "You are mistaken. The person who helps her has never been me; it is she herself."

"If she were to be so severely shattered by an incident like this that she could never move on, I imagine she would never attain the strength you expect of her."

Meeting Chu Tianli’s startled gaze, Lin Feng spoke with utter indifference. His gaze drifted into the distance as he replayed Chu Lingshuang’s face in his mind—

"Perhaps, Mr. Chu, you have never truly understood your daughter."

"From what I have observed, she likely moved past it long ago."

Chu Tianli froze in place, dumbfounded. "She’s already moved on? Then why is she still so... so cold toward me, her mother, and Ranran?"

Before he could even finish his sentence, Lin Feng smiled and remarked, "That is simply her own choice after moving past it."

"She has the right to face you with any attitude she pleases. This is her own life, and within it, she holds absolute authority."

"And so do I."

Lin Feng’s voice brooked no argument. In tandem with his words, Chu Tianli’s mind flashed back to Chu Lingshuang’s early temperament over the years.

True enough, Lingshuang had seemingly been a quiet child from the very beginning. Compared to Chu Yunran, who wore her affection openly on her face, Chu Lingshuang had always preferred practical actions.

Chu Tianli sighed, covering his face with hands heavy with exhaustion. "I was just too worried about her. She was only seven when she witnessed that scene with her own eyes. I..."

"Excessive concern clouds judgment."

Before Chu Tianli could finish, Lin Feng responded with a faint smile.

No one in this world is immune to the pull of emotional bonds.

Whether it is familial love, romance, friendship, or even hatred, there is always some lingering tie that pulls us back and forth, keeping us tethered and anxious.

There is no helping it; that is human nature.

Even he was no exception. Otherwise, how could he explain the sudden, violent racing of his heart when Chu Lingshuang walked past moments ago?

The only difference between him and others was that he did not fall so easily.

He had no desire to resist either, for all of this was entirely natural.

Follow one's heart!

"That is true indeed..."

Seeming to have aged several years in an instant, Chu Tianli looked at Lin Feng with profound exhaustion, his tone carrying a trace of entreaty. "Then, my boy, can you tell me—will you ever forgive her?"

Facing Chu Tianli, who had completely lowered his defenses, Lin Feng’s eyes darkened. Beneath the older man’s expectant and pleading gaze, he silently shook his head.

Panic seized Chu Tianli!

"I am already teaching her to recognize her mistakes. Even after she acknowledges her faults and apologizes to you, is there truly no way for you to accept her?"

Chu Tianli had clearly misunderstood his meaning.

"Mr. Chu, those are two entirely different matters," Lin Feng said gravely. "Chu Lingshuang certainly possesses the prerogative to invite others to understand her, but I likewise hold the authority to choose whether or not to grant that understanding."

Lin Feng sighed. "I have no intention of exercising that authority at present. Of course, should she truly repent, only then will I consider whether or not to forgive her."

"Then the possibility of forgiveness becomes much higher, doesn't it?"

Chu Tianli stared at Lin Feng with near-desperate longing, his eyes brimming with expectation and hope.

Under such a gaze, Lin Feng shook his head once more.

"I do not know."

He had always been candid, speaking his mind plainly.

As for forgiveness, how could he possibly give an answer right now? Everything depended on the dictates of his heart. Perhaps, when the time was right, his state of mind at that moment would compel him to make a choice.

"Very well."

Though he had not received the answer he wanted, Chu Tianli was not discouraged.

Lin Feng had only just met them, and similarly, he was only just reacquainting himself with his daughter. He was actively trying to correct his mistakes.

He believed that, with his efforts, Lin Feng would gradually come to accept all of this.

After all, a cold and detached disposition could not be transformed overnight; he had to give it his absolute best.

How could one know if something was impossible without trying?

Like a boomerang flying across the timeline, this very sentiment cycled back to strike Chu Tianli directly.

"Lingshuang has already promised me that she will not use the power of the Chu family to pressure you."

Chu Tianli spoke forthrightly. "My boy, can you promise your uncle that you will not reject her affection?"

This was his ultimate bottom line.

If Lin Feng rejected her outright from the start, then talk of forgiveness and everything else would be completely off the table.

"Naturally. Loving whoever she chooses is her right."

This time, Lin Feng did not hesitate. He nodded and smiled, "I promise you, I will not reject it."

...

Emerging from the study, Lin Feng stretched lazily and began playing on his phone in the room the Chu family had prepared for him.

Before long, he received a call from Jason.

"Young Master Lin, the Master has already set the date for the banquet welcoming your return to the family. It is scheduled for 3:00 PM tomorrow. Please make your preparations in advance."

"Very well."

Lin Feng acknowledged the instruction and hung up the phone.

His phone was flooded with rumors about him, escalating to the absurd claim that he was an illegitimate son abandoned by the Lin family.

When it came to wealthy conglomerates, ordinary people truly had no way of knowing the real truth.

After all, the elite possessed the absolute capability to make others see precisely what they wanted them to see.

Lin Feng couldn't be bothered to respond to those remarks.

However, the growing calls for him to open a personal social media account did give him pause for thought.

Perhaps, once all of this was over, he could open an account to document his solo travels around the world...

Just not right now.

Playing idly on his phone, Lin Feng drifted off into a hazy sleep.

In his dream, he saw that scene once again, though this time it was complete: an enclosed, airtight room where he was entirely by himself...

When he woke up, he was drenched in sweat.

He rushed to open the window and gulped down the fresh air, the lingering terror of claustrophobia slowly dissipating.

Outside the door, a servant’s voice sounded.

"Mr. Lin, the car is ready. The master and madam wish for you to partake in a light meal before heading out."

Lin Feng snapped back to reality, stared at his palms, took a deep breath, and picked out the clothes Mrs. Chen had prepared for him to change into.

Lin De's words echoed in his mind: the girl who had saved him...

Staring at his thoroughly transformed self in the mirror, his gaze gradually grew heavy.

It seemed there was still a fierce battle to be fought today...