Chapter 28

The Home of the Remaining Two

Waking up past noon, Lin Senmu checked out of the hotel and, as usual, met Nie Hao for lunch.

At the hotel entrance, Lin Senmu was utterly stunned to see Nie Hao bringing along Tan Jingwen, the girl they had played pool with the day before. He was in awe, completely bowled over.

“The number one playboy of Xiangchu!”

“Nie Hao’s ability to be a groom every night is no exaggeration!”

Lin Senmu felt a twinge of envy, not for Nie Hao’s constant rotation of women, but for his knack of winning a woman over in just a day.

If he could master that skill, wouldn’t Jiang Xiaoyuan be throwing herself into his arms tonight?

Hmm, Lin Senmu often changed the nickname for Jiang Yuan in his contacts, from ‘Jiang Yuan’ to ‘Yuan Yuan’ to ‘Jiang Xiaoyuan,’ and today he had stealthily changed it to ‘Yuan Baobao.’

His WeChat, his rules!

In the car, Nie Hao turned to the back seat and said, “Wood, my wife wants KFC. What do you say?!”

“Whatever!”

Lin Senmu was being considerate.

“Honey, you’re the best!”

Tan Jingwen’s eyes were filled with adoration.

Hearing this, Lin Senmu silently looked out the window. Tan Jingwen, you naive girl, Nie Hao isn’t just your husband!

He still chose not to expose or remind her. A girl who could give herself to a playboy and check into a hotel in just a day deserved to be played!

After leaving KFC, Nie Hao once again used Lin Senmu as a shield, “Wenwen, my buddy is feeling down. I’ll spend the afternoon with him!”

Lin Senmu’s eyebrow twitched. Am I always feeling down?

“Oh! Then you should keep him company!”

Tan Jingwen, understanding, nodded. She and Li Xin Yue were close, and she had heard some rumors about Lin Senmu, like his parents were going through a divorce.

After dropping her off, Nie Hao turned around and arranged to meet another girl!

“Wood, this is my first love, Zhou Shuran!”

Nie Hao introduced the girl getting into the car.

“Hello!”

After a brief introduction, the trio headed to the amusement park.

Nie Hao and Zhou Shuran rode the carousel side by side on two horses, their hands tightly clasped in the middle, showing off their sickeningly sweet affection.

Lin Senmu, eating an ice cream outside, couldn’t resist taking a photo with his phone and sharing it with Jiang Yuan, captioning it, “Want this!”

Jiang Yuan, practicing piano at home, took a moment to check the message. She pretended not to understand Lin Senmu’s heavy hint, “Then find someone to do that with you!”

Lin Senmu, frustrated, sent a voice message, “I mean I want this during winter break!”

I want to do this with you during winter break!

Receiving such a direct message, Jiang Yuan blushed furiously, “We’ll talk about it during winter break. I’m going back to practicing!”

The afternoon passed at the amusement park. Lin Senmu didn’t intrude on Nie Hao and Zhou Shuran, but he took photos of them enjoying various rides and shared them with Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Yuan, distracted by his messages, had long lost the will to practice. Seeing the photos of the amusement rides, she really wanted to experience them herself.

But she could only imagine. Going to the amusement park alone was childish, and going with girlfriends was no fun.

Jiang Yuan vented her frustration on the instigator, “Lin Senmu, you’re so bad, distracting me from my studies!”

“How am I bad? I just want to enjoy these rides with you in the future!”

Every frame Lin Senmu shared from the amusement park was meant to convey just that.

“Oh!”

Jiang Yuan turned into a silly, grinning face, a bit foolishly happy.

In the evening, after having dinner together, Lin Senmu and Nie Hao once again declined Nie Hao’s invitation to go drinking for entertainment.

After parting ways, Lin Senmu took a ride to an upscale villa area. Nestled against the mountains and beside the water, this place boasted a beautiful environment and was the most expensive real estate in Star City.

As expected, the security guard stopped the incoming vehicle. Lin Senmu had no choice but to show his identity as the homeowner’s son.

“Welcome home, sir!”

The security guard immediately stood at attention, his legs together, and saluted—this was part of his job!

“Thank you for your hard work!”

Lin Senmu smiled slightly, feeling a bit awkward with such formalities.

The car was allowed to pass and drove Lin Senmu into the villa area. Following his directions, it arrived at the entrance of the eighth independent villa.

Through the wrought iron gate, Lin Senmu could see a massive swimming pool inside the villa, with a Bentley and a Rolls-Royce parked nearby.

Lin Senmu didn’t get out of the car. He stared at the lit-up area of the villa, where the shadow of a middle-aged man could faintly be seen.

Seeing this, Lin Senmu knew that his parents’ relationship had completely broken down. His father, Lin Feng, had moved into this grand villa.

“Driver, I’ll place another order. Take me to Times City Garden!”

Lin Senmu didn’t go in to see his father, even though he knew full well that everything in the villa would belong to him the moment he stepped inside.

But he preferred to return to the old house where he had grown up. That old house held the cherished memories of his family of three.

Having returned from his trip to the western regions a few days ago, Lin Senmu decided it was time to go home—otherwise, it would seem a bit unreasonable.

About forty minutes later, the car arrived at Times City Garden.

Lin Senmu walked into the residential area and stopped in front of Building 6. He looked up at the 18th floor and saw the lights on in his home. After a moment of hesitation, he entered the elevator with his travel bag on his back.

…

In unit 1801, a woman with a cold and sharp demeanor sat upright on the sofa. She was wearing a white blouse and dark-colored suit pants, looking extremely efficient.

The woman was Lin Senmu’s mother, Ye Qingyun.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, she slightly furrowed her willow-leaf-like brows. “What are you doing here…”

However, before she could finish her sentence, she saw who it was, and her eyes lit up with surprise. “Mumu, when did you get back? Why didn’t you call me to pick you up?”

As she spoke, Ye Qingyun had already risen from the sofa and walked over, taking Lin Senmu’s travel bag in her hand.

“I’ve been back for three days!”

Lin Senmu bent down to change his shoes.

Hearing this, Ye Qingyun paused for a moment, then said with a hint of helplessness, “Did you go to your dad’s place?”

“No, I stayed at a hotel.”

Lin Senmu shook his head.

Ye Qingyun breathed a sigh of relief but asked with some unease, “So, are you planning to stay with your dad or with me?”

“I’m hungry!”

Lin Senmu didn’t answer directly but said this instead.

“Wait here, I’ll go make you something to eat right now!”

A hint of joy appeared in Ye Qingyun’s eyes as she turned and headed to the kitchen.

Lin Senmu had actually already eaten dinner, but by saying this, he was subtly letting Ye Qingyun know that he had made his choice.

Before long, Ye Qingyun had prepared a plate of Kung Pao chicken, a plate of stir-fried pork ribs, and a plate of water spinach—all home-style dishes with a Xiangchu Flavor.

Mother and son sat facing each other at the long dining table.

Lin Senmu glanced at the empty seat at the head of the table and couldn’t help but ask, “Mom, after you filed for divorce and went through the cooling-off period, are you really going to go through with it?”

Ye Qingyun kept her head down as she ate. She had already eaten as well.

After a long silence, her eyes filled with complex emotions as she gazed at the empty seat at the head of the table, letting out a bitter smile: “Infidelity only happens zero times or countless times!”

Lin Senmu looked around the now nearly empty home, opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately remained silent.

He actually understood everything about the entanglements between his parents, though he had been pretending not to for years.

The breakdown of a marriage often stems from such matters.

Lin Senmu had a scoundrel for a father.

As a billionaire, Lin Feng frequented various social gatherings, encountering all sorts of women.

He could only say from experience: “Men change for the worse when they have money!”