Chapter 85 Secretly Delighted

He Yun was still immersed in her grievances at that moment.

Being supported by Lin Chen like this, she felt the warmth of his palm, and her heart warmed inexplicably; that sense of grievance seemed to dissipate a little.

She felt no discomfort at all; on the contrary, she felt she had gained a sense of reliance.

She sniffled, her eyes still red, and her voice sounded a bit hoarse:

"It's nothing, just..."

The short-haired Waiter nearby looked at the two of them, her tone softening a bit, and said to Lin Chen:

"Since you are her family member, you should comfort her well."

"Such a beautiful woman should have been cherished."

"Her husband, on the other hand, ignores such a wonderful wife and actually finds a mistress outside."

"She just saw her husband shopping in the mall with that woman, and after an argument on the spot, she couldn't help but cry here."

"Exactly!"

The long-haired Waiter also chimed in, her tone full of indignation,

"She is so beautiful and has such a great figure, yet her husband is still not satisfied."

"Fooling around outside, what a scumbag!"

"It's too much!"

The word "scumbag" was said crisp and loud.

Lin Chen shuddered all over, his hand instinctively pausing for a moment.

He inwardly cried out in distress:

"No way, these two young ladies..."

"Are they cursing me too?"

"I haven't even started yet, how did I get lumped in with the scumbags?"

He Yun seemed to notice Lin Chen's stiffness, or perhaps she heard the Waiter's words.

A trace of apology appeared on her face as she gently tugged at Lin Chen's wrist, her voice soft:

"I'm sorry, Lin Chen, for making you watch this joke,"

"And for letting them misunderstand you."

She paused and cast a glance around.

Without knowing when, quite a few passersby had stopped, pointing at them and whispering.

He Yun's cheeks turned bright red instantly, a flash of embarrassment in her eyes.

She hurriedly said to Lin Chen:

"I'm fine now, really, let's leave here first."

"It's too awkward with so many people around."

Lin Chen nodded immediately, gripping He Yun's wrist tightly, and gently supported her waist.

His tone was gentle yet firm:

"Okay, let's go!"

"I'll take you somewhere quiet."

"If you have any worries and are willing to talk, I'll listen;"

"If you don't want to talk, I'll just keep you company."

He Yun looked up at him, a flicker of being moved in her eyes.

She gave a soft "Mm" and let him support her, following him step by step out of the women's clothing section.

The whispers and gazes behind them were gradually left behind.

Lin Chen could clearly feel the soft waist and slender wrist under his palm, feeling secretly delighted in his heart.

It seemed that this wave of "hero saving the beauty" (though it caused a small misunderstanding) was not in vain; He Yun clearly no longer felt the initial estrangement toward him.

Lin Chen kept supporting He Yun, feeling the touch on his hand.

He Yun seemed to invisibly sense the gentle concern brought by Lin Chen and did not reject his intimate gestures.

It seemed that everything had started to become so natural at that very moment.

"Let's go to the Western restaurant!"

When they reached the fourth floor, the dining area, Lin Chen finally spoke.

He saw that the Western restaurant had partitioned booths, perfect for two people.

Chatting there wouldn't be disturbed by others.

"Mm,"

He Yun, whose mood had eased slightly, replied.

Then, with a shy and embarrassed expression, she said,

"This... how can I be so embarrassed as to let you keep supporting me?"

Lin Chen: "It's fine, I feel like we look quite a match supporting each other like this."

"Didn't you see how many eyes were staring at us when we just walked into the restaurant?"

Lin Chen's words made He Yun blush even more.

In her mind, she began to forget the anger from downstairs, and instead, she had some longing for Lin Chen.

"This Lin Chen is handsome, gentle, and considerate; what a good man!"

Strange thoughts began to stir in her heart.

Until Lin Chen asked her:

"What do you want to eat?"

He Yun then snapped back to reality.

The imagined feelings in her heart made her answer somewhat awkwardly:

"Let's have a medium-well steak, black pepper flavor."

Lin Chen: "Okay, I also like black pepper flavor."

"Waiter, order."

The Waiter walked over quickly with the menu and stood respectfully outside the booth.

Lin Chen raised his hand to signal, his voice gentle and crisp:

"Two medium-well steaks, both black pepper flavor,"

"Plus a vegetable salad and two cups of hot lemon water, thank you."

The Waiter replied:

"Okay,"

"Please wait a moment,"

And turned to leave.

The booth's partition blocked the surrounding noise, with only soft light falling on the two of them.

The air was filled with the faint scent of Western food, and the atmosphere suddenly became somewhat quiet, leaving only the faint sound of cups and plates being set down.

He Yun's fingers holding the water glass tightened slightly, her fingertips turning white.

Having just been held closely by Lin Chen, her flushed cheeks now faded from shyness, replaced by a touch of loneliness.

She lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes trembling gently, as if a thousand-pound burden of worries weighed on her heart.

She opened her mouth several times but swallowed the words back each time.

Lin Chen saw it all, but didn't actively press her.

He just picked up the kettle and gently filled her glass with hot water.

The steam rising from the cup blurred the gentleness in his eyes:

"No rush. Tell me when you want to talk; I'll keep you company."

It was this sentence, "I'll keep you company," that acted like a warm needle, piercing through He Yun's forced strength.

She sniffled, her eyes instantly reddening.

When she looked up at Lin Chen, her eyes were already misted over.

Her voice carried an imperceptible sob:

"Lin Chen, do you think I'm useless?"

Lin Chen's heart tightened.

He leaned forward slightly, his tone becoming even softer:

"How could that be?"

"You are just too kind and too tolerant."

He didn't say any more nonsense, just looked at her quietly.

There was no perfunctoriness in his eyes, only complete listening and empathy.

This kind of respect was something He Yun had not felt for a long time.

He Yun bit her lower lip, as if she had made a great decision.

Tears finally couldn't be held back, sliding down her cheeks.

She hurriedly raised her hand to wipe them, her voice becoming intermittent:

"My husband is the second man I've dated."

"The first was a university classmate; I was naive back then."

"After we broke up, I thought I would never meet someone who would treat me sincerely again, until I met him."

She paused, sniffled, and the loneliness in her eyes deepened:

"At that time, he had nothing."

"He set up street stalls and opened small shops."

"I ignored my family's opposition and followed him through hardship and exhaustion."

"We scrimped and saved, just thinking about living a good life with him."

"When his life got better, we would have a child and live a stable life forever."

"But who would have known,"

He Yun smiled self-deprecatingly, her tears falling even more fiercely,

"that when his business grew big and he had money, his heart also changed."