Chapter 56 Taking Advantage of Others and Forced Kissing
It wasn't until she heard her mother's voice that she slowly snapped back to her senses.
Her cheeks flushed as she nodded awkwardly and shyly.
The strange feeling in the depths of her heart grew a few degrees more intense.
Lin Chen took in the interaction between mother and daughter.
An imperceptible smile flashed in his eyes, but his tone remained gentle:
"Auntie, Qingran, please sit for a moment. I'll go pour some water."
Saying that, he turned and walked toward the kitchen,
leaving behind a delighted Mother Su and a Su Qingran whose heart was full of complexity and palpitations.
Su Qingran watched Lin Chen's tall and straight back,
then looked up to scan this spacious and luxurious house, where every detail showed careful thought.
The waves in her heart became increasingly turbulent.
This spur-of-the-moment 'pretending' seemed to have unknowingly become somewhat different.
Before long, Lin Chen walked over carrying three glasses of warm water, handing one to Mother Su,
giving another to Su Qingran, and then sitting down himself on a single-seater sofa on the other side.
As soon as Zhang Hui took the glass, her gaze swept over the empty space between the two of them.
She immediately spoke with a smile, her tone carrying a hint of teasing and testing:
"Why are you two sitting so far apart!"
"Didn't you say you have a great relationship?"
"Are you having a little disagreement?"
These words were like a sudden thunderclap; Su Qingran froze instantly.
Her eyes widened, her cheeks flushed bright red, and her fingers tightly gripped the water glass.
Her lips moved, but she couldn't say a single word.
She hadn't expected her mother to ask this so suddenly at all,
and for a moment, she didn't know how to respond, feeling so embarrassed she wished she could find a hole to crawl into.
Lin Chen reacted extremely quickly, standing up immediately with that same gentle smile on his face.
He walked briskly to Su Qingran's side.
Before she could react, he leaned down slightly,
his arm naturally wrapping around her waist. When his fingertips touched the soft fabric of her clothes,
he deliberately lightened his pressure, appearing intimate yet remaining respectful.
Immediately after, he raised his hand and planted a soft, restrained kiss on her smooth cheek.
The movement was so natural it was as if he had done it a thousand times.
Only after doing all this did Lin Chen turn to look at Zhang Hui,
his tone carrying a doting smile as he smoothed over the awkwardness:
"Auntie, we aren't having a disagreement. I just didn't pay attention when I sat down."
"See? We're very much in love."
With his arm around her waist and the sensation on her cheek yet to dissipate,
Su Qingran's heart rate instantly skyrocketed.
Her whole body was so stiff she didn't dare move; her cheeks were so red they looked ready to drip blood, and even her ears were flushed.
She kept her head down, not daring to look at Lin Chen,
nor at her mother. The palpitations and shyness in her heart were intertwined, as messy as a ball of hemp,
yet they also hid a trace of unspeakable joy.
[Detected Su Qingran's favorability toward Host has increased by 30. (Current favorability: 50)]
When Lin Chen saw the data pop up on the system panel,
an imperceptible smile appeared on his face.
"Hehe, in the end, no woman doesn't like money. Having money really does unlock infinite possibilities."
Seeing the two of them like this, the smile in Zhang Hui's eyes deepened instantly,
and she nodded repeatedly:
"Good, good, good. As long as you're in love, it's good."
Her heart was at ease, and she couldn't help but size up Lin Chen again,
the more she looked, the more satisfied she became.
He has a sense of boundaries and knows how to care for people; Qingran finally picked the right person this time.
Zhang Hui: "Lin Chen, I don't know what you do for work yet. To live in such a big house at such a young age?"
"Did your family buy it?"
Lin Chen: "I bought it myself. I work in financial investment."
Su Qingran watched Lin Chen's answer, given without his face turning red or his heart racing.
This kind of composure and calmness did not seem like a Freshman who had just entered university.
Instead, it was like a mature man who had been working for over a decade.
Zhang Hui: "I didn't expect you to have such achievements at such a young age. Good."
"As long as the two of you are doing well, I'll be at ease."
Lin Chen checked the time.
"It's about time for dinner. Let's find a place to eat."
"Then let's have a meal. I've even booked a high-speed train back tonight."
Su Qingran: "The high-speed train is convenient for round trips. Knowing that things are going well for you two means I've achieved my goal."
"I have other things to do tomorrow!"
Then she deliberately spoke loudly so Lin Chen would hear.
"When do you two plan to get things settled?"
This question left Su Qingran not knowing how to answer.
She had originally just wanted him to pretend for a bit,
but now it had actually turned into being urged to marry.
Just as she was hesitating,
Lin Chen quickly explained: "Auntie, we'll let nature take its course. I'm considering two aspects."
"First, I want to achieve some success in my career before considering it, probably in two or three years."
"Second, if we have a child early, the timing could be moved up a little bit."
Zhang Hui looked at Su Qingran's shy appearance and smiled slightly.
"Mm, okay, you two handle that yourselves. It wouldn't be bad if I could have a grandson sooner."
They soon finished dinner and saw Zhang Hui off to the high-speed train.
The taxi slowly stopped at the intersection of the street behind the school.
The two had been silent all the way. It wasn't until the car door closed
and their footsteps hit the stone path that Su Qingran was the first to break the deadlock,
her tone carrying a hint of feigned cold blame,
though a trace of imperceptible panic was hidden in her eyes.
"Lin Chen, you went a bit too far today."
She stopped and turned to look at him,
trying hard to put on her usual cold and distant expression.
"It was clearly supposed to be you pretending, so why did you have to push your luck?"
Lin Chen looked at her stubborn appearance, and a helpless yet doting smile rose in his eyes.
He understood the personality of a woman like Su Qingran all too well.
This deliberate coldness was merely an attempt to break the sudden ambiguous awkwardness between them.
He stood where he was, his gaze locked firmly on her,
watching the flush quietly rising on the tips of her ears; his heart rate suddenly accelerated.
The pretending this morning had never been just a task to him.
He genuinely liked her; after all, he had given his first time to her, and now he had already grown fond of this woman's body.
Before Su Qingran could speak again, Lin Chen suddenly took a step forward,
closing the distance between them.
Without waiting for her to react, he reached out and gently cupped the back of her neck.
The warmth of his palm transmitted through the thin fabric,
carrying an irresistible force as he lowered his head and kissed her.
Su Qingran instantly froze as if a pause button had been pressed.
Her eyes went wide and round, her mind went blank,
and she even forgot to breathe.
She never expected Lin Chen to be so bold,
actually kissing her without any warning on a street where people were coming and going.
His faint masculine scent lingered around her nose,
mixed with the breath of the evening breeze. The strange and burning sensation overwhelmed her,
leaving her body weak, without even the strength to push him away.
Lin Chen felt her stiffness and slowed his movements slightly,
but he didn't let go. His skillful tongue gently pushed past her teeth,
carrying a cautious probe yet hiding a determined persistence.
He could feel her resistance gradually dissipating;
from her initial stiffness to later unconsciously opening her lips slightly,
her tongue gently responded to his exploration. The intertwined warmth spread from the tip of her tongue to her whole body,
making his heart heat up. The hand cupping the back of her neck tightened further,
pulling her tightly into his embrace as if he wanted to rub her into his very bones and blood.
Lin Chen's experienced French kissing technique began to make her feel dazed and lost in the moment.
"This feeling has reached that decadent flavor from that night again."
Su Qingran thought to herself, "Kissing feels so good!"