Chapter 468 - 302: Inferior Men

Chapter 468: Chapter 302: Inferior Men

Lin Chen said nothing, just silently walked to her side.

He was about to say something more, but he noticed she had turned her head slightly away, as if intentionally avoiding him.

He froze for a moment. Then, as if realizing something, he suddenly grabbed her arm and spun her halfway around to face him.

Erica hadn’t expected Lin Chen to pull her so suddenly. Caught off guard, her mind went into a panic. She frantically shook her head from side to side, even raising a hand to try and cover her face.

In that fleeting glance, Lin Chen had already seen her slightly red-rimmed eyes and the corners that were already moist with tears.

’She’s crying?’

In that instant, Lin Chen’s heart trembled. The softest part of him had been touched.

The girl who was always so lively, cheerful, and mischievous around him. The strong girl who grew up in the forest. The little minx who loved to make dirty jokes at the drop of a hat and tease him by taking her clothes off.

She was actually crying?

Parting with family was a perfectly normal thing for the Da Xia People. Most people move far away from home after starting college, and some leave for school in other cities as early as junior high or high school.

When he had left home to go abroad, he hadn’t felt the slightest bit of attachment to home. All he’d felt was a longing for freedom.

Because he knew that no matter when he returned, his home would always be there.

But Erica was different. From a very young age, she had lost that concept.

Her home was still there, but it had long ceased to be whole.

For a moment, a mix of emotions churned within him, and he didn’t know what to say to comfort her.

Gazing at Erica’s profile, her head turned almost ninety degrees away, he sighed inwardly.

He reached out, wrapped an arm around her slender waist, and pulled her forcefully toward him. His other arm went around her back, gathering her completely into his embrace.

The force was so strong it almost took her breath away. But far from feeling any discomfort, she hugged him back just as tightly, burying her small head in his broad shoulder.

The two of them just stood there quietly in the forest. The early morning breeze swept by, carrying the fresh scent of grass.

A few clear bird calls echoed from the canopy above. The branches trembled slightly from time to time before falling silent again.

The sky was overcast, just like Erica’s mood.

He gently patted her back. "Feeling better?"

"Mhm."

Erica nodded and let out a soft breath.

"Relax a little. I can barely breathe."

"Don’t you like this feeling? Want me to try squeezing a little harder?"

"Honestly, if you want to take advantage of me, you can just say so. Would I really not let you touch me? Being squeezed flat isn’t comfortable at all."

"...Get lost!"

’Well, looks like she’s back to normal.’

He loosened his grip. "Alright, let’s go. We should head back and shower. We stink after not washing for three days. Then we can catch up on some sleep."

"Are you in a hurry?"

"Huh? Not really. Why? Haven’t you had enough of this place?"

"Walk with me for a bit."

Lin Chen glanced at her, closed the car door he’d just opened, and locked it. "Alright, let’s go."

They didn’t go far, just wandered aimlessly in the nearby woods.

After walking for a while, Erica suddenly began to talk, as if to herself.

"I don’t even know what I want to happen. I want her to come back, but I also don’t want her to come back."

"If she comes back, what happens to such a huge business? She can’t just give it away. And it’s a question of whether I’ll still get that much allowance, though I don’t really spend much. But who would complain about having too much in savings?"

"To build a business to that scale, you’re bound to make a lot of enemies. If she suddenly gives up her position and comes back, who knows what might happen."

"But if she doesn’t come back, then what’s the difference between her being around and not? She owes more than just me—she owes my dad, too. That’s a debt that can’t be repaid with just money."

"But looking at it from another angle... if I were married in the future, and my mom and dad suddenly faced a crisis that could leave them on the streets, I’d probably also choose to do my best to help them through it. I’m sure the person I chose to love would support my decision."

"Well, there you go," Lin Chen interjected at the right moment. "Have you asked your dad what he thinks?"

"Of course he supports her. That’s one of the main reasons he chose to work in the forest. Out here, your attention gets diverted. You have to constantly be aware of your surroundings, and there are regular patrols and maintenance jobs. When he’s busy, he doesn’t even have time to see me."

"You see? They both don’t have time to see you, but your attitude toward your dad and your mom are complete opposites. The truth is, you don’t hate her. You’re just sulking. After all, what kid in school doesn’t wish for a lunch made by their mom, or to have their mom pick them up after school?"

Schools in Europe and the United States, aside from universities, generally don’t provide cafeterias. With such a mix of ethnicities, tastes are incredibly diverse. Rather than figure out how to cater to everyone, it’s easier to just not do it—a trait very much in line with the lazy nature of foreigners.

Because of this, kids bring their own lunches every day.

Mothers with free time would prepare simple meals like sandwiches or pasta salads for their children to take with them. Those who were too busy would just give them money to buy McDonald’s or something similar.

While all her classmates had lunch, Erica alone had none. She might not have even had money to buy any. For a small child, this was undoubtedly the cruelest blow.

And then there was after school, which was even worse.

Watching her classmates and friends get picked up by their parents while she was left all alone—that feeling of being abandoned by the world was probably the core reason for the resentment in her heart.

As they walked, Lin Chen mostly played the role of a listener, only chiming in every now and then or offering an emotional reaction.

This wasn’t the time for him to say too much. The important thing was to let Erica release all the emotions she had buried deep inside.

"Phew... I feel so much better after saying all that. It’s like I’ve lost a few pounds."

She let out a long breath and stretched her arms high above her head in a long, luxurious stretch.

"You’re already skinny enough. You should eat more. Being too thin isn’t good for your health."

"True. Most importantly, things get smaller."

"...Can’t argue with that."

"So men really do like curvy girls, huh?"

"And women like handsome guys, right?"

"I’ll admit that," Erica nodded candidly, then wagged a finger. "For young girls with little dating experience, their first exposure is definitely from TV shows and movies, which are full of all kinds of celebrities. Of course they’re going to like handsome guys."

"But once you’ve dated a few handsome guys, you realize that other people like what you like. The guy figures out he’s a scarce resource, and that easy women will throw themselves at him without him having to do a thing. Then he starts thinking it’d be a waste not to sleep with them, and his whole character just rots."

"Looking at it another way, it’s the same for beautiful women. And women mature earlier than men. They realize they’re beautiful back when they’re still in school, so they have more time to think about and observe the world. How their future unfolds just depends on the choices they make."

"You sound like you know a lot. Looks like you’ve been through a bit. So tell me, how many have you dated?"

"I dated four or five guys in school, but it was limited to holding hands, hugging, and kissing." Erica looked at him with great interest, her azure eyes sparkling. "I don’t know if it’s because I didn’t have a mom, but my dad drilled me on the subject of the opposite sex like crazy since I was little."

"The thing that left the deepest impression on me was when he said that if you have feelings for a guy, you should be bold and give it a try. You can hug, hold hands, kiss, and even touch his body. But you absolutely cannot let a man get you too easily."

"You know what Western society is like. Two people hit it off, and they might just need a cup of coffee and a short chat before they’re getting a hotel room. Everyone knows the other person is only interested in their body, or they’re just looking for someone to blow off some steam with."

"I was independent from a young age and didn’t have any friends, so I was basically invisible. This actually made it easier for me to observe everyone around me. And I found out that my dad was right. Any of my classmates who got into a relationship almost never lasted more than a month. The longest didn’t even make it a year."

"A lot of them would get pregnant right after getting together, and then the guy would want to run. He was just playing around to begin with, and they were still in school. Why would he want to be a dad?"

"So, I’ve always stuck to that core theory. I tried accepting a few handsome guys who confessed to me, and it turns out they were all just after my body. They wanted to sleep with me every time we met. Of course, I wouldn’t let them have their way."

"You know, the most patient one even waited a whole six months for me. During that time, he asked to sleep with me forty-six times, using all sorts of excuses: going for a drive by the sea, traveling to a faraway scenic spot, going to a hot spring, going skiing, and so on."

"After I saw through his forty-sixth attempt and called him out on the spot, he flew into a rage, smashed up the rental car, and pointed his finger in my face, calling me a bitch. He yelled about how I could open my legs for anyone, so why couldn’t I let him have me just once?"

"Haha, and that’s when I found out! All those guys I’d ruthlessly rejected, called out, and dumped were spreading rumors about me nonstop. They said I was a bar hostess, a pole dancer, a stripper, stuff like that. I laughed so hard I almost got a cramp!"

"..."

Watching Erica bend over, clutching her stomach and laughing uncontrollably, Lin Chen didn’t find it funny at all. Instead, he felt a pang of pity for her.

He had come to Canada, where the overall environment was much better. Plus, as an international student, he never came into contact with this sort of gritty reality.

’So this is what daily life is like in the neighboring United States?’

For a moment, he didn’t know how to comfort her. Just as the atmosphere was starting to get awkward...

The sky, which had been overcast for a long time, suddenly began to drizzle.

The rain wasn’t heavy, and it felt cool on their faces, but it wasn’t long before a thick layer of water droplets formed on their clothes.

Their jackets were already wet and dirty, so they couldn’t wear them. Now, they were only wearing long-sleeved T-shirts.

The cotton fibers were very absorbent. After standing in the rain for just a dozen seconds, he could feel a faint chill spreading through his body.

Worried that Erica would catch a cold, he said hurriedly,

"Let’s go, it’s starting to rain."

He had just taken a step forward when a sudden strong force from behind pulled him back. It was Erica.

"Don’t go..."