Chapter 529 - 363: So You’re That Kind of Erica

Chapter 529: Chapter 363: So You’re That Kind of Erica

While he was wrestling with his thoughts, the door to Jin Meiyan’s room clicked open.

He instinctively turned to see the two women emerge from the room, their faces flushed and beaming. As they came out, they both glanced in his direction.

’I finally get why men are always falling for someone new. With a beauty like Meiyan, if I were a man, I wouldn’t be able to resist her charm either.’

’You’re one to talk, Oppa. You hide that figure of yours so well! You’re more than a handful. I really don’t know how Oppa managed to restrain himself. I’m starting to suspect he might be into men.’

"???"

Lin Chen rolled his eyes, speechless. He cleared his throat. "COUGH, COUGH. Come on, you two, watch what you’re saying. I’m right here."

"So what? It’s not like you’re reacting, you’re a total block of wood," Erica said, wrinkling her nose in dissatisfaction. Right in front of him, she leaned in and planted a loud, deliberate kiss on Jin Meiyan’s flawless cheek. SMACK.

"Meiyan, you don’t have a boyfriend, and I don’t have a boyfriend. How about we give ’us’ a try? Lousy men will only break our hearts."

"Huh?" Jin Meiyan hadn’t expected Erica to say something like that. For a moment, she was completely at a loss.

’She truly admired Erica’s looks and figure, and her cheerful, straightforward personality was a world away from most Asians she knew. But for her to ’give it a try’ with a girl... the suggestion was a little too sudden.’

’She knew that many women have latent bisexual tendencies, and she wasn’t opposed to being physically close with Erica—that much had been confirmed just moments ago in the room.’

’But there was a fundamental difference between that kind of closeness and an actual romantic relationship. Admiration, after all, doesn’t necessarily evolve into love.’

"What are you talking about, Erica? She may be American, but she spent most of her life growing up in South Korea. That sort of thing is much, much rarer among Asians."

’I have a feeling Erica is acting very strangely today, saying all sorts of weird things,’ he thought. ’Is this another test to gauge my reaction?’

’But Meiyan said before that she didn’t think Erica was a scheming person, and a woman’s intuition is usually spot-on. If she’s not scheming, then what’s her goal in saying all this?’

’Could it be she really just wants to give it a try?’

"You two are reacting so weirdly today. Why are you so resistant to this topic? I guess this kind of thing really isn’t common in Asia."

Erica glanced from Lin Chen to Jin Meiyan, puzzled. She couldn’t understand why their reactions were so similar.

"I mean, I think two girls together is pretty easy to accept. It’s two guys that’s a really weird combination, especially two muscular guys!"

"Stop!"

The color drained from Lin Chen’s face. He quickly covered his mouth. "If you say another word, I’m going to puke up my dinner! If you’re that bored, come help me edit videos. We’ll be twice as fast working together."

"On another note, about the lucky fan drawings in the future... I don’t think using ’likes’ is fair to regular people. Someone with influence like your mom, or someone with a fanbase like Meiyan, can easily get ahead. I think the fairest way would be to do a live stream and pick a winner from the live chat."

"Your mom?"

Jin Meiyan’s ears perked up at the odd phrasing. She tilted her head in confusion. "What do you mean? Don’t tell me the woman from last time was Erica Oppa’s mother?"

"Yeah. There’s no point in hiding it. I mentioned it on the Panama show before. She’s the founder of the Michelle Hotel. She didn’t reveal her identity when she was here last time, though. Ordinary people wouldn’t recognize her at all."

Jin Meiyan gasped, covering her mouth in astonishment. Her eyes were wide with disbelief.

"The Michelle Hotel? As in, the global five-star hotel chain? Omo! So, Oppa, you’re a billionaire’s daughter!"

Along with the shock, a wave of insecurity washed over her.

’If before she thought she could connect with Lin Chen through their shared Asian heritage and culture, now that Erica’s status as a wealthy heiress was out, she felt like she’d already been knocked out of the running.’

’She has the looks, the body, the personality, and more money than she could ever spend. She’s even in the same line of work as Lin Chen. No matter how you look at it, they’re the more suitable pair, aren’t they?’

The moment Erica revealed her background, Lin Chen thought, ’This is bad.’ He cursed himself for speaking without thinking.

’Any normal person would probably feel insecure when faced with a rival worth tens, or even hundreds, of millions.’

’Jin Meiyan was already planning on leaving. After this, won’t it look like I’m ditching the poor to cozy up to the rich?’

"So what?"

Erica shrugged nonchalantly. "It’s true that having money is convenient, but my relationship with her isn’t that great. If she hadn’t randomly decided to show up and play ’lucky fan,’ I wouldn’t even bother talking to her."

Hm?

What’s going on?

Jin Meiyan froze, casting a confused glance at Lin Chen. He just shook his head, warning her with his eyes not to ask too many questions.

Though she didn’t quite understand, she tactfully changed the subject. She began asking Lin Chen about his whale-watching plans, and he gave her a rundown of the arrangements he’d made so far.

"What? You’re leaving after the whale watching?"

Erica, who had already sat down next to Lin Chen, whipped her head around upon hearing their conversation. "So soon? You’ve only been here a few days! Is it because of what I said earlier? Did I make you uncomfortable, so now you want to leave?"

"If that’s the case, then I apologize. I honestly didn’t know you Asians were so sensitive about this topic. I’m sorry!"

"No, no, no, it’s not like that, Oppa," Jin Meiyan quickly explained, waving her hands dismissively. "I’m a travel vlogger, too. Vancouver Island is most famous for whale watching, and I’ve already experienced the whole wilderness survival thing. After the whale watching is over, there’s no reason for me to keep staying here and interrupting your work. Besides, this is your home. It wouldn’t be right for me to overstay my welcome."

"Who says! Vancouver Island is one of the best tourist destinations in Canada! There are different things to do all year round: bird migrations, herds of sea lions sunbathing on the beaches, truffle hunting in the forests, group hunting excursions... In the ocean, besides whales, you can film pods of dolphins, schools of tuna, sharks... You can also go deep-sea fishing. The scenery here is amazing!"

Lin Chen stared in confusion at Erica, who seemed even more anxious than he was. He couldn’t quite figure her out.

’She’s a total bombshell. Not only are you not threatened, you’re actually inviting her to stay longer? Does that make any sense?’

It wasn’t just him; Jin Meiyan couldn’t make heads or tails of it either. "Oppa," she asked, bewildered, "don’t you think me staying here would get in the way of you two deepening your relationship?"

"I don’t think so. Would it?"

Erica glanced at Lin Chen, confused. "Why would it? It’s not like we have time to ’deepen our relationship’ when we’re busy working all day, is it?"

"..."

’Great. So this whole time, she’s been calling me out?’

Before Lin Chen could answer, she went on, "While you two were out filming these past three days, I was home alone and did a lot of thinking. Honestly, my thoughts are much clearer when Lin isn’t around. His presence just messes everything up."

"I’ve thought it over. I don’t actually want to get married. Part of it is just the general social attitude these days, but it’s mostly because of my parents."

"Sure, they got married. And then what? They’ve still been apart for years, barely seeing each other once a year. What’s the difference between being married and not? As long as the feelings are there, a stupid piece of paper doesn’t change anything."

"It’s actually more freeing not to be married. If things don’t work out someday, we can end the relationship anytime. Besides, I looked it up, and Canada has laws that recognize common-law partnerships."

"So, Lin, you don’t need to feel any pressure. I’m not trying to get a marriage commitment out of you like some traditional Asian woman. I just think it’s easy and comfortable being with you, and you’re a capable, dependable man."

"I might not have been clear about what we agreed on before, which caused a misunderstanding. My point was that if you feel it’s right, we should sleep together. Not get married."

"PFFT!!!"

Jin Meiyan, whose mouth had gone dry from the conversation, had just taken a sip of water. When she heard that, she instinctively spat it out, staring at the perfectly calm Erica in utter shock.

’Even though she was born in the United States herself, she couldn’t help but think that Erica’s mindset was a little too progressive.’

’Was it because of the influence of her parents’ relationship she’d just described?’

"Sleep... sleep together?"

Lin Chen’s jaw dropped. He never expected Erica would say something like that right in front of Jin Meiyan.

’So after all this time, she doesn’t want to date me, she just wants... that?’

’Oh, no. Or rather, for someone with her purely Western mindset, sleeping together might be its own form of relationship validation.’

’Either way, he couldn’t wrap his head around that way of thinking right now.’

"What are you so surprised about? Aren’t you American too? Besides, I specifically looked up South Korean culture, and they seem pretty open-minded about this stuff. Meiyan, you’re so beautiful, you must have a lot of admirers. Have you ever picked a few suitable ones to be bed partners?"

"No! Of course not!!!!"

"That’s a shame. You almost became an idol. If you could sleep with a few stars, everyone would be dying of envy. Or... how about we give it a try? I’ve never been with a girl before."

"Stop, stop, stop! What is happening right now? How did the conversation get here?"

Fearing the conversation would veer into even stranger territory, Lin Chen quickly grabbed Erica’s head and turned it back toward him.

"Get to work, you. Meiyan has videos to edit, too. Stop putting her on the spot with these questions. Normal people don’t ask new friends they’ve only known for a few days this kind of stuff!"

"You can if you get along well! I feel like Meiyan and I really hit it off. Do you mind talking about this stuff, Meiyan?"

The corner of Jin Meiyan’s mouth twitched. She managed to force a strained smile.

"It’s... it’s fine, I guess..."