660 Why, Mr. Lin?! (1/2)
Lin Yehan couldn't sleep despite feeling at home at his third brother's place. He felt restless. If his second brother wasn't so strict about their health, then Lin Yehan would probably have looked for a cigarette to smoke right now in an attempt to relax. It was already past midnight. Living in a farm trained him to sleep early and to rise early. But sleep was proving to be elusive tonight. Sighing, he tossed the covers away and climbed off the bed.
Then he started walking around the dimly-lit hallways, hoping that by tiring himself, he would be able to sleep. His third brother's mansion was huge but he knew its layout like the back of his hand. All of them brothers treated each other's homes like an extension of their own homes. Just as all his brothers were welcome at his home, he was also welcome in theirs. They were family, after all.
His mind drifted to different kinds of thoughts but most of them were about Jiang Ying Yue's custody battle for her son Little Jun against her ex, Long Hui, and of course, the cheating allegations between him and her. The stress was getting to him, so he could only imagine what Jiang Ying Yue was going through. The woman must be suffering. Lin Yehan thought that a man who could hurt his lover, ex or not, like that wasn't a real man at all.
'This isn't working at all. I won't be able to sleep if I keep thinking like this. I need to clear and relax my mind.'
Wanting to do just that, he planned on stepping outside in the hopes that the cold late autumn weather could blast the stressful thoughts out of his mind. But when he stepped outside the nearest balcony at the end of the hallway, someone was already occupying the place.
”Mr. Lin,” Jiang Ying Yue greeted him in a surprised tone.
”Miss Jiang,” he replied with a nod.
”I didn't know that you're here.”
”I arrived late in the evening with Fourth Brother Mo. Xiulan said that you were already asleep.”
She nodded but didn't reply. Instead, she returned to looking at the dark, hazy, night sky.
Lin Yehan couldn't see her clearly in the dark. Only the dim lights from the hallway illuminated the balcony. The moon and the stars were hiding behind thick, dark clouds. Wanting to take a closer look at her to see if she was alright, he headed to where she was and stood beside her in front of the ornate balustrade. He noticed her stiffening when he got close to her but felt relieved when she didn't move away. They didn't speak to each other but just stood there, gazing at nothing in front of them. The silence was awkward at first but as minutes ticked by, it gradually felt comfortable until they felt themselves relaxing bit by bit.
”I came because I wanted to see if you're okay,” Lin Yehan said, breaking the silence first.
Jiang Ying Yue didn't reply immediately because she didn't know which words were the most appropriate to say. ”I…thank you, Mr. Lin. I'm…I'm okay—”