When Yang Chen returned inside, Auntie Wang was making tea for Lin Ruoxi to calm her nerves. Seeing him enter, she tactfully excused herself, leaving the couple alone.
Lin Ruoxi had let down her high bun; her soft, flowing hair framed her stunning face, making it look even more delicate. But her pale, exhausted features tugged at the heartstrings.
Looking up at Yang Chen with a complex expression, she didn't ask how he'd dealt with Lin Kun. She just smiled bitterly, self-mockingly. "You're laughing at me, aren't you? Yes, this is my father—this ridiculous family. Do you pity me? I don't need anyone's cheap, meaningless sympathy… especially not yours."
"Who said I pity you?" Yang Chen scoffed, pulling a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it.
"No smoking in front of me," Lin Ruoxi frowned, waving away the smoke.
Yang Chen ignored her, slumping into another large sofa and leaning back as he smoked. "I'm just saying—stop putting on that pitiful act. At least you know who your parents are; you've been loved by elders. Your family may not be warm, but you have a family.
You're beautiful, admired by everyone, never wanted for anything. Young as you are, you have a luxury house, sports cars—everything.
You can never understand what it's like to not know who your parents are, where your home is, to have nothing at all…"
Lin Ruoxi froze. For the first time, she looked into Yang Chen's eyes—deep, filled with sorrow and loneliness. Her heart tightened.
Yang Chen didn't stop, his voice soft, almost to himself. "Alone since childhood—hungry, freezing, bullied, beaten—always alone. No parents, no family, no siblings, not even friends.
Fighting bloody for a stale piece of bread to survive, eating grass roots and tree bark until my stomach bled…
No one cared if you lived or died. No one pitied you—you were just a discarded life, lower than a dog in someone's home…"
Listening to his low, hoarse narration, Lin Ruoxi's eyes welled up again—not for herself, but for that pitiful life.
"Sorry," she bowed her head, whispering. "I didn't know your childhood was so hard…"
Yang Chen looked down, his usual carefree grin returning. "My dear wife, I made all that up. You believed me?"
"You…" Lin Ruoxi looked up, furious. She'd felt sorry for him, and he'd lied! "How could you?!"
"Heh, look at you—you look prettier angry than you did crying," Yang Chen praised.
Lin Ruoxi's heart warmed. She knew he was teasing to distract her from her sadness, but she couldn't find the words to thank him. She just glanced at him indifferently. "Since you lied, where are your parents? We have a contract marriage—if your parents show up unexpectedly, it'll mess everything up."
Yang Chen twirled the cigarette butt between his fingers, smiling faintly. "One thing I said was true: I really don't know who my parents are. I got lost before I turned five—my name is all I remember. I'm an orphan."
Hearing him say it so casually, Lin Ruoxi's heart ached. She wanted to comfort him but didn't know how. After a moment of hesitation, she just nodded and fell silent.