While Lin Xi was seeing the subdistrict workers out, Lin Ran reminded Lin Jianguo of something.
“Dad, since Sister just said she doesn’t mind severing ties, why don’t we sign the severance agreement together?”
Li Yufen disagreed at first.
“A severance agreement? Can we just sign something like that?”
“Don’t forget, we only transferred the house to her yesterday. If we cut ties with her, won’t she make us move out in no time?”
It was such a good house—something you couldn’t even buy if you had the money.
After living here in comfort for twenty years, she could no longer stand the thought of squeezing into a crowded communal courtyard with other families.
As Li Yufen spoke, she kept sneaking glances at Lin Jianguo.
Clearly, Lin Jianguo was worried about the same thing.
He said nothing, which made Lin Ran increasingly irritated. These two weren’t just biased toward sons—they were also short-sighted!
Lin Ran said, “It’s just one house!”
“Once we sever ties, what will Lin Xi have left besides the house and the IOU in her hands?”
“But we’re different! The moment we sever ties, the family property will have absolutely nothing to do with Lin Xi!”
The thought of legitimately taking possession of the huge sum of money Bai Keling had left behind finally tempted Lin Jianguo.
Compared to that money, the house really wasn’t much.
But…
Seeing that Lin Jianguo was still hesitating, Lin Ran took the opportunity to tempt him further.
“Besides, the house isn’t impossible to deal with.”
The old couple’s eyes lit up as they looked at her.
Lin Ran slightly raised her chin, her face full of confidence.
“Mom, do this. Go and arrange that marriage with the Yu family for Lin Xi. As long as she gets married quickly, won’t everything be solved?”
“She can’t take the house with her. We’ll just continue living here. If she comes back and makes trouble, Dad, you can go outside and loudly accuse her of being unfilial! I doubt she’ll be able to do anything to you!”
Since ancient times, filial piety had been regarded as the highest virtue.
Lin Ran’s plan really could work.
Lin Jianguo glanced at Li Yufen. He disliked the idea of making a public spectacle of this because it was embarrassing, but Li Yufen could do it.
Seeing that the old couple had been persuaded, Lin Ran felt secretly pleased.
By then, she would already have taken the money and married Zhao Mingze. Where her parents lived would have nothing to do with her.
The entire family fortune would be in her hands. She could simply find them some place to live, and they would have no choice but to endure it.
Looking at the relatively neat handwriting on the severance agreement, Lin Xi raised an eyebrow.
She had only mentioned it casually earlier.
She had thought she would need to lay the groundwork for several days, or perhaps cause a few more scenes, before Lin Jianguo would agree to sever ties.
She hadn’t expected it to go so smoothly!
She sneered and glanced at the family of three opposite her, immediately understanding what they were planning.
They wanted to use the severance agreement to legitimately seize her family’s property?
Fine!
They could enjoy their prison tears all by themselves. She had no intention of joining them!
As Lin Xi read the severance agreement word by word, Lin Ran felt increasingly uneasy.
Ever since being reborn, she had always felt that something was wrong with this older sister of hers, but she couldn’t put her finger on exactly what.
She had once suspected that Lin Xi had also been reborn.
But after observing her for two days, it didn’t seem like it.
If Lin Xi had also been reborn, then after Zhao Mingze had been stolen from her, how could she have let it go so easily?
If Lin Xi had also been reborn, how could she have only slapped her twice and asked for a house?
The more Lin Ran thought about it, the more impossible it seemed.
Silence descended over the living room.
The second hand of the clock on the wall ticked away, making every passing second of the silence feel unbearably long.
Lin Jianguo couldn’t stand it anymore. He gave a cold laugh and looked at Lin Xi.
“Are you scared now? You don’t want to sever ties anymore, do you?”
“Fine!”
He nodded grimly and held out his hand toward Lin Xi.
“Then give me the IOU!”
“We’re family. Why bother with an IOU? It’s only a few thousand yuan. If word gets out, people will laugh at us!”
Lin Jianguo didn’t actually care about the IOU.
He could clearly distinguish between a few thousand yuan and the priceless treasures hidden in those several boxes in the secret room.
The reason he said this was because he understood Lin Xi.
His daughter had a strong temper and looked clever, but she couldn’t resist provocation.
After going through all that trouble to get the IOU, how could Lin Xi possibly give it up just because he told her to?
Sure enough.
The moment Lin Xi heard that, she became anxious.
“Who said I was scared?”
Holding the severance agreement, she returned to the coffee table, uncapped the fountain pen, and swiftly signed her name.
“Come here and press your fingerprint.”
The IOU had witnesses, so Lin Xi hadn’t demanded fingerprints for that.
But the severance agreement was different.
What if Lin Jianguo tried to play dumb later and claimed the signature wasn’t his?
She wanted to eliminate every possible loophole!
Seeing Lin Xi acting so aggressively, Lin Jianguo assumed she was simply unhappy about severing ties and deliberately making things difficult.
“Hurry up. Go upstairs and bring down the ink pad.”
He ordered Li Yufen impatiently.
“Let’s finish this quickly. We still have to go to the Xiao family!”
The Xiao family…
Lin Xi’s pupils trembled.
She wondered whether Xiao Jingwen had taken what she said at the restaurant to heart today.
Actually, if Xiao Jingwen had been an ordinary worker, she would have been willing to give him a chance to develop a relationship.
After all, that man had the looks of a top male model. It would be a waste not to take advantage of that!
But the Xiao family was different.
The restrictions placed on women in this era were already rigid and deeply traditional.
With the Xiao family’s status, once she became involved with Xiao Jingwen, she was afraid she wouldn’t even have her freedom anymore.
Then how would she farm?
In an era of food shortages, how could she help build a better country?
There were plenty of men out there.
It was a pity, of course, but she would eventually meet someone else.
Lin Xi silently sighed to herself.
Meanwhile, Lin Jianguo had already pressed his fingerprint and pushed the severance agreement toward Lin Xi.
“Now that we’ve signed the severance agreement, Lin Xi, remember this. You were the one who asked for this yourself. Don’t come crying back one day and ask the subdistrict office to come here and take your side!”
There were two copies.
Lin Xi waved the papers a few times, waiting for the ink to dry before carefully folding them up.
She smiled at Lin Jianguo.
“Don’t worry, Lin Jianguo. I won’t.”
She had even stopped calling him “Dad.”
Lin Jianguo’s neck immediately flushed red with anger. He was just about to point at Lin Xi and curse her—
when the sound of brakes came from outside.
A military jeep stopped at the entrance to the Lin family courtyard.
The person in the driver’s seat got out first and asked,
“Is this Comrade Lin Jianguo’s home?”
At this time, a military jeep had arrived, accompanied by a guard.
Who else could it be but the Xiao family?
Lin Jianguo exchanged a glance with Li Yufen, then immediately beamed with delight and hurried outside.
“Yes! Is Commander Xiao here?”
“Welcome, welcome! Oh my, you should have told us before coming. I could have had Xiaoran go to the entrance of the alley to welcome you!”
Lin Jianguo and Li Yufen spoke one after another, their voices loud enough to make sure all the neighbors could hear them.
The guard frowned slightly, politely nodded at Lin Jianguo, and went around to open the rear door.
The vehicle had stopped at an angle directly facing the window.
How could Lin Xi possibly miss such a flattering performance?
She walked over to the window, crossed her arms, and prepared to watch the show.
But the moment she stood there, she unexpectedly found herself looking straight into Xiao Jingwen’s sharp, deep, eagle-like eyes.