Only after her life had been ruined did he think to ask about her education.
How ironic.
She had spent ten years studying desperately, determined to change her fate. Just as her hard work was about to bear fruit, it proved no match for power and privilege.
With one careless remark, the Lin family had sealed her fate, casting her effortlessly into the deepest abyss.
She could have had a bright future.
From childhood, she could never compete with others on family background—the only thing she could rely on was her extraordinary diligence.
Her dream was to get into Tsinghua or Peking University, then pursue a master’s degree and a PhD. She wanted to become a professor, standing at the lectern and using her own strength to change the fates of people who worked as hard as she had.
But reality had slapped her hard across the face.
She never became who she wanted to be. Instead, she became a convicted labor-camp prisoner despised by all, a stain permanently recorded in her file.
Affecting three generations of her family.
At this thought, Lin Qian’s hands clenched into fists, her nails digging deep into her palms without her even noticing.
“Haicheng No. 1 High School.” Lin Qian’s voice was soft, almost gentle.
Yet those four words—”Haicheng No. 1 High School”—weighed like a thousand-ton boulder, pressing down on Father Lin, Mother Lin, and Lin Yanshu until they could barely breathe.
Because Haicheng No. 1 High School had the highest admission cutoff in all of Haicheng.
All the top students went there. Unlike Shenghui Elite High School, where money alone could buy admission, Haicheng No. 1 recognized only scores, not money.
She had ranked first in her grade year after year even among those top students—proof that she was the best of the best. With grades like hers, getting into Tsinghua or Peking University was a sure thing.
“Impossible. You’re lying.” Lin Yanshu grew agitated. “Haicheng No. 1 is in the suburbs, more than thirty kilometers from home. Back then you rode that beat-up bicycle every day—”
Mid-sentence, something seemed to strike Lin Yanshu, and the rest of the words died in his throat.
Watching his face grow paler and paler, Lin Qian’s lips curled into a mocking smile. “I would rather ride a bike than go to school with Lin Wan’er, because the two of us never went to the same school at all.”
“I never ate breakfast with you, because Haicheng No. 1 started morning study at six. I had to get up at four in the morning and ride for two hours to make it to school.”
“I never came home at lunchtime, because the lunch break was never long enough for me to ride home from school. I had no money for food, so I could only drink water to hold out until school let out in the evening. And when I finally got home, you had all long finished eating. All I could have was leftovers—and even then you’d sneer that I was born with a cheap fate, refusing hot meals and only eating scraps, wolfing down leftovers like a starving ghost reborn…”
“Qianqian, I’m sorry.” Mother Lin’s tears fell like beads from a snapped string, and she wept bitterly. “I didn’t know you suffered so much. It was all my fault.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for.” Lin Qian looked at her tear-streaked face, her heart calm as still water. “I wasn’t raised by your side, so I understand that you have no feelings for me. After all, I’d long since grown used to it. No matter how hard things got, they never felt hard to me. Isn’t that right, Mrs. Lin?”
At those words, Mother Lin’s sobs caught in her throat.
【Qianqian, I’m begging you as your mother. You’re stronger than Wan’er, you can endure more than she can. You managed to take care of yourself even in a place like an orphanage. I’m sure you’ll get used to prison just as easily. Take the blame for Wan’er, won’t you?】
The memory sealed away for five years suddenly came flooding back. Mother Lin was deeply shaken, clutching her chest as if she might faint at any moment.
Watching Mother Lin’s precarious state with cold eyes, Lin Qian was filled with scorn.
There had been surveillance cameras where Lin Wan’er pushed Gu Yilin down the stairs.
But the moment it happened, Mother Lin had deleted that footage—the very evidence that could have proven her innocence—which was why she’d been unable to defend herself in court.
“That’s enough!” Lin Yanshu snapped coldly at Lin Qian. “Stop being so passive-aggressive. It was our oversight that we neglected you before, but aren’t you at all responsible yourself? You were jealous that Wan’er lived better than you, so you deliberately bullied her to get back at us. You’re dark-hearted and unlikeable, yet instead of looking for the cause within yourself, you blame us first.”
“Yanshu, don’t talk about your sister like that,” Mother Lin sobbed.
“Mom, you keep protecting her. She’s only gotten more lawless because she holds our guilt over us. Otherwise, why would she have pushed Gu Yilin down the stairs, leaving her a vegetable, and framed Wan’er for it? We sent her to prison for five years, and she’s held a grudge—that’s why she’s making a scene in front of all the guests.”
Mother Lin felt a pang of guilt. She hurriedly looked at Lin Qian, only to find Lin Qian watching her with a half-smile.
Her heart lurched, and she averted her eyes in shame.
“That’s enough, everyone, say less.” Father Lin frowned slightly, his face stern. “Qianqian, why didn’t you tell us you were coming home? If we’d known you were returning, your mother and I would have prepared a gown for you.”
Lin Qian froze in place.
“You didn’t know I was released today?”
“Of course not. If we had, your father would have sent the driver to pick you up. Qianqian, how did you get home?”
Lin Qian looked at Lin Yanshu, her eyes frost-cold and piercing. “I came back in Young Master Lin’s car, because Young Master Lin said you’d prepared a welcome-home banquet for me.”
“A welcome-home banquet? Isn’t today Lin Wan’er’s birthday party, the eldest daughter of the Lin family?”
“Exactly. The invitation I received also said it was the birthday party of Lin Wan’er, eldest daughter of the Lin family. When did it become a welcome-home banquet for her?”
“Having us welcome home a convict—did I hear that right?”
The people around began to whisper.
Embarrassment flashed across Lin Yanshu’s face. He wanted to explain, but after stammering for a long while, not a single word came out.
Lin Qian mocked herself inwardly. So the clown was her all along.
Father Lin and Mother Lin only remembered that today was Lin Wan’er’s birthday—how could they possibly recall that it was also the day of her release?
As for the welcome-home banquet Lin Yanshu mentioned, she was merely riding on the coattails of Lin Wan’er’s birthday party, an afterthought at best.
A wave of bitterness spread through her heart. What had she even been hoping for?
Lin Qian no longer wanted to put on airs with the Lin family. She turned to leave.
Suddenly, a white figure came rushing straight at her. Lin Qian tried to dodge, but her limping leg simply couldn’t move fast enough.
“Bang!”
The person crashed into her, the tremendous impact knocking Lin Qian to the ground. Pain shot through her elbow and leg.
Her brows knitted tightly, and her pale, bloodless face grew even whiter.
By the time she finally endured the pain and looked up, she saw Father Lin, Mother Lin, and Lin Yanshu shielding a girl in a custom-made white feathered gown at their center, fussing over her with concern.
“Wan’er, are you okay? Did the bump hurt? Are you injured?”
The girl’s eyes brimmed with tears, her eyes and nose red, looking pitiful. “Mom, Dad, big brother, it hurts so much, sob sob…”
Immediately, the Lin family hurriedly checked on her with worry. “Wan’er, where does it hurt? Did Lin Qian bump into you and hurt you just now?”
Without a second thought, Lin Yanshu yelled at Lin Qian, “Are you blind when you walk?”