Lin Xianyu remained silent for a long time.
After seeing Tan Yunxian off, Youen entered the room and brought Lin Xianyu a freshly brewed bowl of Rock Candy Pear Soup.
She didn’t say a word upon entering. After placing the bowl and spoon on the table beside Lin Xianyu’s bed, she prepared to leave.
Just as she was about to step out of the room, Lin Xianyu suddenly called out to her.
“Wait.”
Youen didn’t stop walking.
“Wait a moment,” Lin Xianyu called out again, raising her voice.
Youen ignored her once more and directly left the room.
Lin Xianyu thought Youen hadn’t heard her. Her brows slightly furrowed as she silently swallowed back the words she had finally mustered the courage to say.
Youen had indeed heard her, but she had no intention of responding to her at all.
She felt that wasting words on someone as heartless as Lin Xianyu was equivalent to wasting her own precious life.
The bright moon hung high in the sky, dotted with countless stars across the night curtain.
After dinner, Youen sat alone in the courtyard, staring blankly at the moon.
Su Yan had just finished reading the book in his hand and was about to extinguish the lamp to sleep when he caught sight of Youen in the courtyard through the window lattice.
The night breeze was chilly. He initially intended to call her inside, but as he pushed open the window, he noticed another figure had appeared in the courtyard.
It was Su Ting.
Su Ting walked directly up to Youen. Upon reaching her side, he placed a square-shaped object into her hand, said a few words of instruction, and then returned to his room.
Su Yan couldn’t make out what Su Ting had told her, but he noticed that after hearing those words, Youen’s mood became extremely downcast.
Early the next morning, Su Ting was gone.
He had left no letter, nor had he bid farewell to the Su family in advance.
Su Yang asked Youen if she knew where Su Ting had gone. Youen merely shook her head, appearing absent-minded.
Su Yan knew that Youen was hiding something from them.
If she wasn’t willing to speak, he would never ask.
“Eldest Brother, don’t worry. Uncle might have encountered some urgent matter to attend to, which is why he didn’t have time to inform us. Perhaps he’ll return once he’s finished in a few days.”
Hearing his words, Youen finally snapped back to reality and quickly added, “Yes, that’s right, Second Brother is correct. My father told me yesterday that he’ll be back after some time.”
Only then did Su Yang set his mind at ease and refrain from further questioning.
By the afternoon, Lin Xianyu was already able to get out of bed and move around.
While marveling at Tan Yunxian’s exceptional medical skills, Youen urged her to return home quickly.
“Prefect Lin has posted notices throughout the city offering a heavy reward for your whereabouts. He must be quite worried about you; you should hurry back.”
As she spoke, she calmly produced a forged notice she had prepared earlier.
Lin Xianyu didn’t even glance at the high-quality fake notice and directly said, “Stop lying. My father has always valued the Lin family’s reputation. Even if I disappeared for a year or two, he would never post notices to search for me.
Moreover, after what happened yesterday. If he were to search for me on a large scale, yesterday’s events would surely become known throughout the city.”
By then, everyone in Suzhou would know that the Lin family’s daughter was unruly, having fled before her wedding. The Lin family’s reputation would inevitably suffer, and it would only cause him to lose face.
Such an unprofitable matter, he would absolutely not do.
Youen was shocked: “Your father isn’t afraid that something might happen to you?”
Even if she wasn’t favored, Lin Xianyu was still considered a member of the Lin family.
Could Lin Fu be so cruel as to disregard his own daughter’s safety?
Lin Xianyu smiled bitterly: “He wishes for me to die quickly.”
Even a vicious tiger does not eat its own cubs.This Lin Fu is truly ruthless.
Youen sighed softly and quietly put away that notice.
What a pity for the painstakingly crafted replicas she had made.
Originally intending to use these to lure her back home, who would have thought her home would turn out to be her deepest abyss.
Enough.
Although Lin Xianyu is heartless, she is still a living person after all—Youen couldn’t just push her back into the tiger’s den.
She would have to endure it for now.
Once her injuries fully healed, she could make her own decision.
Lin Xianyu, watching Youen’s tightly furrowed brow, mistakenly thought Youen was worrying about her.
Tan Yunxian was right—there is so much kindness in this world, and she shouldn’t always be hostile toward everyone.
What she should hate are the Lin family members who abused her repeatedly, not these impoverished people who were still willing to save her.
She couldn’t help but sigh, “Your Su family… you’re all good people.”
Youen, unsure what mischief she was scheming now, glanced at her warily, afraid she might start causing trouble again.
Unexpectedly, Lin Xianyu’s next words were: “Let me tell you about my life.”
She recounted all the suffering she had endured in the Lin family to Su Youen.
It took a full two hours to tell everything.
By the end of those two hours, Youen was already clenching her fists, filled with rage.
She couldn’t understand why Lin Fu, being part of the same Lin family, would treat her so poorly.
She couldn’t understand why Ergou could be so despicable—how could a female lead possibly live such a miserable life?
Then there was the male lead next door, Jiang Yunnan, who not only came from immense wealth but also enjoyed his father’s doting affection. No matter what happened, his father would never blame him.
Meanwhile, the female lead in Ergou’s writing was a tragic young miss who was frequently locked in the woodshed, always covered in wounds, so fearful that she didn’t even dare to commit suicide at home—only after escaping the woodshed would she dare to end her miserable life.
Is this the kind of melodramatic tragic story a male author writes on a whim?
Only torturing the female lead while sparing the male lead?
The favoritism is just too obvious.
Why does Ergou have to stand out so much among all these intervertebral discs?
Following Ergou’s clichéd routine, Su Youen vaguely guessed the original plot.
Likely, it was the male lead Jiang Yunnan who saved Lin Xianyu yesterday.
That was how these two would have met.
In the original story, when Jiang Yunnan escaped his arranged marriage, Lin Xianyu would inevitably face harsh scolding from Lin Fu.
Regardless of who ultimately broke off the engagement, the humiliation she suffered today was destined to happen.
This suicide attempt was also bound to occur.
These events were all fated from the beginning.
And she and Jiang Yunnan were the biggest anomalies in this story.
Originally, when Lin Xianyu attempted suicide, it should have been Jiang Yunnan who appeared at Xingchuan Village.
However, that unlucky kid Jiang Yunnan ate melon seeds that triggered his allergy, making it impossible for him to go out.
Never mind going to Xingchuan Village to encounter Lin Xianyu—he could barely even get out of bed.
Because of this, he coincidentally missed the chance to meet Lin Xianyu.
Who would have thought that the opportunity Jiang Yunnan missed would be stumbled upon by her, Su Youen.
The female lead that Jiang Yunnan failed to save ended up being rescued by her, the villainous supporting female character.
What kind of mess is this?
When Youen looked at Lin Xianyu again, her gaze was filled with sympathy.
She couldn’t bear to imagine how many beatings Lin Xianyu’s frail frame must have endured.
How much suffering she must have gone through all these years in the Lin family.
Having never experienced kindness from her own family since childhood, no wonder she held such deep hostility toward strangers.
Kindness in this world should naturally be reciprocal.
Lin Xianyu suddenly spoke again: “I’m not saying this to gain sympathy. I just want you to know that I absolutely refuse to return to the Lin family.
Don’t waste your efforts anymore with these fake notices.”