"Appetite and lust are human nature." Lin Haofei declared with conviction.
Lin Haoyu laughed: "So you admit Second Brother is handsome."
Lin Haofei let out a reluctant snort: "I can't be bothered with Liu Sanjin. Second Brother is acting like a good man now, insisting it has to be Liu Sanjin, but give it time, and Second Brother's wandering eye will definitely resurface."
"But then again, maybe Liu Sanjin won't keep falling for Second Brother's act forever. They can play each other."
Lin Haoyu pressed her forehead. Lin Haofei's words weren't without merit. Both Lin Kangyao and Liu Sanjin came from wealthy families—no matter how they carried on, their lives wouldn't suffer, and they'd certainly be entertaining.
The children of wealthy families had money and leisure, plenty of time to stir up drama. Lin Haoyu had heard quite a bit of gossip from people in their circle at today's charity auction, and she had to admit—it was spectacular, truly spectacular. Love triangles and affairs were child's play.
Lin Haofei stared at Lin Haoyu's face for a long moment, then suddenly said: "Be careful. Don't end up like Liu Sanjin. It's fine to like handsome men, but don't get obsessed—especially with the well-known players in our circle. They'll dare to touch anything. They wouldn't dare target you, but if you're foolish enough to throw yourself at them, they'll play you without a second thought. In short, protect yourself, and protect the Lin family's reputation."
Lin Haoyu froze, then nodded seriously: "I understand, Fifth Sister."
Lin Haofei cast a satisfied glance at Lin Haoyu and blurted out: "If you want to play with men, Fifth Sister can introduce you to some. Guaranteed clean, and I promise you'll be satisfied."
"Pfft—cough, cough, cough—" Lin Haoyu knew Lin Haofei often said shocking things, but she was caught off guard every single time. Too wild, way too wild.
"Coward." Lin Haofei scolded.
Lin Haoyu glared at her helplessly: "I can't accept your kind offer."
Lin Haofei sneered: "Good little girl."
Lin Haoyu didn't take the bait. She admitted she didn't have as many wandering thoughts as the rest of the Lin family, and she had no desire to toy with people's feelings. She was very cautious about romance. Lin Haoyu didn't see anything wrong with that—playing with feelings might backfire, and besides, it drained too much energy and time. With that time and energy, she'd rather save up her little nest egg. Of course, lying low now was even better—the money was coming to her on its own. Hehe.
"Fifth Sister, how much money have you spent on Dong Xing?" Lin Haoyu suddenly asked out of curiosity.
Lin Haofei thought Lin Haoyu was getting interested, so she said: "I transfer him fifty thousand every month, give him gifts at every meeting, and ask my friends to send him some resources. That's all."
Lin Haoyu's expression went blank. Looking at Lin Haofei's utterly indifferent face, she couldn't help but complain: "Fifth Sister, you're really enjoying being played for a fool."
"Played for a fool? Dong Xing and I are in the thick of our romance right now. Spending money on him is only natural—since he's with me, I'm supporting his career." Lin Haofei said carelessly.
Lin Haoyu was speechless. Their spending values were on completely different wavelengths—they had nothing in common to talk about.
Lin Haofei spent at least a hundred thousand a month on Dong Xing, not to mention all those resources. Keeping a man was expensive!
Lin Haoyu hadn't had any wandering thoughts to begin with, and now she had even less desire. Not a single cent of her money would be spent on a man.
Thinking about how good Sun Shuhui was at saving money—if Lin Jiahao had multiple "households" like Uncle Eldest and Uncle Second did, that would be disastrous. One "household" was a money-devouring beast; how could she handle several? Money would flow away like water.
Lin Haoyu shook her head. Lin Haoyu refused. Playing with men was worse than lying low and building her little nest egg.
No wonder Uncle Eldest and Uncle Second wanted to fight over the family inheritance—without money, how could they support multiple households?
Lin Haofei just thought Lin Haoyu had a wooden head: "Money is meant to be spent to make me happy. How can I be happy without spending it?"
Lin Haoyu: "When I spend money on myself, I'm happy."
Lin Haofei: "Suit yourself. When you finally come around, you can still come find me."
Back at home, the moment Lin Haoyu saw Sun Shuhui, she ran up to her and said: "Mommy, you're the best!"
The faint worry on Sun Shuhui's face was immediately replaced by joy. She stroked her daughter's hair: "Seeing how happy you are, the charity auction must have gone very smoothly."
"Mm-hmm, it went smoothly. I met a lot of people. Fifth Sister took good care of me, and Mingshan was with me too. I saw plenty of excitement." Lin Haoyu looked obedient.
Sun Shuhui finally let out that breath of relief: "Good, good, good. Mommy was worried about you at home the whole time, couldn't even sit still."
Lin Haoyu smiled: "Mommy, don't worry. No matter what happens, Grandma is there."
"I know, but I can't help worrying about you. It's your first time in social circles, and I can't be there with you." Sun Shuhui shook her head.
Lin Haoyu chattered away with Sun Shuhui about what happened at the auction, especially the standoff between the Li and Liu real estate companies. Sun Shuhui indeed listened with excitement: "Lin Kangyao will be running to the Liu family often from now on. The Li real estate company has hitched its wagon to the Xie Group and is stealing the spotlight. It's only natural that the Liu family is being overshadowed for now."
"Does it affect our family?" Lin Haoyu asked.
Sun Shuhui thought for a moment and said, "Maybe a little, but our Lin family has your grandfather—he's the pillar that holds everything steady. There's definitely no problem."
Lin Haoyu nodded. Where in the business world was there no competition? Harbor City real estate made money—who wouldn't have their eyes on it? Everyone was waving their money around investing in property, all wanting a piece of the pie. It wasn't just the four families of Li, Lau, Tse, and Lin competing. Who knew—maybe one day the Lin and Tse families would even end up working together.
Sun Shuhui asked Lin Haoyu to tell her all the details about the charity auction again, and after she finished, said with satisfaction, "Sixth Sister, from now on Grandma will definitely take you out to meet people more often. Mommy doesn't need to worry anymore."
Although Sun Shuhui could take Lin Haoyu out for social engagements herself, if Lin Lizhen was the one bringing her along, it could only benefit Lin Haoyu. Sun Shuhui was overjoyed.
"The more Grandma values you, the more good things she'll give you—just like with your father. Your grandmother is very generous to people she likes."
"Is that so?" Lin Haoyu was happy too. She was wearing the necklace Lin Lizhen had won for her at the charity auction, and her grandmother, who gave her gifts, was a solid golden thigh to cling to. Haha.
"It's definitely right to get closer to your grandmother." Sun Shuhui said with certainty. She herself couldn't get close to her mother-in-law, but as long as her mother-in-law treated her grandchildren well, that was enough.
Lin Haoyu nodded eagerly. "Got it, Mommy."
As for this charity auction, the three Lin family members who attended were very satisfied. Only Lin Kangyao had disaster fall from the sky—Liu Sanjin kept calling him over to the Lau family to put out fires. Lin Kangyao ran back and forth several times without complaint, until suddenly his young master's temper flared up and he threw a proper fit. Only then did the Lau side quiet down, and Liu Sanjin ended up chasing after Lin Kangyao instead.
The Lin family was no worse than the Lau family. In a marriage alliance between the two families, neither was marrying up. If anything, the Lin family had started out earlier in Harbor City than the Lau family, though the Laus had deeper roots. The two families were in friendly cooperation. Lin Kangyao had been willing to fawn over the Laus before only because of the support they gave him. Lin Kangyao had his pride—he couldn't keep flattering and pleasing the Laus forever. That would only make them look down on him.
When Liu Sanjin came running to the Lin residence, the house immediately became livelier. Liu Sanjin called for Lin Haoyu several times, but she only accepted once, using studying as an excuse to decline the rest.
What made things even livelier was that Lin Kangzong suddenly lost his mind and went all out fawning over Liu Sanjin, and Liu Sanjin seemed to be enjoying it. Lin Haoyu several times saw Lin Kangzong and Liu Sanjin arm in arm, chatting intimately, and once their mouths were almost pressed together.
Lin Haoyu was stunned by the drama. Maybe Liu Sanjin wasn't a love-obsessed fool—maybe she wanted to try something fresh…
The commotion in the main branch gave the rest of the Lin family plenty of laughs. Sun Shuhui laughed the hardest. Lin Haoyu suspected her mother wanted to rush out and throw fuel on the fire of that messy three-way relationship.
Lin Haofei cackled loudly and took direct action, stirring the pot among the three of them. Good grief—what had started as Lin Kangzong just wanting to make trouble for Lin Kangyao had turned into a genuine love triangle.
Lin Kangyao, in danger!
Lin Haoyu, watching the whole thing from the sidelines: Pfft pfft pfft, hahaha~