Lin Haoxin shot Lin Haofei a knowing glance, then turned to Lin Haoyu with a beaming smile: "We're all sisters here—surely Sixth Sister wouldn't begrudge us a look at her necklace?"
Lin Haoyu was no fool; she could read the needle hidden beneath the silk. She had only met Lin Haoxin and Lin Haofei briefly before, and as for sisterhood—there was none to speak of among the three Lin girls. Lin Haoxin and Lin Haofei were already at each other's throats, the rivalry between the eldest and second branches of the family spilling down to the younger generation. Neither of them had ever paid Lin Haoyu any mind—what did a sickly girl who wouldn't live long matter? Who could have imagined Lin Haoyu would snatch the necklace right from under their noses?
Having already considered the diamond-and-emerald necklace their own prize, Lin Haoxin and Lin Haofei had come looking for trouble together.
"Grandmother surely dotes on me, but when it comes to beautiful necklaces, I'm far behind Fourth Sister and Fifth Sister. Once my health improves, I'll have to ask you both to show me yours. Here—this is the necklace Grandmother gave me. Do take a closer look, sisters. I'm not feeling well, so I won't get up." Lin Haoyu pretended not to understand, gesturing at the box on the nightstand with a sweet smile at the two of them.
If one were to truly measure Grandmother Lin Lizhen's affection for her three granddaughters, Lin Haoyu ranked dead last. Even though she was the daughter of Lin Jiahao, Grandmother Lin's most beloved youngest son, she had never reaped any advantage from it. Lin Haoxin and Lin Haofei had received far more fine things than Lin Haoyu ever had. It was only because Lin Jiahao and Sun Shuhui doted on their daughter that Lin Haoyu wasn't the family's pitiful little waif.
Lin Haoxin and Lin Haofei's expressions shifted. Both fixed their eyes on Lin Haoyu, terrified she might faint again—if she did, how would they ever explain themselves?
Lin Haofei said awkwardly, "Sixth Sister seems to be feeling much better."
Lin Haoyu: "I still need to take my medicine and recuperate."
Lin Haofei subtly stepped back half a pace.
Lin Haoxin inwardly cursed herself. If Lin Haofei hadn't provoked her into losing her head, why would she have come to see Lin Haoyu at all? If anything happened to the girl, people would say she couldn't even tolerate a sickly younger sister. But Lin Haoxin was, after all, the eldest granddaughter of the Lin family. Composing herself, she said with genuine concern, "Sixth Sister isn't well—Fourth Sister shouldn't have disturbed you. I recently acquired a piece of warming jade; I'll have it sent over to you shortly."
Lin Haoyu looked at Lin Haoxin in surprise, then smiled. "Thank you, Fourth Sister."
Whatever its origins, Lin Haoyu knew she was about to receive another fine gift for free.
Unwilling to be outdone by Lin Haoxin, Lin Haofei hastily declared she would give Lin Haoyu a diamond necklace—and would fetch it from her room immediately. Lin Haoxin followed right behind.
As they were leaving, Lin Haoyu said with reluctant wistfulness, "It's so dull lying here alone recuperating. Fourth Sister and Fifth Sister must come visit me again." Preferably bearing gifts.
Lin Haoxin and Lin Haofei hurried out of Lin Haoyu's room, both exhaling in unison, then snorted at each other and stalked off in opposite directions. Having parted with their prized possessions, the two shared one silent thought—never coming to see Sixth Sister again!
Lin Haoyu held the warming jade in one hand and toyed with the diamond-and-gold necklace in the other. Ha! Gold really did sparkle. The jade had felt cool at first touch, but held long enough, it truly warmed up. Lin Haoyu couldn't put it down. Fourth Sister and Fifth Sister had come all the way to deliver gifts—what good people!
When Sun Shuhui learned of this, she said calmly, "Haoxin and Haofei have no shortage of fine things. If they give them to you, accept them without a second thought."
Touching her daughter's pallid little face, Sun Shuhui's heart ached. Her daughter was, after all, the legitimate Sixth Miss of the Lin family—yet she was frail and sickly, ignored by one grandparent and dismissed by the other. Neither ever thought to give Haoyu a share of the good things, all of which went to Haoxin and Haofei instead. It was her fault for not giving her daughter a healthy body.
Lin Haoyu accepted the gifts with an utterly clear conscience. She hadn't taken them by force—they were given freely, so she'd keep them. As for Sun Shuhui's sense of injustice, Lin Haoyu felt no imbalance at all. The Lin family invested heavily in cultivating Lin Haoxin and Lin Haofei because they were investments. Barring any surprises, Lin Zhenhua would arrange advantageous marriages for them, just as he had for all the Lin women of the previous generation. But Lin Haoyu—a sickly girl who wouldn't live long—who would ever want to marry her?
Sun Shuhui said sorrowfully, "It's my fault. If I'd been more careful, how could your health be so poor?"
"Mommy, Dr. Xue says I'm doing much better." Lin Haoyu took her hand to comfort her. Sun Shuhui's premature labor had been an accident—no one had wanted that. The original owner had never blamed Sun Shuhui, and Lin Haoyu certainly wouldn't. Since she'd crossed over, Sun Shuhui had been the kindest to her, and she adored this mother of hers.
"Maybe one day you'll see me bouncing around full of energy—just don't get annoyed with me then, Mommy." Lin Haoyu joked.
Sun Shuhui laughed despite herself. "How could I ever be annoyed with you? I'd be thrilled to clean up your messes."
Lin Haoyu's days of recuperation were boring, to be sure, but she had not a care in the world. Someone attended to her meals and medicine, and she lived a life where clothes came to her and food was brought to her mouth. She ate well and slept well, so after a few more days, when Dr. Xue took her pulse, he was astonished: "Sixth Miss's body has recovered remarkably well. Given more time, there may even be a chance of full recovery."
"Really?!" Sun Shuhui was overjoyed.
"There's a sixty to seventy percent chance," Dr. Xue said, though in truth it was eighty to ninety percent, but he didn't want to speak too definitively.
Sun Shuhui pressed her palms together and murmured: "Good, good, good. I'll go to the temple to pray another day and thank the gods and Buddhas for their protection."
Lin Haoyu had been pondering her own body whenever she had free time during this period. She understood herself better than anyone and was certain that the day of complete recovery was not far off. She asked: "Dr. Xue, can I go out for a walk and breathe some fresh air? Staying in my room all day, I'm going to grow mold."
Dr. Xue deliberated again and again before saying: "Given Sixth Miss's current condition, you may take walks in the garden daily and bask in the sun in the morning and evening."
Lin Haoyu immediately broke into a smile: "Great."
Unrestricted, unrestricted, yay!
If she stayed in her room any longer, Lin Haoyu suspected she'd grow mushrooms right there.
That evening, Lin Haoyu changed her clothes and put on her shoes, ready to head out, but Sun Shuhui rushed over and pressed her down in front of the vanity to dress her up: "Sixth sister, even if a girl is just going to the family garden, she must stay beautiful and polished. You can't just slack off. Mommy will comb your hair into a princess style, just right for wearing the necklace your grandmother gave you. Jewelry should be exquisite, not plentiful. Mm, you don't need to change out of that white dress. Mommy won't put makeup on you. Look, my daughter is truly beautiful."
Lin Haoyu looked at the refined and elegant beautiful young lady in the mirror and couldn't help sighing inwardly. Clothes make the man, and gold makes the Buddha. A diamond and emerald necklace made her sparkle with luxury. She looked so expensive, haha.
Sun Shuhui was smug and proud—her daughter was pretty, just like her.
Sun Shuhui led Lin Haoyu to the back garden: "There are too many people in front; I don't want you to get jostled."
Lin Haoyu asked: "Do we have guests at home?"
"Your second brother invited some friends over to play." Sun Shuhui explained briefly.
Lin Haoyu quickly found Second Brother Lin Kangyao in her memory. Lin Kangyao was the second son of the eldest branch, the biological second brother of Fourth Sister Lin Haoxin. The Lin family was truly a large household. Grandmother Lin had given birth to three sons and one daughter. Lin Haoyu's father, Lin Jiahao, was the youngest son, with two older brothers and one older sister above him. Grandmother Lin's three sons each married and had children, so Lin Haoyu's generation had seven children. Lin Haoyu ranked sixth in the family, and her younger brother ranked seventh—these were legitimate children born of proper marriages. Beyond that, there were other illegitimate children, as Grandfather Lin Zhenhua had two additional households outside, and Uncle Lin and Second Uncle Lin had illegitimate children out of wedlock. To sum it up in four words—flourishing progeny.
Lin Jiahao fooled around in the glamorous world outside, and Sun Shuhui was well aware of this, but she couldn't control him. She only constrained him by demanding he never let her know who they were, and never produce illegitimate children. Lin Haoyu wasn't sure whether her biological father had other children in this life; at least as far as she knew, he didn't.
Comrade Lin Haoyu silently shook her head. Wealthy families were messy, truly messy. The female elders were all too virtuous and dutiful. But then again, she stood on the soil of Hong Kong, where concubinage was only abolished in 1969.
The Lin family's back garden was beautiful, and the lawn was a fresh, lovely green. Lin Haoyu took a deep breath. The air was fresh and fragrant, exuding the scent of money everywhere. Lin Haoyu grinned and remarked with a smile: "The garden is so beautiful, so big."
Sun Shuhui said: "This garden can't compare to the one at Deep Water Bay. That garden is even bigger, and once it's built, it'll be even better there. But I don't think your grandfather will necessarily move the whole family to Deep Water Bay."
Lin Haoyu blinked. The Lin family lived in a luxury mansion in the Mid-Levels, where Hong Kong's wealthy and powerful gathered. Power and wealth were concentrated here, and living here carried extraordinary significance. Even in the future, the Mid-Levels would remain the heart of Hong Kong. Why would Lin Zhenhua move away from here?
The future mansion at Deep Water Bay would also be astronomically priced. Lin Haoyu had to admit that Lin Zhenhua was indeed a self-made tycoon with exceptional vision. She thought about it—in the original novel, until the very end, Lin Zhenhua was still alive and well. Even after losing a project to the male lead in competition, he managed to facilitate the marriage between the male and female leads, because the female lead had a familial connection to the Lin family—it was a marriage between wealthy clans. Afterward, the Lin family partnered with the male lead in business. He was practically an old fox that had become a spirit.
"Because the whole family has to follow his command and direction." At least for the next ten years, there was no need to worry about the Lin family going bankrupt. Lin Haoyu felt at ease and happily lay flat as a salted fish.
Sun Shuhui said: "Your grandfather is the anchor of the Lin family."
Suddenly, Lin Haoyu and Sun Shuhui stopped in their tracks, listening to the moaning and groaning sounds coming from behind the shrubbery. Lin Haoyu's expression turned strange, while Sun Shuhui's face turned ashen. She held back, didn't expose it, but simply raised her voice and said: "Sixth sister, we've finished touring the garden. Mommy will take you back to your room to rest first."
Lin Haoyu's gaze swept across a nearby row of shrubs. The ambiguous sounds from just now seemed like a mishearing—the garden was utterly quiet at this moment. She nodded. "Alright."
Sun Shuhui pulled Lin Haoyu along by the hand without looking back. As Lin Haoyu stepped into the house, she turned her head on a whim and caught sight of a disheveled Lin Kangyao beside a girl in a slip dress. Her expression genuinely struggled to hold itself together. Seriously—this guy had a room to go back to, but he chose to come to the garden for kicks?
Lin Kangyao noticed Lin Haoyu looking at him and casually returned a smile, without a shred of shame.
Lin Haoyu: "…"
Unbelievable! This second cousin had something wrong with him too, huh.
"Mommy, you knew it was Second Cousin?" Lin Haoyu asked quietly, seeing that Sun Shuhui's expression had already relaxed.
"I could tell from the voice," Sun Shuhui instructed Lin Haoyu. "Next time you run into something like this, don't bother with it—just walk away. Lin Kangyao has your eldest uncle and eldest aunt to discipline him. Lin Kangyao is far too thoughtless, carrying on like this even at home. If word gets out, which young lady from a good family would be willing to marry him? Sixth Sister, just pretend you know nothing about it. Whoever asks, tell them you don't know."
Lin Haoyu said, "I won't say anything. Do you know who that girl is?"
Sun Shuhui replied, "Whoever she is doesn't matter. It's not a problem. Lin Kangyao used to compete with his eldest brother Lin Kangzong, and now he can't even control his own lower half. With a track record like that, how could he ever beat Lin Kangzong?"
Lin Kangzong was the eldest grandson of the Lin family's main branch. Lin Haoyu called him Eldest Cousin. Lin Kangzong held a special position in the Lin family, receiving the most attention from Lin Zhenhua, and had been groomed as the heir since childhood.
"Mommy, are you talking about Grandpa arranging a marriage match for Eldest Cousin?" Lin Haoyu remembered Sun Shuhui muttering a few words about it in her ear before.
Sun Shuhui said with a hint of sourness, "Exactly. Your grandfather wants to pick the best possible match for Lin Kangzong. He's been weighing options left and right, and still hasn't settled on anyone. Your grandmother says she wants someone perfect in every way to be worthy of her eldest grandson."
Lin Haoyu rubbed the tip of her nose with her finger and smiled. Their fourth branch of the Lin family was just like her—at the bottom of the heap. If not for Grandmother Lin's special favor toward Lin Jiahao, their family of four might have been pushed out of the Lin family's inner circle entirely. Lin Zhenhua most despised Lin Jiahao, his good-for-nothing youngest son. Sun Shuhui had the humblest family background among the sisters-in-law and carried no weight before her in-laws. Lin Haoyu was frail and sickly, and the seventh brother Lin Kangrui was young, rebellious, and showed no signs of promise. The fourth branch held not a single good card, and the first and second branches didn't give them a second thought.