Upon learning that Lin Kangrui had not only skipped class but also gotten into a fight, Sun Shuhui made a phone call to drag Lin Jiahao back home. The couple, unhurried, had the driver take them to the middle school Lin Kangrui attended.
Lin Haoyu watched the car drive out of the gate and shook her head slightly. Having transmigrated less than a month ago, she had spent most of her time recovering from illness and had little interaction with this full-blooded younger brother of hers. Lin Kangrui was usually at school during the week, and on weekends he'd drag his gang of friends out to play. The siblings saw each other every few days, and their conversations hadn't exceeded ten sentences total. So Lin Haoyu felt no real sibling bond with Lin Kangrui, and he probably felt the same—their siblinghood was purely superficial.
Sun Shuhui and Lin Jiahao's expressions were easy to read. Both wore a faint look of being dead inside, and even their trip to the middle school was dragged out reluctantly. Clearly, neither of them wanted to go see Lin Kangrui's teacher.
So just how many times had Lin Jiahao been called in as a parent?
The answer was too many to count. If Sun Shuhui and Lin Jiahao weren't absolutely certain they hadn't picked up the wrong baby at the hospital, they really would have thrown Lin Jiahao out. Getting into trouble every few days—even his own parents couldn't stand him.
Before long, Sun Shuhui and Lin Jiahao returned, both looking exhausted. As for Lin Kangrui, the younger brother, his face was full of defiance, not a trace of remorse. Instead of being ashamed, he was proud: "The teacher wouldn't approve my leave, so I skipped class to go to a concert—so what? I can make up the classes another day, but miss this concert and it's gone forever."
Sun Shuhui pointed at him in exasperation: "You dare to be proud! If your grandfather finds out you skipped class to go to some concert and got into a fight, see if he doesn't punish you!"
Lin Kangrui curled his lip, completely unconcerned: "Punish me then. Even if Grandpa knows, he can't control me."
In short, Lin Kangrui, in the throes of his rebellious phase, was all about "not listening, not listening"—he was going to be rebellious.
Lin Jiahao, meanwhile, said: "Xiao Qi, Dad wants to make a deal with you—can you not get caught when you do bad things? Dad really doesn't want to go see your teacher again next time. It's so embarrassing."
At that, Sun Shuhui glared at Lin Jiahao too: "It's your indulgence as a father that's made him more and more reckless!"
Lin Jiahao waved his hand dismissively: "Xiao Qi hasn't done anything that violates heaven's laws. He just skipped a class."
Lin Kangrui got angry at both his parents: "I went to a concert—that's not doing something bad!"
"Alright, alright. Next time your teacher calls the parents, I'm declaring now—I'm not going. It's too embarrassing," Lin Jiahao said to Sun Shuhui with a shameless look. "No matter how you try to persuade me, I'm not going to school with you again. You don't have to go either if you don't want to. Xiao Qi's just making small trouble—let him make it."
Sun Shuhui's anger exploded on the spot, and she launched a "combined double attack" on the father-son pair.
Listening to Lin Jiahao and Lin Kangrui yelping as they got hit, Lin Haoyu slowly closed her mouth, which had fallen open in surprise. What characters—especially Lin Jiahao and Lin Kangrui.
"Sis, talk Mom out of it!" Lin Kangrui scrambled to escape, frantically pulling Lin Haoyu in to divert the fire.
Lin Haoyu smiled gently: "I can't persuade her. Just stand there and take the beating. Once Mom's anger passes, it'll be fine."
Lin Kangrui's eyes flew wide. How had his sister come up with such a rotten idea?
Sun Shuhui chased Lin Kangrui and hit him even harder. Lin Jiahao escaped smoothly, leaving Lin Kangrui to enjoy his mother's loving iron fist all by himself.
Sun Shuhui was only momentarily furious and hadn't actually gone all out. She was purely frustrated that iron couldn't become steel. When she finished hitting, she glared fiercely at the father-son pair. No matter how many ideas she had, they were all useless in front of this useless pair. Her husband was unreliable, her son copied his example, and on the other side stood the Lin family's vast enterprise, with the first and second branches watching covetously, and her in-laws not thinking well of them. How could their fourth branch compete?
"I really can't discipline you anymore." Sun Shuhui was utterly exhausted. If her son couldn't be propped up on the wall, what was there left to hope for?
"Sixth Sister, come with Mom. I can't bear to look at them another second." Sun Shuhui saw Lin Haoyu sitting obediently on the sofa and felt a bit of comfort. At least she still had Sixth Sister. Sixth Sister's health was improving—at least she had some hope there.
"Hmph, you didn't lift a finger to save me. Are you even my sister?" Lin Kangrui bared his teeth at Lin Haoyu.
Lin Haoyu was genuinely speechless. As she passed by, she reached out and patted Lin Kangrui's dog head, adding to his bird's nest of hair with a smile: "Seventh Brother, study hard. 'Not lifting a finger to save someone' isn't used like that. Mom's just hitting you."
Lin Kangrui felt something was off about Lin Haoyu's gaze, but he couldn't figure out what.
Seeing his clueless expression, Lin Haoyu couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Lin Kangrui glared at her angrily.
Her mother, father, and younger brother had no ability to fight for the family inheritance—in fact, Lin Jiahao and Lin Kangrui had no intention of fighting for it at all. Sun Shuhui had the ambition but didn't dare show it. No wonder the first and second branches didn't see the fourth branch as a threat.
Lin Haoyu felt the current situation was just right. She didn't want to fight the first and second branches into a cockfight. Her little family suited her perfectly for lying flat and being a salted fish.
Sun Shuhui was unhappy inside, but she didn't take it out on Lin Haoyu. She'd lived like this for over a decade and was used to it. Aside from being angry at her husband and son for their lack of ambition, there was nothing she could do.
"Your grandmother said that the clothes and jewelry for the charity auction will come out of the family funds. Mommy will pick out the best for you." Sun Shuhui's fighting spirit instantly returned, clearly intending to make her in-laws bleed a good amount of money.
Lin Haoyu asked curiously, "Will we have a tailor make them custom? Or pick from international luxury brands?"
Sun Shuhui thought for a moment. "Mommy will ask Tailor Guan to make them custom for you. Since you're attending such a grand occasion for the first time, this will be more elegant." The Lin family valued the sixth sister, so outsiders wouldn't look down on her either.
Tailor Guan ran a famous custom tailoring shop in Hong Kong, highly sought after by high society. International luxury brands were good, but clothes custom-made by an old master tailor carried more prestige. Getting an appointment with Tailor Guan required a long wait, but the Lin family had money to spare. Sun Shuhui paid to jump the queue and brought Lin Haoyu to the Guan Family Tailoring Shop, with Lin Haofei tagging along.
Ever since Lin Lizhen said she would bring Lin Haoyu to the charity auction, Lin Haofei had given Lin Haoyu nothing but dirty looks every time she saw her. It should have been hers alone to enjoy, but out of nowhere, Lin Haoyu had appeared!
Lin Haoyu paid no attention to Lin Haofei's hostile glare. She turned her head to look at the streets of Hong Kong outside the car window. The 1990s Hong Kong was a scene of thriving prosperity—tall buildings, busy traffic on the roads, and countless pedestrians. It was an international metropolis that everyone aspired to.
"Sixth Sister, how long has it been since you've been out?" Lin Haofei suddenly spoke up.
Lin Haoyu withdrew her gaze from the window and glanced at Lin Haofei. "I can't remember."
Lin Haofei let out a dramatic "Oh!" "Look at me. Sixth Sister, you don't get many chances to go out and have fun, so you probably don't know where the fun places are."
Lin Haofei waited for Lin Haoyu to beg her to take her out, so she could cruelly refuse and humiliate her. At the thought, a smug smile crept onto Lin Haofei's face.
Lin Haoyu took Sun Shuhui's arm and said, "Mommy, take me out to play from now on."
Her daughter clinging to her made Sun Shuhui's face bloom with a smile. "Alright, Mommy will take you. We can go anywhere."
Lin Haofei's plan had failed, and her anger flared. She let out a huff and turned her back to the two of them. Lin Haoyu and Sun Shuhui paid her no mind—the family knew Lin Haofei was petty and held grudges, and that trying to please her was useless. Ignoring her was the best approach.
Sure enough, Lin Haofei could only stew in her own anger.
When they arrived at the Guan Family Tailoring Shop, Lin Haofei rushed to have her measurements taken first. Lin Haoyu didn't compete with her and instead curiously observed the shop located in a bustling area. Tailor Guan himself didn't come out; it was his daughter, the younger Tailor Guan, who received Lin Haoyu and the others.
The Guan Family Tailoring Shop was expensive for good reason. Lin Haoyu felt everything in the shop was meticulously attentive—any dress she wanted could be custom-made, guaranteed to satisfy.
When Lin Haoyu came out of the VIP room, she saw Sun Shuhui chatting warmly with an unfamiliar lady of distinguished bearing, addressing her as "Mrs. Xie" with great enthusiasm. Meanwhile, Lin Haofei's perpetually sour face was beaming with a brilliant smile as she stood obediently half a step behind Sun Shuhui.
Lin Haoyu raised an eyebrow in surprise. This Mrs. Xie must come from an extraordinary family—her mother's behavior was normal, but Lin Haofei, who looked down on everyone, acting like this was suspicious.
"Mommy." Lin Haoyu walked over.
Sun Shuhui pulled Lin Haoyu over with a delighted expression and introduced her to Mrs. Xie. "This is my daughter Haoyu. Sixth Sister, this is Mrs. Xie of the Xie family."
When Mrs. Xie saw Lin Haoyu, she was struck by her beauty. "Fourth Madam Lin's daughter is truly lovely."
Lin Haoyu's youthful features carried a hint of delicate frailty, yet her strikingly beautiful face revealed a touch of heroic spirit. This contradictory combination made her all the more captivating—given time, she would surely become a stunning beauty.
Sun Shuhui's face showed a hint of pride. Her daughter was her pride and joy.
"Auntie Xie, will Mingshan be coming back during the holidays this year?" Lin Haofei asked with a smile.
Mrs. Xie turned to look at Lin Haofei. "She will. When the time comes, you can invite Mingshan out to play."
Lin Haofei said, "I'll definitely invite Mingshan. We're good friends after all."
Mrs. Xie exchanged a few more pleasantries with Sun Shuhui before taking her leave.
"Fourth Aunt, I just made plans with a friend, so I won't be going home with you all." Lin Haofei shot Lin Haoyu a smug, proud glance while maintaining a courteous and respectful demeanor toward Sun Shuhui.
Sun Shuhui asked, "Would you like the driver to take you?"
Lin Haofei replied, "No need. I just called a friend to meet me at the Guan shop."
"Then have fun." Sun Shuhui only offered that one polite remark.
Lin Haoyu was itching to explore the streets of Hong Kong and wanted to go out too, but Sun Shuhui wouldn't allow it—afraid of tiring her daughter out, and even more afraid of her condition relapsing.
"Alright," Lin Haoyu shook her head regretfully, then recalled what had just happened. "Mommy, who was that Mrs. Xie just now?"
"Mrs. Xie? She's now the undisputed matriarch of the Xie family. She gave birth to a wonderful son, and it's all thanks to him. She doesn't have to do anything—she sits securely in her position as the Xie family matriarch, and she doesn't have to care about anyone's opinion except her son's." Sun Shuhui's face was full of envy. If Lin Kangrui had even a third—no, even a fraction—of Mrs. Xie's son's ability, Sun Shuhui would burn incense to the heavens in gratitude.
Lin Haoyu remembered. "The Xie family—Hong Kong's wealthiest?"
Sun Shuhui said, "That's right. Xie Zhijin, the head of the Xie family, is her son."