Lin Haoyu and Sun Shuhui arrived home and had just stepped out of the car when a figure rushed toward them at lightning speed, calling out: "Haofei, Kangjie is back! Come quickly and meet your third brother."
Sun Shuhui shielded Lin Haoyu behind her and said, "Second Sister-in-law, Haofei went out to play with her friends. Didn't she call you?"
Sun Fengyi's expression shifted: "That girl! I told her Kangjie was coming home today, and she still went out. This house can't contain her. Oh, right—Haoyu, come meet your third brother and have a chat with him. Come to think of it, you've never really spent time with your third brother. Perfect timing." She immediately turned her attention to Lin Haoyu, since there was still another person here after all.
"No, Second Sister-in-law, Sixth Sister is tired. Sixth Sister will greet your third brother with Mama, and then Mama will take her back to her room to rest." Sun Shuhui said without hesitation.
Lin Haoyu cooperatively leaned her body against Sun Shuhui, putting on a look of frailty. No matter what, Mama would never harm her—she'd follow Mama's lead.
Sun Fengyi's mouth opened and closed repeatedly, her gaze landing on Lin Haoyu's slender frame. She wanted to say something but didn't dare. She was afraid something might happen to this sickly girl—after all, the invalid had improved quite a bit, but she wasn't fully recovered. If something went wrong, would she be held responsible? Not a chance.
Sun Fengyi ultimately didn't create trouble for herself. She could only swallow her frustration and make a phone call, demanding that Lin Haofei come home immediately to meet her third brother!
Watching Sun Fengyi's series of actions, Lin Haoyu found it amusing—like a crown prince returning to the palace, with Sun Fengyi setting up a stage and summoning everyone to come pay homage to His Highness.
Lin Haoyu's impression was spot on. Sun Fengyi truly treated Lin Kangjie as the Lin family's crown prince. Unfortunately, if Lin Kangjie wanted to be the crown prince, Lin Kangzong and Lin Kangyao above him had him firmly pinned down.
There weren't many people in the living room—only three. Lin Lizhen and Feng Anhua, and the third was Lin Kangjie, who had just flown back from the States. Lin Haoyu was pulled along by Sun Shuhui to greet each person in turn. When she called "Third Brother," she took the opportunity to size up Lin Kangjie. Among the Kang brothers, his looks were neither here nor there. His expression at the moment was off—there was a sense of suppressed frustration about him. He only gave Lin Haoyu a lukewarm "Sixth Sister" in return before leaving it at that.
Catching Mama's signal, Lin Haoyu let fatigue show on her face. Sun Shuhui said softly to Lin Lizhen, "Mother, Sixth Sister is worn out from going out. I think we should let her go rest right away."
Lin Lizhen's gaze fell on Lin Haoyu's delicate features, and she noticed that the girl's spirits were indeed poor: "That's fine. Although Dr. Xue says Little Six will recover, it's precisely this kind of time that's most critical. Little Six, go rest quickly."
"Mother is right. Fourth Sister-in-law, the most important thing for you right now is to take good care of Haoyu. And Haoyu, focusing on recuperating your health is the real priority," Feng Anhua said bluntly. She glanced at Lin Kangjie and Sun Fengyi, let out a sigh, and continued, "Kangjie, it's not that Kangzong and the others don't want to come home to see you. Kangzong is working on Grandfather's big project—he's on edge every single moment, not daring to relax for even a second, afraid of embarrassing Grandfather. As for Kangyao, the Liu family invited him over to discuss how to arrange the engagement ceremony. Our family can't afford to slight the in-laws—that's a matter of the Lin family's face. And Haoxin? Ah, unfortunately, it's just bad timing. Her university professor called her in. She can't let her studies slip. She's always been strong-willed, always wanting to be first in her class."
Sun Fengyi and Lin Kangjie's faces instantly darkened—darkened in exactly the same way. Anyone who saw them would say they were mother and son.
Sun Shuhui seized this opportunity to pull Lin Haoyu away and make a swift exit.
Lin Haoyu pressed her lips tightly together, struggling to hold back—otherwise, she was afraid she'd burst out laughing. Even she could tell that Feng Anhua was sighing on the surface but actually showing off and needling the Second Branch. Yet Feng Anhua's constant talk of the Lin family's face left the mother and son of the Second Branch with no room to argue. Lin Zhenhua valued the family's reputation above all, always saying the family was one body, that harmony in the home brings prosperity. No one dared to openly oppose that.
"This time Feng Anhua really gets to gloat," Sun Shuhui said with a pleased tone, then her face fell. "But I'm willing to let her have this one. Sun Fengyi wanted to use Sixth Sister as a pawn—she must have forgotten I'm still here."
"Mama, calm down. Getting angry gives you wrinkles, you know. Just think—Second Aunt didn't get her way. Doesn't that make you feel better?" Lin Haoyu gently swayed Sun Shuhui's arm.
Sun Shuhui immediately smiled and said to Lin Haoyu, "Your Second Aunt is the most scheming of them all. Back when I first married your father, I suffered no small number of losses at Sun Fengyi's hands. I thought, we're both surnamed Sun—maybe five hundred years ago we were one family. I was willing to be close to Sun Fengyi, to treat her with sincerity. But she just used me as a pawn. Later I wised up and cut ties with her. The First and Second Branches aren't our family—we can never be of one mind. Remember Mama's words."
Lin Haoyu: "I'll remember, Mama. What losses did Second Aunt make you suffer?"
Sun Shuhui felt warm inside at her daughter's concern: "Oh, she just made me her foot soldier—helping her fight, helping her grab, helping her stick my neck out. Just some small, petty matters. It's all in the past. Mama doesn't even remember anymore."
Lin Haoyu didn't believe that, but since Sun Shuhui wouldn't say, she didn't press further.
"Mommy just feels embarrassed, Sixth Sister, don't overthink it." Sun Shuhui could see what was going on and comforted her daughter with a mix of amusement and exasperation.
Lin Haoyu blinked her eyes: "Embarrassed?"
Sun Shuhui thought for a moment, then shared a bit: "…At the time, I had just married into the Lin family. Even though your father had my back, life in a wealthy household isn't easy. Mommy was under a lot of pressure, always wanting to prove herself and establish a foothold in the Lin family. When people are anxious, they're prone to making mistakes. Back then, I treated those things as if they were matters of life and death. Looking back now, they weren't such a big deal. Mommy's life is wonderful now—before I married your father, I never dared to imagine I'd have today."
"Mommy is so amazing." Lin Haoyu's eyes sparkled with admiration as she hugged Sun Shuhui's waist, acting cute and nuzzling against her.
Sun Shuhui smiled contentedly and ruffled her daughter's hair.
Having suffered a silent defeat, Sun Fengyi quickly devised another plan. She formally invited Lin Haoyu and the others to gather on the weekend—all three members of the eldest branch and both members of the fourth branch received invitations. Sun Fengyi said it was to welcome Lin Kangjie back and wash away the dust of his travels, asking everyone to be sure to attend so the siblings could bond. This move received strong support from Lin Lizhen.
Upon receiving the invitation, Lin Haoyu: "…"
The two aunties are always fighting each other, and their fourth branch always gets dragged out and put on display, huh.
Lin Kangrui casually tossed the exquisite invitation aside: "Boring. Not going."
"That's not up to you—Grandma has already agreed." Sun Shuhui looked at Lin Kangrui disapprovingly.
Lin Kangrui paced around the room like a restless little pig, making snorting sounds. Suddenly, he stopped beside Lin Haoyu: "Are you going?"
Lin Haoyu handed her invitation to Lin Kangrui: "Second Aunt has extended such a warm invitation, it wouldn't be right for me not to go."
Lin Kangrui took it and glanced at it, then immediately curled his lips: "Boring."
"Can you say something other than 'boring'?" Lin Haoyu looked at her cheap little brother curiously.
Lin Kangrui choked for a moment, then squeezed out a word: "Hypocritical!"
Lin Haoyu burst out laughing and gave her cheap little brother a thumbs up: "Perfectly described. Say more?"
"Shameless! No wait, why should I listen to you!?" Lin Kangrui hopped away from Lin Haoyu in three bounds, glaring at her in dissatisfaction.
Lin Haoyu smiled slightly, her tone subtle: "Because you're the little brother."
Lin Kangrui's face was full of stubbornness: "Just because I'm your little brother, I have to listen to you?"
Lin Haoyu tried to hold it in, failed, and burst into loud laughter.
Teasing her cheap little brother was so much fun, haha!