Sister-in-law Wang led her through the door, and Lin Xiao’s mother, Yuan Qing, immediately came to greet her.
“Tongtong! You’re finally back!” She warmly took Xiao Tongyu’s hand.
It had been a long time, and Yuan Qing seemed to have aged considerably. Without makeup, her once fair skin looked slightly sallow, and her eyes were somewhat sunken.
“Mm, Auntie Yuan, I’ve just been so busy lately.” Xiao Tongyu smiled gently.
She knew Yuan Qing didn’t like her. In all her years at the Lin family home, she had heard Lin Xiao complain to Yuan Qing countless times: ”Mom! Who still has arranged childhood betrothals these days? Why do I have to marry that random orphan?”
“Mom knows, Mom doesn’t like her either. My son is so handsome—he’s bound to find someone from a proper matching family.”
That accident years ago had taken the lives of Xiao Tongyu’s parents, leaving her alone in the world.
The Xiao family had been wealthy at the time. As her father, Xiao Ming, lay dying, he asked Lawyer Wang to sell all the Xiao family’s shares—half left to Xiao Tongyu, and half to the Lin family—hoping they would treat his daughter well and give her a home when she grew up.
With the Xiao family’s funds, Lin Xiao’s father, Lin Tianhao, grew the Lin family business bigger and bigger, and increasingly looked down on Xiao Tongyu, an orphan with no one to rely on and no background of her own.
The Lin family had fulfilled their duty of raising Xiao Tongyu to adulthood, and that was enough. She never expected more.
But the Lin family, who had always ignored her, had suddenly invited her home for dinner again and again—they must want something.
She’d heard that Lin Group’s finances had been in bad shape lately. Repeated failed investment decisions, combined with the financial crisis, had pushed Lin Corporation to the brink of collapse.
Xiao Tongyu walked into the dining room, and Lin Tianhao stood up.
“Tongtong, it’s been a long time.”
“Uncle Lin,” Xiao Tongyu said, her eyes glancing at Lin Xiao sitting off to the side.
He was playing on his phone, and when he saw her arrive, he gave a slight nod as a greeting.
The group sat down around the dining table, and Sister-in-law Wang served dish after dish, all delicious and all Xiao Tongyu’s favorites.
It had been so, so long since she’d felt the warmth of eating a meal at home like this.
Because Lin Xiao despised her, she had eaten in the kitchen with Sister-in-law Wang ever since high school, and Lin Tianhao and Yuan Qing had never said anything about it.
So Xiao Tongyu knew that this warmth right now was all an act.
The four of them ate in silence, the atmosphere a little awkward.
Suddenly, Yuan Qing spoke up: “Tongtong, do you have a boyfriend right now?”
“No, Auntie.”
Yuan Qing immediately beamed with delight. “Perfect—Lin Xiao doesn’t have a girlfriend either. I think you two are a great match.”
Yuan Qing knew that Xiao Tongyu had liked Lin Xiao since she was little. When her parents were still alive and the two families gathered together, she had always trailed after Lin Xiao—it was just that Lin Xiao had never had any time for her.
Xiao Tongyu glanced at Lin Xiao. Uncharacteristically, he didn’t object. Presumably Lin Corporation’s financial troubles had grown so severe that even he had to bow his head to her, the person he had once despised most.
After all, Lin Tianhao was a seasoned businessman. He shot Yuan Qing a reproachful look, probably thinking she’d been too direct.
He served Xiao Tongyu a piece of braised pork. “Tongtong, eat more. You’re so thin—is working at Ji Corporation wearing you out?”
“Thank you, Uncle.”
At the mention of Ji Corporation, Xiao Tongyu instantly understood.
Besides wanting the money from selling the shares she still held, the Lin family probably also wanted to use her to get close to Ji Yunze.
The thought of Ji Yunze sent a sudden wave of pain through her—she could barely sit still.
At that moment, Lin Xiao set down his chopsticks. “Tongtong, let’s talk in private.”
Xiao Tongyu rose, full of suspicion, and followed Lin Xiao to the staircase at the corner of the living room.
Lin Xiao looked down at the girl who had once trailed behind him like a little shadow. Her delicate, petite face was tinged with a faint pink, her big eyes glistening, her cheeks still carrying round baby fat—she looked both innocent and alluring.
Who would have thought that the unremarkable little girl of the past would grow into someone this beautiful? Any man would be moved.
“Lin Xiao, what is it?” Xiao Tongyu’s voice was perfectly calm, without a ripple.
“You’ve figured out why my parents invited you back for dinner, haven’t you?” Lin Xiao stared fixedly at her face, unable to look away.
“Mm. So?”
“So—will you consider it?” Lin Xiao stepped closer. “We could give it a try.”
Xiao Tongyu nearly burst out laughing. What did the Lin family take her for?
After her parents died, she had truly regarded Uncle Lin and Aunt Yuan as her own family, but reality had dealt her blow after blow.
When she was bullied at school—her backpack and homework torn to shreds, her hair pulled into disarray—they turned a blind eye. When gastroenteritis had her doubled over in pain, rolling on the floor, they just casually gave her some pills and brushed it off. The Lins rarely gave her any pocket money; even the birthday gift she bought for Lin Xiao was paid for with money she secretly earned working part-time.
If it weren’t for the kind-hearted Lawyer Wang, who had safeguarded her share of the inheritance until she came of age, even that might have been swallowed up by the Lin family long ago.
“Are you insane, Lin Xiao? Go beg Qin Mengyan. You two at least have history—why come begging me? In your eyes, I’m not even worth as much as a dog.”
“I know I was wrong, Tongtong. I was at fault before. I was blinded and fell in with the wrong person. Can’t you give me one more chance?”
Lin Xiao’s voice choked up, and he reached out to grab Xiao Tongyu’s hand.
She instinctively stepped back, her face twisting with utter disgust.
She had been such a fool, giving the Lin family countless chances, only to have her sincerity trampled into the ground again and again.
Xiao Tongyu was no idiot. She could tell genuine feeling from false.
The money from the Xiao family’s half of the shares was already more than enough to repay the Lin family for raising her.
“You’re dreaming, Lin Xiao. My relationship with your family is over.”
Lin Xiao stared at her blankly, his body trembling slightly. He had always believed he was Xiao Tongyu’s dream man—someone she would come running to at his call and dismiss at his whim. He had never cared about her at all.
But when Xiao Tongyu rejected him so resolutely and turned to leave, he found he couldn’t accept it.
Seeing that Lin Xiao had no reaction, Xiao Tongyu turned and walked back to the dining room.
Just then, her phone rang.
She glanced down. It was Ji Yunze.
“I’m sorry, Uncle Lin, Aunt Yuan. I just remembered I have some things to take care of. I’ll come visit again some other time.” With that, she picked up her bag and headed for the door.
This was one home she would never return to.
Lin Tianhao and Yuan Qing stared fixedly at Xiao Tongyu’s departing figure, a wave of unease rising in their hearts.
“Tianhao, could that Xiao family girl have found out about what happened back then?”
Lin Tianhao clenched his fists, the pads of his fingers turning white. “Impossible. She couldn’t know.”