Inside the room, Lin Zijin gently patted Yang Qingqiu’s arm.
“Mom, are you alright?”
Yang Qingqiu gave her a relieved smile.
“I’m fine. Girl, now that you’ve gotten the certificate, we don’t have to be afraid anymore.
From now on, we won’t swallow any more grievances. If someone hits us, we hit back; if someone scolds us, we scold back. Whoever tries to make us unhappy won’t have an easy time either.”
Lin Zijin suddenly threw herself into her mother’s arms, her eyes turning red.
“Mom… it’s all my fault. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t—”
Yang Qingqiu stroked her daughter’s head.
“Silly child, what nonsense are you saying?
You’re Mom’s treasure. Everything I do for you is what I should do, what I’m willing to do. Besides, these grievances weren’t caused by you or me alone…
As long as I have you and your little brother by my side, I’m already satisfied in this life.”
She gently pushed her daughter away and looked at her face. It looked so much like her younger self that she couldn’t help but smile.
“When I married into this family back then, I heard a lot of gossip.
I wanted to make your life easier, so I tried to be a good stepmother and change what people said about us.
So you could have a happy childhood and marry well in the future.
But some people really think we’re easy to bully.
I originally planned that once you left home, I would stop enduring everything.
I didn’t expect them to take it for granted and keep pushing us around.
From tomorrow—no, from now on—we won’t endure anymore.”
Lin Zijin nodded hard as tears streamed down her face.
Little Lin Ziyou saw them crying. His eyes turned red too, and he awkwardly used his chubby little hands to wipe their tears.
“Don’t cry, sister. Don’t cry, Mom.
Youyou is here. Youyou will protect Mom and Sister.”
In the living room, Lin Xue’s eyes were red as she timidly called out.
“Dad…”
Lin Jiancheng turned to look at her sharply, anger in his eyes.
“Look at the mess you’ve caused.”
After saying that, he went straight into his room and slammed the door.
Lin Shu pouted.
“Sis, what do we do?
That woman isn’t cooking for us anymore. I’m hungry.
Go make food. I want scrambled eggs with green peppers for dinner.”
Lin Xue was already irritated and nearly snapped back, ‘Eat, eat, all you know is eating!’
But she swallowed the words at the last moment, afraid of exposing something.
However… cooking? She didn’t know how.
Her biological mother died early, when she was only five. At first, her older brother and second sister took care of the household, but they lived in hunger and hardship.
Later, their father brought home a woman—said to be their stepmother—and she even brought a child with her.
They didn’t like the stepmother. The neighbors said once you had a stepmother, you’d have a stepfather too—that meant being unwanted children. So they refused to do any work and dumped all the dirty and tiring chores on Yang Qingqiu.
They believed it was only natural for her to take care of them, since she had “taken their mother’s place.”
Let alone cooking—she had never even stepped into the kitchen.
“Cook what? What time is it? Still thinking about eating? I don’t know how either. Just starve,” she said, then went back to her room with Lin Shu.
Lin Shu stood there holding her growling stomach.
“Huh? Then what do we do? We really won’t eat?”
No one answered her.
The living room soon fell silent.
Afterward, the mother and her three children washed up and returned to Lin Zijin’s room.
On the 1.2-meter bed, the mother hugged little Lin Ziyou on one side, while Lin Zijin slept on the other. The three of them weren’t very large, so it wasn’t crowded.
Lying in bed, Lin Zijin was thinking about tomorrow and the days ahead.
What should she do tomorrow?
Her “husband” from the marriage certificate was coming—would he regret it after seeing her family situation?
And if his family disagreed, how would this farce end?
Thinking and thinking… she fell asleep.
The next day
For the first time, Yang Qingqiu did not get up at dawn to cook for Lin Jiancheng. She slept until the sun was already high.
Seeing how bright it was outside, she sat up and stretched her neck and arms.
Her daughter and son were also awake.
She smiled.
“That sleep felt amazing. From now on, we’ll do it like this.”
Lin Zijin smiled and nodded.
“Mm.”
“Alright, get up. I’ll just make something simple for breakfast. It’s just for our little family.
Zijin, your fiancé should be coming today. Go wash up, change into new clothes, and wait for him at the alley entrance.”
“Okay, Mom. I know.”
After washing up, Lin Zijin ran to the alley entrance but didn’t see anyone, so she came back.
At home, breakfast was already ready. The three of them each had a bowl of porridge, sitting in the living room eating quietly, ignoring the rest of the Lin family completely.
Lin Shu had been hungry all night. Hearing movement in the kitchen, she assumed food was ready and rushed over—only to find the pot empty.
Her eyes widened.
She stormed out of the kitchen, hands on her hips.
“Where’s the food?!
Where’s the food in the pot, Yang Qingqiu?!
Why is it empty?!”
Lin Zijin looked at her coldly.
“Ungrateful thing who doesn’t respect elders. Are you deaf or blind?
Did you already forget what was said yesterday?”
Yang Qingqiu turned to her.
“Oh? Miss Lin is hungry?
Want food? Make it yourself then.
Weren’t you so proud? Then don’t eat.
You think I, someone you look down on, should cook for you? You still dare ask? Dare eat?
Aren’t you afraid you’ll choke to death?”
Lin Shu’s face turned green and red. She opened her mouth but couldn’t say anything, then angrily ran back to her room.
Seeing her flee, Yang Qingqiu turned to her children.
“Eat quickly. We’ve got important things to do after breakfast.”