After confirming that both neighboring families were trustworthy, Lin Susu didn’t hold back. That same evening, she made some vegetable dumplings and delivered them to both households.
Neighborly relations are built on give-and-take. Aunt Tao had already shown goodwill, and Lin Susu was not ungrateful.
Living alone in a small courtyard at such a young age, it would be much more comfortable if she got along with the neighbors. Unless something unexpected happened, she planned to stay here peacefully for the next few years.
The next day, as soon as Lin Susu sat down in class, she noticed her deskmate Liang Hui’s evasive glances. Several times Liang Hui tried to say something but pulled back each time. It wasn’t until lunchtime, as Lin Susu was about to leave, that Liang Hui finally grabbed her.
“Susu, I… I’m sorry! But I didn’t mean it. I only blurted it out during an argument—really.”
These disjointed words left Lin Susu staring at her in confusion, waiting for an explanation.
“Last night, I couldn’t hold back and argued with Lin Xinyao again after she provoked me. She said someone like me could never get along with others, and I blurted out that you and I are deskmates and very close.”
Liang Hui looked guilty. Her slip of the tongue had revealed to Lin Xinyao that Lin Susu was attending their school, and the worst part was that she feared Lin Xinyao would come looking for trouble.
“Lin Xinyao wants to come to school to cause me trouble?”
Lin Susu had already guessed. Since Lin Xinyao had been knocked out by her earlier and couldn’t leave with the Lin family, she was probably looking for someone to vent her anger on—and the original owner had always been her scapegoat.
“She didn’t say that outright, but from her expression, I could tell—she’s definitely going to come after you.”
Liang Hui, being Lin Xinyao’s cousin and having tangled with her for years, knew her character well.
“Hmm, I understand. I’m not afraid of her. If she thinks she can bully me now, she’s dreaming.”
Sure enough, Lin Xinyao came. As Lin Susu stepped out of the school gate, Lin Xinyao moved to block her path.
“Lin Susu, I need to ask you something. Come with me.”
For Lin Xinyao’s insolence, Lin Susu only rolled her eyes. She had no intention of following anyone’s orders. Brushing off the provocation, she continued walking.
“Lin Susu! Stop! How dare you ignore me?”
Lin Xinyao quickened her pace and grabbed Lin Susu, furious. Previously, Lin Susu never dared defy her orders, but today she had been blatantly ignored—how could Lin Xinyao stay calm?
“Heh… who do you think you are? Does everyone have to obey you? I’m not a servant of some wealthy family anymore, Lin Susu. You better not provoke me.”
The words hit Lin Xinyao like a shock. Lin Susu’s former self had been meek and timid, never daring to meet her gaze—and now she looked at her with disdain.
“How… how could you become like this? Tell me, who are you? You can’t be Lin Susu.”
Lin Xinyao wondered if, just as she could return to her younger self, Lin Susu had also returned—but her personality was completely different. So Lin Xinyao suspected this wasn’t the original Lin Susu.
In the previous life, Lin Susu had died because of her actions. Lin Xinyao had even visited Lin Susu before her death, leaving her full of resentment.
If this was the real Lin Susu returned, her gaze would be filled with venom and hatred, not scorn.
Various thoughts and suspicions flashed through Lin Xinyao’s mind. She studied Lin Susu’s expression closely, trying to read the truth from every nuance.
“I’m not Lin Susu—then who am I? I just happen not to be as weak as you think.”
Lin Susu’s calm, unflinching gaze and serene smile showed no hint of guilt. Her flawless demeanor left Lin Xinyao unable to judge, casting doubt on her own suspicions.
Could she have been wrong? Was Lin Susu simply too good at disguising herself?
“Ha! Lin Xinyao, your family ran off under the pretense of visiting relatives, and you were left behind. When your family doesn’t return, who knows whether it will be considered desertion or a crime against the state? And you? What will happen to you?”
Lin Susu’s words struck like thunder, sending Lin Xinyao’s thoughts into disarray.
“You… you… how could you…”
Lin Xinyao’s eyes widened in disbelief. Could twelve-year-old Lin Susu really have known all this? So her previous meekness had just been an act!
“How could I know? You want to ask how I knew so much and analyzed it correctly? Haha, Lin Xinyao, did you forget that when you were young, the Lin family hired a private tutor for you? You sat and listened, and I stood by serving, yet I always learned faster. I was never less capable than you. Now, free from your family, I could enter fifth grade on merit. Doesn’t that prove I was never the weak, incompetent Lin Susu you imagined?”
Lin Xinyao’s envious fury grew as she glared, her tightly clenched fists digging nails into her palms—a painful reminder not to give up.
“So you knew our family was leaving, and you used my father to get a new registered identity, secured a property, and even arranged money and receipts for yourself?”
Lin Susu, just twelve, had planned all this so meticulously?
“I owe knowing your family was leaving to you. You orchestrated for me to be taken care of by Lin Ma when I fell in the river, thinking I had fainted, and told me your family would disperse the servants. You thought if you ordered everyone not to tell me, I would remain ignorant? The disappearing rice in the kitchen, the luggage moved out piece by piece, the frequent visits from Director Liang—how could I not notice?”
The original owner had always been invisible. Most of the Lin family never paid her attention, and those who did—Lin Dafu-ren and Lin Xinyao—were overconfident, assuming she was under their control.
She had indeed noticed the family’s odd behavior, but being timid, she hadn’t dared act. She didn’t know if the Lin family would take her along, nearly tying her fate to theirs.
“So… you knew everything. You’re better at disguising yourself than I thought. Lin Susu, your scheming is deep—you even treated the Lin family as stepping stones.”
“Stepping stones? That’s too harsh. I was only fighting for my own survival. Your father had so many illegitimate children you could tolerate, and he even gave them property and money, which you all ignored. Why did you keep picking on me? Now that your father has personally told everyone I’m not a Lin child and helped me get a real identity, why do you still bother me?”
Lin Susu’s reason for staying to speak at length was simple: to end Lin Xinyao’s harassment and ensure she would no longer cause trouble.