“Suyu, how’s your body? If you’re not feeling well, you should lie down…”
“Lin Suyu, why are you standing there like a wooden statue? Not even going to invite us in to sit? When guests come, you don’t even know how to host. Typical daughter of a concubine—no manners at all.”
The Lin family had always been cruel to Lin Suyu. Her treatment in the household was even worse than that of the hired servants. So Lin Haoyu’s harsh words didn’t faze him in the slightest.
Lin Susu had just finished processing the memories of the original girl. Seeing these two now, she was both surprised and wary. As for their talk of “visiting to check on her,” not a single word of it was true.
She would wait and see what they were really here for. Slowly, Lin Susu walked back and sat on her bed, letting the two enter the room.
“I don’t even know if these chairs are clean. Cousin, maybe we shouldn’t sit,” Lin Haoyu said, showing his disdain openly, while Lin Xinyao hid her disdain behind a false smile.
“Suyu, I’m relieved to see you’re fine. From now on, don’t be so careless when playing by the lake.”
Before she could finish, Xinyao’s eyes landed on the red cord around Lin Suyu’s neck. Her expression shifted from surprise to unease.
“The jade pendant you’re wearing!?” she shouted sharply, reaching toward Lin Suyu’s neck to tug at the empty red cord.
“Jade pendant? Isn’t it on me?” Lin Susu also reached for the red cord and realized the pendant was gone. Panic surged, and she scrambled to her feet.
“Wh-what’s going on? Where’s my jade pendant? Did I lose it when I fell in the water?”
She hurried to the storage box in the room, grabbed scissors, and cut the red cord. Holding the broken cord, her tears fell in a flurry.
“Miss, maybe your jade pendant fell into the lake… could you… maybe ask someone to retrieve it?”
“Get out of here. Why should we help you fetch some worthless jade pendant? Your audacity is unbelievable.”
Lin Haoyu, as usual, spoke without thinking, while Lin Xinyao furrowed her brows, eyes fixed on Lin Susu as if trying to discern whether she was lying.
“How could you lose the pendant!?” Xinyao scolded angrily.
“That… that was my mother’s pendant,” Lin Susu said blankly. “How could I have lost it?”
“All right, fine. I’ll have someone try to retrieve it,” Xinyao said, concealing her irritation and hidden grudge. Damn it—she should have borrowed the pendant yesterday. It was related to the Bai family of Gang City…
“Since you’re fine, Haoyu and I won’t stay. Rest assured! I’ll handle the pendant.”
After saying this, Lin Xinyao dragged Lin Haoyu away. As she turned, her clenched fists revealed the turmoil in her heart.
It seemed the heroine’s real intent was the pendant on Lin Suyu’s neck—though this wasn’t part of the original novel. Lin Susu didn’t ponder it too deeply at the moment.
After sending off the annoying cousin duo, Lin Susu began assessing her current situation.
The Lin family was about to flee, leaving her behind. At twelve years old, she hadn’t even attended a private school. How would she survive?
The book described that after the Lin family left, the original girl fell ill in bed. Only when the local authorities took over the Lin mansion was the feverish girl discovered. Later, the authorities contacted her birth mother, who sent her to the capital.
But once in the capital, her mother’s new husband’s family, the Chens, could never welcome this extra daughter. The Chen family already had a son and a daughter—the son married and moved out, while the daughter was about Lin Suyu’s age.
How could the Chen daughter accept a stepchild? Living with them, the original girl was constantly bullied, had to do all the chores, and was often criticized. Life was miserable, and by sixteen, she was sent to the countryside.
Thinking of this, Lin Susu’s heart sank. Doing all the housework, working tirelessly? Impossible. In her past life, she had lived comfortably and hadn’t done much hard work. There was no reason for this life to be so miserable.
In her youth, her family was wealthy. The only hardship she endured was giving birth to a daughter and divorcing within a year—but even then, her family helped her raise the child.
She had spent three years working at an insurance company—not exactly struggling, just hustling, drinking, eating, and convincing people to buy policies.
Three years later, she sent her daughter to kindergarten, bought a lottery ticket on a whim, and won a fortune that allowed her to live comfortably forever.
From then on, Lin Suyu lived leisurely, writing novels, playing mahjong, and raising her daughter. Her daughter was excellent, excelling in school, getting into a top university, landing a top job, and marrying well.
The latter half of her life was spoiled by her daughter and son-in-law, so hardship and labor were never her style. She simply couldn’t endure it.
“Money is important! The Lin family abandoned the original me—taking a little of their wealth isn’t excessive.”
To ensure a better life this time, moral considerations were set aside. She needed to secure the Lin family’s wealth as quickly as possible.
At night, after confirming Lin Ma was asleep, Lin Susu quietly got up.
During the day, she had already gone through the original girl’s memories, learning of a hidden storeroom in the garden.
Since age five, the original girl had been Lin Xinyao’s servant. Lin Xinyao, favored by the family, had visited the garden storeroom with the master. As a child, Lin Xinyao had even opened it in front of the original girl while playing.
Guided by starlight, Lin Susu snuck through the garden corridor to a fake mountain in the middle of the garden. Creeping through a crack, she found a stone that could be twisted.
As she turned the stone, a half-height stone door slowly moved. Luckily, the mechanism was clever—the door moved silently.
Lin Susu crouched and entered, descending a few meters of stairs before reaching a space where she could stand normally. Ahead was a massive underground room.
Inside, large chests were stacked like small mountains—hundreds of them.
In awe, Lin Susu touched the nearest chests. Instantly, they vanished and reappeared inside her space.
In moments, the storeroom was empty, leaving dust and footprints behind—a complete mess.
Lin Susu didn’t leave it like that. She took out the original girl’s clothes from her space and used them to wipe the footprints clean.
After tidying up, she returned to her room and lay down.
Goodness! Her first time stealing—thrilling and nerve-wracking.
Feeling her heart racing, Lin Susu calmed herself, listening to Lin Ma’s snores next to her as sleep returned.