22 – Chapter 22
Envious of A Tao’s Appearance
Lin Jinyi’s wailing made the Lin family members even more embarrassed. They looked up at the sky, gazed into the distance, and some even avoided meeting Ji Sicheng’s eyes.
Ji Sicheng didn’t press further, as he currently had no particular interest in Lin Jinyi anyway.
Soon, he shifted his gaze to A Tao standing below the stone steps.
A Tao seemed completely unaffected by the commotion, bending over with her head lowered as she fiddled with the flowers and plants.
From Ji Sicheng’s perspective, the girl’s figure appeared more curvaceous than before, having almost completely shed her former bean-sprout-like appearance. The white dress she wore made her look especially pure and innocent… Just this figure alone made Ji Sicheng stop and stare for a long time…
Recalling the captivating glance he had once accidentally seen in the girl’s eyes…
That combination of innocence and allure was something few men could resist.
However…
This Second Young Miss Lin’s facial features still left much to be desired. Not only did she pale in comparison to celebrity actresses, but even ordinary aristocratic young ladies, or even those from modest backgrounds, had more delicate features than her.
But remembering how disheveled she had looked some time ago, this current transformation was already quite remarkable. Regarding the prospect of marrying her, the resistance in his heart had significantly diminished.
After marrying her, with some proper dressing up and makeup, she would probably be presentable enough not to embarrass him. With more nurturing, she might even become more elegant.
Ji Sicheng handed the gift to a Lin family servant and walked down the steps to stand beside A Tao.
“What is Second Young Miss doing?”
A Tao didn’t even lift her eyelids, continuing to poke at the flower bud with her finger, displaying full girlish charm.
Seeing that A Tao ignored him, Ji Sicheng didn’t get angry but instead became more patient: “Somehow, the flowers and plants in the Lin residence seem more lush than elsewhere, even their blooming period is longer than usual. The Lin family’s feng shui is truly excellent, nurturing both plants and people…”
“Hmm?” A Tao finally frowned at Ji Sicheng’s words. Were the Lin family’s plants really more thriving?
Recalling when she drank dew in the peach grove, she had indeed felt those peach trees radiating vibrant vitality, as if filled with spiritual energy.
Thinking of this, A Tao took a deep breath, wanting to sense the vigorous life force of the plants again, but instead caught a faint foul odor drifting from the main gate nearby…
“Uh…” Ji Sicheng clearly noticed it too, placing his index finger against the tip of his nose with a somewhat restrained expression.
It turned out to be two Lin family servants carrying large garbage bags for disposal. Perhaps the bags weren’t tied properly, as a continuous stream of rotten stench escaped from them, making everyone’s expression turn unpleasant wherever the smell reached.
One servant seemed to notice the awkward atmosphere and quickened his pace, wanting to hurry outside and discard the items at the garbage collection point.
But the other servant was completely tactless, shrinking his neck fearfully while explaining as he walked: “The Young Miss couldn’t control herself again and soiled several sets of clothes. We’re just going to dispose of the dirty clothes!””Hmm…” Hearing the servant’s words and catching the scent from the bag, even the dullest person would now understand what had happened to the Lin family’s eldest young lady.
Ji Sicheng’s lips twitched, his eyelids fluttering several times as a look of disgust spread across his face.
As her father, Lin Weiguang also wore an expression of utter distaste, especially with outsiders present today—he felt his face had been completely lost.
Fortunately, Ji Sicheng didn’t say much. Lin Weiguang continued standing with his hands behind his back, gazing into the distance as if detaching himself from reality, showing no concern for his eldest daughter’s condition.
It was ultimately Old Master Lin who spoke up: “Get her to the hospital as soon as possible. If this develops into something serious, it’ll be hard to deal with.”
Later, Lin Jinyi became completely exhausted. In a dazed state, she was taken to the hospital in the Lin family car.
After medical examination, it was determined that the eldest young lady of the Lin family had eaten something improperly and ended up with a stomach full of roundworms.
Several days after the incident, when Lin Jinyi first returned home from the hospital, she wanted nothing more than to bury herself under the covers. Finally, after learning from Wang Ling that Ji Sicheng remained unaware of what happened, she regained some vitality and returned to the dining table for meals.
A Tao showed little interest in the food at the table. Generally speaking, she barely touched her chopsticks, which eventually caught Wang Ling’s attention.
After the meal, Wang Ling pulled Lin Jinyi aside, and the two began whispering to each other.
“Do you think Lin Xiantao’s recent significant changes might be because she discovered we’ve been drugging her? That’s why she’s deliberately not eating.
Plus, for some reason, the toxins in her body are gradually diminishing, which is why she’s starting to develop? Also, could your current condition be from accidentally eating poisoned congee?”
“Is she really that clever?”
“Maybe we should stop for a while.”
Lin Jinyi couldn’t forget how she’d seen her younger sister drinking dew in the peach grove that day, still feeling there was something sinister about her. “I think she’s acting strangely, as if possessed.”
Moreover, everyone drank dew from the garden—why didn’t Lin Xiantao get roundworms from it, while she ended up…
On the very day the two found A Tao increasingly peculiar, A Tao began “acting up” again.
She had someone gather a large basin of peach blossom petals, then scattered them into her bathwater, beginning to soak in a flower petal bath.
Three consecutive days passed.
When A Tao appeared before them wearing a pink dress, Lin Jinyi’s jaw dropped so wide it could nearly fit an egg!
How could someone wear this shade of pink and still have skin that appeared so fair and radiant?!
It was as if the color were tailor-made for her.
They say fair skin covers a hundred flaws—with this whitening of her complexion, the young girl who originally scored only 40 points in facial features suddenly jumped to the passing line.
For the first time, Lin Jinyi felt jealous of her younger sister’s appearance.
Now Lin Xiantao’s beauty almost matched her own, and from several angles, she even seemed prettier!
Simultaneously, her mind began racing again.
Drinking dew from roses caused roundworms, but using them for bathing shouldn’t cause any problems, right?
Lin Jinyi acted decisively, immediately ordering servants to collect rose petals. She imitated A Tao’s example and began taking petal baths.
As a result, the Lin family’s eldest young lady fell “victim” once again!This time, there was no diarrhea, but the day after soaking in the bath, her body felt unbearably itchy! Small yellow bumps appeared, filled with what seemed like pus!
Unable to resist, she scratched them until the bumps burst. Wherever the yellow pus flowed, it caused a burning, itchy pain, as if swarms of hornets were madly stinging her all over!!
In the end, Miss Lin was sent to the hospital once again.