Having found no one, Lin Lanlan assumed it was merely a trick of her imagination.
Lin Shuang, on the other hand, keenly caught the scent of a conspiracy.
After all, she had only just consummated her relationship with Shen Linfeng.
Given Lin Lanlan’s personality, she ought to be clinging to Shen Linfeng even when going to the restroom.
Now she was out fooling around with a gang of hoodlums.
There was only one explanation: she was coming after her!
The conversation that followed confirmed Lin Shuang’s suspicions.
“As I said, she’s just my elder stepsister, not my mother’s biological child.
Besides, she was raised by that adopted daughter who seduced my father. What good could she possibly be?”
The gang of hoodlums echoed in agreement.
“Sister is right! For a shameless woman like her, us brothers will teach her a thorough lesson tonight to see if she ever dares to seduce our brother-in-law again!”
After speaking, they exchanged malicious, knowing smirks.
How they intended to “teach her a lesson” went without saying.
Lin Shuang remained entirely unfazed. She had long known Lin Lanlan was no saint.
Beneath that innocent demeanor hid a filthy heart.
Having uncovered their plot, Lin Shuang showed no mercy in her counterattack.
She created a slight rustle to draw them over. Taking advantage of the moment, Lin Shuang scattered a handful of medicinal powder. Seven or eight grown men collapsed in a heap, with Lin Lanlan going down right alongside them.
Once the fragrance dispersed a bit, Lin Shuang disguised herself before stepping out of her spatial dimension.
Without a second word, she stripped off their outer clothes and, while no one was paying attention, dumped them all at the crossroads.
Just as she anticipated, within a short while, the street was packed with onlookers gathering to watch the spectacle.
Lin Shuang changed back into her original attire, stepped out from behind the large tree, and quickly blended into the crowd.
Having vented her anger on behalf of the original host, Lin Shuang felt invigorated in both body and mind. She picked up her pace and headed straight to the post office.
The phone was quickly answered by a young soldier. When Lin Shuang explained her purpose, he stammered and asked her to call back in ten minutes while he rushed to fetch the person.
While waiting, Lin Shuang found a spot to sit down. She was naturally fair-skinned and beautiful; gazing out the window at that moment, she looked like a serene, picture-perfect painting, causing passersby to turn their heads repeatedly.
In reality, Lin Shuang was not as calm internally as her outer appearance suggested.
She was also worried that Lu Jun might refuse the marriage proposal.
A capitalist heiress was in a very sensitive position at this point in time. She heard he was already a battalion commander; anyone with a sharp mind wouldn’t dare touch someone of her background, fearing it might jeopardize their future promotions.
However, Lin Shuang thought to herself: worst-case scenario, she could just go down to the countryside.
If others could endure the hardship, so could she.
Having thought it through, Lin Shuang relaxed completely.
On the other end of the line, upon hearing that his fiancée was calling, Lu Jun was instantly enveloped in a stern, murderous aura. The young soldier was so frightened he barely dared to breathe.
Battalion Commander Lu was simply too intimidating!
What Lu Jun was actually thinking, however, was that he had met Lin Lanlan before, and a single glance was enough to know they could never get along.
He had originally intended to wait for his next leave to go to Shanghai and explain the situation in person.
Now, it seemed there was no need.
Lin Shuang was lost in thought when the staff member called her, but she quickly snapped out of it, got up, and ran over.
Yet the moment she pressed the receiver to her ear, a crisp, cold voice came through from the other end.
“Lin Lanlan, let’s call off the engagement!”
Lin Shuang froze slightly.
So her scumbag father was deceiving everyone across the board.
“I am Lin Shuang…”
Lin Shuang bit the bullet and briefly explained the fiancé swap, placing heavy emphasis on her identity.
Things had already reached this point; there was no need to drag another innocent person into the mud.
Especially when that person was an officer with a bright, boundless future.
“That’s the situation. Comrade Lu, if you agree, once I finish handling things here, I will board the train to join the military garrison within three days at the latest.”
“However, if you don’t—”
Before Lin Shuang could finish her sentence, the other party cut her off.
“I agree!”
The voice was firm and powerful, carrying a tone almost like a solemn vow.
Lin Shuang blinked her eyes.
This was certainly beyond her expectations.
“Comrade Lu, do you want to think it over a bit more?”
“No need.”
Lin Shuang didn’t act coy either. She conversed with Lu Jun for a while longer, settling a few details with him.
After paying one yuan, eight jiao, and six fen, she left the post office.
The moment Lin Shuang stepped through her front door, an ashtray came flying straight toward her face.
“You unfilial beast!”
Well! Anyone who didn’t know better would think she had slaughtered her scumbag father’s entire family.
Fortunately, she had quick reflexes, executing a swift dodge to narrowly escape the disaster.
Had it been the original host, she would have lost a layer of skin even if she survived.
“You scoundrel! How dare you dodge?”
“You’ve only been back for two days, and look at how you’ve turned this home upside down!”
“How important is a young girl’s reputation? To treat your younger sister like that, see if I don’t beat you to death today, you brute!”
“Oh! So your illegitimate daughter came back to snitch, did she?”
“What’s wrong? Was she not paraded through the streets?”
Lin Shuang shook her head with a look of disapproval: “Mr. Qin, I know you favor your illegitimate daughter, but you should also consider your own reputation. If I were you, I would have published a notice in the newspaper severing ties with Lin Lanlan long ago, lest she drag you down with her.”
Qin Hongwen was left stunned by her words.
He felt as though this daughter of his had become an entirely different person.
Or had she been putting on an act all along?
Zhou Qingman, who was hiding behind Qin Hongwen, had a face so twisted with rage she looked ready to devour someone. Fearing that Qin Hongwen might actually be persuaded, she immediately switched to a smiling facade and stepped forward to smooth things over.
Lin Shuang wasn’t about to give her the chance.
“You’re supposed to be my father, yet you slap wild accusations onto me without distinguishing right from wrong. You just believe whatever others tell you?”
These “others” naturally referred to that mother and daughter pair.
Lin Shuang wiped the corners of her eyes, acting every bit the pitied, unloved child.
“Aren’t you afraid my maternal grandparents will come looking for you in the middle of the night?”
“And my mother—she only had me, her only daughter. Is this how you treat her daughter?”
Whether out of pure terror or something else, Qin Hongwen’s hands began to tremble violently, so much so that he didn’t even react when the whip in his hand dropped to the floor.
Lin Shuang seized the opportunity to hook her foot and slide it over to her side.
This version of Lin Shuang filled Zhou Qingman with a lingering sense of unease. Finding an opening, she immediately launched into her dramatic act.
“Brother Hongwen, this is my fault as well. If it weren’t for my poor health, I wouldn’t have let Lin Shuang go live with her eldest aunt back then.”
Lin Shuang was glad she was leaning against the wall, as she nearly threw up on the spot.
How old was she?
Did she think she was acting in a martial arts drama?
“As you know, a child raised without a mother isn’t to blame if she turns out crooked. It’s my fault, all my fault!”
Good grief. On the surface, she seemed to take the blame onto herself, but in reality, she was dumping a bucket of filth firmly on Lin Shuang’s head. From now on, whenever anything bad happened to the family, the blame would be shifted onto her—and while she was at it, she even managed to smear her maternal aunt, Pan Mingfeng.
*Slap! Slap!*
Lin Shuang threw back her sleeves and unleashed two swift slaps with both hands. This was what Zhou Qingman owed that poor woman.
If her hands hadn’t started aching, Lin Shuang wouldn’t have wanted to stop.
It felt incredibly satisfying!
“Ahhh! My face…”
Zhou Qingman touched her heavily swollen face, her eyes burning with a desire to tear Lin Shuang to pieces.
“Lin Shuang, how dare you?”
“I should be asking you that! Back then, if my maternal grandmother hadn’t taken pity on you and left enough money and grain with the village chief, would you have grown up safely and received an education?
And what about you? The first thing you did after growing up was steal the man of your benefactor’s daughter. Becoming a mistress and breaking up a marriage—don’t you deserve to be beaten?”
Not only was Zhou Qingman rooted to the spot in shock, but Qin Hongwen was also stunned.
However, the green tea mistress recovered her wits quickly.
“Shuangshuang, where did you hear such wild rumors? There’s no such thing! Did your aunt tell you that? She has feelings for your father, so naturally she has nothing good to say about me. You mustn’t believe her.”
Qin Hongwen chimed in to agree, “Shuangshuang, your aunt is right. You can’t believe what your maternal aunt says. She’s misleading you into hating us.”
Lin Shuang’s hands were itching for another slap!
“Stop right there! Don’t push every blame onto my maternal aunt. Didn’t you two engage in an illicit liaison and commit adultery while still married?”
“Don’t treat people like fools. Lin Lanlan is clearly two years older than me, yet you altered her age to make her appear younger than me.”
“Did you really think everyone else was an idiot?”
“Don’t forget the saying: If you don’t want people to know, don’t do it in the first place!”