No wonder years later, when the enemy was captured, Lin Rusong and Bai Yaxin rushed to the police station, and the enemy flatly denied having taken Lin Xiawan away, even claiming someone had acted before him.
Lin Rusong thought he was refusing to admit until faced with undeniable evidence, so he hired the best lawyer. Later, when Lin Xiawan was found, both Ling Zhen and Song Zhuang claimed they had picked up Lin Xiawan from a trash can outside the hospital. Everything seemed to align, making Lin Rusong and Bai Yaxin loathe the enemy even more.
So, was it this couple who took their Xiawan away?
Ling Zhen suddenly felt a chill. She thought to herself, rich families really have it good—living in such large rooms with such strong air conditioning, never having to worry about money. Since Bai Yaxin and Lin Rusong had so much money, what harm would it do to share a little with them?
Besides, they had raised Lin Xiawan until she was twenty, investing so much in her. Now, they were just reclaiming a small reward.
No one spoke, and the atmosphere grew even colder. Ling Zhen said considerately, "I know three million is a bit much. How about this—Old Song and I will go back and try to gather some money ourselves? We don’t want to make things difficult for you."
Lin Tingyue rolled her eyes.
[Seriously, you’re the ones who want to buy the house, you’re the ones who want to borrow money—why would we be the ones feeling troubled?]
[Tsk tsk tsk, now I understand what it means to have no bottom line.]
[This couple is just worse than the other. When Xiawan was little, these two old scoundrels took turns slapping her.]
[Once, just because Xiawan ate one meatball, Song Zhuang pulled out his belt and beat her. The reason? All the meatballs were for Song Fan. Xiawan, being a girl and adopted, didn’t deserve to eat one.]
Four pairs of eyes turned to Lin Xiawan in the corner. Bai Yaxin couldn’t hide her heartache—her precious daughter had suffered such abuse outside.
And she had been giving money to these two creatures worse than beasts!
She should have slapped them both and thrown them out of her villa.
[Something seems off…]
Lin Tingyue glanced around.
[Did Mom and Dad figure it out?]
[By the way, is it still possible to sue Ling Zhen and Song Zhuang for intentionally stealing a child now?]
Yes, of course it was!
Bai Yaxin said reasonably, "Adding a new member to the family is a joyous occasion. After all, you’ve raised Xiawan for twenty years. Song Fan is like her own brother. I’ll add another million as a red envelope for the child."
One million!
The three members of the Song family were overjoyed, clearly dazzled by the money.
But there was more.
Lin Rusong said, "Since we’re all family now, why bother buying a house? Lin Corporation recently has a new development in the east. Would you be interested?"
The east—where gardens and villas were everywhere! Even with an extra six million, they could never afford a house there.
Ling Zhen immediately pinched Song Zhuang, who coughed and said, "Since you’re so generous, we’ll have to accept."
[Oh, sounding so reluctant—you could always refuse!]
Ling Zhen even wiped away nonexistent tears, her voice choked with emotion as she said, "Xiawan has truly found a good family. It just goes to show I was right to always tell Xiawan that her birth parents must have loved her—they must have had some accident that made them…"
Ling Zhen was so moved she couldn't continue speaking.
【What crocodile tears.】
【Honestly, if someone suddenly gave me that much money, I could act too. I'd act my way straight to an Oscar.】
"Sister Zhen, we all know," Bai Yaxin said, also appearing deeply moved. "We owe it all to you for helping us find Xiawan again."
Hah, as if she's the only one who can act?
She's the mother of Lin Tingyue, who could win an Oscar award.
Seeing that the three had taken the bait, Lin Rusong seized the moment to say, "Yuhuan, help Auntie Ling and Uncle Song take a good look and pick a unit with a good layout."
Song Fan anxiously added, "Make sure it has good sunlight exposure too."
Lin Yuhuan's pale eyes swept over Song Fan as he replied, "Alright."
Lin Shengyan, being quick-witted, immediately guessed what his parents and eldest brother were planning. He casually remarked, "Hey Dad, wasn't the maternity hospital where Mom gave birth located near there?"
"Yes, when your mother was giving birth to Xiawan, I even had your eldest brother bring you over."
Lin Yuhuan nodded, "I still remember—Mom's delivery room was quite distinctive."
Lin Rusong said uncertainly, "I think there was a sun painted on the wall."
"No," Bai Yaxin corrected, "It was an apple tree."
"You're all mistaken," Ling Zhen, unable to contain her delight, eagerly interjected, "It wasn't a sun—it was star and moon stickers. There were so many of them, absolutely beautiful."
The reason Ling Zhen remembered so clearly was because when she took Lin Xiawan away, her mind was filled with visions of the wealth she would soon obtain—she had seen those stars and moons as gold!
The living room fell so silent you could hear a pin drop.
Bai Yaxin asked coldly, "Ling Zhen, didn't you say you found Xiawan outside the hospital? How could you know what my delivery room looked like?"
"That's right," Lin Rusong said with a dark expression, "You deliberately stole the child. That's a crime that will land you in prison."
Prison?
No, no—she couldn't go to prison.
Just as Ling Zhen was about to explain, Song Zhuang grabbed her hand and stood up, declaring firmly, "Song Fan needs to get back to take care of the child. We should be going now."
Seeing Song Zhuang like this, Lin Tingyue was amused. 【What, don't want the money anymore? Hit a nerve, did we?】
【And going back to take care of the child? That child isn't even Song Fan's. His wife was already over a month pregnant when she married him.】
Lin Yuhuan blocked the three who were trying to leave. Song Zhuang, growing desperate, raised his fist and threatened, "My fists don't have eyes. Think carefully about the consequences before you stop me."
"I think there's a misunderstanding, Uncle Song," Lin Yuhuan adjusted his glasses, his eyes behind the lenses emitting a cold light as he said, "I merely have some news to share with everyone."
"What news?" Song Fan asked suspiciously, supporting Ling Zhen.
Lin Yuhuan looked at Song Fan and stated, "Your wife was already pregnant before she married you. The child isn't yours."
【Hahahahaha, big brother really went for the kill.】
【But announcing such news with that cold expression—the impact and contrast are both off the charts.】
Lin Yuhuan curled his lips. To be honest, he felt he could win an Oscar too.
After presenting the evidence to Song Fan, Song Fan immediately released Ling Zhen and stormed out, while Ling Zhen fainted on the spot.
Bai Yaxin and Lin Rusong called an ambulance, reported to the police, and went to the police station to give statements. By the time they returned, it was already late at night.
Everyone was still awake, waiting for them in the living room.
Bai Yaxin took Lin Xiawan's hand and had her sit beside her. She asked softly, "Xiawan, why didn't you tell Mom about all the hardships you've endured?"
The thought of young Xiawan being beaten with a belt made Bai Yaxin's heart ache as if pierced by a knife.
"Mom, I'm fine. Those are all things of the past."
Seeing Bai Yaxin cry, Lin Xiawan's heart tightened for a moment. She flusteredly comforted Bai Yaxin.
"Even if they're things of the past, can't Mom still feel heartache for you?"
Lin Xiawan was taken aback: "Mom…"
"Xiawan, tell me the truth. Did you never intend to integrate into this family?"
Lin Xiawan lowered her head and remained silent.
Fortunately, there was Lin Tingyue.
[Ah, Sister Xiawan isn't unwilling to integrate into this family. She just feels very insecure. With a biased mother, a cruel father, and a useless brother, in such an environment, she could only become independent and resilient.]
[If the true faces of those two old folks hadn't been exposed this time, Sister Xiawan would have found a way to get the money back herself.]
[Sister Xiawan is like a snail. Right now, the snail has already extended two tiny tentacles.]
Bai Yaxin reached up and touched the top of Lin Xiawan's head. She wanted to see where the tentacles were.
[Mom, don't touch them! They'll retract!]
Lin Shengyan was the first to start laughing, followed soon by everyone else.
[Ah, what are they all laughing about?]
[Anyway, I have plenty of experience raising snails.]
Bai Yaxin smiled and pulled Lin Tingyue into her embrace as well. She patted both their heads and said, "You are both my precious daughters."
…
Lin Tingyue hadn't received any notification about the variety show and thought it might have fallen through. The ten million that was almost hers had flown away just like that. She was very unwilling!
Fortunately, Bai Yaxin planned to take Lin Tingyue to a banquet.
[If there's no money, good food is fine too.]
To Lin Tingyue's surprise, it was her eldest brother who drove them there.
Lin Tingyue asked, "Eldest Brother, aren't you busy today?"
She had seen Lin Yuhuan conducting a full English video conference that morning. It made her head hurt just listening, so she simply went back to sleep. When she woke up, she felt refreshed and clear-headed.
Lin Yuhuan was too embarrassed to say that he wanted to go this time because he had missed the spectacle of the last incident. He said, "I'm not busy."
Lin Tingyue nodded.
This time it was a birthday banquet. Lin Yuhuan went to park the car, while Lin Tingyue held Bai Yaxin's arm and waited for him at the entrance.
People around them were whispering.
"Didn't Old Wei just celebrate his fiftieth birthday last year? Why is he having another birthday celebration this year? I thought it was his son's wedding."
"Yeah, if not a wedding, they could at least hold an engagement banquet first. What's the point of dragging it out like this?"
Just as they were talking, the guest of honor for this birthday banquet appeared.
The person next to Lin Tingyue lowered her voice: "Tsk tsk tsk, I saw this girl with him last year too. And now this year…"
Lin Tingyue looked over. The middle-aged man was flanked by a young man and a woman, who should be the Old Wei and his son's girlfriend they were talking about.
Lin Yuhuan lagged behind, and Lin Tingyue waved at him. As the three prepared to enter, a nosy onlooker blocking the doorway asked, "Old Wei, when is your family taking a daughter-in-law?"
【Oh, they definitely can't marry.】
【These two are already married to other people—they're both cheating. If they want to get a marriage certificate, they'd have to ask whether marriage laws would allow it, right?】
Both cheating?
That intense???