Lin Xiaowan had no idea that Wang Xiaoqian wanted to gather more information about Su Lin.
She thought for a moment, then frowned. "I don't know how to describe Su Lin. He's changed a lot. It feels like every impression I had of him before was wrong."
"Oh? Then what kind of person did you think he was before?"
"To sum it up, he treated those above him as equals, but enforced strict hierarchies on those below him. He never gave students from ordinary families a kind look, never looked anyone in the eye, and always spoke like he was above everyone else. Other than a few classmates, he didn't care about anyone in the class. He was blindly arrogant."
"And now?"
"I can't really say."
"Tell me in detail. Mommy will help you analyze it."
Without any guard up, Lin Xiaowan began telling her about what Su Lin had said to her today.
"..."
"Mom, don't you think Su Lin is pitiful? He clearly did so much, yet no one knew about it. So many people were laughing at him today, but he didn't react at all. You have no idea how nasty the things they said were. I don't even know how Su Lin got through the past two years."
Wang Xiaoqian rolled her eyes at Lin Xiaowan. "Well, aren't you standing up for him now?"
"What use is it if I'm the only one standing up for him?"
Just you alone was enough. He didn't care what anyone else thought. He only cared what you thought. Wang Xiaoqian did not say that aloud and could only keep it to herself.
Wang Xiaoqian suddenly felt that protecting Lin Xiaowan too well all these years had not been a good thing.
As someone who had been through it all, she could tell at once that Su Lin was sounding the horn for his pursuit of Lin Xiaowan.
First, he changed her impression of him with the donation. Then, he told her about his past to earn her sympathy. On top of that, there was that promise binding the two of them together...
Hiss!
That brat was playing a big game.
Seeing the sympathy written all over her daughter's face, Wang Xiaoqian wished she could tell her everything about Su Lin's true nature.
But she knew that would only ruin things.
Although Wang Xiaoqian felt she might be overthinking Su Lin, judging by everything he had done today, that brat absolutely could not be viewed as an ordinary high school student.
Looking at her foolish daughter, Wang Xiaoqian sighed inwardly. At least that brat Su Lin is sincere about Nannan. Otherwise, this girl wouldn't even know if someone sold her off.
The scene of having dinner with Su Lin and Su Zhenguo surfaced in her mind again. She could be certain that Su Lin's feelings for Lin Xiaowan were genuine.
"Mom, do you think there's any way I can help Su Lin?"
Wang Xiaoqian stroked Lin Xiaowan's head. "Help him? How? Tell everyone the truth? Unless you want Xia Shiyu to suffer, rumors alone could drown the three of you."
"If you try another approach, I'm not sure Su Lin would appreciate it."
"Ah!"
"Xiao Wan, don't get involved in this. The college entrance exam is coming up soon. I don't think Su Lin wants too much attention on himself either."
"Then... all right."
"Mm. Go do your homework first. Mommy won't disturb you."
"Okay..."
After watching Wang Xiaoqian leave, Lin Xiaowan quickly got up, shut the door, and locked it.
Hearing the lock click, Wang Xiaoqian froze for a moment, then her face filled with worry.
Su Lin's schemes ran too deep, one step after another. Her daughter was completely outmatched.
She had to think of something, or the girl would fall right into it sooner or later.
"Su Lin, sorry."
"?"
"What's wrong, Xiao Wan?"
"Teacher Wang called the house just now. She said she wanted to thank our family for donating so much money, and then my mom came to talk to me. I told her about your donation."
After sending the message, Lin Xiaowan covered her eyes, too afraid to look at the screen.
She had promised Su Lin, yet told her parents as soon as she got home.
"Hehe! It's fine if you told them. It's such a big matter that it wouldn't have been appropriate not to."
"Ah... but then Teacher Wang might find out too."
"Relax. Even if Teacher Wang finds out, she'll definitely keep it confidential. Still, I don't think there's much chance she knows. Your parents probably just wanted to understand what really happened. Besides, I never intended to hide it from Uncle and Auntie. If they didn't get to the bottom of something this serious, they definitely wouldn't be able to sleep."
At Jiangning Huating Villa District, Su Lin wore a smile.
Before asking Lin Xiaowan to donate the money, he had already thought through every possible situation that might arise.
As for Lin Xiaowan's parents, they had been among the first people he considered.
If he wanted others to think highly of him, he had to make them acknowledge his abilities.
Su Lin's family was not poor, but compared to Lin Xiaowan's, there was still quite a gap. What he needed to do now was make himself familiar to them, then show Lin Guoqiang his abilities as much as possible.
Once he showed enough, Lin Guoqiang would realize that Su Lin was actually pretty damn good.
Then there would be far less resistance to him being with Lin Xiaowan.
In the original novel, Su Lin had spent over a thousand chapters without completely winning over Lin Xiaowan. A major reason was the resistance from the Lin Family.
Especially Lin Guoqiang. He was a textbook daughter-doting father, and winning his approval was incredibly difficult.
But Su Lin did not care about any of that. The reason Ye Feng had messed things up in the original novel was mainly because of that trashy author.
Over a thousand chapters, and he had collected who knew how many beautiful confidantes. Even if a proud daughter of heaven like Lin Xiaowan had wanted to be with him, her family would never have agreed.
Strictly speaking, the story had simply fallen apart.
But Su Lin would not make that mistake. He was a Villain, after all. Villains did not have that many taboos.
When it was time to act, he would act.
When it was time to take someone, he would never hesitate.
He could never do something like holding a girl all night and doing nothing.
Just as Su Lin had predicted, they really came to borrow money.
That very night, Wang Xiaoqian told Lin Guoqiang everything from beginning to end.
After frowning and thinking for a long while, Lin Guoqiang sighed. "Su Zhenguo really is lucky."
"That kid Su Lin is already so outstanding in his senior year of high school. Once he gets some more experience in college, if he enters politics, he'll definitely rise through the ranks."
Wang Xiaoqian pinched Lin Guoqiang's waist. "What are you thinking about? I'm talking to you about our daughter."
Lin Guoqiang waved his hand. "Honey, I think you're reading too much into this. If Su Lin had really been planning things for three years, then he'd practically be a monster."
"I think this was just a coincidence. If he really had such exaggerated intentions, our Nannan would have been tricked away long ago."
After thinking it over carefully, Wang Xiaoqian felt Lin Guoqiang had a point, but she still frowned. "Whose side are you on? Someone is obviously after your daughter, yet you're still speaking up for him."
"Hmph. If he wants to make a move on my daughter, Su Lin still isn't qualified. The college entrance exam is almost here. Once she goes to college and broadens her horizons, she naturally won't keep staring at this little patch of land in front of her," Lin Guoqiang said confidently.
"Aren't you worried something might happen between them in these three months? I think our daughter might be a little interested in him."
"What? You mean they're already together?"
"No, I never said that. I'm just worried."
"Then... should we send our daughter abroad to study?"
"Study abroad? You really came up with that? What if Su Lin follows her overseas? Then it really would be beyond our reach, and they could do whatever they wanted."
"This... I need to think of something. I can't let Nannan get tricked."
Seeing Lin Guoqiang become serious, Wang Xiaoqian smiled.
She knew exactly how sharp Lin Guoqiang's mind was. If he set out to scheme against Su Lin, he could trap Su Lin completely.
The night passed without incident, and Su Lin got out of bed.
"Ah, senior year really is miserable. We even have classes on Saturday."
Saturday classes for senior high school students had become the norm throughout Zhongjiang City.
To improve advancement rates, every school had pulled out all the stops.
"At the head of the Xunyang River, I saw a guest off at night; maple leaves and reed blossoms rustled in the autumn wind. The host dismounted, the guest boarded the boat; we raised our cups to drink, but there was no music. Drunk and joyless, we faced a sorrowful farewell; at parting, the vast river reflected the moon. Then suddenly, I heard the sound of a pipa over the water; the host forgot to leave, the guest could not depart..."
Listening to the loud recitation of "The Song of the Pipa" in the classroom, Su Lin hummed along.
In his previous life, he had heard an adapted version of the song, and it had been pretty good.
When he entered the classroom, Su Lin was surprised to find all his classmates looking at him strangely.
"What are you all looking at me for?"
Su Lin muttered to himself, then walked toward his seat.
As soon as he sat down, he saw two English class notebooks.
He picked them up and took a look, immediately understanding why everyone in the class had been staring at him.
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