Good sisters shared the trouble

Lin Fengmian patiently listened to Lin Sui finish rambling before finally digging this person out of a dusty corner of his memory. "Holy shit, isn't that my ex-sister-in-law?"

"Right," Lin Sui confirmed. "Your former band's lead singer's girlfriend. She wants you as a guest vocalist. Didn't see that coming, did you? She could tell at a glance that you were the overlooked gem in your old band."

Lin Fengmian felt that Lin Sui was more like the sheltered young master the Lin family kept tucked away in an attic. "Are you sure she invited me instead of Ji Ye for something other than publicity? Are you sure she doesn't know I'm the Lin family's fourth son?"

Before joining Song Su's studio, Lin Fengmian had joined a band for fun. Before the band had a manager, its members had been a loose collection of individuals, playing regular gigs at a bar and taking three days off for every day they worked. That fit Lin Fengmian's work standards perfectly, so he had stayed for several years.

Later, Ji Ye had taken over as lead singer. He was extremely ambitious, constantly promoting the band on short-video platforms. Gradually, they had made a bit of a name for themselves, and a manager had approached them.

Ji Ye had practically handed the band over to the agency for next to nothing. From then on, they had worked nonstop, with endless publicity and promotion but very few actual jobs.

This had gone completely against Lin Fengmian's slacker ways and thoroughly annoyed him. He had started frequently skipping work. Ji Ye couldn't stand his lack of commitment, and the agency couldn't accept such an undisciplined member either. They had sued Lin Fengmian, demanding that he either pay the termination penalty and leave or actively cooperate with the company's work requirements.

They had picked the wrong opponent. The Lin family hadn't even needed to intervene. Lin Fengmian had put on his lawyer's robes and single-handedly taken down the entire agency. Not only had he terminated his contract, but he had also made the agency pay him several million in compensation.

That had left Lin Fengmian unemployed, and he had completely given up on working and lounged around at home. Unable to watch any longer, Song Su had signed him to her studio and assigned Lin Sui as his manager.

Lin Sui had been enthusiastic for a while too. Being the fourth young master's manager, when the fourth young master was so beautiful, surely meant more work offers than he could handle. He had kept finding things for Lin Sui to do, and after a period of adjustment, Lin Sui had finally seen Lin Fengmian's go-with-the-flow nature for what it was.

With that shameless fellow Xia Qinghe also taking the opposing side, the Lin family could do nothing about their youngest son. They could only let him be and allow him to carry on being a slacker.

As a member of a collateral branch, Lin Sui had even less room to say anything. He had stopped seeking work for him and only notified Lin Fengmian of offers that came to them. Whether he accepted them wasn't Lin Sui's decision.

That was up to Lin Fengmian.

After Lin Fengmian's reminder, Lin Sui wasn't so sure anymore. "How would she know you're the Lin family's fourth son?"

Lin Fengmian chuckled. "Nothing stays secret forever. Anyone who wants to know only needs to ask around a little."

Especially since that battle had made his name. The agency had threatened to blacklist him, but not only had he not been blacklisted, he had even signed with Song Su's studio. Anyone interested enough to look into it would be able to find out.

At that soft chuckle, Lin Sui felt an itch in his heart, as though a kitten had swiped a paw across it. The itch was unbearable.

Lin Sui rubbed his ears. It really was a waste not to sing with a voice like that.

Lin Fengmian yawned. "All right, stop worrying about me."

Song Su was terribly envious of Qian Yulan, who could keep Xia Qinghe in line. All she had to do was tell him to come home for a blind date, and home he came. Unlike her own son, who was so lazy that even if a snake crawled up his backside, he wouldn't reach in to pull it out. He would call Xia Qinghe to help instead.

After returning from Qian Yulan's house, the more Song Su thought about it, the less she could accept it. She went straight to her eldest son's house without telling anyone and caught her eldest daughter-in-law just as she arrived home from work.

The moment Zhang Qiuyue saw her mother-in-law, she turned to leave, only for Butler Lin to block her way. "..."

With no choice, Zhang Qiuyue braced herself and went inside. "Mom, what brings you here?"

Song Su sniffed, flicked her handkerchief, and dabbed at the corners of her eyes. Her tears came on cue. "Xia Qinghe has a blind date tonight."

Zhang Qiuyue was speechless. Listen to yourself. Anyone who didn't know better would think Xia Qinghe was your lover. What are you so upset about his blind date for?

"I just want Mianmian to get married. I'm not even asking him to build a career. Why is it so hard?" Song Su sniffled, making her performance increasingly pitiful.

As a lawyer, Zhang Qiuyue was eloquent and forceful both in court and in front of her clients, but faced with her mother-in-law, she fell completely silent.

She gave a wry smile. A career? As if you could get him to build one. What, you couldn't get past the mountain that was Xia Qinghe, so now you're settling for second best and only asking Mianmian to get married?

"Mom, I've introduced every young woman and man I know. I really have no one left to introduce."

She had even asked all the clients who hired her whether they knew any unmarried people of a suitable age.

Suitable or not, she had brought them all to meet Lin Fengmian.

They had all been interested in Lin Fengmian and hadn't minded his incurable laziness, but Lin Fengmian seemed immune to romance. He hadn't felt anything for a single one.

"Have none of your recent clients had any unmarried family members of a suitable age?" Song Su sighed.

Zhang Qiuyue rolled her eyes. Her mother-in-law had now driven her to ask every client she met whether they had any unmarried young women or men of a suitable age in their family.

Fortunately, she was a lawyer, so her clients assumed it had something to do with their cases and would tell her a little. Otherwise, she had no idea what people might think of her.

"Tell me, I've already lowered my standards and accepted that he can spend his life with a man. Why is he still so difficult?" Seeing that she had driven her usually composed eldest daughter-in-law to roll her eyes in public, Song Su looked even more miserable.

"Mom, I really don't have anyone left. Why don't you ask Lin Tingyu? She's a university professor. The people she meets are all graduate students. They're much better prospects than the people I know."

When Lin Tingyu saw her mother, she knew she had just come from her eldest sister-in-law's place. "Did my eldest sister-in-law send you?"

Song Su smiled. "No."

She would never sow discord in the family, so she denied it without the slightest qualm.

Lin Tingyu didn't believe her. In recent years, her mother had pestered everyone from the oldest to the youngest over Lin Fengmian's marriage, all to get them to introduce someone to him.

"If Lin Fengmian doesn't want to get married, just let him be. Marriage isn't the only way to live."

"What will he do when he's old if he doesn't get married?" Song Su said. "Without someone caring by his side, he could be bedridden with no one even asking how he is. How miserable would that be? Is he supposed to count on you all to visit and help him?"

"You could look after him for a while, but could you go every day? With a partner, at least someone would be beside his bed. He wouldn't spend his days sick and miserable, just waiting for someone to care about him."

Lin Tingyu was speechless. "...Aren't you putting a curse on Mianmian?"

Song Su sprang up and flicked her daughter's forehead, leaving it red. Lin Tingyu didn't dare dodge, for fear her mother might fall.

"Just tell me whether you have anyone suitable to introduce. Xia Qinghe has a blind date tonight. One look at that girl and you can tell she has a good temperament, so gentle and sweet. Sitting there, she looks like an ink painting of an elegant lady."

Lin Tingyu understood. Her mother envied Aunt Lan for having a son who listened to her. Finding Lin Fengmian a partner was merely incidental.

But she couldn't win against her mother. She pulled out her phone and sent her three WeChat contacts in one go. "Will that do?"

Satisfied, Song Su turned and left without the slightest reluctance.

As though she had completed a task, Lin Tingyu saw her out without even asking her to stay for dinner. Her mother still had another stop to make.

"Lin Tingyu, why didn't you warn me Mom was coming so I could hide?" Lin Zhixia punched and kicked at the air, hiding in the restroom as she gave Lin Tingyu an earful.

"Good sisters shared the trouble."

"Just you wait." Lin Zhixia hung up and, with her belly sticking out, took Song Su to her workplace cafeteria for dinner.

"Mom, look around my workplace. There isn't a single new face. Things are stable here. We don't necessarily recruit even once a year. I don't know as many people as our eldest sister-in-law and second sister do."

In other words, she really had no one to introduce.

As soon as Song Su entered the cafeteria, her eyes swept over everyone seated there like radar. Sure enough, she didn't spot any new faces, though people kept greeting her along the way.

"Oh, you make it sound as though I came here just to get you to introduce someone to your younger brother. I only came to see you. Has the baby been kicking?" Her expression unchanged, Song Su began asking after the child in Lin Zhixia's belly. "Are you still throwing up?"

Lin Zhixia was seven months pregnant. From the beginning of her pregnancy until now, she had spent all seven months vomiting so badly she wished she were dead. Both sides of the family were worried about her.

Lin Zhixia gave her a thumbs-up. As expected of an award-winning actress across film, television, and stage, her ability to lie through her teeth had risen another notch with age.