After all, who didn't like to eat melon?
[Why was Second Brother grinning so creepily?]
Lin Shengyan: "..."
Lin Xiawan smiled and took Lin Tingyue's hand. Her eyes curved as she said, "Let's go."
"Okay."
The Lin family set out at eight thirty and arrived at A University around nine. The university had been decorated beautifully all over to give graduates about to leave school places to take photos.
Today was Lin Tingyue and Lin Xiawan's day. Whatever they wanted to do, Bai Yaxin and Lin Rusong would oblige them.
So Lin Yuhuan and Lin Shengyan-one a big star, the other a domineering CEO-took on the role of photographers.
Lin Shengyan had been taking photos of Lin Tingyue when he suddenly saw her stumble in the camera frame after someone shoved her.
Who the hell thought they could lay hands on his little sister?
Lin Shengyan's expression darkened. He strode over and put himself in front of Lin Tingyue, then looked up at the young man and woman before him.
The young man ignored Lin Shengyan and sneered at Lin Tingyue behind him. "Lin Tingyue, I heard that ever since your older sister was found, your standing in the Lin family has plummeted."
[Where did you hear that fake news?]
[These days, fake news is just as harmful as fake alcohol.]
The young man and woman's expressions shifted. After only a few months apart, could Lin Tingyue read minds?
Lin Tingyue asked earnestly, "Who are you?"
Lin Shengyan snorted. "You heard her. My sister's asking you."
The young man flew into a rage. "Lin Tingyue, are you doing this on purpose? You don't even remember me, Qu Wen?"
[This person... I think there's some juicy gossip about him.]
[Not sure. Let me take a look.]
Huh, there was more gossip. Lin Shengyan exchanged a glance with the Lin family members who had come over, and they quietly waited for the show.
[Ah, found it. This young man and this young woman are brother and sister, but not by blood. The young man has a girlfriend.]
[His girlfriend has gotten angry plenty of times because her boyfriend is too close to this girl.]
[But the two of them never change their ways, and they both insist, "We're just siblings. That's what siblings are like."]
[They even kissed before coming here...]
Lin Tingyue's expression suddenly turned subtle as she looked at the young man and woman, who both seemed uneasy.
[Honestly, you've been going around calling each other "big brother" and "little sister" and making everyone sick. Well, look where that got you. Now you're full siblings with the same father and different mothers.]
Qu Wen's girlfriend hurried over after receiving the message and arrived just in time to hear this explosive bit of gossip. She wasn't sure why, but the frustration that had been building for days as she watched her boyfriend get all lovey-dovey with another girl while claiming she was the one he loved most finally dissipated.
Compared to all this, her grievances were nothing. Xiong Beijing even wanted to applaud Qu Wen.
Qu Wen, his face pale, spotted Xiong Beijing in the distance as if she were his salvation. He rushed toward her with a tender look, intending to hug her and confess his sins.
But to Xiong Beijing, Qu Wen was no different from a virus now. She dodged to the side, and Qu Wen fell flat on his face. When he got up, there was grass and dirt in his mouth.
[Hahahahahaha.]
Lin Tingyue started laughing without hesitation. The Lin family wanted to laugh too, but Lin Tingyue's laughter was so powerful that even someone who had just stepped onto the grass stopped in his tracks. He looked up in confusion, not knowing what was going on.
Qu Wen spat out the grass in his mouth. "Beijing, you believe now that I really like you, right?"
[?]
[What the hell is this guy talking about?]
[What kind of decent person kisses his sister? That's cheating, and he's a pervert on top of it.]
[Huh, no wonder Qu Wen would say that. It runs in the family, then. Can this sort of thing really be inherited?]
[Qu Wen's father fell in love with Yi Tianxin's mother back then, but the Qu family company was in a major crisis at the time. Qu Wen's father had to marry Qu Wen's mother to save the Qu family.]
[Think that meant Qu Wen's father gave up on Yi Tianxin's mother? No. He promised her that he was only with that woman for the money, and that Yi Tianxin's mother was the only one he loved.]
[That was how Qu Wen's father got money from Qu Wen's mother and love from Yi Tianxin's mother at the same time, and climbed to the top of life.]
[Tsk, tsk, Yi Tianxin's mother was probably still dreaming that Qu Wen's father would marry her even now. How could you believe a man's promises so easily? And now Qu Wen's father thinks Yi Tianxin's mother is petty and unsophisticated, an embarrassing old woman he can't show off. He's already looking for someone new.]
Yi Tianxin was dazed. In the end, she collapsed onto the grass. Ever since she could remember, she had never seen her father. She had thought he was dead, but her mother had firmly told her that he wasn't.
So he had run away, leaving her and her mother behind.
She had never imagined that the truth could be a hundred times uglier than she had expected.
[Huh, what happened to her? Young people these days have it good. They can just lie down on the grass whenever they want.]
Lin Tingyue brushed off her graduation gown and was about to drag her second brother somewhere else to take photos when she suddenly heard a slap up ahead. It was a crisp, loud smack.
[That was the fighter jet of slaps.]
Lin Tingyue rose onto her tiptoes to look over.
[Why are Qu Wen's parents here?]
Lin Tingyue thought about it. She and Qu Wen were in the same year, and today was graduation day. Bai Yaxin and Lin Rusong had both come, so it was only natural that Qu Wen's parents would be here too.
[Why did Qu Wen's mother slap his father? Did she find something out?]
[Alas, no matter how clever Qu Wen's mother is, she'd never guess that the person Qu Wen's father had his eye on was her good friend.]
What! Qu Wen's mother was furious. No wonder her good friend had been hinting at things to her, openly and indirectly, since last week.
At the time, she'd just thought her good friend had always been at odds with Old Qu, and hadn't taken it to heart.
Thinking of this, Qu Wen's mother slapped Qu Wen's father again.
A man, and a man who had already made a name for himself at that, had been slapped twice in a row. Fury rose in Qu Wen's father's eyes. "Cai Wanli, don't push it."
"When you were using my money to keep another woman, why didn't you think you were pushing it?"
How had she found out?
Qu Kuo hurriedly said, "Wanli, listen to me..."
Cai Wanli had been about to leave with her purse over her shoulder. She turned back to look at Qu Kuo, and he was delighted. He reached out to take her hand, but Cai Wanli brushed him away in disgust. "When you married me, you made everything clear to my parents. They were afraid you'd change your mind, so they even made you sign an agreement. If you betrayed me, you wouldn't get a penny. Just wait until you leave with nothing."
Qu Kuo's legs gave way and he fell to his knees. Qu Wen rushed over, grabbed him by the collar, and demanded, "Dad, did you really betray Mom? Dad, say something!"
Classmates who didn't know what was going on passed by and thought some kind of performance art was happening on the grass. They even came over to ask if they could take a picture.
Qu Wen told them to get lost.
[Hahahahahaha.]
[The famous "loving father and filial son" check-in spot. Why couldn't they take a picture?]
After finishing the gossip, Lin Tingyue tugged at Lin Shengyan's arm. "Second Brother, let's go somewhere else."
The grass was too chaotic. It really wasn't a good place for photos. Lin Shengyan nodded, then suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure.
"Wait for me. I see my friend."
Lin Tingyue: "?"
[Second Brother, having a friend on this patch of grass doesn't seem like a good thing.]
Lin Shengyan stumbled and Ying An caught him. Ying An asked with concern, "Shengyan, are you okay?"
Lin Shengyan looked at Ying An with a solemn expression. Could this guy have gossip too?
Ying An was Lin Shengyan's college classmate. After graduation, they had both entered the entertainment industry and were even hailed as the twin stars of the industry.
Lin Shengyan knew him well. His family was harmonious, and his parents often traveled around the world. Besides Ying An, there was a daughter in the family, younger than him and the apple of the whole family's eye. Ying An himself was gentle and courteous.
How could someone so perfect have gossip? Lin Shengyan cursed himself for overthinking it.
But-
[Why does this person look so familiar?]
Oh no. There really was gossip.
Lin Shengyan immediately moved away from Ying An so he could pretend not to know him when his family asked later.
Ying An frowned. "Shengyan, what do you mean by that?"
Lin Shengyan was even more frantic than he was. "Why can't you keep yourself in line a little more?!"
Now this place had become a whole field of gossip.
Lin Shengyan mourned alone, leaving Ying An utterly bewildered.
Lin Tingyue was getting closer and closer to Ying An. This was bad, this was really bad. Lin Shengyan thought anxiously, Ying An was about to have his gossip exposed!
[Ah, isn't this the handsome guy from the film studio? Even his... is pink.]
Lin Shengyan: "?"
Lin Tingyue, what?
Ying An was wearing a gray short-sleeved shirt today. When he heard Lin Tingyue, he quietly tugged at his collar, the tips of his ears turning completely red.
Ying An, who had straightened himself up, held out a hand to Lin Tingyue. "Hello, I'm Ying An. I'm a good friend of your second brother's."
Lin Tingyue lightly shook the man's hand. His hand was fair and slender, dry and warm. Lin Tingyue suddenly felt a little shy. It was probably because Ying An was handsome.
Lin Tingyue lowered her eyes and said, "Hello, I'm Lin Tingyue."
Lin Shengyan looked at Lin Tingyue. Oh, oh, oh. Hadn't she just said his was pink? Why was she getting embarrassed now?