"But," Lin Tingyue blinked and asked in confusion, "why did you say you used to be good friends with my second brother? Aren't you good friends anymore?"
Only after Lin Tingyue said this did Lin Shengyan catch the key point in Ying An's words. Folding his arms, he asked discontentedly, "What do you mean by that, Ying An?"
Ying An ignored Lin Shengyan and said to Lin Tingyue, "Because your second brother doesn't trust my character."
Lin Shengyan said, "Huh?"
When had he ever distrusted Ying An's character?
Lin Tingyue said solemnly, "Someone who doesn't trust your character really isn't someone you should be close friends with."
Lin Shengyan snapped, "Lin Tingyue, am I still your brother or not?"
Lin Tingyue replied sweetly, "Of course you are."
[Sigh, my second brother is so pitiful. He already has a love brain, and now he doesn't even have friends.]
Lin Shengyan: "?"
Half of that "of course you are" had to have come from pity for him!
A love brain?
Ying An thought about it. He knew a little about Lin Shengyan and Cheng Jinshuang, too, and nodded in agreement with Lin Tingyue's words.
The graduation ceremony was about to start. Ying An went over with the Lin family, and Lin Tingyue glanced back at Lin Shengyan, who was straggling outside the group.
[Second brother, you're the forgotten one~]
Lin Shengyan clenched his fists. Damn it!
The graduation ceremony was being held on A University's largest new sports field. By the time Lin Tingyue and the others arrived, quite a few people were already on the grass.
A University didn't require graduation gowns and caps to follow a rigid standard. Quite a few people on the grass were wearing gowns they had altered themselves, far more elaborate and ornate than what Bai Yaxin and Mama Zhang had put together for Lin Xiawan and Lin Tingyue.
Bai Yaxin began to regret it. "If I'd known, I would've added a few more flowers."
Lin Rusong comforted her. "They're already very pretty. Fill something too full, and it spills over."
Lin Shengyan had just squeezed his way out of a crowd of fans. The first thing he said was, "Mom, seriously, don't add any more. Any more and they'll turn into condemned buildings."
These days, that sort of towering, precarious styling was the most hated look in the entertainment industry.
Bai Yaxin shot Lin Shengyan a vicious glare.
No matter how popular Lin Shengyan was, he could only obediently fall in line in front of Bai Yaxin and didn't dare act up again.
Lin Yuhuan took the opportunity to say, "Mom, you did a beautiful job."
Lin Shengyan looked at Lin Yuhuan in disbelief. He hadn't expected his eldest brother to be the one to stab him in the back in the end. Lin Yuhuan rubbed the tip of his nose and looked away.
Lin Shengyan: !
Eldest brother, why won't you look me in the eye? Is it a guilty conscience???
Bai Yaxin said with a beaming smile, "Yuhuan still knows what to say. Did I eat too many nuts when I was pregnant with Shengyan? Is that why his tongue is so poisonous now?"
[Eating nuts can actually give you a poisonous tongue?]
[Unbelievable.]
The first part of the graduation ceremony was an address from the university leadership, followed by a speech from an outstanding graduate representative.
Last year it had been Lin Yuhuan; this year it was Ying An.
Lin Tingyue's gaze followed that tall, straight figure onto the stage. Once Ying An started speaking, her eyes positively filled with stars.
[Not only is he handsome, but his voice sounds so nice, too. Love it, love it.]
Onstage, the corners of Ying An's lips curved up almost imperceptibly.
Lin Xiawan watched Ying An with extreme vigilance.
After Ying An finished his speech came the eagerly awaited ceremony in which the university leaders and department heads turned the graduates' tassels.
The students went onstage in order of student number. Fortunately, both Lin Xiawan and Lin Tingyue had numbers fairly close to the beginning. Watching the university leaders turn their tassels with their own eyes, Bai Yaxin and Lin Rusong actually felt a little moved.
Their biological daughter, from whom they had been separated for twenty years, had suddenly been found, and they even got to see her attend her graduation ceremony. What was more, the sisters got along harmoniously. How could the two of them not be moved?
By the time the tassel-turning ceremony ended, it was almost noon. Bai Yaxin and Lin Rusong took the children out for a buffet before returning home.
Only when they got home did everyone discover that uninvited guests had arrived.
Mama Zhang put down her phone and said, "Madam, I was just about to call you. They..."
Hearing Mama Zhang's voice, the people sitting without ceremony in the living room all looked over: a middle-aged couple and a young man. The middle-aged woman smiled like a blooming flower. Hurrying up to Bai Yaxin, she said warmly, "Yaxin, you're back."
Bai Yaxin nodded and asked, "Sister Zhen, Brother Song, how did you find the time to come over?"
Ling Zhen looked at Lin Xiawan, who stood behind Bai Yaxin with her arm linked through Lin Tingyue's. "We missed Xiawan, didn't we? So we came to see her."
Only after hearing "Sister Zhen" and "Brother Song" did Lin Tingyue realize who these two were.
They were Lin Xiawan's adoptive parents. Back then, Lin Xiawan had deliberately been abandoned outside the hospital by an enemy of Lin Rusong's. When Lin Rusong went looking, he found only Lin Tingyue. Thinking that Lin Tingyue was his daughter, he carried her home, shuddering at what might have happened. Only many years later did Bai Yaxin and Lin Rusong learn the truth. To find their biological daughter, they posted numerous missing-daughter advertisements online.
Quite a few scammers brought their own daughters over, but in the end, only Lin Xiawan's DNA test was a match.
Ling Zhen and Song Zhuang immediately began weeping and sniffling about how hard it had been to raise Lin Xiawan all these years. Although they had found her, they had always treated her as their own biological child.
Bai Yaxin understood that feeling deeply. It was how she felt about Lin Tingyue, so she assumed Ling Zhen and Song Zhuang felt the same way.
Whenever Ling Zhen and Song Zhuang came to her with difficulties, she and Lin Rusong would help them as much as they could. From then on, they came asking for money every few days.
Over time, the money spent on this couple had already reached nearly several million.
By the look of things, they were probably here to ask for money again.
Lin Tingyue remembered that Bai Yaxin had just given them five hundred thousand last month. Had they spent it all already?
"Xiawan."
As Ling Zhen spoke, she reached toward Lin Xiawan, but Lin Xiawan dodged her hand. Ling Zhen immediately looked a little awkward. "This child."
Instead, she asked, "Yaxin, where did you all go?"
Bai Yaxin said, "Today was Xiawan and Tingyue's graduation ceremony."
Bai Yaxin's answer made Ling Zhen even more embarrassed.
Although Bai Yaxin hadn't intended it, Ling Zhen nonetheless heard a hint of reproach. She claimed to miss Lin Xiawan, yet couldn't even remember her graduation ceremony?
Wasn't that contradicting herself?
Ling Zhen hurried to cover for herself. "Xiawan's eldest sister-in-law gave birth this month. My husband and I have been so busy we lost our heads. We actually forgot all about Xiawan's graduation ceremony."
Song Zhuang and his son, who sat on the sofa without any inclination to move, looked extremely haughty.
[Oh, please. What do you mean, so busy you lost your heads? Even if you two had nothing to do, you wouldn't necessarily have remembered.]
[After all, both of you have nothing but your son on your minds. A little girl has never been worth anything to you. Why would you be willing to waste effort on a little girl?]
Lin Rusong and Bai Yaxin exchanged a glance. Why was this different from what they knew?
Didn't Ling Zhen and Song Zhuang dearly love Xiawan? Hadn't they taken Xiawan to school in winter even when they were ill?
Had they been deceived all along?
Lin Rusong looked at Lin Yuhuan.
Lin Yuhuan understood and sent his assistant a message.
"Yaxin, what... what's wrong?" Sensing something off in the atmosphere, Ling Zhen asked cautiously. She also shot a meaningful look at the father and son on the sofa.
The two remained unmoved, infuriating Ling Zhen. She had no choice but to keep smiling apologetically on her own. Money-it was all for money.
Bai Yaxin smiled and said, "Nothing. Mama Zhang, serve the tea. Let's have some tea first."
At this point, Song Zhuang did speak up. "We didn't come here for tea."
Song Fan chimed in, "Exactly. Is this how you rich people treat your guests?"
[What, you didn't come for tea, so you want to eat here and take things home, too?]
[Mama Zhang, since they aren't having tea, don't serve them any.]
Lin Rusong walked over to the sofa. Sweeping his gaze over Song Zhuang and Song Fan, he said, "Mama Zhang, there's no need to serve tea."
Under the force of Lin Rusong's presence, the previously slouching Song Zhuang and Song Fan sat upright. They were still somewhat afraid of Lin Rusong.
Lin Rusong and Bai Yaxin sat down one after the other. Bai Yaxin asked, "Then, Sister Zhen, Brother Song, what have you come for?"
[To ask for money, of course.]
[With a money tree as big as my sister in their arms, why wouldn't they milk it for all it's worth?]
Sure enough, Ling Zhen said sheepishly, "Well, here's the thing. Didn't Song Fan's family just welcome a new baby? The two-bedroom place they've been living in is too small now. We want to get them a bigger home. That way, when the child grows up, there'll be room for everyone, right?
"My husband and I found a three-bedroom place. It gets good natural light, the location is good, and it's only three million. It's just that we're a little short on cash..."
"How much are you short?"
In the past, when Bai Yaxin said this, it usually meant she was going to give them money. Ling Zhen beamed with delight. "We're short three million."
Lin Tingyue burst out laughing.
[Good grief, your family doesn't want to pay a single cent. So you're here for a free ride.]
[Now it's a three-bedroom place. When you have a second child, will you expect us to buy you a four-bedroom place?]
With his arms folded, Lin Shengyan said sarcastically, "I don't think a three-bedroom place will necessarily fit everyone, either. Is your family only having one child? Why not buy a villa and settle it once and for all? How does that sound?"
[Second brother scores big, hahahaha.]
"Yes, yes, yes." Only after nodding did Ling Zhen realize she was being too eager. She reined herself in a little and said coyly, "Wouldn't that be inappropriate? We've already troubled you so much."
Lin Shengyan didn't indulge them in the slightest. With a cold expression, he said, "So you do know."
"How dare you speak like that?" Song Zhuang slapped the table. It was marble, and although his palm turned red, the table didn't so much as wobble.
[People like this are insatiably greedy.]
[Besides, Sister Xiawan wasn't taken away by Dad's enemy back then at all. These two knew she was the Lin family's daughter, so they deliberately took her away, planning to use Sister Xiawan to rake in money once she grew up.]