[I hereby dub her the slap god of war. She hits whoever she points at. So satisfying!!!]
[But I wonder if the sound of slapping could be made into white noise. It sounds satisfying, but probably isn't much help for sleeping, huh.]
Everyone: "..."
Falling asleep to slapping-what a unique idea. As expected of the person leading them through all this juicy gossip!
"Mom..." Song Yu covered his face, staring at Cao Ya in disbelief. "You hit me?"
"A-Yu."
Seeing Song Yu's reddened face, Cao Ya still felt sorry for him. Dazed, she started forward. "I didn't mean to. I was just too angry."
"I'm not listening!" Song Yu took a step back. "Mom, don't you and Dad always say you love me most? Why are you being so harsh when I was just having a little fun?"
[A little fun???]
[You call this a little fun? This is moral bankruptcy.]
Cao Ya faltered. "I just lost my head in anger. If you like-like doing this, you should at least have let your dad and me know. If you'd listened to us back then and married Xiaowen, none of this would have happened."
Cao Ya was now filled with regret. When her son had wanted to marry Yang Man back then, she should never have agreed.
[So it would've been fine if he'd let you know?]
[And who's Xiaowen?]
[Could there be another twist to this gossip?]
Whether there was a twist was entirely up to her.
Quite a few people stared at Lin Tingyue with shining eyes. Lin Xiawan also turned her head to look at Lin Tingyue's face.
[No way. Xiaowen is actually Song Yu's own sister?]
Huh???
[So now we have parents urging their own son to marry their own daughter?]
Chapter 36
[Thank goodness, thank goodness. Xiaowen isn't their biological child. They found her and took her in.]
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
[No way. How can anyone be this shameless!]
Everyone: !!!
Who would understand? They'd somehow boarded a roller coaster right here in an art gallery.
[When Song Hai and Cao Ya found Song Wen, Song Yu had just turned four. The Song family was poor back then, and Song Hai and Cao Ya worried Song Yu wouldn't be able to find a wife when he grew up, so they took Song Wen home to raise as his child bride.]
[Who knew that after Song Yu grew up, he'd start a company with someone and become President Song? Countless people liked Song Yu and wanted to marry him. Song Hai and Cao Ya were practically dazzled by all the choices. Naturally, they no longer thought much of the dowdy Xiaowen.]
[But they still told Xiaowen she couldn't date, because she would be with Song Yu in the future...]
Seriously?
What kind of
era
was this? There were still child brides?
And they'd taken in a little girl and raised her as their daughter, only to tell her once she'd grown up that she was actually her brother's wife.
Just putting themselves in the girl's shoes made them explode.
[And the reason they reacted so strongly when they saw Yang Man just now was that she was the party at fault. That meant she wouldn't get a single penny of their son's money... Bet you didn't see that coming. Your son's at fault too.]
A commotion came from up ahead, and Lin Tingyue raised her head.
A girl in a work uniform arrived in the west section at the same time as the police.
The police asked, "Who called us?"
Lin Tingyue had intended to raise her hand, but to her surprise, everyone around her had their hands up. Not only that, they rushed up to the police and indignantly recounted everything that had just happened in the west section.
Lin Tingyue leaned leisurely against Lin Xiawan's shoulder.
[There really are more good people in the world.]
No, there were just more people eager for gossip. Lin Xiawan smoothed Lin Tingyue's hair.
The police listened to the whole story with furrowed brows. Someone actually had the nerve to openly play these sexual games in City A.
In the end, the police decided to take everyone involved away.
Watching Song Hai and Cao Ya leave with the police, Song Wen said timidly, "I'll go too."
An officer turned back and asked, "What's your relationship to them?"
Song Wen pointed at Song Hai and Cao Ya. "I'm their daughter."
"Their daughter? Then come along..."
Before the officer could finish, Song Wen pointed at Song Yu as well, her voice even quieter. "I'm also his wife."
"Wait, isn't he your brother?"
The officer looked furiously at Song Yu. "You've committed bigamy too, and with your own sister? Take him away!"
After they left, the art gallery quieted down. Lin Tingyue finished browsing the west section and headed to the east section, but for some reason, everyone followed her.
Lin Tingyue: "?"
She asked Lin Shengyan, "Second Brother, don't you have any interests of your own?"
Lin Shengyan said, "...So it's my fault for wanting to secretly pick up the tab for you?"
Besides, everyone was following her, so why single him out? Was she squeezing him like a soft persimmon? Who was she looking down on? In a fit of rage, Lin Shengyan got angry for a moment!
Hearing that Lin Shengyan would pay for her, Lin Tingyue's eyes promptly curved into crescents. "Thank you, Second Brother."
Lin Shengyan: "Heh."
Lin Tingyue, you fickle woman.
Still, thankfully he'd reacted quickly, or he wouldn't have been able to keep following Lin Tingyue for more gossip.
But before he could get any gossip, Lin Shengyan ran into his good buddy.
His former good buddy, rather. He and Ying An still hadn't made up!
"Mr. Ying, what are you doing here?" Lin Tingyue was a little surprised.
Ying An, who had stopped beneath a painting of a starry sky, turned around and saw Lin Tingyue's smiling face. His lips curved. "Miss Lin, what a coincidence."
Lin Tingyue stood beside Ying An and looked up at the painting with him. She asked, "Are you here to buy a painting?"
"Yes. My younger sister comes of age next month, so I'm here to choose a coming-of-age present for her. What do you think of this one?"
"Um..."
Lin Tingyue was thoroughly torn. For one thing, she really had no artistic accomplishments to speak of, and every painting looked the same to her.
For another, this starry-sky painting looked pretty good, but it really resembled a child's doodle, and they dared to charge seven figures for it!!!
Lin Tingyue was furious.
[Not much.]
[I feel like I could do that too.]
[Damn it, but I'm not an artist!]
Ying An smiled. "No need to feel troubled, Miss Lin. Just say what you think. Or do you have any free time, Miss Lin?"
"Huh? What?"
[Is he going to ask me out?!!!]
Not far away, the Lin family looked up warily. Lin Tingyue, are you looking forward to it, or are you looking forward to it?!
"My sister has loved painting since she was little. She says everyone's paintings have a spark of their own. I thought, since you're so lively and lovely, Miss Lin, your paintings must have the most spirit of all."
"Mine?" Lin Tingyue pointed uncertainly at herself and said coyly, "This is the first time anyone's ever praised my paintings for having spirit."
"Would that be convenient for you, then, Miss Lin?"
"Would what be convenient?"
"My sister says she wants to collect paintings by everyone in the world. Could I ask you to paint one for her collection, Miss Lin?"
[Ah, I've learned something!]
[Next time I don't have enough money, or I look at something but don't want to buy it, I'll say that!]
Ying An: "!"
Had he taught Lin Tingyue something he shouldn't have?
"I could, but..."
[Would my painting really be okay as a coming-of-age present?]
"Then thank you on my sister's behalf, Miss Lin."
[Damn it, he just accepted like that?]
Lin Tingyue turned to look at Ying An. He was smiling, and his bulging pecs nearly blinded her.
[But I really can't say no to those pink...]
Ying An gave an embarrassed little cough. Lin Tingyue immediately asked, "Mr. Ying, are you hot?"
Lin Shengyan, who had been listening to their exchange all along: "?"
Lin Tingyue, does he look hot? There's clearly something wrong with his throat!!!
Lin Tingyue, you really haven't forgotten your original aspiration!
Ying An shook his head. "I'm not hot."
"Why not undo your buttons?"
Lin Shengyan: "!"
Lin Tingyue, the map has unrolled and the dagger is showing! Do you realize that?
[Actually, it's not as though I really want to look. I'm genuinely just concerned about Mr. Ying.]
Lin Shengyan clenched his fists.
You'd better be!
Ying An's smile grew more pronounced. He raised his head and undid two buttons. Under Lin Tingyue's burning gaze, a rush of impulse went to his head, and he asked, "Miss Lin, are you free later?"
"Hmm?"
"I mean, could we have a meal together?"
Fine, fine, fine. Lin Shengyan gritted his teeth. Ying An, you haven't forgotten your original aspiration either.
"Wait a moment. I'll go ask."
"All right."
Watching Lin Tingyue skip toward her family, Ying An suddenly realized he couldn't tear his eyes away from her retreating figure.
Lin Tingyue soon returned. "Yes."
"Great."
Lin Shengyan said, "I'm free too."
"Second Brother, what are you doing here?"
Lin Shengyan: "..."
He said coldly, "I've been here the whole time, okay?"
[Aren't love-brained people supposed to be attention-grabbers? Why has Second Brother turned invisible today?]
Heh.
He wouldn't hold it against Lin Tingyue.
But in the end, Lin Shengyan still didn't get to go with Lin Tingyue and Ying An. Lin Yuhuan dragged him away. Judging by his family's menacing air, they were probably going to interrogate him.
There was a restaurant right outside the art gallery, but Ying An invited Lin Tingyue into his car and took her to a different fusion restaurant.
This restaurant offered an especially wide variety of dishes, and it was currently running an all-you-can-eat promotion where customers ordered from the menu. The portions were small, perfectly fulfilling Lin Tingyue's wish to try a little of everything.
But Lin Tingyue clearly hadn't noticed Ying An's thoughtful planning. Her attention had already been captured by the dazzling array of dishes on the menu.