Lin Xiawan shook her head.
Play with what?
Their second brother?
Lin Tingyue had no idea what they were talking about. She was already standing in front of the elevator on the first floor. Yes, wealthy households had elevators. She couldn't understand why they all insisted on taking the stairs.
Especially her second brother. Every time he took the stairs, his retreating figure looked so mournful and desolate.
[Please analyze the role of the stairs here.]
Lin Shengyan's room was on the third floor. Lin Tingyue raised her hand and knocked. Sporting a bird's nest of hair and not a shred of dignity, Lin Shengyan opened the door. The instant he saw Lin Tingyue outside, he snapped awake, his throat tightening. "What is it?"
Should he tell this younger sister that he really couldn't take any more blows?
Lin Tingyue chuckled twice. "Second Brother, that's quite a distinctive look you've got."
[Enough to make fans stop being fans on sight.]
Lin Shengyan immediately raked his fingers through his hair. He eyed Lin Tingyue warily. "If you have something to say, say it."
"Mom asked me to call you downstairs for dinner."
[Even if your goddess won't eat with you, you still have to eat.]
Lin Shengyan: "..."
There really was no guarding against it. No guarding against it at all!
When Lin Shengyan followed Lin Tingyue out to head downstairs, he simply put on a hat, plugged in his earphones, and turned the music all the way up. He thought this would let him escape Lin Tingyue's inner voice, but...
Could someone please tell him why it had turned into stereo?!!!
Lin Tingyue's voice blended with the music he was playing... Unbelievable. Someone was even providing background music for Lin Tingyue now, huh?
The shuffle landed on a rousing song, and even Lin Tingyue's voice somehow became rousing.
Lin Shengyan: "..."
Resigned to his fate, Lin Shengyan took off his earphones. He kept walking, only for Lin Tingyue to call him back.
Lin Tingyue reminded him, "Second Brother, there's an elevator."
Lin Shengyan sneered. "It's only the third floor. Why take the elevator?"
[Because I'm lazy, of course! Never stand when you can sit, never sit when you can lie down, and never take the stairs when you can take the elevator!]
Lin Shengyan: :)
Lin Tingyue, what exactly are you so proud of? Laziness on this level is a rare sight.
In the end, Lin Tingyue took the elevator, while Lin Shengyan still chose the stairs.
[Master, I've attained enlightenment. Second Brother is telling me that his heart belongs to his goddess as unchangingly through the ages as his unwavering resolve to take the stairs.]
[The stairs really do serve a purpose. Taking them makes it easier for Second Brother to display his devoted second male lead persona.]
A genius. Time to discharge you from the hospital, Lin Tingyue. Lin Shengyan gritted his teeth. He really wanted to ask: would rolling down the stairs kill him?
Lin Tingyue arrived before Lin Shengyan. By the time he got there, everyone was already seated, staring at him with burning eyes.
Lin Shengyan stiffened for a moment. "Sorry to have kept everyone waiting."
[Second Brother, nobody was waiting for you. We were waiting for the final main dish.]
Lin Shengyan turned around. Mama Zhang walked past him and set the seafood platter in the middle of the table.
The seafood platter's colors were enticing. It did look more worth seeing than he did.
Lin Shengyan: "..."
Bai Yaxin couldn't help laughing. She reached out and smoothed down the tuft of hair sticking up on Lin Shengyan's head. "Lin Shengyan, you're rarely home. Make sure you eat plenty."
Lin Shengyan grunted in acknowledgment. Whatever Lin Tingyue liked eating, he would snatch it from her!
Bai Yaxin was very happy today, with both sons and both daughters present. She even had a little alcohol during dinner. The only thing troubling her was, "I wonder how things are going with Aru."
Lin Rusong had only just heard about it too. He frowned. "How did things get to the point of severing ties?"
Bai Yaxin sighed. "You have no idea... Even I was furious, let alone Aru... Oh, it's a long story."
Bai Yaxin could understand Zhao Ru. Zhao Ru's parents had passed away a few years ago, and her younger sister was her only remaining relative. If her own son actually harbored those kinds of thoughts about her sister...
Bai Yaxin couldn't imagine it. She even felt a chill of revulsion. She began to fret. "I know Aru's character. We've played together since we were five. How could she have given birth to a son like Mingning?"
Lin Tingyue picked up on a key detail.
[That's right. Aunt Zhao is so nice, and Yun Mingning isn't like her at all. Could Yun Mingning not be Aunt Zhao's biological son?]
With a clink, the spoon in Bai Yaxin's hand fell into her bowl.
Seeing this, Lin Rusong hurriedly said, "Axin, you
really are something. If you wanted me to serve you soup, you could have just said so."
Lin Rusong took Bai Yaxin's bowl and served her another bowl of soup. Looking at his children, who had turned toward him, he said, "Pretty perceptive, aren't I? Your mother and I got together entirely thanks to my..."
Once Lin Rusong started, he went on and on. Bai Yaxin couldn't help glaring at him, and only then did he behave himself.
[Mom and Dad really love each other. Things aren't so good on Aunt Zhao's side, though.]
Bai Yaxin pricked up her ears. Not good in what way?
Lin Tingyue scrolled through her phone, while Bai Yaxin placed two abalones on her plate.
"Thanks, Mom."
[Waaah, Mom is so good to me. Aunt Zhao is really good to me too. She gave me a pretty necklace, and she and Mom are good friends. I have to tell Mom that Aunt Zhao has been raising someone else's son.]
Huh?
Bai Yaxin's gaze went blank. Yun Mingning really wasn't Zhao Ru's biological son?
The others exchanged looks around the table.
Lin Tingyue didn't notice the atmosphere at the table. Biting her fork, she kept looking through her phone.
[So Aunt Zhao's husband is a phoenix man. That explains it. Aunt Zhao married beneath her in the first place, and with the Zhao Family's help, the Ming Family gradually prospered too. But this kind of phoenix man is greedy to begin with. He'll never be satisfied.]
[Aunt Zhao thought her husband truly loved her. The couple have treated each other with courtesy all these years. When Aunt Zhao was hospitalized for a difficult delivery, she gave birth to a girl. That bastard worried the Zhao Family wouldn't leave their assets to a girl, so he sent the girl away and swapped in a relative's son.]
[Seriously, if they don't give it to their granddaughter, would they give it to you, a live-in son-in-law?]
Bai Yaxin nearly snapped her spoon in half. When Zhao Ru had suffered that difficult delivery, her parents had happened to be abroad on business. Upon receiving the news, Bai Yaxin had rushed over to stay with her through the birth.
She and Zhao Ru's husband had been the ones running around taking care of everything. After Zhao Ru safely delivered, Bai Yaxin had stepped away to collect the soup Mama Zhang had brought to the front of the hospital building. She had never imagined-never imagined that this would give that bastard an opening.
How dare he bully her dear friend like this! Bai Yaxin gritted her teeth, itching to go tear that sanctimonious hypocrite Yun Yongchang to pieces right now.
But she held herself back, ready to keep listening.
[After Aunt Zhao's parents died, the Zhao Family had only the two daughters left. The daughters each inherited half the Zhao Family's assets. That bastard plans to deliberately cause a car accident, making it look like Aunt Zhao died accidentally, and swallow up her half of the assets as their son-in-law. Holy granny in heaven, how is this bastard any different from someone devouring an heirless family's estate?]
By this point, Lin Tingyue had even lost interest in the abalone.
[I have to help Aunt Zhao!]
[Huh?]
Lin Tingyue looked up and saw that Bai Yaxin had pushed back her chair and stood up. Then she stormed out of the dining room.
She looked a little like Eldest Brother had when he came over from the jewelry store.
Was this what mother and son were like?
Lin Tingyue thought Bai Yaxin would come back, but instead, Bai Yaxin grabbed her bag and went straight out.
Lin Tingyue asked blankly, "What's wrong with Mom?"
Lin Rusong explained gently on Bai Yaxin's behalf, "Your mother feels that, for something as important as severing mother-son ties, she ought to be there with your Aunt Zhao."
Lin Tingyue nodded.
[Is this the kind of friendship between besties that moves heaven and earth?]
[Mom is good, Aunt Zhao is good, and that bastard is bad!]
But the next moment, Lin Rusong stood up too.
Lin Tingyue: "?"
She asked, "Then, Dad, you're...?"
Lin Rusong said, "Your mother and I have always been inseparable."
Come on, Yun Yongchang actually dared to murder his wife. What if he attacked Bai Yaxin?
Lin Yuhuan and Lin Xiawan shared that concern.
And so, in the end, the entire Lin Family went to the Ming Family's home.
Chapter 8
"Aru, what on earth is going on? Why did one visit to the Lin Family make you want to sever ties with Mingning? Mingning is your biological son!"
Yun Yongchang earnestly tried to persuade Zhao Ru. Taking her hand, he said gently, "Whatever happens, you can't throw Mingning out. After all, you carried him for ten months and gave birth to him."
Seeing a hint of wavering in Zhao Ru's expression, Yun Yongchang signaled to Yun Mingning with his eyes. Yun Mingning hurriedly said, "That's right, Mom. If I've done anything wrong, I'll definitely change. Please don't abandon me, okay?"
Yun Mingning looked utterly sincere and spoke so humbly that Zhao Ru was just about to soften. Just then, Zhao Ru's younger sister Zhao Qi arrived. The moment she came in, she asked, "Sis, what happened? I heard you want to sever your mother-son relationship with Mingning."
Hearing Zhao Qi's voice, Zhao Ru abruptly came to her senses. When she looked at Yun Mingning again, she discovered that this beast, who had just been earnestly repenting, was now staring unblinkingly at Zhao Qi.
Unable to endure it any longer, Zhao Ru slapped Yun Mingning on the spot. She said harshly, "We're severing ties. We absolutely must sever ties! I have no son like Yun Mingning."
Zhao Ru was so angry that her chest kept heaving. This frightened Zhao Qi terribly. Zhao Ru had heart disease. Zhao Qi immediately stepped forward, took Zhao Ru's arm, and stroked her to help ease her breathing. "Sis, don't get worked up. Whatever it is, let's sit down and talk."
Zhao Ru's younger sister, Zhao Qi, was six years younger than her and only thirty-four this year. Time had been particularly kind to her, leaving almost no traces on her, so much so that at first glance, one would have thought Zhao Ru was a young woman in her twenties.