Chapter 76

Chapter 76

One morning, the sky was overcast with light rain and occasional cold gusts of wind.

Such weather was perfect for staying indoors and playing.

In the living room.

Lin Yi held a book and told Huo Mianmian a fairy tale.

Today's story was "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs."

Lin Yi lazily leaned on the sofa, legs crossed, narrating the story with great emotion.

Huo Mianmian lay sprawled on the sofa, propping his head up with both hands, his round eyes fixed intently on Lin Yi as he listened.

When he got particularly excited, his little legs would wiggle up and down.

When Lin Yi mentioned that the seven dwarfs helped Snow White, Huo Mianmian earnestly shared his thoughts: "The dwarfs are so kind."

Lin Yi smiled: "Yes, they are very kind."

Children are naturally curious, and Huo Mianmian immediately asked another question: "Little Dad, why are the dwarfs so short?"

Lin Yi didn't know the answer, but the book just said it was so.

So he turned the question back to Huo Mianmian: "What do you think, Mianmian?"

Huo Mianmian tilted his head, thinking carefully, then said: "Maybe they didn't eat their meals properly? Grandpa Steward said that if you don't eat well, you won't grow tall."

Lin Yi laughed: "Hahaha, I think you have a good point."

Then he took the opportunity to teach Huo Mianmian: "Will Mianmian eat well?"

Huo Mianmian nodded quickly: "Mianmian will eat well."

Otherwise, it would be terrible if he didn't grow tall.

Lin Yi chuckled and continued with the story.

Huo Mianmian listened attentively.

Outside, the rain poured steadily, cold and damp, while inside the atmosphere was warm and cozy.

This contrast brought a strong sense of happiness and security.

Moreover, Lin Yi and Huo Mianmian were quite happy themselves.

Until a moment later, lightning flashed across the sky, followed by a loud rumble of thunder.

Huo Mianmian instantly widened his eyes, then quickly sat up from the sofa and snuggled close to Lin Yi, his eyes filled with worry: "Little Dad, it's scary!"

Lin Yi reached out to pat his head, comforting him: "Don't be afraid, we're safe inside."

Huo Mianmian, like a soft little kitten, tried to get even closer to Lin Yi: "But Mianmian is still scared."

Lin Yi thought for a moment, then grabbed a blanket from the other side of the sofa and draped it over himself and Huo Mianmian: "How about now, does it feel better?"

Wrapped in the blanket, Huo Mianmian felt warmer, and with his Little Dad beside him, he felt less afraid.

He said in a small voice: "Mianmian isn't scared anymore."

Lin Yi smiled and encouraged him: "Our Mianmian is so brave."

At that moment, there was another loud rumble of thunder.

Suddenly, the rain intensified, pouring down heavily, the water dripping from the eaves like a continuous stream, enveloping the world in a veil of mist.

Afterwards, Lin Yi stopped telling the fairy tale and instead huddled under the blanket with Huo Mianmian, watching the rain outside.

Through the living room window, the raindrops fell one by one, splashing on the lawn outside the villa, while the trees in the distance swayed left and right in the wind.

Father and son watched the rain outside, endlessly entertained, until the rain finally stopped, the clouds dispersed, and the sun reappeared, its bright rays shining upon the earth.

It was summer after all, so the rain came and went quickly.

The world after the rain was fresh and clean, with every object looking vivid and spotless, as if washed by water.

Huo Mianmian, being young, rarely experienced such weather changes directly.

His eyes sparkled as he looked at the sunlight outside, then asked Lin Yi: "Little Dad, why did it suddenly clear up? Did Grandpa Sun defeat the clouds?"

Lin Yi smiled: "Yes, Grandpa Sun defeated the clouds, so the clouds ran away, and the sun came out again."

Huo Mianmian showed a look of amazement: "Grandpa Sun is so powerful!"

Lin Yi nodded: "Yes, he is very powerful."

At this moment, the air outside was fresh and pleasant, inviting them to go out.

Lin Yi asked Huo Mianmian: "Son, want to go out and play for a bit?"

Huo Mianmian nodded happily: "Sure."

So Lin Yi pulled off the blanket, then led Huo Mianmian out the door.

As soon as they stepped out of the villa, they were greeted by the fresh scent of grass and plants.

The villa's lawn, washed by the rain, was clean and fresh, with tiny droplets of water glistening like diamonds under the sunlight.

Huo Mianmian took a few steps forward, reaching the edge of the lawn, then squatted down and extended his finger to touch the tiny droplets of water.

But as soon as he touched them, the droplets slid off the grass blades and disappeared.

Huo Mianmian found this very amusing.

He lifted his little head and said to Lin Yi, "Dad, the little water drops are playing hide-and-seek with me. When I touch them, they hide."

Lin Yi smiled and said, "Then have fun playing with them."

"Okay!"

Next, Huo Mianmian kept poking the little water droplets with his hand.

Even such a simple activity brought him great joy.

Lin Yi stood under the sunlight, lazily basking in its warmth.

Seeing that Huo Mianmian was having so much fun and had no intention of going back anytime soon, he walked over to a recliner beside the lawn and lounged on it lazily.

After lying down, he sighed contentedly.

This carefree life is truly meaningful.

Lin Yi lay on the recliner, basking in the sun, and before long, he felt drowsy.

At that moment, after playing with the water droplets, Huo Mianmian somehow found a packet of popping candy and came to Lin Yi's side, curious. "Dad, what's this?"

Mainly, he was attracted by the cartoon image on the packaging of the popping candy.

The image showed a child with an exaggerated expression.

Lin Yi slowly opened his eyes, glanced at what Huo Mianmian was holding, and said, "This is popping candy. Do you want to try it? It's quite magical."

Huo Mianmian blinked innocently. "Magical?"

Lin Yi smiled. "You'll see when you eat it."

Huo Mianmian listened and started tearing open the packaging.

After opening it, he found some fine sugar granules inside.

He asked Lin Yi, "Dad, do you want some?"

Lin Yi declined. "No, you go ahead."

He had eaten plenty of these candies when he was young and still remembered them vividly.

Huo Mianmian, hearing that Lin Yi wouldn't have any, poured some into his hand and put them in his mouth.

In the next second, his eyes widened, and he couldn't even speak with the candy in his mouth.

Lin Yi laughed at his expression. "Hahaha, what's wrong?"

Huo Mianmian didn't dare open his mouth, fearing that the candies would jump out.

He could only look at Lin Yi helplessly.

Lin Yi laughed heartily. "Hahahaha!"

After laughing enough, he said, "It's okay, just swallow them. It's fine."

With Lin Yi's assurance, Huo Mianmian finally relaxed a bit and swallowed the melting candies.

Once he finished swallowing and there was no more movement in his mouth, he quickly complained to Lin Yi, "Dad, these candies are too mean. Why are they fighting in my mouth?"

Fighting?

Lin Yi burst out laughing again. "Hahaha!!"

Children's words were truly adorable!

Huo Mianmian looked at Lin Yi, puzzled.

Did he say something wrong?

Lin Yi laughed for a while until his stomach hurt, then finally stopped.

He took a breath and said to Huo Mianmian, "Try eating some more and see if they fight again."

Huo Mianmian listened and poured some more into his mouth.

This time, he once again widened his eyes.

But compared to the first time, he was a bit calmer.

After the candies melted in his mouth, he quickly swallowed them and said to Lin Yi, "They fought again!"

Lin Yi played along. "Really? These candies are quite temperamental, aren't they? Why do they keep fighting?"

Huo Mianmian nodded in agreement. "Yes, their tempers are not good at all."

Lin Yi, trying to hold back his laughter, said, "It's okay, our little Mianmian has a much better temper and is much better behaved than these candies."

Hearing this, Huo Mianmian smiled happily at Lin Yi, his eyes curved beautifully.

At noon, instead of eating at home, Lin Yi took Huo Mianmian out for a meal.

He hadn't had fast food in a long time and missed it dearly.

So he took Huo Mianmian to a well-known fast-food restaurant and ordered a lot of food.

Things like pizza, steak, chicken nuggets, drinks, and so on.

The father and son sat at a window seat, enjoying their meal heartily.

Lin Yi picked up a slice of pizza, took a quick bite, and raised an eyebrow in satisfaction.

It had been a long time since he had eaten this kind of food; occasionally indulging was simply delightful.

The pizza was fragrant, and when he bit into it, the cheese inside stretched.

The toppings on the pizza were abundant—some diced roasted meat, diced ham, diced onions... the flavors were rich and layered.

Lin Yi ate two slices of pizza in a row, then picked up his drink for a sip.

Then he moved on to the steak.

He cut a piece of steak with his knife and fork, placed it in his mouth, and chewed slowly.

The quality of this steak was excellent—it was the most expensive one in the restaurant, with clear marbling and a fantastic texture.

It was evident that the chef here was quite skilled; the steak was cooked to perfection.

Across from him, Huo Mianmian was also eating seriously.

His meal was a children's combo.

Huo Mianmian ate neatly, scooping soup with a spoon and drinking it attentively.

Lin Yi devoured all the fried foods by himself and ended up feeling quite full.

After finishing lunch, Lin Yi led Huo Mianmian out of the fast-food restaurant, put on a mask, and strolled around the street to digest.

At that moment, he received a WeChat message.

It was from Huo Yun, asking if he wanted to meet up.

Lin Yi replied to Huo Yun, saying he was currently outside and sent him the location.

After sending the location, Lin Yi took Huo Mianmian to a prominent spot outside a mall and sat down on a chair to wait for Huo Yun.

Behind their seating area was a fountain.

At that moment, the fountain was intermittently spraying water.

Huo Mianmian was very interested and leaned over the chair, watching the fountain intently.

However, before Lin Yi could welcome Huo Yun, he saw He Nian, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.

He Nian appeared out of nowhere and walked over to Lin Yi.

Lin Yi looked at him without much expression.

He Nian approached Lin Yi and smiled as if pleasantly surprised. "Cousin, why are you here?"

Lin Yi: "..."

Honestly, sometimes he felt exhausted for He Nian. Everyone knew who they were, yet He Nian always pretended to be close, acting as if he really liked his cousin.

Lin Yi didn't bother talking much with He Nian and replied indifferently, "Just browsing around."

At this moment, He Nian continued talking to himself, "Did you hear that I bought this mall and came to congratulate me?"

Although he bought it with several others, he wanted to brag in front of Lin Yi, so he claimed it as his own.

Lin Yi has a mall, right? Now he has one too! He wasn't any worse than Lin Yi!

In fact, it was because Lin Yi had a mall that he had been harboring resentment, which drove him to buy one.

Lin Yi raised an eyebrow. "Mall?"

He Nian explained with a smile, "Yes, I brought all the relatives here today for a tour. I was just about to contact you, but you beat me to it."

At that moment, a group of Lin's relatives approached.

One of them said to He Nian, "Xiao Nian, why waste words with someone like him? Our relationship with him is long gone."

Even Father Lin and Mother Lin snorted coldly upon seeing Lin Yi, as if they despised him deeply.

He Nian kept up a polite facade but secretly enjoyed the situation.

However, Lin Yi couldn't be bothered with these people and didn't speak to them.

Feeling unamused, the group of Lin's relatives walked into the mall, still chattering.

"Only our Xiao Nian has the ability to buy a mall!"

"Yeah, we'll shop here from now on."

"That's right. I usually avoid Lin Yi's mall, but now I can come directly to Xiao Nian's mall."

"This time, Xiao Nian has done us proud."

The group of Lin's relatives gradually disappeared into the mall.

Lin Yi didn't care about them and sat calmly on the chair.

"They've always been like this, right?"

Suddenly, a voice sounded beside him.

Lin Yi turned to look and saw Huo Yun, who had arrived without him noticing.

At that moment, Huo Yun was staring in the direction where the Lin family members had left, his eyes filled with hatred, possibly thinking of the Huo family.

Lin Yi said to him, "I'm fine. They can't hurt me now."

Huo Yun turned to look at him. "But don't you find it disgusting to let such a group exist?"

Lin Yi replied calmly, "Not really. After all, there are plenty of strange people in this world; a few more or less doesn't matter."

He had always lived with clarity and an open mind.

This world wasn't just his own; could everything go as he wished?

Huo Yun, however, strongly disagreed. "But those people have hurt you! To you, they are no longer ordinary passersby!"

Lin Yi noticed Huo Yun's agitation and tried to calm him down. "Sit down and rest for a bit."

As he spoke, he moved over to make some space.

Huo Yun sat down beside him, his chest heaving from the emotional turmoil, his usually composed face now darkened.

Seeing this, Lin Yi said, "Huo Yun, I know you might have experienced some bad things in the past, and you're angry. But there's no need to destroy yourself over them. We need to move forward."

Huo Yun hung his head. "I can't see a future."

What future did he have left?

Even if there was one, it was shrouded in darkness.

Lin Yi continued, "If you need any help, you can tell me."

He felt that Huo Yun was veering off course.

Huo Yun turned to look at Lin Yi, his eyes burning with an unusual fervor. "Lin Yi, why don't we join forces and do something big?"

Lin Yi asked, somewhat puzzled, "What kind of big thing?"

Huo Yun firmly replied, "You'll know soon enough. We'll take it step by step. When the time comes, I'll reach out to you."

After all, getting rid of both the Lin and Huo families wouldn't be easy.

The Lin family wasn't a problem, but the Huo family was formidable. Huo Yun knew that he couldn't fight them alone; otherwise, he wouldn't have been living in pain for the past twenty years.

Lin Yi's appearance gave him hope, a long-lost glimmer.

With Lin Yi staying close to Huo Jihan, the head of the Huo family, he could access many resources. With a well-planned strategy, toppling the Huo family seemed within reach.

Thinking about this, Huo Yun grew increasingly excited, his brain buzzing with anticipation.

Just the thought of one day trampling the Huo family underfoot made him exhilarated.

He had been suppressed for too long, and the sudden glimpse of hope drove him almost mad.

Lin Yi's presence had completely saved him.

Unable to control himself, Huo Yun stood up abruptly, his eyes ablaze.

He needed to return immediately and set up a series of plans.

Seeing Huo Yun suddenly stand up, Lin Yi asked, "Are you leaving?"

Hadn't Huo Yun just arrived?

Huo Yun looked at Lin Yi with excitement. "I need to go back. We can't waste time; victory is waiting for us."

Lin Yi stopped him. "Wait, Huo Yun. Did you hear what I said? I told you not to focus solely on revenge but to see more possibilities in life. Also, when I said I could help you, I meant helping you move forward, not entering into some kind of partnership."

Huo Yun, in his heightened state of excitement, barely registered the words. He nodded perfunctorily. "I understand. Let's meet again later."

With that, he quickly left.

Lin Yi watched Huo Yun's retreating figure, slightly frowning.

He didn't know what Huo Yun was thinking, but it couldn't be good.

But he wasn't responsible for Huo Yun; he had already said what needed to be said. As for the rest, he couldn't control.

However, just a day later.

Lin Yi found out what Huo Yun had rushed off to plan.

He had completely brought down He Nian.

Lin Yi searched online, surprised by these developments.

He learned the whole story.

It started with He Nian's deteriorating reputation in the entertainment industry, losing most of his fans and failing to secure decent jobs.

For someone like He Nian, who had once been popular, this was unacceptable.

After multiple failed attempts, he took a dark turn, engaging in illicit activities.

He Nian set up a fake studio, pretending to recruit artists.

Many naive young men and women came, drawn by the promise.

They thought it was really about hiring artists, but who knew that He Nian was introducing them to some big shots in the industry for sexual transactions.

Those young boys and girls were deceived, and He Nian naturally gained a lot from it. The money he used to partner in buying the mall came from these dubious sources.

However, just as He Nian was feeling triumphant and thought he was about to return to the spotlight, his actions were thoroughly exposed by Huo Yun and then posted online.

Although Huo Yun was just a bastard son of the Huo family, dealing with someone like He Nian was no challenge at all. After all, the Huo family and the Lin family were on completely different levels. Whether it was connections or resources, one was in the heavens, and the other was in the earth, so the things they could accomplish were vastly different.

In short, He Nian became the target of everyone's criticism and condemnation, facing the possibility of imprisonment.

He Nian was utterly ruined.

The Lin family naturally panicked.

They had always seen He Nian as the pride of their family, and now that he had fallen into such a state, they were all stunned.

What would become of their entire family from now on?

At this moment, the Lin family finally realized they needed Lin Yi.

They remembered that Lin Yi's status had changed significantly and might be able to save He Nian and lead their entire family to greater heights.

Therefore, the Lin family turned to Lin Yi together.

They called Lin Yi collectively, pleading for help.

Lin Yi naturally refused.

At this point, one of the Lin family members said, "Lin Yi, you used to be a good kid. How did you become like this?"

His voice seemed filled with regret and sorrow.

Lin Yi laughed, but without any emotion, and slowly said, "You have lost that good kid forever."

With that, he hung up the phone.

After hanging up, Lin Yi sat on the sofa, somewhat silent.

He wondered how the original owner would feel seeing the current situation of the Lin family.

Would he be happy, or sad?

Unfortunately, there would never be an answer.

Presumably, from now on, he and the Lin family would have no more entanglements.

Everything related to the Lin family had become a thing of the past.

Just as Lin Yi was silent, his phone rang again.

This time, it was Huo Yun calling.

Lin Yi answered.

On the other end, Huo Yun's voice carried a hint of madness—

"Lin Yi, are you satisfied with the tribute I sent you?"