Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The whole mess ended when Lin Tingyue powered off Cheng Xuan's phone.

Lin Tingyue couldn't take it anymore and threw the powered-off phone back at Cheng Xuan.

Judging by her expression, even one more second of contact with that phone would be absolute torture.

"OMG! Eww! I need to wash my hands like a hundred times!"

"Does hand sanitizer even work on trashy guys?"

"Why isn't there a spray to disinfect against creeps yet?!"

Though the phone was back in his hands, Cheng Xuan was still panicking. He wanted to grab Lin Xiawan's hand to explain, but Fan Qing and Lin Tingyue stood like two walls between him and Lin Xiawan.

With everyone watching them now, Cheng Xuan couldn’t try any more shady moves.

"What's Cheng Xuan's problem? If he's itchy, he should go take a shower."

"But damn, someone really nailed him good."

The crowd: ...?

Wait, wasn't that you, sis?

They had assumed this whole thing was orchestrated by Lin Tingyue, but now it seemed... someone else was pulling strings.

They'd watch this go down a hundred times!

Lin Xiawan frowned and asked, "Cheng Xuan, what exactly is going on?"

"Xia Wan, let me explain."

Cheng Xuan clenched his jaw as he stared at Lin Tingyue, whose eyes lit up waiting for him to crash and burn. Since Lin Tingyue had already done plenty of bad things, he might as well pin everything on her.

Lin Xiawan already had a strained relationship with her sister. If he made things messy enough, she would forgive him.

He still had a chance to come out on top and become the Lin family's son-in-law.

Pointing at Lin Tingyue, he declared, "It must be her! It must be Lin Tingyue! Xia Wan, you know how she’s always been jealous of you. She—she set up this whole scheme to frame me. Lin Tingyue, who even does that to their own sister?"

Lin Tingyue: "Huh?"

"Me?"

"If we're talking dessert metaphors, then yeah, I'm basically the knife that cuts the cake. And if we're being honest, I guess I am pretty ruthless."

Someone in the crowd couldn’t hold back their laughter.

If not for Lin Tingyue's thoughts being out loud, they might have been swayed by Cheng Xuan's words—after all, it was common knowledge that Lin Tingyue had always been mean to Lin Xiawan.

But now...

Cheng Xuan sensed the strange atmosphere. He turned to Lin Xiawan, putting on his best wounded puppy look. "Xia Wan, you have to believe me. This is all a setup!"

"Setup? So that guy on your 'boat'—was that my fault too?"

That got another round of laughs from the crowd.

Cheng Xuan's composure slipped for a moment at the laughter, but he quickly pulled himself together again.

Lin Xiawan asked, "Are you claiming Tingyue had someone frame you?"

Cheng Xuan nodded hard.

Lin Xiawan turned her gaze to Lin Tingyue and asked, "Is that true, Tingyue?"

"This is clearly an act!" Lin Tingyue shot back. "Lin Xiawan, you fool! If it's acting, who's better at fake emotions? Who can outdo who in feigned affection?"

Lin Tingyue went all out, her beautiful eyes instantly welling up with tears as she thought about how she hadn't even received her overtime pay before kicking the bucket. The thought made her completely devastated.

Damn capitalists. Damn Cheng Xuan.

With puppy-dog eyes, she said, "Sister Xiawan, I didn't do it."

"Lin Xiawan, you have to believe me!"

The onlookers murmured excitedly—who knew they'd witness such Emmy-worthy performances here?

They were getting antsy. "Your turn, Cheng Xuan!"

Cheng Xuan retorted, "And we should just take your word for it?"

Lin Xiawan nodded calmly. "I believe you."

For a moment, Cheng Xuan's mind went blank. He couldn't help but ask, "Who do you believe?"

Lin Xiawan smirked. "Obviously my sister. Not a man who can't keep his feet in one bed, let alone multiple beds."

After speaking, she scanned the crowd and announced, "As I'm sure you all just heard, I declare today's engagement banquet between Lin Xiawan and Cheng Xuan canceled. The Lin family will call off the engagement with the Cheng family."

"Hell yeah! Lin Xiawan, that's the way! My years of love-sick frustration are finally released!"

Lin Xiawan glanced at Lin Tingyue.

Bai Yaxin, who had wanted to rush over earlier but was held back by Lin Rusong, now walked over from the stage with him.

The host, eating up the drama, silently handed Bai Yaxin a microphone. She announced loud and clear, "And we will terminate all collaborations with the Cheng family."

After speaking, she passed the microphone to Lin Rusong, signaling him to say something. He just said, "My wife is right."

Bai Yaxin: "..."

"See? Love-blindness doesn't disappear—it just transfers from Lin Xiawan to my dad."

Bai Yaxin smiled and ruffled Tingyue's hair, praising her, "Our Tingyue did an amazing job."

Lin Tingyue thought Bai Yaxin was referring to her rushing onto the stage and preened like a proud kitten, tail practically wagging.

"Of course! I was totally brave, Mom."

Hearing the word "Mom," Bai Yaxin was visibly moved and gently stroked Lin Tingyue's hair.

Lin Tingyue didn't understand why her mother was acting this way, but she loved it. Tentatively, she leaned into her mother's touch.

So this is what having a mother feels like?

...

The banquet ended with the Cheng family being shown the door. Lin Tingyue glanced at Cheng Xuan and shook her head again and again.

"Sigh, Cheng Xuan probably thinks today is the roughest day of his life, but in reality, his toughest days are yet to come. Will his harem let him off easy? And that man who sounded so strong just from his voice..."

"Wouldn’t he punch Cheng Xuan clean through the wall and make him stick there like glue? How terrifying."

As the departing guests passed by Cheng Xuan, they silently poured one out for him.

Meanwhile, Lin Tingyue, who had been enjoying the drama, suddenly remembered something. Her expression changed, and she rushed into the first-floor restroom.

Bai Yaxin blinked in confusion. "What’s Tingyue doing?"

Fan Qing thought for a moment. "Probably washing her hands."

Three pairs of eyes immediately turned to stare at her. Fan Qing awkwardly waved. "Oh, hey, Mr. and Mrs. Lin, Xiawan?"

While waiting for Lin Tingyue to return, the four began discussing Lin Tingyue’s inner monologue—forming their own Mind Readers' Club.

Fan Qing hesitated. "It’s not just us four, right? I think a lot of people could hear her today."

Their starry-eyed looks were practically mirroring her own gossip-hungry expression.

Lin Xiawan added, "And it probably has something to do with distance. Lin Tingyue is so... noisy. Right now, she’s definitely in the restroom washing her hands while screaming internally, but we can’t hear a thing."

Fan Qing continued, "Cheng Xuan didn’t seem to hear anything."

Bai Yaxin speculated, "Could it be that people Tingyue dislikes can’t hear her?"

"Hmm..."

Fan Qing couldn’t help but glance at Lin Xiawan. After all, if there was anyone Lin Tingyue disliked the most, it would undoubtedly be Lin Xiawan.

Before they could delve deeper, Lin Tingyue emerged, looking completely deflated, like a lost soul. She drifted meekly to Bai Yaxin’s side, then suddenly perked right up upon noticing something.

Everyone followed her gaze—

Outside the Lin family villa, Cheng Xuan was surrounded by three people, one of whom was a man.

"Where are my damn melon seeds? Fetch them at once!"

"But seriously, who exposed Cheng Xuan's harem? Ahahaha!"

Lin Xiawan pressed her lips together.

When she first heard Lin Tingyue’s internal monologue, Lin Xiawan had still chosen to believe Cheng Xuan.

But soon, she discovered that Cheng Xuan had more than one phone. Lin Xiawan had always been sharp-minded, and Cheng Xuan, assuming she was too in love with him to suspect anything, hadn't guarded against her at all.

Lin Xiawan successfully obtained the other women's numbers from Cheng Xuan’s phone.

Before the engagement party began, she took his phone and sent each of them a text message:

"Something came up. Call this number instead."

And thus, the show was on.

Still, she had to thank Lin Tingyue. It seemed Lin Tingyue had really changed.

...

Cheng Xuan was jumped by a group but didn’t die. The police came and took those people away.

Lin Tingyue couldn’t enjoy the drama anymore, so she plopped down reluctantly on the sofa as the banquet hall was cleaned up in a flash.

Zhang Ma noticed Lin Tingyue sitting there with nothing to do, so she placed a fruit platter in front of her, filled with all her favorite fruits.

Clutching the platter, Lin Tingyue beamed and said, “Thanks, Zhang Ma.”

The clear afternoon weather suddenly turned, and the skies opened up. Fortunately, Bai Yaxin and Lin Rusong weren’t planning to go out anyway. They thought it had been a long time since they hung out with their two daughters, especially Xia Wan, who had just been through such a rough time.

Though Lin Xiawan repeatedly insisted she was fine, Bai Yaxin and Lin Rusong still weren’t convinced.

The four of them sat on the sofa, chatting while watching TV.

Lin Tingyue was sprawled cross-legged on the carpet.

“This celebrity—oh, this one has some tea! Hiding the fact that he’s married with kids while dating a top fan. Ew, trash.”

Lin Rusong: “…”

Bai Yaxin elbowed him. “Change the channel. This isn’t good.”

Lin Tingyue nodded.

“The entertainment industry is a hot mess. It’s beyond imagination.”

Lin Rusong thought, *If we can’t watch dramas or movies starring celebrities, financial news should be safe, right?*

“Tsk tsk, I’ve heard of this tycoon. He looks all couple-goals with his wife, but lowkey trying to—oh, the channel changed.”

Lin Xiawan and Bai Yaxin suddenly turned to look at Lin Rusong, who was death-gripping the remote.

His hand trembled. *What? Do you two want to hear the tea too?*

Just as Lin Rusong was about to switch back, Lin Tingyue, who had turned her head, suddenly screamed.

Bai Yaxin hurriedly asked, “What’s wrong, Tingyue?”

Lin Tingyue wobbled a finger at a shadow approaching outside the floor-to-ceiling window. “Is this huge villa haunted too?”

“Holy—! And it looks like a water ghost!”

The moment “water ghost” Lin Chengyan sloshed in, a puddle formed where he stood. Zhang Ma quickly fetched a towel for the second young master.

Lin Chengyan wiped his hair with a dramatic flair and asked, “Mom, Dad, are you watching a horror movie?”

Bai Yaxin’s face did a full twitch. Lin Chengyan must have just finished filming—his Kool-Aid hair was fading under the heavy rain, and his makeup was a complete disaster.

She marched over, attacking his face with the towel. “Lin Chengyan, *you’re* the real ghost here! Who do you think you’re scaring in broad daylight?!”

“Mystery solved. Not a water ghost—just my drama-queen second brother.”