Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Having pulled himself together, Ying An extended his hand toward Lin Tingyue. "Hello, I'm Ying An. I used to be good friends with your second brother."

Lin Tingyue lightly shook his hand. The man's fingers were pale and elegant, dry and warm, which inexplicably made her feel a bit flustered—probably because Ying An was undeniably handsome.

Lowering her gaze, she said, "Hello, I'm Lin Tingyue."

Lin Chengyan watched her with amusement. Well, well, weren’t you just gushing about him earlier? Why the sudden bashfulness?

"But," Lin Tingyue blinked in confusion, "why did you say you 'used to be' good friends with Second Brother? Aren’t you still friends now?"

Her question made Lin Chengyan catch the key point in Ying An’s words. Crossing his arms with a scowl, he frowned. "Ying An, what do you mean by that?"

Ignoring Lin Chengyan, Ying An replied to Lin Tingyue, "Because your second brother doesn’t trust my character."

Lin Chengyan: "What?"

When had he ever doubted Ying An’s character?

Lin Tingyue declared gravely, "People who don’t trust someone’s character really shouldn’t get too close to them."

Lin Chengyan snapped, "Lin Tingyue, am I still your brother or not?"

Lin Tingyue replied innocently, "Of course you are."

"Ah, Second Brother is so pitiful. Already a love-struck fool, and now he’s lost his friend too."

Lin Chengyan: "?"

That "of course you are" was at least half out of pity for him!

Love-struck fool?

Ying An thought for a moment. He knew a little about Lin Chengyan and Cheng Jinshuang’s history and went along with her, nodding.

As the graduation ceremony was about to begin, Ying An walked with the Lin family. Lin Tingyue glanced back at Lin Chengyan, who was lingering on the outskirts of the group.

"Second Brother, looks like *you’re* the forgotten one~"

Lin Chengyan clenched his fists. How annoying!

The graduation ceremony was held on A University’s largest new field. By the time Lin Tingyue and the others arrived, the lawn was already crowded with people.

A University didn’t enforce strict rules on graduation gowns and caps, so many attendees wore customized versions—far more extravagant than Bai Yaxin and Zhang Ma’s elegant designs for Lin Xiawan and Lin Tingyue.

Bai Yaxin sighed regretfully. "I should’ve added a few more flowers."

Lin Rusong reassured her, "They look gorgeous as-is. Overdoing it spoils the effect."

Lin Chengyan, who had just extricated himself from a swarm of fans, chimed in, "Mom, seriously, no more flowers. Any more and it’ll look tacky."

Current entertainment trends hate gaudy, over-the-top styling.

Bai Yaxin glared daggers at Lin Chengyan.

No matter how famous Lin Chengyan was, he knew better than to push his luck and quickly didn’t dare another peep.

Seizing the opportunity, Lin Yuhuan added, "Mom, what you did is already beautiful."

Lin Chengyan looked at Lin Yuhuan in disbelief, never expecting that in the end, it would be his eldest brother who stabbed him in the back. Lin Yuhuan scratched his nose awkwardly and averted his gaze.

Lin Chengyan gasped!

Eldest Brother, why don’t you dare to look me in the eye? Are you feeling guilty???

Bai Yaxin smiled and said, “Yuhuan really knows how to talk. Did I eat too many nuts when I was pregnant with Chengyan? Is that why he’s so snarky now?”

“Eating nuts makes you snarky?”

“That’s unbelievable.”

The first part of the graduation ceremony was the speech by the university leaders, followed by the valedictorian's speech.

Last year, it was Lin Yuhuan. This year, it was Ying An.

Lin Tingyue’s gaze followed the tall figure as he stepped onto the stage. When Ying An began speaking, her eyes lit up like stars.

“Not only is he handsome, but his voice is so nice too. Total crush!”

On stage, Ying An faintly smirked.

Lin Xiawan watched Ying An on high alert.

After Ying An’s speech came the highly anticipated tassel-turning ceremony—a tradition where the university leaders and department heads turn the tassels for the graduates.

The students went on stage according to their student IDs. Fortunately, Lin Xiawan and Lin Tingyue’s numbers were relatively early. After seeing the university leaders turn their tassels with their own eyes, Bai Yaxin and Lin Rusong were actually a little moved.

Their biological daughter, who had been missing for twenty years, had suddenly been found, and now they could witness her graduation ceremony. What’s more, how close the sisters were—how could they not be moved?

By the time the tassel-turning was over, it was almost noon. Bai Yaxin and Lin Rusong took the kids out for a buffet before heading home.

When they returned, they found uninvited guests had arrived.

Zhang Ma put down her phone and said, “Ma’am, I was just going to ring you. They…”

The people lounging casually in the living room turned their heads at Zhang Ma’s voice—a middle-aged couple and a young man. The middle-aged woman grinned from ear to ear and rushed up to Bai Yaxin, saying warmly, “Yaxin, you’re back.”

Bai Yaxin nodded and asked, “Sis Zhen, Brother Song, what brings you here today?”

Ling Zhen looked at Lin Xiawan, who was holding hands with Lin Tingyue behind Bai Yaxin. “We just missed Xiawan so much, so we came to see her.”

Hearing “Sis Zhen” and “Brother Song,” Lin Tingyue finally realized who they were.

They were Lin Xiawan’s adoptive parents. Back then, Lin Xiawan had been deliberately abandoned outside a hospital by Lin Rusong’s nemesis. When Lin Rusong went to search, he only found Lin Tingyue and, in his distress, took her home, believing she was his daughter. Many years later, Bai Yaxin and Lin Rusong learned the truth. To find their biological daughter, they posted numerous ads searching for their daughter online.

Many con artists showed up with girls they claimed were theirs, but in the end, only Lin Xiawan’s DNA test was a match.

Ling Zhen and Song Zhuang immediately started sobbing dramatically, saying how hard it had been for them to raise Lin Xiawan all these years. Even though Lin Xiawan was a child they had found, they had always raised her as their own flesh and blood.

Bai Yaxin could relate—she felt the same way about Lin Tingyue—so she assumed Ling Zhen and Song Zhuang felt the same.

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 showed up every other week begging for cash.

Over time, the money they’d shelled out to these two had already reached nearly a million yuan.

It seemed they were here to ask for money again.

Tingyue recalled that Bai Yaxin had just given them half a million yuan last month. Blown through it already?

"Xia Wan,"

Ling Zhen reached out toward Lin Xiawan, but Xia Wan dodged her hand, leaving Ling Zhen slightly embarrassed. "Oh, this girl."

She then turned and asked, "Yaxin, where’d you go?"

Bai Yaxin replied, "It was Xiawan and Tingyue’s graduation today."

Hearing this, Ling Zhen stiffened further.

Though Bai Yaxin hadn’t meant it that way, Ling Zhen caught a whiff of blame. She had claimed to miss Xiawan, yet she hadn’t even remembered her graduation?

Talk about hypocritical!

Ling Zhen quickly backpedaled, "Well, you see, this month Xiawan’s sister-in-law gave birth, and Song Zhuang and I have been so busy we completely forgot about her graduation."

On the sofa, Song Zhuang and his son sat with their noses in the air, unwilling to budge.

"Busy my foot—even if you two had all the time in the world, you probably still wouldn’t have remembered."

"After all, girls don’t count for squat in your book—why waste energy on them?"

Lin Rusong and Bai Yaxin locked eyes. This didn’t match what they had been told.

Hadn’t Ling Zhen and Song Zhuang doted on Xiawan? Didn’t they even send her to school in the winter despite being sick?

Were they lied to?

Lin Rusong shot Lin Yuhuan a look.

Understanding his father’s silent cue, Yuhuan sent a message to his assistant.

"Yaxin, is… something wrong?" Sensing the tension, Ling Zhen asked cautiously, glaring at the Song duo on the sofa.

The two remained indifferent, infuriating Ling Zhen. Left with no choice, she pasted on a smile. Money talked.

Bai Yaxin smiled and said, "It’s nothing. Zhang Ma, bring tea. Let’s have tea first."

At this point, Song Zhuang finally spoke up, "Tea? Cut the crap."

Song Fan chimed in, "Exactly. Is this how you wealthy people treat guests? Here to freeload?"

"What, if you’re not here for tea, are you planning to eat and take things too?"

"Zhang Ma, skip the tea."

Lin Rusong walked over to the sofa, eyeing them coldly. "Skip the tea."

Under Lin Rusong’s imposing presence, the previously slouching Song Zhuang and Song Fan straightened up. They were still somewhat intimidated by him.

Lin Rusong and Bai Yaxin sat down one after the other. Bai Yaxin asked, "Why are you really here?"

"Of course, we’re here for money."

"With my sister being such a money tree, why not milk it for all it’s worth?"

Sure enough, Ling Zhen feigned embarrassment, "Well, you see, Fan’s family just welcomed a new baby. Their old two-bedroom apartment is too small now, so we wanted to move to a bigger place. Once the child grows up, they’ll need more space, right?"

"Song Zhuang and I found a nice three-bedroom—sunny, great neighborhood—and just three million yuan. It’s just that we’re a little strapped right now..."

"How much more do you need?"

Whenever Bai Yaxin said this, it usually meant she was about to give money. Ling Zhen beamed with joy and said, "We're still three million short."

Lin Tingyue let out a snort.

"Damn, your family won't chip in a dime—just here for a free ride, huh?"

"Now it’s a three-bedroom, but when you have a second child, will you expect us to buy a four-bedroom next?"

Lin Chengyan crossed his arms and said sarcastically, "I don’t think a three-bedroom will be enough either. Are you planning on just one kid? Why stop at a house? Let's get you a mansion and be done with it!"

"Go off, second brother!"

"Sure, sure," Ling Zhen nodded eagerly before catching herself and toning it down, hesitating, "Isn’t this too much? We’ve already troubled you so much."

Lin Chengyan didn’t indulge them at all. His face went stone cold as he said, "Well at least you're aware of that."

"Who the hell do you think you're talking to?" Song Zhuang slammed his hand on the marble table, his palm turning red, but the table didn’t even budge.

"People like you are never satisfied."

"And Xia Wan wasn’t actually kidnapped by Dad’s enemies back then. They knew damn well she was the Lin family’s daughter and took her deliberately, planning to milk her for money when she grew up."

Wait... WHAT?!