Chapter 20

Chapter 20

No wonder years later, when the culprit was captured, Lin Rusong and Bai Yaxin rushed to the police station, only for the perpetrator to flatly deny ever taking Lin Xiawan away, claiming someone had acted before him.

Lin Rusong thought he was doubling down on his lies until faced with undeniable evidence, so he hired the best lawyer. Later, when Lin Xiawan was found, Ling Zhen and Song Zhuang both claimed they had picked her up from a dumpster outside the hospital. The pieces fit, and Lin Rusong and Bai Yaxin despised the man with every fiber of their being.

So, was it this couple who took their Xiawan away?

Ling Zhen felt an inexplicable chill. She thought to herself, "Must be nice to be loaded—living in such spacious rooms with such strong air conditioning, never having to worry about money. If Bai Yaxin and Lin Rusong have so much money, why not spare some change?"

Besides, they had raised Lin Xiawan until she was twenty. They had invested so much in her—wasn’t it only fair to reclaim some compensation now?

No one spoke, and the atmosphere grew even colder. Ling Zhen, ever so considerate, said, "I know three million yuan is a bit much. How about this—Old Song and I will go back and try to gather some ourselves? We don’t want to trouble you too much."

Lin Tingyue rolled her eyes.

"Seriously, it’s your house, your loan—what trouble are we in?"

"Tsk tsk tsk, now I see what it means to have no bottom line."

"The couple is just one worse than the other. When Xiawan was little, these two old bastards took turns slapping her."

"Once, Xiawan just ate one meatball, and Song Zhuang thrashed her with his belt—all because every meatball was supposed to be Song Fan’s. Xiawan was just a nobody, and an adopted one at that, so she didn’t deserve any."

Four pairs of eyes turned toward Lin Xiawan in the corner. Bai Yaxin could barely conceal her heartache—her treasured daughter like gold had suffered such abuse outside.

And here she was, giving money to those subhuman scum!

She should slap them both and throw them out of her mansion.

"Something feels fishy, doesn’t it?"

Lin Tingyue glanced around.

"Did Mom and Dad figure it out?"

"By the way, is it still possible to sue Ling Zhen and Song Zhuang for intentionally kidnapping a child now?"

Of course it was!

Bai Yaxin, ever reasonable, said, "A new child calls for celebration. After all, you’ve raised Xiawan for twenty years—Song Fan is her blood brother. I’ll add another million as lucky money in the red envelope for the child."

A million!

The three members of the Song family were over the moon, clearly dazzled by the cash.

But there was more.

Lin Rusong said, "Since we’re one family now, why bother buying a house? Our Lin Corporation happens to have a new residential project in the east—would you be interested?"

The east! That area was full of gardens and mansions—even with six million more, they could never afford a house there.

Ling Zhen immediately elbowed Song Zhuang, who coughed and said, "Since you’re being so generous, we’ll have to accept."

"Gee, what a hardship—you could always refuse!"

Ling Zhen even wiped away crocodile tears, choking up as she said, "Xiawan really found a good family. It’s no wonder I kept drilling into her that her birth parents couldn’t have abandoned her willingly—something must have happened to separate them..."

Ling Zhen was putting on a tearful show she couldn’t continue.

"What a performance—crocodile tears."

"Honestly, if someone suddenly handed me that much money, I'd act my way to an Oscar, no problem."

"Zhen-jie, we all know," Bai Yaxin said, equally moved. "We owe finding Xiawan back to you."

Hah, like she’s the only one who can act?

She was, after all, the mother of Oscar-worthy Lin Tingyue.

Seeing the three of them already hooked, Lin Rusong smoothly added, "Yuhuan, help Aunt Ling and Uncle Song check out a good unit."

Song Fan hastily added, "And make sure it gets good light."

Lin Yuhuan’s pale eyes flicked over Song Fan as he replied, "Alright."

Lin Chengyan, sharp as ever, immediately guessed what their parents and eldest brother were planning. He tossed out casually, "Hey, Dad, wasn’t the maternity hospital where Mom gave birth nearby?"

"Yes, when your mother was delivering Xiawan, I even sent your big brother to get you."

Lin Yuhuan hummed in agreement. "I still remember—Mom’s delivery room was something else."

Lin Rusong said uncertainly, "I think there was a sun painted on the wall."

"No," Bai Yaxin corrected. "It was an apple tree."

"You’re all wrong," Ling Zhen, barely holding back her glee, eagerly interjected. "It wasn’t a sun—it was star and moon stickers, lots of them. So pretty!"

The reason Ling Zhen remembered so clearly was that when she snatched Lin Xiawan away, her mind was filled with visions of the wealth she’d soon possess—those stars and moons might as well have been gold!

The room went dead silent—you could’ve heard a pin drop.

Bai Yaxin’s voice turned icy, "Ling Zhen, didn’t you say you found Xiawan outside the hospital? How would you know what my delivery room looked like?"

"That’s right," Lin Rusong said darkly. "This was kidnapping—plain and simple. You’ll go to prison for this."

Prison?

No way—she couldn’t go to prison!

Just as Ling Zhen was about to explain, Song Zhuang yanked her up by the arm, growling, "Fan’s got a kid to look after. We’re leaving."

Seeing Song Zhuang like this, Lin Tingyue burst out laughing.

"What, don’t want the money anymore? Struck a nerve, huh?"

"And ‘go home to take care of the child’? That’s not even Fan’s child. His wife was already a month knocked up when they got hitched."

Lin Yuhuan blocked the three from leaving. Song Zhuang hardened his heart and raised a fist. "My fists don’t play favorites. Think carefully before you stop me."

"You’ve got it wrong, Uncle Song," Lin Yuhuan adjusted his glasses, his gaze glacial behind the glasses. "I just have some news to share with everyone."

"What news?" Song Fan steadied Ling Zhen, voice thick with suspicion.

Lin Yuhuan looked at Song Fan and said, "Your wife was already pregnant before she married you. That kid isn’t yours."

"HAHAHA—big bro, that’s murder by words."

"Though, announcing such news with that deadpan delivery—peak damage with that contrast."

Lin Yuhuan smirked. Truth be told, he felt he could win an Oscar too.

After presenting the evidence to Song Fan, Song Fan immediately let go of Ling Zhen and stormed off, while Ling Zhen collapsed right there.

Bai Yaxin and Lin Rusong called an ambulance, called the cops, went to the station to give statements, and by the time they returned, it was already late at night.

Everyone was still awake, waiting for them in the living room.

Bai Yaxin took Lin Xiawan’s hand and had her sit beside her. She asked softly, "Xia Wan, you went through so much. Why didn’t you tell me?"

The thought of little Xia Wan being beaten with a belt tore at Bai Yaxin's heart.

"Mom, I’m fine. That's behind me now."

Seeing Bai Yaxin cry, Lin Xiawan’s heart tightened for a moment. She flusteredly tried to comfort her.

"Even if it’s behind you, can't I still hurt for you?"

Lin Xiawan froze. "Mom..."

"Xia Wan, tell me the truth. Did you never plan to be part of this family?"

Lin Xiawan lowered her head and remained silent.

Thankfully, there was Lin Tingyue.

"Ah, Sis Xiawan isn’t unwilling to be part of the family. She just feels very insecure—with a mom who plays favorites, a cold-hearted dad, and a good-for-nothing brother. In such an environment, she had to grow tough and self-reliant."

"If those two old cons hadn’t been exposed this time, Sis Xiawan would’ve found a way to get the money back herself."

"Sis Xiawan is like a snail. Right now, the snail has peeked out her little feelers."

Bai Yaxin reached up and touched Lin Xiawan’s head, looking for the feelers.

"Mom, don’t touch them! You'll scare them back in!"

Lin Chengyan was the first to laugh, and soon everyone joined in.

"Ah, what are they all laughing about?"

"Anyway, I have a lot of experience raising snails."

Bai Yaxin smiled and pulled Lin Tingyue into her embrace as well. She stroked both their heads and said, "You’re both my precious daughters."

……

Lin Tingyue hadn’t heard back about the variety show and figured the deal was dead. The mil she thought was hers had slipped away, leaving her pissed!

At least Bai Yaxin was treating her to a fancy meal.

"No cash, but at least there's good eats."

To Lin Tingyue’s surprise, her big bro was the one driving.

Lin Tingyue asked, "Bro, aren’t you busy today?"

She had seen Lin Yuhuan in an all-English video conference that morning, which gave her a headache. She had gone back to sleep and woke up feeling refreshed.

Lin Yuhuan was too embarrassed to admit that he was only going because he’d missed all the drama last time. He just said, "Not busy."

Lin Tingyue nodded.

This time it was a birthday celebration. Lin Yuhuan went to park the car, while Lin Tingyue linked arms with Bai Yaxin, waiting for him at the entrance.

People were whispering all around them.

"Old Wei just celebrated his 50th birthday last year, didn’t he? Why is he holding another one this year? I thought it was his son’s wedding."

"Exactly. If they’re not getting married, they could at least hold an engagement banquet. Dragging it out like this is just ridiculous."

Just as they were talking, the birthday man himself appeared.

Someone near Lin Tingyue lowered their voice, "Tsk, tsk, I saw this girl with him last year too, and now this year..."

Lin Tingyue glanced over. The middle-aged man was walking with a young man and woman—likely the son and his girlfriend they were gossiping about.

Lin Yuhuan was lagging behind, and Lin Tingyue waved at him. The three of them were about to enter when a busybody blocked the doorway and asked, "Old Wei, when is your family finally going to bring a daughter-in-law into the family?"

"Ah, if they’re not marrying, it’s probably because they can’t."

"These two are already married—to other people. They're both adulterers. If they want to get a marriage certificate, they’d have to ask if the Marriage Law would even allow it."

Both cheating?

Now that's juicy! she thought.