Chapter 76

**Chapter 76**

Before Ying An could speak, Lin Chengyan was already overwhelmed by Lin Tingyue’s mental commentary barrage.

"What was that just now? A monkey?"

"This is my own backyard! Not some jungle—since when do we have monkeys here?"

"Oh, turns out it's Second Brother."

Lin Chengyan: "..."

Has a sweet tooth but a sharp tongue.

Seizing the moment while Lin Chengyan was distracted, Lin Tingyue swiped back the invitation Ying An had just tried to hand her.

Lin Tingyue beamed. "Mr. Ying, I'll be there."

Lin Chengyan, being ignored: "...?"

After a moment's thought, Lin Tingyue added, "We'll all be there—except Second Brother."

"Lin Tingyue, you—!"

That's it—he was ignoring her now!

After Ying An left, Lin Chengyan appealed to Lin Yuhuan for help.

Even the usually steady eldest brother acted like he didn’t notice.

Wow, these guys were the worst.

Lin Chengyan and Lin Tingyue got into a back-and-forth.

Lin Yuhuan had enough. "Enough. How old are you two?"

Wait, what?

Just as Lin Tingyue was losing ground, her beloved eldest brother grabbed her by the collar.

"Go Eldest Brother!"

Lin Yuhuan smirked, while Lin Chengyan looked completely crushed.

Lin Yuhuan asked, "What brings you back this time?"

His tone was the same as always, but Lin Chengyan could sense the disdain in it.

Clutching his chest, Lin Chengyan put on an Oscar-worthy act. "Eldest Brother, I just came back to pack my things. I never intended to fight you for the family inheritance, Gege~"

Lin Yuhuan: "..."

"Bwahahaha!"

After her silent laugh, Lin Tingyue asked curiously, "[inner thoughts]Second Brother, are you joining another film project?[/inner thoughts]"

"Second Brother’s professional streak really is amazing."

Well obviously—have you seen his skills?

But... Lin Chengyan sneered, "Now you remember I'm your second brother?"

"For some reason, I feel like Second Brother is shining like gold."

Lin Tingyue, are you gold-crazy?!

"180 million investment? No wonder."

Lin Chengyan was also taken aback. He only knew the film was a big production but hadn’t realized the investors had poured in so much money.

It won't bomb, right?

Lin Chengyan waited for a while but didn’t hear Lin Tingyue’s inner thoughts. He slowly let out a sigh of relief—seems there’s no drama for now.

After packing his things, Lin Chengyan left.

Bai Yaxin and Lin Rusong were visiting old friends, while Lin Xiawan was still asleep after burning the midnight oil to finish her manuscript. The living room was empty, with only Lin Yuhuan and Lin Tingyue present.

Lin Yuhuan set down his phone and said, "Tingyue."

"Not badminton, not badminton, not badminton."

After silently repeating it three times, Lin Tingyue looked at Lin Yuhuan with clear eyes and asked, "Big Brother, what is it?"

Lin Yuhuan: "...I won’t take you to play badminton anymore."

Lin Tingyue said diplomatically, "Occasionally spending time with Big Brother is nice too."

Had he not just heard her inner thoughts, he might have believed her.

Lin Yuhuan then asked, "I’m free this afternoon. Want to go out?"

Going out was one thing, but Lin Tingyue just knew Lin Yuhuan was low-key suggesting something.

For example—

"Big Bro Lin's paying for everything today."

Or perhaps—

"Here's my card - go wild."

Lin Yuhuan facepalmed. What trashy novels has she been reading?

But... she wasn't wrong though.

Lin Yuhuan coughed awkwardly. The lines Lin Tingyue had imagined were too cringey to actually say, so he simply stated, "If there’s anything you like, Big Brother will buy it for you."

Lin Tingyue had an aha moment.

"Ohhh, I get it now."

She nodded happily and said, "Thank you, Big Brother!"

She was already mentally out the door!

Her excitement was like the annual Chinese New Year's Eve when Taobao does its cart-clearing promo.

Maybe throw in some diamond jewelry sets?

Should we get a few cars instead?

Maybe I should go easy, Lin Tingyue glanced at Lin Yuhuan, holding back.

Knowing that Lin Tingyue’s savings had recently taken a big hit, Lin Yuhuan had been thinking of helping top it up for her.

Was he spoiling her too much?

After all, if Lin Tingyue’s funds ran out, how could she make ends meet?

Lin Tingyue rubbed her hands together, clearly excited, but she didn’t expect her big brother to take her to a pet store first.

Lin Yuhuan stood at the entrance, smiling affectionately. "A lot of people keep dogs these days. I thought you might want one. Go pick one out."

Lin Tingyue: "!!!"

Lin Tingyue did want a dog, but she looked up and said, "Big brother, I need to learn how to take care of a dog first before bringing one home."

"That’s the responsible way!"

Lin Yuhuan agreed. "Alright."

They left, preparing to cross the street to the mall across, when suddenly a dog came running straight toward Lin Tingyue. Taken by surprise, she jumped back, and Lin Yuhuan quickly pulled her close.

The dog immediately hid behind Lin Tingyue and Lin Yuhuan.

"Is this someone’s lost dog?"

As Lin Tingyue thought this, she reached out to pet the dog, when a man hurried over, looking anxious. "Beibei, come home with me."

Beibei whimpered, cowering behind Lin Tingyue, clearly not showing any sign of recognizing him as its owner.

Lin Tingyue hesitated. "Is this really your dog?"

The man laughed mockingly, crossing his arms and scanning Lin Tingyue and Lin Yuhuan behind her. "Look at you two, all fancy and dressed up, snatching dogs in broad daylight. Yeah right, Beibei is a purebred, but I’m still the owner."

Lin Tingyue: "?"

"When did we try to steal your dog?"

"Is this guy trying to turn the tables?"

Seeing that Lin Tingyue and Lin Yuhuan weren’t backing down, the man started yelling. Soon, a crowd gathered around them, blaming them.

Lin Yuhuan shielded Lin Tingyue, frowning. "Sir, no one here is trying to steal your dog."

"You say no one—"

Lin Yuhuan cut in coldly, "If you were walking your dog, you should have had it on a leash. If it ran off by accident, with so many people around, logically it should’ve run straight to you, its owner. But..."

That "but" was pretty telling.

Why would a dog hide behind thieves? People in the crowd whispered among themselves.

"Wait, this is someone’s pet? I thought it was a stray."

"Poor thing, its fur's all tangled."

"And the dog seems really scared of him... Is he abusing it?"

Lin Tingyue found out the truth.

"It's actually his fiancée's dog. His mom doesn't like her having a dog, so he stole it and tried to dump it somewhere."

"But the dog kept finding its way back. The fiancée has been busy at work lately and didn’t realize the dog was being dumped—she just noticed that every time she came home, the dog was super clingy and mean to her fiancé."

"Thinking the dog might be sick, she decided to take time off to bring it to the vet. But the guy offered to take the dog instead, telling her not to worry even though she was concerned they wouldn’t get along. As soon as she left, he started kicking and hitting the dog, and even planned to sell it to a dog meat restaurant."

"The dog must have sensed something was wrong and managed to break free... What a monster."

The onlookers were shocked.

Lin Tingyue pulled the dog protectively behind her and whispered, "Don’t worry, I won’t let him hurt you!"

"Wait, the dog’s wearing a tag."

Hearing this, Lin Yuhuan turned to look at the dog and noticed a shiny tag around its neck. He picked it up and saw a phone number written on it.

Lin Yuhuan looked at the man and said, "I bet you’re not even the owner. There’s a phone number on the tag—I’m calling it now."

He glanced at the man flatly. "Your phone’s not gonna ring, is it?"

The man panicked. "No, don’t call!"

Too late—the call had already gone through.

After Xin Xiu left for work, she felt uneasy and took the day off. From a neighbor, she learned her fiancé hadn’t taken the dog to the vet at all—worse, the neighbor had seen him beating it.

Xin Xiu kept calling her fiancé but got no answer. She was desperate.

This call saved her.

When she heard her dog had been found, she started crying over the phone and said she’d come right away.

After hanging up, Lin Yuhuan said simply, "Wait here."

The man tried to sneak away but was stopped by the crowd.

An hour later, the woman arrived. Seeing her poor little dog, her heart broke.

She knelt down and softly called its name. The dog jumped into her arms, wagging its tail excitedly.

After calming down a bit, Xin Xiu stood up. Luo Zhen stammered nervously, "Honey, let me explain—"

*Slap!* Xin Xiu slapped him hard. "Go explain to the police!"

Sensing her anger, the dog pressed against her worriedly. Xin Xiu gently petted its head. "It’s okay, sweetie. Beibei helped Mommy figure out he’s bad. When we get home, Mommy will reward you."

Whether the dog understood or not, it just tilted its head, watching her.

Xin Xiu bent down and picked the dog up.

Thanking Lin Yuhuan and Lin Tingyue, she got their numbers.

Watching Xin Xiu walk away with Beibei, Lin Tingyue sighed sincerely, "Dogs are loyal. People suck."

Lin Yuhuan looked at Lin Tingyue and thought to himself—dogs are good, and so is his little sister.

Lin Yuhuan and Lin Tingyue entered the mall. Lin Tingyue thought, since she was already there, she might as well pick out a gift for Ying An.

Lin Tingyue looked around but wasn’t satisfied, so she decided to ask Lin Yuhuan for his opinion.

However, Lin Yuhuan clearly didn’t want to give input.

Lin Tingyue: "..."

Lin Yuhuan felt bad and comforted her, "It’s okay, take your time."

"Alright."

To their surprise, they bumped into someone they knew.

The person greeted Lin Yuhuan familiarly and gave Lin Tingyue a hesitant look. Lin Yuhuan introduced, "This is my sister, Lin Tingyue."

Yi Sheng’s expression cleared in understanding.

He was there to pick something up. After chatting briefly with Lin Yuhuan, he headed to the counter.

"Mr. Yi, here’s the item you ordered."

The saleswoman opened the box for Yi Sheng to inspect. Inside was a whole assortment of crystal figurines, each one different.

Yi Sheng said, "Yep, go ahead and wrap them."

"Of course, Mr. Yi. Your wife is very lucky."

"Wife? More like cursed."

The saleswoman almost fumbled the box—what was that about?

"Yi Sheng’s a real smooth operator. With such a big box, after handing some to his wife and side piece, there’d still be two left for him to pursue new targets."

Huh?