Chapter 86

Chapter 86

"Why are you all looking at me?"

Song Hezhu batted her eyes innocently. "I already made it clear multiple times—told them not to bother Xu Yang."

The guards fell silent.

True, she *had* stressed it—but really just to point those girls in the right direction.

Song Hezhu added, "You can follow them now, but don’t interfere. Judging by the situation, Xu Yang’s probably gonna land himself in jail."

The guards froze. They’d thought it was just some troublemakers—never imagined it would get this serious.

They followed from a distance, making token efforts to step in. Before long, all of Xu Yang’s dirty laundry got aired.

On a whim, Song Hezhu called a media friend, tipped her off about what happened, and made sure her friend kept the girls’ faces out of it.

Her friend agreed—though, in truth, Huo Hanyun had pulled quite a few strings too.

With that handled, Song Hezhu walked over to Lin Tingyue. "Let’s go, Tingyue."

Lin Tingyue gave a dutiful nod but asked curiously, "Hezhu, how’d you know Xu Yang was done for?"

Song Hezhu paused. Then, with a serious expression, she said, "Intuition. Definitely intuition."

"Oh…"

"Gotta admit—girls’ gut feelings don’t miss."

Lin Tingyue then asked, "Aren’t you going to comfort your friend?"

Song Hezhu smiled. "Huo Hanyun? She doesn’t do pity parties."

She slung an arm around Lin Tingyue’s shoulders, catching sight of her phone lighting up—Huo Hanyun texting: *Drinks when you’re free?*

That was just how carefree Huo Hanyun was.

Lin Tingyue poked her head out the gallery doors. "Hezhu, when is your driver arriving?"

*Crap*, the driver!

Song Hezhu had only used that as an excuse earlier—she’d totally been bluffing.

Not a flicker of guilt. "My message didn’t send. I’ll send it now."

"No need, Hezhu. We can wait."

Wait—was Lin’s driver on the way?

Song Hezhu nodded.

After a beat, she hugged Lin Tingyue and asked, "Tingyue, you cold?"

"I’m not. You?"

"'M good."

Still, she koala-hugged Lin Tingyue, clinging like a giant accessory.

"I love it when girls cuddle up like this!"

Upon hearing this, Song Hezhu snuggled even closer. She played with Lin Tingyue's hair and suddenly asked, "Tingyue, what do you plan to do in the future?"

"What to do?"

Lin Tingyue thought carefully and said, "First, no office jobs."

Song Hezhu: "..."

What else was there?

Sure enough, Lin Tingyue's cheerful face fell a little as she said, "I don’t know, really."

Song Hezhu felt her heart go soft and kept playing with Lin Tingyue's hair. "It’s okay if you can’t think of anything yet. Everything takes time... Actually, you could start your own business. Your parents, brothers, and sisters adore you—they’d totally back you up."

Lin Tingyue lowered her head, kicking a small stone as she said slowly, "My eldest brother said the same thing, but I don’t think I’ve got what it takes to be a boss."

"How could that be?"

Song Hezhu said with dramatic flair, "Tingyue, have more confidence! You don’t have to be a traditional boss—you can be a boss on your own terms! Make your own rules. How about that?"

"Ah," Lin Tingyue perked up again. "That actually sounds kinda cool. I’ll think about it properly when I get back."

"Exactly! You’ve got to believe in yourself." Song Hezhu started humming.

Someone like Song Hezhu must truly believe in herself.

"Mhm," Lin Tingyue rubbed her cheek against Song Hezhu's. "Thank you, Sis Hezhu."

When Lin Yuhuan had brought it up before, Lin Tingyue hadn’t really considered it. But now, Song Hezhu had explained it in more detail.

"Having my eldest brother and Sis Hezhu is such a blessing!"

Song Hezhu fought back a smug smile. Of course—she was known for her crazy ideas. Still, she couldn’t help feeling competitive. Surely her creativity far surpassed that of a corporate hotshot like Lin Yuhuan, right?

"Over here, over here!"

Lin Tingyue waved at a car.

The car stopped in front of them, but the person who stepped out was Lin Yuhuan.

Song Hezhu: "..."

Tingyue failed to mention that the driver was her eldest brother!

Meeting Lin Yuhuan’s gaze, Song Hezhu inexplicably felt sudden guilt, as if she’d been scheming behind his back.

What of it?

Song Hezhu puffed out her chest and stared right back at Lin Yuhuan.

Lin Yuhuan: "..."

What was Miss Song’s problem...?

After a beat, he opened the car door and said, "Miss Song, after you."

"Th-thanks."

Song Hezhu got into the car. The thick black-framed glasses were too heavy, making her nose ache a little, so she simply took them off.

Lin Tingyue was getting in from the other side, while Lin Yuhuan held the door open like always. From his angle, he had a clear view of Song Hezhu's eyes.

Feeling his gaze, Song Hezhu looked over, and Lin Yuhuan pressed his lips together.

Once Lin Yuhuan was also in the car, Song Hezhu gave him the address and said, "Thanks for doing this, President Lin."

"Miss Song, no problem at all."

After dropping Song Hezhu off at home, Lin Tingyue asked, "Big brother, are we heading back to the family home now?"

"Yes."

Not long ago, Old Man Lin had sent a message in the "Loving Family" group chat telling everyone to come back to the family home for an important announcement.

Lin Yuhuan happened to be signing papers near the gallery and saw Lin Tingyue's message in the small group, so he came along the way to pick her up.

Leaning against the car window, Lin Tingyue couldn't help but say out loud, "Did Grandpa drop out of the University for the Elderly?" She added, "she said," after a brief pause.

She said it without thinking, just as it came to mind.

Lin Yuhuan was surprised for a second, then chuckled. "Nope. I heard Dad asked the teacher for leave today on his behalf."

"Hahahaha!"

Lin Tingyue's laughter filled the car, breaking the tension and lightening the mood.

...

Lin Tingyue and Lin Yuhuan were the last to arrive. When they walked in, the couch was almost full.

It had to be said—the Lin family really was a big family.

As the eldest son, Lin Rusong saw that everyone was there and said, "Dad, you can make your announcement now."

The old man gripped his cane, glanced around the room, cleared his throat, and announced, "I’ve decided to divorce your aunt."

"WHAT?!"

No wonder Lin Tingyue reacted like that—even Lin Rusong and the others felt like the old man had completely lost it.

Lin Ruqiao frowned. "Dad, can you stop acting so impulsively?"

The old man snapped, "How am I being impulsive? I can't take it anymore! So what if I want a divorce?"

Lin Ruqiao said half-heartedly, "Right, right."

But inside, he was thinking, *Isn’t it Aunt who can't stand you?*

Lin Jiaxin asked, "Did you tell Jiasi about this?"

At the mention of Lin Jiasi, the old man got even more worked up. "What, do I need her okay before I can divorce her mother?"

Lin Jiaxin: "..."

"Uh... yeah?"

Lin Jiaxin turned to Xu Yinan, Lin Jiasi’s mother. “Auntie, do you agree with this too?”

Xu Yinan nodded. “Your father is set on this—I can’t do anything about it.”

The old man’s eyes flashed with anger as he thumped his cane hard against the floor several times, startling everyone. He snapped, “Don’t play innocent! After what you did, you still expect me to forgive you?”

Provoked by his words, Xu Yinan—who had always been gentle—snapped for the first time ever: “What mistake did I make, Lin Hong? Spell it out right here in front of the kids—what mistake did I make?”

Bai Yaxin and Lin Jiaxin rushed to her side, each supporting her on one arm, gently patting her back. Bai Yaxin said, “Don’t dwell on it—it’s bad for you. Let’s wait until Jiasi comes back before we talk about this further.”

Shaking with anger, Xu Yinan gradually calmed down after their soothing words. She whispered softly, “Alright.”

But Grandpa dug in his heels. “No way—I don’t want to live with her anymore.”

Lin Rusong blurted out, “Dad, don’t be like this. Auntie hasn’t done anything to you…”

Sighing, he added, “You’re my son, yet you’d take her side against me?”

Hearing that, Xu Yinan’s heart sank. She had spent over thirty years with Lin Hong, only to now be treated as an outsider.

As a woman herself, Bai Yaxin could clearly see Xu Yinan’s pain. “How about this, Dad?” she suggested. “Let Auntie stay with us for a couple of days.”

Lin Rusong supported his wife. “Yes, Dad, that would work.”

Grandpa snorted. “Fine, just as long as I don’t have to see her.”

“You—!”

Xu Yinan pointed at him, but no words came out. She was seething.

Bai Yaxin and Lin Jiaxin accompanied Xu Yinan upstairs to pack her things.

On the way, Lin Jiaxin quietly asked, “Auntie, what really happened?”

In Lin Jiaxin’s eyes, Xu Yinan had always been kind and considerate, never causing trouble for any of the children. It was clear to her that the problem lay with the old man—making a fuss over nothing again.

Wiping her tears, Xu Yinan replied, “This morning, I simply mentioned wanting to go to the senior dance center, and then he insisted on divorcing me.”

Xu Yinan loved dancing. Even before Lin Hong joined the University for the Elderly, she had regularly attended the senior dance center. Bai Yaxin and Lin Jiaxin exchanged glances—they were both shocked. This was clearly him making a scene over nothing.

“Auntie,” Bai Yaxin said gently, “don’t dwell on it. Come stay with us first. Rusong has already called Jiasi—she’s already headed home.”

But Xu Yinan looked worried. “When Jiasi gets back… will her father hound her about dating again?”

She lowered her voice. “I’m afraid Jiasi might get caught in the crossfire.”

“She’s a full-grown woman now, Auntie,” Bai Yaxin reassured her. “Don’t worry.”

Xu Yinan clutched both their hands tightly. “Thank you both—I really appreciate your help.”

Outside, Lin Tingyue called through the door, “Mom, Auntie, Dad wants to know if you’ve finished packing Grandma’s things. We’re ready to leave.”

Bai Yaxin opened the door and whispered, “Where’d Grandpa go?”

“Second Uncle dropped him off at the University for the Elderly,” Lin Tingyue replied.

“I doubt Grandpa would get it in a hundred years.”

“He just hates that Grandma’s got her own thing.”