Chapter 98

Chapter 98: The Female Lead Isn’t Me

Lin Qingxuan continued to cry, wiping away her tears. The shattered jade bracelet at her feet caught Zhao Fuying’s attention. Noticing Li Borui’s nervous and frightened expression, she quickly understood what had happened. Just as she was about to speak, Li Bohan stepped in front of his younger brother. "Don't cry," he said.

Lin Qingxuan didn't even look at him, her eyes red and swollen from crying. Li Bohan hesitated, then untied the jade pendant from his waist and offered it to her. "Here, this is for you."

Lin Qingxuan slowly looked up at Li Bohan, who was a head taller than her, and asked pitifully, like a sad little puppy, "Is this for me?"

Protected by his brother, Li Borui grew bolder and shouted from behind him, "Yes, stop crying! My brother’s jade pendant is a good thing too."

Lin Qingxuan carefully took the jade pendant from Li Bohan’s palm. At her age, she couldn’t yet grasp its true value, but the adults around her recognized its exceptional quality. It was a single piece of vibrant green jade, clear and luminous like a hidden mountain lake—pure and translucent. Carved into lifelike bamboo, it felt smooth and warm to the touch, cool in summer and warm in winter. Lin Qingxuan instantly fell in love with it.

Li Bohan crouched down, picked up the broken jade bracelet, and brushed off the dirt. He recognized it as his mother’s bracelet and glanced at her, only to find her lost in thought.

Seeing that the children had resolved the matter themselves, Zhao Fuying didn’t intervene further. "Shattered peace, year-round peace—may Xuan-jie be safe and sound every year from now on." She turned to Dong Yuting, noticing her dazed expression, and said, "Younger sister-in-law, Han Ge'er is so thoughtful. At such a young age, he already knows how to look after his younger siblings."

Dong Yuting replied vaguely, "Yes, yes."

Everyone assumed she was exhausted from the past few days, unaware that her mind was reeling. Lin Qingxuan, Li Bohan, Qingxuan... She silently repeated the names several times before finally recalling where she had heard them. The shock was overwhelming, and she desperately needed an outlet for her emotions. How could she have forgotten? Lin Qingxuan, Li Bohan, Lin Qinghan—these were the names of her high school classmate.

After graduating, their communication had gradually dwindled, but Dong Yuting vividly remembered one thing: her classmate had written a novel during high school, with the main characters’ names derived from her own. The novel had an old-fashioned, early internet era style, filled with over-the-top plot twists. As an avid reader herself, Dong Yuting had devoured it at Lin Qinghan’s request and provided a written review.

She could no longer recall the exact plot—it had been a casual hobby over a decade ago. If not for the names of the main characters, she would have completely forgotten about it. But now, sparked by the names, buried memories resurfaced. Dong Yuting remembered that the novel began with the female lead attending a funeral at the home of her father’s friend, where she met the male lead...

Was her son the male lead? And was she the evil mother-in-law? Given the popular tropes of that era, the female lead in Lin Qinghan’s novel was a pitiable character. Dong Yuting vaguely recalled that the female lead had few allies—a narrow-minded stepmother, an evil mother-in-law, and a cousin of the husband... In short, the female lead was constantly bullied and pushed around until she grew stronger and took them down one by one. The evil mother-in-law seemed to be the final boss, though Dong Yuting couldn’t remember how she was defeated.

Dong Yuting shook her head. No, she wasn’t malicious, so the events of the novel wouldn’t happen to her.

"Younger sister-in-law? What are you spacing out for? Are you too tired?" Zhao Fuying asked with concern. "Why don’t you rest for a while? There’s no need to help here now. I’ll fetch you if needed."

"No need, I’ll be fine after sitting for a bit," Dong Yuting replied, though her eyes remained fixed on Lin Qingxuan and Li Bohan. With that psychological hint, everything they did now seemed orchestrated by an unseen, fated hand.

The children played together, and after the earlier incident, Li Bohan took extra care of Lin Qingxuan, afraid she might cry again. If her father found out and blamed Li Borui, it would be bad.

Dong Yuting watched secretly but quickly turned away when she noticed them looking in her direction.

"Aunt, I’m sorry I broke your jade bracelet," Lin Qingxuan said, her face flushed with anxiety.

Li Borui exclaimed, "Mother, it was my fault! I bumped into her while playing with fourth brother. I didn’t see her."

Lin Qingxuan added, "I wasn't holding it steady either. I was playing with it in my hands."

Dong Yuting then looked at Li Bohan, who remained silent for a moment before saying, "That’s what happened, Mother. Please don’t blame them."

Dong Yuting felt a pang of discomfort. Did she really seem so unforgiving? Then again, they probably thought the former Dong Yuting would have been angry. Perhaps, in the original story, Dong Yuting had disliked Lin Qingxuan from the very beginning.

"It’s fine, it’s just a jade bracelet. I have plenty more. Xuan-jie, where did you get hit? Does it hurt?" Dong Yuting asked, coming back to herself.

Lin Qingxuan touched her shoulder. "I got hit on the shoulder." She shook her head. "It doesn’t hurt."

Dong Yuting turned to Li Borui, who blurted out, "I already apologized to her!"

Dong Yuting said, "That's good. When you make a mistake, you should apologize. But remember, Xuan-jie is older than you—she’s only a year younger than your brother. You should call her ‘older sister.’"

Li Borui pouted and reluctantly grumbled, "Sister."

Dong Yuting thought to herself, *He says it reluctantly now, but someday he might have to call her ‘sister-in-law.’* She decided not to interfere in their relationship, letting it develop naturally to avoid becoming an obstacle.

Lin Yixuan didn't return, so Lin Qingxuan stayed close to Zhao Fuying. Since Zhao Fuying was concerned about the elderly lady’s health, she and Dong Yuting ended up together again. Li Bohan brought Li Borui to visit their grandmother, and to Dong Yuting, it all seemed like a fated arrangement.

Without Li Nianyao to bring them together, Li Nianwei rarely spoke to Li Nianzi or Li Nianyu on the way back. She usually stayed quietly by Dong Yuting’s side, neither speaking nor causing trouble. Li Nianzi and Li Nianyu, meanwhile, played with the daughters of the first and third branches. Lin Qingxuan, however, seemed to like the quiet Li Nianwei and often chatted with her.

Dong Yuting had expected Lin Qingxuan to be anxious about her father’s prolonged absence, but the girl remained quiet and well-behaved, which surprised her. Then again, as Zhao Fuying had mentioned, Lin Yixuan was often away on business, leaving Lin Qingxuan alone at home. Perhaps she was used to being by herself.

It wasn’t until after dinner that Lin Yixuan returned to pick up his daughter.

Zhao Fuying joked, "I thought you’d forgotten about Xuan-jie."

Lin Yixuan, his words slurred from drinking, said, "How could I? I’d never forget my Xuan-jie."

But Lin Qingxuan shied away from her father, hiding in Zhao Fuying’s arms. "Daddy smells bad!"

Everyone laughed. Fortunately, Lin Yixuan had brought Lin Qingxuan’s wet nurse along, who managed to coax and carry the girl away.

After the last guest left, Zhao Fuying rubbed her sore shoulders and went to see the elderly lady.

"Are you still unwell? I think you should rest tomorrow and not come over. With Younger Sister-in-law’s help, nothing will go wrong," Zhao Fuying suggested, noticing the lady’s weary expression.

"I..."

Dong Yuting added, "Mother, if you’re not feeling well, you should rest. I’ll handle things at the memorial hall. We’re family, after all." Having spent so much time with her, Dong Yuting understood the elderly lady’s concerns. The first and third branches were present, but the second branch had no one representing them. Her husband had passed away, her eldest son couldn’t come, and although her second son was there, he was still a junior. She didn’t want people to think the second branch was unfilial. The elderly lady cared deeply about appearances, and Dong Yuting’s reasoning wasn’t far off.

The elderly lady hesitated before saying, "I haven’t been resting well these past few days. I’ll come back the day after tomorrow." She looked apologetically at Zhao Fuying. The lady, who valued dignity above all, would usually endure minor discomforts. But she had nearly collapsed at the memorial hall—her body simply couldn’t take it anymore.

"Just focus on resting and recovering. We can deal with everything else later," Zhao Fuying said warmly.

She and Dong Yuting left together.

"If the elderly lady still isn’t feeling well tomorrow, we should call a doctor," Zhao Fuying suggested. "When people get older, they need to see doctors regularly. Minor issues can sometimes become life-threatening. I’m not cursing her, of course." She quickly added the last sentence, realizing her words might sound inappropriate.

"I understand. I think you’re right. Some elderly people endure their discomforts—partly because they refuse to admit they’re aging, and partly because they’re afraid of what the doctor might find. But what’s the use? Illness doesn’t disappear just because you endure it. You have to address it early, or it’ll become a serious problem."

Dong Yuting was also staying in the same courtyard. After a short walk, she reached the east wing, where she was temporarily residing.

"You’ve worked hard today too. Go back and rest early," Zhao Fuying said playfully. "Tomorrow, with the elderly lady absent, I’ll still need your help."

Tomorrow wasn’t the first or the last day of the funeral, so her help wasn’t strictly necessary. Dong Yuting smiled. "Understood. I’ll come early tomorrow, alright?"

"That’d be perfect. Come to my place tomorrow, and I’ll have the kitchen prepare vegetarian chicken (mock chicken)," Zhao Fuying whispered.

Since the funeral began, the household had abstained from meat. While they had grown tired of it after eating it daily, they now missed it. Vegetarian chicken, made from tofu skin and seasoned to mimic the taste of meat, satisfied both ritual requirements and their cravings.

Dong Yuting smiled. "Great, I’ll look forward to it."

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Author’s Note: Finally reached what was mentioned in the synopsis.