Chapter 998 - 963: The Ruse of Self-Sacrifice

Ye Qingya gave a faint smile: "She’s really good to you."

Lin Sijin thought, what’s this girl talking about? I’m truly good to my godson, but am I fake to you?

Xu Chunliang knew very well that this godmother wasn’t someone with a good temper, so he quickly tried to smooth things over to prevent the mother and daughter from clashing in his presence. He invited them to take a tour indoors.

Lin Sijin went in first, and Xu Chunliang gestured for them to enter. Ye Qingya expressed that she still wanted to look around the courtyard. Xu Chunliang gently patted her shoulder, and Ye Qingya rolled her eyes at him.

Xu Chunliang knew in his heart that he couldn’t hide this matter from Ye Qingya. The arrangement today must have upset her, but he still had his ways with her.

Lin Sijin’s voice came from the room, and Xu Chunliang quickly went in. Lin Sijin pointed to a photo in a frame on the wall and said, "Is this your granduncle?"

Xu Chunliang nodded: "Yes!"

Lin Sijin said, "I’ve met him. A couple of years ago, we organized a symposium for renowned traditional Chinese medicine doctors in the country. I met Mr. Zhou Renhe and had a few words with him. Mr. Zhou was elegant and humorous, leaving a very deep impression on me. I never imagined that, after all this time, there would be such family ties."

Xu Chunliang glanced outside, and seeing that Ye Qingya hadn’t come in yet, he took out her camera to photograph the wild cat on the wall. His artistic side was triggered, and he found the wild cat more interesting than his own mother.

Lin Sijin whispered, "Forget it, let it be."

Xu Chunliang said, "But that’s not possible, I still have a plan."

Lin Sijin sighed and said, "So many calculations between mother and daughter, her prejudice against me is difficult to change. I won’t force it."

Xu Chunliang whispered, "That statement shows you don’t understand her at all. Sister Qingya is cold on the outside, warm on the inside. In this regard, she’s a bit different from you."

Lin Sijin glared at him, "How am I different? Am I some cold-blooded person then?"

Xu Chunliang felt caught in the middle, quickly explaining, "Don’t be upset. I mean, her heart is soft..."

"And I’m cold and unfeeling?"

It would be impossible for Lin Sijin to be completely unaffected by emotion. Seeing her daughter’s cold attitude towards her, she couldn’t help feeling a bit lost.

Xu Chunliang said, "I don’t exactly know what happened between you two, but from what little I’ve gathered, it seems when Sister Qingya needed care, you didn’t give her what she wanted."

Lin Sijin sighed sadly, "It’s all in the past. Even if I regret it, it’s useless. She’s grown up now and no longer needs my care." Her inner heart ached with a sense of loss.

Xu Chunliang said, "She doesn’t need you to need her, does she? She might not say it, but she cares about you. If something happened to you, she would be by your side immediately."

This time it was Lin Sijin’s turn to roll her eyes at him. "Can’t you say something nice for once?"

Xu Chunliang said, "I have an idea..."

The lazy wild cat finally stood up from the wall, slowly sauntering away, and Ye Qingya put down her camera. Her thoughts were never really on the cat. After all these years, the barrier between her and her mother still existed, and she didn’t even know how to communicate with her mother anymore.

Xu Chunliang appeared beside her with a cheerful smile, "Sister Qingya, take a picture of me, will you?"

Ye Qingya snapped, "Take a picture of your big head!"

Xu Chunliang said, "There are quite a few Ming and Qing Dynasty calligraphy works collected here. How about you give them a look and critique?"

Ye Qingya said, "Go accompany your godmother. She’s quite accomplished in that area, too."

Xu Chunliang said, "We’re so close, you know. You were the first person from the Ye Family that I knew, I recognize who I’m close with."

"You’re so close that you’d sell me out?" Ye Qingya was tempted to twist his ear, but she didn’t do it. Her words were playfully reproachful, but in her heart, she wasn’t truly angry. It was Xu Chunliang; with anyone else, she might really have flipped out.

Xu Chunliang said, "In all sincerity, I had no idea she would..."

Suddenly a shout came from inside the room. Ye Qingya and Xu Chunliang exchanged a glance, and Xu Chunliang rushed inside immediately. When he got there, he shouted, "Godmother? What’s wrong? You..."

Lin Sijin watched Xu Chunliang’s expression, finding it amusing. She was worried he might accidentally laugh aloud. This child’s acting skill is terrible—since they’ve decided to team up and trick her daughter, he should at least get into character. Could he put in some professional effort?

Ye Qingya couldn’t maintain her composure anymore and went in to see what was going on.

Lin Sijin pointed at her calf: "Snake... snake..." A small green snake was biting and wouldn’t let go.

Xu Chunliang grabbed the snake behind its head and took it outside, throwing it over the courtyard wall, silently apologizing to the little snake, asking it to help in this critical moment. Ye Qingya was too smart; they couldn’t leave any evidence. If she found out that it was a non-venomous snake, this ploy of suffering would all be for nothing.

Although it was deceitful, it was well-intentioned. If it weren’t for their mother-daughter relationship, he wouldn’t even bother tricking someone else.

Ye Qingya noticed the clear bite marks on her mother’s calf and panicked, "What should we do? Is it a poisonous snake? Mom, how are you feeling?"

In a moment of concern, she naturally called out "Mom."

Lin Sijin initially found using a ruse to deal with her daughter somewhat absurd, but upon reflection, it wasn’t a bad way to break the impasse. It would show whether her daughter truly cared about her. If she did, Lin could put aside her pride. If her daughter remained indifferent, then she would let things be.

Seeing her daughter so anxious she was nearly in tears, Lin Sijin felt a pang in her heart, and tears started to fall. Oh, my dear daughter, it turns out you have always cared about your mother.

Seeing her mother cry, Ye Qingya thought she was scared and comforted her, "Don’t be afraid, we’ll... we’ll take you to the hospital right away... Xu Chunliang!"

Xu Chunliang jogged back to the pair, "Here, here, no need to go to the hospital. I’ll find some snake medicine at home."

"Hurry up." The genuine tension and concern in her voice were unmistakable.

Chunliang trotted to the east wing; it wasn’t a poisonous snake, no need for medicine, just a little disinfection would do.

Not long after, Qingya’s voice echoed again, "Hurry up!"

Chunliang smirked to himself, "On my way!"

With the snake ointment in hand, he returned to Lin Sijin’s side, telling Qingya that before applying the ointment, it was crucial to suck out the venom immediately. Even though she was his godmother, going straight to sucking her leg seemed a bit inappropriate.

Without hesitation, Qingya knelt down, held her mother’s calf and began to suck at the wound.

"No... Qingya..." Lin Sijin was moved to tears.

Chunliang gave her a triumphant glance, and Lin Sijin cursed inwardly: this naughty kid, look how he’s been tossing my precious daughter around.

Chunliang fetched a bottle of purified water for Qingya to rinse her mouth, looked at the blood oozing from the wound and said, "Alright, alright, I don’t think there’s any problem. This little green snake’s venom isn’t strong, and once you apply Renhe Hall’s special snake ointment, it’ll work like a charm."

Chunliang helped apply the snake ointment to Lin Sijin and then bandaged her with gauze.

Holding Qingya’s shoulders, Lin Sijin said, "Qingya, quickly rinse your mouth several times, swallowing snake venom is no joke."

Seeing he wasn’t needed anymore, Chunliang tactically withdrew and wandered outside alone.

The reason the ruse worked was that there was still affection between the mother and daughter, but neither wanted to break the ice first. What just happened gave them the opportunity to break the ice.

Having taken this step, the mother and daughter became much closer. Lin Sijin held onto her daughter’s hand and wasn’t about to let go easily this time.

Chunliang waited for more than half an hour; they were still deep in conversation. He had to urge them to head back home, or they’d have to stay in Jizhou overnight.

Qingya wasn’t comfortable leaving her mother alone here, and hearing Chunliang say it’s best to have someone accompany her for the next 24 hours, she volunteered to stay.

That was exactly what Chunliang was hoping for, so he escorted the mother and daughter to the hotel before returning to the dock.

Wang Jinwu was still waiting for him there; seeing him leisurely saunter back, he couldn’t help but say, "Decided to come back, huh? Where’s Qingya?"

Chunliang said, "She stayed in Jizhou to be with her mom."

Wang Jinwu said, "Why don’t we stay too? We can crash on the yacht tonight. I know a great restaurant where we can grab a few drinks, just the two of us."

Chunliang said, "Sure."

Wang Jinwu said, "You should invite Qingya and her friend to join us."

Chunliang chuckled at Wang Jinwu, and Wang Jinwu grinned sheepishly, knowing he was caught.

Chunliang said, "They don’t get to see each other often, let’s not disturb them. If you’re interested in Xue Anning, you should ask her out instead."

Wang Jinwu said, "It’s not convenient."

"You’re not scared, are you?"

"When have I ever been afraid?" Wang Jinwu said, pulling out Xue Anning’s number and dialing it.

Not long after, Xue Anning picked up the call, and Chunliang signaled him to use the speakerphone.

"Who’s this?"

"It’s me, Wang Jinwu. We had lunch together today, remember?"

Xue Anning said, "Oh, President Wang, what can I do for you?"

Wang Jinwu said, "It’s not me, it’s Chunliang who wants to talk to you privately about Qingya."

Chunliang pretended to kick Wang Jinwu—this guy ultimately sold him out.

Although Xue Anning found it a bit sudden, after some thought, she accepted the invitation but preferred to dine near the hotel where she was staying.

Wang Jinwu readily agreed and hung up, almost jumping for joy.

Chunliang teased, "Old Wang, you’re so petty, using my name. Let’s see how you cover it up later."

Wang Jinwu said, "Cover-ups are your responsibility. I’ll handle the bill and winning her favor. Brother, I’m telling you now, my future happiness depends on tonight. You’ve got to back me up."

Chunliang said, "And what exactly do you want me to back you up with?"

Wang Jinwu glanced at his crotch, "Don’t get any ideas. Just leave me with something to eat, okay?"

Chunliang said, "The problem is you’re thinking of drinking milk, not eating dinner."

Wang Jinwu spat, "Sleazy."