Chapter 306 - 304: The Inside Story (Part 3)

Chapter 306: Chapter 304: The Inside Story (Part 3)

Shi Xiuhua flew into a rage. Her voice couldn’t help but rise as she fumed, "No! No way! Absolutely not! That’s a separate matter! Even if that other Lin family can give you more, who would ever complain about having too much money? We have two sons of our own, you know..."

"You idiot, keep your voice down."

Lin Ding was both furious and anxious. He rushed over, clamped a hand over Shi Xiuhua’s mouth, his face dark. "How can you be as stupid as Yan Zi?" he berated her in a low voice. "Is this something you can just shout about? You have sons, but aren’t Third and Fourth Dad’s sons, too? Who do you think he cares about more, his sons or his grandsons? If they hear you carrying on like this, what do you think they’ll think?"

Suddenly, Lin Ding began to regret telling Shi Xiuhua everything. ’This woman usually seems fine,’ he thought, ’so why is she acting just as stupid as our daughter at such a critical moment? She must have inherited it from her.’

"I... I was just anxious, that’s all," Shi Xiuhua said, calming down now that her mouth was covered. She instantly realized she had been too agitated and felt a little sheepish.

"Anxious my ass."

Even though she admitted she was wrong, Lin Ding’s anger was far from gone. "What’s the point of talking about that other Lin family now? Hasn’t that idiot Yan Zi already screwed everything up? In the future, even if people from that other Lin family show up, they’ll definitely figure out that Lin Fu, who isn’t our biological brother, is their real family. And Lin Fu himself—you think he’s an idiot?"

The more Lin Ding thought about it, the angrier he became. "It’s all that damn girl’s fault for ruining things! How did you raise her to be so stupid? It was bad enough that she was always chasing after men, but she’s also brainless and a constant source of trouble, blurting out things that should never be said. Dad had it all planned out perfectly. He and Mom worked so hard for so many years to hide the fact that Lin Fu wasn’t their biological child, and she just went and dumped the whole truth on him in one breath. It’s all ruined now. All we can do is hope that everyone in that other Lin family is dead and gone. Otherwise, what happens when they show up, take Lin Fu back, and see that I’m using the name that was supposed to be his? How could we possibly explain that?"

Shi Xiuhua was naturally indignant at Lin Ding calling her stupid, but his words made her worry. "It’s been so many years," she said. "The people from that other Lin family should be long dead by now, right? Otherwise, why wouldn’t they have come looking for him?"

"If that wasn’t the case, do you think Yan Zi would have gotten off so easily with Dad today?" Lin Ding fumed, his anger simmering and refusing to cool. It was directed at both Shi Xiuhua and Lin Yan. He glared at his wife and said, "When she gets married, don’t you dare give her any of those things as part of her dowry. She has a big mouth. Giving her something wouldn’t normally be a problem, but I’m afraid if you do, she’ll just run her mouth and show it off everywhere."

Shi Xiuhua nodded meekly. "Don’t worry. Our two sons are still young. The fact that Lin Fu agreed to help her get a job is already a huge benefit for her, and that’s more than enough. I’m not so stupid as to let her take those things to someone else’s house. I’m definitely saving them for our sons."

"If that’s really what you think, then I can relax." Seeing Shi Xiuhua’s attitude, Lin Ding’s anger finally began to cool. "I can’t blame you for being short-sighted. You cried out when you heard what Dad said earlier because you have no idea just how rich that other Lin family really is."

Lin Ding sighed. "You probably thought the things Mom and Dad brought out when they divided the family assets were a lot, didn’t you? But what they got from Old Madam Lin back in the day was three or four times that amount. And even all of that wasn’t one ten-thousandth of the other Lin family’s total fortune. It was a true drop in the ocean. Mom and Dad said if they hadn’t spent that money along the way, they wouldn’t have been able to afford transportation or even beg for a meal. Do you think they could have made it back to their hometown so smoothly on just their own two feet?"

"Was that Lin family really that wealthy?" Shi Xiuhua’s heart pounded just from imagining it. ’No wonder,’ she thought, ’that Old Madam Lin was willing to risk her life back then to try and protect her family’s fortune.’

"Why would I lie to you?" Lin Ding yawned, having lost interest in the topic. He shook his head. "Forget it. What’s the point of talking about it now?" He sighed once more, then ordered Shi Xiuhua to fetch him water to wash his feet before crawling under the covers and going to sleep.

Having finally unloaded the secret he had carried for so many years, he was fast asleep and snoring in no time. Shi Xiuhua, however, tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. Her mind was consumed with thoughts of the other Lin family’s immense wealth. ’If only Lin Yan hadn’t revealed that Lin Fu wasn’t their biological son,’ she thought, ’who’s to say that one day, people from that other Lin family wouldn’t have shown up? Everything would have gone according to her father-in-law’s plan, and her own family would have shot to the top in a single stroke.’

The more she thought, the more resentful she became, and the more resentful she became, the harder it was to sleep. She began to deeply resent her daughter Lin Yan for her big mouth, all while wracking her brain, trying desperately to think of a way to salvage the situation...

Leaving Lin Ding and Shi Xiuhua to their scheming, Lin Fu and Yao Hui Chun left Lin Ding’s house. After walking in silence for some time, Yao Hui Chun asked resentfully, "Are you really going to talk to the Zhang family to help Yan Zi?"

"Yes." Lin Fu was silent for a moment before nodding. "Mr. Zhang and I have been seeing a lot of each other lately, so we’ve built up a bit of a rapport. I figure I’ll bring it up with him." He gave a bitter smile. "At least that’s better than asking Qiaoqiao to talk to Nuannuan about it."

"But we agreed this time. What happens if they ask for something else later?" Yao Hui Chun said, her voice filled with frustration. "You said it yourself, this kind of thing destroys relationships. Our family’s status is already far beneath theirs. They’ve gone out of their way to help us, which is a kindness we can never repay. They haven’t asked us for a single thing, yet here we are, shamelessly imposing on them with all sorts of ridiculous requests. Aren’t you afraid that this will become a habit? That we’ll do this again and again until we’ve completely worn out all the goodwill between us?"

"Just this once. If they ask again, I won’t have anything to do with it," Lin Fu said firmly. Seeing that Yao Hui Chun was about to speak again, he held up a hand. "Hear me out. The real reason I agreed to do it this time is that I’ve decided to cut ties with them. After this, I’m going to let the story get out that I’m not their biological son. And you can start telling people about all the things we had to endure before the family property was divided."

"It seems you’ve really thought it through."

Yao Hui Chun couldn’t help but cover her mouth, a sob escaping her lips. It was no wonder she was so emotional. Life under their roof had been utterly suffocating, but her husband had always forbidden her from speaking about it, insisting that one shouldn’t air the family’s dirty laundry. No matter how much she had suffered, her hands were tied. But because he was so good to her in every other respect, she had silently endured it. To think that now, he was the one suggesting she could finally tell their story—