Chapter 97: Even a Cornered Dog Will Jump a Wall

Chapter 97: Chapter 97: Even a Cornered Dog Will Jump a Wall

’What did he mean by that?’

’Is Lin Kangshun telling me his real intention isn’t to forgive my sister, but that he’s only forced to do so to get his son’s sentence reduced?’

Tao Junhao’s heart skipped a beat. ’Just as I thought. The Lin Family aren’t being kindhearted; it’s because they still need something from the Gu Family, so they can’t afford to burn all their bridges. But if that’s the case, won’t he hate my family even more?’

He began to tremble. Unable to remain seated any longer, he dropped to his knees again with a thud, his face ashen. "Mr. Lin..."

Terrified, Mrs. Tao also started to kneel.

Lin Kangshun made no move to help Mrs. Tao up, nor did he step aside. His expression hardened as he barked at Tao Junhao, "What do you think you’re doing? Get your mother up. We can discuss this properly. Didn’t I already say we’d give your sister a chance to turn over a new leaf?" He watched the mother and son help each other to their feet before continuing, "This time, the Lin family will consider it an act of charity. We’re giving your sister a chance to change and won’t pursue the matter. Of course, if she remains unrepentant in the future, how you discipline her is your own family’s business. It’s not our place to interfere, wouldn’t you agree?"

Seeing Tao Junhao’s still-baffled expression, he said impatiently, "Your sister just has a thing for pretty boys, right? But now that Gu fellow’s face has been ruined by my son. I doubt your sister will want anything to do with him, let alone marry him, once she sees what he looks like. Go back and tell her that whether she likes it or not, she *is* marrying into the Gu Family this time. Of course, if she really refuses, that’s an option too. We’ll just have to charge her with ’hooliganism’ and have her keep my son company in prison. The choice is hers. You tell her to figure it out for herself."

"As for the two of you, as long as you can guarantee she marries into the Gu Family without a hitch this time, we can discuss everything else. You don’t need to talk about returning to the countryside anymore. Even you and your wife’s jobs can remain exactly as they are." At this point, Lin Kangshun didn’t care how much the mother and son understood. ’If they truly don’t get it, or just play dumb with me later, I have ways of dealing with them.’

He had no more patience to waste on them. Lin Kangshun rose to his feet and unceremoniously showed them out. "That’s all for today. Go home and think about it. If you come around, then have a good talk with her. If you don’t, then our hands are tied."

Even after stumbling out of the house in a daze, Mrs. Tao was still bewildered. She asked her son, "What Mr. Lin said... I’m so confused. Did he forgive us or not? And what’s this ’hooliganism’ charge? I don’t understand. Isn’t that something only men get charged with? How could they pin that on your sister?"

"What do you call cheating on someone if not hooliganism?" Tao Junhao snapped. It wasn’t that he felt no love for his sister; the very thought of a sibling who had brought such utter disgrace to their family disgusted him. He mentally replayed every single word Lin Kangshun had said, mulling them over and over. ’I feel like I’m on the verge of understanding something, but it’s just out of reach. What is it?’ He knew he wouldn’t be able to rest until he figured it out.

"..." Mrs. Tao was silent for a moment. "When we get back, we’ll tell her what the Lin family wants."

"Hold on." An idea struck Tao Junhao as he recalled Lin Kangshun’s words about his sister’s fondness for pretty boys and the fact that the Gu fellow was now disfigured. He instinctively stopped his mother. "We can’t tell her yet. What if she refuses and tries to run away again? If we mess things up for the Lin Family, do you really think they’ll let us off the hook?"

The more Tao Junhao considered it, the more certain he was that this was the right approach. He had his mother get on the back of his bicycle, and as he began to pedal, he said gravely, "We need to be extremely cautious. Let’s not breathe a word of this. We’ll hide it from her for as long as possible. The day she finds out, we’ll try to convince her, just like Mr. Lin said. At that point, whether she listens or not, I’ll take time off work and come home to watch her myself until she is married into the Gu Family."

’Since Lin Kangshun said she must marry into the Gu Family this time, then I have to guarantee she does so without any trouble.’

He suddenly shuddered. Lin Kangshun had said, "this time." ’If there’s a "this time," does that imply there will be a "next time"? Could it be... could he mean...’

It all clicked into place. A twisted smile, more like a grimace, spread across his face. ’So that’s it. If I’m not mistaken, the Lin Family’s hatred for my sister runs bone-deep... But then again, this is a mess of her own making. I can’t completely blame them...’ He hardened his heart. In the end, he didn’t even voice his terrible suspicion to his own mother.

’Oh well. I’ll just have to take it one step at a time.’

「The Lin family.」

Only after Mrs. Tao and her son had left did Yu Xiuying ask Lin Kangshun, baffled, "What were you thinking? You’re just letting her brother go like that? Aren’t we letting their family off way too easily?"

"I misjudged him. I never thought her brother would be so ruthless," Lin Kangshun remarked first. ’There’s no need to back a man that vicious into a corner. Who knows what he might do? A cornered animal will fight back.’ However, he saw no need to explain this too clearly to his wife, lest he frighten her.

So Lin Kangshun just smiled. "Don’t you worry. We may have let her family off easy, but we haven’t let the one who deserves no mercy off. In fact, I think their own proposal is excellent—even more satisfying than what we had originally planned. And with them taking the initiative, it’s far better than if we had to get our hands dirty someday. This way, it can’t be traced back to us at all."

Yu Xiuying frowned in thought for a moment before it dawned on her. "So, you’re planning to..."

"Exactly." A vicious glint flashed in Lin Kangshun’s eyes. "I hadn’t quite decided how to make her regret the day she was born, but now, someone has presented a rather nice solution. Heh heh, marrying her off into the mountains... that’s one way to ensure she can never recover. We can even help them... carefully select the right family."

"Haha, hahahaha..." Yu Xiuying burst into laughter. She laughed louder and louder, tears streaming down her cheeks, but still she couldn’t stop.

Lin Kangshun let her vent. Once Xiuying had laughed her fill, she said viciously, "I will personally help pick a ’good’ family for her. I’m going to wait for that day. I want to see for myself whether she regrets it then!"

"Feeling less angry now?" Lin Kangshun asked with a smile.

"Not at all. Now I’m just waiting for the show to begin." Yu Xiuying felt utterly refreshed, the suffocating anger in her chest completely gone. However, her expression soon turned worried as she looked at Lin Kangshun. "Old Lin, this whole thing only came up because her brother got his hands into something he shouldn’t have, which is why he proposed this to us. All these years, have you..."

"You can relax. I’m not that foolish."

Seeing that Yu Xiuying still looked hesitant, Lin Kangshun chuckled. "Think about it. When do I ever hide things from you? I have no reason to get involved in that kind of thing. Did you forget about your second brother? You know full well his business relies on my factory, and we own the largest share of it. Isn’t that enough? And besides that, don’t we have those other small ventures we’ve invested in with people?"

"Oh, right." Xiuying tapped her forehead. She had been so anxious she wasn’t thinking straight. ’How could I forget? Besides my second brother’s company, we have plenty of other joint ventures. All told, it’s far from the "small ventures" Old Lin described. The money he gives me each year has added up to a fortune over time. Otherwise, how could our family have afforded a car for our son so soon, back when most people were still riding bicycles and even a motorcycle was a novelty?’

Lin Kangshun smiled. "No need to visit the Tao family for now. We’ll go directly to the Gu Family."

Yu Xiuying nodded obediently. "Right now?"

"The sooner this is settled, the better."