My dad sat down, holding my mom’s hand. “Tomorrow, let’s write a will and leave everything to Qiaoling.”
He reconsidered. “No, let’s just transfer everything to her name now, so that woman stops eyeing our assets.”
My mom shook her head. “As long as they’re together, trouble will keep coming.”
They were angry and regretful.
I was calm. I’d raised Zhihao myself. He’d never really faced hardship. Maybe he needed a taste of reality.
But it takes two to fight. If Zhihao didn’t already resent me, he wouldn’t have turned against the family so easily.
They didn’t come back to cause trouble. Life went on peacefully.
After the company closed for the holidays, I went shopping with my mom. We ran into Yiran at the mall.
She was with an older woman—her mother, I guessed—shopping for luxury goods. Yiran obediently handed over her card to pay.
After one store, they moved on to the next, buying more and more.
I frowned. “Should I freeze Zhihao’s card?”
“Why bother?” my mom replied. “It’s his card. He can give it to whoever he wants. We’re not paying his bills.”
I laughed. That was my mom for you.
That night, Zhihao called.
“Give me some money.”
“Who is this? A beggar? There’s no spot for you under the bridge.”
“Cut it out,” he snapped. “I’m not begging. I know you want me back, so I’m giving you a chance to save face.”
I chuckled. “Don’t bother. I like seeing you broke and stubborn.”
“Just wait!” he yelled, hanging up.
On New Year’s Eve, I celebrated with my parents, hanging decorations, eating dinner, and playing cards.
On the first day of the new year, relatives came to visit.
Unexpectedly, Yiran and Zhihao showed up uninvited.
Yiran, dressed head-to-toe in designer brands, clung to Zhihao and introduced herself as the Lin family’s daughter-in-law.
But my parents stayed silent.
Everyone realized Yiran and Zhihao were performing for themselves.
The relatives lost interest in her and turned to me with the usual questions: “How’s work? Any boyfriend? When are you getting married?”
I only cared to talk about work, so we discussed new projects for the year.
Yiran pulled Zhihao over.
I smiled. I knew they were up to something.
Yiran beamed, “Zhihao has some great projects to discuss with everyone.”
Zhihao pitched a “great” investment idea.
I frowned. Wasn’t that the project I’d vetoed before the holidays, which caused a fight with a shareholder? How did Zhihao know about it?
Given his position, it wasn’t impossible for him to hear about company matters. Some old-timers always doubted my abilities and tried to undermine me.
I smelled a plot.
Seeing the awkward silence, Yiran tried to keep up appearances. “Isn’t my boyfriend amazing? Even if big sister isn’t with the company, everyone can trust Zhihao to take over.”
So, they were trying to prove themselves and win support.
I smirked.
The relatives instantly understood her real intentions.
The truth was out: Wang Yiran had been eyeing my position from the start. No wonder my parents never accepted her—her scheming ways could give anyone anxiety.
As everyone turned to me for a response, Yiran’s eyes instantly welled with tears. “I didn’t mean anything bad about big sister, I’m just worried about her,” she sniffled.
Uncle Lin scoffed. “Qiaoling is doing just fine. What’s there to worry about?”
Yiran pressed on, “Uncle, you might not know, but I’ve heard a lot of rumors lately… People say the only reason big sister became the general manager is because she…” She trailed off, feigning shock at her own words, then waved her hands frantically, tears streaming down her face. “I’m sorry, big sister! I must have heard wrong. Please don’t hate me!”
Everyone stared at her like she was crazy.
She was spreading disgusting rumors about me, and I wasn’t even allowed to be angry?
I fixed Yiran with a cold, intimidating glare.
She’d only just arrived and was already coveting my job, sowing discord in the family, and now slandering me with vile gossip.
Since taking over Linhua Holdings, I’d seen all kinds of people, but never a woman who made me feel such deep disgust.
My anger boiled over. I raised my hand and slapped her hard across the face. Yiran’s cheek swelled instantly.
Lin Zhihao rushed to shield her, shouting, “Qiaoling, if you have a problem, take it out on me! Why pick on a defenseless woman?”
I let out a cold laugh. “You want me to take it out on you?”
Without waiting for a reply, I slapped him too.
He stared at me, stunned, then snarled, “Don’t think I won’t hit you back, Qiaoling!”
Yiran clung to him, sobbing, “No, Zhihao, it’s all my fault. Big sister is right to be angry. You should apologize to her.”
Her manipulative words only fanned the flames.
Zhihao glared at me. “Is Yiran really wrong? You rose so fast—who knows what you did to get there!”
“If you’re not guilty, why did you hit her?”
I couldn’t believe these words were coming from my own brother.
No matter how much I’d been doubted by outsiders, I always thought my family would have my back. Now, Zhihao had shattered that belief.
My face hardened. “Both of you, get out. Don’t ever come back to the Lin family!”
Zhihao sneered. “I’m the real heir to the company. Who are you to throw me out?”
He turned to the relatives. “Does anyone really think she’s innocent? If she wasn’t hiding something, why is she single at her age? She’s just greedy for money, pretending to be some kind of independent woman!”
Before he could finish, my mother, Madam Lin, whipped him with a rattan cane. He yelped and dodged, but she was relentless.
If it weren’t for Cousin Lin Yan holding her back, my mother would have beaten him senseless.
“Have you all lost your minds?” Zhihao screamed. “Can’t you see who’s really at fault?”
My mother’s face was livid, veins bulging as she gripped the cane. “Both of you, out!”
My father, Mr. Lin, wrapped a trembling arm around her shoulders and announced, “I declare now: Zhihao is no longer my son. The lawyer will be here soon, and tomorrow I’ll officially publish a notice severing ties.”
Zhihao and Yiran were stunned, as if their brains had short-circuited.
“You’re serious?” Zhihao stammered.
My mother sneered. “We should have done this long ago.”
Zhihao, desperate, turned his rage on me. “Why are you still mooching off the family, Qiaoling? Aren’t you ashamed to be unmarried in your thirties? You’re just after my inheritance!”
I looked at him, numb with disappointment.
This was the brother I’d raised, the one who used to follow me everywhere, whose first word was “sister,” who used to text me reminders to dress warmly in winter.
But in the end, greed had rotted his heart, leaving only endless desire.
I sneered, “How did two outsiders end up spewing garbage in my house during the holidays?”
Uncle Lin scowled. “It’s the modern age—marriage is a personal choice. I’m sixty, and you two are more old-fashioned than I am.”
The rest of the cousins chimed in, faces dark. “Just get out already.”
“Zhihao, you really picked a winner. Out of all the people, you found the strangest one.”
“Not that Zhihao isn’t strange himself…”
Zhihao looked around, stunned that his own relatives were turning on him. He clenched his fists, glaring at me with hatred.
“You’ll all regret this! I’ll pay you back for today’s humiliation!”
Chapter 03
*
Comments
Post a Comment