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Lin Qingqing returned to her room and immediately transformed into a desktop-cleaning master.
Fueled by anger, she began smashing and throwing things around in frustration.
Wang Yalan pushed the door open, then locked it behind her.
As soon as Lin Qingqing turned around, she was met with a slap across the face from Wang Yalan.
“Mom…” Lin Qingqing shouted in fury. “Am I even your daughter?”
Wang Yalan sneered, “If you weren’t my daughter, would you be living in the Lin family’s house right now? Would you be enjoying the status of the Lin family’s precious daughter?”
She pointed at the scattered jewelry on the floor. “What’s wrong? Don’t want these anymore? Fine, I’ll send you back to your biological father. You can go back to picking up trash for a living with him.”
The thought of her past life made Lin Qingqing tremble with fear.
“No… no… no… I don’t want to go back! I won’t go back!” Lin Qingqing clung to Wang Yalan, pleading. “Mom, I won’t go back. Never!”
“You don’t want to go back?” Wang Yalan said coldly. “Then pick up those things and put them away properly.”
With shaking hands, Lin Qingqing quickly gathered up the jewelry.
Most of them were gifts from Father Lin and Lin Qingyou.
Each piece was valuable—items she could never have even dreamed of owning in her previous life.
Seeing Lin Qingqing’s tear-filled eyes, Wang Yalan pulled her into an embrace. “Qingqing, if you don’t want to go back to that life, you need to listen to me.”
“Lin Zhiwei is always busy with work. The last thing he wants when he comes home is to hear a bunch of petty complaints. That’s exactly why, over the years, he’s gradually become more distant from Lin Qingyou.”
Lin Qingyou had a spoiled temper and was willful—whenever Father Lin came home, he had to listen to her endless grievances.
Over time, he grew tired of it.
But what he didn’t realize was that Lin Qingyou’s behavior had been subtly manipulated by Wang Yalan.
It had worked perfectly—Father Lin had grown more and more impatient with Lin Qingyou over the years.
A once-close father-daughter relationship had slowly eroded.
“But today, at the dinner table, you lost control the moment Lin Qingyou said a few words. You completely exposed yourself. I’m so disappointed in you.”
“I—”
“Still trying to argue? The way you acted today was exactly like how I used to provoke Lin Qingyou into acting out. You always called her stupid, but today, weren’t you just as foolish? Even more so!”
Lin Qingqing fell silent.
Wang Yalan sighed. “But I don’t blame you. Even I was surprised by Lin Qingyou’s behavior today. She seems… different.”
“Mom, what should we do?” Lin Qingqing gritted her teeth, feeling both angry and wronged. “Do we really have to keep swallowing our pride like this forever?”
“Of course not,” Wang Yalan said firmly. The gentle look in her eyes was now filled with cold calculation. “Just give me some time. The Lin family will be ours sooner or later.”
Father Lin looked at Lin Qingyou. “Qingyou, let things go when you can. There’s no need to be so harsh.”
Lin Qingyou was lounging on the sofa, sucking on a lollipop with her legs crossed.
Hearing her father’s words, she took the lollipop out of her mouth.
Father Lin frowned. “You’re too old to be eating candy like that. Have some dignity.”
Lin Qingyou glanced at the lollipop in her hand.
“Dad, you used to buy me these all the time when I was little, whenever you wanted to cheer me up.”
“You always said I was easy to please, that just one lollipop would stop me from crying. You even joked that you had to make sure I didn’t get tricked by some boy with a single piece of candy, so you’d provide me with lollipops for life.”
For a moment, Father Lin was stunned. His hands froze over the documents he had been flipping through.
“Dad, I never changed. You did.”
“In the past, all your attention was on me. But now, every time you try to be nice to me, you have to consider Wang Yalan and Lin Qingqing’s feelings.”
“You can’t even give me a birthday gift without making sure Lin Qingqing gets the exact same one. And you have to prepare something even better for Wang Yalan.”
“I…” Father Lin hesitated. “I just don’t want them to feel left out. You’re my biological daughter, but Qingqing isn’t. I worry that if I treat you differently, it’ll create tension in the family.”
Lin Qingyou scoffed. “Oh, so you do remember that I’m your biological daughter?”
“But tell me, Dad, you’ve thought about Wang Yalan and Lin Qingqing’s feelings—have you ever considered mine? Why is it that your real daughter doesn’t get special treatment, but instead has to endure more grievances?”
“I…” Father Lin was speechless.
“Dad, I don’t mind that you spend more money on Wang Yalan and Lin Qingqing,” Lin Qingyou continued. “But it was my birthday. Why can’t I even have a birthday gift that belongs only to me?”
“Why is it that even on my birthday, I can’t feel like I’m special to you?”
“You think I complain too much?”
“But Dad, have you ever thought about when I started complaining? And why?”
“And aren’t you the one who taught me, ever since I was little, to never bottle things up—to always tell you how I feel? But now that I do, you think I’m annoying, that I’m being immature. Dad, all the grievances I feel—they were caused by you.”
As she spoke, tears began to fall.
Who doesn’t know how to play the victim?
In her past life, she had been too blunt, too headstrong.
She always confronted Father Lin head-on, and every argument ended the same way—her storming out of the house in disappointment.
This time, she wouldn’t be so stupid.
And sure enough—
Seeing her cry, Father Lin became flustered.
His daughter had always been cheerful. If she was crying, it meant she was truly heartbroken.
He rushed over. “Qingyou… don’t cry…”
But she only cried harder.
Panicked, he started pacing. “Qingyou, please stop crying. I was wrong, okay? I’m sorry…”
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
Lin Qingyou knew—it had to be Wang Yalan.
She quickly whispered something in her father’s ear. He instinctively retorted, “Qingyou, don’t say that. Your Aunt Wang isn’t that kind of person. She’s kind and gentle—”
Lin Qingyou rolled her eyes. “Just do as I say.”
Then, she covered her face and ran out of the room, still crying.
Wang Yalan entered, carrying a freshly brewed cup of ginseng tea.
“Zhiwei, did you hit her?”
Father Lin, remembering Lin Qingyou’s words, suddenly slammed a cup down in anger.
“She was being too unreasonable—too arrogant. I lost my temper and hit her.”
A flash of satisfaction flickered in Wang Yalan’s eyes, but she said softly, “Zhiwei, have some tea. Don’t hurt yourself over this.”
“Sigh…” Father Lin took the tea, sighing. “You’re the only one who truly cares about me, Yalan.”
But suddenly, Wang Yalan began to cry.
Father Lin recalled what Lin Qingyou had predicted.
“Dad, she’ll cry and say she failed to teach Lin Qingqing properly, that she let you down. But really, she’s just reminding you to keep me in check.”
“Yalan, why are you crying?”
Wang Yalan sniffled. “I just feel guilty. I didn’t teach Qingqing well. I’ve let you down, Zhiwei…”
Father Lin fell into deep thought.
Because, once again, Lin Qingyou’s words had come true.
After Wang Yalan left, he sat in exhaustion, rubbing his temples.
Lin Qingyou walked over and gently massaged his shoulders.
“Qingyou…” He hesitated to meet her gaze.
But she didn’t taunt him.
Instead, she softly whispered, “Dad, I know this is hard for you. So I’m willing to sacrifice a little for the sake of your happy family.”
“What do you mean?” Father Lin immediately turned to look at her.
“I mean… starting tomorrow, I’ll move out.”
Because she had a husband to chase.