“Zhou Ziang, what do you mean by that?” Lin Zhengping’s heart pounded with panic.  

“Lin Zhengping, at this point, do you really think you can still hide it? President Lin has already issued a notice severing ties with you as mother and son.”  

“President Lin also said that anyone who dares to help you will be considered an enemy of Shengshi Group.”  

That bitch Lin Wanwan was truly ruthless, leaving him no way out.  

At this moment, Lin Zhengping gritted his teeth in hatred.  

But considering the current situation, he had no choice but to swallow his pride and beg Zhou Ziang for help.  

“Zhou Ziang, for the sake of our past relationship, can you send someone to pick me up from the Lin family’s old house?”  

The person on the other end of the phone laughed angrily and immediately cursed, “Lin Zhengping, who the hell do you think you are, daring to order me around? You must be tired of living.”  

“I… I didn’t mean it that way.”  

“I don’t give a damn what you meant. If I see you again, I’ll break your legs.”  

With that, the call ended, leaving Lin Zhengping with nothing but a series of beeps.  

Furious at the threat, Lin Zhengping felt his anger surge. Under the stunned gazes of the three people around him, he slammed the phone onto the ground in a fit of rage.  

With a loud crash, the phone shattered into two pieces.  

“Lin Zhengping, what are you doing?!” Guo Shujuan, whose phone was now unusable, exploded in anger.  

This was one of the few valuable possessions their family had.  

What a wasteful bastard! He had no idea how hard it was to earn a living. If it weren’t for the fact that he still had some use, she would have already taken a knife to him.  

Wang Youfu and Wang Yaozu also glared at Lin Zhengping with displeasure.  

Regaining a sliver of rationality, Lin Zhengping quickly apologized, “Mom, I’m sorry. Once I become the CEO of Shengshi Group, I’ll buy you a whole truck of new phones.”  

“You’d better mean it!” Guo Shujuan was mollified by his words.  

In the following hours, Lin Zhengping used Wang Yaozu’s phone to call his so-called friends from the past.  

The moment they heard his voice, they immediately hung up.  

Lin Zhengping was so angry he wanted to smash the phone again, but Wang Yaozu, quick to react, snatched it back.  

Clutching his brand-new iPhone, Wang Yaozu refused to let Lin Zhengping use it.  

He had gone to great lengths to steal this phone and was counting on it to impress girls and have some fun.  

…………  

The Lin Residence.  

The thought of the Wang family stepping barefoot on her genuine leather sofa made Lin Wanwan feel nauseous.  

She called for Aunt Wang and instructed her to dispose of the living room sofa before nightfall.  

Aunt Wang, being the top-tier housekeeper she was, worked with remarkable efficiency. By the time Lin Wanwan went upstairs to rest, she had already arranged for the sofa to be removed.  

With her tasks completed, Aunt Wang noticed how much weight her young mistress had lost from overworking lately. She immediately ordered a free-range, mountain spring-fed chicken and added a variety of nourishing herbs to the pot.  

The soup simmered on low heat for a full three hours.  

Just as Aunt Wang was about to go upstairs and call her mistress down for some soup, Lin Wanwan came downstairs on her own.  

“Young Miss, I made your favorite chicken soup. Would you like to try some?”  

Lin Wanwan, who had little appetite, was about to refuse when her eyes met Aunt Wang’s. She nodded instead.  

Delighted, Aunt Wang hurried to the kitchen to serve the soup.

Lin Wanwan watched Aunt Wang’s cheerful back and managed a faint smile.  

When she was very young, it was Aunt Wang who stayed by her side, taking care of her. After her parents passed away from cancer one after another, it was still Aunt Wang who looked after her.  

At Aunt Wang’s age, most people would have already retired to enjoy their golden years, and her own children had repeatedly urged her to go home and rest.  

But Aunt Wang couldn’t bear to leave her and continued to stay by her side.  

All these years, Aunt Wang had truly worked hard.  

Not only had Aunt Wang prepared wild mushroom chicken soup, but she had also made Lin Wanwan’s favorite seafood fried rice. Even the fruit on the table had been carved into delicate flowers, making the meal look irresistibly appetizing.  

Just as Lin Wanwan was about to pick up her chopsticks, she suddenly began coughing violently. Not wanting to worry Aunt Wang, she deliberately turned her body away.  

But this coughing fit was far worse than she had imagined.  

She was coughing up blood—her face and hands were covered in it.  

Large, bright red splashes of blood, glaringly vivid.  

With a clatter, the items in Aunt Wang’s hands fell to the floor. She didn’t bother picking them up, rushing instead to Lin Wanwan’s side.  

She was terrified.  

“Young Miss… I… I’ll take you to the hospital right now. We’ll find a doctor.”  

A scene from many years ago seemed to replay before her eyes. Aunt Wang’s body trembled uncontrollably, tears streaming down her face.  

She clutched Lin Wanwan’s arm tightly, refusing to let go—as if, at any moment, Lin Wanwan might disappear.  

This was exactly how Lin Wanwan’s parents had left them.  

When the coughing finally subsided, Lin Wanwan weakly shook her head at Aunt Wang. “Aunt Wang, I just came back from the hospital. There’s no need to go again.”  

“We’ll find a doctor—the best doctor in the world—to treat you. You will get better.”  

“Aunt Wang… this is the fate of the Lin family.”  

At these words, Aunt Wang fell silent, holding Lin Wanwan’s hand as she wept and wept, as if she were the one suffering from the illness.  

Lin Wanwan closed her eyes weakly, thinking of her grandparents, her parents—all lost to illness—and a single tear rolled down her cheek.  

The word cancer was like a curse, hovering over the Lin family for generations, taking away the people Lin Wanwan loved most.  

It was as if fate was playing a cruel joke on them.  

No matter how wealthy the Lin family was, they couldn’t escape this destined calamity.  

And now, that calamity had fallen upon Lin Wanwan.  

Just six months ago, all her medical reports had been perfectly healthy. But in the blink of an eye, her latest checkup revealed late-stage cancer.  

Lin Wanwan, who had long been prepared for this fate, accepted it calmly. It was also why she had never married and had instead adopted Lin Zhengping, who had been abandoned in the snow all those years ago.  

She was afraid that any child she bore would follow the same path as her parents.  

Now, it seemed she had made the right choice.  

A long time passed before Aunt Wang finally stopped crying.  

Lin Wanwan went upstairs to clean herself up, then came back down to eat.  

The soup in her bowl had long gone cold, so Aunt Wang returned to the kitchen to bring her a fresh serving.  

Lin Wanwan forced herself to drink half a bowl before asking Aunt Wang to close her eyes. She then placed an imperial green jade bracelet—one she had spent a fortune acquiring at an auction in the U.S.—onto Aunt Wang’s wrist.  

“Aunt Wang, do you like it?”