Chapter 13: One Million

After speaking, he gave a subtle glance, and Lin’s mother took out a check, smiling as she handed it over.

“Here’s one million, just as a compensation for all the hard work you’ve put in raising Qiyan over the years. After all, no matter what, you’ve had your hardships, even if there was no real contribution.”

When Lin Qiyan heard this, she looked even more smugly at the Wang parents, almost as if saying, “How about that? Wasn’t raising me worth it?”

Though they hadn’t given her an ideal life, she had brought them one million. That’s one million—money that most people wouldn’t be able to earn in decades.

The Wang couple felt their faces burn with shame as they listened. It was as if they had been insulted, yet they had no way of responding.

But the one thing they were certain of was that they couldn’t refuse the money in front of them.

Father Wang took a deep breath and said, “Take this money back. We can’t accept it. After all, the mistake of swapping the children isn’t entirely your fault. It was an accident, something no one could have predicted.”

Lin Zhong was adamant, “No, Old Wang, you have to take the money.”

“I really can’t accept it.”

“You must.”

They went back and forth, struggling with the exchange.

At this moment, Su Baili, who had been silent up until now, stood up. She slowly walked over and took the check from Lin Zhong’s hand.

“We’ll accept the money. Now, can we leave?” she said.

Lin Zhong looked at her in surprise, then turned to Father Wang with a smile. “See? Your daughter is more sensible than you. You should accept it.”

Father Wang looked at Su Baili, clearly conflicted. He felt the money shouldn’t be taken—it would seem greedy. But now that his biological daughter had accepted it, he didn’t know how to ask her to return it.

Zhao Qing also looked troubled. For all these years, their daughter had been alone, with no one to rely on. They didn’t know what had happened to her. What if she needed the money urgently?

Sometimes, money could be a lifesaver. Though they wished to keep their dignity, when compared to their daughter, their pride seemed insignificant.

In the end, both of them were thinking the same thing. They felt helpless—no matter what, they couldn’t provide a good life for their daughter, even after finding her again.

The elderly couple looked at each other, their mouths opening and closing, but neither of them spoke any further.

Lin Qiyan sat aside, watching this scene with some smugness. “See? You guys made it sound like you were doing something noble, but in the end, you still accepted it.”

Accepting it was the best thing, she thought—it officially bought off any obligation to raise her, so no one could later accuse her of being heartless.

Su Baili, watching the two awkward, silent people from the Wang family, sighed helplessly after a long pause.

It seemed like she’d have to step in.

She crossed her arms and spoke calmly, “You don’t need to feel embarrassed. This money is something you should have accepted.”

She pointed at Lin Qiyan. “She was raised by you two. No matter what material conditions you could provide, at least you never neglected her as she grew up.”

Then she pointed at herself. “As for me…” She gestured to herself, “I was lost by these two and grew up in an orphanage. You all must have heard of what kind of place an orphanage is. So, don’t act as if accepting the money somehow makes you lesser. If anyone should feel guilty here, it’s not you.”

Su Baili’s words instantly ripped off the curtain of pretense, making Lin Zhong feel increasingly that this little girl in front of him was sharp-tongued and clever.

If it had been just the quiet, humble couple, he would have easily had them under control. Even if they wanted to leave, they would have done so gratefully, feeling indebted and guilty, never daring to interfere in their lives again.

Yes.

Unfortunately, things weren’t going according to his plan…

But now that the main victim had said as much, all the blame had shifted to their family, and he had no way to argue.

After all, they hadn’t raised this child for even a day, so if anyone should feel guilty, it was certainly them.

He forced a smile and said, “Yes, yes, Miss Su is right. It was our fault, and this money is just a way to make amends.”

Su Baili gave a cold smile and said, “Mr. Lin is really calculating, trying to use this small amount of money to buy off twenty years of raising me.”

“I…” Su Baili stood on the moral high ground, and Lin Zhong had no way to retort. Just as he was about to explain himself, Su Baili interrupted him.

“Forget it, I can’t be bothered to argue with you. Since we’ve accepted this check, we’ll consider this matter settled. From now on, we’ll just pretend we don’t know each other, each going our own way.” Su Baili turned to look at the Wang couple, “You both agree with what I’ve said, right?”

If they dared not to agree, then these clueless, opportunistic parents weren’t worth having.

The rest of the matter would be left for her brother to handle; she had no intention of continuing the relationship.

The Wang couple, hearing their daughter speak so firmly, immediately nodded like obedient chicks. They didn’t want to make their daughter upset. Now that Qiyan didn’t want any further relationship with them, it took away their worries as well.

This was for the best…

At least everything was back on track.

“Good, then it’s settled,” Su Baili said with satisfaction. The two people in front of her weren’t the kind of clueless parents who only cared about having raised their child; she preferred this.

Lin Zhong had been outmaneuvered by Su Baili a few times earlier, but the way things were progressing, everything was still developing as he had planned, and he couldn’t be happier.

“Alright, alright, you, as a college student, really understand things.” Lin Zhong rubbed his hands and nervously added, “Since we’ve agreed, I also want to erase all traces of Qiyan’s life in your family. If anyone asks in the future, you can’t bring it up. You know, a family like ours values reputation above all else. We can’t let outsiders know that she was lost for so long, or we’ll be laughed at.”

Mrs. Lin immediately added, “Yes, yes, when my daughter was lost, it caused a huge stir, but in the end, no one knew whether she was found. I plan to tell everyone that after we found her, we were afraid something might happen to her, so we sent her abroad, and she only returned this year.”

Father Wang coldly said, “Fine. How you want to handle it is your business. We’ll pretend she never existed.”

“Very good, very good,” Lin Zhong said with a satisfied smile.

Su Baili added with sarcasm, “Of course, you, especially your daughter, can’t come back to bother us in the future.”