CHAPTER 6: Murder

When TV drama plots spill into real life, Lin Dahua still refused to believe it. He thought it was just a joke—his family must be pulling one over on him.

“I don’t believe it.” Lin Dahua sat on the couch and pulled Yi Xiaoya down to sit next to him. “Dad buys lottery tickets every day and has never won more than a hundred bucks.”

Lin Father bought lottery tickets every day, sometimes even scratch cards. He believed that as long as he kept at it, he’d win eventually. Every failure was just laying the groundwork for future success—he couldn’t stop halfway.

If something came up and he missed a draw, he had to make it up the next time.

Even though he was losing money on it, he thought that’s just how investments worked—sometimes you lose. Especially with the lottery, the leverage was so high, it only made sense to buy even more—hundreds of times, thousands of times.

“Just because your dad has bad luck doesn’t mean everyone else does,” Lin’s mother said. Without another word, she stepped forward and tugged on her son’s ear. “A child’s parents are already decided at birth.”

“It’s already decided at the fertilized egg stage,” Lin Dahua added. “It’s not something anyone can change by willpower. At most, it’s only step-parents who can change.”

“…” Lin’s mother’s mouth twitched. “This is what you learned from school? If you were that smart, why are you a sports student?”

Lin’s mother had always hoped her son would excel, but his academic performance was poor, so he could only pursue sports. She had even considered letting him study the arts, but that required learning many things. Her son couldn’t even carry a tune—how could he become an arts student?

“Yikes.” Seeing Lin’s mother tug on Lin Dahua’s ear, Yi Xiaoya quickly stepped aside.

“Xiaoya, I’m doing this all for you, and you’re hiding over there laughing?” Lin Dahua pushed his mother’s hand away and rubbed his ear—it almost felt like it had been torn off. A sudden idea struck him, and he turned to his mom. “Mom, you always hit me a lot and rarely scolded Xiaoya. Is it because she’s not your biological daughter?”

“Then why don’t you mention how your dad is always so mean and cold to your sister?” Lin’s mother rolled her eyes.

“Isn’t Dad just the old-fashioned type who favors boys over girls?” Lin Dahua replied. His dad treated him well. “I heard if a child isn’t your own, you can’t scold or hit them, or they’ll hold a grudge.”

“You’re the one holding grudges,” Yi Xiaoya said. She didn’t bear any resentment toward Lin’s mother. As for Lin’s father… well, he definitely hadn’t treated her very well. But now that she knew she wasn’t his biological child, she couldn’t really blame him.

What man would want to raise someone else’s child, especially when the family’s financial situation wasn’t great? Food, clothes, housing, and everything else cost money.

When she was young, Yi Xiaoya had to wear hand-me-downs. She envied the other kids who had brand new clothes and pretty little dresses. In winter, the sleeves of her sweaters would be different colors—one color at the top, another at the bottom. The yarn had been unraveled from old sweaters.

Even her shoes were worn until they had holes. When she finally got new ones—whether shoes or clothes—they were always a size bigger, so she could keep wearing them the next year.

“All of that is in the past now.” Yi Xiaoya used to resent Lin’s father deeply. She thought he was too biased, only seeing Lin Dahua as his son and completely ignoring her as his daughter.

Now she thought that, considering they weren’t related by blood, it was already kind of him not to kick her out of the house.

“I have to head back in a while,” Yi Xiaoya said. “I already told my dad—I’m just here for a meal, then I have to go home.”

“You really have a biological dad?” Lin Dahua asked.

“Of course.” Yi Xiaoya nodded. She pulled out a tablet from her bag, followed by a smartphone. “Look, my dad gave me all this. You don’t have to fight with me anymore. There’s even a computer in my room…”

It was all pink. No matter how she looked at it, it felt weird.

As a kid, she wanted to be a princess. Now, she wanted to be a queen—and a queen wouldn’t like pink.

“You guys can come over to my place sometime,” Yi Xiaoya offered.

“If you rise to riches, don’t forget us!” Lin Dahua immediately grabbed her hand tightly, eyes gleaming. “Sis, look at me…”

“Once you graduate college, your sister can get you a nice, easy job as a security guard,” Lin’s mother said as she smacked her son on the head. “Stop dreaming about buying gaming gear. There’s no future in that.”

“Mom, if I keep practicing, maybe I can go pro in esports,” Lin Dahua argued. “It’d be such a waste for someone with connections to just become a security guard.”

“With your skills, you think you can go pro? More like get beaten up,” Lin’s mother scoffed. She didn’t believe her son had what it took to go pro. Only a rare few could make it in esports.

She had already asked around—professional gaming had age restrictions. It was a young person’s game. If you didn’t make it while you were young, you’d have to retire soon, and then there’d be no income.

Only a handful ever reached the top. It wasn’t something just anyone could do.

Lin’s mother had a clear understanding of her son. She didn’t view him as a prodigy in any particular field, just a regular person. She couldn’t afford to expect him to shine overnight.

People born under lucky stars were rare. Most people were ordinary, relying on hard work to make up for what they lacked in talent.

“Why not let Xiaoya start a gaming club and let me join?” Lin Dahua suggested. “She gave away a house just like that—she must be pretty amazing.”

“…” Lin’s mother took off her slipper and started chasing her son around the room.

A gaming club? Her son was trying to bankrupt someone!

Lin’s mother didn’t dare ask anything more of Yi Xiaoya. They’d already received so much. Asking for more would be crossing the line.

“Mom! Can you not do this? The slipper stinks…” Lin Dahua turned to speak, and without realizing, his mother had already run ahead and swung the slipper right past his face.

“Your mouth’s the one that stinks,” Lin’s mother snapped.

“I was just joking. Xiaoya, you didn’t take it seriously, did you?” Lin Dahua asked.

He and Yi Xiaoya had grown up together. They used to think they were fraternal twins. They never filtered themselves when talking, always saying whatever came to mind.

“When I have money, forget gaming—you’re going to be a viral celebrity,” Yi Xiaoya said. “Two million yuan a day—how great would that be?”

“You said it!” Lin Dahua’s eyes lit up. Two million a day—that was top-tier. He didn’t even need to aim that high. If he could make thousands or tens of thousands a day, he’d finally have money for gear. Then he could play all he wanted, and his parents wouldn’t be able to stop him.

“Yes, and transfer all the money you earn to Mom—Auntie,” Yi Xiaoya said.

Instantly, Lin Dahua deflated like a punctured ball. What was the point of working hard anymore?

During dinner, Lin Father was out playing mahjong. Lin Mother called him to come home and eat, but he hung up after listening for barely a few seconds. He always ran off to play mahjong whenever he had time, sometimes not coming home until he’d gambled away every cent he had.

Lin Mother originally wanted to tell him that Yi Xiaoya had come back, hoping that might get him to return. But seeing how quickly he hung up, she gave up. After all, her husband had never liked Yi Xiaoya. It was only because she’d gone back to her biological father and the Yi family had gifted them such a big apartment that he was slightly happier.

“Your uncle’s out. Let’s eat first,” Lin Mother said.

“He went to play mahjong again?” Yi Xiaoya asked. She used to go to the mahjong parlor to drag Lin Father back home.

“That’s how he is. Always looking for shortcuts, thinking he can win money off others by gambling,” Lin Mother scoffed. “He’s been like this for years. He’ll never change. If he asks you for money, don’t give him a single cent.”

Lin Mother used to hide money all over the house—inside the sofa, in the wardrobe—and somehow Lin Father would always find it. She had long since gotten used to it. What worried her now was that he might think Yi Xiaoya would cover their debts, and end up borrowing a huge sum outside.

“Forget about lending him money—my dad’s already capped my spending limit. I’ve got daily restrictions,” Yi Xiaoya said. “Last time I tried to swipe my card while shopping, it got declined. I tried to pay in cash instead, and the staff actually called the police! They thought I stole the money from my dad. Isn’t that ridiculous?”

Lin Dahua burst out laughing. He hadn’t expected something like that.

“Don’t laugh,” Yi Xiaoya said. “Even if I have a daily spending limit, my allowance is still more than yours. You get maybe four or five hundred a month for meals—are you really in a position to laugh at someone who gets a thousand a day?”

Lin Dahua wanted to say: Jealousy really does change people’s faces. His sister had seriously struck it rich.

“Come eat. These shrimp are fresh, bought just today,” Lin Mother said. She used to buy dead shrimp—they were cheaper. But earlier, at the supermarket downstairs, she’d hesitated and ended up buying live ones.

Lin Dahua reached out with his chopsticks, surprised that his mother didn’t smack his hand away like she used to. He quickly grabbed more shrimp and ribs.

“You look like a starving ghost reborn. No one’s stopping you from eating,” Lin Mother said, looking at her son. She used to give Yi Xiaoya extra food and let her son eat a little less—he was strong anyway and didn’t need the extra nutrition.

“…,” Lin Dahua chewed a few bites, but the food didn’t taste as good anymore. His sister had turned into a cousin now. Luckily, at least they were still blood-related.

—

At the Yi family main residence, Yi Yao had gone home to have dinner with his father. But the rest of the family had come back too—and all of them were staring at him.

Yi Yao acted like he didn’t notice the judgmental looks and quietly ate his meal.

“Where’s your daughter?” Old Master Yi asked.

“She went to visit her adoptive mother—her aunt,” Yi Yao replied.

“They lived together for so many years. Haven’t they seen enough of each other?” Old Master Yi said. “Tell her to come over.”

“Maybe next time,” Yi Yao said. “She’s shy around strangers.”

He pulled out a few photos of Yi Xiaoya from his pocket and placed them in front of the old man. “Dad, don’t forget to leave a share of the inheritance for your granddaughter. She’s your real, biological granddaughter. If you don’t believe it, we can get a DNA test.”

“So you’re here to fight for her inheritance?” Old Master Yi’s expression twisted. “You won’t even bring her here, and you want her to get a share?”

“I’m just worried someone might ‘accidentally’ get rid of her. Then they’d have a valid reason to inherit my assets. According to the Civil Code, if I have no legal heirs, then…” Yi Yao hadn’t even finished when one of his nephews nearly choked on his tea and started coughing violently.