Chapter 13 – Let’s Die Together as One Big Happy Family

“You shameless thing! Now that you’ve climbed up the social ladder, you look down on us, huh?” Lin’s mother sneered. “You couldn’t even handle Commander Lu, and now you’re thinking of landing another man? You? Seriously?”

“I knew it,” Lin’s grandmother spat on the ground in disgust. “Like mother, like daughter. Your mother was no good, and you turned out just the same. I never should’ve let you marry Commander Lu in the first place. You’re not worthy of him!”

Lin Shuqiao’s gaze remained calm, her lips curled into a cold smile. “Grandma, all these years I’ve done my duty as your granddaughter.”

“But you people, with all your shamelessness, might want to ask yourselves—are you even worthy?”

Lin’s mother grew furious. “We’re shameless? It’s because you’ve always wanted to hurt your younger brother that we had to protect him! How is that our fault?!”

Staring at her mother who always defended her brother, Lin Shuqiao suddenly recalled the past.

Ever since the family split into separate households, Lin’s grandmother took full control of the family finances.

She didn’t like Lin’s mother and strongly favored boys over girls.

Lin’s mother, though oppressed, was heavily influenced by the old woman—and she, too, adopted the same sexist mindset. To her, men were always superior.

From the moment Lin Shuqiao was born a girl, her mother never once treated her kindly.

Her younger sister was weak and obedient. With Lin Shuqiao there as a scapegoat, her mother rarely picked on the younger one.

And as for the youngest son—he was notoriously spoiled. The moment things didn’t go his way, he’d throw a tantrum.

She remembered when she had just gotten married—her mother still wore a smile, bringing along bags of items to visit her.

Her first reaction back then had been: They’re broke again and here to ask for money.

During one visit home, her mother had worn a fake smile and said, “Oh my daughter, you’re finally back! It’s been so long. You didn’t bring any money?”

That was one of the rare times her mother ever smiled at her.

And another time—her “precious” younger brother came to visit. He pulled out a few moldy bags of coarse grain and, nose in the air, said, “Mom brought these from the village for you. They’re super nutritious! When are you going to send money back?”

Back in her previous life, when she divorced Lu Zheng, her family threw a huge tantrum.

But thinking about it now, Lin Shuqiao couldn’t help but laugh at herself—they weren’t upset because she had suffered, but because they had lost their meal ticket.

In their eyes, her only value had been in bringing Lu Zheng’s money home. They’d have emptied out the entire Lu household if they could.

She suddenly felt she’d truly let Lu Zheng down.

Before she could process it further, Lin’s grandmother had already stepped up, glared at her, and said, “Longlong is about to turn eighteen. Time to talk marriage!”

“You’ll pay the bride price. Once you do, we’ll leave.”

Lin Shuqiao glanced at Lin Long. “With his attitude, he thinks he can get married?”

A mocking smile played on her lips.

“Besides, he’s only seventeen. Planning a marriage now—what, worried no one will want him later?”

“You just want to doom our family line, don’t you?!”

As soon as they heard Lin Long being insulted, the entire family exploded with anger.

Lin’s mother snapped, “You weren’t much older when you got married! If it weren’t for your youth, would Lu Zheng have taken you?!”

“Enough with the act,” Lin Shuqiao said coldly, completely out of patience.

“I suggest you give up on this idea now! Underage marriages are illegal. And even if they weren’t—I have no money, and even if I did, I wouldn’t give you a cent.” Her voice was icy and resolute.

“You ungrateful wretch! Can’t you think about your brother for once?!” Lin’s mother shouted, her expression darkening. “He’s almost eighteen! If you don’t help now, he might miss out on a great match!”

“A great match? Him? Not in this lifetime.” Lin Shuqiao, seeing they wouldn’t let it go, simply opened her hands. “I have no money. And even if I did—I still wouldn’t give it to you.”

“Give it up already. Stop wasting time on me,” Lin Shuqiao said coolly. “You’d be better off harvesting some wheat—you might get enough to buy him a couple of eggs.”

In an instant, the Lin family’s faces contorted in shock.

None of them could believe this was the same Lin Shuqiao who used to obey their every word.

What had gotten into her?

“You ungrateful brat!” Lin’s mother roared. “The only reason we let you marry Lu Zheng was because you were getting older! We worked so hard to raise you, and now you look down on us?!”

“Ungrateful?” Lin Shuqiao shot back. “Did you ever ask how I was doing after I married into the Lu family? Every time you visited, it was just for money! My life has nothing to do with you people!”

Her heart ached, but after so long, she was already numb. In her previous life, she had truly cared about them.

But she reaped what she sowed, and now she’d changed for good.

“Lin Long once broke a bowl and blamed it on me. You all believed him and beat me.”

“He stole eggs and blamed me. That winter, you made me stand outside in a single layer of clothing.”

“If I hadn’t been lucky, I’d have frozen to death! And you? You hovered around him like he was made of glass! And now you expect me to help him?”

“You…” Lin’s mother’s face twisted in anger.

The next second, she lunged forward, grabbed Lin Shuqiao by the hair, and slapped her hard across the face.

“You’ve gone too far!” she screamed. “I gave birth to you! Raised you! If I tell you to give money, you give it! Who do you think you are?!”

Lin Shuqiao grabbed her mother’s wrist in return, her grip strong, looking down at her with a bitter chill in her heart. She used to think that by meeting their demands, they might actually care about her.

Looking back now, she realized: it wasn’t the Lin family who were laughable—it was her past self.

Lin’s mother, humiliated by the lack of resistance, flew into a rage and clawed at Lin Shuqiao, scratching her face and hitting her head, screaming all the while.

“I must have been blind to give birth to you! You’ll never get away from us! All the money you ever make belongs to us!”

Lin Shuqiao held her wrist tightly. Her grip was so strong that Lin’s mother cried out in pain.

Suddenly, Lin’s mother collapsed to her knees, pretending to be the victim. She sobbed and howled at the top of her lungs. “She hit me! This ungrateful wretch hit her own mother! I should’ve never given birth to her!”

Lin Long, seeing the opportunity, helped his mother up, adding fuel to the fire. “Mom, you poor thing. We’re so pitiful. How did we raise something like her? We poured everything into her, and she turned on us!”

It was as if the whole family was performing in some twisted show of “harmony”—disgusting in its hypocrisy. Lin Shuqiao truly no longer belonged among them.

She watched coldly, thinking: Let’s see how long they can wail. At least I shut the door earlier—no one else has to witness this mess.

This family’s hearts had rotted long ago.

Lin’s mother cried harder, rolling around on the ground, shrieking and hurling insults at her.

“What a sin! How did I raise such a useless, money-draining wretch?!”

…

Lin Shuqiao stared at her mother’s performance with a blank expression.

“She wants us both dead! No conscience at all! She hit her own mother!”

Listening to their howling, even the most patient person would’ve snapped.

As Lin’s mother continued rolling on the floor, screaming and cursing, Lin Shuqiao suddenly let out a cold, unreadable smile—and moved.

“Dead?” she said. “Fine. In that case, why don’t we all die together? One big happy family!”

She rushed into the kitchen, grabbed a vegetable knife, and charged out like a madwoman—swinging it right at Lin Long.

“You’re insane!”