Chapter 5: Fighting Fire with Fire—Dealing with the Green Tea Mother and Daughter

As soon as Lin Qingyou returned to the Lin household, she could see from afar that the so-called family of three was having a warm and sweet dinner at the dining table.

Her stepmother, Wang Yalan, was lovingly serving food to her father, Lin Zhiwei.
“Zhiwei, you’ve been working so hard lately. I specially made your favorite black-bone chicken coconut soup. You should drink more.”

“You’ve worked hard, Yalan.”

“What are you saying? How is this hard work? Being able to take care of you is my greatest blessing in this lifetime.”

Father Lin was touched and gratefully held Wang Yalan’s hand. “Marrying a virtuous wife like you is the greatest blessing of my life.”

“Ew, Dad, Mom, you two are being way too mushy,” Lin Qingqing teased playfully.

“You child…” Wang Yalan shot Lin Qingqing a fond glare.

Lin Qingqing chuckled and acted cute. “Mom, I want some coconut soup too~”

She handed over her bowl in a spoiled manner, but before Wang Yalan could serve her, Father Lin had already scooped the soup for her with a big smile and even gave her a large chicken drumstick.

“Thank you, Daddy~” Lin Qingqing’s voice was extra sweet as she acted like a good girl.

Father Lin beamed even more and said lovingly, “You always talk about dieting, but a girl’s health is the most important thing. You should eat more.”

“Mm-hmm, Daddy, you’re right. I’ll listen to you.”

“You’re such a good girl, unlike your sister—so rebellious.”

Lin Qingyou let out a sneering chuckle at the scene.

Lin Qingqing was a popular young actress, but only because the Lin family had poured money into making her famous. Her looks and figure were actually quite mediocre in the entertainment industry.

To stand out, she had gone to extreme lengths to lose weight—so much so that she had developed anorexia.

And yet, just to please their father, she was now pretending to eat heartily.

“If you already know I’m rebellious, why did you call me back? Was it just to take a few jabs at me and show off your little family’s happy moments?”

“You—” Father Lin immediately grew angry. “What kind of attitude is that?”

Lin Qingyou responded, “I’m speaking normally. In Mandarin. In plain Chinese. If you don’t understand, I can try speaking in an alien language too—@&$!sb.”

Father Lin: “…”

“Lin. Qing. You!” Father Lin slammed the table in rage.

“Zhiwei, don’t be like this. Let’s talk it out calmly,” Wang Yalan quickly soothed him, then got up and walked toward Lin Qingyou.

She gently took Lin Qingyou’s hand. “Qingyou, you came back just in time. Come, sit down and eat.”

As soon as Lin Qingyou sat, Father Lin said, “All these dishes are your favorites. Your Aunt Yalan spent the whole afternoon cooking them. Shouldn’t you thank her?”

“They’re all my favorites?” Lin Qingyou pointed at the scallions and bitter melon in front of her. “I’ve hated ginger and bitter melon since I was little. Why are they on the table?”

Wang Yalan’s expression stiffened, but she quickly forced an awkward smile. “Oh dear, I must’ve sprinkled the ginger out of habit. As for the bitter melon, your father’s been having heat symptoms lately, so I made it to help him cool down.”

Lin Qingyou picked up her chopsticks, then put them down again. “Tsk tsk tsk… Every dish is full of ginger bits. Aunt Yalan, you sure were ‘habitual’ a lot of times.”

Wang Yalan: “…”

“I’m so sorry, Qingyou. I really forgot. Let me pick them out for you,” Wang Yalan said apologetically as she started removing the ginger.

Father Lin shot Lin Qingyou a glare. “Aunt Yalan is your elder.”

Lin Qingyou smirked. “And isn’t it an elder’s duty to take care of the younger ones?”

Father Lin: “…”

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Wang Yalan continued smiling while picking out the ginger.

But Lin Qingqing couldn’t hold back anymore. “Mom, why are you giving in to her so much? She’s just bullying you because she knows you’re kind!”

“Bullying?” Lin Qingyou pointed at the shrimp shells in front of Lin Qingqing. “Daddy peeled those shrimp for you, didn’t he?”

Lin Qingqing lifted her chin smugly and taunted, “That’s right. Daddy dotes on me the most~”

Lin Qingyou suddenly turned to stare at Father Lin. “Daddy dotes on me the most?”

Father Lin’s chopsticks froze mid-air.

Lin Qingyou continued, “Qingqing isn’t your biological daughter, but you’re willing to peel shrimp for her. I’m not Aunt Yalan’s biological daughter, so why can’t she pick ginger out for me? Or… has Aunt Yalan never seen me as her daughter?”

“…”

Her words instantly made the atmosphere awkward and silenced everyone.

“Daddy, you treat a non-biological daughter as your own. So why can’t Aunt Yalan do the same for me?” Lin Qingyou looked pitifully at Father Lin. “Don’t you agree?”

Ha… Who doesn’t know how to play the pity game?

Sure enough, Father Lin immediately turned to Wang Yalan, his tone displeased. “This is the last time. Don’t let it happen again.”

Wang Yalan looked aggrieved. “I really didn’t mean it. Yesterday, you and Qingyou had an argument, and she didn’t come home all night. I was worried sick. I was so distracted while cooking that I accidentally sprinkled in the ginger.”

Just like that, she shifted the blame onto Lin Qingyou.

Father Lin immediately questioned, “Why didn’t you come home last night? Where did you go?”

At that, Lin Qingyou turned her gaze to Lin Qingqing and said meaningfully, “Why don’t we let little sister answer that?”

“Qingqing?” Father Lin looked at Lin Qingqing in confusion. “You knew where your sister was? Why didn’t you tell me yesterday?”

“I…” Lin Qingqing’s face turned guilty.

Father Lin suddenly noticed her swollen cheek. “Your face is a little puffy… It looks like someone hit you.”

“It was my sister—”

Lin Qingqing was about to tattle, but Lin Qingyou suddenly wrapped an arm around her shoulders and lightly touched her swollen cheek.

“Oh my, it really is swollen. Who hit you? They sure did a great job—so symmetrical and neat.”

Lin Qingqing: “…”

Lin Qingyou grinned and gazed at Lin Qingqing’s enraged face. “Good sister, why are you looking at me like that? Were you about to say that I hit you?”

“Nonsense!” Father Lin scolded Lin Qingqing. “Even if Qingyou is unreliable, I believe she’d never do such a thing!”

Lin Qingyou’s smile deepened. “Daddy, you know me best.”

Lin Qingqing was about to explode in anger, but Wang Yalan quickly stopped her with a warning glare.

Lin Qingyou then turned to Father Lin and said, “Yesterday, Qingqing prepared a huge birthday surprise for me. Daddy, do you want to know what your good daughter gifted me?”

“What did she give you?” Father Lin was genuinely curious.

Lin Qingyou smirked. “Qingqing, why don’t you tell Daddy?”

“She… she…”

Should she say she tried to set her up with Yin Hanyu for a one-night stand?

Thinking about it, Lin Qingqing was furious.

She abruptly stood up and yelled, “Lin Qingyou, you b*tch! Do you really need to keep flaunting your relationship with Han—”

Father Lin’s face darkened. “What did you just say?”

And just like that, the situation completely reversed…