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Lin Qingqing naturally wouldn’t let this go and immediately went home to complain.
Lin Qingyou had barely exchanged a few words with Gu Xi before she received a call from her father.
After hanging up, Lin Qingyou remained silent for a long time.
“Did I make things difficult for you again…?” Gu Xi asked, feeling a little guilty.
But really, it was never her fault.
She was just shooting a promotional video when Lin Qingqing barged in and started causing trouble.
She had had enough.
“It’s nothing, Xixi, don’t think that way…”
“Then why do you suddenly seem unhappy?”
Lin Qingyou paused, then sighed while hugging Gu Xi. “Xixi, I’m sorry. I finally understand now why you were so mad at me back then.”
She and Gu Xi had been best friends for over a decade.
But in her past life, because she saw Lin Qingqing as a younger sister, she always tried to mediate between the two, never wanting to offend either side.
“And now, my karma has come…” Lin Qingyou said. “My dad is doing the same thing now.”
“He called me back home, and I don’t even need to think—I already know what he’s going to say.”
It was nothing more than telling her to be more generous, to get along well with Lin Qingqing, and so on.
But the closer a person is to you, the more you desire their undivided love and support.
Gu Xi had felt that way about her back then.
And now, she felt the same way about her father.
But she wasn’t as resolute as Gu Xi had been.
In truth, Gu Xi had been right.
This kind of compromising love—if you don’t cut it off, it will only bring endless trouble.
This kind of compromising love is not worth having.
Sure enough, as soon as Lin Qingyou returned to the Gu family home, she saw Lin Qingqing acting pitiful, throwing herself into Wang Yalan’s arms, while her father paced anxiously in the living room, looking troubled.
Lin Qingyou pretended not to know why. “Dad, you suddenly called me back. What’s the matter?”
“Are you trying to kick Qingqing out of the company?”
Lin Qingyou nodded.
“Why?”
Before Lin Qingyou could answer, her father grabbed her hand. “Youyou, Qingqing is your sister. Sisters should get along well.”
“Youyou, you’ve always been kind to other girls. Why are you treating your own sister like this?”
“And what exactly have I done?”
Lin Qingyou looked up at her father. “From a business standpoint, Lin Qingqing brings no value to the company. The resources invested in her haven’t yielded any returns.”
“Her looks, her figure, her acting skills, and her personality—she has no advantage in the entertainment industry.”
“My company is here to make money, not to do charity work.”
“You…” Lin Qingqing was just about to argue when Wang Yalan shot her a warning glare.
Lin Qingyou, you dare look down on my daughter? I’ll make you pay for this.
Go ahead, despise her. The more you despise her, the more your father will think you’re cold-hearted and cruel.
The more pitiful Lin Qingqing seems, the more your father will dote on her.
Because that’s the kind of man Lin Zhiwei is.
Back then, after being looked down upon and humiliated by the Xiao family, he finally worked hard to rise up.
Who knows what kind of opportunity he seized… He barely made a name for himself, only for his wife to pass away.
He had no one left to prove himself to.
So now, every time Lin Qingqing played the weak and pitiful card, Lin Zhiwei would soften and feel protective of her.
Because through her, he could finally feel strong, finally be the man of the house.
“From a personal standpoint…” Lin Qingyou decided to stop pretending. “I don’t like her. Seeing her in the company makes me unhappy.”
“You…” Lin Zhiwei choked on his words.
He never expected Lin Qingyou to be so blunt.
This made him feel even more conflicted.
Wang Yalan and Lin Qingqing immediately started their act.
“Qingqing, what terrible thing did you do that made your sister hate you so much? Apologize to her!”
“I didn’t do anything! How am I supposed to apologize?”
“You dare argue?” Wang Yalan raised her hand as if to hit Lin Qingqing.
Lin Qingqing cried pitifully, covering her face. “I really didn’t do anything… That promotional video Gu Xi was shooting was originally mine. I don’t know why my sister suddenly gave it to Gu Xi.”
“So I went to ask Gu Xi about it. But who would have thought…” Lin Qingqing covered her face even more dramatically. “That Gu Xi would hit me.”
“When my sister arrived, instead of helping me, she hit me too.”
“Mom, look at my face. It’s swollen… Wuuu wuuu…”
Wang Yalan turned to Lin Zhiwei in shock, then looked at Lin Qingyou.
“Qingyou, did you really hit Qingqing?”
“I did.”
Lin Qingyou deliberately looked her father in the eyes as she answered.
“You…” Lin Zhiwei instinctively raised his hand. “How could you hit your sister? That’s too much!”
Lin Qingyou deliberately lifted her chin, as if offering her face for him to slap.
But when Lin Zhiwei saw the defiant look in her eyes, he hesitated and didn’t strike.
“How could you hit your sister?” Lin Zhiwei said instead. “She’s your sister!”
“I don’t have a sister.” Lin Qingyou stared straight into his eyes. “My mother only gave birth to one daughter. Where would I get a sister from?”
“You…”
Before Lin Zhiwei could respond, Wang Yalan burst into tears. “Zhiwei, don’t scold Qingyou. You absolutely must not scold her, let alone hit her.”
“She’s right. She’s your real daughter. In the end, Qingqing and I are just outsiders…”
Tears streamed down her face as she took Lin Qingqing’s hand. “Qingqing, go pack your things. We’re leaving. We’ll just leave.”
“Mom…”
“Go pack your things now!”
“Yalan…” Lin Zhiwei rushed to stop Wang Yalan.
She suddenly threw herself into his arms, sobbing. “Zhiwei, meeting you has been the greatest blessing of my life.”
“Before I leave, let me hug you one last time.”
“Yalan, don’t say that. No one is making you leave. I won’t let you leave.”
“Zhiwei, I’ve always been a lowly woman. You’re the one who took me in, who gave Qingqing and me a home.”
“A warm, happy home that we never had before.”
“If it weren’t for you, I would have starved or frozen to death by now…”
“Yalan…” Lin Zhiwei immediately embraced her, his heart aching.
She was a miserable woman. In the past, she had struggled to run a small restaurant, barely making a living.
But she was even worse off than him—her meager earnings from selling dumplings were stolen by her gambling addict ex-husband, who also beat her.
“Zhiwei, being with you has been the happiest time of my life…”
“My only happiness in this life has come from you.”
“So I don’t want to make things difficult for you…”
“Yalan…”
“Zhiwei, I’m sorry for always putting you in the middle, between your real daughter and us outsiders… I’m really, really sorry…”
She wept, full of emotion.
Lin Qingyou, however, could barely keep herself from rolling her eyes.
What an act.
She could put on a show too.
But she was tired of pretending.
Her father was no longer just her father.
This kind of love, full of acting, pretending, and exhausting struggles… was too tiring.
She didn’t want to waste energy on it anymore.
Today, she wasn’t going to pretend.
If her father chose Wang Yalan and Lin Qingqing, then she could finally give up.
Because despite all the chances she had given him after being reborn, he still chose to stay neutral.
The answer was already clear.
She wouldn’t deceive herself anymore.