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“Ting’er, you’ve been wronged!”
“Mom, Dad, your brother and sister-in-law are all here to stand up for you!”
Before Lin Ting could even react, her mother rushed forward and pulled her into a tight hug.
She instinctively patted her mother’s shoulder, her emotions flooding over her. Tears welled up in her eyes.
“Mom, I finally see you again!”
In her previous life, after her family was taken away, she never saw them again—not even until the day she died.
Now they were standing before her, alive and well. It confirmed without a doubt:
She really had been reborn.
In this life, she would protect her family at all costs!
“Ting’er, don’t worry. With us here, no one will dare bully you!”
If not for his wife holding him back, her brother Lin Yan would’ve already rushed over to beat Chen Li to a pulp!
Father Lin Weichen silently stepped up to Chen Li. Although Chen Li tried to stiffen his back in the presence of his former teacher, it was no use—
Professor Lin slapped him hard across the face.
Blood trickled from the corner of Chen Li’s mouth.
Glaring resentfully, he yelled, “Why did you hit me? Just because I won’t marry the daughter of a capitalist family?”
Lin Professor’s response? Another loud slap. Chen Li was stunned, and Li Haitang, sitting beside him, didn’t even dare to breathe.
Professor Lin looked down on them with disdain and scoffed,
“I misjudged your character—how could I have recommended someone like you to the agricultural machinery institute?”
Turning to Director Yang, he said:
“Director Yang, I apologize for my mistake.”
Without waiting for Yang’s reply, he added,
“Since the engagement between Chen Li and my daughter was only a verbal agreement, then we’ll dissolve it verbally as well.”
“From this moment on, Lin Ting and Chen Li are no longer engaged. From now on, they go their separate ways.”
Mother Lin followed up:
“Since the engagement is off, then Chen Comrade, please return the engagement gifts—a Shanghai-brand wristwatch and a Phoenix-brand bicycle.”
“Also, the Zhongshan suit you’re wearing right now was a gift from me. Kindly take that off as well.”
Chen Li’s face turned pale. His undershirt had been patched multiple times, and his underwear was sewn from a urea fertilizer sack—he couldn’t possibly be seen in them!
His voice cracked, “I didn’t bring a change of clothes… I’ll go home, change, and return everything later.”
But Mother Lin snapped,
“You should be grateful we’re not making you compensate us with new items. Take them off— right now!”
He dared to humiliate her daughter in public? She’d make sure he tasted public humiliation himself.
Lin Ting and her sister-in-law quietly turned their backs. Lin Yan stormed forward and started stripping off Chen Li’s clothes without hesitation.
With a nod from Director Yang, a few bystanders came in to help undress him.
Before long, Chen Li’s Zhongshan suit was taken off, revealing his worn-out patched undershirt and sackcloth underwear.
The shiny wristwatch on his wrist was also removed.
Chen Li burned with shame and fury,
“You people are going too far!”
“I’m going to report this to the police!”
Lin Ting, who had stayed quiet for a while, finally snapped.
With one kick, she knocked Chen Li to his knees.
“Go ahead!”
“You cheat on your fiancée and still act this shameless? You’re the first I’ve ever seen!”
Mother Lin echoed,
“Exactly! Messing around with men and women will get you publicly criticized!”
“If he doesn’t call the police, we will!”
Chen Li, who had been reborn, suddenly felt a chill of terror.
“No! Don’t!”
He knew better than anyone that in this era, no one cared about proof. People thrived on public struggle sessions, especially for those involved in “improper relationships.”
He had witnessed the public criticism of Lin Ting’s family in his previous life and couldn’t imagine enduring the same fate himself.
In desperation, he lashed out,
“If you dare report me, then I’ll tell the authorities the truth—your daughter lost her virginity before marriage!”
“Even if I die, I’ll drag someone down with me!”
Lin Ting looked at Chen Li in disbelief.
This—this was his true face.
Her eyes turned red, fists clenched tight, and without warning, she lunged at him like a wild wolf.
Screaming and punching mercilessly, she beat Chen Li to the ground. His cries of pain echoed as he curled into a ball on the floor.
Everyone in the room gasped.
No one dared intervene.
Even the Lin family, watching from the side, hesitated.
Reporting him to the authorities now seemed dangerous—their own family situation was still precarious.
They feared opportunists waiting to take them down would seize any excuse. For now, it was best to lay low.
As long as the official notice of punishment hadn’t been issued, there was still a chance to find Lin Ting a new future.
After a moment of silence, Professor Lin said solemnly,
“For Director Yang’s sake, we’ll let him off this time.”
He looked at Director Yang and added,
“Old Yang, we’ll leave him to you. Handle him however you see fit.”
Then he gave Yang Kunming a thankful look. Yang nodded in acknowledgment, understanding the message.
Once the Lin family left, Director Yang told someone to bring Chen Li clean clothes.
He noticed the hatred in Chen Li’s eyes and said coldly,
“You were in the wrong from the beginning. If you liked another woman, why didn’t you tell Professor Lin earlier?”
“This kind of disgrace and betrayal—is this how you repay him?”
Chen Li’s mouth twitched. Hatred surged through him, and he let out a bitter laugh,
“If I were born into a family like his, I’d be far more successful than he ever was!”
Director Yang’s voice turned frosty,
“Didn’t you say you hated capitalists?”
“Now you’re jealous of their sons?”
Chen Li denied it immediately, “I didn’t say that!”
Ignoring him, Director Yang said flatly:
“Due to your misconduct, you are to be publicly criticized, issued a major demerit, and disqualified from any promotion or honors for the next six months.
Hand in a 10,000-character self-reflection by tomorrow.”
Chen Li didn’t take it seriously.
In the future, he vowed, he would repay this humiliation tenfold and trample Director Yang underfoot.
Meanwhile, back home, Lin Ting locked the courtyard gate from the inside, then strode straight to the Guest Pine tree in the yard. She grabbed a small iron shovel and started digging.
Father Lin looked puzzled,
“Ting’er, what are you doing?”
Lin Ting motioned for silence and kept digging.
Soon, a familiar book came into view.
When Father Lin saw the title, his expression froze. His heart pounded wildly.
The rest of the family came closer, and when they saw the book, their faces changed dramatically.
Lin Ting looked around, then picked up the copy of Das Kapital, tucked it under her clothes, and strode into the kitchen.
In front of everyone, she burned it.
In her past life, this book had ruined her entire family.
Her father, once a respected academic, couldn’t bear the labor camp’s cruelty and committed suicide by burning coal.
Her mother, overwhelmed with grief, died soon after.
Her sister-in-law was assaulted by fellow prisoners and died setting herself and them on fire.
Her brother was beaten to death trying to get justice.
Her two nieces went missing…
Now, standing in this moment with her family still alive, Lin Ting vowed—
In this life, she would defy fate and protect her loved ones at all costs.