Chapter 10: An Unexpected Encounter with Little Aunt

In the original host’s memory, this little aunt, only three years older than her, had always been like a bright ray of moonlight.

White moonlight doesn’t have to be a prince on a white horse—it can be a gentle aunt who remains untainted by the filth around her.

Lin Xiaqing never expected the flood of memories from the original host to stir up such a complex and emotional reaction to one person. Seeing the little aunt she hadn’t seen in years, she was instinctively overjoyed, almost to the point of dancing. But from her outsider’s perspective, Lin Xiaqing couldn’t help but remain guarded.

She hadn’t forgotten how the original host had died. The Wang Aixian family—none of them were good people. Lin Shurong was the only one among that group of vicious-hearted individuals to make it to college, proving she wasn’t stupid. Under the same roof, the mother and daughter had lived a life worse than that of pigs and dogs for over a decade, while Lin Shurong had grown up showered in love, excelling in both academics and character. In a basket of rotten tomatoes, one good one? No one would believe it. Who knew whether she was truly kind or just pretending?

The roles seemed to have reversed now. The once-cold Lin Shurong came to life at the sight of her long-lost niece, her icy face blooming with genuine joy and warmth. Meanwhile, Lin Xiaqing’s expression gradually turned distant.

“Xia?” Lin Shurong stepped forward, grabbing Lin Xiaqing’s hand with enthusiasm. “What are you doing here? Where’s your mom? Have you two been doing okay all these years?”

Lin Xiaqing kept her face cold, unable to respond to these seemingly innocent yet painfully probing questions.

They’re in the hospital—how good could things be?

Fang Heping, the man next to them, was thoroughly confused. Who was this girl? His icy girlfriend never showed him much emotion, and now she was beaming at this little girl like sunshine. It unsettled him. Thinking about how he’d just barked at her moments ago, he figured his girlfriend must be pissed.

He straightened up immediately, smoothing the wrinkles out of his navy-blue shirt and wiping the smug look off his face, replacing it with a wide, apologetic grin. He flashed his pearly whites like a dog trying to please.

He whispered to Lin Shurong, “Who’s this? Your girlfriend? Damn, my eyes are bad. Well, I guess we got off on the wrong foot. Come on, let’s not crowd the restaurant door. Let’s all have dinner together. I really need to make it up to this young lady.”

Lin Shurong rolled her eyes. “She’s my niece, my second brother’s daughter.”

Then she added pointedly, “My real second brother’s child. Not some distant cousin or something.”

The more serious Lin Shurong became, the more Fang Heping wanted to slap himself back to a minute ago.

So she was real family. And Shurong, who never let him meet a single relative before, was now introducing this one so earnestly? That had to mean this girl was someone especially dear to her. What a perfect opportunity to score points—and he blew it.

Fang Heping felt a little wronged. He’d just been venting at a random passerby because Shurong had barely spoken to him all day. He’d begged for this dinner, and she still said she had to work overtime after eating and wouldn’t go to the movies with him. He had even bought park tickets after the movie—planning a whole romantic night! But now all his plans were ruined. In a fit of frustration, he lashed out—and ended up smacking himself instead.

Still, his thick skin saved him. He grinned and said, “Ah, my dear niece! I thought you looked familiar. Like aunt, like niece—both so pretty!”

Lin Xiaqing didn’t say a word, lips tightly pressed into a firm, cold line—but at least she didn’t hate him now. He wasn’t a total menace, just a firecracker in a bad mood.

Lin Shurong asked Fang Heping to go inside and order. Her gaze on Lin Xiaqing was overflowing with affection. She said warmly, “You’ve grown taller and prettier. It’s been over two years since we last met.”

Lin Shurong hadn’t dared ask too much about her sister-in-law. Last spring, her father passed away. She received the telegram while in school, and it felt like her world collapsed. After years of hard study, she was finally about to graduate and earn a good salary so her parents could enjoy life—but then her father died.

A sudden cold snap took him away.

Lin Shurong regretted not coming home for the New Year that year. She’d been busy with internships in Beijing, hoping to build a strong résumé for a better job placement. By the time she returned home, her father had already been buried. Everything was different.

Aside from losing her father, the biggest change was that the west wing of the house had become her nephew Lin Qinghui’s room. Her second sister-in-law and niece were gone.

Her mother claimed they had moved out and that the sister-in-law had remarried.

Lin Shurong was stunned. Her second sister-in-law had always been quiet, had waited nearly twenty years for her husband, who had gone to Xinjiang. Why would she suddenly remarry?

Her mother, crying in front of her father’s memorial tablet, cursed, “As soon as the old man died, that vixen couldn’t wait! She ran off with another man before your father’s body was even cold!”

Her older sister-in-law chimed in, “She was probably fooling around long before that. Otherwise, how would she have left so quickly after your dad died? She wanted out the moment the head of the family was gone.”

Lin Shurong was speechless. Her second brother had chosen to go to Xinjiang—how was that his wife’s fault?

She knew her sister-in-law wasn’t the person they claimed she was. That woman was gentle, kind, and quietly strong. She raised the whole family, cooking, cleaning, and caring. She even helped raise Lin Shurong, reading comics to her and braiding her hair.

To Lin Shurong, there was no “big sister-in-law is like a mother,” only second sister-in-law was like a mother.

She hated how her older sister-in-law slandered her. Her mother never saw people clearly and always sided with the wrong ones.

In her heart, Lin Shurong accepted her sister-in-law’s remarriage quickly. While others cursed her, she secretly felt happy for her. Why should a woman waste her life for a heartless man? Her sister-in-law deserved happiness.

She wanted to ask if the second sister-in-law was doing well—but didn’t dare.

She knew the Lin family owed that woman too much. Especially her second brother, whom she had once admired more than anyone.

If she learned her sister-in-law wasn’t doing well—even a little—it would crush her.

She imagined a hundred possible outcomes—joyful, sorrowful, hopeful, angry. But not this one.

Lin Xiaqing stared at her and said coldly, “Don’t you know? After Grandpa died, Wang Aixian kicked me and my mom out of the house. We weren’t even allowed to take bedding. The old house leaks rain and wind. Last winter was unbearable. My mom’s chest infection turned into severe pleurisy. She’s still in the hospital, having fluid drained every day.”

Lin Shurong felt as if a fishbone was stuck in her throat—she couldn’t speak. Her mother and sister-in-law had told a big lie just to shut her up.

She pinched her wrist tightly. Her own family was terrifying.

Lin Xiaqing saw her reaction and finally understood: no one had the full picture. Thankfully, she hadn’t continued blaming a good person and hurting a kind heart.

Fang Heping, watching from the side, was dumbfounded. In under an hour, he had seen more emotion on his girlfriend’s face than ever before. She could laugh, cry, be vulnerable. She wasn’t a cold goddess—she was a real, fragile woman.

He thought she was adorable. But he also sensed that future mother-in-law and older sister-in-law weren’t exactly… good people.

After dinner, Lin Xiaqing no longer had any resentment toward Lin Shurong. The original host had always been close to her, and the warmth of their reunion felt sincere. Lin Xiaqing now called her “Little Aunt” affectionately.

In this vast world, she cherished even the smallest shred of true family affection.

What’s the point of life? To be happy, to love and be loved. In her past life, she had no one. In this one, maybe it was the heavens’ way of making things right.

As the two walked ahead, Fang Heping hurried out after paying the bill.

Lin Xiaqing leaned close to whisper to Lin Shurong, “Little Aunt, do you even like him?”

Lin Shurong narrowed her eyes and smirked. “Him? …He’s just a fool.”

Turning to look, they saw Fang Heping juggling two strings of red sausages, practically trying to wrap them around his waist.

Lin Xiaqing stifled a laugh. He wasn’t dumb. She’d just stood at the window staring at those sausages—and now the man was doing everything he could to please his girlfriend’s beloved niece.

This kind of tactful, generous uncle?

+10 points!