Chapter 31 – Little Girl, I Owe You a Favor

By evening, Lin Xuefei returned home looking dejected.

Lin Xiaodou could tell at a glance that things hadn’t gone well.

No wonder—after all, the male lead had just lost a huge batch of supplies. He must’ve been in a foul mood. If the fake heiress ran over to cry to him again, he certainly wouldn’t have had the patience to comfort her.

During dinner—

Lin Zhengmin and Wu Ya got into an argument over a trivial matter.

Neither would back down, and the meal ended on a sour note.

Lin Xuefei, caught in the middle, couldn’t smooth things over and was nearly in tears from anxiety.

Wu Ya, already losing her patience, snapped, “What are you crying for! This is all your fault! And you still have the nerve to cry?!”

She’d gone shopping today and found that the old socialites who used to flatter her were all avoiding her.

After asking around, she learned that yesterday’s incident at the mall had already spread. Everyone was laughing at her.

Wu Ya hadn’t expected word to spread so quickly in just one night.

Good news never leaves the house, but bad news travels a thousand miles!

And at the root of it all was Lin Xuefei crashing into someone on her bike.

If it weren’t for trying to make Lin Xiaodou take the blame, Lin Xiaodou never would’ve entered the Lin household, and none of this would’ve happened!

For some reason, back when Xuefei hadn’t been exposed…

No matter what mistakes Xuefei made or how much trouble she caused, Wu Ya never lost patience with her—instead, she always remained tolerant.

But now that Xuefei wasn’t her real daughter, Wu Ya’s patience had worn thin.

Ultimately, blood ties still made a difference.

Yet she still couldn’t bring herself to like Lin Xiaodou.

This girl was just too ugly and rough—completely unlike the daughter she’d dreamed of.

Heaven really has a sense of humor. Why couldn’t it have given her a perfect biological daughter?

“You yelling at Xuefei for what? Don’t take your frustration out on the kid!” Lin Zhengmin scolded, far more rational than the impulsive Wu Ya.

He truly cared for Xuefei and also valued the benefits she could bring to the Lin family.

Hearing her husband’s words only made Wu Ya feel more stifled.

“I’m the elder here—can’t even discipline a child anymore?! Forget dinner! I’ve had it up to here!”

With that, Wu Ya threw down her chopsticks and stormed off.

Lin Xuefei burst into sobs.

Lin Zhengmin’s face darkened, casting an oppressive air over the room.

Lin Xiaodou, on the other hand, remained completely unaffected, eating leisurely.

See? Just two days ago, this household still seemed like a warm, loving family.

Was it that they’d had too smooth of a life, never facing real hardship?

No—it was simply their true natures being revealed.

Lin Zhengmin was hypocritical. Wu Ya was impulsive. Lin Xuefei was spoiled.

Previously, there’d been no conflicting interests, so they got along harmoniously.

But once Lin Xiaodou entered the scene and disrupted the still waters, everything fell apart.

The little things they used to overlook—once they started affecting each person personally—turned into barbs stabbing into their hearts.

Then those barbs festered, brewed, and eventually erupted into conflict.

Wu Ya was now in that exact state.

And this wasn’t the end.

Lin Xiaodou’s plan was to slowly dismantle the trust and affection between them.

To make every relationship shatter, until they were all abandoned and isolated, ending in misery.

Now that would be a satisfying revenge.

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Over the next two days, the atmosphere in the Lin household remained tense.

Lin Zhengmin and Wu Ya went off to work. Lin Xuefei locked herself in her room sulking.

With nothing better to do, Lin Xiaodou wandered the neighborhood.

Toward evening, she passed by a small park—

And encountered an elderly man with a worried expression.

He held a birdcage containing a green parrot.

The parrot didn’t look well—its head drooped, body limp, not moving in the cage.

The old man muttered anxiously, “Greeny, please eat something. I’m really getting scared here…”

Hearing him, the parrot forced its head up and let out a few weak squawks.

Lin Xiaodou paused.

She could communicate with animals, so naturally she understood what the bird was saying.

When it lifted its head to call out, she’d also sensed the issue it was having.

Thinking it over, Lin Xiaodou decided to help the poor parrot.

She stepped forward and spoke up:

“Sir, your parrot is sick. You should take it to a vet soon.”

The old man sighed, “I know it’s sick. I already took it to a vet yesterday, but they couldn’t figure out what was wrong.”

Lin Xiaodou said, “I’ve studied a bit of veterinary medicine myself. From what I read, parrots can’t eat a lot of things. Like mushrooms or beans, for example. Think back—did you feed it any of those recently?”

She intentionally guided his thoughts in that direction.

The old man slapped his thigh in realization.

“That’s it! My grandson was messing around a few days ago and fed it some beans! What should I do? Is it serious?”

Lin Xiaodou replied, “It’s not a big deal. Just an upset stomach. Go get some medicine from the vet and it’ll be fine.”

“Oh, thank you, young lady! I’ll go right away.”

He added, “Which family are you from? I’d like to come thank you properly.”

Lin Xiaodou politely declined, saying it was just a small favor.

“You don’t understand—you’ve helped me a lot.

This parrot was my father’s favorite. Before he fell ill and lapsed into a coma, he took Greeny out to the park every day.

If he wakes up and finds that I didn’t take good care of Greeny, he’ll whack me with his cane!”

As he said this, a hint of wistfulness and sorrow flashed in the old man’s eyes.

He paused, then smiled warmly at Lin Xiaodou.

“Little girl, I owe you a favor.

I live just around the corner. My surname is Wang—everyone calls me Professor Wang.

If you ever need anything, feel free to come find me.”