Chapter 116: Lin Jingyue, I Am Your Father

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The cotton-padded jacket on him was old and tattered, blackened with grime. He was gaunt, too—his cheeks sunken, his eyes hollowed out, his spirit utterly broken.

One glance told you he had been through torment.

Lin Jingyue was howling with laughter inside, but her face remained perfectly solemn. "You can't possibly be my father!"

The passersby nearby took a few looks and nodded in agreement.

"A father who looks like that could never have produced such a beautiful daughter? Who's he trying to fool?"

"Exactly, exactly. This girl clearly comes from a well-off family. Could this be some poor relative trying to claim kinship?"

"Look at the way he eats—utterly disgraceful. And he claims to be her father? Pah, shameless."

"Shameless!"

Lin father was fuming, smoke practically pouring from his ears. Especially when he looked at Lin Jingyue, standing there all smiles, his mind drifted back to Wu Huixian, who had always looked down at him with such lofty disdain.

Whenever she wore that expression, she was like an unattainable white swan, and he was nothing but a toad on the ground.

Pah.

Who was more noble than who? Weren't they the same?

Lin Jingyue smiled. Seeing everyone pointing fingers at Lin father filled her with satisfaction.

She seized the moment of chaos and turned to leave.

Lin father kept his head lowered the whole time, and only when the crowd had finished cursing him did he turn and head back, his expression dark and grim.

Lin Jingyue—that unfilial, ungrateful little wolf!

"Cursing me in your heart, are you?"

The sudden voice startled Lin father so badly he pressed himself against the wall. He looked in terror at Lin Jingyue, who had emerged from the corner. "How did you know?!"

His voice cracked.

Lin Jingyue let out a scoff. "That's all the nerve you've got."

"Lin Jingyue, I'm your father!" The hand he pointed at her was trembling.

"Oh, I never said you weren't." Lin Jingyue was indifferent.

"Ungrateful wretch, unfilial daughter, you—" Under Lin Jingyue's icy, piercing gaze, Lin father's voice unconsciously trailed off.

"There's something I want to talk to you about. Let's go over there." Lin Jingyue's eyes narrowed slightly as she gestured toward the depths of the alley.

"Lin Jingyue, I'm your old man, you—"

"Enough. You keep repeating the same line over and over. Annoying as hell." Lin Jingyue cut him off irritably.

"If you don't come, I'll break Lin Xinjian's legs and leave him crippled for life, a bachelor forever. Your family line will end with him." Her voice was cold and sinister.

That must be Lin father's weak spot—Lin Xinjian was his only son.

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"You—" Sure enough, Lin father's face changed.

"Let's go." Lin Jingyue hummed a little tune, hands in her pockets. So he had his vulnerabilities after all.

Those twins really were the apples of his eye.

Lin father watched Lin Jingyue's retreating back with venom in his eyes. Remembering everything she had done over the years, he had no choice but to follow.

She really was capable of following through.

"My mother died suddenly. Did you have something to do with it?" Lin Jingyue whirled around, fixing her gaze on Lin father's eyes.

Caught off guard, panic flashed through his eyes. He raised his voice in denial. "What nonsense are you talking? Your mother died protecting factory property, you—"

"So it really was connected to you." Lin Jingyue's eyes narrowed dangerously.

Lin father's pupils contracted sharply. "She got herself killed!"

"But as I recall, originally it wasn't supposed to be her. You were the one who should have made that trip."

"I—"

Seeing his reaction, Lin Jingyue understood everything. She suddenly shot out her hand and seized Lin father by the throat. "Fine. Just fine. You're tired of living, you piece of shit!"

A surge of malice flooded through her in that moment—she genuinely felt the urge to strangle the man before her.

"Do you hate her that much?"

With his windpipe cut off, Lin father's face flushed red. "I... I didn't..."

"Who put you up to it? The Wu family? Or... someone from the capital?" Lin Jingyue didn't bother listening to his excuses. This heartless, conscience-less thing didn't deserve to be called human.

As her words fell, she indeed saw unprecedented panic and terror in Lin father's eyes.

Lin Jingyue was instantly certain.

Her gaze darkened, and her fingers unconsciously tightened. "In that case, go die then."

Lin father's scalp prickled. She really meant to kill him!

Fortunately, at the last moment, she held onto a sliver of reason. Lin Jingyue flung him away.

Lin father crashed to the ground, curling his body inward as he scrambled backward.

He stared at Lin Jingyue in abject terror.

"You, please, don't come near me. I... it wasn't me. I just... I only swapped times with her... It was Old Madam Wu, your grandmother, your grandmother who made me do it. I..."

Listening to his words, Lin Jingyue felt a pang in her heart. A flicker of disbelief rose in her eyes, followed quickly by dawning understanding.

Old Madam Wu. That old hag!

"I didn't... think she would die. I really didn't. I didn't mean to. I didn't know someone wanted to harm her. I... Jingyue, I'm your father, your biological father. You can't... I..."

Lin father had already been scared out of his wits by Lin Jingyue. That brush with death—he never wanted to feel it again.

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By now, he regretted having approached Lin Jingyue on the street at all.

"Slap—"

Her face cold and grim, Lin Jingyue walked over and delivered a vicious slap.

Lin father was knocked sideways, two teeth flying out. Clearly, Lin Jingyue had put all her strength into it.

She stared down at him, dark and brooding, then couldn't help herself and kicked him. "She was the woman who shared your bed. She bore your children. How could you—you goddamn inhuman monster, you stupid bastard!"

One kick wasn't enough. Lin Jingyue landed several more before the rage in her chest settled somewhat.

Watching Lin father curl up on the ground, his face twisted in pain, she felt nothing.

Only anger. Only hatred.

Wu Huixian... She had never even thought of claiming kinship in the capital. And this innocent woman had died just like that.

Dead by someone's scheming. The ones who harmed her included her adoptive mother, her husband...

Lin Jingyue's eyes reddened for a moment, the rims staying flushed. She wished she could beat this piece of garbage, Lin father, to death right then and there.

But she couldn't afford to carry a life on her hands.

"But what was I supposed to do?!" Lin father suddenly roared. "What could I do? Her own mother wanted her dead—what was I supposed to do?"

"Get lost—" Unable to contain herself, Lin Jingyue delivered another vicious kick.

Lin father slid across the ground and slammed into the wall before stopping. His face was deathly pale.

He was clearly hurt badly.

Lin Jingyue took a deep breath, shot one last deep look at Lin father, and turned away.

Just as she exited the alley, she ran into Song Qinglan and two men arriving hurriedly.

For some reason, her eyes suddenly turned red.

Seeing her, Song Qinglan's flustered, fearful expression steadied somewhat. She rushed forward and grabbed her. "Let me check—are you hurt? Did you run into Lin Jian'an? Did he do anything to you?"

She anxiously examined Lin Jingyue for injuries.

"I'm fine." Lin Jingyue's voice was slightly hoarse. "He's the one who's not."

The two men who had come with Song Qinglan exchanged a glance and hurried into the alley.

When they came back out, the way they looked at Lin Jingyue was different.

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