Chapter 3: Make Her Leave
Lin Yimo frowned, “Grandpa, Jiujiu is also your granddaughter!”
Old Master Lin gave a cold snort, “I’ve never acknowledged her as my granddaughter. I have only one granddaughter.”
Lin Yimo was about to say more, but Father Lin pulled him back, signaling for him not to speak further.
Father Lin thought for a moment, “Dad, when are you planning to bring her back?”
“In a few days, once I’ve arranged everything on her side.”
The study fell into silence again.
Old Master Lin took a stack of documents from the drawer and handed them to Father Lin.
“What’s this?”
“My real granddaughter’s file. In here is a record of her life since she was abducted that year — every detail is clear.”
“Look carefully. My granddaughter’s name is Lin Ru Meng.”
Mother Lin’s body trembled slightly.
Lin Ru Meng — that was the name she and Father Lin had chosen for their daughter together.
Father Lin flipped through the file roughly, until his gaze stopped on a photograph. He stared at it for a long time. Lin Yimo glanced over as well, and when he saw the picture, surprise flashed in his eyes.
The girl in the photo looked very much like Mother Lin.
And looking at that picture, he felt an uncanny sense of familiarity.
Father Lin handed the file to Mother Lin.
Mother Lin opened it slowly. With each page she turned, her hands trembled more. When she reached the end, she began to cry.
Blood ties are strange things — even after so many years without meeting, seeing familiar eyes and brows could still touch the deepest part of the heart.
Father Lin and Lin Yimo supported her.
Old Master Lin seemed satisfied with their reactions.
“Make it clear in your minds: Lin Ru Meng is your real daughter, Yimo’s biological younger sister. The one downstairs is a fake.”
Lin Yimo still frowned, “Grandpa, you can’t put it that way. Back then, it was with your consent that we adopted Jiujiu.”
“I agreed at the time because I was thinking of my real granddaughter. She hadn’t been found yet — if her mother went mad before then, it would have been bad for her. That’s the only reason I agreed.”
When Lin Ru Meng was abducted by human traffickers years ago, Mother Lin was so grief-stricken she fainted and was hospitalized. After waking, she cried every day, her mind nearly breaking.
Worried, Father Lin and Lin Yimo had suggested adopting a child to take Ru Meng’s place for the time being. After careful thought, Old Master Lin agreed.
Once he gave his consent, they immediately went to an orphanage to find a child. They spotted one in a corner right away. After asking around, they learned her surname was Lin, and her name was Lin Yuejiu. After talking to her for a while, they adopted her, brought her into the Lin family, and registered her as their daughter.
When Mother Lin first saw the child, she cried, saying she’d found her daughter, and held her in her arms.
After regaining her senses and realizing she wasn’t her Ru Meng, she still raised Lin Yuejiu as her own, loving and cherishing her all these years.
“So what about Jiujiu?” Lin Yimo asked.
Old Master Lin snorted coldly, “What do you mean ‘what about’? Naturally, she leaves the Lin family.”
Lin Yimo: “No way!”
Mother Lin: “Absolutely not!”
Although Father Lin didn’t speak, it was clear he didn’t agree either.
Old Master Lin was so angry he stood up, “Are you rebelling? Ru Meng is your real daughter! Lin Yuejiu is just a pitiful adopted child!”
“Even if she isn’t my biological daughter, she’s still the daughter I’ve cared for all these years!”
Old Master Lin’s voice hardened, “In that case, make your choice — either Lin Yuejiu leaves the Lin family when the time comes, or I will leave the Lin family!”
“Dad!”
“Grandpa!”
Father Lin rubbed his temples, his voice heavy with frustration.
“Dad! Do you really have to be this way? Why can’t you accept Jiujiu? She’s obedient, sensible, outstanding — she never causes trouble. Why can’t you agree to let her stay in the Lin family?!”
“If she stays in the Lin family, what about my real granddaughter? Do you want her to watch you all fawn over that impostor and break her heart? If that’s the case, I might as well not bring her back at all!”
Mother Lin’s face was full of sorrow.
“Dad, Ru Meng is a piece of flesh that came from my body. Of course I’ll love her twice as much and make up for everything she’s lost over the years. But you… you can’t drive Jiujiu away!”
Old Master Lin sat back down, his expression cold, “I’ve made myself clear — if Ru Meng is here, there is no place for Lin Yuejiu.”
The study sank into a deathly silence.
Father Lin sighed, “Dad, let us think about it for a bit. We’ll head down first.”
The three of them went downstairs.
Lin Yuejiu was still sitting obediently on the sofa. The moment she heard them, she came over.
For a moment, all three of them looked at her with complicated expressions.
Lin Yuejiu pretended not to notice, walked a few steps forward to stand beside them, and looked at her mother, “Mom, why are your eyes red? Did Grandpa just scold you?”
Mother Lin’s eyes turned red again, and she shook her head.
“Dad, Grandpa said something to Mom — why didn’t you stop him?”
Father Lin quickly composed himself and smiled, “Blame me, I didn’t stop him. It’s all my fault.”
Lin Yuejiu smiled at her mother, “See, Mom? Dad already knows he’s wrong. Don’t cry anymore.”
She reached up and gently wiped the tears from the corners of her mother’s eyes.
Mother Lin’s heart ached, her emotions a tangled mess, “Mm, Mommy won’t cry.”
“Let’s go, let’s head home.”
Lin Yimo was the first to walk out.
Back in the car, Lin Yimo drove, Father Lin sat in the passenger seat, and Mother Lin and Lin Yuejiu sat in the back.
The three adults, having just learned certain truths, were each lost in their own thoughts and said nothing.
The atmosphere in the car was a little strange.
Lin Yuejiu didn’t try to break it — she simply stayed quiet the whole way home.
“It’s already late, Jiujiu. Go on upstairs, wash up, and get some sleep.”
Lin Yuejiu nodded obediently, “Alright.”
Mother Lin watched her go up the stairs until her figure disappeared, then sank wearily onto the sofa.
Father Lin thought for a moment, “Come on, let’s talk upstairs in the study. The living room isn’t a good place — Jiujiu might come down to get some fruit.”
The other two nodded, following him up to the study.
Meanwhile, freshly showered and in her pajamas, Lin Yuejiu sat at her desk, quietly staring at a card with the days marked on it.
She didn’t know exactly what they had discussed earlier, but she had a feeling… this family bond of hers was slipping away.
She opened her door, went downstairs to get a fruit platter, and headed upstairs to bring it to them.
After checking their respective rooms and finding no one, she realized they must be in the study. She raised her hand to knock — but noticed the door wasn’t fully closed, and voices were drifting out.
She couldn’t make out every word, but she could piece together the general meaning.
“So in the end… are we really going to make Jiujiu leave the Lin family?”
“Dad already said so. What choice do we have? Don’t you want to bring Ru Meng back?”
Mother Lin paused for a moment, “Of course I want Ru Meng to come back — she’s my biological daughter, the one I carried for ten months and gave birth to. But Jiujiu… she’s my daughter too.”
“You may see Jiujiu as your daughter, but Dad doesn’t acknowledge her. He only wants Ru Meng.”
