Chapter 41: Standing on the Frontlines, Shipping Sugar
Lin Yuejiu originally hadn’t planned on looking up.
“Sister.”
Well, now she knew who it was.
She didn’t even lift her head. “What do you want?”
“Elder sister… didn’t you say before that you didn’t want to participate in the competition? Why did you change your mind?”
“What? You’re unhappy that I joined?”
“Of course not… it’s just that you said that before, and I even told Mom, Dad, and Brother. They still don’t know you’ve entered the competition again.”
“What’s that got to do with me?”
Lin Rumeng was at a loss for words. “Elder sister, have you really forgotten Mom, Dad, and Brother? You stayed with them for eleven years, after all…”
Finally, Lin Yuejiu raised her head to look at her. “The severance agreement was signed long ago. I have nothing to do with them anymore. You don’t need to put on this act in front of me.”
“Sister, that’s not what I meant, I was just asking.”
“So you came over here just to tell me this?”
Subconsciously, Lin Rumeng replied, “No.”
“Then what do you want to say? Get to the point, I still have things to do later.”
In other words—if you’ve got something to say, say it quickly. I’m busy.
“Elder sister, I’ve been practicing the violin recently. My teacher says I’ve improved a lot, that I’m starting to look like how you were back then.”
“And then? What are you trying to say?”
“I forgot to mention—the teacher who’s instructing me now is the same one who used to teach you.”
“Oh. And then?”
Lin Rumeng couldn’t understand why she had no reaction at all. That was the teacher who’d taught her for eleven years. Now that very teacher had said she was close to catching up to her former self—yet she wasn’t moved in the slightest?
Keeping her smile, Lin Rumeng continued, “I just wanted to remind sister—don’t forget to keep practicing. If you stop, your skills will get rusty.”
Finally, she’d gotten to the point. Lin Yuejiu instantly understood what she meant. Gathering up her tray, she stood up and looked down at her from above.
“You’d better worry about yourself.”
With that, she walked away without looking back.
Lin Rumeng hadn’t expected her to be so bold today. She froze for a moment, then felt the stares of people around them. Putting on a small smile, she quickly left the cafeteria.
“Holy crap, did you guys see that just now?”
“Not only did I see it, I heard everything.”
“I feel like… Lin Yuejiu was so cool just now—what’s going on?”
“You’re not the only one, I thought she was cool too.”
“That was a real-daughter-versus-fake-daughter face-off. The moment I noticed the two of them, I immediately grabbed my rice bowl and came over to eat melon seeds.”
“Same here.”
“Hey, don’t you guys feel like Lin Yuejiu has changed lately?”
“Yeah, I felt that too. It’s like… she broke free of some kind of shackle, and suddenly became so confident, so commanding.”
“Yeah, like in those cultivation novels when someone unlocks their seal—their aura completely changes.”
“Exactly, exactly. Did the fake daughter just break through her meridians or something?”
“Ohhh, looks like things are going to get interesting from now on.”
Recently, the campus gossip about Lin Yuejiu had started up again—but this time, it wasn’t bad rumors targeting her.
It was about… expectation.
Campus Forum Post:
[Just witnessed the Lin family’s real vs. fake daughter face-off in the cafeteria. So intense! Today the fake daughter was so cool—like a whole different person. Looking forward to her future performance!]
Attached was a short video clip.
When Chen Qianxi first saw the post about the real and fake daughters, she exploded. She rushed over to Lin Yuejiu’s side, fuming.
“What’s wrong with these people? Why is there still gossip about you? Don’t they ever get tired of it? I swear, I’m going to fight whoever posted this!”
Lin Yuejiu chuckled, pulling the hot-headed Chen Qianxi back, “Read the title properly before you go charging in.”
Her angered friend froze, then quickly checked the full title on her phone. Her fury instantly faded, replaced by a hint of embarrassment, “Oh… I thought they were talking bad about you again.”
Holding her hand, Lin Yuejiu smiled. “Doesn’t matter what they say now. I don’t care anymore.”
“Huh? For real?”
“Of course!” Lin Yuejiu patted her small chest proudly. “I’m not the old Lin Yuejiu anymore. I’ve been reborn in the fire!”
Chen Qianxi rarely saw Lin Yuejiu this lively, and couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
Suddenly, another laugh came—low, deep, and pleasant to the ears.
Both of them turned to look. Xu Nianshen had his eyes half-lowered, lips curved in a faint smile.
Lin Yuejiu: “Did you just laugh?”
Xu Nianshen: “Mm.”
Lin Yuejiu: “Were you laughing at me?”
Xu Nianshen: “I wasn’t.”
Lin Yuejiu didn’t believe him. “But you were laughing just now!”
Xu Nianshen: “I was only thinking of something funny.”
Suspicious, Lin Yuejiu narrowed her eyes at him. “Really?”
Xu Nianshen looked completely sincere. “Really.”
“…Fine then.” Lin Yuejiu accepted it.
Watching all of this unfold, Chen Qianxi inwardly bit her imaginary handkerchief, crying tears of joy: Wuwuwu! I’m on the frontlines shipping sugar again! So sweet!
After Lin Yuejiu turned back to continue chatting with Chen Qianxi, Xu Nianshen lifted his finger to cover his lips, the corners of his mouth still curved. Easy to fool? Maybe. But he hadn’t actually lied—he had thought of something funny.
Because the Lin Yuejiu just now—bright and adorable—was a side of her he had never seen before.
He really couldn’t help but laugh. It wasn’t on purpose.
—
That evening, Lin Rumeng didn’t tell the Lin family anything about the cafeteria incident. She swallowed it down, went to her violin lesson after school as usual, and asked the middle-aged man beside her, “Teacher, what you said before—about me having my sister’s shadow—was that true?”
The man paused. “Mm? Of course it’s true.”
Satisfied, Lin Rumeng smiled and kept practicing.
The man glanced at her strangely. He hadn’t lied. At the moment, Lin Rumeng really did carry some of the shadow of how hardworking Lin Yuejiu used to be.
—
The violin Lin Yuejiu had once used was a gift from Madam Lin. She had always practiced with it in the music room. By now, it was probably being used by Lin Rumeng.
Which meant she’d have to buy her own.
Lin Yuejiu pulled open her drawer and took out a check that had been buried at the bottom.
Lately, she’d only been using her own savings. The one million given by the Lin patriarch hadn’t been touched. But now, it was time.
She found the most reputable instrument shop and picked out a violin she liked. Back in the dorm, she began practicing.
The dorm’s soundproofing wasn’t great. The elegant notes of the violin quickly spread throughout the building. Some girls stood quietly on the balcony to listen; others couldn’t resist and came searching for the source. Before long, they found Room 219.
Because of past events, many already knew Lin Yuejiu lived in 219. And everyone at school knew she could play the violin.
Before long, someone recorded a video and posted it online.
[Forum Post: Violin music discovered in the dorms—it was the fake daughter playing!]
