Xin Hailan was shocked when she heard that the girl was Lin Leyao's younger sister.
She slowly came to her senses after Lin Zhipei finished speaking. After a few seconds of reaction, she immediately put on a sweet smile and called out, "Sister Zhipei."
After exchanging greetings, Xin Wenwen started the car and began driving towards the suburbs.
Xin Wenwen hadn't expected Lin Zhipei to be at today's gathering.
Actually, she wasn't very familiar with Lin Zhipei. They knew each other through Lin Leyao, but they never interacted privately. It wasn't until recently that her good friend brought Lin Zhipei to a party.
Xin Wenwen's friend was also the child of a wealthy family in S City. He had been studying at an art university abroad and only had time to meet with Xin Wenwen when he returned to China for holidays.
Lin Zhipeng studied oil painting in college, and she recently decided to study abroad. Because her friend was studying the same major overseas, Lin Zhipeng, with Ji Rong's guidance, talked to her friend's parents and friends about studying abroad. The more they talked, the closer they became, and they eventually became friends.
At that gathering, upon hearing that she was going to the film studio for Christmas, Lin Zhipei took the initiative to ask if she could help her find a celebrity to get an autographed photo.
Xin Wenwen did not refuse and agreed.
After giving the autographed photo to Lin Zhipei, the two did not contact each other privately until they met again today.
Lin Zhipei is considered part of the wealthy circle in S City. Although she is not the biological child of the Ji family, Ji Rong and her father remarried and she is still her mother, so she is nominally considered a child of the Ji family.
However, the group of people Lin Zhipei used to hang out with and the group she hangs out with don't usually hang out together, so they haven't had much contact over the years.
Now, with her friend's help, Lin Zhipei is slowly integrating into their circle.
However, every circle has its sycophants and those who look down on others. In their circle, those from lower-class families will definitely fawn over those from better-class families. Not to mention that Lin Zhipei is not a biological daughter of the Ji family, which is why everyone was not fond of her at first.
When everyone was hanging out together, Lin Zhipei always seemed out of place. Xin Wenwen, considering that she was Lin Leyao's sister, took care of her during the gathering. The others were also perceptive and their attitude towards Lin Zhipei changed a lot.
Knowing that Lin Zhipei was going from the sanatorium to the suburbs, Xin Wenwen came to pick her up and go together.
Inside the car, Xin Wenwen drove silently, and no one else spoke; the car was completely quiet.
After a while, Xin Wenwen broke the silence by asking, "Why did you go to the sanatorium? Is someone at home sick?"
Sitting in the back row, Lin Zhipei honestly replied, "My mother is recuperating there."
Xin Wenwen didn't react for a moment and exclaimed in surprise, "Aunt Ji is sick?!"
Lin Zhipei paused for a moment.
After a dozen seconds, Xin Wenwen suddenly realized something and quickly said, "Sorry, I didn't realize it."
Hearing this, Lin Zhipei smiled faintly and said, "No need to apologize, it's normal that you didn't realize it at first."
Xin Wenwen smiled, but looked somewhat embarrassed.
They usually thought of Ji Rong as Lin Zhipei's mother, and for a moment they didn't remember that Lin Zhipei had a biological mother.
However, Xin Wenwen didn't know much about the Ji family. She only knew that Lin Zhipeng was the child of Lin Leyao's stepfather, and Lin Leyao's stepfather was also her uncle.
The ethical relationships were quite complicated, but she had seen plenty of sordid things happen in wealthy families over the years, not to mention that her own family was also a mess, so Xin Wenwen didn't care much about these things.
However, Lin Zhipei's biological mother lived in this nursing home, which surprised her.
To break the awkward silence, Xin Wenwen quickly changed the subject, asking, "How long has Auntie been staying at the nursing home?"
Lin Zhiyu slowly began to speak: "It's been about ten years."
Xin Wenwen was astonished. Although the sanatorium had a very good environment, it was hard to imagine someone staying there for ten years.
Xin Wenwen asked in a low voice, "Excuse my intrusion, but is Auntie suffering from some serious illness?"
Lin Zhipeng replied calmly, "Schizophrenia."
Ignoring Xin Wenwen and Xin Hailan, who looked astonished upon hearing her words, Lin Zhipeng continued, "The environment in the mental hospital isn't very good. After my father and Aunt Ji remarried, they brought my mother to S City and arranged for her to recuperate in this sanatorium. There are psychiatrists specifically assigned here. It's much better to be in a sanatorium than in a cold, impersonal hospital."
Xin Wenwen was momentarily stunned, and nodded blankly, "Yes, you're right!"
Originally, she wanted to break the awkward atmosphere in the car, but the more she talked, the more awkward it became. She decided to leave the topic aside and wisely chose not to speak again, and the car fell silent once more.
This time, no one spoke in the car, and Lin Zhipei in the back seat calmly took out her phone.
She opened Weibo and saw Lin Leyao's name trending on Weibo.
#Lin Leyao Necklace#
This trending topic has been on the trending list since this morning, and its high ranking makes it hard to ignore.
Lin Zhipei clicked into the trending topics and saw the necklace that netizens were discussing.
A necklace costing tens of millions of yuan sparked a night-long debate among netizens.
Netizens were shocked by the price of the necklace, and then became curious about Lin Leyao's salary and family background.
Lin Zhipei chuckled softly as she looked at the comments from netizens online.
What are tens of millions to the little princess of the Ji family? Ji Rong's only child, Ji Hongchen's only granddaughter, and the sole heir of the Huanling Group, Lin Leyao lacks nothing. Does she care about this necklace?
Lin Leyao was pampered growing up. She could argue with Ji Rong at home without restraint because of filming, and she could talk to Ji Hongchen as she pleased. No one would do anything to her.
And what about her? As Ji Rong's stepdaughter, she had the title of Ji Rong's daughter, but she didn't enjoy any of the real benefits of being a daughter. She couldn't argue with Ji Rong casually, and when she returned to the Ji residence, she always had to be careful in front of Ji Hongchen. As for the shares in Huanling Group, she would never get any of them.
She couldn't understand why Lin Leyao insisted on going against Ji Rong's wishes to become a star in the entertainment industry. And why hide her family background to try and succeed in the industry? Wasn't that just asking for trouble?
Lin Zhipei felt that Lin Leyao was being hypocritical and thought that even if Lin Leyao didn't reveal her background, Ji Hongchen would still help her behind the scenes.
However, after seeing all the criticism she had received over the years since her debut, Lin Zhipei felt much better. She suddenly felt that there might really be a law of conservation in this world. Lin Leyao had such a good family background and such a smooth life, but she still got criticized by a lot of people after entering the entertainment industry.
Lin Zhipei stared at her phone screen, thinking about many things. After a long time, she finally came to her senses and logged out of Weibo.
As Xin Wenwen's car drove away from the sanatorium, inside the VIP suite on the top floor of the sanatorium, a middle-aged woman in plain-colored pajamas stood at the window, her empty eyes fixed on the direction of the sanatorium entrance.
The caregiver behind her carefully walked to her side and gently reminded her, "Sister Sujin, Zhipei has already left."
The middle-aged woman stood there stunned for a long time before suddenly speaking: "Peipei."
The caregiver immediately replied, "Yes, Peipei has already left and gone home!"
The woman reacted very quickly this time: "Go home?"
The caregiver hummed in agreement, then put his hands on her shoulders and led her inside, saying, "It's so windy outside, don't stand by the window, you'll catch a cold."
The woman gave a blank "hmm" and was pushed indoors by the caregiver.
The woman kept muttering to herself.
"Go home, go home, go home..."
The woman kept talking to herself, but the caregiver didn't take it seriously and took her back to her room.
As the woman spoke, her previously empty gaze suddenly changed, her black pupils becoming dark and gloomy.
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Author's Note:
Does anyone remember when Xin Si Nan saw Lin Zhi Pei at the crossroads? Lin Zhi Pei was leaving the sanatorium when Xin Si Nan saw her at the crossroads. Haha, that was foreshadowing for this scene. Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants between 2022-04-04 12:09:31 and 2022-04-05 14:17:12!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Moyanwuxuan 20 bottles; En, Baoer 10 bottles; Beiq7 9 bottles; Eve-fay-Li, Fengxu 5 bottles; 55157345 1 bottle;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 76
Suburban guesthouse.
As soon as Xin Wenwen parked her car at the gate, she heard deafening music coming from the yard.
Xin Wenwen honked the car horn, and soon someone opened the gate and ran out.
A girl with bright red hair and a mullet hairstyle ran out and said, "You're finally here! We've been playing for a while now."
As soon as the courtyard gate opened, the deafening DJ music inside assaulted the ears of everyone outside without any obstruction.
Xin Wenwen opened the car door and got out, covering her ears and complaining, "You guys are making so much noise, it's disturbing the neighbors."
Wu Yun retorted, "How could it be disturbing the peace in the middle of the afternoon!"
As she spoke, Wu Yun waved to Lin Zhipei beside her.
Xin Hailan got out of the passenger seat and looked at the unfamiliar Wu Yun with some restraint. Xin Wenwen took the initiative to help introduce them.
“This is my cousin, Xin Hailan.”
Wu Yun blinked twice, somewhat surprised to see Xin Hailan for the first time. She quickly smiled and said, "Hello, little sister."
Xin Hailan smiled and said, "Hello."
Wu Yun invited everyone in: "Let's go in, now everyone's here."
There were already nine people in the courtyard, and with the few who came in, there were a total of more than a dozen people attending the gathering today.
Inside the courtyard, someone had set up a small platform where one person was DJing for their own amusement, while others gathered in small groups, either barbecuing or sitting on the ground playing cards, drinking, and chatting.
Xin Wenwen was warmly welcomed as soon as she entered. Her group of friends hadn't seen each other for a while, and they invited her over to play cards.
The party was organized by Wu Yun. In order to ensure that the party went well, Wu Yun did not go to play with her friends, but sat in a chair and drank.
Before going to play cards, Xin Wenwen asked Wu Yun to take care of her cousin. After receiving Wu Yun's assurance, Xin Wenwen went to the lobby of the guesthouse to play cards.
Lin Zhipei and Xin Hailan were left in the courtyard.
Xin Hailan didn't recognize any of the people in the courtyard. She wanted to go in with Xin Wenwen, but before she could speak, Xin Wenwen had already left.
Wu Yun was very welcoming and invited Lin Zhipei and Xin Hailan to sit down.
Lin Zhipei and Wu Yun were friends, so she sat down in the chair next to Wu Yun without any hesitation. Xin Hailan sat down as well.
When Xin Hailan finally sat down next to her, Wu Yun hesitated for a moment but finally couldn't help asking curiously, "You're Wenwen's cousin, but I've never seen you before. Which uncle's child are you?"
Xin Hailan stated directly, "My father is her third uncle."
"Third Uncle, Third Uncle...?!"
Wu Yun took two seconds to react, then her voice suddenly took a sharp turn, becoming shrill and distorted.
She tried to calm herself down and kept saying, "It's good, it's good."
Xin Hailan didn't understand what it had to do with being Xin Wenwen's third uncle's child.
Wu Yun paused for a few seconds before continuing, "Has your whole family returned to China yet?"
Upon hearing this, Xin Hailan suddenly realized that Wu Yun probably knew that her father had been sent abroad for the New Year, and she probably also knew why her father had gone abroad.