Achieving A Happy Ending With The Tragic Female Lead [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 56

After those people left, the neighbors, who previously only dared to watch from a distance at their doorsteps, approached Lin Nanyue, asking a few questions out of a mix of concern and gossip.

Lin Nanyue was unwilling to discuss these matters with outsiders. She brushed them off with a few simple excuses, then pulled Su Mi into the courtyard, blocking out those curious gazes and prying minds.

Su Mi followed obediently. When Lin Nanyue tried to let go of her hand, Su Mi tightened her grip, a slight pressure in her fingers serving as a silent plea.

Lin Nanyue didn’t struggle. The two stood in the courtyard in silence, feeling one gust of breeze after another brush past them.

Su Mi waited for her response with great patience, her calm expression masking a hint of apprehension. She was used to keeping everything within her control, even if Lin Nanyue had opposed her actions this time, she likely would have proceeded anyway. However, that didn’t mean she could completely disregard Lin Nanyue’s feelings.

Meanwhile, Lin Nanyue’s mind was in a state of confusion. Having realized she had a “love brain,” she didn’t know what the most appropriate attitude should be. Ultimately, she felt she ought to show some sign of anger, otherwise, it would seem as though she had no principles at all.

But when her gaze fell upon the slender, clean hand she was holding, like polished, translucent white jade, she remembered it was this very hand that had just shielded her from the outside noise.

In truth, those voices couldn’t be blocked out just like that. For a prestigious Professor Su to cover someone’s ears to block out sound was a bit childish, yet she had done it anyway.

The irritation Lin Nanyue had managed to muster suddenly dissipated. She thought to herself that she really couldn’t blame herself, who could possibly stay angry at a Professor Su like this?

“Then… don’t let there be a next time,” she tried her best to sound stern, but it had little effect.

Under the dim clouds, a smile played at the corners of Su Mi’s mouth. Her eyes shimmered with light, like the arrival of spring melting the ice and snow.

“Alright. Next time, I’ll tell you in advance.”

Looking at that smile, Lin Nanyue almost fell for her again. She felt a bit embarrassed for losing her resolve, but since she was the one who had spoken and the one who couldn’t stay mad, what else could she do?

Su Mi raised a hand and brushed Lin Nanyue’s cheek. “Now that the problem is solved, you should be happy. Those people won’t come looking for trouble anymore.”

Lin Nanyue opened her mouth, wanting to ask about the others. If they weren’t coming for her, they would surely go after someone else, like her mother, or her elderly grandmother.

But she didn’t say it. Professor Su had already done everything she could. She felt that even if they were a couple now, she shouldn’t push her luck.

Seeing her hesitant expression, Su Mi guessed the reason. “I might have been covering your ears just now, so you didn’t hear the debt collectors clearly toward the end.”

Lin Nanyue looked puzzled. “What did they say?”

She truly hadn’t been listening carefully because her entire mind had been focused on Professor Su. It’s over, she thought again, I really am a love brain.

Su Mi said, “They made it very clear just now that they won’t target anyone other than the actual debtors. So, you don’t need to worry about the safety of your grandmother and mother.”

Reminded by Su Mi, Lin Nanyue recalled that the man had indeed mentioned something to that effect, though she still harbored some lingering doubt.

“Is that true? They won’t go back on their word, will they?”

After all, she had seen the untrustworthiness of such people before, they were cut from the same cloth as her father and brother. Once she returned to Lincheng, if these people came back to harass her mother and grandmother, she wouldn’t be able to rush back easily.

Su Mi told her, “They won’t. At the end of the day, they are businesspeople. They know how to weigh pros and cons.”

Hearing this, Lin Nanyue chose to trust her and felt at ease.

Su Mi tucked a stray lock of hair behind Lin Nanyue’s ear. “Nanyue, I know you worry about your mother. But those two men, the father and son, know exactly how soft-hearted you are toward her. That’s how they manage to coerce you into doing things you hate, time and time again.”

Lin Nanyue knew this was the truth. “…Then what should I do? Am I supposed to just ignore my mother?”

Su Mi looked at her. “You should care, but you can’t care without boundaries like you do now.”

As she said this, the phone in Su Mi’s pocket vibrated.

Su Mi took it out, glanced at it, and said to Lin Nanyue, “I need to take this call.”

The call was from Su Mi’s mother, asking why she had suddenly gone out of town. It was clear that Su Mi’s use of family resources in their name had reached her mother’s ears.

“Mimi, how did you get involved with those kinds of people and matters?” Her mother’s voice lacked its usual gentleness, replaced by a tone of gravity.

The Su family wasn’t extraordinarily massive, but they had significant connections in business and politics. However, they never touched “gray area” industries, which was why her mother was questioning her so sternly.

Su Mi chose to tell her a portion of the truth.

Since her mother had called, she must already know something. Lying wouldn’t do much good; a measured truth would ease their suspicions.

Sure enough, after hearing her explanation, her mother’s doubts faded. She simply urged Su Mi to stay safe and told her to come home and give a full account of the situation once she returned to Lincheng.

Su Mi knew this wouldn’t be as easy to gloss over as usual. She gave her word and hung up.

When she turned around, she saw a worried Lin Nanyue approaching her.

Lin Nanyue hesitated before finally asking, “Will what happened today affect you? Did your family blame you?”

Ever since she was a child, she knew that most things in this world came with a price. She just didn’t know what price Professor Su had paid for her mess.

Su Mi had been standing close by, so she realized Lin Nanyue might have overheard. “It was just a call from my family checking in. Don’t overthink it.”

Lin Nanyue reached out and cupped the other woman’s face, frowning. “Professor Su, you aren’t lying to me, are you?”

Su Mi was amused by this childish gesture. She said, half-joking and half-serious, “If you’re that worried, I’ll take you home with me to see them when we get back.”

This time, it was Lin Nanyue’s turn to be shy. She stammered, “That… that wouldn’t be right.”

Su Mi spoke with total sincerity. “You’ve already brought me home to meet your elders. I naturally can’t fall too far behind in progress.”

“It’s not the same,” Lin Nanyue protested. Who brought someone home to “meet the parents” like this? It felt more like bringing someone home to survive a disaster.

Su Mi lowered her gaze. “If you don’t want to come home with me to meet them, that’s fine too.”

In her current state, Lin Nanyue couldn’t bear to see her look like that. She stuttered, “I didn’t mean it that way.”

Su Mi nodded. “Then it’s settled. I’ll take you with me next time I go home.”

With just a few words, she had finalized this major step.

Lin Nanyue felt both amused and exasperated. “Professor Su, you don’t even let people speak.”

Su Mi brushed a finger across Lin Nanyue’s lips, intentionally misinterpreting her. “Aren’t we speaking right now?”

The fleeting sensation on her lips brought back some ill-timed memories. Lin Nanyue stared at Professor Su’s lips, thinking of the taste of candy and cherries.

Lin Nanyue felt she must have been bewitched by Professor Su, otherwise, why would she want to be close to her all the time?

Her heels began to lift slightly, and her hands gripped the other’s arms. “Sister…”

Just as she spoke, the courtyard door, which had been left slightly ajar, was suddenly pushed open.

Su Mi’s vision blurred as the person who was about to touch her suddenly buried her face in Su Mi’s chest. Su Mi looked down and saw nothing but a head of dark hair. The tips of the exposed ears were beet red.

Su Mi suppressed a smile and looked toward the door. It was the grandmother Lin Nanyue had sent away earlier, followed by several people of various ages.

“Grandmother?”

Upon hearing Su Mi’s greeting, Lin Nanyue quickly lifted her head from the embrace and looked toward the door. “Grandmother, why are you back so soon?”

Seeing her granddaughter in Professor Su’s arms, the grandmother looked panicked. As she entered, she asked in her local dialect, “Little girl, did they hit you? What about Professor Su? Is Professor Su okay?”

The people behind her didn’t come in, but they craned their necks to peek inside, looking for any sign of the others.

Lin Nanyue said, “No, I’m fine. So is Professor Su. We’re all okay.”

The grandmother looked them both up and down and only felt relieved when she saw they weren’t hurt.

At that moment, the people outside spoke up.

“Little Yue, you really shouldn’t have tried to handle such a big thing alone. Your grandmother was scared to death when she heard the news.”

“Exactly. You can’t hide things like this.”

“Oh, the granddaughter didn’t say anything because she was worried about the old lady. If you don’t understand, don’t talk nonsense.”

The neighbors began chattering among themselves, and those who had witnessed the confrontation with the debt collectors were surrounded and questioned for details.

Then, another voice called out from outside: “Mom! Yueyue!”

It was Lin Nanyue’s mother. Her clothes were neat, but her eyes were clearly swollen from crying.

“Yueyue, where are your father and brother? Have they not come yet?”

Seeing the “main character” of the drama arrive, the crowd became lively again, hoping to get new information from her.

Unable to stand it, Lin Nanyue walked over and brought her mother inside. Su Mi took the opportunity to close the door, “sending off” the helpful neighbors.

Outside, the rain began to fall again as the four of them went inside to clarify everything.

It turned out the grandmother had been told about the situation at her daughter’s house while she was on her way out, which prompted her to rush back. As she approached, she heard that people had shown up at her own house, causing her to panic.

Lin Nanyue felt a pang of guilt. “Grandmother, I didn’t mean to hide it from you. I was going to tell you when you got back. Besides, the matter is settled now. Don’t worry too much.”

The grandmother sat on a bamboo chair, which creaked with every movement.

Upon learning that her husband and son had vanished again, Lin Nanyue’s mother couldn’t help but tear up. Seeing Su Mi again and learning her identity, she didn’t forget to apologize. “Professor Su, I am so sorry about last night.”

Su Mi was clear cut: “You weren’t the one who raised a hand against me. You don’t need to apologize.”

The grandmother only then learned about what happened the night before. Her voice was full of regret. “I’m so sorry, Professor Su, for letting you see such a disgrace.”

She turned to her daughter and granddaughter. “I’m old and can’t help much,” she said, her voice sounding aged. “How much do they owe this time? If you don’t have enough, I have a little bit saved up…”

Lin Nanyue cut her off: “Grandmother!”

Lin’s mother also had red eyes. “This is our family’s business. We can’t take your money, Mom.”

Su Mi, who had been sitting quietly, massaged her temples. She had been wondering why Lin Nanyue’s mother had such a “self-sacrificing” personality, it turned out she was exactly like her own mother.

Su Mi finally spoke. “Grandmother, these are their own debts. They have nothing to do with Nanyue or you.”

Lin Nanyue added, “Professor Su is right. They have nothing to do with us.”

The grandmother turned back to Lin Nanyue. “But little girl, if the money isn’t paid, what will happen to your mother? You know your father’s temper. Her life will be miserable.”

“…Then she can get a divorce,” Lin Nanyue said, biting her lip.

“No, no, that’s not right. You can’t get a divorce. Divorce is bad.” The grandmother was a woman of old-fashioned values and rigid rules. She believed that once you were married, you had to maintain that household for life.

Beside her, Lin’s mother shook her head tearfully.

Lin Nanyue had known this would be the answer. She gave a bitter smile, her eyes glistening with unshed tears as she looked at Su Mi.

In that moment, Su Mi realized why the difficulty of this world’s task was rated as “Medium.” The difficulty lay in this maternal bond of kinship. Lin Nanyue was shackled by these unhealthy relationships, unable to find the courage to break free completely because there wasn’t a single “pure villain” among them.

“Yueyue, Mom knows you’ve been sensible and good since you were a child. Help your father and brother, just this last time, okay?”

Lin Nanyue suppressed the sourness in her nose. “What right do those two have to be my father and brother? Has he looked after me even once while I was growing up? And has that ‘good brother’ of mine ever once called me ‘Sister’ properly?”

Lin’s mother couldn’t think of a single argument. She could only sit there and wipe her tears.

Lin Nanyue couldn’t stand seeing her mother cry like that, but she remembered what Professor Su had told her earlier. She turned her head away, forcing herself not to look.

“Little girl, you can’t talk to your mother like that. It wasn’t easy for her to raise you.” The grandmother’s mediation was like adding fuel to the fire.

Standing slightly behind Lin Nanyue, Su Mi reached out and took the hand hanging at her side, providing invisible support.

Lin Nanyue squeezed her hand, feeling empowered for the first time. She took a deep breath. “It’s not that I haven’t helped. But that was all for your sake, Mom. This time, I won’t give them a single cent.”

With that, she pulled Su Mi toward the stairs.

Su Mi followed her lead. Before leaving, she added, “From now on, the debt collectors will only look for those two. They won’t come for you, so you don’t have to worry about your safety.”

She had originally wanted to mention that she could pull some strings to have the father and son taken to a labor site to work off the debt and that they wouldn’t be let go until it was paid. But that sounded a bit like something an underworld boss would say, and she didn’t want to scare them.

Lin Nanyue walked forward with her head down until they reached the room. Only then did she stop.

Su Mi turned and closed the door, then walked around to stand in front of her. She saw the wet traces on Lin Nanyue’s long lashes and the tears that continued to roll down.

Su Mi felt a pang of heartache. She gently wiped away the tear tracks.

“Did I… do well just now?” Lin Nanyue looked up with red eyes, her voice choked with sobs.

Su Mi praised her softly, “You did very well.”

Hearing this, Lin Nanyue cried even harder, eventually turning into hiccups.

Su Mi pulled her down to sit on the edge of the bed. Seeing a box of tissues on the nightstand, she took one and gently blotted the overflowing tears, even helping her wipe her nose.

Lin Nanyue felt half-embarrassed and half-sad. She felt like her most unsightly moments had all been seen by the person she liked in the span of just two days.

Consequently, her sadness was mixed with other private emotions.

Su Mi watched her cry uncontrollably, the ache in her heart intensifying. Her thumb brushed across the fragile skin under Lin Nanyue’s eyes. “How can I coax you to stop crying?”

Lin Nanyue blinked her blurred, teary eyes and sniffled. Her raspy voice held a trace of clingy, spoiled affection.

“Then kiss me… If you kiss me, I’ll be better, Sister.”