Criticizing Love - Chapter 18

Chapter 18

On the day Lin Xi left this house, Lin Deyuan had changed the passcodes for both the courtyard and the front door.

But Lin Xi was clever, and she understood Lin Deyuan’s nature his love for pretending to be sophisticated in front of others. She had deduced the new codes simply by the fingerprint smudges left on the keypad.

The original codes were a Fibonacci sequence Lin Xi had designed. Lin Deyuan, thinking he was clever, had simply incremented each digit. The entire sequence was now a clumsy, nonsensical mess. She wondered if Gu Nianyin had laughed the first time she saw it.

“Heh.”

Whether Gu Nianyin laughed or not, Lin Xi didn’t know and had no interest in knowing. But she certainly was laughing now.

It was a cold, mocking laugh, delivered right in front of Lin Deyuan’s frozen smile.

Seeing Lin Xi’s expression, Lin Deyuan instantly lost his temper. He shoved the door, trying to push her away. “Get out! You’re not welcome here.”

Lin Xi didn’t resist, but her expression remained calm. “Are you sure you want me standing at the gate so your precious ‘Nianyin’ sees me when she gets back?”

Lin Deyuan’s face changed instantly.

She Ning had warned him repeatedly not to let his past family life affect Gu Nianyin. Because of this, he hadn’t even dared to tell Gu Nianyin that his daughter went to the same school—and now, apparently, the same class.

Wary of the consequences, Lin Deyuan became cautious about throwing Lin Xi out. He dropped his arm. “Fine. Speak. What are you doing here?”

Lin Xi gave him a look full of disdain and walked straight into the villa. A wave of familiarity and strangeness hit her simultaneously. She surveyed the room unhurriedly, her internal calculations manifesting as sharp words: “Boss Lin is quite extravagant. The whole villa has been renovated.”

She picked up a plaster sculpture that looked expensive and smiled at him. “Your taste has improved lately, Father.”

Lin Xi had always looked down on Lin Deyuan’s “nouveau riche” aesthetic. Whether it was praise or mockery, Lin Deyuan heard it clearly, and his patience wore thinner. “Just say what you want.”

“What, am I not allowed to give a review? Isn’t that what you love most?” Lin Xi countered, a smile playing on her lips. It was a sarcastic, biting tone.

Lin Deyuan knew her tongue all too well. He didn’t wait for her to explain further and cut to the point: “You’re here for money, aren’t you?”

“You figured it out?” Lin Xi sneered, setting the sculpture back on the cabinet with a heavy thud. She maintained a final shred of sanity, choosing not to smash it on the floor. “You have money for all this junk, but no money to pay alimony on time?”

Lin Deyuan was a scoundrel, and he had his excuses ready. “Renovating is my choice. I’m divorced from your mother. If you have a problem, go sue me in court.”

On the bus ride over, Lin Xi had imagined many scenarios: him crying poverty, him acting aggressive, him making excuses. This level of shamelessness was well within her expectations, so she played her card quickly, issuing a deadline: “Lin Deyuan, I’m not here to negotiate. I want the alimony for my mother and the child support for me—all three months of it—in the account by midnight tonight.”

Over the years, as Lin Deyuan’s business grew, people had only ever begged him; no one dared to order him. He couldn’t stand her tone. “Lin Xi, who the hell do you think you are, barking orders at me? I won’t give it to you. What are you going to do about it?!”

“Then try me,” Lin Xi shot back. She had identified his Achilles’ heel the moment she walked in, and now she pressed down hard. “If the money isn’t there by tonight, I’ll be back tomorrow. And the day after. And the day after that.”

“I can’t guarantee I’ll only come when you’re home. If only Gu Nianyin and your ‘partner’ are here when I arrive…”

The arrogance on Lin Deyuan’s face froze visibly. He stared at Lin Xi for a long time, then suddenly laughed. “Lin Xi, weren’t you always so proud? What happened? Now you’re willing to throw away your dignity just to beg me for money?”

The girl’s temper flared; the fire in her eyes was unmistakable. Lin Deyuan’s words had pierced her pride. She wanted nothing more than to have a screaming match with him like she used to.

But she couldn’t. She was here to get the money Xing Xiu deserved. He was goading her, hoping her pride would make her walk away and abandon the money. The black-hearted man.

The fire in Lin Xi’s eyes burned, then was suppressed. She wouldn’t fall for it. Her words were ground out through her teeth: “Yes, and I wonder which bastard abandoned his wife and daughter, forcing his own child to block his door for money.”

“Lin Deyuan, if you don’t want those two to know about your dirty laundry, you’d better not push me. I’ll drop out of school if I have to, just to make sure your household never knows peace.”

Lin Xi’s words were vicious, and Lin Deyuan was genuinely rattled. He had always felt that this wasn’t a daughter, but a debt collector sent by fate. In their years of clashing, he had never once come out on top. He had worked so hard to live with She Ning; he couldn’t let anything jeopardize that.

“Fine, fine, fine! I’ll give it to you! I’ll give it to you now!” Lin Deyuan surrendered, irritably pulling his phone from his pocket. “It’s just a few tens of thousands. You think I can’t afford it?”

Lin Xi ignored his face-saving remarks and reminded him coldly: “It’s 94,569 yuan and 38 cents.”

Her mind was fast; she calculated the total instantly. “You owe three months. That’s 283,708 yuan and 14 cents.”

Hearing this, Lin Deyuan spat on the floor. “Dammit, you’re even counting the pennies.” He glared at her, muttering under his breath, “What a joke. Always so low-class. You even got into a fight in Zhu City.”

Lin Xi’s anger flared again. “If I hadn’t fought, should I have just let that fat pig assault me?”

“He only looked at you because—”

“Miss, it’s rare for you to visit. Sit down and have some fruit.”

Seeing that Lin Deyuan’s words were becoming increasingly vile, a servant brought out a fruit tray, placing herself between the two. This servant had been on good terms with Lin Xi in the past. Her gentle smile was a rare piece of kindness in this house.

But just as the fruit was about to reach Lin Xi, Lin Deyuan slapped the tray away. “What the hell are you doing?!”

He looked at the expensive fruit rolling across the floor, his anger shifting from Lin Xi to the intervening servant. “Who told you to bring this out? I bought this for Nianyin! You’re giving it to her? Are you out of your mind?!”

The servant cowered, apologizing repeatedly. “I’m sorry, sir. I just saw the Miss arrived and wanted to get her something she liked…”

Lin Xi watched, suddenly remembering how Xing Xiu used to stand between them to keep the peace. Because he couldn’t out-argue Lin Xi, Lin Deyuan would vent all his rage on those he could control, using insults and cruelty to strike at Lin Xi indirectly.

Lin Deyuan was still shouting profanities, looking like a hideous demon.

Just as she used to protect Xing Xiu, Lin Xi pulled the maid behind her and let out a cold laugh. “Mr. Lin, you love Gu Nianyin so much, licking her boots like a dog—has she even called you ‘Father’ once?”

Lin Deyuan’s pride was struck a direct blow. He froze.

Then, he smiled at Lin Xi. “Whether Nianyin calls me Father or not, I love her like my own. I prefer a girl like her as my daughter. Taking her out gives me much more face than taking you. Nianyin never cares about these petty things, she—”

Faced with his verbal attacks, Lin Xi usually let them go in one ear and out the other. But when the name “Nianyin” entered her ears, her suppressed emotions surged back up.

Almost by reflex, with the intent of “killing a thousand enemies at the cost of eight hundred of her own,” Lin Xi bit back: “Yeah, well, consider whose blood she has, and whose blood I have.”

“I’m your child, Lin Deyuan. Of course I’m just like you—fucking low-class.”

“Lin Xi!” Lin Deyuan snapped completely, roaring in fury. “Lin Xi! Say that one more time!”

The servant, seeing things were turning dangerous, tried to stop them. “Sir, Miss, please stop fighting!” She looked at Lin Deyuan and added a reminder: “Miss… Miss Gu is almost home!”

This immediately calmed him down. He looked at the mess on the floor and ordered the servant: “Clean this up. Nianyin likes things clean. Don’t let her see anything ‘unclean’ in this house.”

He said the last word while looking directly at Lin Xi—at the ground she was standing on. He straightened his twisted collar and suppressed his rage. “I’ve sent the money. 290,000. Now, get out.”

The speed at which he regained control surprised Lin Xi, but it only made her clench her fists tighter. The notification for the transfer had arrived during their argument. She glanced at it and said, “Lin Deyuan, if I don’t see the payment by this date next month, I’ll be back.”

She walked out without looking back, leaving Lin Deyuan behind to kick the table in fury. “Dammit!”

The gate closed, and the afternoon courtyard returned to a state of peaceful comfort. Memories surged uncontrollably with the scent carried by the wind. Lin Xi walked through the district with a complex expression, until the silence was broken by the man’s muffled, angry shouting from within the villa.

“Hurry up! If you can’t get the stain out of the carpet, buy a new one! Do you want Nianyin to step on that?” “If you ever give Nianyin’s things to that little brat again, you’re fired!” “What the hell! Nianyin is allergic to these chemicals, didn’t you know?!”

Nianyin, Nianyin, always Nianyin.

The name appeared constantly in Lin Deyuan’s mouth, his angry voice full of sycophancy. He remembered Gu Nianyin’s preferences more clearly than his own daughter’s. He treated her better than his own daughter. He was proud of her, pampered her.

Less than a minute after their confrontation, he had transformed into a completely different person. The sun filtered through the trees, highlighting the massive disparity in front of Lin Xi.

Jealousy, anger, hatred. And disdain.

A memory flashed in Lin Xi’s mind—the first time she met Gu Nianyin at school. The girl had stood in the corridor, looked into her eyes, and said: “I don’t like boys.”

If Lin Deyuan loved Gu Nianyin so much, did he know she was gay? If one day Gu Nianyin brought a girlfriend home, would he still be so proud of her?

…What if that girlfriend was Lin Xi?

Lin Xi’s gaze faltered as if something had been smashed open. A surging darkness roared toward her, surrounding her with jagged claws.

Friends? Certainly not. But lovers?

If she and Gu Nianyin were together, what would happen to Lin Deyuan? Would his “beloved white moonlight” (She Ning) still stay with him? Why should he enjoy his life and his “lost love” while her mother lay pale and suffering through the agony of chemotherapy!

He should be as miserable as the wife he betrayed. No, he should be even more miserable!

Lin Xi occasionally believed in fate or the gods; she knew people like Lin Deyuan deserved retribution. But when would it come? Why couldn’t she be the one to deliver it?

She would make Lin Deyuan pay for his selfishness, his greed, and the way he trampled on others.

The wind under the dense trees was cold enough to seep into her bones. The sun hung halfway down the mountain, and the sky darkened. As the birds returned to their nests, the slanted light dragged Lin Xi’s silhouette into the shadows of the dry trees. Before she could even understand her own feelings, she was enveloped by hatred and pulled into a deep, thorn-filled abyss.

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