Chapter 34
Lin Qianqian realized she was doomed. She had just messaged Lu Yin saying she had woken up from her nap, and now here she was, caught red-handed.
If a fever could elicit sympathy from Lu Yin, she would will her temperature to spike to forty degrees.
Ming Yao was fine. Lin Qianqian was the one in trouble.
She tried to cover her face with her scarf, mimicking Ming Yao’s earlier tactic.
When that failed, she sat down, her gaze fixed on Lu Yin.
Zhong Shiwu broke the silence.
She smiled, reaching out to pat Ming Yao’s head. “My dear girl, did you miss me so much you had to come all the way here?”
Ming Yao removed the scarf from her face, glancing nervously at Zhong Shiwu. “Yes, I came to…pick you up from work.”
“Then you have the wrong time. It’s not closing time yet,” Zhong Shiwu said, her eyes filled with a knowing amusement.
Ming Yao hated that look, the unspoken implication that she was completely under Zhong Shiwu’s control.
This woman was ruthless, yet she maintained a facade of gentle kindness, a condescending pity that infuriated Ming Yao.
Zhong Shiwu tilted her head towards the exit. “Let’s go.”
Ming Yao hesitated, remaining seated.
“Aren’t you coming?” Zhong Shiwu asked, her smile unwavering, but Ming Yao knew it was an ultimatum.
Zhong Shiwu reserved her patience for her patients, even though their relationship was purely transactional, their connection forged by money, not affection.
“Yes…” Ming Yao stood up, but didn’t move.
“Who are you going with? Your friend?” Zhong Shiwu pressed, needing a clear answer.
“With you…with…Mom,” Ming Yao said, her voice barely a whisper.
Zhong Shiwu chuckled. “Good girl,” she said, taking Ming Yao’s hand.
Lin Qianqian watched them leave, her expression a mixture of shock and confusion. She glanced at Lu Yin, who stood beside her, her face impassive.
“She…she’s Ming Yao’s stepmother?” Lin Qianqian asked, still stunned.
Lu Yin nodded.
“Did you know?”
Lu Yin thought for a moment. “Not really. I’ve never met your friend before.”
As they left the clinic, Lin Qianqian was still in a daze.
“And you, what are you doing running around with a fever?” Lu Yin asked, fastening her seatbelt. “Haven’t you learned your lesson?”
Lin Qianqian was speechless. “…I just wanted some fresh air.”
Lu Yin, seeing her still unwell, didn’t press the issue.
Lin Qianqian noticed Lu Yin’s black bag, the one she usually carried to work, on the back seat.
“Why are you carrying that? It’s so gloomy. Not very cheerful,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “And what were you doing at the hospital?”
“Visiting a friend.”
“Visiting a friend at the hospital…?”
“Dr. Zhong is busy.”
“Oh…” Lin Qianqian said, now aware of Zhong Shiwu’s profession, and remembering Ming Yao’s description of her stepmother, she didn’t question Lu Yin further.
The atmosphere in Ming Yao’s car was less pleasant.
Ming Yao clutched her phone, hesitant to message Lin Qianqian.
She was terrified of the woman beside her, her constant smile masking a cold, calculating nature.
Zhong Shiwu lived in a large house near the clinic. To maintain the facade of a loving mother-daughter relationship, Ming Yao had moved in.
But now, Ming Yao suspected it was all a ploy, a way to control her, to manipulate her.
As they entered the house, Ming Yao’s carefully constructed composure crumbled.
“When is my sister coming back? Our contract is about to expire!” she demanded. “Haven’t you finalized the divorce yet? My father’s funeral was days ago!”
“I can’t exactly kidnap your sister, can I?” Zhong Shiwu said calmly, sipping her tea. “I don’t have that kind of power.”
“You think just because I call you ‘Mom’ you’re actually my mother?” Ming Yao snatched the teacup from her hand. “Auntie Zhong! I’m talking to you!”
Zhong Shiwu frowned. “That’s no way to talk to your elders. Girls much younger than you call me ‘Sister.’”
“I hired you. I’m your boss, your client! I’ll call you whatever I want!”
Ming Yao was furious. Zhong Shiwu’s condescending attitude, her constant attempts to treat her like a child, infuriated her.
“Zhong Shiwu!” she paced back and forth, then stopped in front of Zhong Shiwu, grabbing her collar. “Are you playing me?!”
Zhong Shiwu’s smile vanished. She looked down at Ming Yao’s hand. “I’m warning you. Don’t test my patience.”
She brushed Ming Yao’s hand away, smoothing her collar. “I can’t guarantee you’ll receive the full amount specified in the contract.”
“Idiot,” she muttered, annoyed, then unbuttoned her shirt and walked towards her bedroom.
Finally, some peace and quiet.
Zhong Shiwu leaned back in her massage chair, picking up a diagnostic report from the table.
She could refuse to treat difficult patients.
But difficult family members were a different matter. They had to be dealt with.
And instead of a quick resolution, she preferred a more…gradual approach.
Like treating a patient, breaking them down and rebuilding them.
One method aimed for healing, the other for control, molding them into her desired image.
And Ming Yao, a spoiled, naive little rich girl, needed to be taught a lesson.
On the way home, Lin Qianqian’s phone buzzed. It was a message from Ming Yao.
But before she could read it, it was retracted.
She sent a question mark, but Ming Yao didn’t reply.
Ming Yao had been acting strangely lately, disappearing and reappearing online without explanation. Lin Qianqian didn’t dwell on it, her mind already planning their dinner.
“Can we have barbecue tonight?” she asked Lu Yin.
She had been craving barbecue since returning, but they hadn’t had it yet.
“You’re still sick. You should eat something bland,” Lu Yin said, quickly rejecting the suggestion, then, sensing Lin Qianqian’s potential displeasure, added, “We can have it when you’re better.”
“I have a fever, not a sore throat. I can eat whatever I want.”
“Fine, I’ll drop you off at a barbecue stall.”
Lin Qianqian, seeing Lu Yin’s expression, dropped the subject. “We’ll have it when I’m better.”
She calculated the time. Her birthday was this weekend. She would make Lu Yin her personal servant for the day, fulfilling her every whim.
She had already received her birthday gift and her wish had been granted.
But she wasn’t satisfied.
There was no such thing as too much attention from Lu Yin.
Lu Yin answered a call from Yu Miao, who had sent her dozens of student portfolios and asked her to select a few promising candidates for a new class. Yu Miao was busy with a business trip and trusted Lu Yin’s judgment.
Lu Yin agreed, but the deadline was tight. She would have to work late tonight.
They parked in the underground garage and had noodles at a nearby restaurant.
Back at the apartment, Lu Yin was about to go to the loft when Lin Qianqian stopped her.
“Sister, can I ask you something?”
Lu Yin turned around, seeing Lin Qianqian’s secretive expression, knowing it would be a long conversation. “Come upstairs.”
She started up the stairs. “Don’t forget to take your medicine.”
“I’ll take it before bed. Then I’ll sweat it out and be fine tomorrow,” Lin Qianqian said, pouring herself a glass of hot water and following Lu Yin to the loft.
Lu Yin handed her a thermometer and opened the student portfolios on her computer.
Lin Qianqian leaned closer, pretending to understand.
“Go to bed early. I only called in sick for you for one day.”
“No, I don’t want to sleep yet. You’re still working,” Lin Qianqian said.
Lu Yin frowned. “Will I disturb you?”
She thought about it. She often worked late in the loft, but she always tried to be quiet, mindful of Lin Qianqian sleeping downstairs, not even moving her easel.
“No, I want to keep you company.”
Lu Yin dropped the subject. “What did you want to ask me?”
“What day is Sunday again?” Lin Qianqian hinted. “I can’t remember.”
“I have classes,” Lu Yin said bluntly.
Lin Qianqian deflated.
“I told you already,” Lu Yin said. “That’s why I let you choose your birthday gift early.”
“I said I wanted to change my gift, but you didn’t let me finish!” Lin Qianqian protested. “It’s your fault!”
“I want a fruit cake with little deer-shaped chocolates!”
Lu Yin remained silent, her patience wearing thin.
“You’re not talking again!” Lin Qianqian said, her voice rising slightly, then she coughed. “I’m sick! What if my fever spikes to forty degrees tomorrow because you’re making me angry?”
“Fine, whatever you want,” Lu Yin said, giving in. “Buy it yourself, and I’ll reimburse you.”
Lin Qianqian, seeing that tactic wasn’t working, looked around the loft.
She had explored every inch of the downstairs area, but she had rarely been up here.
She had examined the easels, the art supplies in the boxes, even lain on the rug by the small window, and looked at the charcoal sketches.
Except…
She had never seen the contents of the locked cabinet.
She wanted to know everything about Lu Yin, every hidden corner of her life.
“Sister,” she said after a few minutes of silence.
“Mm?” Lu Yin had finished the initial screening of the portfolios and messaged Yu Miao, asking about the class size.
While waiting for a reply, she finally turned her attention to Lin Qianqian.
“What’s in that cabinet?” Lin Qianqian asked, her voice filled with curiosity.
“Just some old things,” Lu Yin said, even though Lin Qianqian had asked this before. “Trophies, certificates, that sort of thing.”
Lin Qianqian kept asking the same questions, either because she genuinely forgot or because she enjoyed annoying Lu Yin.
So, the cabinet contained Lu Yin’s past achievements, probably locked away when she gave up painting.
But now that she was back in the art world, there was no need to hide them.
These symbols of Lu Yin’s talent should be displayed proudly.
“Can I see?” Lin Qianqian walked over to the cabinet, touching the lock.
It was clean, free of dust. If it contained forgotten relics of the past, it wouldn’t be so well-maintained.
This time, Lu Yin’s refusal was firm.
“No.”
“I want to see. If it’s just trophies and certificates, I’ve seen them before. Why can’t I see them now?” Lin Qianqian complained. “You’re so stingy.”
“Go to bed,” Lu Yin said, receiving a reply from Yu Miao and resuming her work.
She couldn’t let Lin Qianqian see what was inside.
The painting was right there, in the center of the cabinet, a constant reminder of her past.
Lin Qianqian rattled the lock. “Did you forget to give me a key? I can’t open it.”
“I said,” Lu Yin said coldly, “you can’t see it.”
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