Chapter 294: Chapter 136.1: The Scummy Brother (4)

Father Lin came back very early today. He was in a very good mood, and bought a fish.

As soon as he entered the door, he smiled and handed the fish to his wife, who walked over upon hearing the noise, “Cook this fish. Those two kids love fish.”

Mother Lin took the fish, but there wasn’t much happiness on her face, “Shixing said she wants to continue her studies.”

Father Lin was first stunned.

He and Mother Lin were from the same village, and their living environment was naturally similar. Although they were now in the city, due to their limited exposure, Father Lin’s ideas, like his wife’s, had never changed.

A 17-year-old girl should get married, why bother with studying? What’s the point of studying now? Even if she becomes a university student, so what? He worked in a carpentry workshop, and the accountant there was also a university student. He worked overtime every day but still earned less than the masters in the factory.

“What’s wrong with this child?”

He complained, but he didn’t mean to blame her.

In Father Lin’s eyes, Lin Shixing was still a child. Children weren’t sensible, it was normal to have some strange ideas.

She hadn’t grown up yet. When she did, she would naturally come to her senses.

So he said, “It’s okay. We won’t give her any money. Without money, she won’t be able to make a fuss. I’ve been busy with her job these days, you know, I found a really good job for her. She can sit in an office, not too tiring, and she can earn four or five thousand yuan a month. She won’t be busy at work, and she can find a husband and have a child. In the future, when she’s comfortable, she’ll know that we did it for her own good.”

Father Lin thought it was only natural and never thought his daughter would rebel or disagree. After all, he had been in charge for so many years and the children had always listened to him. Even Shiheng, who was always naughty and liked to play, was obedient to him.

However, Mother Lin didn’t think so.

She held the fish and couldn’t hide her worry, “I think it’s a bit troublesome. She insisted on participating in a singing competition. I refused to let her go, and she threatened to commit suicide. If it weren’t for Shiheng finding out, she might be in the hospital by now.”

“Honey, I think Shixing is serious this time...”

Father Lin still didn’t take it seriously, and even felt that Mother Lin was fooled by their child.

“Where does Shixing have the guts? I think she’s just trying to scare you. Kids are like that, full of bad ideas. We just need to make our position clear and she’ll realize there’s no room for negotiation and behave.”

“But...”

“Alright, alright, go and cook the fish. When we have dinner, I’ll talk to Shixing. She’s sensible, and if we talk nicely, she might listen.”

As for what would happen if she didn’t listen, Father Lin had a plan.

No matter how disobedient she was, she was still their daughter. If they didn’t give her money, she would have to behave.

Mother Lin, worried, went to cook dinner. Because she was preoccupied, she put too much salt in the dishes, making them too salty. It looked normal on the table, but only after taking a bite could one tell something was off.

The family of four sat down to eat. When Father Lin was a child, he had eaten a lot of hardship and wasn’t picky about food. He ate whatever was given to him. After Shixing was called out, she buried her head and ate silently. Even when she tasted the saltiness, she didn’t say anything. As for Mother Lin, she was so preoccupied that she couldn’t taste anything, let alone notice the taste.

Only Lin Shiheng was eating seriously. He took a few bites and then placed down his chopsticks.

“Is there nowhere else to put all the salt in the house? Are you trying to kill me?”

Mother Lin was interrupted by her son’s dissatisfied voice, and suddenly came back to her senses, “Ah, oh, I’ll add some MSG to the pot to dilute the taste.”

“Hurry up and dilute it. You’re going to kill me.”

Lin Shiheng pushed a few plates towards his mother without any politeness, looking very dissatisfied and impatient.

Father Lin couldn’t stand his behavior and frowned, scolding him, “What do you mean by diluting it? It’s just a bit salty. Drink more water!”

“It’s going to ruin my taste buds. How can I eat this?”

The son, who was spoiled by his father, wasn’t afraid of him at all and simply withdrew his hand, “I’m not eating it, I’m not eating it.”

This looked like insolent behavior, and Father Lin’s forehead was throbbing with anger. But even so, when he saw the face that resembled his own, but was much more handsome than when he was younger, the fire in his heart subsided a bit.

He took a deep breath and slowed down his tone, “How can you not eat? Didn’t you always call home from school and say you wanted to eat your mother’s cooking? It’s a rare holiday from school, so eat more.”

Mother Lin stood up and said, “I’ll go prepare something light.”

Lin Shixing watched the scene with cold eyes. She had long been accustomed to the different treatment her parents gave to her brother and herself. Even if she was jealous and upset about this unfair treatment, she would never show it.

After saying those words, Lin Shixing’s mentality changed.

She couldn’t easily abandon her family, nor could she be unaffected by them, because deep down in her heart, they were still her parents.

Even though they weren’t as good to her as they were to her brother, she couldn’t help but feel some warmth and affection from them since she was young.

So, she couldn’t let go.

The small episode at the dinner table didn’t delay Father Lin’s concern about what his wife had said before. Seizing the opportunity when the dishes were being taken away, he placed his chopsticks down and looked at his daughter, “Shixing, I heard from your mother that you don’t want to work, and want to continue studying?”

“Yeah.” Lin Shixing lowered her head and stared tightly at the chopsticks in her hand, “My grades are good, and the teacher said I can definitely get into a good university. And I’ll also work part-time to earn tuition and living expenses without relying on the family’s money.”

Father Lin keenly sensed that something was off with his usually sensible daughter. He paused for a moment, suddenly realizing that his thigh had been bumped by his son sitting next to him, and he subconsciously looked up.

Lin Shiheng pointed to his sister who was burying her head and not looking at anyone, then he placed his hand on his neck, rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue, making a hanging gesture.

However, Father Lin still frowned. As the pillar and head of the family, he wasn’t afraid of children threatening suicide.

Because he never took it seriously.

Just like Mother Lin, when it came to the education of the children in the family, Father Lin would also put himself in their shoes. When he was 17, he lived through such tough times without ever thinking about suicide. How could Lin Shixing, who enjoyed good meals every day, want to commit suicide?

It was just a means to scare her parents.

Father Lin had made up his mind, and his face turned cold. With a slap on the table, he said, “Don’t think that I don’t know what you’re thinking. Do you think you can get our approval by pretending? This matter has been decided. Go to work first, I’ve already arranged everything. You will work in the office, and for the first month, you’ll earn 4,500 yuan. It can still go up after a while. You’ll have one day off a week. Even if you graduate from university, you might not find such a good job. You don’t know what’s good for you!”

“Not knowing what’s good for you...”

Lin Shixing murmured these three words, raised her head. With tears streaming down her face, she trembled and asked her father, “Dad... Do you two really have to do this?”

“What’s wrong with us? Aren’t we doing this for you? If you weren’t my daughter, I wouldn’t even bother. Let me tell you, Lin Shixing, you better stop crying and eat your food. After your meal, I’ll take you to the workshop and you can learn from others.”

Lin Shixing placed her chopsticks down.

She put them down gently, without using any force.

She wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, and her swollen eyes met her father’s gaze. Her once clear voice was now hoarse as she spoke slowly, “During the break, I’ll work part-time and earn money. Once school starts, I’ll go to school and live there. I won’t ask you for a penny. If you’re unhappy about it, you can come to the school and make a scene. I’ll sit on the ground and cry, and attract attention from everyone in school. I’ll tell them our address, your names, and the address of the workshop. Then, our family can become famous.”

Father Lin was taken aback by her words and then stood up in anger, “Look at what you’re saying! What kind of words are those? Who taught you to say those things?”

Lin Shiheng, the instigator, sat obediently.

Lin Shixing’s face remained expressionless, but her hand under the table trembled. “Those who have nothing to lose aren’t afraid of anything. I won’t rely on my family, and I won’t take your money. If you won’t let me go to school, then I’ll let our family be disgraced together. I’m not afraid of anything now.”

“Good! Good!! You’re not afraid of anything, right?!”

The Lin family seldom used physical punishment, but today Father Lin was really angry. He had gone around to ask for favors everywhere, and had finally found a good job for his daughter. But she repaid him with these words. He stood up in anger and looked around the room before grabbing a broom and charging towards her.

“I’m going to beat you to death, you unfilial daughter!!”

“Dad! Dad!!”

Lin Shiheng, who was quietly watching the scene, suddenly jumped up and hugged his father from behind. “What are you doing? Lin Shixing is so skinny, if you hit her like this, she’ll die!”

In the kitchen, Mother Lin, who kept looking outside from time to time, quickly ran over to stop Father Lin when she saw what was happening. “Honey, come on, talk to your child. Don’t use violence.”

“You two stop pulling me! Listen to what she said. She acted like we were harming her. I have to teach her a lesson today!” Father Lin shouted.

“Dad, you should teach her with words, not violence. Put down the broom first. Mom, you hold him back! Lin Shixing, what are you waiting for? Go hide in your room and lock the door!” The older brother intervened.

The three of them were in a mess, but Lin Shixing remained calm, with tears welling up in her eyes. She silently watched this scene of her angry father, mother trying to break up the fight, and her brother standing up for her even though their relationship wasn’t great.

These were her family members.

Her despair didn’t stem from their indifference and unfair treatment towards her, but from the fact that even though they treated her this way, they still loved her.