Chapter 2: She’s Just a Stranger Who Suddenly Appeared
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Mother, she used an unorthodox method. It has nothing to do with my illness getting better!” Gu Jingze said, his eyes darkening.
Mu Wanqing looked at him and said, “You think I’ve never tried that on you? It never worked. Each time, we could only call for the doctor to handle it time and time again. But you touched her. Furthermore, your subordinates said that you were very satisfied with her and did it more than once the entire night.”
“…” Gu Jingze pressed his clenched fist on the tempered-gla.s.s table and said, “Maybe the drug this time was different. In any case, I won’t marry this crazy woman who doesn’t have an ounce of morality. Mother, you should give up on this idea.”
——
As Lin Che walked on the streets and looked at the mess all over her body, she cursed silently in frustration. That d.a.m.ned drug-seller. She had felt that something was wrong with him when she bought the drug. All she had said was that she needed a drug to make someone fall asleep, but she had never said that she wanted such a drug. Now, look at what the man did to her after consuming it. She could still feel the pain throughout her body when she recalled what had happened.
The excruciating pain in her nether regions brought to mind the events of the previous night. That darned man had tormented her many times to the point that she fainted and could not remember anything else.
The only thing she remembered from before…
“Lin Che, look at yourself. You still want to be a celebrity? It’s better to listen properly to your stepmother. I’ll find you a good family to marry into. An illegitimate child is just an illegitimate child. You will always be second-rate.”
“Lin Che, Stepmother is doing this for your own good. Your eldest sister, Lin Li, is now a top celebrity; your second sister is also a top producer. After so many years, you’re still just a D-list celebrity. You have no prospects.”
“Little Che, the company has already allocated the role to someone else this time. We think that your image does not suit the role.”
She smiled bitterly… if they had not pushed her into a corner, she would not have come up with such a sinister plot. All she wanted was to continue living, but now …
Lin Che rushed to the company; regardless of what had happened, she did not forget that she had an audition today.
Upon seeing her arrive, Yu Minmin’s face darkened as she glared at Lin Che and said, “So you still came. I thought you didn’t care about this audition!”
“Sorry Sister Yu, I came late.”
Lin Che quickly covered up the mess on her clothes.
With one look, Yu Minmin saw the marks on her neck. She lowered her head and inspected Lin Che’s clothes. Pulling on Lin Che’s collar, she said, “We’re meeting the director soon. I don’t care about your personal life. However, if you still want this role, you better freshen up so you don’t look like a prost.i.tute!”
Lin Che looked down at herself. Only then did she discover the marks that left little to the imagination. They were too obvious and too embarra.s.sing.
That stupid man. He was a total beast!
Lin Che immediately bowed and apologized. Pulling on her clothes, she ran to the bathroom, thinking to herself, It was all that man’s fault. He had basically put an end to her life or whatever future she had!
All of a sudden, her phone started ringing.
Lin Che picked up the phone in exasperation.
“h.e.l.lo?”
“Lin Che, where were you last night?” Lin Youcai sounded angry through the phone.
Lin Youcai seldom called her unless something was up. For many years, he was dispensable as a father, but Lin Che could not treat him as a completely non-existent person. After all, she still needed to live in the Lin household.
Lin Che thought about what had happened last night. Feeling guilty, she said, “I-I had something on last night.”
“I don’t care what you were busy with. Your sister, Lin Li, wants to discuss her engagement with the family today. How dare you stay out all night?” Lin Youcai reprimanded fiercely.
Yes, Lin Li was getting engaged, but that was none of her business. Lin Che listened calmly to her father’s angry tirade without a sliver of sadness in her heart. After so many years, she had already become accustomed to his scoldings.
“I don’t care what you have going on. You must come back now. If I discover that you’re not back, I’ll dig out her ashes from the Lin family grave and throw it into the sea so you’ll never see any part of your mother for the rest of your life.”
When he finished speaking, Lin Youcai hung up the phone.
The Lin Household.
Han Caiying watched as Lin Youcai put down the phone. She eagerly asked, “Is she coming back?”
Lin Youcai replied, “She’s coming back.”
Han Caiying stretched out a hand to caress Lin Youcai’s chest in an attempt to appease him. “Old Master, you must have a talk with her so that she agrees to this marriage proposal. I was really shocked when the Cheng family suddenly proposed marriage. Lin Yu is an outstanding girl; she’s beautiful and sensible, so how could I let her marry that r.e.t.a.r.d? I even heard that he’s incontinent. They just want Lin Yu to marry into their family so that they would have a maid. As for Lin Che, she’s an illegitimate child anyway. Who should go if not her?”
“Don’t worry,” Lin Youcai said, “I can’t bear to let Lin Yu suffer either. But Lin Che is also my daughter…”
“Great, so you mean that you’d make Lin Yu clean up someone else’s feces and urine instead of Lin Che? If that’s the case, Lin Youcai, you really don’t have a conscience. Back when you had this daughter with another woman, I let her stay in the Lin household and brought her up. Now that she’s grown up, you wouldn’t even let her help me out a little. Given her standard, letting her marry into the Cheng family to enjoy their wealth is an honor for her.”
“Alright, alright.” Seeing as Han Caiying had begun bringing up the past and was nagging incessantly, Lin Youcai quickly stopped her and said, “I’ll make her go. She’ll go.”
Lin Youcai had indeed hesitated, but upon ruminating, there was no one else to choose besides Lin Che.
They could not afford to offend the Cheng family. Although their son was a r.e.t.a.r.d, they were, at least, rolling in money. Marrying Lin Che into their family could be considered quite a fair treatment towards her.
Then, the housekeeper called from outside, “Old Master, Madam, Third Miss is back.”
The housekeeper said to Lin Che, “Old Master and Madam are waiting for you inside. First Miss is discussing her engagement today, so your brother-in-law is here too.”
Lin Che looked at the housekeeper in astonishment, “Qin Qing is here?”
The housekeeper said, “Yes, he went in right before you.”
Pleasantly surprised, Lin Che ran into the house only to stop a moment later.
Inside, Qin Qing and Lin Li were standing together in the hallway.
They were leaning close together, their lips almost touching. It was a bad time to disturb them.
Lin Che stood there rooted, forgetting to even move away.
When she finally attempted to turn around, she felt a slap on her face which nearly sent her to the ground. As her cheek burned, Han Caiying grabbed her and pulled her into a room.
After shutting the door, Han Caiying turned around to glare at Lin Che. She pointed accusingly at Lin Che and said, “You shameless wh.o.r.e. Don’t think I didn’t see what you were up to. That is your brother-in-law. How shameless can you be to dare attempt at seducing him?”
Lin Che stood rooted to the ground. Holding her burning cheek, Lin Che smirked at Han Caiying and said, “Stepmother, if I really wanted to seduce him, I wouldn’t be just standing there and watching.”