Lin Anjie showed Anning a white shirt with yellow flowers on it.
"Anning, do you like it? If not, I can buy you something else."
Anning took the shirt, looked at it and quietly said thank you.
She played the role of a kind-hearted little girl who valued family relationships and bore no grudges to a tee.
Seeing Anning forgive her so easily, a hint of triumph flashed in Lin Anjie's eyes, and she tried even harder to please Lin Aiguo and Wang Cuixhua.
She took out a lot of stuff and put them on the table: "Dad, Mom, this is what I bought for you. I was wrong before, I was young and ignorant, not recognizing good people's hearts. Now that I've been out for so long, I realize no matter how good it is outside, it's not as good as being at home, nobody can replace my own parents."
As she spoke, Lin Anjie bowed her head and started to wipe away tears.
Wang Cuixhua felt pity seeing her like this.
She didn't look at Lin Aiguo anymore but quickly handed a glass of water to Lin Anjie: "Alright, stop crying, no matter what, you are still my daughter, I can't ignore you."
Lin Anjie then wiped her tears and shyly smiled at Wang Cuixhua.
Lin Aiguo's heart softened as well, although his face was still stern, his eyes softened.
"Alright, sit for a bit then go back to the Su family. Go talk properly with Zhiqiang, spouses shouldn't be arguing so fiercely."
"Alright, I understand."
Lin Anjie smiled in agreement.
She sat for a while and then took her bag and went back to the Su family.
Two days later, Lin Anjie went to the Lin Family again, and this time she started hovering around Anning.
Anning excused herself saying she needed to study and did not pay much attention to Lin Anjie, so Lin Anjie engaged in lively conversation with Wang Cuixhua.
While cooking, Lin Anjie, for the first time, helped Wang Cuixhua kindle the fire. While adding wood, she softly said to Wang Cuixhua: "Mom, this time I went to the county and learned a lot. I heard that families with good conditions let their kids stay in the guest houses during college entrance exams. The guest houses are very close to the schools, just a few steps' walk to the exam sites, which is really convenient. It helps the exam-takers to eat well, sleep well, and saves travel time for studying. I was thinking, should we also let Anning stay at a guest house?"
Wang Cuixhua had just finished cooking a dish and paused: "Is the guest house expensive?"
She was calculating how much money they still had at home, and if it wasn't enough, they would have to borrow some from Lin Hongjun.
Lin Anjie waved her hand: "No, it's not expensive, Mom, don't worry. I will pay for Anning's stay at the guest house."
"How can we let you pay? You are married..."
Wang Cuixhua was reluctant to let Lin Anjie pay: "Your dad and I still have some money, if not enough, your uncle can't just stand by."
"I said I'll pay for it."
Lin Anjie was very determined: "I owe Anning from before, this time I must take concrete actions to apologize to her, I've decided, during the college entrance exams I'll accompany Anning to the county, I'll take care of her these days."
Wang Cuixhua felt warm inside: "You're thinking right, after all, you are siblings, family is family."
"Yeah."
Lin Anjie nodded earnestly: "Anning's college entrance exam is very important. If she gets into college, I will also feel honored. Having a university student as a sister, I'd like to see anyone from the Su family dare to bully me."
Wang Cuixhua was particularly happy upon hearing this, she finished cooking with a smile on her face and asked Lin Anjie to call Lin Aiguo for dinner.
During the meal, Wang Cuixhua told Lin Aiguo about what Lin Anjie had said.
She looked at Anning: "Anning, your sister has good intentions, I think what your sister said makes sense. Our home is far from the county, thinking about how much time is wasted on travel, not to mention the potential risks on the road, it's better to stay in the county."
Anning nodded: "I used to think the same, I just haven't discussed it with you yet."
"If you decide, you better book the room early."
Unable to focus on his meal, Lin Anjie pulled Anning aside for a warm chat, "As we can think of this, so can others. If we book too late, I'm afraid all the rooms at the guest house will be gone."
"Then book a room for your sister tomorrow."
Upon hearing this, Lin Aiguo also became anxious: "I'll get you the money later."
Lin Anjie quickly waved his hand: "Dad, I said I'd pay. If you mention money again, I'll get mad."
"Alright then."
Lin Aiguo thought that since Lin Anjie was finally getting closer to Anning and willing to do something for her, he should support it.
Moreover, Lin Anjie paying for the room would mean Anning would owe him a favor if she got into university, which could be considered a sibling transaction, not something the parents should interfere too much in.
Thinking this, Lin Aiguo didn't bring up the topic of money again.
Wang Cuihua meanwhile, pulled Lin Anjie aside and nagged her with many instructions – like making sure Anning doesn't suffer in the heat, and to avoid letting Anning eat anything too cold, and to be careful with what she eats.
Lin Anjie, with a smile glued to his face, appeared to listen attentively, but in his heart, he was already seething with resentment.
He saw this as a display of Wang Cuihua's favoritism – she only ever cared for Anning and never bothered about her eldest daughter.
Otherwise, why would Wang Cuihua suddenly become much nicer to him when he mentioned booking a room for Anning and going with her to the county to look after her?
And Lin Aiguo too, his parents were just unbelievable.
Lin Anjie lowered his head, quietly clenching his fist.
He was looking forward to seeing if Wang Cuihua and Lin Aiguo would still treat him so kindly after Anning failed her college entrance exams.
If Anning didn't get into university, she would have to return to the countryside to farm for the rest of her life, and that would be her life.
But when he became wealthy in the future, he could crush Anning into the mud, and he would make sure Wang Cuihua regretted her current bias.
Anning lowered her head to eat, pretending not to notice the darkness in Lin Anjie's eyes.
She understood clearly that Lin Anjie was plotting against her.
She searched through the original host's memories and found something relevant.
The original host too had Lin Anjie accompanying her during the college entrance exams. On the first day, she overslept and nearly missed the exam. Once in the examination hall, whether from nerves or lack of sleep, she felt groggy and unable to concentrate.
The rest of the exams went the same way, with the original host wanting to sleep while answering the questions.
It was only her strong willpower, occasionally pinching herself, that kept her from falling asleep in the exam hall and allowed her to complete the tests.
Despite that, her performance on the last exam was particularly poor.
One could say that during that college entrance exam, the original host did not perform as well as usual.
Anning glanced at Lin Anjie.
The original host didn't understand why this happened, but Anning knew – it must have been Lin Anjie's sabotage.
Anning decided that this time she would also stay with Lin Anjie at the county guesthouse. She wanted to see how Lin Anjie would tamper with things, and catching him in the act would be ideal.
If she could obtain evidence of Lin Anjie's sabotage, Anning believed that Lin Aiguo and his wife would lose their affection for Lin Anjie.