Chapter 39: The Second Brother's Regret

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Lin Mo waited in her room.

The only thing left in the room that belonged to her was an hourglass.

She turned it over, then rested her head on the table and watched, wide-eyed, as the sand trickled down grain by grain.

“Lin Mo.” Lin Tiancheng entered from outside.

Lin Mo’s heart gave a sudden leap, and she turned toward him.

Had they finally agreed?

She knew that with Lin Wan around, there would always be a way to persuade them.

“Sign it now.”

“I’ll give you the household register tomorrow. You can go to the local police station and complete the transfer.”

“If there’s anything else you want, you can say so. After all, you’re still my daughter.”

Lin Mo looked at her father’s face, a trace of self-mockery in her eyes. “I don’t have any other requests.”

“This is fine as it is.”

Lying across the table, Lin Mo’s long, ink-dark hair spilled over her shoulders. Her face was turned slightly to one side, her features pale and lovely.

Yet there was not a glimmer of light in her eyes.

Behind her lay the pitch-black night, and she was still wearing cheap clothes.

Lin Tiancheng suddenly felt a little guilty. “Mo Mo, after we honor your wishes tomorrow, we’ll take you out to buy some clothes.”

“You’ll be living in the countryside for a year, and we’ll give you enough money for your expenses. You’ll still receive the hundred thousand yuan.”

“You’ll need money to live with your grandparents, at the very least.”

Lin Mo answered faintly, then closed her eyes, looking exhausted.

“I’ll sign once the transfer is completed. Bring the agreement in the car tomorrow.”

Seeing that nothing was going to change, Lin Tiancheng no longer pressed her to sign.

The door closed behind him.

Qin Lian had already told the rest of the family that Lin Mo intended to transfer her household registration.

The family sat together in the living room downstairs.

Lin Wan was in an excellent mood. Lin Mo, that eyesore, was finally leaving. She could hardly have been happier.

Every time she saw Lin Mo, she felt as though a thorn were lodged in her back.

She had wished countless times that Lin Mo would be driven away at once.

Once Lin Mo was gone, she would be the family’s only little princess. She would never again have to fear someone stealing away the love that belonged to her.

Lin Yunhe had once been a relatively gentle man. But ever since he had witnessed Lin Wan lying in a pool of blood, he had become utterly disappointed in Lin Mo.

“It’s for the best that she transfers out. I can provide her living expenses every month, but she must not come back.”

“Her existence is no good for anyone.”

With his refined, scholarly features, this was the first time Lin Yunhe had ever spoken so harshly.

Lin Hen was somewhat surprised. Although he stood on Lin Wan’s side, he still remembered that Lin Mo had brought him back that one time.

Besides, she was only a young girl. She had gone to meet those people alone in the middle of the night, facing so many spoiled heirs by herself…

Lin Hen could not bring himself to be completely heartless.

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“I think we should consider this carefully. Lin Mo is still a member of the Lin family by blood. If she transfers out, doesn’t that amount to refusing to acknowledge her as our daughter?”

Disapproval filled Lin Hen’s deep-set eyes. “Dad, please think it over again.”

“It isn’t your father who’s driving her away. She’s the one who wants to transfer out,” Qin Lian said with a frown. “You have no idea—when we refused earlier, she went straight to bully Wanwan.”

“She even said that if she couldn’t leave, she would drag Wanwan to her death with her!”

“It was terrifying!”

Lin Wan nodded as well. People with nothing to lose feared no one.

Lin Mo had clearly given up on everything now. Lin Wan no longer dared confront her directly. What if Lin Mo truly lost her mind?

Lin Hen opened his mouth, but no words came. Irritated, he lowered his eyes.

Lin Juan smiled faintly, his handsome, refined features showing complete indifference. “She wants to leave on her own. Then we should respect her decision.”

“She’s already eighteen. We no longer have any obligation toward her.”

“She’s an adult. Whatever she does, she must take responsibility for herself.”

Lin Hen said, “But Third Brother, in your eyes, Wanwan will always be a little girl who needs to be cared for.”

“Second Brother, how could Lin Mo possibly compare with Wanwan? You’ve lost your mind.” Lin Jianchen frowned and gave a cold laugh. “And it isn’t only Third Brother who thinks that way. I do too.”

“Lin Mo is eighteen already. Who does she expect to clean up after her?”

Lin Qinglang sighed. “It may be better for her to leave. I hope she can mend her ways in the future.”

“She was just a country girl when she came here. She was probably blinded by jealousy. Once she goes back and returns to the place that belongs to her, perhaps she’ll become kind again.”

Lin Jianchen suddenly clicked his tongue twice. “Fifth Brother, you’re not usually this polite. You’ve always been the harshest when it came to insulting Lin Mo.”

Lin Qinglang waved a hand, unwilling to say more.

He had realized that Lin Mo’s voice was remarkably similar to Lin’s.

Lin had been the girl who helped him climb out of the depths of despair. He did not want to say anything too cruel to someone who sounded so much like her.

Besides, Lin Mo was leaving anyway.

There was no need.

Not one member of the family tried to make Lin Mo stay.

It was as though she had always been an unnecessary person.

Lin Hen went upstairs and lingered at the top of the staircase.

He was not easygoing by nature. He was proud, unruly, and spoiled.

Irritated, he pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. Resting both hands on the banister, he stared into space, lost in thought.

All the lights had been turned off.

When Lin Mo came out, she saw a faint glow in the stairwell.

The air was thick with the smell of smoke.

Her expression remained calm.

“Lin Mo.” Lin Hen crushed the cigarette between his fingers and waved away the smoke. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” Lin Mo nodded. “I’m an unwanted person here.”

Those few words made Lin Hen’s heart tremble.

His throat moved. “Actually, we don’t hate you as much as you think. Before you came back, we were looking forward to it too.”

“It’s just that you treated Wanwan too badly.”

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“You know, for eighteen years…”

“I know.” Lin Mo interrupted him. “For eighteen years, you lived with her day and night, watched her grow up, and poured so much love into her.”

“If I were you, perhaps I couldn’t have been completely fair either.”

“But… you were too unfair to me.”

Lin Mo spoke in a low, self-mocking voice. In the darkness, no one could see the tears glimmering in her eyes.

This would be the last time she allowed herself to be weak.

She knew it.

After tomorrow, the Lin family would no longer have her as a daughter.

“After tomorrow, I’ll be just as I was before.”

“You think I was raised by my grandparents from childhood, but that isn’t true.”

“I… grew up in an orphanage.”

Lin Mo let out a sigh. A smile touched her lips, but her eyes held a bone-deep desolation.

“The only thing you did wrong to me was…”

Lin Hen stared at her.

The girl was so small and slender that she seemed almost fragile.

Only then did Lin Hen remember that she was merely eighteen.

She had been separated from her parents since she was little.

He waited for her to finish.

At that moment, the motion-activated light came on.

Lin Mo’s eyes were rimmed with red, and she gave him a fragile smile.

“You should never have given me hope.”

After saying that, Lin Mo turned and went back into her room.

Lin Hen felt a weight pressing down on his heart.

A sudden premonition came over him. Perhaps Lin Mo’s transfer of household registration was only a sign of what was to come.

Perhaps she would never return to the Lin family.

He had thought that losing this younger sister completely would not affect him.

But…

He found himself confused.

Why was this happening?

She was not some little flower or blade of grass by the roadside, trampled underfoot by anyone.

She was his flesh-and-blood sister, a living person who had hoped for their love.

Lin Hen lay awake the entire night.

He realized that he had never truly tried to understand Lin Mo. Before she left, he wanted to give her something, yet he did not even know what she liked.

Thinking more carefully, he remembered that none of her clothes had ever cost more than a hundred yuan.

Her shoes had been washed until their color had nearly faded away, yet she still wore the same cheap white sneakers she had bought by the roadside for a few dozen yuan.

Lin Hen abruptly rose to his feet and hurled his pillow onto the floor.

“She…”

“She’s my sister too!”