Chapter 214: A Silver Tongue Is Useless, But a Silver Tongue Works |
The next morning, Jiang Linyuan washed up and went downstairs, only to have someone rush up to greet him with a smile.
“Jiang-gege is here?”
It was Lin Zhu.
A smile hung on her face, and she had changed into a new lake-blue top and skirt combo that really caught the eye.
Jiang Linyuan gave her a surprised look. This Big Sister, what was she up to?
“Heh, that outfit would suit little Xiao Yilin better.”
Su Muzhi stood off to the side, sweeping a glance at Lin Zhu.
What stray dog wandered in here?
“Haha, Linlin hardly ever wears skirts. Jiang-gege, take a look—do I look good like this?”
Linlin, for your sake, I even wore thermal black stockings. How could this not drive your future husband crazy?
“Sister Bamboo, you’re being so cringe.”
Lin Lan, standing nearby, looked at Lin Zhu and said.
This kid needed a smack.
Lin Zhu shot Lin Lan a glare, but Lin Lan wasn’t scared. She made a funny face, then ducked behind Lin Yilin.
“Big Sister… what… what are you doing!”
Lin Yilin rushed over, grabbed Lin Zhu by the arm, and hissed angrily.
Zhang Juntang, who was sneaking a peek, nodded vigorously.
Right, right, so inappropriate. At the sports meet, when I let Senior touch my leg, it was still through my pants.
“I’m seducing a lonely married man. Once your Senior and I have an affair, I’ll blackmail him into breaking up with his girlfriend, and then you can step in! It’s called ‘besieging Wei to rescue Zhao!’”
Lin Zhu leaned close to Lin Yilin’s ear and whispered.
“Big Sister! If you keep this up, I’m telling Uncle and Aunt!”
Lin Yilin shouted, flustered and indignant.
What kind of wild talk was this, Big Sister! And besides, if the endgame was to pair me up with Senior, why did the affair have to involve you!
“Linlin, why don’t you change into a skirt too?”
Lin Zhu nudged Lin Yilin.
Lin Yilin tugged at her own pants, glanced at Su Muzhi, and said:
“I’ll just wear this, Big Sister. If you keep this up and Sister Su gets mad, I’m washing my hands of it!”
“It’s fine. For your sake, Linlin, Big Sister is willing to face death.”
“Don’t make wrecking other people’s relationships sound so noble!”
After all the bickering, they ate breakfast and got ready to head to the Mazu Temple to experience some Southern Fujian flavor.
The road surprisingly had no snow, showing no trace of yesterday’s snowfall. It was quite strange.
Lin Yilin pulled Lin Zhu along to walk in front, preventing her from bothering Jiang Linyuan again.
Jiang Linyuan and Su Muzhi walked in the middle.
The kids’ group—Lin Lan and Zhang Juntang—stuck together.
Lin Lan looked at Zhang Juntang holding her hand and, honestly, felt a bit uncomfortable:
“Sister Zhang, can you let go of my hand?”
“N-no… Little Yilin told me to keep an eye on you. There are… too many people here.”
Zhang Juntang stared at the crowd before her and said in a low voice.
“But I’m already a big kid. I won’t get lost.”
Lin Lan said.
“B-but… I might.”
Huh?
Lin Lan looked at Zhang Juntang and said:
“How could that be! Sister Zhang, you’re already grown up!”
“It could happen.”
Zhang Juntang wasn’t looking at her. She was staring at Jiang Linyuan’s back, his hand linked with Su Muzhi’s.
If she walked behind all alone, she could easily be overlooked.
But if she held a kid’s hand, Little Yilin would occasionally glance back with concern, and that would make Senior look back too.
Hehe.
“Big Sister, your hand is hurting a bit.”
“Oh, oh… sorry… sorry.”
“Big Sister, your smile just now was super creepy.”
“Huh?”
“It was just like that weird smile Sister Bamboo sometimes gets when she reads e-books.”
“Mm… Here, have some candy. Don’t tell anyone.”
Zhang Juntang pulled a piece of candy from her pocket and shoved it into Lin Lan’s hand.
“Oh.”
Lin Lan snatched the candy and said:
“Big Sister, where’s the candy you promised?”
“I just… gave it to you?”
“Big Sister, you’re framing me! I never snatched your candy! I’m telling Linlin-jie!”
“D-don’t yell… I’ll give you another piece…”
Seeing Jiang Linyuan react to the noise and almost turn around, Zhang Juntang frantically pulled another piece of candy from her pocket.
Lin Lan grabbed it, peeled off the wrapper, and stuffed it into her mouth.
This Sister Zhang was easy to bully, and she had plenty of snacks on her. Lin Lan decided to latch onto her.
“Big Sister, give me another one!”
“N-no… I’m saving the rest for Senior.”
“Big Sister, you’re… mm… mmm…”
Lin Lan tried to speak again, but Zhang Juntang clamped a hand over her mouth, fixing her with a pair of big, dark eyes.
“Really, I can’t. If you ask again, I’ll… I’ll tell Little Yilin that you’re bullying me.”
Damn it, she forgot she was still a kid and couldn’t take on a grown-up.
“Fine, stingy big sister.”
Lin Lan said this, but her gaze toward Zhang Juntang turned sharp.
Did she think a few little snacks could match the big red envelope from Linlin-jie?
Today, I’m going to stick to you like glue! I’ll watch you like a hawk!
Behind them, the two kids were locked in a battle of wits. Ahead, the two sisters were scheming in secret.
“Linlin, listen. I’ll lure his girlfriend away. Then you sneak over, hold his hand, whisper some sweet nothings, and steal a kiss or two…”
Before Lin Zhu could finish, Lin Yilin blushed and cut her off:
“Big Sister, stop talking nonsense! Sister Su and Senior are in a great relationship!”
“How do you know if you don’t test it?”
Lin Zhu said with righteous fervor:
“This isn’t wrecking their relationship. You’re just the touchstone of their love!”
“Rubbish! Big Sister! When I get back, I’m telling Uncle and Aunt that you’ve been learning all the wrong things out here!”
Lin Yilin glared.
Lin Zhu sighed in resignation. She didn’t really care what the elders thought of her.
Ever since she’d dropped that “mugwort” line, she was already dead in the eyes of her persona.
Even her own parents were thinking of starting over with a new kid.
What bothered her more was Linlin’s attitude—clearly liking him but not putting in any effort.
What, was she just going to wait for the guy to dump his girlfriend and come to her?
“If you won’t do it, I will.”
Lin Zhu said.
“That’s not okay either!”
Lin Yilin huffed.
“Why not? Can’t I pursue my own love?”
“That makes you the other woman! Destroying someone else’s relationship!”
“It’s fine. He can wear a condom. That way, the mugwort is on the condom, not on me. I’ll still be pure and clean. It has nothing to do with me.”
Lin Yilin stared at Lin Zhu, her face redder than ever. She forcibly dragged Lin Zhu forward, giving her no chance to get near Jiang Linyuan.
“Heh, little Yilin’s big sister is quite something.”
Su Muzhi watched the two sisters gradually pull ahead, then turned to Jiang Linyuan.
“You’re not mad?”
Jiang Linyuan looked at her.
When Xiao Su got angry, she was hard to soothe. No silver tongue could fix it—only a silver tongue worked.
“She’s all talk. The moment you get close, she’ll scurry away like a mouse.”
Su Muzhi saw right through it.
This Lin Zhu wasn’t even as bold as little Yilin.
“Still, it’s not a bad thing. Having someone like that to push little Yilin to make a move is good.”
Su Muzhi stretched her arms and glanced sidelong at Jiang Linyuan, blinking:
“Little Yilin’s whole family are good people. Not like my family.”
“Auntie Shaqima and the Vice Principal are pretty good too.”
“Heh… your family’s pretty good too.”
“Really?”
“It’s just that your little sister is a bit mischievous.”
“…That’s normal.”
“Heh.”