“Let’s go look for Lin Jintang later and tell him about this news. I’m afraid… he’d be delighted.”
Tang Susu would’ve been doubtful if someone had said that Lin Jintang had known nothing of this accident.
Staying in Fenglin City for so many days, he had probably been waiting for this type of outcome.
After Old Lady Tang’s accident, there was always someone guarding by her side. Even Tang Susu had no opportunity to display her filial piety, not that she had the intention to put up an act in front of the others. In fact, the moment Tang Qiming said they could leave, she was the first to go, not caring about how disapproving the other family members were of her actions.
Exiting the hospital, she hopped onto a taxi and headed towards the West Street Farmers’ Market. According to the address given by Gou Dan, Lin Jintang was staying in a small hotel nearby.
Indeed, not long after, she found Lin Jintang eating in a noodle shop outside the hotel.
He was sitting in a narrow corner in the shop. Holding a big bowl of noodles, he was slurping the noodles indiscriminately. When he saw Tang Susu seated right in front of him, he nearly choked.
After swallowing the noodles in his mouth, he quickly directed his gaze away and asked, “What, what brings you here?”
Tang Susu did not answer him but stared at him for a while, then slowly opened her mouth and said, “My grandma fell down the stairs. She just came out from the operating room. Her life’s not in danger.”
Lin Jintang slightly grinned, then forcefully suppressed his grin and lowered his head. He pressed his voice downwards and said, “Why did such a matter happen all of a sudden?”
If one didn’t know the true face of this person, one might actually be fooled by him.
Who could ever believe that a simple and honest-looking man would spend years plotting against an old lady?
“Perhaps she’s done too many evil deeds; this was just her karma.” Tang Susu called for the waiter and ordered a bowl of noodles as well.
When she had still been attending school, she’d had a little pocket money. Sometimes, before getting a meal, she’d even had to carefully think it through. A small shop like this may seem dirty, but she had spent many lunches in shops like this back then.
Sometimes it really felt unfair just thinking about it. Despite being born into the Tang family and thought to have had a good life, she hadn’t lived any better than a child growing up in a normal family.
After turning into an adult, when she could finally escape being controlled by others, the Tang family instead expected her to give back in exchange for being raised by them.
Even as a member of the Tang family, she couldn’t tolerate her family’s way of doing things, much less an outsider.
Lin Jintang was very surprised by her attitude. He suddenly jolted his head upwards. “What… makes you say so?”
“Don’t you think so too?” She said as she lowered her upper body slightly and grinned at Lin Jintang. “Only those who have done a lot of evil deeds will be entangled with Filthy Aura, right, Brother Jintang?”
Lin Jintang suddenly widened his eyes as he looked at her, appalled.
Filthy Aura was his secret. How had Tang Susu learned about this?
Seeing him about to make a run at any moment, Tang Susu did not agitate him any further. Splitting a pair of wooden chopsticks, she casually remarked, “Are you wondering how I know about this? I can see them, from the goods you’d brought from the mountains to Tai Sui, from the beginning till the end, I saw them all.”
“Then why didn’t you tell them?” Lin Jintang, whose secret was revealed, sat opposite of her, expressionless. His face no longer wore that silly smile but instead held a deadly silence.
“Why should I tell her? It’s none of my business.” Receiving her bowl of noodles from the waiter, Tang Susu added a big spoonful of chili oil, mixed it together with the soup, and tasted it. The taste was good, especially the broth. It had probably been boiled for a long time to achieve this taste.
“Then why did you look for me?”
“Oh. I was just curious. For what reason were you putting so much effort and thought into going against her?”
“Why should I tell you?”
“Well, because I can… I can help you seek revenge.” She rolled a clump of noodles onto her chopsticks and gave him a smile.
“I’ve already done that.” Lin Jintang remained unwavering.
“You’ve wasted so much time, only to see her bleed a little? I thought you had a deep feud with the Tang family and because you were unable to deal with the entire family, you only chose one to go against.”
As Tang Susu spoke, the veins on Lin Jintang’s forehead popped out.
“Looks like I hit the bullseye. So, are you keen on sharing?” Tang Susu raised her head to look at Lin Jintang. He had a conflicted expression, but his eyes were filled with nothing but hatred.
This time, Lin Jintang did not reject her. He sat in silence in front of Tang Susu for some time, watching her finish her bowl of noodles, then finally spoke.
“Did you know that your grandfather used to reside with the Lin family?”
“I’ve heard of it.” Since Lin Jintang had decided to tell his secret, Tang Susu put down her chopsticks and listened to him quietly.
“There’s something you definitely don’t know about. Initially, when the Tang family brought back your grandfather, both families had a marriage agreement between your grandfather and my grandmother.”
Tang Susu knitted her brows as she waited for him to continue.
“My grandma is a fool. You may have heard it from others. In fact, my grandma wasn’t a fool before she was seventeen. She only became a fool after she fell from a mountain and hurt her head. The one who went up the mountain with her was your grandmother, the adopted daughter of our Lin family.”
Tang Susu felt chills coming up from the bottom of her feet.
"He’s telling the truth." Gou Dan, crouching at the side, said suddenly.
"Has no one ever doubted her?"
Lin Jintang shook his head. "She was raised like a biological daughter. Who would doubt her? Since my grandma became a fool and could no longer go to school, the family’s money was used for your grandma to go to school, and finally, even the marriage agreement between the two families was fulfilled by your grandma."
“So how did you find out about this matter?”
"About eight years ago, my grandmother could suddenly speak, so I took her to the doctor. The doctor said that she was getting better and might return to normal. I was very happy at the time and told Grandfather Tang the good news." Lin Jintang licked his lower lip. "Then, I went home one day and found that a thief had broken into my house. I asked around and was told that it was someone from a neighboring village. Out of anger, I fought them and even made one of them throw up blood. As a result, I was locked up in prison. And when I came out, my grandmother had suddenly died. They all said she accidentally fell into the river and drowned while wandering around looking for me."
Seeing his expression as if he was about to cry, Tang Susu didn’t say anything. Bearing the surname ‘Tang’, she was in no position to comfort this person.
There weren’t so many coincidences in this world. Just as she was about to fully recover, Lin Jintang went to jail, and then Old Lady Lin drowned.
She suddenly understood Shen Xiaoyue's hatred. Money and rights, all it took was a word to change a person’s life completely.
“After I was released from prison, I found a diary left by my grandmother when I was packing up her belongings. It turned out that… she was already able to write at that time. In her diary, she wrote that she was pushed down from the mountain by your grandmother simply because Grandfather Tang writing to your grandmother was seen by my grandma."