Chapter 113 - Tong Lin

I finally managed to coax Jing Ni away. I sighed in relief. I sincerely felt that this was not Jing Ni's fault. If anything, I had dragged Jing Ni and Auntie Bai Rui into this.

As Jing Ni reached the door, she turned around to say with red eyes. "Nanxing, we both scored enough to get into M University. We'll be registering for our courses in two days but I find myself unable to be excited."

I smiled. "Ni Ni, then I shall be excited on your behalf! Help me find out about the course registration. After Auntie has fallen asleep, you have to come help me!" Jing Ni finally smiled. After she left, my heart filled. 

Su Qian said, "Miss Jing Ni has been crying nonstop until her eyes swelled.. To be honest, no one blames her but she can't stop blaming herself."

I nodded. "Ni Ni and her mother are too kind." I then asked nervously, "Where's Su Shen?"

Su Qian smiled, "Miss, don't worry. The bullet struck close to her heart, and lungs but she was lucky. The bullet only grazed past the vital organs. She has survived the most critical period."

I sighed, "It was my fault that she was shot."

Su Qian corrected, "Miss, please don't think of it that way. It's our job to protect you." She was right but I still felt very guilty. 

"Who else was injured?" I asked Su Qian.

Su Qian replied, "Other than Master Qi and Master Si who were forced to take a rest by Doctor Lin, the others only sustained minor injuries."

"What about Tong Lin and Yan Xin? Did they manage to escape?"

Su Qian sighed, "No, they were caught."

"Then why did you sigh? Is it because of Tong Lin?" I caught this detail.

Su Qian nodded. "Miss, this Tong Lin is never the member of the Tong Family."

"Oh?" I raised my brow. "But he looks so similar to my little uncle."

"He has a very good plastic surgeon." Su Qian added.

"What?" I widened my eyes at Su Qian. I was not expecting that.

Su Qian nodded. "His mother is a very crazy woman. She was so obsessed with your eldest uncle, Tong Hui that she plotted to destroy his marriage by crawling into his bed. And then a decade later, she returned to the Tong Family with Tong Lin. The mother and son were accepted immediately because Tong Lin looked so much like Master Si, even more so than the actual Young Master Tong, Tong Zhou. Elder Tong didn't suspect their real identity until one day when Tong Lin and Young Master Tong Zhuo got into a car accident. They required blood donation. Your eldest uncle and second uncle donated. It was then that the family realized Tong Lin had a different blood type than everyone else. Only then did everyone realized they had been tricked. By then Tong Lin and his mother had been living with the Tong Family for 3 years already. They were chased out immediately and no news was heard of them since." 

I looked at Su Qian. "Tong Lin's mother is no common character, is she? Or else she wouldn't have dared to pull such trick over the Tong Family."

Su Qian smiled bitterly. "Miss, you're too clever. Tong Lin's mother is the Yan Family's young miss, Yan Yu. She is also Yan Xin's aunt. Long time ago, the seniors of the Yan Family had once saved the Tong Family so Yan Family and Tong Family were family friends. Without the Yan Family, there would no Tong Family, so even if the scam was exposed, the Tong Family only chased Tong Lin and his mother out, they didn't do anything else."

I nodded. "Understood, so I have to follow these rules and let them go as well?"

Su Qian looked conflicted. "Master Si has been holding up the entire Tong Family on his own all these years. The Yan Family hasn't done anything to hinder him." 

Well, that was a tactful way to put things. In other words, while the Tong Family was in trouble, the Yan Family also didn't offer to help. However, we still had to thank them for not kicking us when we were down.

"What about now? Are we still going to forgive them?" I asked Su Qian.

Su Qian sighed, "I don't think so. After all, they have come after Master Si and your life, miss. That is not so easily forgiven. But..." She didn't finish her sentence. The Tong Family was bound by a debt to the Yan Family. 

Perhaps at the start, the two families were indeed close. However, as the time went on, even the deepest debt would be exhausted, the good will worn out through the generations. In the end, all that was left would be a necessity to uphold family values and history.

I could hear the helplessness in Su Qian's voice. Su Qian grew up in the Tong Family, she was familiar with the family rules of the Tong Family, so her difficulty would mirror my little uncle's.

I believed that my little uncle would also have trouble dealing with Tong Lin and Yan Xin. He'd be bound by honor and family traditions.

However, there would always be a rule-breaker in the family, right?

I so enjoy being the black sheep!