Chapter 212 - There We Go Again!

Lina sat in silence and examined the rapid changes that were taking place on Lucille's face.

'A seasoned actress could get intimidated by this level of skill for sure!' She was generous with her praise and commended the older lady's innate talent.

While Lina was keeping an eye on her opponent's facial expressions, the said opponent was having a tough time trying to organize herself.

'Does she know…!?' Lucille trembled as this thought popped up in her mind.

She could hear the loud beating of her heart in her ears and the sweat forming on her forehead was proof of how anxious she felt at this given moment.

Both mother and daughter had a similar trait, they would sweat buckets when they were in a tense situation.

Yet, the mother was the better of the pair as she was quick to compose herself.

'No… No… I'm sure she is trying to trick me into spilling something in my panic. Who does this child think she is messing with.?' She snickered with her eyes now lowered to hide her conflicted emotions.

'My daughter may be easily manipulated but the same cannot be said for me!' She snarled in anger for being treated like a fool by this person from the younger generation.

In her irritation about what had happened, she failed to notice that she had just called her own flesh and blood, 'a fool'.

Nevertheless, she was least bothered about subconsciously dissing the child that she had bore when another thought struck her mind.

'Did he not promise me that…?' Her troubled mind relaxed in the next instant.

The reason for this reversal was that she thought of the man who had assured her that not a single soul knew of the Truth.

'He may be an asshole but he wouldn't lie to me.' She believed the man's words wholeheartedly.

Choosing to place her trust in his words, she took a deep calming breath and then looked up.

Having restrained the scary thoughts in her mind, she looked into Lina's eyes and sneered at her after setting aside her fears.

"Firstly, did your mother not teach you how to address your elders in the proper manner? How can you call me 'Lady' instead of 'Aunt'?" She rebuked Lina's disrespectful form of addressing her from a few moments ago.

The snide remark about her upbringing and the finger being pointed at her mother made Lina's smirk to fade.

She sat up straight and gazed into Lucille's chocolate brown eyes with the intensity that made her flinch for a second before she recovered herself.

'Looks like I found her weak spot!' Lucille smirked when she stumbled upon this magnificent discovery.

"What else should I expect from the daughter of a 'model'?" She helplessly shrugged her shoulders and then followed her actions by clicking her tongue.

Lucille recalled the highly acclaimed model CECILIA which was Diane Luo's stage name before she retired to pay attention to the family that she had started with the Devil CEO, Simon Yang.

Thinking of that beautiful and ethereal face, Lucille's hatred and annoyance against Lina who happened to be a spitting image of her mother multiplied ten folds.

She still remembered the olden days when Patrick Yang would follow Diane around like a lost puppy and this further incensed her.

Finding the perfect opportunity to release some of that pent up bitterness and hatred, she altered her expressions before sighing as she glanced at the young woman.

"Running after all those men in the industry she must have not had the time to teach her children the basic etiquettes." She muttered and shot Lina a pitiful gaze.

Lina gritted her teeth while listening to the arrows being shot at her mother and that was the last straw of her patience.

Instead of bursting out in rage like Lucille had expected and desperately wanted her to react, Lina hummed in response and then nodded her head in agreement.

"That may be true…" She went along with Lucille's derisive allegations which came as a shock to the older woman.

But Lina was not yet done and she had yet to give her the proper retort.

The victorious smirk on Lucille's face froze in its place when she heard the next statement that came out from Lina's mouth.

"At least my mother did not have to trick a man to sleep with her and neither did she run away with her tail stuck between her legs after she discovered that she was pregnant. Now did she?" Lina's mocking smile after she questioned the older woman was enough to ignite a blazing fire of immense resentment in her heart.

Lucille had first widened her eyes as Lina was still speaking but by the end of her question, her surprise had turned into confusion.

After Lina was done speaking, Lucille's expressions shifted to those of relief and gratitude.

'So she does not know the real Truth that she claims to know!' Lucille pondered and rejoiced when she realized this fact.

Though what she had said was the truth, it was only the partial truth.

The events of the night that Mandy was conceived were much more complicated than what Lina had made them out to be.

Lina was quick to hide the smile that had emerged on her face when she caught the sigh of relief that Lucille had taken.

'Oh ho! I simply blurted out the plot of an old novel I read but looking at her reaction it seems that I was right but… only half of it was right?' She shook her head and lamented her weak guessing skills because she had noticed the confused look that Lucille had for a second before it faded.

Lina was 100 percent sure that Mandy was not her Uncle Pat's daughter but the question now that remained was…

Who was the real father of the so-called 'Lost Heiress' of the Yang family?

According to her deductions, Lucille had somehow managed to bribe the hospital staff to change the DNA reports to make it seem as though Patrick Yang was Mandy Rong's biological father.

If this was true then the question would then change to…

Who was the person who was brave and powerful enough to change a medical DNA report that pertains to matters concerning the Yang family?

'I need to get to the bottom of this matter as quickly as I can!' She urged herself to work harder in her attempts to solve this mystery.

Lina was sick of having to deal with Mandy and Lucille and the incident with Jeanette had been a large catalyst for her to hasten in her plans.

'I need to get to the truth so that I can get my family back together under one roof and get my peaceful days back!' She had determined when she saw Lucille today.

This was also why she had tried to pick up this topic, to get some clues regarding the truth of the matter.

"I'm going to forgive you for that derogatory remark you just made for your uncle's sake." Lucille uttered her comeback in a magnanimous tone, successfully breaking Lina's train of thoughts.

She tilted her head and glanced at the woman with an amused yet slightly uncertain manner

Lucille shook her head and sighed before deciding to enlighten the bratty child

"He wouldn't want his future wife and the niece he loves more than his own daughter to be at odds with each other. Therefore, I am going to be the bigger person here and forgive you." She explained and haughtily flipped her hair.

Lina was more and more astonished at how shameless this woman could be.

'Future wife, my foot! Only Uncle Ace can be his wife… or husband? Depending on their positions.' She blushed while thinking of who the seme and uke were in their relationship.

However, she quickly threw those ecchi thoughts away and silently gazed at this overconfident lady. 

Wanting to teach her a proper lesson, she immediately acted out the evil idea that had materialized in her mind.

She opened her mouth in awe and then gazed at her with sparkling eyes.

Lucille was suspicious when she saw Lina staring at her unblinkingly like how a sasaeng fan stares at her beloved idol.

"You are right, Miss Rong!" She exclaimed with a loud voice which made Lucille frown.

'First, she called me 'lady' and now she is calling me 'Ms. Rong'?' She was annoyed at this constant change in the way she was being addressed.

"You are the bigger person. In fact, you are the older person too. You are two years older than uncle Pat too, aren't you?" Lina questioned with a playful smile.

"I wish I could have the same confidence when I'm that old." She sighed and shook her head in defeat.

Being repeatedly called old was pricking Lucille's heart and her ego. She gnashed her teeth and wished to slap this smart-mouthed child until her face looked like a swollen red bun.

But before she could fulfill her wishes, Lina had more to say.

"And haven't I already said this? Stop trying to call Mandy a Yang family daughter because she isn't!" Lina declared and to prove her point, she raised her index finger and shook it from side to side.

Lucille was surprised by the confidence Lina displayed while declaring that Mandy wasn't a Yang and this planted a seed of doubt in her mind but she wasn't willing to accept it.

'She must be trying to play some tricks on me again! As if I would fall for them!' She sneered in her heart and stared back into Lina's hazel eyes.

"Lina, why would you say such a thing about your sister?" She murmured as a silent tear slipped out of her left eye.

'There we go again! It's just me here, is there a need to cry now?' Lina sighed in exasperation and defeat when she saw the tears rolling out even when there was no one else to watch her splendid acting.

"Don't ever say such words even by accident around your sister! My poor daughter may not be able to bear such heart-wrenching pain." Lucille reprimanded her while wiping her tears away.

The mention of Mandy's name brought Lina's attention to this 'sister' of hers.

"So where is Sister Mandy?" Lina interrogated in a mocking tone as she emphasized the word 'sister'.