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At that moment, Cai Wenchuan's phone rang. He picked it up and saw that it was Ye Wenyu calling. He said stiffly to Lin Tingyue, "I can't talk to you anymore. My girlfriend is looking for me. I'm leaving. Take care of yourself." After saying that, he turned around and strode away without looking back, as if he was afraid that if he looked back, he wouldn't be able to leave.

Lin Tingyue stood there, bursting into tears. But once he was out of sight, she stopped crying, and a smile slowly appeared on her face.

If there is only one thing she can accomplish in this world, it is to get Xiao Wenzi!

Half an hour later, after estimating that Cai Wenchuan and Ye Wenyu had already left, Lin Tingyue returned to the Lin family mansion to find her mother.

When she found her mother, Zhang Yingzi was drinking tea in the garden, basking in the sun, sitting on a white terrace chair, admiring the roses not far away. She wasn't by her critically ill father's side. Lin Tingyue walked over and softly called out, "Mom—"

The air was filled with a rich, fragrant aroma, and the flowers in the garden were a riot of colors. The sunlight shone brightly, like golden threads.

Zhang Yingzi didn't look up; she kept her eyes narrowed as she stared at the roses in front of her, as if she were thinking about something.

Lin Tingyue waited quietly.

After an unknown amount of time, Zhang Yingzi seemed to remember that her daughter was beside her and suddenly asked her, "How are things going between you and Cai Wenchuan?"

Lin Tingyue then recounted how she had tried to seduce Cai Wenchuan, but he had refused. Zhang Yingzi sighed, glanced at her, and complained, "You're so stupid! Why did you only realize how good Xiao Cai is now? That Jiang Zhiming is nowhere near as good as him!"

She felt a sense of urgency, as if time was running out and the old man wouldn't live much longer. But her foolish daughter didn't have half her intelligence or foresight.

Lin Tingyue was even more frightened by her mother's scolding. She shrank back and unconsciously took a step back. She felt a slight chill in the air of the garden.

Zhang Yingzi sighed again and said slowly to her, "I can't blame you. You were only five years old at the time. You were too young. Many things happened that you didn't know about."

Many things happened back then?

Lin Tingyue was stunned, a fog rising in her mind. Yes, when she met Cai Wenchuan, he was an eleven or twelve-year-old boy, while she was only five or six. That year, her whole family moved to his house, and his parents became servants in the Lin family, living in that cabin in the woods for over ten years. Without Cai Wenchuan, Lin Tingyue doubted she could have survived those dark and lonely years!

Lin Tingyue was filled with mixed emotions.

Zhang Yingzi continued softly to her, "You saw what happened today. Both Xiao Cai and Lao Cai hold a very important place in your father's heart. I now seriously suspect that your father will mention Lao Cai and Xiao Cai in his future will!"

What?! Like a bolt from the blue, Lin Tingyue suddenly looked up, her eyes wide with disbelief, her face filled with shock. She mustered her courage and asked, "Mom, that's impossible! The Cai family is not related to our family at all. Dad would never give the family fortune to a servant with no blood relation." Who would give the family fortune to a servant with no blood relation?

Now she gradually understands why her mother wanted her to get close to and win over Cai Wenchuan, because as an outsider, he was very likely to get a share of her father's property.

However, this reasoning is illogical. Unless the sun rises in the west, Xiao Wenzi will not receive the Lin family's huge inheritance.

Zhang Yingzi sighed again, as if talking to herself, and said softly, "I've lived most of my life, and I'm very good at judging people and things. I knew Xiao Cai when I was young. Back then, I knew this child was extraordinary. That year, you were only five years old. Your father went out on business. That night, there was a violent storm, and you suddenly developed a high fever in the middle of the night. I had to take you to the hospital immediately. At that time, I didn't know where the servants were. I called them until I was hoarse but couldn't find a single person. I called Old Zhang but couldn't find anyone either. Maybe the driver went out with your father. At that time, I only found Xiao Cai, but he was only twelve years old. What could a child do?"

As Zhang Yingzi spoke, she drifted into her memories of that shy, handsome young man in a white shirt, tall and thin, with a maturity and understanding far beyond his years.

Lin Tingyue was stunned; she had never known that such a thing had ever happened before.

The past is not like smoke. In the golden sunlight of the garden, Zhang Yingzi sipped her black tea and continued slowly, "At that time, your face was flushed, but there wasn't a drop of sweat on your forehead. I was anxious and walked past him, but he suddenly stepped forward and asked if I had something urgent to do?"

Hearing this, Lin Tingyue felt a warmth in her heart. It turned out that her mother had once loved her too. She moved a little closer to her mother.

Zhang Yingzi continued slowly, "I told him you were sick and needed to go to the hospital immediately, and he said he could help. I said he was too young to help because he couldn't drive, but he said he would carry you on his back and drive, and the two of us would take you to the hospital together. My heart skipped a beat, and my eyes lit up. Although he was only twelve years old at the time, he was tall and strong, looking like a little adult, giving people a sense of security. At that time, I had just gotten my driver's license and was not very brave to drive because my driving skills were not good, but at that moment, I knew that there was no other way and that he was the only one I could rely on, so I nodded. So, he carried you on his back, took you to the car, and then he held you while I drove. The two of us went down the mountain together and arrived at the hospital in the city, where you were saved from a disaster. In a way, he saved your life."

"I see," Lin Tingyue nodded gently upon hearing this. So, the reason Cai Wenchuan had always been so kind to her was because he had saved her life, and he was friends with her mother. She had never understood why he treated her so well before, and had simply accepted it all without question.

Looking back now, it's probably impossible for someone to be completely without feelings for someone they've cared for and given so much to since childhood.

A breeze blew by, filling the garden with a warm, sweet fragrance, and several brightly colored butterflies danced in the air.

Zhang Yingzi said softly, "At that time, I regarded him as a friend, not as the son of a servant, and later it proved that my judgment was correct."

At this moment, she raised her head and said to Lin Tingyue in a gentle, persuasive tone, "Think about it, a butler's son worked hard and became an associate professor at the best university, while you are still a student at a third-tier university, and you might not even get your diploma! How can you compare to him? You don't even try to bring him to your side? You're dating some shady people outside! And when you get dumped, all you do is cry! Sigh, you're nothing like me!" As she spoke, her voice became stern, and her eyes turned icy. Lin Tingyue's heart shrank, and that feeling of finding her mother disappeared again.