Reminded by Lin Wan, Zhang Wanru stopped crying. She organized her thoughts and said seriously:
"Lin An, we all know you contacted bloggers to expose Xiao Zhe. I won't pursue the matter further, but you need to immediately tell those bloggers to delete what they posted."
"No way! Get out of my house right now!"
Lin An didn't know where Zhang Wanru got the confidence to speak like that. He had paid for the service, and she thought he could back out with just a few words? It was like he was dreaming.
Seeing that her mother's authority had no effect on Lin An, Zhang Wanru started crying again and began to recount how difficult it was to be a mother:
"How could you not listen to me? Do you know how much I suffered when I gave birth to you? I didn't even have an epidural. I was in labor for a full ten hours, and I was in pain for ten hours straight!"
Lin An had heard how difficult Zhang Wanru's childbirth process was on the day he was brought back to the Lin family. He felt extremely guilty before that, as he had caused his mother to suffer. This was one of the reasons why he had to endure humiliation in the Lin family. He wanted to repay his mother for giving birth to him, so he would endure and yield to injustice and slander whenever possible.
"Don't give me that. Go find whoever got you pregnant!"
Reborn, Lin An realized that it wasn't him who caused Zhang Wanru suffering, but Lin Haoran; he was merely a byproduct of their pleasure.
Zhang Wanru stared in shock. She never expected that even this wouldn't be enough to control Lin An. She remembered that every time she talked about this, Lin An's eyes would redden and he would turn his head away to secretly wipe away tears.
"But I suffered all this because I gave birth to you, you ungrateful wretch!" Zhang Wanru wailed.
"You've been in pain for ten hours because Lin Haoran was afraid the epidural would affect his son's health, that's why he didn't give you the injection. It's not that I didn't want to give you the injection, can't you get the point right?"
Zhang Wanru knew, of course, why Lin Haoran wouldn't let her have an epidural. She didn't dare to disobey Lin Haoran and could only tell herself that this was the price of being a wealthy socialite. She had given birth to five children and had never had an epidural.
Seeing that Lin An remained unmoved, Zhang Wanru stood up abruptly, pulled out her trump card, and was determined to carry out moral blackmail to the end.
In front of her three children, she lifted her shirt, revealing a bright red scar across her snow-white belly, striking and glaring.
Zhang Wanru pointed to the cesarean section scar and said:
"Lin An, do you have a heart? This is what I gave you for giving birth to you. Don't you owe me anything?"
She continued repeating the same things Lin An had heard many times before:
"Do you know that I had to go through a C-section after trying to conceive you, suffering twice before giving birth to you? Is this how you repay me?"
Lin An was somewhat moved when he saw the scar, but when he heard the words "owe" and "repay," he came back to his senses. In Zhang Wanru's heart, he had always been just a tool.
"I have already made up for what I owed you with money."
Lin An looked at Zhang Wanru and continued, "You're carrying twins. No doctor would recommend a natural birth. Lin Haoran insisted you have a natural birth because a C-section requires two years of rest before you can conceive again. If I weren't a son, you probably would have had to give birth again. It was Lin Haoran who made you suffer through both natural birth and C-section. Go find him and settle the score."
"And did you give birth to me because you like children? You did it to maintain your extravagant lifestyle. You were paid ten million for each son you had. Eighteen years ago, my grandfather paid quite a lot for that."
Lin An sneered. Why should Lin Haoran be the one who enjoys the benefits while he is the one in debt? What's even more infuriating is that if he had a choice, Lin An would never have been born into the Lin family.
The first time someone exposed the truth to Zhang Wanru was when Lin Haoran kept pressuring her to get pregnant and had pressured her to have a son. If Lin Haoran hadn't passed away, she probably would still be heavily pregnant in her forties.
But what could she do besides endure it, a woman who had never worked a day in her life, never cooked a meal, and didn't even know how to operate a washing machine?
Zhang Wanru lowered her dress and could no longer utter a word.
Lin Rou, of all times, stepped forward to persuade Lin An:
“Brother, you can’t think like that. Mom is so lucky to have given birth to a family like ours, the Lin family. You should be grateful. Xiao Zhe’s matter has caused quite a stir and has already affected the family business. You’re part of the Lin family too, so you should take the trending topic off the headlines as soon as possible.”
Lin Rou's mind was always preoccupied with the Lin family's small fortune; hearing her call him "younger brother" made Lin An feel nauseous.
"Don't force me to swear. If you don't get out of here, I'm calling the police. I don't need to explain what the crime of trespassing is, do I?"
"Hey, Lin An, I'm trying to talk to you nicely, why are you so stubborn?"
Lin Wan knew that Lin An would really call the police, so she interrupted Lin Rou's incessant chatter: "Let's go."
Lin Wan first pushed Zhang Wanru, who was frozen in grief, out the door, and then pulled Lin Rou.
"Hey, big sister, let me finish!"
Lin Rou was still struggling, trying to persuade Lin An.
Seeing how reluctant she was to part, Lin An casually took out a bad luck charm he had just drawn from his pocket, crumpled it into a small ball, and put it into Lin Rou's handbag.
The book states that this substance is not very effective, lasting for three days, which is enough to make someone choke on cold water, making it perfect for causing frustration.
As soon as the three of them went out, Lin An locked the door from the inside.
Zhang Wanru got into the car, looking distraught. After a long pause, she finally spoke:
"Wanwan, let's go to the bank's safe deposit box and get that set of jewelry."
Lin Wan silently turned the car around and headed towards the silver one. Everyone knew that Zhang Wanru hadn't gotten her job done, and if she didn't come up with some money, she wouldn't be able to get past Lin Haoran.
Ten years ago, Lin Wan, a middle school student, witnessed her father, Lin Haoran, embracing and kissing an aunt in a car. She cried and went home to persuade her mother to divorce him, but Zhang Wanru told her to shut up.
From then on, Lin Wan studied even harder and told Zhang Wanru that she would take her away when she was able to earn money, but what she received in return was:
"What future can a girl like you have? You want me to suffer with you? Am I crazy?"
Lin Wan felt sorry for her mother's misfortune and angry at her lack of resistance; this was how she felt about her mother.
Zhang Wanru took out the jade jewelry set from the safe. It was left to her by her mother. She felt a sharp pain in her heart. She actually had some savings, but in order to keep Lin Haoran from finding out, she could only take out this jewelry set this time.
"Wanwan, you should pawn this set of jewelry. It's worth at least tens of millions. Go hire a PR team."
"Wow, Mom, this jewelry set is so beautiful! It's such a shame to pawn it. I want it."
Lin Rou's eyes were filled with greed. She swallowed as she looked at the exquisite jewelry in front of her, but choked on her saliva and coughed violently, as if she was about to cough up her lungs.
Lin Wan took the jewelry: "Don't worry, I'll take care of it right away. You guys take a taxi home."
Watching Lin Wan take the jewelry, get into the car, and drive away, Zhang Wanru felt an even greater pain in her heart. Her entire body was consumed by pain, and she felt short of breath. Her legs suddenly gave way.
Everything went black, and I fell hard to the ground.
A few meters away, Lin Rou, coughing and her whole body red, saw Zhang Wanru faint and tried to help her up. She took one step and tripped, falling flat on her face. She could only lie on the ground calling out:
"Help! Someone has fainted!"
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