Lin Ruoyan was left alone in the room. She had just noticed a notebook that had fallen out of the corner. Lin Chen must have hidden it on purpose to avoid being discovered. He apparently forgot to take it when he left.
She picked it up and wiped it; the notebook looked quite old.
He turned to the first page, and the handwriting was crooked and messy, indicating that he must have started writing it a long time ago.
Lin Ruoyan hesitated; it was immoral to peek into someone else's diary.
However, at this moment she was filled with curiosity about Lin Chen.
She turned to the next page.
It was written by Lin Chen when he was in the orphanage.
March 1st.
"I met two friends while I was picking up trash today. They are really nice. I earned 30 yuan picking up trash."
"I'm so happy that I won't have to go hungry this week."
May 30th.
"I miss my mom and dad so much, I miss my family so much. Am I really an orphan? Do I really have no family?"
August 1st.
"Today, the parents of one of the children at the orphanage found him. That's wonderful. I want to have a dream like that tonight too."
Seeing this, Lin Ruoyan's hands trembled slightly, and her eyes reddened.
So Lin Chen actually longs for family affection?
Was he having a bad time in the orphanage?
She let out a long breath and rolled back a little further.
April 6th.
"Actually, today is also my birthday, but everyone has forgotten."
"It's okay, as long as my brother is happy, I'm happy too."
Lin Ruoyan paused.
April 6th.
The day before yesterday...
The day before yesterday was also Lin Chen's birthday.
how so...
Not a single person in the entire Lin family remembered.
Lin Ruoyan's tears burst forth instantly.
She bit her lower lip hard.
With trembling hands, he continued flipping through the pages.
June 3rd.
"When we finished eating, Dad said I broke his toy car. My eldest sister made my second sister beat me hard with a rattan cane. My hand was bleeding, but luckily Aunt Zhao bandaged it up for me."
"My older sister and younger brother both said they saw me sneak into the study this morning."
"But they forgot that yesterday Mom said I stole her necklace and locked me in the garden storage room until the afternoon when Aunt Zhao let me out."
"I've never seen any necklace! Why is everyone saying I did it?"
"Oh, to be honest, right now I miss my biological mother so much. It's been so long since I visited her grave... Mom, if only you were still alive!"
...
Upon seeing this, Lin Ruoyan's tears soaked the diary, blurring her vision.
She huddled on the edge of the bed, her whole body trembling uncontrollably.
She raised her hand to wipe it, but found a little blood in the lower right corner of the diary.
She felt as if she had been struck by lightning.
This blood...
She hit Lin Chen with a rattan cane...
Lin Chen embarked on his journey away from home. Perhaps he shouldn't have stepped into this house five years ago. Now, he has almost nothing left. Where should he go? As his thoughts raced, he recalled the orphanage where he grew up. Although the living conditions there were harsh, it held his purest and happiest memories.
Having not set foot there for so many years, he was filled with longing for every blade of grass and every tree there, for the old dean who was always nagging, and for the friends who had been by his side through thick and thin.
"Yes, I'll leave this place of sorrow for now, but I swear I'll come back sooner or later!" Lin Chen vowed silently in his heart.
The welfare home is located in a remote suburb of a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Haizhou City, where transportation is extremely inconvenient. To get there by long-distance bus, one must transfer midway, and the entire journey takes at least seven or eight hours.
Lin Chen bought a bus ticket at the bus station, then turned around and went into a shop, where he picked out some cheap bread and bottled water to eat on the way.
As he paid the bill, Lin Yuanhe's sarcastic remark, "All my billions are yours," couldn't help but flash through his mind, and a bitter smile crept onto his lips. What billionaire heir would be like him, munching on dry bread, drinking bottled water, and crammed onto a long-distance bus?
Only after boarding the bus did he muster the courage to call the former director, Wang Nanshan, to inquire about the welfare home's current situation. However, he couldn't get through, which filled him with unease.
The bus was crowded with passengers, making the space feel exceptionally cramped. As it was a long-distance bus, it had sleeper compartments, but those were also small. Lin Chen lay in his sleeper berth, lost in thought.
He wondered how he would explain things to the old director when he returned to the orphanage. For years, he had been deceiving the director, telling him he was doing well and that he shouldn't worry. But now that he was going back with nothing, wouldn't all his lies be exposed?
"Young man, excuse me, could we switch seats?" A slightly hoarse voice suddenly rang in Lin Chen's ears, interrupting his thoughts. He looked up and saw a young man of about twenty-seven or twenty-eight standing in front of him.
This young man was good-looking and quite attractive, but his style was somewhat frivolous, with dyed hair, tattoos, and earrings, giving him an unconventional look.
Changing seats is perfectly reasonable, but Lin Chen keenly noticed that the young man's eyes kept glancing to the other side unintentionally. Following his gaze, he saw a figure sitting on the bed next to him with his back to him.
She was a girl wearing a white short-sleeved vest, her long chestnut hair, past her shoulders, standing out particularly in the dim light. Occasionally, a ray of light would shine onto half of her fair, slightly chubby, doll-like face; even just her silhouette and the glimpse of her face gave her an air of ethereal beauty and captivating charm.
"It's too abrupt to directly pick a fight. I'll pretend to flirt with that girl; Lin Chen will definitely stop me. Then, in the chaos, I'll stab him. At most, he'll be charged with manslaughter. With the Lin family's power, a few years' sentence won't be a problem, and I can get a 500,000 yuan settlement fee. It's a sure win!"
Suddenly, without warning, the young man's voice echoed in Lin Chen's mind. However, when he looked down, he found that the young man's lips hadn't moved an inch. What was going on?
"Hey kid, I'm talking to you! Are you deaf?" the young man urged impatiently again.
"You... are you called Yang Kun?" Lin Chen asked, frowning.
The young man was taken aback, a look of disbelief on his face: "How did you know? Do you know me?"
Lin Chen felt the name flash through his mind, but he wasn't sure. However, now…
"How does this kid know me? Did he see through my disguise?" The young man's thoughts echoed in Lin Chen's mind again.
"Sorry, I can't help you with this. I don't want to switch places." Now that he knew Yang Kun's plan, Lin Chen decided to play along and see what other tricks he had up his sleeve. Besides, the other party was targeting him, and there was no need to drag an innocent girl into it.
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