I Am More Paranoid Than the Villain – Chapter 132

One’s Own Home

I Will Always Be With You in the Future

At dawn on Sunday, Lin Shu got out of bed.

Shen Man heard the movement beside her and sat up. “Shushu, so early?”

“Mhm,” Lin Shu grunted, moving briskly to wash up.

Shen Man followed, leaning against the doorframe with a smile. “Shushu, where are we going today?”

“You’ll know soon enough,” Lin Shu said, her expression serious, a hint of coldness in her eyes.

Her words immediately piqued Shen Man’s curiosity. She mentally guessed a few locations before asking tentatively, “Shushu, you’re not taking me to meet your parents, are you?”

Lin Shu, who was in the middle of brushing her teeth, couldn’t help but choke on hearing that.

She quickly took a mouthful of water to rinse, then glared at Shen Man with the corners of her eyes lifted in a sharp glance.

“If not to meet your parents, then who are we meeting?” Shen Man asked with a faint smile, her voice soft and gentle.

“Someone who is eating their own bitter fruit¹,” Lin Shu said coldly.

The moment she heard that, the answer instantly clicked into place in Shen Man’s mind.

Feng Na had been on the run ever since she’d stabbed her. Lin Shu had been handling the police report and everything else.

She’d been so busy with other things these past few days that she’d almost forgotten about Feng Na.

“You’re not allowed to plead for her,” Lin Shu warned in a low voice.

Shen Man couldn’t help but chuckle. She pinched Lin Shu’s soft cheek and said firmly, “I don’t know her well. We’ll do whatever Shushu wants. We’ll handle it the way it needs to be handled.”

Hearing the support in her words, Lin Shu’s mood couldn’t help but improve.

The corners of her lips curled up into a happy smile. “She’s been acting all crazy and mad lately. I’m going to send her to a psychiatric hospital and let her live out the rest of her life there in peace.”

“Is she trying to feign madness to escape legal punishment?” Shen Man scoffed, her indifferent eyes filled with disdain. “A psychiatric hospital suits her much better.”

“Exactly,” Lin Shu said with a triumphant smile.

After they both washed up, they had a simple breakfast.

Lin Shu drove, and Shen Man sat in the front passenger seat.

Looking at the unfamiliar scenery around them, Shen Man smiled. “Shushu, this is the first time I’ve ever been to your home.”

“It’s just the Lin Family’s old house,” Lin Shu said coldly, her tone so indifferent it was as if she were talking about any ordinary building.

Shen Man was well aware of Lin Shu’s past and knew she felt no sense of belonging to that home.

She smiled and changed the subject. “Now that the power of the Lin family is in your hands, that house is rightfully your property.”

“That’s precisely why I can’t let that Little Three² keep living there,” Lin Shu said viciously, her face etched with hatred. “Old Man Lin used to protect them, doting on Lin Jun in every way possible. I can’t believe he ended up being turned into a plant person³ by his own beloved son. It’s laughable.”

“Now he’s lying in a hospital bed, his son’s in jail, and his Little Three wife has lost her mind. The whole family is together, all neat and tidy⁴.”

Hearing that last descriptor, Shen Man couldn’t help but laugh.

Lin Huai’s favoritism had always been blatant. His attitude of ‘not listening, not asking⁵‘ toward Lin Shu while excessively spoiling the Little Three and her son had created today’s situation. He didn’t deserve any sympathy.

When they arrived at the Lin Family Main Residence, the Butler was standing at the door to greet Lin Shu.

When his gaze fell on Shen Man, he asked respectfully, “Miss Lin, and this young lady is?”

“My friend,” Lin Shu said coldly.

Hearing this, Shen Man’s lips hooked into a smile whose meaning was not clear.

Lin Shu felt a pang of guilt for no reason.

She turned her head and stared at the Butler, saying haughtily, “How is she?”

“The Madam has refused to eat for the past two days, and she’s been spouting nonsense that no one can understand. She runs around the courtyard in the third watch of the night⁶,” the Butler reported truthfully.

“Have you contacted the hospitals?” Lin Shu asked, walking into the house with an unchanged expression.

“I’ve already selected three hospitals for Miss Lin to decide upon,” the Butler said politely.

With that, he took a file from a cabinet in the living room. “Miss Lin, please take a look.”

Lin Shu took the file and scanned it quickly.

Before she could finish, a figure rushed down from the staircase, heading straight for her.

With quick eyes and fast hands, Shen Man intercepted the person.

She reached out and grabbed the person’s wrist, recognizing Feng Na through her disheveled hair.

The Butler was shocked by the scene and hurriedly called for the servants to restrain Feng Na.

“Let go of me…” Feng Na knelt on the floor, struggling wildly.

Her hands flailed in the air, but she couldn’t break free. Suddenly, she opened her mouth and bit down hard on one of the servant’s arms.

The person cried out in pain and instinctively let go.

“I’ll bite you to death, you little pest!” Feng Na cursed loudly, then burst into laughter.

Hearing the malice in her words, Lin Shu’s beautiful eyebrows arched slightly.

She stood up, walked over to Feng Na, and looked down at her. “From this day on, you’re no longer the infinitely glorious/glamorous Madam of a wealthy family. You’ve enjoyed a lifetime of riches and honor that never belonged to you. It’s time you got what you deserve.”

“I’m not crazy…” Feng Na struggled and screamed, her eyes locked on Lin Shu. “I’m not leaving! This is my home…”

“None of you can make me leave!” she shrieked, fighting with all her might.

The two servants holding her down didn’t expect her sudden burst of frenzy. Their grip loosened, and she broke free.

Feng Na seized the opportunity and ran for the exit.

Just as she reached the door, something struck her leg, and a sharp pain shot through it.

Ignoring the pain, Feng Na scrambled to keep running.

“If you dare try to escape again, it won’t be a hospital waiting for you, but a prison,” Shen Man said coldly.

Fear struck Feng Na’s heart, and she stopped in her tracks.

She turned back, glaring viciously at the two of them. “I want to see Lin Huai! He would never allow you to do this!”

“I’m afraid he can’t hear you right now,” Lin Shu said with a mocking smile. “If you’d had even a shred of concern and gone to see him at the hospital just once, you wouldn’t be so stupid as to know nothing.”

Feng Na was stunned. She suddenly burst into tears, falling to her knees and wailing pitifully. “At the very least, I’m your stepmother! We’re family! Do you really have to be so heartless?”

“You were ruthless enough to send your younger brother to prison, and you still won’t let me go?”

“Did you ever think about my mother when you were being a Little Three? In all the years you were whispering that pillow wind⁷ in Old Man Lin’s ear, did you ever think you’d see this day?” Lin Shu sneered, every word dripping with hatred.

Feng Na shook her head frantically, tears streaming down her face. “I was never biased! You got everything you were supposed to get.”

“That was what I deserved as the ‘thousand gold pieces⁸‘ daughter of the Lin family. It wasn’t up to you to distribute,” Lin Shu said furiously. Her tone shifted, and her expression became haughty. “Do you want to leave cleanly, or do you want to go in this crazy, filthy state?”

“I’m not leaving…” Feng Na screamed in terror.

Lin Shu let out a cold laugh and looked at the Butler. “Have someone clean her up. We’ll leave in half an hour.”

“Yes, Miss Lin,” the Butler said respectfully, grabbing Feng Na with the help of several servants.

Feng Na cried and screamed desperately, her limbs flailing.

This time, the servants were prepared and didn’t let her break free.

Listening to the shrill cries, Lin Shu’s face was a mask of ice.

Watching Feng Na get dragged away, she sat down on the sofa and gazed at the spacious, luxurious room. “I was born here, but I didn’t grow up here,” she said in a low voice. “They call it the Lin residence, but most of the time, it was someone else’s home.”

Hearing this, a pang of heartache pricked at the tip of Shen Man’s heart.

She walked over, sat down, and gently hugged Lin Shu, comforting her in a soft voice. “Shushu, from now on, you can live wherever you want. I’ll always be with you.”

“Really?” Lin Shu asked, half-doubting, her eyes fixed on Shen Man. “Stay at my place tonight.”

“Okay,” Shen Man agreed without a second thought, smiling. “We’ll head over this afternoon. I’ll tidy up the house first.”

“Mhm,” Lin Shu nodded. Her usually arrogant and defiant expression softened into one of compliance.

She wrapped her arms around Shen Man’s neck and leaned against her, her body and mind relaxing. In that soft, sweet-smelling embrace, she felt a profound sense of security.

In less than half an hour, the Butler appeared with a neatly dressed Feng Na.

“Lin Shu, please, just let me go this one time, okay?” Feng Na pleaded, her attitude completely stripped of its former arrogant and domineering nature.

“Save those words of repentance for yourself,” Lin Shu replied coldly, unmoved.

Feng Na’s expression changed instantly, her pleas turning into curses.

Lin Shu listened with a cold, detached expression, then said to the Butler, “Get her in the car. Watch her closely and don’t let her run.”

“Understood,” the Butler nodded carefully, escorting Feng Na to the car with two servants.

The driver started the car and headed for the hospital Lin Shu had designated.

“We’re going too,” Lin Shu said, standing up and walking outside with a cold look on her face.

“Okay, I’ll drive,” Shen Man immediately followed, taking Lin Shu’s hand with a gentle smile.

A warmth spread through Lin Shu’s heart, and her tense expression softened.

She squeezed Shen Man’s hand back and looked over her shoulder at the house, which in her memory had always been rigid and cold. “The weather’s really nice today,” she said with a smile.

Shen Man chuckled in agreement.

The two of them got into the car.

Shen Man started the engine, following the vehicle ahead.

Lin Shu had chosen a private hospital in a very remote location. The fees were quite expensive, but it offered excellent privacy—enough to ensure Feng Na could live out the rest of her days there peacefully.

When they arrived at the hospital entrance, the Butler handled the arrangements with the person in charge.

Lin Shu watched from the car. Even from a distance, she could hear Feng Na’s frantic curses.

The hospital staff, long accustomed to such scenes, took the documents from the Butler and had the orderlies take Feng Na inside.

As she watched the figure she had hated since childhood disappear behind the iron bars, Lin Shu’s heart finally relaxed.

A happy smile appeared on her face. She looked up at the clear sky and said softly, “If my mom knew that the Little Three who destroyed her family was now getting her retribution, I think she’d be happy too.”

“Your mother would definitely be happy,” Shen Man comforted her gently.

After a moment, she said, “Let’s go back.”

“Okay,” Lin Shu nodded with a smile. She closed her eyes and leaned back against the seat, her body relaxing.

Seeing this, Shen Man turned on some soothing music.

“Shushu, you should sleep for a while,” she said softly. “I’ll wake you up when we get there.”

“Don’t you dare go back to your place. You have to drive to my place,” Lin Shu insisted, opening her eyes with a serious expression.

“Mhm,” Shen Man chuckled. “We’re going back to Shushu’s own home.”

Hearing that, Lin Shu pursed her lips in satisfaction.

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