I Am More Paranoid Than the Villain – Chapter 86

Deliberately Misleading

She wants you to go abroad

Lin Shu forcefully threw her schoolbag onto the sofa.

She sat down with a look of disdain, with one leg crossed over the other¹, and shot a sidelong glance at Lin Huai. “What gives you the time to come to my place,” she said sarcastically, “bringing your little three² along with you.”

“Lin Shu, watch your mouth!” Lin Huai stood up, unable to contain his fury.

Looking at Feng Na’s aggrieved expression, he said loudly, “If the school hadn’t called me, I would have never known you’d done such a ‘good deed’ at school.”

“Your Auntie Feng has been covering for you this whole time, and she was even trying to calm me down on the way here. It’s one thing not to be grateful, but you’re trying to kick her out. Do you have a conscience at all?”

Lin Shu let out a cold laugh, the corners of her lips curling in mockery. “I’m not as kind as you, raising a little three for so many years and even helping to raise her son. Who knows if that son is even yours.”

“Don’t talk nonsense!” Feng Na immediately retorted. “Xiao Jun is your dad’s biological son. They had a paternity test done.”

“Lin Shu, stop messing around. I came here today to talk to you about something serious.” Lin Huai sat down angrily, his elbow landing on the table with a loud thud.

Feng Na poured a glass of water, placed it on the table, and soothed him gently. “Dear, don’t be angry. We need to have a proper talk with Shushu.”

Watching the two of them putting on airs and graces³, Lin Shu snorted with contempt.

Lin Huai took a sip of water, the fire in his heart subsiding slightly.

But seeing Lin Shu’s expression, as if there were no one else in her eyes⁴, his anger was instantly reignited. “I’ve already decided,” he said, fuming, “to send you abroad to study.”

Lin Shu shot to her feet with a swoosh.

Her brows furrowed tightly as she glared at Lin Huai. “On what grounds are you sending me abroad?”

“On the grounds that I am your father!” Lin Huai’s emotions grew more agitated as he berated her. “If you stay here, you’ll only bring me shame.”

Hearing that last sentence, any words of rebuttal from Lin Shu caught in her throat. A sour, painful feeling rushed to her head, and her eyes, against her will, grew moist.

She bit her lip, stubbornly refusing to let the tears fall.

Seeing this, Feng Na quickly stepped in to placate him. “Dear, why don’t you head out first? I’ll have a good chat with Shushu.”

“Fine,” Lin Huai said, suppressing his temper. With that, he got up and left.

Lin Shu stared straight ahead, unwilling to show any weakness.

She didn’t say a single word to make him stay, not even after his figure had disappeared from view.

Feng Na walked over, an unconcealable smugness in her eyes.

She said with a smile, “Shushu, don’t blame your dad for being cruel. He’s only sending you abroad for your own good.”

“I don’t need you to butt in!” Lin Shu snapped, not giving Feng Na any face at all.

A flash of embarrassment crossed Feng Na’s face. Suppressing her annoyance, she said, “It’s not just your dad. Even Manman thinks it would be better for you to go abroad.”

“I was chatting with Manman the other day, and I even gave her a watch,” she said deliberately, implying that she and Shen Man had discussed the matter of going abroad.

Hearing this, Lin Shu’s mind went blank in an instant. A chill spread through every cell in her body.

In the middle of a hot summer, she couldn’t stop herself from shivering.

Feng Na understood at once. Her words had struck Lin Shu’s soft ribs⁵.

She smiled smugly and intentionally softened her tone. “If you know what’s good for you, you can still leave with some dignity. If you keep making a scene, things won’t be up to you anymore.”

After she finished speaking, she sauntered away.

Lin Shu didn’t hear a single word.

She sat on the sofa in a daze, her eyes staring blankly ahead, like a soulless puppet.

When Auntie He came out and saw Lin Shu looking as if she had lost her soul⁶, her heart tightened.

She lightened her steps as she approached and asked cautiously, “Miss Lin, what’s wrong?”

Lin Shu seemed not to have heard.

Her eyes remained fixed straight ahead, without any reaction.

Auntie He grew worried and hurried back to her room to call Shen Man.

“Manman, you have to come back quickly. Something’s not right with Miss Lin,” Auntie He said worriedly.

“What’s wrong with Shushu?” Shen Man’s heart clenched. She started packing her things as she spoke.

“Director Lin and a woman with the surname Feng came this afternoon. Miss Lin had a fight with them, and now she’s just sitting on the sofa, completely still. It looks like she’s taken a huge blow,” Auntie He said in a low, anxious voice.

“Okay, I understand. I’m coming back right now.” After saying this, Shen Man hung up the phone and rushed out the door.

There was no traffic, so Shen Man quickly reached the base of the apartment complex.

She quickly unbuckled her seatbelt, opened the car door, and jogged into the building’s entryway.

The elevator was empty.

Shen Man got into the elevator and repeatedly pressed the ‘close door’ button.

With a ‘ding,’ the elevator doors opened.

Shen Man walked out and looked toward the apartment door not far away.

She paused for a moment, adjusted her expression, and then walked over at her usual pace.

Hearing footsteps in the hallway, Auntie He quickly opened the door.

Seeing Shen Man, she said anxiously, “Manman, you’re finally back.”

Shen Man gave a slight smile and a reassuring “mhm.”

She unhurriedly changed her shoes and walked into the living room. Her gaze fell upon the young woman on the sofa, and her eyes instantly froze.

The young woman’s head was bowed, her jet-black hair spilling down to cover half of her face.

The afterglow of the setting sun streamed in, enveloping her in a faint golden light.

What should have been a soft and delicate scene instead conveyed a sense of endless, despairing sorrow.

In that moment, Shen Man’s heart felt unbearably constricted.

She slowly approached, her tall figure casting a shadow over the young woman before her.

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