Chapter 17: Supporting a Useless Brother? Not Happening!
“Where did this come from?”
Lin Zhifeng walked over and sat down by the sofa. She rubbed her temples and closed her eyes to rest, casually tossing out the question.
Xie Guibao glared at her. Whether it was lingering trauma from their last conflict or he was just too immersed in his game to talk, he didn’t respond.
Wang Tingmei saw her lazy posture and heard the nonchalant tone in her voice—rage flared up inside her.
“What kind of attitude is that? Does every household purchase have to go through you for approval?”
“Did Zhao Xiao buy it?”
Lin Zhifeng still had her eyes closed, her face relaxed, as if she were making small talk about the weather.
When Wang Tingmei heard that name, she looked at her son in panic. It was like a thunderbolt exploded in her mind. Her face twitched, her mouth opened and closed, but no words came out.
Xie Guibao silently exited his game and looked at Wang Tingmei. All he knew was that when he got back from the internet café, there was this whole set of nice stuff on the table. He hadn’t even thought about where the money had come from.
The name “Zhao Xiao” clearly belonged to a man. It made him feel instinctively uncomfortable.
“Mom, who’s Zhao Xiao?”
Wang Tingmei, flustered by the questions from her kids, turned beet red—only making her look more suspicious.
“Oh, great! So now you’re out there messing around with some guy!”
Xie Guibao was livid and embarrassed. He already had a habit of yelling, and now that he was worked up, he totally lost control.
“I’m going to tell Dad! You’re shameless—I don’t want a mom like you!”
He grabbed his tablet, jumped off the sofa, and stormed out. Just before he stepped through the door, he ran back to pocket the new phone.
By the time Wang Tingmei snapped out of it, he was already down the stairs. She rushed to the balcony to shout after him, but the furious little fatty was running like the wind—he disappeared in no time.
Xie Laidi, who had been reading in the bedroom, heard the commotion outside and quickly rushed out to see what was going on. As soon as she stepped out the door, she was met with Wang Tingmei’s voice, gritting with fury.
“Xie Zhaodi, what grudge do you have against me exactly?”
Wang Tingmei’s eyes were red as she returned to the living room, glaring at Lin Zhifeng like she was looking at a mortal enemy.
“I gave birth to you, raised you—what more do you want? Why are you always at odds with this family? What exactly do you want?!”
“Is Zhao Xiao your brother?” Lin Zhifeng ignored her hysterics and waved Laidi over to sit, cutting straight to the point.
“It has nothing to do with you. You two better stop causing trouble. If this house is turned upside down again, I’ll show you what real punishment looks like!”
Wang Tingmei, thinking about the marriage alliance with the Yang family, suddenly revealed a vengeful smile. The look she gave the two sisters was filled with cold disdain and bitter hatred.
These two daughters, who’d come screaming into the world one after another, had caused her nothing but scorn and hardship in her husband’s family. If only Guibao had been born first—would she have had to suffer for years with her head down?
It was one thing when they used to be obedient, but lately, they’d both been acting rebellious.
They didn’t do housework properly, didn’t hand over a single cent of their earnings, and even entered a writing competition behind her back—causing Guibao to be kicked out as soon as it started.
If that’s not bad luck, what is? These girls were born to ruin her!
Now that she finally had a chance to turn things around, she wouldn’t let these two jinxes mess it all up. Fortunately, the 25th was just around the corner. Once the older one was out of the picture, the younger one would be much easier to handle.
“I’ll talk to your dad about Zhao Xiao. You don’t need to fan the flames. Let me say it one more time—who he is has nothing to do with you two.”
With that, Wang Tingmei picked up her worn-out, peeling handbag and stormed out, clearly heading to the hospital to explain things to Xie Yaozu.
Bang! The door slammed shut so hard the whole apartment seemed to shake.
Xie Laidi looked startled and gestured to ask what had just happened.
Lin Zhifeng didn’t plan to keep it from her and shared what she could, picking and choosing the parts she could tell.
“The guy who dropped you off at the food street, Zhao Xiao, might actually be her real family. Zhao Xiao wants to help out, but as you just heard—we’ve been excluded.”
Xie Laidi’s mouth fell open in shock. After a long pause, she gestured: ‘We’re not asking him for money—why are we being shut out?’
“She thinks we’ll take advantage. In her eyes, we’ll both get married sooner or later, and once we do, we’ll follow our husbands—chicken or dog, doesn’t matter—we won’t be part of her family anymore anyway.”
When Lin Zhifeng saw how Wang Tingmei had rushed out the door, she knew full well her mind was only on her husband’s side of the family. Even if her own family turned out to be wealthy and powerful, she’d still only focus on wringing out benefits to support Xie Yaozu and Xie Guibao.
As for her two unwanted daughters, who were destined to become someone else’s problem someday—there was no way Wang Tingmei would let them enjoy any of her newfound advantage.
To her, only Xie Yaozu and Xie Guibao were truly hers.
Xie Laidi quickly wrapped her head around it, though she didn’t seem particularly bothered. Instead, she was intrigued by Zhao Xiao.
“Sister, when he talked to you alone, was he going to buy you a tablet and a phone too?”
“Definitely not. That stuff Guibao got? His mom probably went to Zhao Xiao and asked for it herself.”
Xie Laidi flushed red. Even though it didn’t have anything to do with her, it still felt embarrassing. So what if the family was poor? Going around asking people for things—how was that okay?
“Don’t overthink it. Go back to your room and keep reading. I’m heading to the hospital to check on the situation.”
Lin Zhifeng had no intention of taking Xie Laidi with her. If anything went down, she could just turn and walk away without anyone stopping her. It wouldn’t be so easy to do that if she had a teenage girl in tow.
Xie Laidi nodded sensibly, gesturing for her to be careful on the road. As she saw her sister out the door, she didn’t forget to remind her: if their parents started getting physical, just run for it—no hesitation.
After heading downstairs, Lin Zhifeng made her way straight to Hekang Pharmacy. She spotted Aunt Bao standing at the entrance chatting with someone. As soon as she saw Lin Zhifeng, Aunt Bao gave her a somewhat awkward smile and waved.
“Zhaodi, where’d your mom and your brother run off to?”
There was still a hint of evasiveness in Aunt Bao’s gaze, but this family’s drama was just too juicy—she couldn’t help herself.
“Mom bought a tablet and a phone for my brother. Somehow he got upset and said he was going to the hospital to tell on her. Mom panicked and ran after him.”
Lin Zhifeng deliberately made her words vague, suggestive—she didn’t care how Aunt Bao passed the story around, as long as the gossip got out.
Sooner or later, the truth about Wang Tingmei and Zhao Xiao being siblings would come to light. But until then, Lin Zhifeng wanted everyone to know: this woman was spending tens of thousands on her son’s electronics while teaming up with her husband to sell off her daughters.
Just as expected, Aunt Bao frowned deeply. She’s got money for that, but still wants to sell her daughters? What kind of madness is this? Once Lin Zhifeng finished her casual wave and walked off, Aunt Bao finally registered the deeper implication of what had just been said.
“Where’d Wang Tingmei get all that money? And Guibao—getting new stuff and still storming off to find his dad? Oh my, don’t tell me… did she cheat on Xie Yaozu? That’d be a scandal for the ages!”
“What a show! This is one for the books!”
As Lin Zhifeng climbed into the tricycle, she glanced back. Aunt Bao’s eyes were practically ablaze with gossip-fueled excitement, looking like she couldn’t wait to clock out and huddle up with her old lady crew to dish out every last detail.
“To the county hospital.”
She withdrew her gaze and got onto the tricycle. Amid the rumbling engine noise, the corners of her mouth lifted slightly—everything was under control.
After getting off, Lin Zhifeng walked toward the hospital humming a little tune. Suddenly, she caught sight of a black luxury car parked in the lot to her left. The license plate read Guo A·88888.
A stylish middle-aged woman stepped out, extending a pair of slender legs. Her red high heels landed firmly on the ground. With an icy expression, she stared toward the inpatient building.
