Standing Next To You-Chapter 348: The Past- First Meeting with Lin Fei III

Butler Xin then left. Bei Sangyun remained in the room, sitting in despair. She hit her own head. Why did she have to explode at those moments?

Why couldn’t she control her temper?

What would her father think of her now?

Bei Sangyun waited in that room for hours, reflecting on herself and worrying about her father’s reaction.

She did not leave the room, and no one came by. Dinner passed, night deepened, and when all the guests had left the mansion, the door finally opened.

Lin Ginxian entered. Behind him was Butler Xin.

Bei Sangyun, who had sat in the corner the whole time, ran forward. She was about to explain what happened and ask for forgiveness when a harsh slap greeted her- the loud slap echoed in the room.

Slap!

Bei Sangyun’s head swung to the side. Her ears rang, and she staggered a step backward. The slap had come so suddenly that she was left speechless.

But she recovered quickly. It was reasonable that her father was angry because of what she did. But she didn’t want to be misunderstood by her father. Those people had provoked her first.

"Father, I--"

"You made me lose face."

Lin Ginxian’s angry voice cut her off. His blazing eyes carried the anger he had been holding since earlier.

"As soon as I stepped into the hall, they all came up to me and asked about your erratic behavior. Do you know how much I wanted to leave that hall? In front of so many guests, in front of my brothers... in front of father! They all mocked me! Are you going to repay me with this?!"

Bei Sangyun was scared and took a step back. She lowered her head as Lin Ginxian vented his anger on her.

"Why... why can’t you do a single thing right? For two years... you haven’t done anything right. I have wasted all my investments on you. You are a waste."

Bei Sangyun bit her lip and couldn’t defend herself. She was indeed a waste.

Ever since she entered the mansion, her confidence had been shattered repeatedly. She couldn’t catch up with the manners and etiquette her cousins had learned since they were born.

There were so many things she didn’t know and wasn’t used to. From their way of speaking, eating, walking, or simply giving a greeting, everything had rules and codes.

Not to mention, she had to master every skill her father demanded. The eleven-year-old Bei Sangyun wasn’t good enough to meet Lin Ginxian’s expectations.

Bei Sangyun, who grew up without proper training, had to cram everything in two years. The clueless girl often fell victim to her cousins’ malicious ’jokes,’ making her appear even more like a country bumpkin with a nasty temper.

This prompted her to make mistake after mistake.

It was the third party she had attended, and she still made a mistake.

Was she really a waste, good-for-nothing, and an idiot for not being able to catch up with her cousins?

"You made me really angry this time, Sangyun." Lin Ginxian left after venting his anger, leaving Bei Sangyun completely heartbroken and scared.

Butler Xin glanced at her and sighed.

"Master is really angry this time. And this anger will last until you make him proud. Make sure to impress Head Master Lin. That is the only way to restore your father’s impression of you."

Bei Sangyun nodded, her head lowered.

She was left alone in the room and wasn’t allowed to go out. No one delivered her meals or assisted her in changing her clothes.

In the silent and dim room, Bei Sangyun’s whimper finally escaped. Only then did she cry.

After crying for thirty minutes, Bei Sangyun stood up and was about to pick up her books to study when her door was suddenly knocked.

No one was supposed to come tonight, not even her maid or butler. So who could it be?

She cautiously opened the door and was surprised to see someone unexpected.

Lin Fei smiled. He was about to greet her when he saw her swollen eyes and cheek. He blinked, then laughed, "You look so ridiculous right now. Have you seen yourself in the mirror?"

Bei Sangyun: "..."

She didn’t have a good impression of this smiling cousin. In fact, she did not have any good impression of anyone among the Lin heirs. Everyone was her enemy.

She was about to close the door when Lin Fei blocked it. "Hold on." He then raised a paper bag. "You’re hungry, right? I noticed you left without eating anything."

Bei Sangyun glanced at the paper bag but had no intention of taking it. She had just been schemed against. She wouldn’t accept anything.

"I didn’t poison it. Want some proof?" Lin Fei opened the bag, revealing a tantalizing drumstick. He took a bite and chewed it while making exaggerated sounds, "Hmmm. Delicious."

Bei Sangyun: "...."

Lin Fei ate the whole drumstick as if he were in a commercial. When he finished the drumstick, Bei Sangyun’s stomach finally growled.

Lin Fei smiled and handed the paper bag to her. "Come on. Eat it while it’s still hot."

Bei Sangyun was still suspicious, but she hadn’t eaten the whole night, and the smell of the drumstick made her really hungry.

Lin Fei suddenly put the bag down. "If you don’t want it, I’ll just leave it here and let someone else take it. Anyway, it’s your choice. Bye." He then left and disappeared down the hall.

Bei Sangyun stared at the paper bag that exuded a tantalizing aroma. She hadn’t eaten dinner, and the crying had exhausted her. She looked at the hallway again, not finding her smiling cousin, and hurriedly took the paper bag.

As she was halfway through eating the drumstick, a knock sounded. She quickly put the drumstick back in the paper bag and hid it behind the sofa.

The door opened, and Lin Fei came in with his usual smile.

"I brought an ointment. A young lady like you should take care of your wound before it leaves a scar. Surely, you don’t want your pretty face to be flawed, right?"

Bei Sangyun glared at him, but she did not refuse the ointment.

Lin Fei sat beside her and opened the lid. As he was about to help Bei Sangyun apply the ointment, he glanced at her oily lips, which still carried the scent of the chicken.

He chuckled and gently applied the ointment to her cheek.

"Us illegitimate children should stick together, don’t you think?"

Bei Sangyun looked at Lin Fei in surprise.

Lin Fei saw the shock in her eyes and smiled. "You didn’t expect that, did you? Let me tell you a secret: I am actually an illegitimate child with a complicated birth."

Bei Sangyun immediately raised her guard and backed away. "Why are you telling me this?"

Ever since coming to this mansion, she had learned what ’illegitimate’ meant in high society. She suffered mostly because of that word associated with her. But from how people around Lin Fei treated him, they seemed not to know he was an illegitimate child. She also hadn’t heard about it from her cousins.

Given how sensitive these people were about this word, Lin Fei wouldn’t have the kind of life he was living now.

"Don’t look at me like that. I am not your enemy. Actually, I want to be your ally. And to become allies, we need to trust each other, right? That’s why I am telling you this secret of mine so I can earn your trust."

Bei Sangyun squinted her eyes at him, still on guard. She was like a kitten ready to pounce any time once threatened.

Lin Fei reached behind the sofa. "You should finish this first. Or else the food will go cold. I’ll tell you more about myself next time."

After that, he left.

Bei Sangyun did not understand why Lin Fei suddenly revealed his secret to her. She considered whether this secret was worth revealing to regain her father’s trust.

However, Lin Ginxian did not meet her until a few months later.

During those months, she suffered under her cousins’ schemes repeatedly. Her uncontrollable temper exploded, her violent reactions made her reputation notorious, and anyone who heard her name associated her with being violent, ill-tempered, and arrogant—not at all dignified like the other children of the Lin family.

This caused Lin Ginxian to be dissatisfied with her. He refused to meet her and ordered her to be locked up and starved for many days.

The only person who sneaked into her place and brought food to her was that smiling cousin of hers, Lin Fei.

One day, Lin Ginxian still refused to see her. She was locked up and starving in the room. However, Lin Fei bribed one of the butlers outside the room and sneaked in. He brought her a box of drumsticks as usual.

Lin Fei watched Bei Sangyun finish the drumstick. "Have you thought about it? In this harsh place, you need an ally. An ally who has been in your shoes and can understand you. Someone you can trust."

"...I have my father," Bei Sangyun answered after a while.

"Your father?" Lin Fei scoffed. "I know you’re not naive and stupid enough to actually believe that. Can you really rely on this person you call father? When did he ever act like a father to you?"

Lin Fei’s cold gaze met Bei Sangyun’s hesitant eyes.

"You’ve lived in this family for two years. Can you even find an ounce of familial bond with these people? Wake up, Bei Sangyun. This is a dog-eat-dog world. If you don’t fight back, you will be eaten by them. Not only by our dear cousins but by your so-called father as well.

"The love and familial bond you are hoping for is not going to happen. If you really want to survive, you have to squash that hope first."