Chapter 260: Who Doesn’t Know How to Put on an Act?
Chapter 260: Chapter 260: Who Doesn’t Know How to Put on an Act?
Lin Yueyao bit her lip, her tears falling even harder. They rolled down her pale cheeks drop by drop, as if she couldn’t stop them at all.
"I... I didn’t mean to talk nonsense... Brother Bai just went to the house to break off the engagement, and now he is with you, Yun Sheng. I..."
She choked back a sob and lowered her eyes, her eyelashes trembling slightly.
"Yun Sheng, I’m not blaming you. I just feel terrible. You are both my closest family, and I really can’t accept this..."
Lin Yueyao didn’t directly accuse Yun Sheng, but every word she spoke subtly hinted that Yun Sheng and Bai Ye had betrayed her together.
The expressions of the nurses and family members in the hallway turned subtle. Their gazes darted back and forth between Yun Sheng, Bai Ye, and Lin Yueyao as they couldn’t help but whisper among themselves.
"I heard before that the White War God went to the Lin Family to break off the engagement. Looks like it’s true," a nurse said, lowering her voice.
"But from what Miss Lin is implying, does the White War God’s broken engagement have something to do with this sister of hers?" another family member frowned.
"Since when did the Lin Family have another daughter?"
"Oh my, you don’t know? I heard they took home the wrong child at birth, and she was just recognized and brought back recently. It’s just that the Lin Family hasn’t publicly acknowledged her yet. It’s all rumors from outsiders, so no one knows exactly what happened."
They gossiped while glancing back and forth at Yun Sheng’s group, looking entirely ready to watch a good show unfold.
Watching Lin Yueyao’s aggrieved appearance and hearing the surrounding murmurs, Yun Sheng sneered inwardly.
"Sister Yue Yao, what is it that you can’t accept? Just say whatever you want to say." She took a step forward, closing in on Lin Yueyao. "Speaking half-truths and hiding the rest—are you intentionally making people guess, or are you trying to mislead them?"
Tears were still hanging on Lin Yueyao’s face. Pressed by her approach, she subconsciously took half a step back.
Yun Sheng didn’t give her a chance to speak and continued, "The engagement between the two families was arranged by the elders on a whim before we were even born. I know that you, Sister Yue Yao, who only became the Lin Family’s child because of a mix-up, aren’t a thief who intentionally stole someone else’s marriage.
"I also know that suddenly finding out you aren’t part of the Lin Family must have been very hard for you, Sister Yue Yao. But if you feel terrible, don’t I feel terrible too? Maliciously swapped at birth, growing up in the slums since childhood... Do you know how hard it is to survive in a place like that?"
As she spoke, her voice began to tremble slightly, and her eyes gradually turned red.
"Sister Yue Yao, I finally managed to come back. I just want to cherish the time I have living with my family, and I’ve never thought about fighting for or stealing anything. Could it be that you won’t even allow me this tiny wish..."
Yun Sheng paused, as if she couldn’t bring herself to continue.
She stood there with a perfectly straight back. Her eyes were red, but she stubbornly refused to let her tears fall. That appearance was even more heartbreaking than if she had sobbed aloud.
The hallway was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. The nurses and family members looked at Yun Sheng with a bit more sympathy and pity in their eyes.
A child who was swapped at birth and grew up in the slums had finally returned to her relatives, only wanting a few days of peace, yet she was being publicly slandered like this... Who could bear such a thing?
Lin Yueyao’s lips moved, wanting to say something, but the surrounding gazes had completely changed. They had morphed into sympathy for Yun Sheng and dissatisfaction toward her.
She knew that if she didn’t do something right now, she would thoroughly lose the upper hand.
She looked at Yun Sheng, her tears welling up again. "Yun Sheng, I’m sorry for occupying your identity for so many years... I can give up everything and return it all to you. But... but can you give Brother Bai back to me?
"I didn’t know I was swapped. I thought I was a member of the Lin Family, that I was Brother Bai’s fiancée... I-I have liked Brother Bai for so many years, ever since I first learned what love was. In order to be worthy of him, I trained day and night. I couldn’t even sleep well. Even in my dreams, I was thinking about how to make myself stronger, strong enough to match him.
"No matter how other Sentinels pursued me, I never accepted them. I only wanted Brother Bai to be my sole Sentinel! I really can’t let him go... Yun Sheng, I know you are innocent, but I am innocent too. I didn’t do anything wrong, so why must I lose everything in the end?"
As Lin Yueyao spoke, her voice grew softer and softer, and her tears fell uncontrollably.
Her appearance was both humble and pitiful, like an unfortunate soul who had been toyed with by fate but was powerless to do anything about it.
Looking at Lin Yueyao’s tearful display, Yun Sheng didn’t even have time to speak before Bai Ye took a step forward. The look in his eyes as he stared at Lin Yueyao grew increasingly icy.
"Lin Yueyao, aside from a verbal engagement between our two families, nothing has ever happened between us. I told you clearly in the past that even if we were together, it would only be to fulfill the engagement. There are no romantic feelings between us.
"And now, this engagement belongs to Yun Sheng. She is the true daughter of the Lin Family! Since you feel you owe her, you shouldn’t be pressuring her like this now. She is the most innocent person here, and no one has the right to force her to do anything!"
Bai Ye’s words pierced Lin Yueyao like sharp knives.
Her tears still hung on her face, but the light in her eyes had completely shattered.
Her face deathly pale, she opened her mouth but couldn’t utter a single syllable.
Bai Ye didn’t look at her again. He simply turned sideways, pushed open the door to the ward, and said in a low voice, "Let’s go in."
Yun Sheng glanced at him, said nothing, and stepped inside.
The door closed, leaving Lin Yueyao frozen in place. The cold, white lights of the hallway made her frail silhouette look all the more pitiful.
One of the family members couldn’t bear to watch anymore. She stepped forward, gently patted her arm, and softly advised, "Miss Lin, look on the bright side. You’ve enjoyed the life that should have belonged to Yun Sheng for so many years, and you are an S-Class Guide with a limitless future. Some things... when it’s time to let go, just let go."
A nurse nearby chimed in with a similar sentiment, as if they were all saying: You’ve already gained enough, stop trying to snatch more.
Lin Yueyao’s fingernails dug fiercely into her palms, the pain piercing her heart.
She thought, "Stop trying to snatch? Why shouldn’t I! The nanny who maliciously swapped the babies back then did it out of resentment because Su Wan had fired her for stealing. What does that have to do with me?! Why should everything I have worked so hard to achieve over the years be snatched away the moment Yun Sheng returns?"
Lin Yueyao lowered her eyes, hiding the vicious light in her gaze. When she looked up again, her face had returned to a pitiable and delicate expression.
"I know... It’s just that I love Brother Bai too much. I can’t let him go... I really can’t let him go..."
After saying that, she covered her face, turned around, and ran off crying.
The family member looked at her retreating back and sighed. "Sigh, what a sin. Both children are innocent. Fate truly makes fools of people."
Meanwhile, having entered the ward, Yun Sheng saw Lin Hao lying unconscious on the hospital bed with an ashen face. Her eyes flickered slightly.
"His spiritual power is highly unstable. Was his spiritual landscape injured?"
"Yes, he was attacked by a Contaminant while executing a mission, and his spiritual landscape was severely injured. Even the pacification of an S-Class Guide won’t work. If his condition continues to develop like this, I’m afraid... he won’t be able to use his spiritual power ever again. Unless..."
Bai Ye suddenly stopped speaking, looking at Yun Sheng with a complex and obscure gaze.