CHAPTER 266: CHAPTER 253 HOW TO ENTER A DOOR 1

"Don’t mention Xiong to me, I’m annoyed by him." Yao Lemon propped her cheeks with both hands, first peeled a mandarin for Grandma, and then for Lin Zhenxin.

"He’s on duty during the New Year, are you upset?"

The mandarins were bought by Li Yanan last night, sweet and filling, which did open up Lin Zhenxin’s appetite.

Yao Lemon said nothing, but the expression on her face clearly gave away the answer.

"I just feel that ever since I married him, it’s the same whether he’s here or not!" Before long, Yao Lemon finally spoke up.

"Isn’t this the life you always wanted? Even after getting married, no one restricts you, no one controls you..."

Yao Lemon fell silent again.

Lin Zhenxin held a strawberry to Yao Lemon’s mouth, and she opened her mouth to eat it.

"Starting to feel attached? Feeling... reluctant?"

"Ugh, would I miss him? I live just as comfortably without him!"

Suddenly energized, Yao Lemon ran to the kitchen to help Aunt Xu, as if someone had set a fire under her.

Li Yanan silently came up behind Lin Zhenxin. She raised her hand and offered him a peeled mandarin.

"Just watch, that one who says one thing but means another, will definitely leave before dinner!"

Lin Zhenxin couldn’t help but smile as she looked at Yao Lemon’s back.

The lunch was entirely prepared by Aunt Xu, with chicken, duck, fish, and meat.

It was rare for Aunt Xu to make a few complex dishes that she wouldn’t normally cook, so even Lin Zhenxin, with her strong pregnancy reactions, couldn’t resist eating an extra half bowl of rice.

The result of overeating, naturally, was that sitting was uncomfortable, and lying down wasn’t comfortable either.

Lin Zhenxin decided to take a walk downstairs.

Li Yanan took a coat and went downstairs with her.

Lin Zhenxin initially wanted to say no, but Li Yanan insisted, so she went along.

"Big Brother took Chu Xingguang and Little Qilin back to Hong Kong, along with the bodyguards who were always with you."

Once downstairs, Li Yanan spoke.

Jiang Dongting is from Hong Kong, Lin Zhenxin knew that.

"Not coming back?" Lin Zhenxin felt a bit regretful.

She really liked Little Qilin and would often send things to him through the bodyguards.

"We’ll see." Li Yanan thought for a moment and only said these three words.

The community was festooned with red Chinese knots and lanterns everywhere, and even if some residents set off firecrackers, the janitors would quickly clean up.

So it was very clean.

Lin Zhenxin looked around, feeling a bit sentimental.

He Nuoxin and He Bainian, the siblings, returned to New York, the Li Family had collapsed, and the Tu Family, due to Tu Haohao’s situation, had no mind to bother her...

In less than a year, it seemed as if nothing had changed around her, yet everything felt completely different.

The two walked forward aimlessly.

Occasionally, they would meet residents from the community. Being New Year, all faces were bright with joy.

In passing, everyone would say "Happy New Year."

Li Yanan initially was not used to it.

He’s naturally aloof and never liked crowds, but seeing Lin Zhenxin so cheerful, he started to relax, too.

Before long, they both stopped walking, looking at the scene across from them...

The New Year means joy for some and sorrow for others.

After returning from the hospital, Li Chengze locked himself in his room for days. When he came out, he looked several years older.

But Li Chengze quickly pulled himself together.

Although the Li Family had failed, life had to go on.

On New Year’s Day, he personally went out to buy some vegetables and meat, diving into the kitchen.

But he had never done such things before, and within half an hour, everything turned into kitchen waste.

Covered in flour, food stains, and even meat scraps, Li Chengze emerged from the kitchen looking utterly disheveled.

"Aunt Zhang, please keep an eye on my mom, I’m going out to buy some ready-made dumplings."

After speaking, Li Chengze left the house.

Walking out the door, he leaned against the corridor wall and lit a cigarette.

Every one of his ten fingers bore bloody nicks...

Compared to the Li Family, the Tu Family didn’t have a much better New Year.

Due to the situation with Tu Jiaojiao’s kidney transplant, Tu Shaohong and Tu Shaochen, the two brothers, completely turned against each other, placing their discord openly on the table.

Moreover, Tu Haohao was still lying in the hospital without waking up...

This New Year, in the huge Tu Family mansion, there was not a trace of peace and festivity to be found.

Even though it was decorated like in previous years, an air of desolation still made one sigh.

Tu Shaohong sat on the sofa, hands on a dragon-headed cane, just looking at his empty surroundings.

Even most of the servants had gone home for the holiday.

The entire mansion felt like an empty cage, leaving an indescribable hollowness in one’s heart.

Sighing, Tu Shaohong turned and walked toward the second floor...

Lin Zhenxin’s face fell suddenly, while Li Yanan remained expressionless.

"Ms. He, Happy New Year." Lin Zhenxin said nothing, leaving Li Yanan to break the silence.

Susan He didn’t speak, but her gaze fell on Lin Zhenxin’s face.

Being New Year’s Day, her clothing was also mainly in a festive red, but due to previous severe pregnancy reactions, she looked thinner than their last meeting.

Realizing this, Susan He’s expression didn’t look good.

"I’m tired, I want to go home." Lin Zhenxin finally spoke, but the words were directed at Li Yanan.

Clearly, encountering Susan He was not something Lin Zhenxin wanted.

"Zhenxin, I..." Susan He wanted to say something to Lin Zhenxin, moving a bit closer.

But when Lin Zhenxin caught a whiff of her perfume, she suddenly began to retch uncontrollably.

The situation was too awkward, Susan He pressed her lips tightly and said nothing more.

"The perfume is too strong; I feel unwell."

After retching, Lin Zhenxin’s eyes were almost watering, and she moved farther away, avoiding Susan He.

Li Yanan said nothing, just wiped her mouth, then without another glance at Susan He, he held her and turned to leave.

"Zhenxin, come spend the New Year at my place." Susan He’s voice finally came from behind them.

Lin Zhenxin halted, her gaze wandering elsewhere.

"Ms. He, you’re joking. We are not family, how can we enter the same home?"

Back home, Yao Lemon was helping Aunt Xu and Grandma bring the dumpling filling to the table, clearly about to make dumplings.

"What happened to you? Why do you look so pale?" Yao Lemon looked up to see Lin Zhenxin and was startled.

Originally, when she left, she was full of vitality; how did she come back looking so pale?

"Nothing, I’ll lie down for a bit." Lin Zhenxin said this and headed to the bedroom.

She didn’t lie down, just sat with her hand on her belly, gazing out the floor-to-ceiling window into the distance.

The unexpected meeting with Susan He swept away the good mood Lin Zhenxin had accumulated since morning, something she hadn’t expected.

If she’d known, she’d never have gone out.

In the past, constrained by life, Lin Zhenxin indeed held some resentment towards Tu Xinya, but this resentment ebbed after experiencing love and becoming a mother herself.

If there hadn’t been utmost disappointment, how could she have left regardless of the child?

However, Susan He’s attitude after returning, compared to her attitude toward He Nuoxin, left Lin Zhenxin utterly disheartened.

She could swallow her grudge that she didn’t take her away at that time, she could forgive her for not coming back for her later on, she could even overlook these years of neglect...

Even though she had lowered her expectations so much, Susan He’s kindness to He Nuoxin still saddened Lin Zhenxin deeply.

Today being New Year, Lin Zhenxin didn’t want to think about these things.

But Grandma’s silver bracelet, and the unexpected encounter in the afternoon, stirred waves in her heart.

She sighed subconsciously, then heard the sound of the door behind her.

Turning around, she saw Li Yanan approaching.

"What are you thinking?"

"Thinking of you!" Lin Zhenxin replied smoothly, almost without thinking.

Li Yanan smiled, thinking it would be nice if she really were thinking of him.

He walked up behind her, wrapped his arms around her from behind, and drew her into his embrace.

"Zhenxin, let me tell you about the He family." Li Yanan suddenly began.

Lin Zhenxin instinctively resisted, but this time Li Yanan wouldn’t let her avoid it.

"The He family is vast and prosperous on the surface, but in reality, these years have been full of open fights and secret plots among uncles, brothers, and cousins, quite the spectacle."

Some of the He family matters Li Yanan had heard from He Bainian, while others were information he had gathered over the years.

"It’s said that Susan He initially was just an assistant to He Bainian’s uncle. He Bainian’s uncle... had a serious accident early on, losing both legs below the knees, and has been wheelchair-bound for years."

Hearing this, Lin Zhenxin couldn’t help but look up at Li Yanan.

Losing both legs below the knees?

"And this accident, though never publicly acknowledged, happened during a period of internal power shifts within the He family."

"Perhaps no one expected that the insignificant assistant no one paid attention to at the time would one day rise to such heights. Although He Bainian’s uncle could only sit in a wheelchair, even a skeletal camel is still bigger than a horse, which is a principle anyone would understand."

"He Bainian’s mother was always close with this brother. His mother passed away early, and He Bainian’s uncle directed brotherly affection toward his nephew, so He Bainian once said the people he respected the most were his uncle and aunt."

Lin Zhenxin said nothing, listening to Li Yanan continue.

"Initially, nobody paid much attention to Susan He, considering her an insignificant character. The real upheaval in the He family began with He Bainian’s uncle’s death."

"Using the shares left to her by He Bainian’s uncle, Susan He secured her footing within the He family, valiantly supported by the old master, and step by step, reached the unshakeable position she holds today!"

Lin Zhenxin pursed her lips; it appeared to be a perfect Cinderella story of a rise against the odds.

But in reality, whatever stories reach the public are just the tip of the iceberg.