Chapter 75: The Lin family

The result was that Wei Ranmiao smiled and reassured Lin Feng with one foot, then, when she turned to go upstairs after lunch, pinched her daughter’s ears with a hand in the other foot.

With high-pitched wails ringing in the background, Lin Feng also slowly rose from his seat and walked toward the stairs, intending to return to his own room.

Despite Wei Ranmiao’s reassurance, worry arose in Lin Feng’s chest because of Bai Jianning’s words.

However, he knew that it was normal for the Lin family to harbor grievances.

He was just a little apprehensive, imagining that when he and Grandpa Bai met the Lin family members later, the situation might get out of control and they might suddenly lunge at him, especially if they thought that Lin Feng sending money over to them was very offensive.

’Will they really beat me up?’

Having never been beaten in his entire life, Lin Feng’s usually fair and pink face grew paler, and his slender back looked especially fragile.

Bai Jian’an and Bai Jiancheng looked at each other.

Although they did not believe that the Lin family would go so far, what if some younger member of the Lin family was waiting in ambush and suddenly rushed at their cousin?

Just one glance at their third brother, and they themselves felt that he was too fragile and weak.

His cheeks were fleshy with a little baby fat, but his limbs were very slender, and his neck, waist, and back appeared delicate.

Clearly, he had never practiced martial arts or done any strength training, unlike the two brothers, who had no choice but to temper their bodies under their mother’s commanding gaze and now had their own six-pack abs, taut and firm.

Lin Feng even looked more like a delicate woman than the female rakshasas in the military.

Bai Jian’an pushed his glasses up his nose and stood up as well.

"Third Brother," he called out.

"Hmm?" Lin Feng turned around, coming out of his daze. His hand rested on the railing, his chin slightly turned sideways, and a gentle expression was on his face as he looked at Bai Jian’an inquiringly.

Bai Jian’an and Bai Jiancheng nodded inwardly at the same time.

’Yes, Third Brother is too delicate. He should train.’

’No, wait.’

Suddenly, they remembered that their cousin seemed to have a mild heart ailment, although it almost never acted up.

They only remembered it happening once during their childhood, when Aunt Yufei was hospitalized and the other ignorant, spoiled brats told little Lin Feng that his mother had died.

That was the first time they had learned about his condition because little Lin Feng had clutched his chest and collapsed, his lips turning purple. It was also the last time they had seen his ailment act up.

Immediately, the two brothers changed their plans.

’No, Third Brother is indeed delicate because of his health, and he cannot push himself too hard.’

Then there was only one option: to protect him as much as possible.

"Big Brother?" The boy’s soft, questioning voice sounded again.

Bai Jian’an’s legs moved. In a few strides, he had reached Lin Feng and walked past him. "Come to my room. I’ll tell you about the Lin family members you should be aware of."

After a brief moment of surprise, Lin Feng’s eyes grew serious, and he nodded. "Um."

The boy followed his big brother into the room.

Bai Jian’an sat at his study table, picked up a pen and paper, and drew a family tree of the Lin family, and began explaining the intricacies.

The Lin family was a declining family because its descendants were no longer as prosperous or numerous as before.

The old Lin patriarch had only one brother in his generation, who was ten years younger than him. The other Lin family members were already considered distant relatives from the outer branches of the family.

In the older generation, having male heirs in the main family was still considered the tradition.

After the old Lin patriarch died, his two sons, Lin Dong and Lin Wei, were still considered too young to handle the company’s affairs, so the Lin family was temporarily entrusted to the old patriarch’s younger brother, Lin Xiong.

The reason the old patriarch had been so at ease with this arrangement was that his younger brother, Lin Xiong, had only one daughter, who in turn had also borne only two daughters. There were no sons who could forcefully take over the family business from the main family.

This was also why Lin Wei had been able to easily win back both the chairman position and the position of family head.

It was due to the primogeniture beliefs of the family elders as well as Lin Wei’s own competence that he had kicked the useless older brother Lin Dong far behind him.

Because of their small population, the Lin family members were actually quite close-knit.

However, because Lin Xiong had once become the acting head, his daughter, Lin Shulan, had developed ambitions of becoming the heiress and even asked her husband to give their eldest daughter the Lin family surname.

Fortunately for the main family, Lin Xiong himself was a devoted younger brother to the old patriarch and safely handed back the reins to Lin Wei, the winner of the race.

Lin Shulan could only set aside her ambitions. But had her daughter Lin Xiaoxiao, who had once been secretly trained by her mother in the duties of an heir, also abandoned her ambitions?

The answer was that Lin Xiaoxiao was unwilling to do so.

She had always felt envious of the main family’s children, but because she was also aware of her own position, she endured it and did her best to support the main family.

Lin Wei’s three children also did not treat their cousin, Lin Xiaoxiao, badly.

However, deep down, because of her experience with heir training, Lin Xiaoxiao was very protective of the Lin family’s reputation.

She disliked hearing others say that the Lin family was declining. The Lin family was the white moonlight in her heart that she could never attain. How could she bear to hear others badmouth it?

Therefore, when the affair scandal shocked the entire capital and threw the Lin family into turmoil, Lin Xiaoxiao’s reaction was even more violent and extreme than that of the main family.

"She bullied Fourth Sister into hiding at home? And she also declared that she would beat me up when she saw me?" Lin Feng uttered these words with difficulty.

Bai Jian’an nodded. "Fortunately, she didn’t get physical with our youngest, but she was one of the main reasons why the outgoing Jianning was forced to stay at home for almost a month. Whenever our little sister stepped outside, Lin Xiaoxiao would appear and spout a lot of things."

’I see, so that’s why.’

Bai Jianning’s earlier reaction finally made sense.