林家是云城的名门望族,其影响可以追溯到三代人,在城里有些名气.
年近五十的林琦,虽然没有同龄男性典型的健壮身材,但却隐隐约约透露出一丝青春魅力——温婉,精致,金框眼镜后隐藏的眼神,常常不经意间透露出多年商界养成的锐利.
宁青觉得自己很幸运能嫁给林七,就连秦然也不禁觉得自己是幸运的.
林琦手里拿着一根烟,沉思片刻才放下."萧青跟我提了冉冉的情况.你放心,我已经派人来处理了.
陈淑兰,一个农村出身的女性,几乎没有受过正规教育,在这个奢华的家庭中,她显得格格不入,在如此富裕的环境中感到尴尬和有些恐慌.
林七虽然对她很好,但她却无法完全摆脱自己的不适.
林琦察觉到她的不安,只是温柔地笑了笑,给她端茶,偶尔说些让她放心的话,两人都在等待宁青的归来.
秦然斜倚在沙发上,懒洋洋地翻着手机,大概是在玩游戏.
她的手指精致而美丽,在透过落地窗洒进来的阳光下几乎不自然地苍白.
她的眉毛和睫毛都垂了下来,从林锦萱的角度,可以看到她长长的卷曲睫毛微微颤抖.
仿佛感觉到了他的目光,她缓缓抬起头.
她的眼神清澈明亮,没有陈淑兰身上的那种惊慌或不安.
它们像一个冰冷,静止的池塘一样平静——黑暗,深邃,完全冷漠.
九分寒.
剩下的一部分是不可避免的反抗,一种叛逆的气氛.
林锦萱拿着茶杯停顿了一下,并没有因为被抓到观察她的行为而感到不安.他只是在远处微笑.
秦然随意转移了视线,不紧不慢地调整了一下姿势,才回到手机前.
林锦萱从未受到过如此的冷酷,他短暂地愣了一下.
停顿了很久,他甩开手机屏幕,向后斜了靠,苦笑了笑.
他一贯精致的表情现在带有一丝俏皮的不敬.
正如林琦所描述的那样——她是个麻烦制造者.
无比自豪.
陈淑兰知道秦冉喜欢玩游戏,经常这样打发时间.尽管她曾考虑过责骂她,但那双充满雾气的漂亮杏仁眼眸的一瞥总是让她解除了武装.
谁能抗拒呢?
任何责骂的痕迹都会消失.
她还能做什么?
当然,放纵她.
无论是游戏还是逃课,陈淑兰都能轻而易举地视而不见,几乎就像一个溺爱君主一样.
在她这个年纪,她第一次对孙子宠爱到这种程度.
但现在秦冉已经因为打架停赛一年,加上自己的诊断,陈淑兰这次已经下定决心要坚定.无论秦然如何恳求,也不管用什么手段反抗,她都决心要让自己回到云城的学校.
林家家主林琦就在她面前,陈淑兰热衷于确保秦然给他留下好印象.她不止一次地提醒她,要避免游戏,在林琦面前表现得好.
然而...她无法让自己变得严厉.
这个想法让她感到困扰.这是家主——她走了之后,谁能对付秦然?
房间里的每个人都有自己的想法,谈话很少,直到宁清带着秦羽回来,气氛发生了转变.
林琦看到跟在宁青身后的秦羽,乖巧优雅,笑容微微暖和起来.
一向对秦然和陈淑兰都冷淡的丫鬟张,上前从秦羽手中接过包,礼貌地称呼她:"夫人,小姐.
坐着的所有人,包括林琦,都站了起来.
Qin Ran, under Chen Shulan's watchful eye, lazily stood, leaning against the sofa, her cold, aloof gaze directed toward Qin Yu and Ning Qing.
Cold and proud.
She glanced at them once before lowering her eyes back to her phone, though she wasn't playing a game—seemingly chatting with someone.
Qin Ran's academic history would be considered disastrous among the general populace, let alone in the presence of someone like Lin Jinxuan, who was exceptional in every way.
This thought stirred a sense of unease in Ning Qing.
How could she possibly bring up Qin Ran in front of Lin Jinxuan, the heir to the Lin family?
It would be a joke.
Thus, she refrained from mentioning her, focusing her conversation entirely on Chen Shulan and Lin Qi.
"Yu'er stayed late for the rehearsals for the school anniversary." When speaking of Qin Yu, Ning Qing's face lit up, her mood soaring.
"Violin performance?" Chen Shulan was surprised and looked at Qin Yu with admiration.
Zhang, having just brought in tea, smiled at the exchange and added, "Miss has been playing the violin since childhood. She passed level nine, and whenever there's an event at school, they always ask her to perform last."
Ning Qing beamed with pride at this, knowing how much effort she had invested in raising her daughter.
Chen Shulan felt a touch of pride as well, though she was subtly uncomfortable with Zhang's tone, which seemed to carry some implication.
Her smile faded just slightly.
After returning, Qin Yu immediately walked over to Lin Jinxuan, linking her arm with his and tilting her head with a smile, "Brother, when did you get back?"
"Had a project," Lin Jinxuan replied, his eyes half-closed, his tone unusually lighthearted.
As the only girl in the Lin family's current generation, Qin Yu was much cherished. Lin Jinxuan indulged her more than anyone else.
He spoke while glancing toward Qin Ran, who was nonchalantly leaning against the sofa with one hand in her pocket and the other holding her phone, eyes downcast, expression unreadable.
Lin Jinxuan's attention faltered. Qin Yu, sensing the shift, instinctively tilted her head.
She had been warned by Ning Qing earlier, and naturally, she knew about Qin Ran's presence.
She briefly looked at her face, then calmly averted her gaze.
Dinner was quickly set on the table.
During the meal, Lin Qi cast a glance at Qin Ran and, after a moment's thought, said, "She should go to Yizhong; she can keep an eye on Yu'er there."
His tone was calm and unhurried.
The atmosphere around the table shifted abruptly.
Qin Yu, mid-bite, paused and looked at Qin Ran, her expression veiled by a smirk. "Yizhong? In the same grade as me?"
Qin Ran was a year older than Qin Yu.
Even Zhang, standing by, couldn't help but glance at Qin Ran with a trace of mockery.
Then, she lowered her gaze.
Tsk, she had thought Qin Ran was coming to Yun City for university.
Ning Qing's face stiffened—never had she felt so humiliated in all her years at the Lin family.
Lin Qi, unaffected, spoke with ease, "Your sister has to repeat her senior year due to some personal issues."
Repeating a year of high school would, without a doubt, reflect poorly on one's academic performance.
"Ah, I see."
Qin Yu smiled lightly, uttering a nonchalant "Oh," and then nodded, obediently falling silent.
Everyone in the Lin family knew that Qin Yu had consistently ranked in the top five in her grade.
Ning Qing finally realized Lin Qi's intention—to send Qin Ran to the private school, but to her surprise, he was suggesting Yizhong.
Yizhong, after all, was the best school in Yun City.
Putting someone with a past like Qin Ran, and with such poor grades, into Yizhong was no small matter. Not only would Lin Qi owe the principal a significant favor, but she would also stand out—an anomaly among the top students there.
"Yizhong isn't easy to get into," Ning Qing remarked with a clouded mood, her appetite vanishing instantly.
After a moment, she seemed to recall something, "Ran Ran, didn't you take violin lessons when you were younger? What level are you at now?"
Yizhong does have an arts program, after all.