AMTBYIGA Chapter 95

Lin Sui was quietly chatting with Gu Nian when he suddenly felt a shadow cast over him. He looked back and didn’t recognize the people standing there, but staring at their faces, Lin Sui felt a strange sense of familiarity.

Could they be people the original Lin Sui knew?

Lin Sui searched his memory but couldn’t find anything useful. He politely asked, “Hello, is there something you need?”

Lin Jue raised an eyebrow, crossed her arms, and sneered, “Lin Sui, now that you’ve climbed up the social ladder, you’re pretending you don’t know us?”

Lin Zhuo wore the same expression, but with more contempt. He glanced at Gu Nian beside him and deliberately said, “You were so desperate not to marry him back then. Shouldn’t you thank us for letting you enjoy this life now? If I hadn’t locked you up, you’d still be wandering around God knows where.”

As soon as he said that, Lin Jue nudged him with her elbow, signaling him to shut up.

This wasn’t to support Lin Sui, of course. If Gu Nian became disgusted with Lin Sui, they wouldn’t get any benefits. Lin Zhuo received his sister’s warning and suppressed his resentment. He lifted his chin and scrutinized Lin Sui, the jealousy in his heart transforming from a small flame into a raging fire.

He, too, had been pampered since childhood. He could tell at a glance how expensive Lin Sui’s clothes were. The style even seemed like it was custom-made by some designer!

Lin Sui used to only wear those gaudy, logo-laden clothes that he couldn’t stand. Now he was wearing an outdated dress, standing in front of Lin Sui like a clown.

If Lin Sui hadn’t been lucky enough to marry Gu Nian, how could he have been outshone!

The more Lin Zhuo thought about it, the more uncomfortable he felt. He looked at Lin Sui with undisguised hostility—it was already a habit of his. Even though he knew he couldn’t afford to offend Lin Sui now, his body still instinctively looked down on him.

Lin Jue ignored her brother, or rather, she didn’t think there was anything wrong with his behavior. She just smiled and looked at Lin Sui, “Good brother, we haven’t seen each other in so long. How about we go to the side and catch up?”

Lin Sui’s face turned pale. That word “brother” felt like a huge stone weighing him down—these two were from the Lin family, the original owner’s half-siblings!

Since transmigrating, he hadn’t received any information about the Lin family. He was worried at first, but he eventually forgot about it. He originally thought he wouldn’t have a chance to run into them, but he couldn’t escape it after all.

Lin Sui wasn’t particularly scared, but his body was instinctively trembling when facing these two, making it easy to imagine how the original “Lin Sui” was bullied.

“Sorry, I’m not familiar with you,” Lin Sui said, not giving them any face and refusing straightforwardly.

Lin Jue was stunned, as if she hadn’t expected Lin Sui to refuse. She looked at him in disbelief and blurted out, “Lin Sui, you owe us again…”

Halfway through, she remembered Gu Nian beside them and swallowed the last word. But from the tone, it was clear it wasn’t something good.

Gu Nian’s eyes instantly turned cold. He hadn’t wanted to participate in the conversation. After all, they were Lin Sui’s family, and he had to be somewhat polite. But he didn’t expect to catch a glimpse of what kind of life Lin Sui had led before after only a few words. He looked at the Lin siblings with displeasure.

Lin Jue secretly cried out in her heart. She quickly tried to salvage the situation, “Lin Sui, I was just joking. We used to have a good relationship. I even gave you a birthday present, remember?”

Lin Sui certainly didn’t remember. When he moved into Gu Nian’s house, he didn’t even have a suitcase. Even if this so-called birthday present had really existed, it would have been taken back by the Lin family in the end. Therefore, he answered confidently, “No impression.”

Lin Jue choked, not knowing how to continue to get close to him.

Seeing Lin Sui embarrassing his sister, Lin Zhuo, who was already resentful, flared up again. He stepped forward and said in a condescending tone, “If you come with us now, I can say a few good words to our father for you when I get back.”

He looked as if Lin Sui was begging him, and he wished he could look down at Lin Sui with his nostrils.

Lin Sui looked at him with a dumbfounded expression, realizing that it was impossible to reason with this kind of person. He simply pretended he didn’t see him and continued his previous conversation with Gu Nian as if nothing had happened.

Lin Jue and Lin Zhuo stood there like two telephone poles, and the surrounding people were glancing at them as if they were watching monkeys. The siblings couldn’t stand being stared at, and they left in a fit of anger.

Lin Sui saw them disappear and breathed a sigh of relief. Gu Nian raised an eyebrow and teased, “Where did that fierce look from earlier go?”

Lin Sui touched his face embarrassedly and smiled, “Wasn’t I just borrowing your prestige?”

He said it frankly, not feeling embarrassed at all about relying on Gu Nian’s influence. The smile in Gu Nian’s eyes deepened, and he took Lin Sui’s hand, saying, “Then borrow a little more. Feel free to use it. Everyone here will listen to you.”

Lin Sui couldn’t help but cover his mouth and laugh. Gu Nian’s words really sounded like a domineering CEO from a novel, similar to “Woman, swipe this black card as you please.”

So cliché, yet so adorable.

Lin Sui quickly dispelled the messy thoughts and changed the subject, pointing to the small stage at the very back of the venue, “It looks like it’s about to start. Let’s go over there.”

Gu Nian didn’t notice what Lin Sui was complaining about. The two of them went to the stage. They didn’t rush to the front to show their faces like others but found a place with a good view to wait.

Soon, a vigorous old man walked up, arm in arm with a young man. His silver hair was meticulously styled with hairspray, showing how much he valued this banquet.

The chatter under the stage disappeared, and everyone looked at the stage, curiously and scrutinizingly looking at the young man next to the old man.

Duan Miao stiffly straightened his back, his palms clenched nervously, feeling small and then quickly loosening his grip, trying to maintain a calm expression.

These past few days had felt like a dream to him. One second, he was still sad about being fired by Gu Nian, and the next, he was recognized by the Duan family, put on a custom-made suit that he never thought he could wear, and now he was standing at the center of the banquet, receiving the gaze of countless people, including the person he couldn’t help but pay attention to.

Duan Miao secretly found Gu Nian in the crowd. The corners of his mouth hadn’t had time to rise when he saw Lin Sui beside him, standing intimately with him, and his smile instantly fell. But then he thought of something, and a determined smile appeared in his eyes.

“Thank you all for gracing us with your presence. Today is the most important day for the Duan family…”

Elder Duan hosted the event personally. After giving the opening remarks, he specially asked Duan Miao to say a few words, letting him have his moment in the spotlight. It could be said that he was extremely fond of this grandson he had finally found.

Everyone present was shrewd and immediately paid attention to this new young master of the Duan family.

After the brief speech, there was another long period of socializing. Duan Miao stood next to Elder Duan, and a large group of people surrounded him without him having to do anything, toasting him with wine glasses and smiling ingratiatingly. Duan Miao, who had never experienced this before, felt like he was floating, enjoying the wonderful feeling and not wanting to leave.

However, he had only just been brought back, and the people here didn’t know him well. The words of praise were just a few clichés repeated over and over again, inevitably seeming perfunctory. Duan Miao quickly became bored and began to look for Gu Nian, thinking he was being discreet.

He already knew that Gu Nian and his family were prominent families, and he would definitely come over to offer a toast in person today.

Thinking of that chiseled face, Duan Miao felt his heart beat faster. The more he looked forward to it, the more irritated he became with the surrounding people. His expression momentarily betrayed his impatience, but he didn’t notice it himself, nor did he see the subtle displeasure of the people around him.

Elder Duan intervened in a timely manner, dismissing the crowd with a few words. Duan Miao breathed a sigh of relief and couldn’t wait to ask, “When is Gu Nian coming over?”

“You, you’re really growing up and can’t be kept here anymore. You’re already anxious after just a little while,” Elder Duan said, patting his hand affectionately. Although he said that, he still led Duan Miao to Gu Nian and Lin Sui, who were hiding in a corner.

Seeing the two of them coming over, Gu Nian stepped forward with a wine glass, but ignored Duan Miao and tapped glasses with Elder Duan, “Elder Duan, how has your health been recently?”

“Good, good, good, I’m doing well,” Elder Duan said with a smile, nodding. He pulled Duan Miao over and pushed him in front of Gu Nian, saying, “Ah Miao just came back and still doesn’t understand a lot of things. Gu Nian, you have a high position in the circle, so I’ll have to trouble you to take care of him in the future.”

Duan Miao deliberately straightened his back, waiting for Gu Nian to say some nice things, just like those people earlier. For some reason, even though he knew these were just polite words, he had an indescribable expectation when they came from Gu Nian’s mouth.

But he was disappointed because Gu Nian didn’t seem to see him at all. His eyes passed over him and looked at Elder Duan, “Elder Duan, you’re being too kind. Young Master Duan is talented and handsome. I heard he’s also a graduate of a prestigious university. He can naturally stand on his own two feet, so I probably won’t be needed.”

The words sounded nice, but everyone could hear that it was a rejection. The expression on Elder Duan’s face froze for a moment, but he returned to normal the next second and changed the subject, “Recently, I heard that your family has had some troubles. How are they being resolved?”

Gu Nian narrowed his eyes slightly, his tone suddenly becoming cold, “Just some minor troubles, not worth mentioning as a storm.”

Elder Duan paused and continued with a smile, “If you need this old man’s help, just say the word. Back then, your grandfather even joked with me, saying he wanted to arrange a marriage for our grandchildren. It’s a pity Ah Miao was found too late, otherwise your grandfather wouldn’t have randomly found someone to marry you.”

As he said that, he glanced at the quiet Lin Sui beside him. It was clear who he was referring to with that word “randomly.” Lin Sui wasn’t angry when he heard it, but he was a little suspicious that he had misheard. Why did he feel like this old man was trying to matchmake Gu Nian and Duan Miao?

Shouldn’t the fact that he and Gu Nian were married be well-known? How could someone still be eager to have their child become a mistress?

Gu Nian naturally understood the underlying meaning and also realized the reason why Elder Duan had repeatedly invited him to come. He finally looked at Duan Miao in front of him, but his eyes were full of undisguised disgust. The little bit of affection that his grandfather had left behind was worn away by these words. Gu Nian retracted his smile and looked at Elder Duan calmly.

“Mr. Duan is overthinking things. My husband and I are deeply in love, and I was the one who pursued him. It’s my honor to be able to marry him.”