Liang Mulan smiled and was about to praise Lin Ran when she heard Lin Ran say, "Anyway, Grandma doesn't really like me. In Grandma's heart … Lin Nuan is more suitable to be the second daughter of the Lin family than me."
"Xiao Ran!" Lin Jingquan's face darkened. "Your grandma didn't mean that."
Lin Ran didn't argue with Lin Jingquan like an angry cat as usual. She nodded under Liang Mulan's surprised gaze. "Maybe, but I only remember the day I returned home, when I raised my wine glass to toast the elders, Grandma said … How can a lady from a wealthy family raise her glass and drink without saying anything? What kind of environment produces what kind of person. It's not your fault. Learn from Nuan Nuan in the future …"
Lin Ran remembered every single word that Old Madam Lin had said. She imitated every single word perfectly, and the strength of her lips and teeth when she bit down on them.
That day, the joyous welcome made Lin Ran feel like she was sitting on pins and needles. She was afraid she would do something embarrassing again.
Lin Jingquan pursed his lips, and Liang Mulan's expression didn't look good either. Only Lin Chen glanced at Lin Ran with a probing look …
"Ran Ran!" Liang Mulan reached out and grabbed Lin Ran's hand that was still holding onto the napkin. "You should know how much Grandma has doted on you all these years …"
Liang Mulan didn't continue speaking. She only held Lin Ran's hand tightly and smiled. "Forget it, forget it! It's Mom's fault. Let's not talk about this anymore! Nuan Nuan didn't say she was going to Grandma's birthday banquet. Let's not talk about this anymore … "
Lin Jingquan already knew from Lin Chen how he was released. Other than years of fatherly love for Lin Nuan, he also felt grateful and guilty. He put down the chopsticks in his hand and said to Lin Ran, "Ran Ran, Dad will say it again. I hope you can treat Nuan Nuan as your biological sister or sister. Both of you are children of the Lin family. Both of you are flesh on both sides …"
"Dad …"
Lin Ran's lips curled into a smile. She calmly withdrew her hand from Liang Mulan's grasp and put down the napkin. She clenched her small hand on her thigh tightly, her nails digging into the tender flesh of her palm. However, it was not as painful as the pain in her heart …
She smiled faintly, using her smile to hide the tears in her eyes. "Don't be angry. I've already said that I have no objections to letting Lin Nuan attend Grandma's birthday banquet. From the beginning to the end, I didn't say anything bad about Lin Nuan. When Lin Nuan returned to the Lin family that day, did I not perform to your satisfaction? Or did I offend Lin Nuan in some way that made you so angry? "
Lin Jingquan's bright eyes gazed at Lin Ran, and his tone softened. "Dad only said that he hoped that you wouldn't hold it against Grandma and that you'd treat Lin Nuan well …"
Lin Ran nodded in agreement. "I have to not be calculative with Grandma and treat Lin Nuan well. I have to act like a saint …"
Lin Ran didn't finish her sentence, but her voice stopped abruptly.
She lowered her head and smiled, shaking her head self-mockingly as if to stop herself from continuing. She raised her head again. Lin Ran's eyes were glistening, and her smile was like a flower. "I got it, Dad …"
Lin Ran's abnormality wasn't just limited to the Lin family. Even the servants noticed it.
They thought there would be a war that morning, but Lin Ran didn't admit defeat so easily. She didn't argue for what was right and complain about her grievances and resentment like she usually did.
Perhaps Lin Ran realized that no matter how much she said, it would be useless …
Since she was young, Lin Ran had heard that children who cried would get milk!
Perhaps this logic was too deeply ingrained in people's hearts. So … when Lin Ran, who cried and threw a tantrum, stood together with Lin Nuan, who kept everything to herself, the Lin family would side with Lin Nuan. They would also feel that Lin Nuan was a child who didn't know how to cry and needed more doting and doting.
She, Lin Ran, was that child who cried and was merely whining without any illness.
In the Lin family, Lin Ran had always been … alone.
Even if she filled the house with things that belonged to her, those things wouldn't be tainted by the aura of the family, just like Lin Ran.
In the past, Lin Ran desperately wanted to compete with Lin Nuan in the hearts of the Lin family. To put it bluntly … it was because she cared too much about her family, so she was childish and willful. But as a child … her love for her family was the purest.
When Lin Ran gradually realized that no matter how well she did, she would never be able to truly have her own parents, her own older brother, she suddenly felt tired and didn't want to fight anymore …
No matter how much she fought, she couldn't win against Lin Nuan, who didn't fight for anything. Why make things difficult for others and herself?
That day, when Lin Nuan came to the Lin family, she said those words to Lin Nuan in the kitchen. It was the last chance she and the Lin family had. But this morning, Liang Mulan and Lin Jingquan's attitudes made Lin Ran realize that she could erase Lin Nuan in the Lin family, but she couldn't erase Lin Nuan in their hearts.
She could never become Lin Ran. She was Lu Ran!
That homeless Lu Ran …
With this realization, Lin Ran felt as if her heart had been pierced by an icicle. The bone-chilling coldness spread through her entire body through her blood.
She smiled even more and gestured for the servants to take away the cutlery in front of her before saying, "I'm done eating. Dad, Mom, Brother, if you guys are done eating, I have something to say."
Lin Jingquan and Liang Mulan had long lost their appetite. When they heard Lin Ran say this, they put down their chopsticks and looked at her.
"I've applied to study for a postgraduate degree at the University of Sheffield. My written application has been approved, and I'll be going for an interview next. If I pass … I'll be able to complete my postgraduate studies at the University of Sheffield. The interview is next Monday. I've already booked my plane ticket, and I'll be leaving this afternoon. If I pass the interview, I'll stay in England to familiarize myself with the environment and wait to enroll …"
This meant that she wasn't planning on coming back.
That was why Lin Ran said she had no objections to asking Lin Nuan to attend Old Madam Lin's birthday banquet. She had no intention of attending at all …
Originally, Lin Ran didn't plan to do so.
She had planned to say that she was going out to play for two days and make a trip to England. If she passed the interview, she would come back to tell her family the good news. If she didn't pass, she would just treat it as a real trip.
But now, Lin Ran had no way out. She had to pass the interview.
Lin Ran's reason was legitimate, and no one in the family could stop her. They could only watch as Lin Ran left with her luggage.
Liang Mulan experienced the pain of Lin Nuan's departure once again. She cried her heart out at home.
Lin Chen mentioned this to Lin Nuan, meaning that she should go back to visit Liang Mulan and comfort her.
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