Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Ling Tianxin stayed very close to Ling Tianya’s side. It was as if Ling Tianya was the only person that she was familiar with. She wasn’t adverse to Ling Tao since he had often visited her, but she was particularly afraid of Madame Ling, avoiding her as soon as she stepped foot in the house. It was perhaps due to the fact that she had been terrified of her from a young age, and it didn’t help that Madame Ling looked so upset all the time. Whenever Ling Tianxin saw Madame Ling, she acted as if she saw a monster in her closet.
To welcome Ling Tianxin home, Xiao Hong prepared a table full of dishes for the poor child. She didn’t show any dissatisfaction at her return and spoke to Ling Tianxin gently. Ling Tao and Ling Tianya were pleased with her attitude.
When the table was set, Ling Tianya dragged Ling Tianxin to the dining room, and Ling Tianxin insisted on sitting next to her sister. Before Madame Ling could sit down, she had already picked a seat and gestured for Ling Tianya to sit next to her.
Madame Ling’s face was aghast as she watched her, and she shouted at Ling Tianxin. “No manners!”
Ling Tianxin was terrified, and she jumped out of her seat and hid behind Ling Tianya. Her thin frame was trembling and she stared at the ground, afraid to look at anything else.
Ling Tao went forward immediately and held her arm. He didn’t want his daughter to be so terrified after finally getting comfortable in a new environment. He gently said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Tianxin. This is your home, and no one will bully you again. That’s your grandma. Grandma isn’t trying to be nasty to you. That’s just the way she talks. Don’t be afraid. Come and sit down and eat.”
Ling Tianya looked at Madame Ling and ignored her as she sat down next to Ling Tianxin. “Tianxin will sit beside her sister.”
After being consoled, Ling Tianxin was finally smiling again. Ling Tianxin and Ling Tianya didn’t resemble each other much, but she was a pretty girl as well. Her smile was sweet and pretty, and she had a cute little dimple on her cheek.
She was a more than twenty, but she was behaving and living like a seven-year-old. Ling Tianya looked at her and thought to herself that this might be the best for her. At least she could forget about those days she spent in that living hell. She could live like this, innocently, away from judgment from the outside world.
Ling Tao turned to look at Madame Ling and said with annoyance, “Ma, don’t you know the situation today? Would you please stop being so nasty to her? I thought you said you were going to control your temper when I brought you back? I sent you to the countryside because you wouldn’t treat Tianya nicely. If you aren’t nice to Tianxin, I will have to send you back again.”
“Ling Tao…” Madame Ling was glaring at Ling Tao in disbelief. She couldn’t believe it when he had sent her away on account of Ling Tianya. She was in even greater disbelief that he might send her away for the sake of this retarded child.
Madame Ling was angry, but she didn’t dare say another word after Ling Tao’s threat. She was determined to see Xiao Hong and her baby this time. There was no way that she would go back to that wretched place!
“I’m teaching Tianxin manners. Now that she’s back, she is a lady of the Ling family. I’m just worried that she might be ridiculed for not having manners in the future,” Madame Ling said, as she tried desperately to defend herself.