Chapter 12 Snowy Confrontation
High school life was intense. I kept my grades at the top of the entire grade.
I remember one snowy day. Gu Feng's friend had just opened a hotpot restaurant and invited me to show support. I asked the teacher for leave and left school early.
The moment I stepped out the gate, I saw a woman standing in the snow, shivering.
I instinctively pulled my school uniform tighter and lowered my head to walk past quickly.
"Lin Qiao."
The voice was so familiar.
My blood seemed to freeze in an instant.
I turned around stiffly.
The woman was staring right at me.
After so many years, she had aged a lot. Her skin was sallow, her eyes cloudy, strands of white mixed in her hair.
She stumbled toward me, forcing a stiff smile onto her face.
"Lin Qiao... you've grown so much... Mom almost didn't recognize you..."
I took a step back instinctively, watching her warily.
The smile froze on her face, replaced by a flicker of displeasure.
"You little brat, why do you look like you've seen a ghost when you see your own mother? I am your real mom!"
Behind her, a teenage boy peeked out from behind a poplar tree near the gate. His face looked blank.
It wasn't Lin Kai.
But the resemblance between his features and hers was striking—seventy to eighty percent the same.
"Who is he?" My voice trembled as I asked.
Her eyes darted for a second. Then she yanked the boy forward and plastered on a fawning smile.
"This is your younger brother, Lin Wei. I... had him later... after you."
Younger brother?
My mind buzzed.
So she had taken the money from my father's death, started a new family, and even had another son.
"Your Older Brother... your Older Brother is doing great now! He's out there running big business!"
She dodged the main point, her tone full of pride.
"It's just that cash flow is a bit tight lately. You're in high school now—your monthly living expenses must be quite a lot, right? Lend some to Mom first. When your Older Brother's business picks up, he'll pay you back double!"
I stared at her, feeling both absurd and ridiculous.
How could she say these things so righteously?
Did she still think I was that six-year-old girl she could discard and demand from whenever she wanted?
"I don't have money." I spat out the three words coldly and turned to leave.
"You stop right there!" She shrieked and rushed forward, grabbing my arm so hard her nails dug into my flesh.
"Lin Qiao, you ungrateful wretch! I carried you for ten months and gave birth to you, and this is how you treat me?"
"You let your Aunt raise you and now you treat her like your real mother? She's just after our family's money! Let me tell you—if you don't give me money today, I'll go make a scene at your school and let everyone know what an unfilial daughter you are!"
She yanked at my backpack while shouting. I stumbled and fell to the ground.
A bicycle screeched to a halt beside me.
"Let her go!"
It was Gu Feng.
He had just finished work at the auto repair shop. His school uniform was covered by a grease-stained work jacket, and he still wore half-finger gloves.
He jumped off the bike and shoved her away.
Then he pulled me up and shielded me behind him.
"You dare hit someone? You don't want to live anymore, you vicious woman!"
"Lin Qiao has no mother like you—get lost!"
She staggered back a step, startled, but soon noticed his work clothes.
Her expression hardened.
"You're Gu Feng, right? Instead of studying properly, you went to become a mechanic? What kind of future do you have?"
She sized him up and down.
"I advise you to mind your own business. This is family matter—why is an outsider like you getting involved?"
Gu Feng's face flushed with anger. His fists clenched tight.
"Lin Qiao is my sister. If you mess with her, you're messing with me. Try touching her again—I dare you. I won't let you leave this school gate!"
She was momentarily speechless. I quickly spoke up.
"Listen carefully. First, I have no money. I attend school on scholarships. My living expenses come from every cent my Aunt and my Uncle earn—I won't give you any. Second," I pointed at Gu Feng, "he, along with my Aunt and Uncle, are my family. You are not."
"Third," I took a deep breath and met her shocked, furious gaze.
"If you dare make a scene at school, I'll call the police and report you for abandonment. Back then when you took the two hundred thousand compensation and threw me away, all the neighbors saw it. Whose side do you think the police will believe—you or them?"
Gu Feng raised his phone, ready to dial 110.
She paled and stepped back.
The boy called Lin Wei tugged at her sleeve, whispering, "Mom, let's go."
Only then did she seem to snap out of it. She gave me one last venomous glare.
Then she dragged the boy away and vanished into the swirling snow.
I didn't relax until their figures disappeared completely. All strength drained from my body.
Gu Feng took off his work jacket and draped it over my shoulders. The smell of grease mixed with his faint sweat, but it brought me an unprecedented sense of security.
"Come on, let's go eat hotpot." He supported me, grinning brightly.
That night, I came home and locked myself in my room without a word.
When Aunt and Uncle returned, Gu Feng told them everything that happened that afternoon, exactly as it was.
I heard dead silence in the living room at first.
Then Aunt slammed the table hard.
"She still dares show up! How does she have the face!"
"She thinks Lin Qiao is still dough she can knead however she wants? Dream on!"
"Keep your voice down," Uncle said calmly.
"Don't let the child hear."
"I want her to hear!" Aunt's voice cracked with tears she could no longer hold back.
"My poor Lin Qiao... my brother's poor daughter... how did she end up with such a mother... Jianguo, I'm scared... I'm afraid she'll stick to us like a leech and ruin Lin Qiao..."
I sat at my desk, tears streaming silently down my face.
I felt like a jinx. My very existence kept bringing trouble and pain to this kind family.
A gentle knock came at the door.
I wiped my tears, opened it.
Uncle stood there holding a steaming bowl of ginger soup.
He pressed it into my hands and said softly,
"Lin Qiao, this house has walls, a door, and locks. Wind and rain can come in, flies and mosquitoes too—but as long as we don't want them to, no one can force their way in."
He paused.
"Study with peace of mind. If the sky falls, we'll hold it up for you."
"You will always be part of this family!"
I held the ginger soup. The steam blurred my vision.
I knew—this home was my impenetrable fortress.