Chapter 36: Substituting a Wildcat for the Crown Prince

"I said I won't do it, so I won't! How can you be so stingy?! When hiring a tutor for me, you didn't even get a top student who returned from studying abroad or a star tutor. You actually found a high school student!"

"What nonsense are you talking about?!" Shang Heng blew his mustache and glared in anger. Decades of accumulated refinement and composure vanished completely because of his rebellious youngest daughter.

Although Lin Yuan was a high school student, she was the top student in her grade at a key municipal school. On top of that, she had participated in numerous chemistry competitions and had even represented the country abroad, securing remarkably outstanding results.

Shang Heng had assumed that hiring a rigid, star teacher would make Shang Ying unhappy, so he had specifically sought out a girl of similar age with a good personality, thinking she wouldn't resist as much.

Who knew that after Shang Ying went downstairs and saw that girl, she would explode on the spot. Setting off a chaotic uproar in the house before the New Year had even arrived.

Downstairs, Lin Yuan sat uneasily on the sofa, cautiously taking in the luxurious villa. She had tutored children from wealthy families before, but this was her first time seeing a mansion of such grand scale.

No other wealthy family's home possessed such a massive, standalone rooftop garden. It was as beautiful as a castle.

Moreover, the person she was supposed to tutor turned out to be the girl she had seen yesterday at Grandpa Feng's place. After a moment of surprise, she lowered her head awkwardly.

Just as she had thought, Shang Ying was indeed a child of a wealthy family, and an exceptionally wealthy one at that. She let out a deep sigh in her heart. Though they were the same age, one was in the heavens while the other was on the ground.

‘Why was the gap between people so massive?’

Aunt Zhao warmly brought a plate of desserts over to Lin Yuan. Being thin-skinned, Lin Yuan's face flushed red immediately as she waved her hands politely in refusal.

"There's no need to be so polite, I already ate lunch before coming. Thank you."

"Desserts don't take up stomach space. Miss Lin, please give it a try. This is our Eldest Miss's favorite, it's delicious!"

Putting on her usual gentle and kind persona in front of outsiders, Ning Wanyuan saw Lin Yuan's awkwardness and soothed her softly, "Eat up, child. It's our fault for not explaining things clearly to Yingying beforehand, leaving you waiting here."

"It's alright, it's really alright." Moved by her warm expression, Lin Yuan softly took the dessert, took a tiny bite of the cake, and couldn't help letting out an amazed gasp, "So delicious!"

"It's great that you like it. In a bit, I'll have Auntie make a few more portions for you."

"No need, no need, that would be too much trouble."

Ning Wanyuan smiled, "It's no trouble at all."

Aunt Zhao, standing to the side, rolled her eyes internally. ‘Of course it's no trouble for you. You're not the one making them! You sure talk a good game, always pretending to be the good person.’

In the study, the argument showed no signs of stopping.

"This is authoritarianism! This is forceful oppression! We live in a society that advocates civilization and harmony! Believe it or not, I'll report you for child abuse!"

These words nearly made Shang Heng laugh out of sheer rage. He rubbed his chest fiercely to soothe the pent-up anger, fearing he might get angry enough to pass out on the spot. His blood pressure was likely spiking off the charts!

"Go ahead and report me! Let's see which law states that parents can't find a tutor for their child! Besides, you're not a child anymore, you're a teenager!"

"Then you're violating my right to autonomous development as a teenager, which is even worse than child abuse!"

"You rebellious girl! Just watch how I..."

Knock, knock, knock…

The door was knocked, cutting the conversation short. The two political debaters staring each other down paused, turning in unison toward the intruder entering their domain.

Ignoring the lingering gunpowder in the air, Shang Yi walked into the room with an indifferent expression, silently transforming the battlefield into calm waters. He carried a plate of desserts made by Aunt Zhao in his hand.

Receiving the dessert, Shang Ying's anger dissipated by half. Picking up a small golden fork, she sat down on a chair in a grand, casual posture, completely unbothered by whether Shang Heng would be angered to death.

"What are you doing here?"

Shang Heng turned his head, rubbed his throbbing temples, and tried his best to keep his voice steady.

Shang Yi stood properly before the desk, straight as a pine tree, and said softly, "I'll tutor my sister."

If she didn't like having outsiders tutor her, then he would do it.

The Lin Family.

Inside a magnificent villa, a noble lady looked at the report in her hand, her heart feeling so tightly squeezed it almost stopped beating. She covered her mouth to keep her gasps of shock from spilling out.

The man sitting beside her, Lin Jiancheng, was equally speechless upon seeing the words "Paternity Probability Greater Than 99%" on the report.

Another report sitting on the desk was also a DNA test result, but its probability differed like night and day from the one in hand.

Lin Qian's mind went completely blank, her gaze fixed dazed at that light sheet of paper with black text. It felt as though a thousand-pound metal hammer had struck her forehead, leaving her dizzy and unable to think.

Yesterday, after returning from Old Man Feng's house, she had noticed Mrs. Lin's strange state, holding her hand tightly while displaying a pained, tangled expression.

It wasn't that she hadn't harbored doubts. She was wondering if that girl who shared a striking resemblance to her mother's younger self was of Lin family blood. But she had never once suspected that she herself wasn't of Lin family blood.

So when the truth was uncovered by these two sheets of paper, her brain crashed. How could she not be her parents' biological daughter?

Mrs. Lin threw the report aside and hugged Lin Qian tightly, tears sliding down her face as sorrow engulfed her lovely features.

"Qian'an, you are Mom's daughter! You are Mom's daughter, always will be! You've been with Mom for sixteen years. Jow could you not be Mom's daughter?!"

Her soft, crying voice echoed through the quiet living room, striking the hearts of everyone present, like needles densely piercing the heart and leaving them breathless.

Lin Qian reached out to pat Mrs. Lin's back, silently comforting her. Had she not been moved by Mrs. Lin's indescribable grief, she wouldn't have expected herself to remain so unexpectedly calm at a time like this.

However, the young man on the other side of the sofa was thoroughly dissatisfied, arguing loudly.

"Lin Qian isn't your daughter at all, she's just a wild child!"

"Your biological daughter, my biological sister, is out there suffering in the world, and you still have the heart to hug this fake child and cry?!"

The speaker was the eldest son of the Lin family, Lin Youchuan.

Lin Qian looked at him coldly, only to be glared back at with mocking contempt.

Evidently, the relationship between the two was far from good. As the only son of the Lin family, Lin Youchuan had been held in high expectations since childhood, groomed to be the family successor.

Yet he lacked talent and possessed a volatile personality. Whenever Lin Jiancheng saw his mediocre capabilities, he couldn't hide his disappointment, which was why Mr. and Mrs. Lin later had a second child.

When he first learned that the second child was a girl, Lin Youchuan was actually quite pleased, as it meant this new family member wouldn't threaten his position as the heir.

He hadn't anticipated that Lin Jiancheng didn't care about gender at all. Furthermore, Lin Qian had displayed superior family genes since childhood. Achieving excellent grades, maintaining a stable personality, and holding unique insights into business.

Consequently, the family's focus shifted toward Lin Qian. Lin Youchuan had long been dissatisfied with her, constantly picking fights and finding fault with her whenever an opportunity arose.

Who could have guessed that the heavens truly had eyes! Ha! This Lin Qian wasn't even born of his parents! He could barely suppress his secret glee. The true heir to the Lin family would always be him, and no one could ever steal it away!