Chapter 3: Try Laying a Finger on Her and See What Happens

Leng Yongkang scratched his nose, his words infuriating enough to kill: "Since you've had surgery, just focus on recovering. Don't lose your temper at every turn; be careful not to burst your stitches if you get too worked up."

Tang Lin let out a cold snort. Anger did indeed pull at her wound, so for the sake of her body, she would endure it for a few days.

Leng Hui finished the last of the rice porridge in her lunchbox, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and asked, "My mom is injured and hospitalized; did you go to her factory to ask for leave?"

Right, that was the important matter. Tang Lin turned to look at Leng Yongkang.

His features were decent enough, but his cheeks were so gaunt they looked deformed, and he stood less than 1.7 meters tall.

As for his personality, it went without saying—he wasn't her type.

Leng Yongkang didn't know that the mother and daughter had been "swapped," nor did he know what was going through Tang Lin's mind. He comforted them, "Don't worry. I went there this afternoon and already asked for leave. Just focus on recovering in the hospital for the next few days; you don't need to worry about things at home."

That sounded reasonable enough. Tang Lin hummed in acknowledgment without refuting him.

Leng Hui asked, "What did Grandma say? Didn't she make you pay back the money from today?"

Tang Lin didn't have the original owner's memories and didn't know how extreme Old Lady Leng was, but Leng Hui did. She understood the old woman's "never-lose-out" nature; if she had snatched the money, she wouldn't let it go without turning the world upside down.

If she wasn't coming to the hospital to cause a scene, there was likely some other compensation involved.

"Your grandma is just hard-mouthed but soft-hearted; don't hold it against her. At worst, I'll pay her back once I get my salary."

Upon hearing this, Leng Hui sneered, "If I remember correctly, both my mom's and your past wages were handed over to her. At the time, she said we were all one family and it didn't matter who managed the money. How is it that now that my mom is injured and hospitalized, we have to calculate the money separately? Since we're a family, it's only right that she uses that money to pay for my mom's treatment. Now that she's making you pay her back, what are you going to use to pay her?"

What would he use to pay her back?

Most of his monthly salary had to be handed over.

The little bit of pocket money left in his hands had to cover the miscellaneous expenses for a family of three; by the end of the month, there was basically nothing left to save.

Leng Yongkang scratched his head. "We'll just cut back on expenses from now on, and with the money you earn from gluing matchboxes and doing odd jobs, if we grit our teeth and hold on until the end of the year, we should be able to pay it off."

The mother and daughter in the hospital room were stunned by his nonsense.

He didn't have the ability to stand up to Old Lady Leng, yet he was actually setting his sights on his own daughter, Leng Hui, even coveting the little bit of pocket money she earned. What kind of "divine" father was this?

Tang Lin had just had surgery and couldn't move her body; otherwise, she would have at least walked over and slapped him a few times.

She wanted to ask him: Since you have no ability yourself, where do you get the face to ask your daughter to pay your debts?

Moreover, this was sucking the blood of his daughter to provide for his shrewish, biased, widowed mother.

Leng Hui was more direct. She sneered and pointed at the door, "My mom had surgery today and needs to rest. Please don't stand here and disturb her. Get out of here immediately!"

Being ordered out by her own daughter, Leng Yongkang was displeased. "Hey, is that any way to talk to your father? You have no manners."

Leng Hui didn't want to hear his preaching. "Get out!"

The sudden roar startled Leng Yongkang. Once he realized he had been intimidated by his own daughter, he became incredibly annoyed and pointed at Leng Hui, "You, you, you unfilial daughter! I think you're trying to turn the world upside down, I..."

Leng Yongkang raised his hand, intending to hit Leng Hui.

"Try touching her."

Tang Lin’s eyes, cold as a hawk’s, stared at him fixedly, as if looking at a dead man. It seemed that if his hand were to fall, she would take his life.

Meeting that gaze, Leng Yongkang inexplicably shivered, a chill spreading from his heart.

Too timid to meet her eyes, he turned his head only to be met with Leng Hui’s hostile glare, which made his scalp tingle even more.

Leng Yongkang fled the hospital room in a sorry state, with only one thought in his mind: these mother and daughter were both crazy.

He was their husband and father; how could they treat him with such an attitude?

Deep down, he felt an inexplicable sense of panic.

A profound, unsettling panic.

Tang Lin disapproved, "You shouldn't have confronted him so early. At least wait until I'm discharged."

Leng Hui stood up and closed the hospital room door.

This was a three-person ward, and for now, only the mother and daughter were there. Leng Hui could rest on the adjacent bed tonight, which was quite convenient.

At least it was more comfortable than living at home.

The Leng family's third branch had ten people living together in a single room, six meters long and four meters wide.

The Leng family had partitioned the house into three sections—three rooms, one for each branch.

Leng Yongkang, Tang Lin, and Leng Hui lived in the innermost room.

The middle room was occupied by the five members of Leng Yongkang's younger brother, Leng Yongxing's family.

The room at the entrance was not only Old Lady Leng's room but also where the whole family ate and received guests.

One could imagine how cramped the Leng family's living situation was.

Actually, it wasn't just the Leng family; housing for ordinary people in the city was quite tight.

Leng Hui took off her shoes, leaned against the adjacent hospital bed, and looked at the pale-faced Tang Lin, letting out a soft snort

"I wanted to get along with him too, but that guy is truly asking for a beating. He has no awareness of being a husband or a father. You just had such a major surgery, and instead of thinking about getting you some supplements to nourish your body, he’s actually plotting against my pocket money. How could I possibly give him a pleasant look?"

Tang Lin sighed slightly. She didn't know if it was the lingering anesthesia or just extreme weakness, but as she quieted down, her eyelids grew heavy again.

"Let's sleep first. We'll talk about things tomorrow."

If only she had her supernatural abilities; she could have helped heal herself, or at least reduced the pain from the incision.

Leng Hui had no objections. Although her injuries weren't severe today, she had multiple abrasions on her body and a large bump on her head. If she didn't rest well, how could she recover?