Standing Next To You-Chapter 184: At Someone’s game

A/n: This Chapter is fixed. Thank you for waiting.

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As a part of the etiquette lessons and social tapestry, Lin Sunji knew several families- including the Yuo family and the Shang family. Although they weren’t as prestigious as the Lin family, they still belonged to wealthy families and could be considered good connections to have.

She had heard of the engagement of the two families from her classmates but did not pay particular attention to it. After all, the Lin family looked down on families that weren’t in its caliber. But who wouldn’t like to hear some huge gossip?

The two hadn’t noticed that one of the seats in the parlor was occupied and was deeply engaged in their conversation.

"Oh my goodness! Then, they had an intimate relationship before the engagement?"

"The engagement happened because of the incident. But before the two families agreed, the Madame of the Shang family accused the Young Miss from the Yuo family of seducing her son. It turned out the Shang family had already set their eyes on another young lady from another family. But because of what happened, their plan for the Young Master failed."

"How can it not fail? No matter the truth, the rice had been cooked. It can’t be undone. To protect the reputation of both sides, they had to make the engagement happen."

"Right. And I think that the Young Master from the Shang family and the Young Miss from the Yuo family had been lovers before that and just did the deed because of the engagement that was about to happen with another family. It’s a pity that they have to do all that trouble so that they can have their engagement."

Lin Sunji raised her brow. So that’s it.

She had heard from her mother that some young ladies or young men use that method to seal the deal. It was a very effective measure.

No wonder it was very strange that two stagnant families suddenly had an engagement. Usually, a family like theirs would try to latch on to a prestigious family to gain a stronger connection through political marriage.

As she was pondering about it, the two maids finally found her and paled. They apologized, and Lin Sunji scolded them a bit.

After they left, the door once again opened.

This time, an angry Lin Xiaoni came in.

"Why are you so hard to find?!" Lin Xiaoni yelled with a red face. She looked exhausted from looking around for Lin Sunji.

Lin Sunji did not take her seriously and laid on the couch. "What’s the matter?"

Seeing her nonchalant and relaxed attitude, Lin Xiaoni snapped. She pushed the maid away and pull Lin Sunji’s hair. "It’s because of you that Richard is leaving! You used Sophia to ruin Bei Sangyun’s reputation! If you want to ruin Bei Sangyun then do it on your own! Why drag Richard into this! You should be reported to grandfather!"

Lin Sunji had her hair pulled. Fortunately, the maid intercepted and stopped Lin Xiaoni from pulling more hair.

Lin Sunji glared at Lin Xiaoni. This foolish girl dared to pull her hair! She glared daggers at Lin Xiaoni but still caught the words she said.

Where did this foolish girl learn that she was the one who exposed Bei Sangyun’s origin to Sophia?

She forcefully denied the accusation.

"I don’t know where you heard it. But don’t just blindly accuse me! You don’t have any proof. Besides, how is it my fault Richard is leaving? Haven’t you heard it wrong? It’s not yet the time for the Simon family to leave."

Lin Xiaoni glared back at Lin Sunji with tears, "I have confirmed it from mother. Mother asked around. The maids from the guest room have been helping Richard and Sophia pack their things. They are clearly leaving! And it’s your fault! If you did not cause the Simon family to offend our family, Grandpa wouldn’t force Richard to be Bei Sangyun’s fiancé."

Lin Xiaoni finally could not hold it in and sobbed.

After confirming that Richard was going to leave tomorrow, Lin Xiaoni bribed a butler and asked him if Richard met with her grandpa.

And Richard had indeed gone to Old Master Lin’s room. Because the Simon family had an argument in the hallway, the butler who was assigned to help Richard also heard Richard’s pleas in the hallway.

The bribed butler told Lin Xiaoni what he had witnessed, which made Lin Xiaoni desperate. She couldn’t ask her grandfather to change his mind by herself. Although she was slow, she at least knew that.

So she went to the person whom she believed cause this mess and let her fix the current problem.

Lin Sunji was stunned by the amount of information that Lin Xiaoni had just thrown at her.

The Simon family was leaving? Why so early? And that Bei Sangyun would become Richard’s fiancée? What kind of ridiculous idea was that?

Lin Xiaoni cried, "I can’t let that happen! You hang around them a lot, so you must know something. Tell me, how can I stop him from leaving? It’s your fault, so think of a way to stop Bei Sangyun from becoming Richard’s fiancée!"

Lin Sunji frowned. Lin Xiaoni’s thinking was really different from others. The one who caused this was that Bei Sangyun, so why was she putting the blame on her instead?

Lin Sunji sighed, "There’s no way the Simon family will agree to someone like Bei Sangyun becoming the future Madame...."

But her words were disrupted by Lin Xiaoni, "It already happened! Richard accepted Grandfather’s suggestion! She is going to marry Bei Sangyun! They will be engaged before he leaves!"

Lin Sunji finally understood the seriousness of the matter. She interrogated Lin Xiaoni more and found out about the bribed butler. She called for him and made him restate what he witnessed. After confirming the information from the bribed butler, Lin Sunji paled.

She couldn’t let Bei Sangyun become the future Madame of the Simon family! That Bei Sangyun should not have a good life.

Lin Sunji paced around the room.

Lin Xiaoni was still urging her when Lin Sunji suddenly remembered the conversation she overheard.

Right. There was that method.

Bei Sangyun became Richard’s fiancée because of the attempted sexual assault. But what if someone other than Bei Sangyun had intimate contact with Richard?

What if Richard was found sleeping with someone? Then the deal with Bei Sangyun would be off. Grandfather would have no choice but to let Richard take responsibility for that person instead. The distinction between ’attempted’ and successfully doing the deed was a whole different matter.

Lin Sunji suddenly gazed at Lin Xiaoni, "Do you really want to stop the engagement?"

Lin Xiaoni stopped crying and nodded determinedly.

Lin Sunji then told her the story about the Young Miss from the Yuo family and the Young Master from the Shang family. Afraid that Lin Xiaoni would not get her hints, she even added,

"It is better to visit him tonight and ’confess’ your feelings. This is your only chance."

And as she expected, Lin Xiaoni indeed wandered around Richard’s room and ’confessed’ her feelings. Fortunately, the foolish cousin of hers understood her hint and even used a drug that worked effectively. frёewebηovel.cѳm

The two who thought they outsmarted the other never realized that they were only pawns in someone else’s game, manipulated to make her life easier.

....

[Back to the present]

Bei Sangyun’s comment made Butler Xin cough embarrassedly.

Well, how could he not be worried? His master was very unpredictable and more eccentric than him. But fortunately, this issue was resolved. His master never failed to surprise him.

Butler Xin’s embarrassment was evident even though he was on the other side of the phone.

After a while, he recovered his composure. "Head Master Lin announced the engagement between Richard and Lin Xiaoni. You have nothing to worry about now. Oh, except the drug might be traced back to you."

Bei Sangyun scrolled on the laptop. "Don’t worry about it. The old man surely knows by now it’s me. After a bit of interrogation, he’ll stop."

"...Interrogation?"

"Yeah. I think I have to return to the Lin mansion soon."

"Will you be okay?" Butler Xin asked, his tone laced with unknown concern.

"Why wouldn’t I be? I surely made some trouble, but the old man got a good deal in the end. One of his useless granddaughters got sold off to a good family and will become the future Madame. In his eyes, this engagement will help the family strengthen the bonds and officially gain partnership with the Simon family."

"But isn’t the Simon family not in a good situation right now? What if Head Master Lin came to help them since now they were in-laws?"

Butler Xin knew Bei Sangyun’s endeavors with the Simon family. He was also keeping an eye on the Simon family abroad.

"That old man has good eyesight. The Simon family will continue to decline, and he will see that. He will surely sacrifice decades of friendship to not be pulled onto the sinking ship."

Butler Xin turned silent. His master was right. Given the old man’s attitude, he would undoubtedly do that for the sake of preserving the Lin family’s name.

Butler Xin could not help but sigh in awe. His master had considered every step and made such a perfect plan. She was becoming frightening.

"Then, please contact me again if you need me to escort you back. Your father is still madly looking for you, so I suggest you directly meet Head Master Lin before meeting your father."

Butler Xin suggested.

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