Standing Next To You-Chapter 346: The Past- First Meeting with Lin Fei

Bei Sangyun was silent for a long time. Her gaze was distant as she recalled the past.

"...Lin Fei is very different from the rest of the Lin family. When I was young, we were actually close. Perhaps because we both grew up in a poor environment, we found a sense of camaraderie. He took care of me when I first arrived. It took me quite some time to adjust to the Lin family. It was thanks to him that I managed to adapt. So...I am quite grateful to him but..."

Bei Sangyun’s gaze lowered. "...at the same time, I despised him."

She despised him for what she had become. But now, thinking back, if it hadn’t been for him back then, she might not have survived for long.

No one was on her side back then. It was only Lin Fei who reached out to her and taught her most of what she knew. However, his ways were a bit twisted. So she naturally grew up twisted.

As he wanted, she grew up with a heart of stone and vengeance in mind. And she gradually got consumed by anger and grew crazy.

Her hand was suddenly squeezed. Bei Sangyun looked up and met Fei Chuan’s gaze. His dark eyes were gentle and comforting.

"You did well growing up. Even though you were surrounded by mud and thorns, you still stand strong. A little girl who had no one by her side managed to grow up this strong and charismatic. This is an unbeatable feat."

Bei Sangyun was taken aback.

She thought she was someone who never needed comforting words, as she was no longer that little girl. But hearing it from Fei Chuan made her soul, which she thought had recovered from all those wounds, feel comforted by his warmth.

Her heart was soothed by his sincere words. Bei Sangyun smiled. She tiptoed and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

Fei Chuan froze and looked at her, stunned.

"The little girl wanted to thank you," Bei Sangyun grinned.

The past couldn’t be undone. But now that she was no longer the helpless Bei Sangyun of the past, she wouldn’t live like that again. Especially with Fei Chuan by her side.

.....

Her past with Lin Fei began when she was first introduced to society as Lin Ginxian’s daughter. At that time, she was a naive little girl whose expectations were crushed by reality.

She often fell victim to the schemes of her cousins, always leaving her embarrassed and ashamed.

....

"Oh my goodness, why is the third young miss dressed like that?"

"Can’t she see that everyone else is dressed differently?"

"I heard she grew up abroad. Her manners and etiquette are truly different."

"I don’t know how she grew up there, but she can’t appear here without following the dress code. How rude."

"I’ve heard that she has a nasty temper. She’s really unlike the other young masters and misses from the Lin family."

"Even as a child, she should have some decorum. She is very unlike the other young misses in the Lin family."

"Like a black sheep."

There was a hint of disgust in their tones as these young ladies and Madames gossiped within their circles.

The subject of their mocking was an eleven-year-old girl dressed in a light pink princess dress with lace on her sleeves. It was a pretty and popular dress among her age group.

However, the beautiful dress couldn’t be appreciated at the moment since everyone else was wearing classic and stylish oriental clothes.

She stood out too much and in the wrong way.

As Bei Sangyun entered, she felt the weight of judgmental gazes upon her. It wasn’t until she noticed everyone else adorned in either cheongsams or Chinese hanfu that she realized she had been deliberately misled.

Bei Sangyun panicked. She wanted to go back and change. However, just as she turned to leave, Lin Sunji and Lin Xiaoni swiftly blocked her path.

"Oh, cousin! What a lovely dress you’re wearing. It suits you well," Lin Xiaoni praised her exaggeratedly with a hint of malice.

Lin Sunji concealed her smile behind an intricately adorned hand fan. She looked her up and down with amusement, "Did you truly intend to stand out so conspicuously? I can hardly believe you actually chose to wear that."

Bei Sangyun’s fists clenched as she shot them a deathly glare. It was undoubtedly their doing.

"...Was it you who arranged this?"

Bei Sangyun had received the dress that morning, a surprise gift supposedly from her father. The maid who delivered it had relayed that it was meant to be worn today.

The eleven-year-old Bei Sangyun had always yearned for her father’s acknowledgment and affection. Blinded by joy at the gift, she had dismissed any suspicions and discarded her original outfit without a second thought.

She was too elated to notice anything amiss.

Despite Maid Ye Zhai’s caution against last-minute changes, Bei Sangyun had opted for the dress, believing it a token of her father’s appreciation, eager to wear the beautiful dress at once.

But it had all been a scheme.

Lin Sunji smirked behind her fan. "Who else could it have been? Did you truly think Uncle Ginxian sent this dress? Why would he gift such a beautiful, expensive dress to an illegitimate child? If it weren’t for the inheritance, he wouldn’t even acknowledge your existence."

Bei Sangyun had grown accustomed to Lin Sunji’s hurtful remarks.

The first time she heard this, she reacted with anger, resorting to her fists, only to receive a scolding from Butler Xin. She had promised herself she would never do it again.

After enduring countless repetitions, she had become somewhat numb to it.

However, this didn’t mean she would tolerate being mocked by others. She had reached her limit.

"...Your jokes are crossing the line," Bei Sangyun retorted, her fists clenching in frustration.

"Joke? Wake up, it’s the truth. Look around, can’t you see you don’t belong here? Roll back to where you came from," Lin Sunji said with disdain.

"Yeah, you don’t belong here! You are not welcome here!" Lin Xiaoni parroted.

The high-pitched sound of their voices grated on Bei Sangyun’s ears. She winced as she heard a high-pitched ring again.

Lately, she had been experiencing this ringing in her ears. She hadn’t been in a good mood and couldn’t sleep and eat well. Ever since she entered the mansion, she hadn’t experienced a single happy day.

The initial excitement when she first arrived and the expectation of living like a princess completely disappeared from her mind after living here for two years.

The constant harassment from her so-called family, accompanied by disappointed and cold stares, the pressure to meet expectations, and incessant schemes against her, had gradually eroded her initial composure.

She was losing control over her emotions and sometimes found herself easily provoked.

She vividly recalled an incident from just two weeks ago when Lin Sunji had purposefully challenged her to a piano duel during a family gathering. With her father and grandfather present, Bei Sangyun showed a disappointing match.

She couldn’t rival Lin Sunji’s skill, who had been learning piano since the age of three.