Leave If You Dare! (GL) - Chapter 3

Lin Zi stared at the withdrawal slip freshly printed from the ATM, calculating her total assets.

After deducting the five thousand yuan she urgently needed to pay her landlord and the two thousand required for this hot spring trip, she was left with just eight hundred. Currently, she was a standard “three-no” individual in City D—no job, no savings, no security. She had to find work quickly, or the hard-won freedom of her new life would crumble under the weight of financial strain.

Lin Zi tilted her head back to gaze at the sky. Against the azure backdrop drifted a solitary streak of white, stark yet oddly soothing in its classic contrast. She pondered carefully—aside from being a decent singer, she had no particular talents. Though she was the eldest daughter of Lin Wangran, founder of the Lin Group, she hadn’t inherited his sharp business acumen. Among the Lin siblings, she was perhaps the least accomplished. Lin Wangran often told relatives and friends that this child was “fair without but foul within.”

And outsiders would always laugh it off, insisting that Lin Zi was heaven’s favored daughter.

But this “favored” was not the flattering kind. Lin Zi’s sole redeeming quality was her delicate, somewhat pretty face—yet it had never granted her the typical feminine advantages. She couldn’t charm boys with coy giggles, cute antics, or a mere crook of her finger, drawing swarms of admirers like bees to honey. Beyond her name and appearance, which fit traditional notions of femininity, Lin Zi had nothing in common with the average girl.

Cold in demeanor, unrestrained in behavior—she bore no resemblance to the virtuous and demure Second Miss or the gentle and dignified Third Young Master. They might as well not have been from the same litter.

But who would dare speak ill of Chairman Lin’s eldest daughter?

Yet Lin Wangran hadn’t spared her any leniency despite the world’s silence. He’d shipped her off to a prison-like boarding school in the remote west. Only when he fell critically ill, reduced to a vegetative state in the hospital, did the lawyers retrieve her per his prior instructions.

Then, bluntly, at the law firm, it was announced, according to Lin Wangran’s wishes, the Lin fortune had no ties to his eldest daughter, Lin Zi. Compared to Second Miss Lin Qing, who received 30% of the shares, or Third Young Master Lin Yi, who inherited the Lin Group, Lin Zi might as well have been kicked out of the family.

In some ways, it was just short of disownment.

But Lin Zi’s mindset was unshaken. Long before her exile to the desolate west, long after witnessing her mother’s meek submission to her father, she had sworn fiercely to herself, she would rely on no one but herself.

True, she wasn’t the world’s most tragic figure. She simply hadn’t been allowed the childhood luxuries of parental doting or the adolescent indulgence in vanity and petty sorrows. The girl named Lin Zi—outwardly delicate yet aloof, decisive and efficient—would strike anyone as mature and poised. Yet who could guess that beneath this facade lay a heart so ruthlessly observant of the world’s ways that it bordered on flawlessly precise, yet utterly devoid of warmth? With this heart, she coldly watched carefree youths bask in their naivety and romanticism, while mercilessly scrutinizing her own past and future.

Because ever since her father abandoned her at that western boarding school at age twelve, her sole annual contact with family had been on New Year’s Eve. Later, even that single connection vanished.

Lin Zi couldn’t understand why she had been kicked out of her home, why she was imprisoned like a criminal in this sandstorm-ridden western region. When she first arrived here from the bustling city of D, she dared not think about the future or face the present. She couldn’t bring herself to question—whether interrogating herself or blaming others—why her most basic right as a family member to stay home and enjoy familial treatment had been stripped away. Whenever this thought surfaced, she’d feel her body floating weightlessly in the air, unable to sink back down no matter how hard she tried. Thus, imposing cruel and rigid silence upon herself became her way of enduring.

As the saying goes, plum blossoms’ fragrance comes from bitter cold. The Lin Zi of today was no longer that little girl who frowned and bit her lips while clutching a cornbread bun. She had grown stronger, more mature, and wiser than her peers. If the sky were to fall, she’d be the only person on earth who could simply smile and say it didn’t matter.

Lin Zi exhaled deeply. Why today? Why was she suddenly recalling a past she had long since overcome and left behind?

“Ding ling, ding ling…”

Her phone rang. Keeping her eyes closed, Lin Zi grabbed it and answered without bothering to check the caller ID.

“Miss Lin, this is Attorney Song Rao.”

Ah, the vampire lawyer. Lin Zi generously awarded him an eye roll in her mind—he hadn’t been particularly pleasant during their meeting at the law firm, all because she couldn’t afford his tips.

“Hello Attorney Song. What can I do for you?” Her tone was neutral, neither warm nor cold.

“There was one additional item regarding your father’s instructions that I forgot to mention earlier.”

“Go ahead.”

“The current chairperson of Lin Corporation is your mother. Since your father remains in a coma, your guardianship has been fully transferred to her.”

Lin Zi nearly wanted to smack Song Rao’s head. Her mother—that gentle, meticulous woman who had always tread carefully—had died from childbirth complications after delivering her youngest sibling. Had this so-called renowned lawyer been kicked in the head by a donkey?

“Excuse me, Attorney Song. If you’re referring to my mother, I must remind you that she passed away twelve years ago,” Lin Zi enunciated each word, suppressing her disbelief.

“Of course. I meant your father’s current wife. You may not be aware since you’ve been away, but your father remarried two years ago to Madam Qin…”

“Enough.” A sudden wave of irritation washed over Lin Zi. A current wife? Some random woman dared to casually replace her mother’s sacred position and now openly claimed guardianship over her?

“Miss Lin, I must remind you that you need to sign a guardianship agreement with Madam Qin. Only then can your legal status in City D be restored and your previously frozen social benefits reinstated.”

“I’ll consider it. Goodbye.” Lin Zi decisively ended the call.

What was this feeling? Lin Zi couldn’t quite describe it. She only knew that suddenly gaining a new mother didn’t sit right. She hadn’t uttered the word “mom” in ten years. Being forced to acknowledge a complete stranger as her mother now felt no different than being tied up and force-fed from a baby bottle.

Lin Wangran being shameless in his old age was one thing, but Lin Qing and Lin Yi, you two kids who follow him around every day—don’t you have even the slightest sense of duty to protect your mother’s dignity?

But right now, the primary concern wasn’t whether her younger siblings were failing to uphold their mother’s status. It was her own survival. Lin Zi bought a copy of the local best-selling newspaper from a stand and flipped straight to the job listings.

With no significant work background, Lin Zi was rejected countless times before finally landing her first job in City D at a bustling milk tea shop downtown. The boss advanced her a month’s salary and gave her three days to tidy herself up before starting promptly at 9 a.m. on the third day.

Things were going smoothly. As Lin Zi walked out from the street corner, her mood was light. Holding the salary the boss had given her, she felt warmth spread through her heart. Making a living on her own—no problem at all.

Just as she was about to cross the street to buy lunch, her phone rang. The sunlight was glaring, and when Lin Zi saw it was Lawyer Song Rao calling, her first instinct was to ignore it—which she did, pressing the reject button without hesitation. But Song Rao, true to his lawyer’s tenacity, was relentless. After the call was declined, three text messages arrived in quick succession.

The content was the same as always, demanding that Lin Zi meet her legal mother at the Lin Corporation as soon as possible.

Lin Zi pretended not to see them. She turned the corner, bought a scallion pancake and some blackfish porridge, and leisurely walked back to her place.

“Xiao Lin!” The elderly landlady was doing laundry and greeted her warmly. “Did you bring your ID?”

Lin Zi was puzzled. “I already showed you my passport.”

The old woman shook her head. “A passport won’t do. They’re asking for a national ID card. The local police station issued a notice for inspections these days. Better safe than sorry—you should go get a replacement as soon as possible.”

As she spoke, the wrinkles on her face bloomed like chrysanthemums, beautiful in their own way. Lin Zi had chosen this place precisely because the landlady seemed kind-hearted. Not only did she not have to worry about exorbitant rent hikes, but she also avoided the exhausting arguments with a nitpicky landlord.

So, when the old woman made the request gently, Lin Zi could only swallow her words and start planning.

The slanting rays of the setting sun were still harsh. A beam of golden light slipped through the half-drawn curtains, landing squarely on the small table in front of Lin Zi. The blackfish porridge in the white takeout box shimmered under the glow, its rich aroma seeming to intensify in the light, filling the room with the comforting scent of rice and fish. Lin Zi opened the window and exhaled slowly.

It seemed there was no choice—she would have to meet Lin Wangran’s young bride after all.