Lin Zehan and Ye Wan left the table together. Mrs. Lin couldn't sit still either, telling them to take their time with their meal as she followed them.
Lin Zehan spoke with Ye Wan for about ten minutes. She emerged with a frown, so engrossed in thought that she almost bumped into Mrs. Lin.
Mrs. Lin grabbed Ye Wan's hand tightly, "Xiao Wan, I'm so happy you're back. Mom has prepared your room for you. Come and see if you like it."
Ye Wan was speechless.
She looked at Mrs. Lin's current sincere expression, the genuine pain of missing a lost daughter. But Ye Wan couldn't empathize. Her mother wasn't there when she needed her most. By the time her heart had hardened through hardship, her mother meant nothing to her.
Late affection is cheaper than weeds, and it's the same with family.
Ye Wan followed Mrs. Lin to the room prepared for her. It was a very nice bedroom on the second floor, more than twice the size of her current bedroom in the Gu residence. It was clear the room had been prepared with care: a soft princess bed, exquisite curtains, various cute dolls piled on the headboard, and jewelry boxes displayed on the dressing table. There was also a small walk-in closet filled with the latest clothes and bags.
"Xiao Wan, Mom knows that nothing I say now can make up for the harm I've caused you, but please believe me, I am also a victim. It was all Ye Wenqing's doing that broke us apart. Give me a chance to make it up to you, okay?" Mrs. Lin held Ye Wan's hand tightly, trying her best to hold back tears.
Ye Wan looked at the woman before her, her feelings complicated. Was this her birth mother? If she hadn't been switched by Ye Wenqing, would she have grown up under the protection of her parents, with all her needs met?
"Mrs. Lin, you don't have to do this. I don't blame you anymore, and I appreciate your kindness." Ye Wan knew that she and Lin Zehan genuinely wanted to treat her well.
"Xiao Wan, I don't ask you to come back. I only ask that you come home for a meal occasionally. Even if you don't want to come back, letting Mom take you out for a meal is fine too," Mrs. Lin's hand, holding her daughter's, trembled slightly.
"If I have time, I can. But I'm usually very busy." Ye Wan wasn't completely heartless, especially towards the birth mother who had given birth to her.
"It's okay, just once in a while is enough." Mrs. Lin was already content. She knew she had wronged Ye Wan. Even though she knew Fei Wei was not related to her by blood, and even a child of her enemy, she still couldn't bear to abandon the child she had raised for over twenty years.
Ye Wan said she needed to go to the restroom. In truth, she was also feeling upset. Mrs. Lin went downstairs to pack some desserts and food for her to take home.
As soon as she entered the restroom, the door was pushed open again. Gu Yunting walked in from outside, then turned to lock the door.
Ye Wan frowned at him, "If you need to use it, I'll leave first."
Gu Yunting grabbed her and pressed her against the washbasin. The sudden movement caused Ye Wan's waist to hit it hard, making her wince in pain. She looked up and glared at the man in front of her, "This is your future in-laws' place! Aren't you afraid they'll find out?"
"You can try and see if I'm afraid," Gu Yunting's hand gripped her arm fiercely. Ye Wan felt as if her bones were about to be crushed.