TFWYH – Chapter 153 Helping the Tiger

Ling Sheng had discovered Ling Xiaofang’s shameful secret purely by accident.

Back then, Ling Yu’s family hadn’t yet been driven out. Ling Yu had just broken his leg and been carried home.

Madam Jiang cried her heart out, while Ling Yue held little Ling Chen and wept silently.

Their grandmother didn’t show a shred of concern. No matter how the mother and daughter begged her to pay for a doctor, she not only refused but even forced them to keep working.

Grandfather puffed on his dry pipe and gave a sigh, pretending to be sympathetic as he said that Ling Yu’s life was ruined.

At the time, Ling Sheng had thought the same and genuinely felt sorry for the second branch.

Seeing that his grandmother wouldn’t even hire a doctor, he gathered a few boys—Zhang San, Li Si—and stole some medicine from Old Zhang the skin-flayer’s house, hoping to help however he could.

But when he came back and went to deliver the medicine to Ling Yu, what he saw froze him on the spot.

Ling Xiaofang was sitting by Ling Yu’s bed, silently crying as she looked at his unconscious face. Then, she reached out to touch his cheek—

—and finally leaned down, as if to kiss him.

His mind went blank. Without thinking, he burst through the door, grabbed her by the arm, and dragged her out.

He would never forget her expression at that moment—like a thief caught red-handed—face pale as death, eyes wide with panic.

But the girl had a thick skin; she quickly regained her composure.

When he demanded to know if she had no shame, she glared at him darkly and snapped back, utterly self-righteous:
“So what if I’m his cousin instead of his distant cousin? Does that mean I’m not even allowed to love him? What’s the difference between a cousin and a distant cousin anyway? Why can’t I pursue my own happiness?”

Happiness?

She called that twisted, immoral desire happiness?

If happiness knew what she meant by it, it would probably be sick to its stomach.

He certainly was.

He’d never imagined his own sister could harbor such filthy thoughts—
and even defend herself so brazenly after being caught.

He slapped her hard across the face and warned her in fury,
“I don’t want to hear another word. If I ever see you doing something like that again, don’t blame me for killing you, you shameless creature!”

Terrified, Ling Xiaofang just trembled and didn’t dare make a sound.

After that day, even though Ling Sheng knew it wasn’t fair,
he couldn’t help but feel resentment toward Ling Yu as well.

Why did the man have to look like that?
Didn’t he know he could lead others to sin?

Ling Sheng knew he was taking out his anger on the wrong person,
but he didn’t know how else to vent the disgust and frustration festering inside him.

Later, when their grandmother drove the second branch out of the house, he had wanted to step in—
but then he saw Ling Xiaofang, for the first time ever, pleading desperately on their behalf, crying her heart out.
In that instant, he lost the will to intervene.
Part of him even felt relieved.

If Ling Yu left the house, then Xiaofang wouldn’t have to see him anymore.

Afterward, when he heard that Tang Wan—a girl from town—had fallen for Ling Yu and was determined to marry into the village no matter what,
he cursed Ling Yu inwardly for being a walking disaster,
yet secretly helped make the marriage happen.

He thought that once Ling Yu got married,
Xiaofang would finally give up.

But to his shock, the girl began to hate Tang Wan instead,
and started scheming against her behind the scenes whenever she could.

Remembering all of this now, Ling Sheng buried his head in his hands in pain.

At last, he realized something he should have long ago:

Ling Xiaofang couldn’t be allowed to stay any longer.

He had kept holding back out of sibling affection, unwilling to be too harsh—
but wasn’t that just helping the devil do her work?

She was getting more outrageous by the day, constantly goading their grandmother to make trouble for the second branch.

Ling Yu and Tang Wan weren’t fools.
Sooner or later, they would see her true colors.

And when that happened, their whole household—the main branch—
would be utterly disgraced.

If word ever got out…

The thought made Ling Sheng shiver.
Without another moment’s hesitation, he left the house.