Chapter 292: Is It Not Enough

In the evening, Lin Ruoxi returned to the villa after work. As soon as she entered, she saw a young unfamiliar girl wearing fluffy house slippers, carefully carrying a steaming pot of braised vermicelli out of the kitchen. It was Hui Lin.

Hui Lin set down the pot of vermicelli and looked up to see Lin Ruoxi standing by the doorway. The two exchanged a simple glance, yet there was a peculiar sense of familiarity and even closeness between them despite it being their first meeting.

"S-sister, you're back," Hui Lin instinctively uttered softly.

Lin Ruoxi pondered for a moment and asked, "You're that guy's distant cousin?"

Hui Lin felt a bit nervous, hesitated for a moment, and remembered that Yang Chen had introduced her as a cousin. So she nodded, "Yes."

Lin Ruoxi was mildly surprised. Could it be that this girl didn't know about her marriage relationship with Yang Chen? If she did, she should theoretically address her as "sister-in-law" or something similar. Although Lin Ruoxi didn't care much about titles, being called "sister" by this girl unexpectedly made her feel unusually warm.

"Now that you're here, make yourself comfortable. If there's anything you need, just let me know," Lin Ruoxi said. She couldn't harbor any ill feelings towards such a well-behaved girl who had helped out on the first day, even if she was supposedly a relative of Yang Chen, the "evil man."

Yang Chen came downstairs after taking a shower and found Lin Ruoxi and Hui Lin already seated, ready to eat, displaying a natural and friendly demeanor. He couldn't help but feel a bit puzzled. Though they had no prior acquaintance, blood ties were difficult to ignore. Both women sat there quietly, their demeanor and even their aura strikingly similar, albeit Lin Ruoxi exuded a touch of coldness.

Seeing Yang Chen, Lin Ruoxi felt a pang of discomfort. Deciding to ignore him, she silently served herself and began to eat.

Yang Chen wasn't surprised either. Sitting down next to Hui Lin, he teased, "Don't be shy. Eat more. You're so thin. If you get even thinner by the next time you go back, your grandma will surely think I'm mistreating you and come after me."

"My grandma doesn't randomly kill people," Hui Lin innocently defended.

Yang Chen coughed twice, gesturing with his eyes for Hui Lin not to blurt out such things. Was it appropriate for a girl her age to say things like "randomly killing people"?

Sure enough, Lin Ruoxi glanced at the two with a peculiar look in her eyes, as if she suspected she had misheard.

"Your grandmother wouldn't kill anyone, would she? Killing people lands you in jail, right?" Yang Chen intervened to cover for Huilin.

Huilin realized her mistake and nervously glanced at Lin Ruoxi, who remained unresponsive, before finally calming down.

Halfway through the meal, Lin Ruoxi casually asked, "What's your name?"

Huilin felt a bit nervous and replied timidly, "Huilin..."

Yang Chen breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, this girl didn't foolishly mention her common name "Lin Hui."

"Huilin," Lin Ruoxi frowned slightly. Although she found the name a bit strange, she didn't dwell on it. "How long are you staying here? Are you here for work?"

Yang Chen was about to answer "no" on behalf of Huilin, but unexpectedly, Huilin nodded suddenly.

"Yes, sister, can you help me find a job?" Huilin looked at Lin Ruoxi expectantly.

Yang Chen turned abruptly, utterly dumbfounded. This girl wanted to find work in Zhonghai?! Was she really not going back to Emei?

Lin Ruoxi, however, didn't think much of it. From her perspective, a girl of this age should be looking for work, especially after traveling so far to stay with Yang Chen. Although it was strange that Yang Chen, who had spent years abroad and had such a complex background, still had relatives, Huilin seemed like an ordinary girl. Lin Ruoxi thought that perhaps finding a job and eventually a husband might be the expectations of her family elders.

Lin Ruoxi had to admit, because Yang Chen had said Huilin was his distant cousin, she was somewhat intrigued. After all, since she had known him, Yang Chen had never mentioned any relatives or friends. Seeing a young girl whom she found quite pleasant, Lin Ruoxi was more than willing to help out.

"What kind of job are you looking for depends on your skills. You graduated from university, right?" Lin Ruoxi asked.

Yang Chen chuckled inwardly. This girl had been with her grandmother in Mount Shu since she was little; how could she have had the opportunity to attend university? Most likely, she had been privately tutored one-on-one for cultural education, as the Lin family certainly had the means to provide such education for their only granddaughter.

However, to everyone's surprise, Huilin nodded again, blinking her bright eyes earnestly as she said, "I have a university diploma. I'll go get it to show you, sister."

Finishing her words, without waiting for Yang Chen to say anything, Huilin promptly set down her chopsticks and hurriedly ran upstairs.

Yang Chen looked bewildered. How could things turn out so differently from what he had imagined?! How could this little nun-like girl possibly have a university diploma?!

Seeing Yang Chen's expression of disbelief, Lin Ruoxi furrowed her brows and said, "You don't even know whether your cousin has graduated from university? What kind of elder brother are you?"

"Well, I really didn't know," Yang Chen said with a wry smile.

Lin Ruoxi snorted coldly, not showing any kindness to Yang Chen. "Thank goodness I'm here. Otherwise, with someone like you, this innocent girl would definitely be taken advantage of."

Yang Chen pursed his lips, feeling somewhat uncomfortable. They had agreed to divorce after six months, hadn't they? Even if she found out about his affair earlier, it had been discussed and wasn't deliberately hidden. Did this woman really need to be so unpleasant? Besides, they had never made any grand promises to each other. Initially, they had agreed not to interfere in each other's private lives, and his actions didn't even qualify as betrayal. However, Yang Chen knew it was not the time to provoke Lin Ruoxi further, so he quietly ate his meal without speaking.

Before long, Huilin, dressed in loose white home attire resembling fluffy cotton, came lightly downstairs. She placed a stack of red certificates and some notebooks in front of Lin Ruoxi, her face blushing shyly. "These are my diplomas and certificates. Sister, you can take a look."

Lin Ruoxi hadn't expected Huilin to bring so many things. She casually picked them up and her expression became quite interesting.

She inexplicably looked Huilin up and down for a moment, making Huilin feel as if her cheeks were about to blush. Wang Mama interjected, "Miss, please don't stare at Miss Huilin like that. She's feeling embarrassed."

Lin Ruoxi withdrew her gaze and sighed softly. "It's not that I meant to stare at you like that. I'm just surprised. I didn't expect that you look so young and have already obtained dual master's degrees from Tsinghua."

Yang Chen nearly choked on his hot soup. He glanced at the certificates in Lin Ruoxi's hands. Indeed!

It seemed Abbess Yunmiao had used her connections to arrange various identification documents and educational certificates for her granddaughter.

Although Lin Ruoxi found it strange, the diplomas and certificates in her hands were genuine. She flipped through them casually and her expression became even more peculiar. She asked, "You also won first prizes in the national competitions for both pipa and guqin?"

Among Huilin's pile of certificates were two first prize awards from national competitions for these two traditional Chinese instruments!

Huilin didn't remain silent this time. She smiled gently and said, "Yes, it was when I was seventeen. Grandmother took me to the competitions."

These two certificates were indeed genuine. After all, Abbess Yunmiao had raised her granddaughter through traditional education methods, ensuring that Huilin excelled not only in martial arts but also in music, calligraphy, painting, and chess.

However, apart from special occasions like going to competitions, Huilin spent almost all her time studying on the mountain.

Lin Ruoxi's expression became increasingly fascinating as she looked through Huilin's pile of materials. Among them were awards such as "First Prize in the 3rd Yancha Sword Dance Competition," "First Place in the 2nd National Youth Go Championship," "Honorary Member of the Yancha Calligraphy Association," "Honorary Director of the Yancha Artists Association Chinese Painting Division," and "Gold Prize in the 7th National Youth Dance Competition."

As Lin Ruoxi continued, she finally looked back at the two master's degrees in Economics and Advertising Media from Tsinghua University. Suddenly, those seemed insignificant. Even someone as proud as Lin Ruoxi couldn't help but feel a sense of humility. In Huilin's delicate and petite frame, she saw hidden immense strength, capable of accomplishing so much in one go!

Seeing Lin Ruoxi's silence, Huilin felt a bit apprehensive and asked, "Sister Lin, is it not enough? I have a few more certificates, but they are all second places. Should I bring those too?"