"Su Hua? Mom, the one who beat you was actually Su Hua?" Lin Li's eyes widened in shock. "Are you sure?"
"It was her!" Jiang Shuqin gritted her teeth. "She was the one who personally tortured me. How could I possibly be mistaken?"
A deep sense of helplessness settled in her heart.
Even if she knew Su Hua was the one behind her suffering, there was nothing she could do about it.
Given Su Hua's influence, Jiang Shuqin couldn’t possibly make her face legal consequences.
Instead, confronting Su Hua might only provoke her further, leading to even harsher retaliation.
"Li'er, do you know why Su Hua kidnapped me and tortured me into this wretched state?" Jiang Shuqin asked bitterly.
"Why?" Lin Li's lips curled slightly. "Our Lin family hasn’t done anything to offend her, right?"
Even if Jiang Shuqin didn’t say it, he already knew the reason.
Lin Xuan had just been beaten, and now Jiang Shuqin had been abducted—Su Hua was clearly retaliating on Lin Xuan’s behalf.
Jiang Shuqin clenched her jaw. "It’s because of Lin Xuan. She’s helping him, taking revenge on me. In the past, whenever I punished Lin Xuan for his mistakes, she’d use these cruel methods to pay me back."
Lin Li tightened his fists. "Does she love my brother? Is that why she keeps helping him like this?"
"Yes, exactly! Oh, and she also said—she was the one who disrupted the wedding!"
Jiang Shuqin suddenly remembered something and looked sharply at Lin Li.
"Li'er, did you already know Su Hua was the woman behind Lin Xuan?"
Lin Li shook his head. "Mom, I didn’t know. I only saw her at that birthday banquet, but during the wedding incident, she was wearing a mask. I couldn’t see her face clearly."
He couldn’t let Jiang Shuqin find out he had been hiding the truth.
Jiang Shuqin believed him without question.
"Li'er," she grasped his hand tightly. "We have to tell your father about this. He must stop provoking Lin Xuan. If Su Hua steps in, Starlight Group won’t survive the fallout."
"Right, I’ll call him right now."
Jiang Shuqin reached for her phone, but Lin Li stopped her in a panic.
"Mom, wait!"
"Li'er, what’s wrong?" Jiang Shuqin frowned. "Why do you look so nervous?"
"Let’s not tell Dad about this yet," Lin Li said.
He couldn’t let Lin Chang discover who Lin Xuan’s backer really was. If he did, Lin Chang would bring Lin Xuan back into the family to secure Su Corporation’s support—and might even kick Lin Li out of the Lin household.
"Why shouldn’t we tell Lin Chang?" Jiang Shuqin pressed.
Lin Li’s mind raced for an explanation.
Then it hit him.
"Mom," he said carefully, "Dad cares deeply about Starlight Group’s success. If he finds out Lin Xuan has Su Corporation backing him, he’ll definitely bring him back into the family."
Jiang Shuqin clenched her fists.
Lin Xuan could not return.
Even after being exiled from the Lin family, he was still ruining her life—causing her miscarriage, rendering her infertile, and now subjecting her to Su Hua’s torture.
If Lin Xuan came back, things would only get worse.
"Mom, it might seem like a good thing for Lin Xuan to return, but his hatred for you is too strong. I’m afraid if he comes back, he’ll keep tormenting you. And if he takes over the family, he might even throw you out."
Lin Li’s words solidified Jiang Shuqin’s resolve.
"So, I think we should wait until Lin Xuan’s hostility toward us fades before telling Dad about him and Su Hua."
"Alright, alright. I’ll listen to you, Li'er. You handle everything." Jiang Shuqin nodded.
Lin Li finally relaxed.
Then Jiang Shuqin suddenly remembered something Su Hua had said to her in the basement.
"Li'er," she grabbed his hand again, "Mom needs to ask you for a favor."
"What is it?"
"Find me a drug that can sterilize a man." Her voice was urgent.
"Mom, you—" Lin Li froze.
Jiang Shuqin’s eyes welled with tears. "Li'er, you know I only gave birth to Lin Xuan. Now that he’s cut ties with the family, your father is desperate for another heir. He’s been cheating on me—first with Wang Yajun, then with his secretary—just to have another son."
"If Lin Chang really gets a son who inherits Starlight Group, he’ll throw all five of us out of the Lin family!"
Just like Wang Yajun had whispered to Lin Chang in bed—she wanted him to divorce Jiang Shuqin so she could take her place as the Lin family’s matriarch.
Jiang Shuqin would never let that happen.
"Mom, but if Dad finds out—" Lin Li hesitated.
"Li'er," Jiang Shuqin’s eyes reddened, "you’ll help me, won’t you?"
In the end, Lin Li couldn’t resist her pleading. He nodded. "Fine, I’ll do my best to find it."
He wanted that drug too.
If Jiang Shuqin was the one who administered it, even if Lin Chang discovered the truth, Lin Li wouldn’t be implicated.
Agreeing to her request only benefited him.
A faint smile finally appeared on Jiang Shuqin’s face as she squeezed his hand. "Li'er, you’re the only one who truly cares about me."
"Mom, what kind of talk is that? You’ve loved and raised me since I was a child. Of course I’ll always stand by you."
Jiang Shuqin felt a surge of gratitude. She was so glad she had picked up Lin Li all those years ago.
Without him, she wouldn’t have such a devoted son.
After leaving the hospital, Lin Li immediately set out to find the sterilization drug.
"You’re sure about this?" Lin Li asked sharply into the phone. "The drug really works?"
"Absolutely," the voice on the other end assured him. "It’s produced by XY Laboratories. Their drugs never fail."
"Good. Deliver it to me."
"Don’t worry, Young Master Lin. As long as the payment is right, I’ll get it to you safely."
Lin Li hung up, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
His own infertility was a hidden risk. But with Lin Xuan estranged from the family and Lin Chang rendered sterile, even if his secret got out, his position in the Lin family would remain secure.
No one would take Starlight Group from him.
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
