If Lin Xuan wanted to expose anything, he had no evidence.
Simply saying it out loud—something so unbelievable—no one would believe him.
Thinking this, Lin Li's tense heart settled again.
"But if Xiao Xuan really does come," Lin Qingwan said, unable to shake her unease as she reminded them once more, "remember what I said—all of you need to treat him well."
"Mm." Lin Li nodded obediently.
Lin Qingwan trusted Lin Li. Xiao Li had always been sensible since childhood.
But then...
Her gaze fell on Lin Qingxiu.
"Got it." The reply was half-hearted.
Lin Qingwan frowned.
Unable to rest easy about Lin Qingxiu, she pulled her toward the stairs.
"Come with me for a moment."
"Eldest Sister, what are you doing?" Lin Qingxiu scowled.
Lin Qingwan didn’t answer. Instead, she turned back and asked, "Yan'er, is the diary with you?"
"Yes," Lin Qingxiu nodded. "It's in my room. I’ll go get it for you."
She hurried upstairs.
Lin Li frowned.
Diary?
What diary?
Curious, he followed them up.
"Eldest Sister, here you go." Lin Qingyan handed the diary to Lin Qingwan.
She had flipped through it countless times.
Every word inside was now etched into her memory.
Lin Qingwan took the diary, then passed it to Lin Qingxiu.
"What’s this?" Lin Qingxiu frowned, puzzled.
"Xiao Xuan’s diary," Lin Qingwan answered.
At the mention of Lin Xuan’s name, Lin Qingxiu’s first reaction was resistance.
"I won’t read it." She pushed Lin Qingwan’s hand away.
"I don’t have time for Lin Xuan’s diary."
Lin Qingxiu plopped onto the sofa, annoyed.
Every time she crossed paths with Lin Xuan, trouble followed.
That car accident was one thing—now this patient’s treatment was another!
"Third Sister," Lin Qingyan couldn’t help speaking up, "there’s a lot recorded in here. You really should read it."
"I can’t be bothered."
Lin Qingxiu crossed her arms and scoffed.
Lin Li clenched his fists.
A diary—Lin Xuan had actually left behind a diary!
"Eldest Sister, can I take a look first?" Lin Li asked.
"Of course."
Lin Qingwan nodded and handed it to him.
Lin Li flipped through the pages.
The darkness in his eyes deepened.
Lin Xuan was truly cunning!
He left, yet deliberately left this diary behind in the Lin household.
Was he trying to make the family feel guilty so he could return?
"Eldest Sister," Lin Li forced a smile, "I never knew Ge had such a hard life before. It’s all my fault—I stole his place."
"Xiao Li, how could it be your fault?" Lin Qingwan reassured him gently. "Even without you, Xiao Xuan would’ve been taken away back then."
She truly saw Lin Li as her own younger brother.
Ever since Xiao Xuan returned, Xiao Li had been walking on eggshells in the family. It pained her to see it.
"Li'er, you are part of the Lin family. Don’t overthink it," Lin Qingwan continued soothingly.
"Mm." Lin Li nodded, moved. "Thank you, Eldest Sister."
"Eldest Sister, Second Sister, have you both read Ge’s diary?" Lin Li asked.
"Yes," Lin Qingwan nodded. "I’ve read it."
"Only after reading it did I realize how different Xiao Xuan was from what I imagined—and how much he suffered in our family."
"Xiao Xuan never had a single good day with us. We failed him, and I wanted to make it up to him, but he never gave me the chance."
Her eyes grew moist.
So that’s how it was.
Lin Li tightened his grip.
No wonder Lin Qingwan and Lin Qingyan’s attitudes toward Lin Xuan had changed so drastically—it was because of the diary.
Lin Qingwan’s gaze returned to Lin Qingxiu, who still wore a look of disdain.
"Xiu'er, you must finish reading this diary today!"
Otherwise, with her temper, if Lin Xuan really attended the wedding, she might humiliate him.
That was the last thing Lin Qingwan wanted.
Lin Qingyan added, "Third Sister, I know why you hate Xiao Xuan so much. Read this diary—I believe it can change your mind."
"Fine, I’ll read it." Lin Qingxiu scoffed. "Let’s see what nonsense Lin Xuan wrote in here."
Lin Li’s hand trembled.
Lin Qingwan and Lin Qingyan’s attitudes toward Lin Xuan had completely reversed after reading the diary.
If Lin Qingxiu read it too, then—
If only he’d known about the diary earlier, he would’ve destroyed it.
No matter how unwilling he was, he had no choice but to hand the diary to Lin Qingxiu now.
Lin Qingxiu started with an indifferent attitude.
But as she read the first few pages, her frown deepened.
Lin Qingyan watched her expression, reminded of her own reaction when she first read it.
Without this diary, she might have misunderstood Xiao Xuan forever.
"Third Sister, skip to this part."
Lin Qingyan flipped to the page about Lin Qingxiu.
"We’ve misunderstood Xiao Xuan so much," she said, her voice trembling.
She turned away, wiping her tears with a tissue.
Lin Qingxiu still felt nothing but contempt for Lin Xuan.
If he suffered so much, why didn’t he speak up? Whose fault was that?
She began reading the page Lin Qingyan had pointed out.
[I’m so happy—Third Sister is taking me out today! She said she’ll buy me new clothes.]
Lin Qingxiu’s grip on the diary tightened, her eyes darkening.
This was Lin Xuan’s third day back.
Their parents and two older sisters were busy, so they told her to take him shopping.
Reluctantly, she agreed.
On the way to buy clothes, the car accident happened.
Lin Xuan abandoned her and ran.
From that day on, she never gave him a single kind look.
She had been kind enough to take him shopping, yet in a life-or-death moment, he left her behind.
She refused to acknowledge such a heartless younger brother!
Having read this far, Lin Qingxiu impatiently moved to toss the diary aside.
Lin Qingyan grabbed her wrist.
"Third Sister, keep reading."
Lin Qingxiu scowled. "Eldest Sister, Second Sister, I don’t understand why you’re forcing me to read this. Li'er’s wedding is the day after tomorrow—shouldn’t we focus on that instead of wasting time on something so trivial?"
"Keep reading," Lin Qingyan repeated firmly.
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
