Jiang Manting noticed Jiang Yutong hadn’t moved for a while and reminded her, "Yutong?"
"Sorry," Jiang Yutong finally spoke up. "I don’t shake hands with just any man."
Her tone made it clear she disliked Lin Li.
Lin Li clenched his fist slightly before withdrawing his hand, feigning indifference. "Since Miss Jiang doesn’t like handshakes, that’s fine. I understand."
Jiang Manting asked, "May I ask why you’ve come to see us, Mr. Lin?"
"I heard from my mother about Grandpa Jiang’s condition," Lin Li replied, his voice lowering slightly. "Mom is still resistant toward the Jiang family. I’m sorry, but I couldn’t persuade her to visit him."
"By the way, how is Grandpa Jiang doing now?" he added.
Jiang Manting sighed. "Not well. Same as yesterday—he keeps calling for your mother."
Lin Li frowned, his face filling with concern. "If this continues, could his condition worsen?"
"I don’t know," Jiang Manting shook her head.
After a moment of thought, Lin Li suggested, "Ms. Jiang, how about this? I’ll go stay with Grandpa Jiang. I can tell him everything that happened to Mom after she left the Jiang family. Maybe it’ll help his recovery."
Jiang Manting’s eyes lit up.
That might actually work.
"Well…" She was about to agree when Jiang Yutong pulled her aside. "Elder sister, I have a bad feeling about Lin Li showing up now. It seems like he’s trying to latch onto our family."
Jiang Manting frowned deeply.
Jiang Yutong continued, "Don’t dismiss this, sis. He has a history of this kind of thing—scamming his way into wealthy families. He even faked a marriage once."
She then pulled out her phone and showed Jiang Manting the evidence.
Jiang Manting’s expression turned shocked.
She had heard office gossip about this before but dismissed it as mere rumors.
She never imagined the subject was Lin Li.
"Elder sister," Jiang Yutong urged, "let’s just ignore him."
"No," Jiang Manting pinched the bridge of her nose. "Grandpa’s condition is serious. If Jiang Shuqin refuses to see him, her son might be the only one who can help. I want to try."
Jiang Yutong bit her lip.
True.
There weren’t any better options.
Fine. She’d keep a close eye on Lin Li. If he tried anything against the Jiang family, she wouldn’t let him succeed.
Jiang Manting and Jiang Yutong returned to the meeting room.
Jiang Yutong’s attitude remained cold.
Jiang Manting, however, smiled warmly. "Since Jiang Shuqin is your mother, that makes you my cousin, right?"
"Cousin, here’s my business card. Give me your contact details too, so I can reach you if needed."
"Sure." Lin Li took the card and immediately called her number.
He saved Jiang Manting’s contact based on the caller ID.
"Cousin, I still have work to attend to, so you can head back for now," Jiang Manting said with a polite smile.
As soon as Lin Li left, Jiang Manting summoned her secretary.
"Investigate Lin Li," she ordered expressionlessly.
"Yes." The secretary complied immediately.
Previously, Su Hua, fearing the Jiang family might reclaim Lin Xuan, had instructed Jiang Qing to conceal Lin Xuan’s true identity.
Online records identifying Lin Xuan as Jiang Shuqin and Lin Chang’s biological son had been erased.
Additionally, the Lin family’s servants dared not casually reveal that Lin Li was actually adopted.
Thus, the secretary’s investigation concluded that Lin Li was indeed Jiang Shuqin’s biological son.
The report also included details about Lin Li’s infidelity and marriage scams, all of which were handed to Jiang Manting.
Jiang Manting wasn’t interested in those.
She only cared about his identity.
Confirming he was Jiang Shuqin’s son, she called Lin Li.
"Cousin," she said warmly, "if you’re free, you’re welcome to visit the Jiang family anytime."
"Great, I’ll come tomorrow." Lin Li’s heart swelled with excitement.
So what if he was just an adopted son?
In the Lin household, he had made Jiang Shuqin abandon her own flesh and blood to dote on him endlessly.
Now, he’d win over the Jiang family too!
Their power and wealth would surely be useful to him.
The thought made Lin Li smirk.
Once he secured the Jiang family’s backing, he’d crush Lin Xuan under his heel!
The next day, Lin Li arrived at the Jiang residence.
He sat by Grandpa Jiang’s bedside, recounting Jiang Shuqin’s past.
"Grandpa," Lin Li said gently, "please get better soon. Mom just has some misunderstandings, but I’m sure she’ll come to appreciate your love for her in time."
Jiang Manting entered with a fruit platter, her gaze worried as she looked at Grandpa Jiang.
"Cousin, have some fruit," she said, placing the tray on the side table.
"Thank you, elder cousin."
After expressing his gratitude, Lin Li turned back to Grandpa Jiang, his brow furrowed with concern. "Grandpa still isn’t responding much, but don’t worry, elder cousin. I’ll do everything I can to help him recover."
"Mm." Jiang Manting nodded. "Thank you, cousin."
"It’s no trouble at all. This is my duty," Lin Li replied. "Mom hasn’t seen Grandpa in over twenty years. As her son, I should fulfill some filial piety on her behalf."
Jiang Manting frowned.
Lin Li didn’t seem like the person described in the investigation. Was he putting on an act, or was the report mistaken?
Jiang Yutong, however, sneered inwardly.
What a performance!
From the moment she met Lin Li, she had sensed he was no good.
She wanted nothing to do with this so-called cousin.
Sigh.
If only Lin Xuan were her real cousin—she’d be overjoyed.
That same night, the Golden Dragon Gang also sprang into action.
Most of their members mobilized, clashing with Night Rose over a shipment of arms.
Gunfire erupted—bang! bang! bang!—as flames lit up the ocean.
"We won! We actually beat Night Rose!"
The Golden Dragon Gang members cheered in exhilaration.
"This is incredible," one of the gang’s top subordinates exclaimed. "Second Boss, Night Rose has never lost before. Yet this time, we came out on top!"
world slacker. But a genius female disciple just had to get clingy, insisting that he take her as a disciple. Not only that, she was always making advances on him, thoroughly disrupting his peaceful slacker life...
his freshman year, Su Bai accidentally bound the "Indulgence Tycoon System." 【Sleeping in? Reward: +$1,000】 【Spent $288 at a street barbecue stall? Cashback: +$2,880】 【Dropped $14,396 on in-game skins? Special reward unlocked: A brand-new Porsche Panamera!】 Luxury cars, penthouses, corporate shares, financial empires… College life was all about living freely and doing whatever he pleased! … When the adorably naive academic genius faced family medical bills and financial struggles, Su Bai waved his hand dismissively: "Your future is on me." "Wuwu~ Big Brother is so good to me! I’ll become a scientist to repay you!" When the genius girl got bullied by a shady professor? Su Bai casually dropped a billion-dollar investment, forcing the university to grovel and beg for her return. A company’s funding chain collapsing? Su Bai smirked—cash was the one thing he’d never run out of. Years later, when people traced the rise of the AI prodigy beauty, who was the man behind her success? Not just that—Su Bai also became the tsundere campus belle’s unattainable dream, the contrast senior’s daily necessity, and the beautiful counselor’s emotional anchor…
lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.
ave】 Shen Qingling was a man with peerless looks, a cunning mind, and the ability to play both the aloof noble and the innocent sweetheart—a master of seduction who could outplay any player. But after an untimely death, he found himself bound to a system and transmigrated into the tragic "true young master" of a melodramatic novel. In the original story, his childhood sweetheart treated him as a backup plan, his fiancée swore to break off their engagement for the sake of the "fake young master," and his own sister saw him as the family's disgrace. He was nothing more than a rat everyone wanted to stomp on. System 077: "Your mission is to change the original fate and conquer the goddesses." Shen Qingling: "Thanks for the invite. If seduction had tiers, I’d be max level." His childhood sweetheart knelt, begging for forgiveness: "Qingling, I was wrong. Please give me another chance." His ex-fiancée refused to marry anyone else: "Shen Qingling, I was blind before. In this life, I’ll marry no one but you." A yandere CEO went mad for love: "Shen Qingling, you can only like me. I’ll stop at nothing to make you mine!" His green-tea sister clung to him daily: "Brother, look at me, won’t you? I’m more obedient than them—I love you the most~" At first, they scorned and trampled on him. Later, they burned themselves like moths to a flame, all for his sake. His looks were his weapon, his sweet words the bait—heroines obsessed over him, villains turned to madness for him. Shen Qingling became a true male siren, igniting battlefield after battlefield of women fighting for his affection. Years later, when System 077—now one of the elites—was asked how to become as outstanding as it, it lazily exhaled a smoke ring and replied: "Just know how to cheer ‘666’ at the right time."
