He answered the phone.
"Something wrong?" His voice was icy.
"Xiao Xuan," Lin Qingwan asked nervously, "Are you okay? What's going on with you?"
Lin Xuan raised an eyebrow. "What could possibly be wrong with me?"
Lin Qingwan said, "Xiao Xuan, have you heard about Xiao Li's situation?"
Lin Xuan nodded. "I have."
How could he not know? He was the one who orchestrated Lin Li's predicament.
Lin Qingwan continued, "Xiao Li thinks what happened with those two men... was your doing. He and Mom and Dad are planning to retaliate against you. They sent all us sisters away, so I don’t know exactly what they’re planning."
Hearing Lin Xuan's relaxed tone, Lin Qingwan let out a small sigh of relief.
It seemed Xiao Xuan hadn’t been harmed yet. There was still time.
"Xiao Xuan, you need to be careful," Lin Qingwan urged anxiously.
Lin Xuan smirked. "They’re plotting against me? When did this happen?"
"Last night," Lin Qingwan replied.
Lin Xuan scoffed. "It’s already past 2 PM the next day, and you’re only telling me now?"
"Xiao Xuan, I’m really sorry," Lin Qingwan apologized. "I had urgent work at the company last night, and I thought... you’re smart enough to avoid their schemes, so I didn’t call you right away."
Besides, she had her own selfish motives.
If Lin Xuan could evade their plans, great. If not, she’d step in to help him—playing the savior might earn his forgiveness and make him acknowledge her as his sister again.
Lin Xuan let out a mocking laugh. "How very considerate of you."
"Lin Qingwan, you’d better focus on your dear brother and check online to see how things are unfolding."
Lin Qingwan assumed Lin Xuan was referring to the incident at the hotel last night involving Lin Li and the two men, so she dismissed it lightly.
Instead, she changed the subject. "Xiao Xuan, my company’s skincare line is selling really well. We’ll be making a lot of money soon."
Lin Xuan raised an eyebrow.
Of course it was selling well.
That "gift" was meticulously prepared by him.
He smirked.
In another ten days or so, it would be time to reel in Lin Qingwan’s company too.
Lin Qingwan went on, "Xiao Xuan, I’ll have plenty of money soon. If you ever need any, just ask me."
Lin Xuan sneered. "Miss Lin, I own Tianmu Group, with annual revenue exceeding ten billion. Do I look like I need your money?"
Lin Qingwan fell silent.
He was right. Her company was insignificant compared to his.
Tianmu Group’s growth was astonishing.
Her skincare line might be profitable, but it couldn’t compete with his gaming division, Hu Yin, or even his thriving entertainment sector.
"Xiao Xuan... could you have dinner with me?" she asked hesitantly.
Before Lin Xuan could respond, Su Hua took the phone from him and pressed it to her ear.
"Miss Lin," Su Hua said coolly.
Lin Qingwan tightened her grip on the phone.
It was his girlfriend’s voice!
She had once hoped to get closer to Lin Xuan through his girlfriend, but the woman had never given her the time of day—always humiliating her instead.
She wasn’t some desperate fool who’d willingly endure such treatment, so she’d abandoned the idea of using Su Hua to reconnect with Lin Xuan.
Su Hua spoke icily, "Sorry, but A-Xuan is spending time with his girlfriend. He doesn’t have time for you."
Lin Qingwan forced a smile. "You could both come."
"Sorry, but we prefer our alone time. No third wheels. Also, I don’t appreciate other women getting too close to my boyfriend. Miss Lin, I suggest you stop contacting him so often," Su Hua said flatly.
Lin Qingwan panicked. "I’m his blood-related sister, not some outsider!"
Su Hua remained indifferent. "You cut ties. That makes you an outsider."
With that, she hung up.
The dial tone buzzed in Lin Qingwan’s ear as she clenched her fists.
Now she was certain—this vixen was the one poisoning Lin Xuan’s mind, keeping him from returning to the Lin family and refusing to acknowledge her as his sister.
If only this woman would disappear, maybe Lin Xuan would reconsider and come back to them someday.
But he valued her too much.
Lin Qingwan had no way to drive her away without risking backlash.
She set the phone down, rubbing her temples in frustration.
If only she hadn’t been so cold and dismissive when Lin Xuan was still part of the family. Maybe then, he’d still feel some attachment to them.
But regrets were pointless now.
Lin Qingwan suddenly recalled Lin Xuan’s earlier words about checking online.
Come to think of it…
She should see how the public was reacting to Lin Li’s scandal. Had the heat died down at all?
She reopened her phone and navigated to Weibo.
The top trending topic glared back at her:
【EXPLOSIVE! Lin Li Willingly Engaged with Those Two Men!】—marked with a "BREAKING" tag.
Lin Qingwan frowned deeply.
Willingly?
What nonsense was this? She knew Lin Li’s character. There was no way he’d do something like that.
She clicked into the topic.
The top post laid out the entire story in detail:
【Today, Jiang Shuqin brought reporters to the hotel, demanding surveillance footage from last night. She accused Lin Xuan of setting Lin Li up, but the footage proved Lin Li was a willing participant.】
The post included a video.
Lin Qingwan skimmed through it.
Her frown deepened.
So this was the "retaliation" Lin Li and their parents had planned?
She exhaled in relief.
At least Lin Xuan was unharmed.
But now, with this scandal, Lin Li must be in a terrible state.
Despite her growing reservations about him, Lin Qingwan still cared deeply for Lin Li. She hurriedly left the office and rushed to the hospital to see him.
Yan Xi reminds you: Due to Tomato’s request for 3M+ daily updates straining server capacity, we recommend switching to alternative sources provided by other big shots.
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?
transmigrates into the role of a villainous rich second-generation kid in an urban fantasy novel, and gets bound to a god-tier choice system. Right at the start, he catches the female lead stealing exam papers! This triggers the villain's choice options! [Choice 1: Pretend you didn't see anything] [Choice 2: Loudly call her out, drawing everyone's attention] [Choice 3: ...] And thus, a twisted villain is born. To avoid getting killed by the protagonist, he has no choice but to take down all the protagonists first. Jiang Che: Nobody understands being twisted better than me!
] This is a dark fantasy-themed dating simulation game. The main gameplay involves containing various monster girls and investigating the truth of a world shrouded in mist alongside your companions. However, due to his love for the dark and bizarre atmosphere, Luo Wei ended up turning a dating game into a detective mystery game. Women? Women only slow down his quickdraw! To Luo Wei, the female leads in the game are more like tools to perfectly clear levels and squeeze out rewards. For Luo Wei, flirting with every girl he meets and then discarding them is standard procedure. Worried about characters losing affection points? No need. With his maxed-out charm stat, Luo Wei is practically a "human incubus." A little psychological manipulation and those points come right back. It's a bit scummy, but the paper cutout heroines in the game won't actually come at him with real cleavers. However... Luo Wei has transmigrated. He's accidentally entered the second playthrough of this game. His past actions have caused all the girls to transform into terrifying yanderes. Due to the game's setting, most of the heroines he once contained are "troubled girls." Obsessive, twisted, mentally unstable, all aggressive yanderes... The type who will kill you if they can't have you... Luo Wei wants to cry but has no tears left. "I really just want to survive..." In short, this is a story of battling wits and engaging in a love-hate relationship with yanderes.
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
