In Haishi City, the prison’s cold iron gates slowly swung open.
Sunlight fell on Lin Qian’s gaunt, sallow face.
The clothes she’d worn when she entered prison now hung loosely off her body.
She had spent five dark, sunless years inside. Today, she was finally released.
Lin Qian dragged her legs, limping slowly out of the prison.
She walked slowly—not because she didn’t want to go faster, but because she simply couldn’t.
The window of a black Bentley parked by the road rolled down, revealing a man’s deep-set, sinister face.
The man’s gaze swept over her legs, and he let out a cold sneer, the mockery in his eyes barely concealed.
“After five years in prison, you’re still so fond of pretending.”
Lin Qian’s heart unexpectedly twinged with pain, and her eyes stung for no reason.
Lin Yanshu.
Her own older brother.
Ever since she was brought back to the Lin family from the orphanage at fifteen, she had tried everything to win him over.
Yet for the sake of his adopted sister—someone with no blood relation to him—he had personally given false testimony, cementing her conviction for attempted murder.
Five years later, he was as sharp-tongued as ever, as hateful toward her as ever.
Lin Qian suppressed the bitterness, pretending not to see Lin Yanshu, and limped onward.
Lin Yanshu’s expression stiffened.
He had actually been ignored.
In his memory, Lin Qian had always come to him eagerly, doing everything to please him.
When he came home, she would bring him slippers.
When he was tired, she would massage his shoulders.
When he couldn’t sleep, she would bring him calming soup every night.
When he was too busy with work to come home for dinner, she would stand outside his office building holding a thermos, waiting for him, rain or shine.
In the three years she lived at home, his chronic stomach ailment had eased; but ever since she went to prison, he often woke in the middle of the night with stomach pain.
Today, when he learned she was being released, he had actually been somewhat happy. He had even turned down an international conference to pick her up from prison.
He thought she would surely be overjoyed to see him. He had even prepared himself for her to tearfully pour out all the grievances she’d suffered over the years.
The one thing he never imagined was being met with her indifference and coldness.
The adoration that once filled her eyes had vanished completely, leaving only distance.
The strange, hollow feeling in his chest made him furious. He gripped the steering wheel tightly, veins bulging on the back of his hand.
His tone turned harsh without him realizing it. “Get in the car.”
After saying it, Lin Yanshu felt a twinge of regret. Irritably furrowing his brow, he softened his tone slightly. “Mom and Dad know you’re getting out today. They’ve prepared a welcome banquet for you.”
Mom and Dad?
Such familiar, yet such foreign words.
At the orphanage, she used to fantasize that if she had parents, she would surely be a beloved little princess.
She longed for it day and night, for a full fifteen years.
Fifteen years later, her wish finally came true.
She had a father and a mother, and even a tall, handsome CEO of a brother.
But the beloved little princess wasn’t her—it was Lin Wan’er, the fake heiress they had raised since childhood.
That couple were not her parents.
They were Lin Yanshu’s and Lin Wan’er’s parents.
Lin Qian sneered inwardly.
In the three years at that house, she had endured endless grievances and cold stares. Knowing she was unwelcome, why go back just to humiliate herself?
Though Lin Qian’s steps were slow, she never stopped.
Her cold attitude and stubborn figure stabbed at Lin Yanshu’s eyes, and a nameless rage rose in his chest.
He pushed open the car door, and with a few strides of his long legs easily caught up to Lin Qian. His large hand seized her wrist and yanked hard. “Have you had enough of this tantrum?!”
Lin Qian lost her footing and crashed heavily to the ground. A bone-deep pain shot through her broken leg, and her small face turned deathly pale.
Lin Yanshu’s anger flared. “You’ve gotten addicted to playing the victim, haven’t you?”
“Don’t forget—five years ago, it was you who pushed Linlin down the stairs and left her a vegetable, and then you tried to frame Wan’er for it. You’ve served five years in prison and still show no remorse. Clearly, your rehabilitation wasn’t thorough enough!”
With that, Lin Yanshu yanked Lin Qian up from the ground without a shred of pity, saying with disgust, “Don’t think that five years in prison has paid off your debt. Until the day Linlin wakes up, your sins will never be forgiven.”
“And one more thing—you still owe Wan’er an apology.”
“Get in the car. Don’t make me say it twice.”
Hearing these words, Lin Qian felt only irony.
She had explained—Gu Yilin wasn’t pushed by her. It was Lin Wan’er who pushed her.
But no one believed her. They all chose to stand on Lin Wan’er’s side.
She was clearly the true daughter of the Lin family, their flesh and blood, yet the whole family chose to believe only Lin Wan’er’s one-sided story.
She was indeed guilty!
Guilty of coming home, guilty of daring to hope for a family’s love that was never hers.
She knew she was wrong.
She would change!
She would go far away, never again compete with Lin Wan’er for their parents’ and brothers’ affection, never again appear before them and be an eyesore.
So why wasn’t Lin Yanshu satisfied?
Without a word, she pulled her hand free from his grip and took a step back, putting distance between them.
Her deliberate coldness made Lin Yanshu’s chest tighten with anger. All he could think of was how Lin Qian used to cling to him like a little shadow, humbly trying to win his favor.
He forced down his anger and tried to soften his tone. “Come home with me.”
Lin Qian kept her eyes lowered, her expression indifferent, as if she couldn’t bear to look at him even once.
That half-dead, lifeless attitude of hers made it impossible for Lin Yanshu to hold back his fury any longer.
Five years in prison—she hadn’t learned anything else, but her temper had certainly grown.
Just as he was about to explode, a voice as gentle as a spring breeze sounded in his ear.
“Qianqian.”
Lin Qian’s body stiffened, and her once-unmoved heart clenched tightly in an instant.
Even though she hadn’t heard that voice in five years, she recognized its owner immediately—her childhood sweetheart, Lu Chen.
She saw a pair of polished leather shoes enter her field of vision, and the man’s deep, magnetic voice came from above her head.
“Qianqian, congratulations on regaining your freedom.”
If anyone else had said those words, she would have politely replied, “Thank you.”
But coming from Lu Chen’s mouth, they sounded so grating.
Her most trusted childhood sweetheart—Lawyer Lu Chen. The first case he took on after graduation was serving as Lin Wan’er’s defense attorney, securing her conviction in court.
Before the trial, he had said to her: “Qianqian, Wan’er has never suffered a day in her life. She wouldn’t survive prison. Take the blame for her, okay?”
Wan’er couldn’t survive it, but she could?
Just because she was used to suffering, she deserved to carry a false charge in Lin Wan’er’s place? Was that it?
Sending the Lin family’s true daughter to prison had made his name overnight in Haicheng.
Five years ago, fresh out of college, he had still been a bit green.
Five years later, he was Haicheng’s renowned gold-medal lawyer, exuding an elite aura from head to toe.
They had grown up together in the orphanage—not siblings by blood, but closer than any brother and sister.
When other kids bullied her, he would fight back fiercely on her behalf, and solemnly promise her, “With Brother Lu here, no one will ever make Qianqian suffer.”
He also promised that he would study law and become a lawyer, and anyone who hurt her would be sent to prison.
But later, Lin Wan’er made her suffer countless times, and her Brother Lu would brush her off with a single sentence: “Qianqian, you’re just too sensitive. Wan’er isn’t like that.”
It was also him who personally shielded the person who hurt her, and personally sent her to prison.
……
The air fell silent for a long while.
The smile on Lu Chen’s face gradually stiffened, yet he still forced himself to smile and reached out his hand toward Lin Qian. “Qianqian, I’m here to take you home…”
Before he could finish, Lin Qian suddenly turned her head to look at Lin Yanshu.
“I’m not going home. Let’s go.”