Lin Yulan collapsed to the ground, revealing Lin Haojie behind her, gripping a stick and grinning viciously:
“Heh heh—trying to fight me? You’re still too green!”
What he didn’t know was that on a concealed balcony not far away, a pair of slender hands was holding an imported camera. The long lens zoomed in—click, click—capturing the scene in rapid shots.
In the ginkgo grove, Lin Haojie remained completely unaware.
He tossed the wooden stick aside, squatted down, spat, and cursed:
“I knew you were useless. Soft-hearted, all mercy—what good does going easy on Lin Xiwei do? Ever since ancient times, who dares be soft when fighting over利益? I was counting on you to land Qin Nancheng and use him as my stepping stone to get rich. And you? A pile of mud that can’t be propped up!”
Lin Haojie looked Lin Yulan up and down, rubbed his chin, and leered:
“Not a bad face. Sell you to traffickers and I’m sure I’ll get a good price. All my antiques are gone, and I’m almost out of money.”
Before, it had always been Lin Chengyou who took money from home, dragging him—the so‑called son—around the streets collecting antiques and snapping up a massive haul of rare collectibles.
Now Lin Chengyou was dead, and the Lin family had kicked them all out. Where would Lin Haojie get money? Exactly!
“My good big sister, once your little brother sells you off for some cash, you’ll be like a dandelion—wherever the wind blows, that’s where you’ll end up…”
Click, click, click!
From the distant balcony, the camera kept firing.
Lin Haojie pulled off Lin Yulan’s socks and stuffed them into her mouth, then took out a rope he’d prepared in advance and tied her up tight.
“Tomorrow I’ll go to the police and report you missing. That’ll give them an excuse to search the Lin house—heh!”
He basked in his own smug brilliance, rambling on:
“Lin Xiwei already has serious conflicts with you. I’ll add one more twist and say you had a falling-out over splitting the loot. By then, Lin Xiwei won’t be able to defend herself. Whether she moved the treasures from my basement or not, she’ll have to compensate me!”
Lin Haojie was certain the missing treasures had everything to do with Lin Xiwei—he just lacked evidence.
To recover his losses, even if it meant framing her, he would drag Lin Xiwei down with him.
If the treasures couldn’t be recovered, fine—make the Lin family pay!
Wasn’t the Lin family rich? Then let them bleed a little!
If Lin Xiwei wanted to marry Qin Nancheng, she absolutely couldn’t have a criminal case on her record.
Lin Haojie had it all calculated. Just this alone was enough to hold Old Master Lin and Lin Xiwei firmly in his grip.
…
The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
Just as Lin Haojie finished tying Lin Yulan up, faint footsteps crunching lightly on fallen leaves sounded behind him.
“Who’s there?!”
He spun around and saw Lin Juying walking toward him step by step, her face stiff, her eyes dull like a dead fish’s.
Lin Haojie forced an awkward smile and explained as cover:
“Sister Yulan wouldn’t listen. She insisted on barging in to fight Lin Xiwei to the death, saying her fiancé had been stolen. I couldn’t stop her, so I had no choice but to knock her out and take her back.”
Ever since the last incident, Lin Juying had been in a perpetually lifeless state. Especially when she looked at people, her eyes seemed never to blink.
She used to care about her looks, often fighting Lin Yulan over pretty clothes. The sisters bickered and pulled each other’s hair all the time.
Recently, Lin Juying neither smiled nor argued, no longer cared about dressing up. Her little Western-style dress was shabby, her hair a messy chicken’s nest, with two sloppy braids that Fu Cuilian had braided for her the day before yesterday.
On her feet were fashionable Mary Jane leather shoes, but caked with mud—such a waste of fine white lambskin.
She moved forward like a wooden post, her eyeballs rolling mechanically as she lowered her gaze to Lin Yulan on the ground.
Unable to read her intentions, Lin Haojie probed cautiously, “Second Sister… Second Sister, do you want to help me?”
Suddenly, Lin Juying drew her hand from behind her back—it was a stone raised high!
“Hey—don’t hit me!” Lin Haojie scrambled backward, nearly popping his eyes out in shock.
“Big Sister lost her mind and wanted to die, so I just knocked her out. I’m not trying to do anything to her! Don’t hit me, you—ah!”
Before she could finish speaking, the stone fell.
Lin Juying smashed it hard against Lin Yulan’s temple!
Lin Haojie was completely stunned!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Without blinking, Lin Juying swung the stone repeatedly, hitting Lin Yulan in the face. In no time, blood splattered everywhere—her features were barely recognizable.
“Y-you… you…” Lin Haojie stammered for a long time, not knowing what to say.
Sisters! They’re supposed to be sisters!
On the distant balcony, the person with the camera also couldn’t help but let out a “tsk.”
…
While Lin Haojie was still dumbfounded, Lin Juying suddenly started laughing wickedly:
“Smash you to death! Smash you, little bitch! For pushing me to Fu Xinghan, for running off alone, for leaving me behind, for using me as a shield…”
Listening to her nonstop rant of resentment, Lin Haojie finally understood.
In this world, there’s no hatred without cause.
Lin Juying’s brutal attack on Lin Yulan was because of the previous incident.
Fu Xinghan had consumed the drugged bird’s nest porridge, and when he went into a frenzy, he targeted Lin Yulan.
But Lin Yulan had pushed Lin Juying aside.
Fu Xinghan ended up violating Lin Juying, leaving her seething with resentment ever since.
They were all of the same rotten sort, originally plotting against Lin Xiwei.
But alas, the boomerang kept coming back again and again.
Lin Haojie, sly as ever, saw that things were going wrong and bolted.
Lin Juying continued smashing and muttering in rage:
“You ran, huh? Run all you want! Now tell me—where can you run to? Hahaha, there’s nowhere left to go!”
Hearing Lin Juying’s venomous curses behind him, Lin Haojie sprinted like mad, faster than ever.
Having transmigrated into this era, he had wanted to take advantage of the period to snatch up antiques and collectibles, amassing a fortune of original capital.
Killing? That was never his intention.
It was said that the 1970s and ’80s were the best era for scooping up antiques and collectibles. Many people, fearing trouble, would sell family heirlooms through the underground market or voluntarily hand them over to the authorities.
Some families with low social standing would marry into higher-status families to gain access to treasures—but if the spouse didn’t recognize their value, they’d sell them for a pittance.
Some would even throw them away like trash.
Lin Haojie ran while cursing his luck. How could transmigrating be so difficult? He’d finally gotten a haul of rare antiques—and now they were all gone.
He had wanted to squeeze every last bit of value out of Lin Yulan, maybe sell her—but Lin Juying had gone insane!
“No matter, even if Lin Yulan dies, she’s the most valuable ‘corpse teacher.’ I can use her to frame Lin Xiwei. Heh, the cards are in my hand.”
…
Nearby, on the balcony:
Lin Xiwei had finished shooting, and as she walked, she removed the film from the camera, heading downstairs quickly.
She needed to get to the darkroom in the basement and develop the photos as soon as possible.
Years of being trapped at home and unable to attend school had led Lin Xiwei to teach herself many skills to pass the time.
She raised birds, cats, and her health; planted vegetables, flowers, and dreams; mastered music, chess, calligraphy, painting, marksmanship, martial arts, dance, and photography—everything she tried, she excelled at.
Ding-ding-ding~
The phone in the living room rang suddenly as Lin Xiwei passed by, and she answered it on instinct:
“Hello? Who’s calling? This is Lin Mansion, your errand girl Lin Xiwei speaking~”
Her mood was excellent, her voice unusually sweet and cheerful.
From the other end came two clear breaths, startlingly vivid to Lin Xiwei, giving her a tingling sensation.
Then, a man’s deep, cello-like voice sounded, slightly intimate:
“Xiwei, it’s me, Nancheng.”
Lin Xiwei’s face flushed instantly! 😳😳😳😳