A gust of wind blew past, followed by the blaring of a horn—beep-beep-beep.
A red sports car sped forward at an alarming pace, and from inside came a roar:
“Get the hell out of the way!”
“Watch out!”
Fu Sinian reached out, his hand circling Lin Qing’s waist and pulling her close.
Caught off guard, Lin Qing stumbled forward—and quite by accident, her red lips brushed against the man’s jaw.
The scent of wine lingered in the air, and the atmosphere instantly turned ambiguous.
She caught a whiff of his cool cedarwood cologne—subtle, yet intoxicating.
The faint stubble around his lips prickled against her skin, making her heart pound wildly.
“What are you two doing?!”
A deep, stern male voice rang out.
Startled, Lin Qing jumped, quickly regaining her senses and shoving Fu Sinian away.
She turned and saw Lin Nanshan, standing on the steps in front of her villa, his face dark as thunder, glaring at the two of them.
Flustered, Lin Qing waved her hands.
“Dad—Dad, don’t get the wrong idea. It’s not what it looks like!”
Fu Sinian gave a slight nod to Lin Nanshan.
“Hello, Uncle Lin.”
Lin Nanshan ignored him and snapped at Lin Qing,
“What are you standing there for? Get inside!”
Lin Qing lowered her head and walked into the villa.
“Qingqing, you’re finally back! Grandma missed you so much!”
Old Madam Lin came down from the second floor, walked over to her, and gently caressed Lin Qing’s face.
“Oh my darling, I haven’t seen you in months—you’ve gotten thinner.”
Lin Nanshan sat silently on the sofa, waiting for Lin Qing to explain herself.
“Dad, seriously, there’s nothing going on between me and that guy Fu. A car was speeding by just now, and he pulled me out of the way. That’s all, I swear to God. If I’m lying and I really do have something with him, then may I never get married in this lifetime!”
Since she had no intention of ever getting married anyway, this kind of curse suited her just fine.
“Pfft, don’t say such nonsense!”
Lin Nanshan frowned. He couldn’t stand hearing her talk like that.
“You remember this: stay far away from that Fu family. Otherwise, even your grandfather won’t be able to rest in peace in his coffin!”
“Come on, it’s not that serious.”
Lin Qing rolled her eyes. Grandpa turning over in his grave? Give me a break.
Lin Nanshan said sternly,
“Did you hear me?”
“I heard, I heard.”
Old Madam Lin, hearing the name Fu Sinian, immediately perked up and asked,
“Qingqing, are you seeing that grandson of old man Fu?”
Lin Qing quickly denied it.
“Grandma, no—absolutely not. We’re not together. It’s all just a misunderstanding, a big misunderstanding!”
Old Madam Lin let out a disappointed “Oh… not together…”
Just then, Aunt Zhang came out of the kitchen carrying a bowl of noodles. She set it on the dining table.
“Miss Qing is back. Have some supper—Madam personally made this for you.”
Lin Nanshan scoffed,
“It’s your birthday today, and your grandmother specially made longevity noodles for you, waiting all night for you to come home. And what did you do? Out partying and ignoring her calls.”
“That’s exactly why I had to go out! Birthdays are the only time I get to enjoy myself. Otherwise, I’m working like a dog all the time. I barely even have time to sleep.”
Hearing her granddaughter complain about work, Old Madam Lin looked at her with eyes full of love and concern.
“If you’re so tired, then take a break. It’s not like our family lacks money. If the law firm doesn’t work out one day, you can always come back and take over your father’s company.”
As soon as she said that, Lin Qing shot a glance at Lin Nanshan.
“No way, Grandma. I’ll never quit my job.”
She had already decided she’d be rooted in the legal world for life.
Quit? What a joke.
Lin Nanshan said seriously, “Mom, young people need to go through more trials and experiences.”
Old Madam Lin wasn’t having it. “All she does is work. She’s almost thirty and still doesn’t have a boyfriend. At this rate, when am I ever going to have a great-grandchild to hold?”
Lin Qing was sipping her soup when she heard that, and instantly choked, coughing uncontrollably.
Old Madam Lin gently patted her back. “Slow down, slow down.”
“Your grandma’s right,” Lin Nanshan chimed in. “It’s about time you found a boyfriend. In a little while, I’ll ask Aunt Sun to help look around and see if there are any eligible young men your age in our social circle. Get ready—you’ll be going on blind dates.”
Lin Qing wiped her mouth with a tissue and replied perfunctorily, “We’ll talk about it later.”
She didn’t believe for a second that her stepmother would kindly arrange a good match for her.
While sitting across the dining table, Lin Nanshan suddenly noticed red marks on Lin Qing’s neck.
“What happened to your neck?”
“Got into a fight outside the courthouse with a client’s family.”
Lin Nanshan: “…”
He’d always thought being a lawyer was a respectable and safe profession. Who would’ve expected his daughter to be getting into arguments and physical altercations with unreasonable clients every other day?
Old Madam Lin immediately reached out to check the wound on Lin Qing’s neck.
“Oh my goodness, what a deep mark. Does it hurt?”
Lin Qing smiled at her. “It’s nothing, Grandma. You get used to it.”
“Make sure you stay safe at work…”
“Mm, I will, Grandma.”
Since Lin Qing rarely came home and had shown up today with visible injuries, Lin Nanshan—thinking of her birthday—softened his tone a little more than usual.
“I left your gift in your room. And I transferred a million yuan to your bank account—consider it your birthday present.”
The moment Lin Qing heard she got money, her eyes lit up. She pulled out her phone to check her bank balance. Sure enough, there was an extra million, and her face immediately lit up with joy.
“Thanks, Dad.”
The father-daughter tension eased considerably because of her birthday.
Lin Qing glanced around. The large living room held only Lin Nanshan, Old Madam Lin, and Aunt Zhang—no one else in sight.
Back when her parents divorced, Lin Qing moved out to live with her mother. Not long after, Lin Nanshan married Sun Miaoyun and brought home her illegitimate daughter.
Since Lin Qing went abroad for school and later work, she seldom returned to the old house. She wasn’t close with her stepmother and stepsister, and they’d only maintained a superficial peace all these years. Now, not seeing them around, she asked casually:
“Where’s your wife and kid? Haven’t seen them.”
“Your Aunt Sun went back to her family’s home for a few days. Your sister’s out with friends—still hasn’t come back.”
Lin Qing let out a short “Oh,” indicating she got the message.
After finishing her noodles, she was just about to go upstairs to rest when her half-sister walked in from outside.
“Dad, I’m back.”
Lin Qi entered through the door.
The two sisters locked eyes.
Lin Qing narrowed her eyes when she saw Lin Qi’s outfit.
Bleached blonde hair, a low-cut crop top showing cleavage and midriff, ripped denim jeans, heavy Western-style makeup, and Bluetooth earbuds dangling from her ears.
She looked exactly like a rebellious, wannabe “it girl.”
Lin Qi spoke in a snide, sarcastic tone:
“What are you doing here?”
Old Madam Lin scolded, “Watch your manners! Call her jiejie!” (older sister)
“I’m not calling her that. My mom only gave birth to me. I don’t have a sister!”
After saying that, Lin Qi made a face at Lin Qing and Old Madam Lin, then ran upstairs.
Lin Nanshan quickly tried to smooth things over. “Don’t take it to heart—she’s still young and immature. I’ll scold her properly later.”
But Lin Qing wasn’t buying the “young” excuse.
“She’s 23—that’s not young. When I was her age, I was already working at a law firm.”
“She’s graduating this June,” Lin Nanshan said. “She studied Business Administration.”
The moment he said that, Lin Qing fell silent.
Business Administration. In her eyes, that was the go-to degree for spoiled second-generation heirs like Lin Qi. It was obvious Lin Nanshan intended to groom Lin Qi to join the company and eventually take over.
Realizing her father’s plan, Lin Qing felt an uncomfortable knot in her stomach.
She turned to Old Madam Lin and said, “Grandma, I’ll head out now.”
Lin Nanshan frowned. “You’re not staying the night?”
“No,” Lin Qing said. “Your daughter clearly can’t stand me, and honestly, I don’t feel great seeing her either. I’ll go back to Xinyue Bay.”
Old Madam Lin tried to persuade her. “Qingqing, it’s already 11 p.m. Just stay the night.”
“It’s okay, Grandma. I’ve got some documents I need to work on. I’ll come visit you again in a few days.”
Seeing she couldn’t change her mind, Old Madam Lin had no choice but to agree.
As Lin Qing packed up her things and prepared to leave, Lin Nanshan spoke up again.
“Wait. It’s already 11 p.m., and you’ve been drinking. I’ll have the driver take you back.”
Lin Qing nodded. “Okay.”
Ten minutes later, the Lin family driver, Uncle Chen, was driving her back to Xinyue Bay.
Lin Qing sat in the back seat. The air inside the car felt stuffy, so she rolled the window halfway down.
A cold breeze rushed in, sobering her up a little. Her mind began to clear.
As they drove past the Fu residence, the front gates were quiet—Fu Sinian was no longer there.
Lin Qing suddenly recalled what he had said earlier: “The engagement between the Fu and Song families is off.”
A pang of guilt hit her.
As the saying goes: Better to tear down ten temples than ruin one marriage.
If that engagement really fell apart because of her… that would be her burden to bear.
She knew Song Shuyao—a good girl with strong professional skills. She and Fu Sinian actually seemed like a great match.
So how had that marriage just… evaporated?
She couldn’t wrap her head around it.
Frustrated and uneasy, Lin Qing sat in silence.
Half an hour later, she arrived at her apartment in Xinyue Bay. After taking a shower, she went straight to bed.
Over the next two days, Lin Qing went to work as usual. The hectic pace and heavy caseload kept her completely absorbed, leaving her no time to think about her personal life—she even forgot all about the incident with Fu Sinian.
On the third day at 9 a.m., a news story caused an uproar in the office at Huading Law Firm.
Interns and lawyers alike buzzed with nonstop gossip.
“I really didn’t expect this—Fu and Song’s engagement just called off, just like that!”
“Didn’t Young Master Fu and Miss Song dance together at the Fu Group’s annual gala recently? They looked so in love back then—there didn’t seem to be any problems at all.”
“With just a couple of weeks to go before the engagement, suddenly canceling it… there’s gotta be more to the story.”
The news quickly became the hottest topic during lunch breaks and watercooler chats.
At lunchtime, Su Yi went to the cafeteria with Lin Qing. Even she couldn’t help gossiping about Fu Sinian’s broken engagement.
Su Yi, clearly enjoying the drama, watched gossip videos on her phone between bites of lunch.
The screen showed reporters surrounding Song Shuyao outside the Song Corporation building.
Dozens of microphones were shoved in front of her.
She had no choice but to face the media.
“Miss Song, may we ask why you and Mr. Fu broke up? Why did it happen so close to your engagement ceremony? Did Mr. Fu cheat on you or fall for someone else? Or is there some deeper reason?”
Seasoned reporters fired off several sharp and pointed questions.