And she, because of the label of illegitimate daughter, had been secretly mocked by who knows how many people.
That was why Zhao Xiyan was jealous.
She wished she could kill Lin Miao right now.
But she held back, for the sake of the Lin family fortune.
That old man Lin Moyan, before he died, had publicly distributed all his assets in advance, splitting them among Lin Miao, Lin Jiaxuan, and Lin Tingsheng.
Even Father Lin couldn’t touch them.
Before them, Father Lin was nothing more than a manager of the Lin Corporation.
If anything happened to Lin Miao and the other two, the Lin fortune would be donated directly to society.
They wouldn’t get a single cent.
Zhao Xiyan refused to accept it. She believed the Lin Corporation was already the Zhao Corporation.
The Lin fortune had to be hers eventually.
That was why, for all these years, even with Lin Tingsheng missing, they couldn’t make a move on Lin Miao.
For thirteen whole years—whether in wealth or in looks—she had always lived in Lin Miao’s shadow.
But soon, that was about to change.
As long as she latched onto the Crown Prince of the Sheng family.
The Lin family would be hers sooner or later.
And that bitch Lin Miao would be driven out of the capital by her own hands.
At the thought, Zhao Xiyan resumed her previous haughty expression, a faint sneer curling at the corner of her mouth.
That fool Lin Miao was no match for her.
Remembering her scheduled meeting with the Sheng family’s Crown Prince today, Zhao Xiyan couldn’t be bothered to waste more time with Lin Miao here.
“Lin Miao, you’d better enjoy these last moments of yours. Without Lin Tingsheng, I’ll drive you and that stupid brother of yours out of the capital sooner or later.”
The young ladies behind Zhao Xiyan seized the opportunity to fawn over her, joining in to belittle Lin Miao.
Lin Miao was furious.
She really had been too generous with her.
She’d actually let a dog bark in front of her that many times.
Just as Zhao Xiyan was feeling smug, Lin Miao struck—one hand reversing to seize her wrist, thumb pressing hard on an acupoint, her left hand smoothly supporting Zhao Xiyan’s elbow, twisting her waist, and exerting force.
A clean, crisp joint lock. Quick and powerful.
“Ah!”
Zhao Xiyan cried out in pain, her whole body stumbling forward from the clever force, her arm twisted behind her back. The searing pain instantly contorted her face.
Lin Miao didn’t pause. Her foot swept out in a light trip.
“Thud!”
A dull sound rang out.
Zhao Xiyan slammed face-first onto the cold stone pavement. Her fake nose was instantly crushed out of shape, and several of her teeth were knocked clean out.
She curled up on the ground, groaning, unable to get up for a moment.
The whole process took no more than two or three seconds.
Please. Her combat skills had been personally taught by her brother.
She might not beat everyone, but dealing with a weakling like Zhao Xiyan was more than enough.
This series of moves left the young ladies behind Zhao Xiyan utterly stunned.
Was… was this still the Lin Miao they knew?
For someone who had to constantly project the image of a gentle, graceful socialite, this was practically a brutal shock.
Lin Miao couldn’t care less what they thought.
She just felt incredibly satisfied after beating that little bitch Zhao Xiyan.
“Aren’t you going to stand up for her?”
“Then come at me all at once.”
Lin Miao crooked her finger, looking like she was nowhere near done.
The group exchanged glances, no one speaking, all silent in unison.
The only sound in the air was Zhao Xiyan’s pained cries.
Lin Miao curled her lip. Sure enough, they were all just a bunch of fair-weather friends.
Just then, one of the young ladies shouted, “Lin Miao, don’t get cocky! Our Xiyan is the Crown Prince of the Sheng family’s girlfriend!”
“Xiyan is meeting the Sheng family’s Crown Prince for a date today!”
“You hit her—the Sheng family won’t let you get away with this!”
“Oh, I’m so scared.”
Lin Miao rolled her eyes. She was going to meet the Crown Prince’s uncle today, after all.
Who knows—maybe she’d end up being the Crown Prince’s aunt-in-law soon.
She smoothed out the wrinkles in her clothes from the scuffle with Zhao Xiyan, the motion impossibly elegant.
Lin Miao had at least taken a few debutante lessons. Though her temperament remained willful, she still carried the aristocratic bearing that Lin Tingsheng had cultivated in her since childhood.
“Since you’re not planning to stand up for Zhao Xiyan, I’ll take my leave.”
She paused, then continued.
“Oh, right. Next time you see me, remember to walk the other way.”
“Otherwise, every time I see a pack of dogs howling in front of me, I can’t help but want to kick them a few times.”
Everyone’s faces turned green.
Wasn’t that just calling them dogs?
This Lin Miao really was as arrogant and domineering as Xiyan had said…
…
That group with Zhao Xiyan had wasted quite a bit of her time.
By the time Lin Miao reached the address on the business card, it was almost dark.
And she unfortunately discovered that she was lost.
Though it was already early spring, the sky still darkened quickly, and it was already dusk—in half an hour at most, the sun would be setting.
Then she unfortunately discovered, again, that she hadn’t brought her phone.
Wuwu, it couldn’t really be this bad, could it?
This place was so huge, and they wouldn’t even let the driver in—said no entry without permission.
Helpless, Lin Miao had to get out of the car and make it this far on foot.
She had never known that the capital had a place like this.
Just then, a beam of light from behind Lin Miao fell upon her.
A look of joy spread across Lin Miao’s face.
So heaven never seals off all exits after all.
This young lady’s luck isn’t that bad.
“Hey, hey!”
Lin Miao waved her hand, hoping to hitch a ride with the person in the car.
Clutching the few red bills she had left, that should be enough to cover the fare, right?
The approaching car was a black Rolls-Royce.
Its body lines were smooth and elegant, the black paint gleaming like a mirror, casting a subtle yet luxurious sheen under the sunlight.
The most eye-catching part was the license plate—not an ordinary civilian one.
It started with Jing A, followed by a string of extremely striking numbers.
Needless to say, Lin Miao knew exactly what that string of numbers represented.
She suddenly felt that the money in her hand wasn’t even enough to cover one tire replacement for that car.
Lin Miao timidly withdrew her hand.
She suddenly felt that walking on her own wasn’t so bad after all.
Meanwhile, inside the car.
“Sheng Xiao Wu, aren’t you afraid of Third Brother beating you to death for sneaking his car out like this?”
“Pfft, what do you mean ‘sneaking’? I call this appreciating a good car up close.”
After all, the equipment in Uncle’s car was worth more than the entire vehicle itself.
It would be a shame not to take it out for a spin.
Suddenly, Sheng Mingnan noticed something.
“Hey, hey, isn’t that the woman from Uncle’s room?”
Sheng Mingnan, sitting in the driver’s seat, nearly jumped out of his seat with a start when he saw Lin Miao.
The man in the passenger seat raised an eyebrow with a flicker of interest upon hearing this.
“Is that the woman you said made Third Brother break his celibacy?”
“That’s right, it’s her.”
“Where? Where?”
Lu Zhizhou, sitting in the back seat, couldn’t help but lean forward.
This was explosive news.
The ten-thousand-year-old iron tree had actually bloomed!
Soon, the car slowly came to a stop, right in front of Lin Miao.
The window rolled down, revealing three pairs of different eyes.
What they had in common was the obvious gossipy curiosity in all three pairs.
Lin Miao suddenly had a bad feeling.
Sure enough, the next second—
“Hi, hello there.”
The man in the driver’s seat waved enthusiastically at Lin Miao.
“It’s me, it’s me.”
“We’ve met before, at Lingjing Tower.”
Of course Lin Miao remembered him—the goofball who was even more narcissistic than Lin Jiaxuan.
The young master of the Sheng family, Sheng Mingnan.
The man in the passenger seat was one with fair skin, red lips, and a beauty that bordered on the demonic. He had a pair of alluring peach-blossom eyes, brimming with arrogance and ruthlessness—clearly someone not to be trifled with.