“So painful. Where is this?” Lin Tingyue clutched her head as she stood up. She remembered working overtime until eleven at night. As she was leaving the company, she suddenly had trouble breathing, her heart rate spiked, and she collapsed, losing consciousness.
This seemed like a sign of sudden death. She must be dead, right?
Damn the company, damn the boss.
After cursing the unscrupulous capitalists, Lin Tingyue began to survey her surroundings. Good heavens, has the underworld started doing luxury renovations now?
If she had known the underworld was this beautiful and luxurious, she wouldn’t have bothered working all that overtime in the mortal realm. She would have just gone straight to work for King Yama.
After all, the capitalists in the mortal realm exploited them as if they were ghosts anyway.
【Ahem, ahem, Host.】
Lin Tingyue jumped. What was that ghostly sound?
【Host, I am your System, code 111. You can call me Xiao 1.】
Lin Tingyue listened carefully for a moment. The sound seemed to be coming from inside her own head. Host? System?
Could it be that she hadn’t died, but had transmigrated into a book?
【That’s right, Host. Now loading the book’s plot for you—】
After the plot was loaded, Lin Tingyue understood. She had transmigrated into a “real and fake young miss” novel she had once read.
The female lead of this book was the real young miss, who was beautiful, generous, gentle, and resilient.
And Lin Tingyue had become… the fake young miss, a villainous supporting character.
Ever since the real young miss was brought back, she had gradually stolen all the attention from the fake one. Everyone grew to like the real young miss more and more. The fake young miss, unwilling to accept this, constantly framed the real one, throwing the entire Lin family into chaos. In the end, the fake young miss was kicked out and met a tragic end, run over by a car.
Lin Tingyue: “…”
Dead? Her? She had to die again?
Just then, Lin Tingyue’s phone rang. It was a text from the bank, showing that someone had transferred her one, ten, a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, a hundred thousand, a million… Aaaah! Why were there so many zeros!
Lin Tingyue had never seen so much money in her life. Overjoyed, she didn’t forget to ask Xiao 1, “What’s this?”
【Host, that’s the allowance the Lin family gives you.】
“Allowance?” Lin Tingyue shrieked. She asked excitedly, “Do I get this every month?”
She hugged her phone tightly, her eyes shining like a money-grubber’s. This was a million! Unimaginable. If she had a million a month, what a happy little girl she would be.
【Yes, Host. In addition, there’s a monthly budget for clothes and jewelry. And as a member of the Lin family, you also own company shares, which come with dividends.】
Lin Tingyue: “!!!”
She had achieved financial freedom just like that?
Xiao 1 asked tentatively, 【So, Host, how do you plan to compete with the real young miss for favor?】
Compete for what?
Lin Tingyue flopped back, rolling around on the soft, luxurious king-sized bed beneath her. She was already financially free, what was there to compete for? She was going to lie flat and be a freeloader!
Xiao 1: 【Huh?】
Well, the Host was already bound. This… this should be fine, right?
Xiao 1 reminded her, 【After transmigrating, the Host will receive a Golden Finger provided by the System.】
Lin Tingyue’s mind had long been captivated by all those zeros. Hearing Xiao 1’s words, she merely nodded. As for what the Golden Finger was or when it would come online, she didn’t care at all.
What could be more important than financial freedom?
…
Lin Xiawan watched Lin Tingyue bustling about in the orchard like a little bee through the large French window, and her brow twitched uncontrollably.
Ever since she had returned to the Lin family, this former young miss of the Lin family had caused her no end of trouble—cutting up her dresses, taking the gifts their parents had originally intended for her, and openly mocking and belittling her in front of friends. Lin Tingyue had used every means possible to oppose her. But now, what was wrong with Lin Tingyue?
Ever since she took a fall a while ago, Lin Tingyue had become a completely different person. She no longer argued with her, no longer antagonized her. She was almost excessively well-behaved.
Lin Xiawan couldn’t help but suspect that this was just an act. Lin Tingyue was plotting a new scheme to deal with her.
Sitting opposite Lin Xiawan, their father, Lin Rusong, and mother, Bai Yaxin, watched this scene with great relief. Bai Yaxin said, “It seems Tingyue has finally seen the light.”
Lin Rusong nodded in agreement.
Little did they know that Lin Xiawan had already clenched her fists. Lin Tingyue, is this your new plan?
The group hadn’t been sitting for long when Lin Tingyue came in from outside, carrying a basket.
Summer was approaching, and the sun was a bit harsh. Lin Tingyue was wearing her favorite white dress and a woven straw hat. She tilted her head up, and her lovely face, slightly flushed from the heat, was revealed from under the brim of the hat.
She called out affectionately, “Dad, Mom, Sister Xiawan, I’m going to wash the fruit.”
“Ah,” Bai Yaxin stood up and walked over to Lin Tingyue, taking out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from her forehead. “Give the fruit to Auntie Zhang and let her wash it for you.”
Auntie Zhang, who was standing nearby, took the basket from Lin Tingyue’s hands. “Second Miss, let me.”
As soon as Auntie Zhang spoke, everyone present except for Lin Tingyue paled, their eyes instinctively darting toward Lin Tingyue.
Lin Tingyue was originally the Eldest Miss, but because Lin Xiawan had been brought back and was born a few hours earlier than Lin Tingyue, Lin Xiawan became the Eldest Miss of the Lin family.
In the past, Lin Tingyue would have thrown a fit upon hearing the title “Second Miss,” but now she acted as if nothing was wrong. Under everyone’s gaze, she smiled and asked, “Mom, what’s wrong?”
Lin Tingyue was an orphan who had lived in an orphanage until she came of age. She had no parents, so she didn’t feel awkward calling strangers “Mom” and “Dad.” Thus, she addressed the characters in the book very naturally.
Bai Yaxin shook her head. “Nothing, nothing.”
She patted the back of Lin Tingyue’s hand, sighing with emotion. Tingyue had really grown up.
To be fair, although Lin Tingyue was not her biological child, she had patiently raised her for twenty years and had long since come to see Lin Tingyue as her own daughter.
Lin Xiawan and Lin Tingyue were both her flesh and blood. She naturally hoped for them to live in harmony as sisters, and now it seemed this wish was about to come true.
Just the thought of it made Bai Yaxin happy. She said, “Come sit with Mom.”
“Okay.”
Lin Tingyue obediently walked over and sat down next to Lin Xiawan. Lin Xiawan shot her a wary glance, but Lin Tingyue did nothing.
Auntie Zhang washed the fruit, cut it up, arranged it on a platter, and brought it over. Beside it were exquisite forks, allowing everyone to eat the fruit without getting their hands dirty.
Lin Tingyue speared a piece of peach with a fork. So this was the life of the rich. She was so happy she could cry.
Half an hour later, Lin Rusong went upstairs to his study, and Bai Yaxin had an appointment to go shopping with a good friend. Only Lin Xiawan and Lin Tingyue were left in the living room.
Lin Tingyue didn’t notice the change in atmosphere, still happily munching away at the fruit platter.
【For heaven’s sake, even the fruit in a rich person’s house is this delicious. I could eat a hundred more platters.】
Lin Xiawan froze. Did she just hear Lin Tingyue’s voice? But when she looked at Lin Tingyue, she saw her busy eating fruit, her cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk’s, with no room to speak at all.
【Boo-hoo, I want to live here for the rest of my life.】
There it was again. Lin Xiawan looked up warily, staring intently at Lin Tingyue. It was definitely Lin Tingyue’s voice, but she could see clearly that Lin Tingyue wasn’t speaking at all.
Where was the voice coming from? A chill ran down Lin Xiawan’s spine.
Lin Tingyue also noticed Lin Xiawan’s gaze. Lin Xiawan was different from Lin Tingyue; Lin Tingyue was the sweet type, while Lin Xiawan was the cool and aloof type. When she wasn’t smiling, her gaze was as frosty as ice. Lin Tingyue silently shrank back into the corner of the sofa.
【Why is Lin Xiawan looking at me like that? Eldest Miss, please retract your divine powers. I really won’t compete with you.】
Lin Xiawan’s expression cracked. She said coldly, “Lin Tingyue, don’t think I’ll believe you just because you’re putting on this obedient act.”
“Huh?”
Gulp. That was the sound of a cherry dropping into her stomach.
【What am I acting like? In the face of millions, I’m not worth mentioning. The cherries are so good. Chew, chew, chew.】
Lin Xiawan stood up, as if at the end of her rope. “Lin Tingyue, no matter what you act like, I will never believe you.”
“Huh?”
Lin Tingyue looked up at Lin Xiawan, and the plot concerning Lin Xiawan suddenly floated through her mind.
She couldn’t help it. The villainess in this book had the same name as her. When she read about the villainess’s fate, she had shivered all over and decisively followed the advice of netizens to memorize the entire novel.
She now knew this book like the back of her hand.
【Sister, you’re still here giving me a hard time, suspecting that I’m faking it, but it’s your fiancé who’s the fake one. He doesn’t love you at all; he just likes your money. He’s a two-faced hypocrite. He’s already two-timing you, don’t you know?】
Lin Xiawan: !
Lin Xiawan did have a fiancé. They were university classmates and had a very good relationship. They were already planning to get engaged long before Lin Xiawan was brought back to her family.
But because Lin Xiawan’s true identity was revealed, the Lin family held a grand banquet to welcome her back, and the engagement was temporarily put on hold.
Just two days ago, Bai Yaxin had discussed it with her and set a date for the engagement.
Now, hearing Lin Tingyue say this… Impossible. When she and Cheng Xuan met, he didn’t even know she was the Eldest Miss of the Lin family. How could he be after her money?
Moreover, when Lin Tingyue found out Cheng Xuan was her fiancé, she had even tried to make a move on him.
This was all just one of Lin Tingyue’s tricks.
Although she thought this, Lin Xiawan was still faintly swayed. After all, Lin Tingyue hadn’t spoken, and what she heard seemed to be her inner thoughts?
Seeing Lin Tingyue’s clueless expression, could Lin Tingyue deceive her with her thoughts?
But she couldn’t just go and suspect Cheng Xuan like this. In university, when everyone looked down on her, only Cheng Xuan had been there for her, offering a lifeline.
If it weren’t for Cheng Xuan… she might not have made it to this point.
Meanwhile, Lin Tingyue had just recalled how the villainess, in order to spite the real young miss, had deliberately approached the real young miss’s fiancé.
A wave of disgust washed over Lin Tingyue.
【What a scummy man. Stay away from our family.】
Lin Xiawan: “…”