Chapter 1 The First Day
The first day of filming stumbled to a completion.
Ling Qianhe rode home in his vanity van. Lin Muci felt a bit down and unfocused.
Every glance from Ling Qianhe made her feel like a heinous criminal, as if she had stolen his heart only to abandon him.
She was truly uncomfortable.
To her surprise, when she returned to the Lin family villa, another pleasant surprise awaited her!
"Muci, I've invited Dr. Yang over for dinner. He heard you were filming and said he'd wait for you to come back and conduct another psychological test to see if your condition has improved."
Ms. Lin Cuiping was exceptionally warm and cheerful.
Lin Muci felt helpless. "Mom, I'm really not sick. My mind is completely healthy. Look, aren't I doing perfectly fine?"
Lin Cuiping was flustered. "Oh, it's just to have the doctor stay a little longer. He cares about you, that's why he's concerned about your recovery. Muci, don't push him away from miles away."
Lin Muci had no choice.
She sat sulkily on the sofa. Opposite her, the elegant young man wearing gold-rimmed glasses glanced up at Lin Muci, a faint smile curving his lips.
"Muci, how have you been these past few days? Your dark circles are quite heavy. Didn't sleep well last night?"
How was it that everyone noticed she hadn't slept well last night?
Lin Muci's head throbbed. With Lin Cuiping present, she had to maintain a demure and adorable smile. The man opposite her walked over, sensing her inability to resist.
He reached out and pinched Lin Muci's cheek.
The girl's cheeks were very soft.
Lin Muci glared at him!
He remained unfazed, ignoring Lin Muci's fierce eyes, and then smiled at Lin Cuiping.
"Muci seems to have truly recovered. She's quite lively."
Lin Cuiping was, of course, immensely grateful.
The doctor, however, became more audacious.
"Then, may I have a private chat with Muci?"
In the study, Lin Muci aimlessly flipped through a psychology book. Yang Lanyan casually glanced at the cover.
"Sigmund Freud's 'The Interpretation of Dreams'? What's wrong, Muci? Did you have a strange dream? Instead of reading, why not ask me? I'm a master dream interpreter."
Lin Muci quickly pushed the book away. Yang Lanyan continued to smile, maintaining that dangerous yet captivating elegance.
"It seems like a dream you don't want anyone to know about?
Is it a dream of passion? After all, Muci is also a maiden who experiences carnal desires. Who is the male protagonist in your dreams?"
"Ling Qianhe?"
Lin Muci retorted reflexively.
"I hate him the most!"
Yang Lanyan said "Oh."
"To refute so quickly suggests it is indeed Ling Qianhe."
Her thoughts guessed correctly, Lin Muci angrily hugged her chest, speechless. She vowed in her heart not to reveal a single word to the man before her from this moment on.
But her silence did not stop the man before her from speaking.
"I conducted a psychological test for Madam Ling a couple of days ago, and the results were quite interesting. That woman is on the verge of being completely consumed by her dark side. Sometimes, I often wonder, how is it that the same human beings can be so innocent and kind, while others can nurture unimaginable sin and darkness within their bodies? Those greed, fears, and arrogance are the original sins inherent in everyone. They don't seem to worry about falling into the eighteen levels of hell."
He walked up to Lin Muci.
He propped his chin and met her gaze as she sat by the desk.
"What is Muci's original sin?"
Lin Muci turned her head away, not wanting to look into his eyes. He didn't force her.
"Since Muci dreamed of Ling Qianhe, do you know that Ling Qianhe's shares are only temporary? The condition for him to obtain those shares previously was that his elder brother would never wake up, remaining in a vegetative state. Now that his elder brother has awakened, the Ling Corporation will soon hold a new shareholders' meeting. Of course, I know Ling Qianhe has a few tricks up his sleeve. He established his own company overseas and might not care about the Ling family anymore, but his most treasured possession is in Madam Ling's hands, which means he will forever be blackmailed by that woman. Madam Ling can make him hand over everything he currently possesses."
Lin Muci bit her lip.
She certainly knew what that was.
On the cruise ship.
She had spent a hefty ten points to eavesdrop on Ling Qianhe and Madam Ling's conversation.
The thing Ling Qianhe cared about, which was in Madam Ling's possession.
It was his mother's遗物 (yi wu - belongings) and his mother's ashes.
Especially his mother's ashes.
It was something he could never give up.
But.
How could she retrieve his mother's ashes for Ling Qianhe?
Can the system help? Lin Muci called out to the system several times in her mind. Seeing that it couldn't be avoided any longer, the system finally responded belatedly.
"Uh, there's nothing I can do."
Lin Muci became agitated again.
The system was truly obstinate, like a dead pig unafraid of boiling water.
"I really can't do anything. I'm not allowed to tell you where the ashes are hidden."
"Host, don't be angry. Even exchanging points for it isn't allowed. I don't know either. The main system has designated this as a world secret, and I don't have permission to access it. Wuwuwu, host, I really can't help you."
Lin Muci wasn't angry, she was furious!
She was almost driven mad by the system.
The light in the study was dim enough to cause dizziness. Lin Muci looked at the psychologist with gold-rimmed glasses before her, a thought stirring in her mind.
"Do you know where Ling Qianhe's mother's ashes are? Did Madam Ling tell you?"
The system wouldn't tell her.
Gathering information from the doctor couldn't possibly be considered a violation, right?
The psychologist opposite her adjusted his glasses. Through the lenses, his eyes were bottomless.
"I don't know. She won't tell me this secret. Muci, I believe she will carry this matter to her grave, to her coffin. Unless Ling Qianhe is completely dead, she will threaten Ling Qianhe with this matter until her death to pave the way for her son. Muci, haven't I told you many times not to get entangled in that family's vortex? Otherwise, you will definitely regret it."
But she was already entangled.
Lin Cuiping knocked on the door. Lin Muci mumbled an invitation to enter. Lin Cuiping brought her milk, peeking inside curiously.
"Doctor, is Muci alright?"
The young man opposite smiled gently and elegantly.
"She's fine. Ms. Lin, you don't need to worry. It's getting late, and I should be going. I won't disturb your rest."
He turned to leave. Lin Muci stared at his brown trench coat, her mind racing with countless thoughts. Seeing him descend the stairs, she hurried to his side. Standing on the steps, she called out.
"Wait!"
Yang Lanyan looked up.
"Muci?"
Lin Muci licked her lips. For some reason, she felt that the eyes beneath his gold-rimmed glasses were incredibly sharp, almost capable of cutting through one's soul.
"I'll come to your clinic to find you next time. If Madam Ling schedules another appointment, I'll be behind her! Tell me in advance."
This way, she could finally confront the elusive Madam Ling.
There must be a way.
A way to find Ling Qianhe's mother's ashes.
She needed to calm down. That woman couldn't be without a weakness.
She needed an opportunity!
The psychologist opposite smiled and agreed.
"Alright, it's a deal."
His figure disappeared into the night. The night wind rustled, and the night was vast. The system told Lin Muci with a sigh.
"Host, what did you say that angered him? His blackening value has increased from fifty percent to seventy percent. Compared to the yandere younger brother Ling Qianhe in the original plot, he is not to be outdone. In the original plot, Brother Qianhe dared to dismember Madam Ling, and he also turned offending foreign criminals into mummified corpses. Host, you need to be careful!"
Lin Muci shivered as the cold wind blew.
Mummies, indeed, he was a ruthless man.
Damn it!
Why didn't the system share this crucial information earlier!
(Spoiler Alert: The doctor will not stand on Muci's opposing side~ Rest assured, everyone!)