Lu Yuanhang found himself cornered by the towering, muscular school bully, seething with anger and unable to back down.
Lin Miaoyu, ever the peacemaker, stepped forward to smooth things over.
"Daddy, don't blame sister. It has nothing to do with her, *sob sob*, I promise I'll never take those shortcuts again, okay? *sob sob*"
Lu Yuanhang, his anger nowhere to vent, could only turn his fury towards Lin Miaoyu.
"It's all your fault for being disobedient! Do I lack living expenses for you? Why take shortcuts and the bus? Can't you take a taxi to and from school next time?"
Lin Miaoyu had merely intended to offer Lu Yuanhang an easy way out.
She hadn't expected him to scold her so harshly for it.
Tears welled up in Lin Miaoyu's eyes instantly, her expression turning unsightly as she lost her composure.
Lu Yuanhang continued to berate her, as if still not satisfied.
"Money-wasting brat! Didn't I raise you in the Lin family? How come you haven't picked up a single trace of wealth and sophistication?"
"So poor and pathetic! Embarrassing."
Lu Yuanhang's gaze, cold as ice, fixed upon Lin Miaoyu.
Lin Miaoyu shivered all over.
She lowered her head, her eyes reddening.
Seeing her like this, Lin Muxi's mind flashed with two words.
Serves her right!
Expecting conscience from that scumbag father? Tch, that's a pipe dream.
Isn't this exactly the fate of being a damsel in distress?
After her classes in the afternoon, Lin Muxi was scheduled to film a commercial with Ling Qianhe.
Ling Qianhe had countless advertising offers. He only accepted the best, almost exclusively international big brands, his face gracing global advertisements.
Therefore, this opportunity was indeed a significant reward for a newcomer who hadn't even debuted yet.
Lin Muxi had earned this chance by securing the highest score in the entire venue during her first performance.
The young lady from the television station who was applying her makeup couldn't help but express a hint of envy.
"Qianhe rarely collaborates with others on endorsements. After all, his individual fan purchasing power is already astonishing. You're truly very lucky."
"This contract alone is worth over a million!"
Lin Muxi stated.
"Oh."
She knew she would secure even more impressive contracts in the future.
Her expression was calm as the makeup artist finished her look and said,
"This is for a bathroom brand endorsement, so the emphasis is on a clear and transparent makeup look. Alright, you're good to go."
Lin Muxi had expected to meet Ling Qianhe.
However, upon arriving at the location, she found no trace of Ling Qianhe.
She grumbled internally about Ling Qianhe's diva-like behavior, while the director anxiously made several calls, all of which went unanswered.
But the advertisers were waiting.
Work couldn't be delayed.
Ling Qianhe's agent, Chen Fei, offered a compromise over the phone.
"Then let's film at Qianhe's place."
This was Lin Muxi's first time returning to Ling Qianhe's villa after a long time.
She stared at the ivy climbing the exterior of the villa, unpleasant memories flooding her mind. The scent of grass mingled with earth filled her senses, yet her mind was consumed by the lingering smell of blood. The system, however, heard Lin Muxi's quiet murmur.
"He's truly...
so detestable."
Chen Fei wasn't in the country, so she had to ask a colleague to rush over and coordinate.
The frightened young girl timidly knocked on the door.
The young man who opened the door was wearing a white shirt and immaculate white gloves. He pursed his lips and then said,
"Come in."
His home was spotless, appearing as clean as a brand-new show home.
Ling Qianhe instructed everyone to set up the cameras. He sat on the sofa, talking to the director, like a delicate mannequin.
Lin Muxi suddenly felt a strong curiosity.
She was eager to know what Ling Qianhe had done with the doll she had previously inhabited.
The director was discussing shots with Ling Qianhe. Compelled by an unseen force, Lin Muxi went upstairs.
No one was on the second floor.
Other staff members wouldn't dare to be as bold as her to go upstairs.
Everyone knew that this was a taboo for Qianhe; he already disliked people entering his home.
This was why, for so many years, even stalker fans had found it difficult to ascertain the details of his private life!
Meanwhile, Lin Muxi secretly slipped into his study.
The place where she had first appeared.
A new addition had been made to the study.
A very exquisite golden cabinet.
She reached out her hand...
Her fingertips touched the cabinet door.
Suddenly, an extremely cold voice echoed in her ears!
"Take your hand off!"
Lin Muxi trembled at the sound and let go.
However, as her touch had caused the cabinet door to sway,
a shattering sound suddenly came from within!
Lin Muxi's expression instantly turned peculiar. She hesitated to turn around, while the system erupted in gleeful laughter in her mind!
"Host, you're truly courting disaster.
You've smashed Ling Qianhe's doll!
After you left, he spent a full three days and three nights piecing it back together!
Heaven knows how much he cared!"
Lin Muxi held her breath and complained to the system in her mind.
"But that doll was me, wasn't it?
I've been reborn, so that doll is just a plastic toy now, it's meaningless!
I'm not afraid of him going crazy!"
The system scoffed, gloating.
"Whether you're afraid or not, you know best. Otherwise, why wouldn't you dare to turn around?"
Lin Muxi was indeed a little flustered.
The person behind her took a deep breath, and then she heard his voice, as cold as the iceberg that the Titanic had collided with.
"Who gave you permission to touch my doll?
Lin Muxi, has your audacity grown to this extent?"
Ling Qianhe had never been so furious; he wished he could kill the girl before him!
Last night, after chatting with her, he had returned home absentmindedly and forgotten to close the window. A stray cat had jumped in and knocked over the doll, shattering it.
He had spent the entire day piecing the doll back together, which was why he had missed his work.
Allowing the advertising crew into his home was a concession.
He never expected that!
Lin Muxi would brazenly barge into his study and completely shatter his doll!
Lin Muxi thought, whether she faced it head-on or tried to evade it, the outcome would be the same. She turned around, reaching out her hand, and glanced helplessly at Ling Qianhe before her!
"I really didn't do it on purpose."
The system was still shouting that she was finished and that Ling Qianhe would drag her to bed and punish her for three days and three nights, so Lin Muxi simply silenced it.
She looked at the cold, stern youth before her, the bloodshot veins in his eyes, and his expression of extreme anger.
She said,
"I'll pay for it then.
Why be so flustered?"
Ling Qianhe's eyes still held a chilling severity.
"Pay for it? What will you use to pay me? Your life?"
Just then, the junior assistant arranged by Chen Fei came up. The moment she caught sight of Ling Qianhe pinning Lin Muxi against the cabinet door, the assistant swallowed nervously several times and stammered,
"You... you continue.
I didn't see anything!"
Ling Qianhe let out a cold sneer.
"Get lost!"
His doll could not have any flaws; that was the most important thing!
He would deal with this woman later.
He opened the cabinet.
The fragments of the doll cascaded onto the floor with a clatter.
Ling Qianhe's heart seemed to shatter along with them. He squatted down, intending to reassemble the doll. Lin Muxi, watching him in his panicked, completely irrational state, felt a pang of sympathy.
She had been able to issue threats before.
Saying that she wouldn't care even if Ling Qianhe died.
Ling Qianhe should have felt heartbroken.
But seeing his eyes reddened, she pursed her lips and said,
"It's useless to piece it back together. It's already broken. The ancients said it's hard to mend a broken mirror, let alone a shattered doll; there will always be cracks..."
Before she could finish, Ling Qianhe interrupted her ferociously!
"Shut up!"
"This woman deserves a thousand cuts!"
"His Muxi sister will definitely return!"