The night was deep.
As Lin Muci knocked on the villa door, Ling Qianhe opened it for her.
He was wearing a thin silk pajama, exposing a large expanse of his bare chest. His gaze was cast down, his long, slender eyelashes trembling slightly in the dim light, lending him an indescribable, ultimate beauty.
He smiled and raised his eyes.
The smile bloomed, hazy.
It made one feel dizzy, as if drunk.
"You miss me that much? After filming, you couldn't wait to rush to find me?"
"I had originally thought that Little Ci, you worked hard filming, so I shouldn't disturb you."
"I didn't expect. Little Ci is more proactive than I thought."
"More enthusiastic."
"As expected, Little Ci, you're just lusting after my body."
"Aren't you?"
When it came to smooth-talking, Qianhe was absolutely first-rate!
This was nothing like the cold, transcendent, aloof flower on stage!
This was...
This was a wild rose in no-man's-land, capable of stirring the heart!
Lin Muci sighed, but immediately became serious.
Her tone was exceptionally earnest.
"I really have something very important to find you for!"
She looked at the person opposite her.
"When I was filming, I met Bai Jian. He said Ling Wanli might not be of Ling family bloodline..."
Ling Qianhe, however, was not listening carefully to the latter half of her sentence. It was the first half that immediately pricked his nerves. He let out a cold snort, raised his head directly, stared into Lin Muci's eyes, his tone exceptionally forceful and overbearing, leaning close to her lips.
Word by word, he asked her with force.
"What?"
"Who did you meet?"
"Which man, wanted to seduce you?"
Lin Muci gasped.
His burning chest pressed against her.
She felt suppressed by his aura, her bones feeling as if they had turned to jelly. She gritted her teeth and said earnestly, word by word.
"No—"
"Can you just listen to me and get to the point! He didn't try to seduce me! Don't be jealous over these trivial matters!"
Ling Qianhe continued to snort coldly.
"Who told you this was trivial jealousy?"
"This is very important to me."
He took a deep breath and then tilted his head to look at her.
"I should have known... I should have found a way to join Wu Minlong's crew..."
Lin Muci was stunned.
So he wasn't actually one of the main characters?
Ah, why was she getting sidetracked again. She looked up at him and then explained seriously.
"He said he suspected that Ling Wanli, the son born to Madam Ling, might not be of Ling family bloodline. You could be the only descendant of the Ling family. If that's the case, you would definitely get all of the Ling family's assets. If you could obtain evidence, you could even have her removed from the board of directors, ruining her reputation and leaving her with nothing."
But Ling Qianhe's gaze remained fixed on her face.
In his eyes, it was as if there was a fiercely burning fire.
That fire could ignite a person!
"I already knew that."
Lin Muci was stunned.
"Huh?"
"You already... knew?"
He nodded.
His expression was subtle.
"Of course."
"Since I was very young—around the age of ten, I knew. I am Ling De's only son. And the son Madam Ling gave birth to was never his true bloodline."
"Do you think Ling Wanli's car accident was an accident?"
"Of course not. It was a group of old men from the Ling family, unwilling for the Ling family's fortune to be encroached upon by an outsider, and by what they considered a bastard. So, they did everything they could, bribed killers, and wanted to run Ling Wanli over."
"They smoothed over all the connections, originally wanting to hit him directly, but unexpectedly, he only ended up in a vegetative state."
"But it was precisely because of this that I had the chance to return to the Ling family."
"Many years ago, old men from the Ling family began contacting me, wanting to support me and fight against Madam Ling."
"Otherwise, how could I have established my own power base in such a short time?"
"Because someone behind me continuously supplied me with resources and support, because I am the legitimate heir of the Ling family."
He was calm, cold, and when he spoke of these power struggles.
Ling Qianhe was no longer that innocent youth. A deep sarcasm flickered in his eyes. He looked at Lin Muci.
"So, from a long time ago."
"I was very clear. Everything belonging to the Ling family is mine, and I will get it back sooner or later."
He concealed his ambition.
He hid the fact that he had long known the truth of his origins.
He played the part of the most humble and lowly illegitimate son.
But he was the one truly entitled to inherit the entire family fortune!
Lin Muci listened, slightly dazed.
He pursed his lips. On his exquisitely beautiful face, a hint of darkness emerged. He possessed a depth beyond his years and an ambition beyond his years.
But he had experienced too much. He knew that on the path of power struggles, to take a single step back would mean he himself, and the people he cared about, would all fall into an abyss.
He had no retreat behind him.
Not even a single step.
Therefore, he could not retreat even an inch.
Lin Muci gasped again.
"So... when did you discover this secret? When you were in the orphanage, did you already know that you were the true young master?"
Then you could...
Endure such hardship?
Knowing the truth.
Yet being so patient.
Only waiting for the opportunity to arrive. At that time, the youth was only about ten years old!
Ling Qianhe nodded.
"Yes."
"Actually, those uncles and aunts who found me back then, wanting to support me, but I understood very well that if I had listened to them, I would have merely escaped Madam Ling's clutches only to fall into another deep pit. How could they possibly sincerely want to help me? Their initial intention was simply to find a puppet!"
"If I had believed them, I still wouldn't have gotten what I wanted."
"So I could only endure. Endure the mockery, endure the pain."
"I was treated as the most lowly existence, and I had to endure it."
"But I knew, I would definitely succeed."
"Because I wanted you to live better than anyone else."
For a full five years, he had truly been able to endure so much!
He was like a wild wolf in the wilderness!
Lin Muci gasped, feeling both heartbroken and sympathetic. How many things had the stubborn youth hidden in his heart back then? His mother's deep-seated hatred, the pain of being trampled underfoot, the fact that he should have been the young master but fell into an abyss, he must have been in pain every single moment, right?
And Ling Qianhe leaned closer to her, his gaze fixed on her, as if looking at the most sacred rose in the world.
From the humble dust.
From the sinful suffering.
He walked out step by step.
He only wanted to hold her in his palm.
Ling Qianhe directly embraced her tightly and then whispered in her ear.
"It's okay."
"It doesn't matter what kind of hardship I endure."
"If meeting you requires such a price, I am willing."
"Don't worry, I will take back all those things—I won't let anyone trample on you."
"I want to be the strongest man, I want to reclaim everything that belongs to me, only then can I protect you!"