Chapter 5
“Fang Yi, it’s best not to get too close to the Lin family.”
The woman pushed the brewed tea toward Fang Yi, then gracefully poured herself a glass of wine.
Her apartment featured a small bar counter, behind which stood a rack of private wine collections. The faint aroma of aged spirits was noticeable the moment the door opened.
Although Fang Yi didn’t understand wine, she could tell that these collections were valuable.
He Shuanghua knew how to mix drinks. She and that mysterious eldest miss had met in a bar.
It was hard to say whether their encounter was a blessing or a curse.
She habitually drank when discussing emotional problems, using the slightly tipsy state to navigate the grievances and pain.
But before the rich aroma of wine touched her lips, she was still the sharp, undefeated queen, slowly pursing her lips, shifting from a suggestion to a more forceful tone, “Do not get too close to the Lin family.”
“What’s wrong?”
“The Lin family’s history of acquiring wealth is not entirely clean. They only started whitewashing it when it reached Ms. Lin Lan’s hands. They also seem to worship something, which I’m not at liberty to discuss.” He Shuanghua rarely avoided anything, but now she hesitated, giving Fang Yi an obscure glance.
It was common for the wealthy to be superstitious, but Fang Yi was surprised that someone like Lin Lan would also be superstitious. Fang Yi’s fingertip traced the rim of the cup. She picked up the teacup and briefly recounted what had happened at the Lin family residence.
She deliberately avoided the parts about Lin Shuxing. Her statements were devoid of much emotion, only softening slightly when she mentioned the “claw machine arcade.”
He Shuanghua frowned, her expression unusually grave, “You dared to agree to such a reckless thing as a marriage for good fortune?!”
“It’s fine. I have a tough destiny. It doesn’t matter if I act as an old tree godmother for once.”
Fang Yi spread her hands, not taking these matters to heart, “Besides, my grandmother arranged it. I believe in science, and my grandmother is in charge of the superstition part. It shouldn’t be a big problem. I trust she wouldn’t harm me.”
He Shuanghua was speechless. Fang Yi was always like this, able to casually accept even the most serious situations, as if she naturally lacked a nerve for tension.
Fang Yi: “I’m more curious about how that idiotic associate professor will be judged? His actions constitute invasion of privacy and extortion, right?”
“You don’t need to worry about that,” the liquid in the stemmed glass slightly swayed. He Shuanghua’s gaze drifted out the window, “Falling into the Lin family’s hands, he’s finished.”
“That’s great. Will he really die?”
He Shuanghua looked at her speechlessly, “Worry about yourself first. Do you really think Lin Lan will let you remain free?”
Free.
Fang Yi repeated the word, feeling it corresponded to the word “slave.”
“If I don’t accept her card, can they still threaten me?”
“You underestimate the Lin family. Favors are harder to repay than debts. She will definitely offer a bargaining chip you cannot refuse.”
“Also, haven’t you noticed that the situation in the Lin family is a bit off?”
She stared intently at Fang Yi, lowering her voice, “Lin Shuxing is not Lin Lan’s biological daughter.”
“The struggles within wealthy families are far more complex than you imagine. There will only be one future head of the household. You must not get involved, or you won’t even know how you died.”
Lawyers had their own sources of inside information, but He Shuanghua’s efficiency still surprised Fang Yi.
How did she know?
When the true daughter Lin Qingwan appeared, people had suspected some hidden secrets within the wealthy family, but Lin Shuxing’s high-and-mighty, enigmatic smile was almost identical to Lin Lan’s. Who would have thought they weren’t related by blood?
The original book didn’t explicitly state when Lin Shuxing learned about her parentage. She was still murmuring “Mother” before she died.
Thinking of this, Fang Yi felt a lump of cotton stuck in her chest. It was fuzzy and made her breathing uncomfortable.
He Shuanghua noticed the subtle change in her expression and sighed, “Fang Yi, I know you are always filled with some great heroic idealism, but you must understand that people in their class have deeper motives behind every step, even the children. You can’t outplay them. I don’t want you to be deceived.”
Fang Yi nodded, but He Shuanghua had known her for many years and immediately saw through her perfunctory attitude.
Most of the time, Fang Yi seemed easy to talk to. Even if you told her the sun rose in the west, she wouldn’t argue, probably because she didn’t care.
But this didn’t mean she could be easily persuaded. On the contrary, she would just watch quietly with her clear, black-and-white eyes, like a silent stone.
He Shuanghua twirled her finger, finally compromising under Fang Yi’s emotionless gaze, and lowered her head slightly, “I will redraft the contract for you, ensuring your interests and safety as much as possible.”
“Thank you.”
“There’s no need for thanks between us. If it weren’t for you all these years, I truly don’t know how I would have managed.”
He Shuanghua took a sip of wine, her eyes slightly red.
Fang Yi patted her shoulder, knowing that the love-struck cells were beginning to divide and take control.
In truth, her words were an exaggeration. Fang Yi hadn’t provided much substantial help.
In most cases, she just listened, offering appropriate advice after He Shuanghua had vented.
The wine aroma spread. He Shuanghua coughed, clearing her slightly hoarse throat, “We had a fight.”
“I know she only sees me as a perfect bed partner, an obedient stand-in, but when passion peaks, she calls my name, says she loves me…”
“For a moment, I feel like we have merged into one, from heaven to hell.”
“I want her to make our relationship public, but she actually insulted me with money!”
In her excitement, she downed the glass of wine in one go. The tall glass struck the glass tabletop, making a crisp clink.
Fang Yi silently refilled her glass.
The System whispered: 【I’ve noticed that these rich people love to solve problems with money. If only we could be rich too.】
Tears glistened in the woman’s clear, cold eyes, “So, I punished her with handcuffs—”
Fang Yi quickly turned off the System’s audio reception.
System: Again?!
System: 【If you don’t let me listen, I won’t let you listen either!!】
The small, useless System, whose motto was “Failure is the mother of success,” was only most efficient when emotionally agitated.
Before He Shuanghua’s tears could fall onto the table, it had already used its two invisible, plush little hands to cover Fang Yi’s ears.
Fang Yi breathed a sigh of relief. Her tense muscles slowly relaxed. She expertly got up to grab tissues and handed them to the woman to wipe her tears.
He Shuanghua in this state didn’t need a response. She just wanted to pour out her suppressed emotions.
When she first took on this dangerous mission, Fang Yi foolishly exchanged points for a “two ears deaf to the outside world” prop to filter out inappropriate content.
But the System often had issues, and the prop was a function patched together with bugs.
Once, she accidentally overheard He Shuanghua saying she had used malicious means to make the flirtatious eldest miss cry all night, which scared her ears hot and almost made her choke on her tea.
Later, she figured out the method of covering each other’s ears with the System. It was effective, efficient, and most importantly, free!
The System was very petty. It desperately wanted to hear the gossip, so it covered her ears tightly in anger, making the Host feel very secure.
It was precisely because of this that Fang Yi missed He Shuanghua’s genuine outpouring after three glasses of wine:
“Only five million, heh heh, who is she looking down on?”
He Shuanghua’s clear, cold voice was melted by the alcohol, flowing down like a cool stream from a mountain gorge.
Fang Yi only saw her teary-eyed, her sharp gaze losing its edge, and couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
Love is truly a terrifying thing.
When the woman was done crying, she braced herself up from the cold tabletop, swaying slightly, and retrieved a pre-prepared ice pack from the refrigerator.
It was placed in a pale purple gauze bag, faintly smelling of roses.
Ice compress, to reduce swelling, to prevent trouble before it started.
Her public image had to be perfect. Even the way she wiped her tears was heartbreaking.
Having vented, her rationality returned, revealing a slight smile as if the clouds had parted.
Fang Yi knew this was the prelude to her making a wish. Sure enough, the task panel jumped the next second, slowly refreshing her wish:
[Side Mission: He Shuanghua’s Commission: Wants the other party to publicly announce the relationship.]
[Completion Reward: 50 points.]
[Failure Penalty: Destruction of vital signs.]
He Shuanghua’s mission was a ‘labor dispatch’ drawn after she incurred point debt. It involved little pay, much work, and heavy responsibility. Usually, it only offered 10 points. This time, the reward was considered generous.
“You’ll help me, won’t you?”
The woman’s eyes were red, and her voice rippled, drifting over Fang Yi’s hair as she turned her gaze.
“Mm.” This dense stone naturally shielded itself from the woman’s charm, quickly considering how to complete the mission.
They had been dating for so many years without even a single photo together. The flirtatious eldest miss clearly regarded her as an underground lover.
To leap straight to going public was indeed challenging.
More importantly, He Shuanghua’s secrecy was excellent, comparable to a national secret. Even Fang Yi didn’t know the identity of her partner.
“She loves me,” He Shuanghua said confidently, her eyes flashing with the calm self-assurance unique to lawyers, “But she can’t see her own heart clearly.”
In short, she needed Fang Yi to accompany her as her female partner to a masquerade ball a month later to make the other party jealous.
He Shuanghua’s plans were always comprehensive. Based on past experience, success was guaranteed as long as Fang Yi cooperated with her requests.
But Fang Yi’s right eyelid twitched, and a sense of foreboding arose spontaneously.
“Can you tell me the identity of that eldest miss?”
“Ah, I apologize, I thought I had told you,” He Shuanghua wiped away the last tear with a tissue, “It’s Li Sinian.”
Li Sinian.
Li Sinian!
Lin Shuxing’s former fiancée, the Li Sinian who might fall in love with Lin Qingwan in the future.
So these melodramatic plots were overlapping. The flirtatious eldest miss Li Sinian breaks off the engagement with the fake daughter, gradually falls in love with the true daughter, and must also go through trials involving a first love, and so on.
The fake daughter Lin Shuxing, and the first love stand-in He Shuanghua, were both villainesses in their central story.
“…”
The System held popcorn from who knows where, eating with relish: 【Amazing, so everything is connected!】
Fang Yi didn’t care if it was connected or not. She only felt that Li Sinian was the source of all calamity.
A favored child of fate whom I’ve never met, you are clearly a jinx! Otherwise, why does nothing good happen to every girl who encounters you!
Noticing Fang Yi’s stiff expression, He Shuanghua thoughtfully refilled her tea, saying gently, “Don’t worry. Everyone will be wearing masks. No one will know your identity.”
“Before it causes you any trouble, I will escort you out of the venue. You can leave the rest to me.”
Since things had come to this, with the threat of death from the mission, Fang Yi had no choice.
But…
“Since everyone is wearing masks, how can you be sure Li Sinian will recognize you?”
“She will.”
He Shuanghua repeated softly, a hint of madness flashing deep in her eyes, “Because she loves me, just as I—deeply love her.”
