Chapter 46 Part 1

Perhaps it was Le Yiqiu’s words that made Lin Xianing feel much better. Her emotions gradually calmed down.

Lin Xianing had simply been moved by the scene. Every inch of the Lin Family’s land held traces of Grandma Lin leading her by the hand as they walked together.

She might have been the eldest among the third-generation girls. There were eight older brothers before her, and Grandma Lin—considering her own identity as a woman—had always treated Lin Xianing especially well.

In fact, Grandma Lin’s kindness toward her had nothing to do with their blood ties. It was simply because she was a girl.

Grandma Lin had often told her, back when she was little, about how she had been targeted when she inherited the Lin Family—and about Grandpa’s betrayal.

She had actually shared these stories with her sons too, but they never thought their father had done anything wrong. They had simply feigned anger to please their mother.

Grandma Lin had been through too much in her life; how could she fail to see through her sons’ true attitudes? How could men ever truly empathize with a woman?

Her only daughter had been so immersed in her own setbacks that she felt the whole world had wronged her. In the end, the only person Grandma Lin could truly confide in turned out to be little Lin Xianing.

She hadn’t understood much at the time, but as she grew older, she did. The bitterness of loneliness was hard to endure, and having someone to pour your heart out to was so very important.

Because of that, Lin Xianing had become the one grandchild Grandma Lin trusted as a confidante.

Grandma Lin hadn’t spoiled her, though. At most, she had served as a trash bin for all of Grandma’s negative energy.

As for Lin Xianing’s own feelings toward Grandma Lin, there had been respect and admiration—but never love.

Back when she was a child, she hadn’t had any choice in the matter. If Grandma Lin wanted to grow close to her, her parents wouldn’t refuse. Everyone had thought Lin Xianing was the lucky one.

No one had stopped to consider what kind of person a child would grow into after absorbing so much negativity.

Everyone had seen Grandma Lin’s favor as such a stroke of fortune for her. They assumed she must have gained all sorts of benefits from it.

But what she had gained was far outweighed by what she had lost. And she had even been envied by her peers in the family.

It probably stemmed from remarks their parents had made: “Why can Lin Xianing earn Grandma’s favor, but not you?”

“Look at how much Grandma likes Lin Xianing. Why can’t you try harder? How did I end up with a useless child like you?”

Words like those were all too common. As a result, Lin Xianing had been bullied by her siblings from a young age, all because they were jealous of her.

She had been excluded from the third generation’s circle in the Lin Family. As a girl, she wouldn’t have fit in with their games anyway. But after being brought to live by Grandma Lin’s side, the bullying followed her everywhere—whether at home or at school.

The school she attended was an elite academy for the aristocracy. They had banded together with other students to target her.

At home, a dozen or more children ganged up on her. Whenever she was alone, one of them would appear out of nowhere to hurl stones at her.

She didn’t mind being targeted. Being on her own suited her just fine. Who would want to play with them anyway?

But they were experts at turning the tables, always shifting the blame onto her. Whenever they dragged their parents over to tattle at her house, her parents would side against her.

Her parents had never been her allies, and she had known that since childhood. So she never sought their help.

That was how they branded her as aloof and standoffish.

If being independent and self-reliant made her aloof, then she was perfectly content to be that way.

“You’re not.” Le Yiqiu’s voice broke through Lin Xianing’s recollections.

The pain in Lin Xianing’s tone had been too raw. Those childhood experiences had scarred her deeply, and she wasn’t nearly as unaffected as she pretended to be.

Le Yiqiu could tell that Lin Xianing was only pretending to have moved on.

“Lin Xianing, do you know what you look like to me?”

“You’re a very, very good person.”

“Gentle with others, still holding onto that kindness at your core.”

“Do you even realize how adorable you are?”

Le Yiqiu’s gaze was so tender it seemed ready to melt into water. “You’re sometimes a little dim-witted, a little foolish in the sweetest way—impossible not to tease.”

“The truth is, your wonderful personality is exactly what they envied. Their ugliness had nothing to do with you.”

Those who isolated others, who bullied and lashed out with violence—what right did they have to forgiveness?

If Le Yiqiu were in Lin Xianing’s shoes, holding back from revenge would already be mercy. Why repay malice with kindness?

“You think I did the right thing?” Lin Xianing asked her.

“Of course.”

Le Yiqiu grew earnest. “We don’t bully others—but that doesn’t mean we let them bully us.”

It was a saying her grandmother had often repeated when she was little: repay kindness with kindness, grudge with grudge. There was no need to wrong yourself for anyone.

Lin Xianing couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “As if anyone could bully me.”

She fell silent for a moment. “I’m just… a little lost.”

Lost—that was it, wasn’t it? She wasn’t entirely sure.

“Even though Grandma’s kindness came from her loneliness, it earned me treatment in the Lin Family that set me apart from my peers.”

“That kind of favoritism gave me resources far beyond what the others had.”

Lin Xianing shifted slightly in bed, perhaps not entirely comfortable. “The inheritance she left me is the largest of all—except for Eldest Uncle Lin’s share.”

“She didn’t give me any ancestral properties, but every venture she started and invested in herself went to me.”

“Those famous big companies where she held shares? They all passed to me after her death.”

Le Yiqiu had done her homework on the Lin Family ahead of this visit.

Combined with what Lin Xianing had shared, she now had a clear picture of the family’s current state.

The ancestral properties had been divided four ways among the four siblings. Eldest Uncle Lin had received the largest portion—mainly the ancestral estate and other assets reserved strictly for the family head.

Of the rest, Lin Manyue had inherited the least. That was Lin Family tradition: daughters who married out received only their dowry, with no further claim to the family business.

But Grandma Lin had taken over the family as a woman herself and knew all too well how tough that was. So she had gone out of her way to favor her daughter.

Beyond the dozens of buildings given as dowry, Grandma Lin had later bequeathed a fortune in real estate to her only daughter.

She had known Lin Manyue lacked the knack for business, that she was stubborn and prickly—difficult for others to approach. Entrepreneurship and management simply weren’t for her.

Even so, while Lin Manyue’s inheritance was the smallest, Grandma Lin had laid careful plans for her—and even bent the family rules to do it.

That was precisely why Lin Xianing needed Le Yiqiu to marry into the family if she wanted to claim her inheritance.

Grandma Lin had broken the rules for Lin Manyue, but Eldest Uncle Lin and Father Lin would never do the same for Lin Xianing.

It didn’t matter that Grandma had explicitly designated those assets for her, or that Lin Xianing had already sent people to secure them.

In the Lin Family, true legitimacy required more than a will—it demanded adherence to the family rules.

Even though none of Lin Xianing’s inheritance came from ancestral properties, the sheer volume of it was enough to stir jealousy.

Third Uncle Lin came next, inheriting just behind Eldest Uncle Lin—a bit more than Father Lin’s share.

He was the youngest son, after all, the one she doted on most. Grandma Lin couldn’t help a touch of favoritism.

But looking at the big picture, aside from the family head’s mandatory ancestral holdings, the four siblings’ portions were fairly even.

They might have been fine with the four of them splitting so much. But why should a mere grandchild like Lin Xianing get a piece?

They didn’t care that it had been Grandma Lin’s prerogative to bestow it however she wished. In their eyes, without Lin Xianing, it all would have been theirs.

“She entrusted her life’s work to me because she didn’t trust her own sons and daughter to manage it properly.”

“So she chose me to finish what she never could.”

Lin Xianing let out a derisive scoff. “Even in death, she’s still using me.”

“I could walk away from the inheritance entirely, but here I am, letting her.”

“Gratitude toward her aside, I hate the Lin Family too.”

“I know that until the Lin Family changes, I’ll be stuck on this creaky old carriage hurtling forward. Jumping off would shatter me to pieces, and I refuse to just drift along with it.”

“My only options are to seize the reins myself or force the whole thing to a halt—so everyone can go their separate ways.”

“The second choice is what Grandma wanted too.”

The Lin Family’s rigid traditions were suffocating. Whether seizing control or simply staying in such a family, neither appealed to Lin Xianing.

People should be free, not chained to their family legacy.

Even marrying the person she loved required them to enter as an in-marrying spouse.

Lin Xianing refused to be trapped—and she wouldn’t drag her partner into that cage either.

“So what do you plan to do?”

Le Yiqiu felt like she grasped what Lin Xianing intended, yet not quite.

In those stuffy, feudal great clans, countless souls languished in chains. Those content to wallow in depravity could never align with souls yearning for freedom.

People’s desires would always differ. Perhaps not every Lin Family member deserved to be written off wholesale.

But the good ones were few and far between. Vice clung to nearly all of them like a second skin.

Lin Xianing didn’t consider herself especially kindhearted, but she would never stoop to mingling with their kind.

“Do you know why I’m telling you all this?” Lin Xianing suddenly opened her eyes. Their gazes met.

“No clue.”

Le Yiqiu shook her head obediently. Whether Lin Xianing chose to share or not was entirely up to her.

“You and I can’t divorce right now.”

Lin Xianing’s voice came out slightly parched. “The moment the plan kicks off, you’re in it—whether you join or not.”

“Before it starts, that was our best window to part ways. But once it’s underway, we’ll face whatever comes as one.”

“Sorry I didn’t warn you ahead of time.”

She called it an apology, but there wasn’t a trace of regret in her tone.

Le Yiqiu arched a brow with an amused smile. “You did that on purpose?”

Lin Xianing let out a soft chuckle. “I did give you a chance to divorce.”

“Don’t try to scare me—I’m the timid type.”

Her smile widened. “You sounded just like some obsessive fool desperate to keep her lover close.”

Lin Xianing rolled her eyes. “Fine, obsessive. But why ‘fool’?”

Le Yiqiu grinned at her. “Quit with the scary act. It doesn’t faze me.”

Then, more seriously: “The instant I agreed to step into the Lin Family with you, I chose to stand by your side.”

“No matter what happens, I’ll be right there—unwavering.”

Her only concern was Lin Xianing herself. Whatever role the plan demanded of her, Le Yiqiu would embrace it willingly.

Her willingness to accompany Lin Xianing to the Lin Family had said it all.

She was ready to stand as Lin Xianing’s partner at any event, to weather any criticism or attacks. That was her choice.

And once she had made it, nothing would sway her.

Lin Xianing drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes. Her nose stung. She kept them shut, afraid that opening them would bring tears.

She tugged the blanket up over her face. A muffled voice emerged from beneath it. “What I’m saying is, I’m not as good as you think.”