The Mysterious Night of Beijing

The hatred he expressed in each word was ignored by everyone present.

They stared at her for a long time, then burst out laughing.

"Yesterday we made a bet, asking Second Brother if he dared to take nude photos of you, and he agreed. Next week, Sister Yan'er is coming back. She's our darling, so naturally we'll have to make room for her in advance."

"You were never worthy of being the young master's girlfriend in name only."

Lin Chuxiu lost all face and sneered.

"Really? That's wonderful."

She didn't care, clutching the hem of her clothes tightly, and turned to run.

The woman ran away resolutely, while the people in the private room laughed heartlessly. Jiang Xian'an smiled and drank a glass of wine, feeling relieved.

Looking back at his younger brother, Jiang Chiye seemed lost in thought.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling sorry for that woman?"

Jiang Chiye paused, gripping his wine glass.

"...How could that be, brother?"

"These past three years have been a setup I've orchestrated; there's no way I'd take it all for real."

Lin Chuxiu didn't know how she got home.

She pushed open the door, only to be met not with concern, but with two cold, disgusted gazes.

The father, Lin Hai, slammed the teacup he was holding onto the coffee table with a loud bang.

"Look what you've done! You've completely disgraced the Lin family!"

Lin Chuxiu's face was pale, her lips moved slightly, and her voice was dry.

"Dad, Mom, I want to break off my engagement with Jiang Xian'an."

Her mother, Song Yulan, frowned deeply, and the disgust in her eyes pierced her heart.

"You think you can just call off an engagement like that? Do you think our Lin and Jiang families are child's play? You were the one who insisted on taking Leng Yan's engagement back then, and now, with those photos leaked, this marriage has to go ahead!"

"Lin Chuxiu, did you do this on purpose to try and trap Xian'an because Yan Yan is coming back? When you took those shameless photos, did you ever think about us? Did you act like a proper heiress of the Lin family at all?"

Lin Chuxiu found it outrageous. Why were these people so brazenly speculating about her with the deepest malice?

Just because she was missing for eighteen years and once lived in the countryside far from Shanghai!?

"Mom, I didn't. The engagement was arranged by Grandma."

It was clearly Grandma who felt guilty and wanted to make amends, which is why she proposed to the Jiang family to change the engagement. Lin Lengyan was angry and decided to go abroad.

Now it's all her fault.

"I was in military training at the time and didn't know anything. I only found out when I came back that my sister had gone abroad because of this. Mom and Dad, I've already apologized. Are you still holding a grudge about this after three years?"

"I now realize that liking Jiang Xian'an was also a mistake. He's not a normal person. He and Jiang Chiye—"

Lin Chuxiu tried to explain the absurd thing that had just happened.

The brothers actually switched people in order to get revenge, but they didn't finish their story.

“Pah!”

A loud slap landed hard on Lin Chuxiu's face.

The force was so great that her vision went black for a moment and her ears started ringing.

Clear red marks from five fingers quickly appeared on her cheek.

It is Lin Hai.

He was so angry that his chest heaved violently, and he pointed at her and cursed her.

"Shameless wretch! You've completely disgraced the Lin family! You behave so improperly, yet you dare to slander Xian'an? Did we bring you back here just to embarrass us?"

"It's your good fortune that Xian'an has taken a liking to you! Not only do you not know how to cherish it, but you also dare to do such a scandalous thing! What right do you have to propose annulment now? If anyone should annulment, it should be the Jiang family!"

"If I'd known you were this kind of person, I shouldn't have brought you back! Besides bringing shame to the family, what else can you do? You're not even as good as Yan Yan! Get out! Just looking at you makes me sick!"

My cheeks were burning.

But it's far less than one ten-thousandth of what's in my heart.

It turns out that in their eyes, she was always the one who was superfluous, someone who stole from others and had no shame.

All the grievances turned into countless ice needles, piercing into that already wounded heart.

Heart-wrenching pain, bone-chilling cold.

Suddenly, she didn't want to argue anymore.

She no longer wanted the position of Jiang Xian'an's fiancée.

She no longer wanted her status as the daughter of the Lin family.

She doesn't want any of them, including her biological parents.

She took a deep look at her parents, turned around, and left without looking back.

The insults behind her continued, but she could no longer hear them.

Outside, the cold wind was like a knife, stinging my face.

She took out her phone, preparing to check the details of changing her graduate school application.

In order to stay by Jiang Xian'an's side, she gave up the most suitable university, Peking University, and chose to pursue a master's degree at her own university.

But now that this has happened, it's no longer necessary.

Just then, Professor Chen, my advisor, called.

"Lin Chuxiu! Come to my office right now!"

Professor Chen's tone was subdued, revealing neither joy nor anger.

But it made her feel inexplicably uneasy.

She hurriedly hailed a taxi and headed straight for Shanghai University.

Until the moment the door was pushed open.

Upon seeing Yang Jiayu standing inside the room, her unease reached its peak.

Yang Jiayu is Lin Lengyan's best friend. They have always been at odds since school. She usually tries to avoid trouble, but what's going on today?