“Why are you standing up?”

“I’m standing to give you a round of applause!”

Lin Qing rose from her seat, throwing her arms wide in exaggerated admiration.

“Applause? What for?”

Liang Meng licked her lips, the picture of nonchalance.

“The Boxed Pigs Game! Wasn’t that you just now?” Lin Qing said.

“I never said that. You misheard.” Liang Meng denied it.

Fine, boss — you’re an absolute champion at playing dumb.

By roughly the time dawn broke in the east, Lin Qing and Liang Meng were utterly spent and toppled over together on the sofa, sleeping at odd angles.

Lin Qing could have gone back to sleep in her own room, but one look at the glint in Liang Meng’s eyes — a glint that said I will cut you — and she dutifully went and fetched a sleeping bag, laying herself out on the carpet.

Since they couldn’t share in the good times, they might as well suffer together.

This job was truly cursed.

Lin Qing grumbled to herself.

Even if it meant sleeping on the floor, Lin Qing absolutely refused to allow any other woman to touch Lu Zhou’s bed.

That was the line she would not cross.

Sansheng Group.

Early morning.

Jiang Han, wearing a strip of gauze on his head and dressed in a full suit, walked in through the lobby and stepped into the elevator.

His secretary trailed behind him, face flushing red with every step.

Confronted by the strange looks from everyone around him, Jiang Han felt as though his back had grown needles, a fishbone lodged in his throat, and a bed of pins beneath him all at once.

“What happened to CEO Jiang’s head?”

“He’s all bandaged up! Looks pretty serious.”

“Is that what they call it — a bandage on your head, and you’re still the richest in the room?”

“I heard he got hit by his little sister-in-law!”

“Oh wow!”

“Really?! Slugged by his own little sister-in-law? That’s the juiciest gossip I’ve ever heard! This is absolutely trending-level news inside the group!”

“Shh…!”

No one could quite trace who had let it slip, but the story of the overbearing CEO getting his head cracked open by his little sister-in-law spread through both Sansheng and Longquan like wildfire.

Jiang Han was mortified beyond measure, but on the surface he could only pretend the rumors were nothing more than a passing breeze, beneath his notice.

Jiang Han — the formidable, the fearsome — disfigured by his own little sister-in-law.

He had no interest in digging into whatever “story circle” was spinning tales about him outside. He buried himself in his office and immediately summoned his inner circle.

“What has Wang Xiancheng of Wanheng been up to lately?”

“Boss, why are you suddenly asking about this? Wanheng and our Sansheng have been out of each other’s hair for a long time.”

Jiang Han let out a cold snort: “What makes you think that old Wang is any kind of decent person? The longer he’s been quiet, the more likely he’s been storing something up. Better to be prepared and know what we’re dealing with.”

“I’ve heard something,” one of his subordinates said, “though I can’t be sure how reliable it is.”

Under normal circumstances, unverified information was something subordinates dared not bring to Jiang Han.

But given the situation, the subordinate weighed the sharp edge of Jiang Han’s gaze and decided to speak up anyway: “I’ve heard that Old Wang is looking to sell Ling Xue SOHO.”

“Impossible.”

Before Jiang Han even had a chance to speak, several of the others immediately shot the idea down.

Impossible. Absolutely impossible!

Ling Xue SOHO was the most profitable property asset under Old Wang’s Wanheng empire, with a combined occupancy and sales rate of 98%.

The shopping mall underneath Ling Xue SOHO alone generated over two hundred million yuan in annual rental income.

Jiang Han also found it hard to believe.

Ling Xue SOHO…

His heart gave a sharp pang. The image of Liang Meng’s father’s eyes and her mother’s long hair surfaced vividly before him once again.

Ling Xue was the abandoned shell of a building in the east district that President Wang had shorted all those years ago.

After Liang Meng’s parents fell from the building, three years later, President Wang used the fortune he’d made from the west district development to swoop back in, snapping up Longquan’s abandoned wreck at a rock-bottom price.

As the city continued to develop, the east district eventually came into its own.

Now, Ling Xue was indeed turning a profit, drawing in steady crowds.

Every time Jiang Han heard people talk about how popular Ling Xue was, a faint chill crept into his heart.

They said that a shopping mall where people had died would always draw bigger crowds — what they called, in business circles, “a building consecrated by death.”

For that very reason, Jiang Han had never once set foot inside Ling Xue SOHO.

So why would Old Wang suddenly want to sell it?

Jiang Han swiveled his chair around to face the blank white wall and sank into thought…

On another front.

Tan Shan Villa.

Liang Xing, as was her habit, stood by the window. Her assistant walked in quietly, notebook in hand.

“What have you found out?”

Over the years, a particular doubt had been festering in Liang Xing’s mind.

The assistant stood with hands at her sides, head bowed, and replied: “The Red Star Hotel closed down many years ago. The private investigator says he tracked down the proprietor, and check-in records do exist. But he couldn’t determine who Ms. Ning Yanhong had checked in with.”

Liang Xing said nothing, her gaze fixed on the dense dark needles of the black pines outside the window.

“However, according to the proprietor’s description: the man was quite handsome, very tall, cut an imposing figure — clearly someone with money. Oh, and one more thing! The proprietor mentioned that the man had a mole — not too large, not too small — on the left side of his nose.”

“A mole?”

Liang Xing went rigid. She clearly had something in mind. She turned from the window.

“That’s what the hotel proprietor said.”

Taking in what she’d just heard, Liang Xing’s expression became grave.

She was deeply shaken, yet could only absorb it.

As she paced back and forth, the ever-composed and even-tempered Liang Xing — in a rare crack of her restraint — snapped one of her own manicured nails clean off.

“Where has tonight’s blind date for Liang Meng been arranged?”

Even the assistant could see that she was rattled!

“At the Lan Xiu Club.”

Liang Xing hesitated for a moment, as though something felt off to her, then said to the assistant: “Have the car prepared. I need to go to Sansheng. Right now. Immediately.”

The assistant was puzzled. Ever since Liang Xing had handed the CEO position at Longquan over to her younger sister Liang Meng, she had been going out less and less.

Most of the time she would stand on the second floor of the villa, staring out at the empty courtyard below, her eyes heavy with something unspoken.

“Oh, and tell the housekeeper — even though Liang Meng is away, her room is to be cleaned every single day. Make sure it’s ready for her to come home at any moment.”

With that said, Liang Xing, her expression cold and closed-off, turned and left to change.

Liang Xing, in minimal makeup, walked into Sansheng, and every person there immediately felt the weight of the mistress of the house’s presence.

It took no heavy makeup to be the most arresting person in the room. Liang Xing’s cool, detached face and indifferent eyes were precisely as described in novels: “three parts aloofness, three parts contempt, and four parts utter unconcern.”

That sense of distance — as though she existed behind glass, cut off from the rest of humanity.

“What brings the mistress here all of a sudden?”

“No idea. What an aura!”

“Yesterday the boss got cracked over the head by his little sister-in-law, and today the mistress shows up. Sansheng has never seen this much drama.”

“The mistress wouldn’t be here to make trouble for the boss, would she? She doesn’t look very happy.”

“Who knows.”

“Shh! She’s coming this way.”

Under the gaze of everyone around her, Liang Xing, accompanied by her assistant, swept on high heels straight into Jiang Han’s office.

Jiang Han was in the middle of a meeting, reading from a report as he announced his decisions: “Sansheng will divest all of its secondary-market securities investments before the third quarter of 2024, and will cease all secondary-market securities investment activity in the second half of 2024…”

Spotting Liang Xing’s arrival, Jiang Han blinked in surprise, then settled back into his usual warm expression: “What brings you here?”

He gestured toward the door with one long, elegant index finger, signaling to the room: “Let’s break here.”

The executives in their formal attire filed out one by one, until only Jiang Han and Liang Xing remained.

Jiang Han glanced at Liang Xing, then with a quiet sigh took off his own warm jacket, stepped around behind her, and draped it over her shoulders: “Your constitution is already fragile. And you come out dressed this lightly.”

Liang Xing acted as though she hadn’t heard a word of Jiang Han’s concern, and tilted her chin directly at him: “Are you willing to accept this?”

“What?”

Jiang Han hadn’t fully extracted himself from his work mindset and couldn’t parse what Liang Xing meant.

Liang Xing drew her gaze back, her expression cool, and repeated herself: “Liang Meng’s blind date tonight — are you willing to accept it?”

Jiang Han had no idea what was setting her off again today. After all the commotion at the villa the previous night, he was at his absolute limit when it came to tolerating the drama this pair of sisters could dish out.

Jiang Han drifted over to the drinks bar, slowly poured a glass of warm water for Liang Xing, added a touch of honey, stirred it with a stainless-steel spoon, and carried it over to her.

“Have some water first.”

Jiang Han’s attentiveness toward Liang Xing was meticulous and unfailing.

But beneath all that meticulousness lay something that felt more like a sense of duty than anything else.

Liang Xing didn’t drink it. She pulled his jacket tighter around herself, turned her face away, and sat down on the visiting-area sofa.

When Jiang Han spoke to Liang Xing, his voice was always soft, his manner utterly calm.

Unlike with Liang Meng — with whom barely three sentences could pass before Jiang Han was being tormented to the point of wanting to pound the walls, which he did on a regular basis.

“This is something we agreed on long ago,” Jiang Han reminded her gently. “It’s for Longquan’s sake. And for Xiao Meng’s own good…”

“If you actually wanted what was good for Xiao Meng, you’d stop her blind date tonight!”

Liang Xing suddenly flared with emotion, snapping her head toward him and cutting him off mid-sentence.

“Think of something.” She ran her fingers along the jagged edge of her broken nail and issued her command.

I…

Jiang Han pointed at his own nose, completely baffled by whatever Liang Xing was performing today.

There was no reason for this tantrum.

“Think of something? Me?” Jiang Han was equal parts incredulous and helpless. “Liang Xing! All these years — is there a single thing that Jiang Han could do that I haven’t agreed to? You gave your personal consent to Old Wang about this blind date just yesterday. And now you want me to go and wreck it?”

Jiang Han was agitated too. Without thinking, he took off his rimless glasses and tossed them onto the coffee table in front of him, pinching the pressure point at the inner corner of his eye.

Whether at work or in his personal life, what Jiang Han detested most was this kind of behavior — agreeing to something one day, then turning around and reversing it the next.

“This Wang Zaiwu was someone you nodded approval on. I even specifically had someone run a background check. Young Wang is simply a straightforward rich kid with a privileged upbringing. I know you don’t like Old Wang’s family, but purely in terms of doing business, I still respect Old Wang, and their family is genuinely well-established and prosperous. Xiao Meng is almost thirty now…”

“Regardless — it’s not happening! I do not consent to this blind date.”

Liang Xing unilaterally tore up the agreement, and her resolve was absolute.

Whatever Jiang Han said, it made no impression on her whatsoever.

“You don’t want Xiao Meng going on a blind date…” Jiang Han threw up his hands. “Then go tell Old Wang yourself. It’s not like you don’t know him. Why come here to make things difficult for me? Who exactly do you think I am in this situation?”

“You are her ‘brother-in-law’!” Liang Xing raised her eyes and stated it with complete matter-of-fact authority.

These past few days had clearly not been good ones by any reckoning — because that one word, “brother-in-law,” coming from Liang Xing’s mouth, hit Jiang Han so squarely that he had no choice but to throw both hands straight up in surrender.

“Liang Xing. Don’t push it.”

A few seconds of silence passed. Then Jiang Han, brow furrowed, let out a low, suppressed growl from deep in his throat.

Then, fingers laced together, he continued: “I do owe your family a debt. But these years, I’ve been trying my best to make up for it. I helped you raise Xiao Meng. I even married you. I’ve already given up any hope of happiness in this lifetime to atone. You can’t — you can’t keep putting me through this, can you?”

Liang Xing had her own anger bottled up inside. She quietly ran her thumb along the rough, jagged edge of her broken nail, turned her face away, and said to Jiang Han with cold calm: “I was at the construction site that day too. I watched you climb down from the crane with my own eyes. Why did you never once think that you owed something to me?”

“Liang Xing, can we please not revisit the past?” Jiang Han pressed a hand to his temple.

“No. This must be said.”

Some things, Liang Xing didn’t say most of the time — not because she felt it wasn’t worth bringing up, but because that didn’t mean the hurt wasn’t there.

“You believe you were indirectly responsible for our parents’ deaths, so you love Liang Meng — and yet you can’t bring yourself to be with her. You even chose to marry me, in part to sever any remaining feeling between the two of you.” As she said this, Liang Xing shot to her feet in agitation, turning to face Jiang Han, her voice rising as she continued her accusation: “But have you ever stopped to consider — I am also a daughter of the Liang family! You feel you wronged Xiao Meng. Have you never felt that you wronged me? Or is it that because of my status as an ‘adopted daughter,’ you feel you bear no guilt toward me, no responsibility?”

Jiang Han froze. Quietly, he rose to his feet, walked over, and steadied Liang Xing’s trembling shoulders with both hands.

Liang Xing’s words left him with nothing to say.

He had sacrificed his own chance at a happy life. But so had Liang Xing.

Jiang Han was submerged in guilt over an irreparable mistake he had made in the past.

And Liang Xing had spent her entire life imprisoned in the painful identity of being the Liang family’s “adopted daughter.”

No one, at the deepest level, had ever truly treated her as one of the family — including Jiang Han.

After her parents passed, her helplessness only deepened.

If not for clinging to the legacy her parents had built, and the responsibility of holding her younger sister Liang Meng close — Liang Xing truly would not have known who she was anymore.

Without Liang Meng, she had not a single point of connection to this world.

Like a kite whose string has been cut by an invisible hand, she was unable — and unwilling — to love anyone else.

And who would truly, wholeheartedly, love someone with no roots — build a life and a family with her?

“Xing. Say no more.”

Tears filling his eyes, Jiang Han pulled Liang Xing into his arms, holding her tightly, pouring everything he had into comforting her.

He didn’t love Liang Xing — but they had grown up together from childhood, and what he felt for her was the deep bond of a brother and sister. And the weight of responsibility.

Liang Xing’s arms stayed at her sides for a long time, making no move to return the embrace.

She simply allowed him to hold her — like an autumn leaf surrendering to the wind.

What Jiang Han could not forget, she would never forget either.

Jiang Han scrambling down from the crane in blind panic — his ragged, erratic breathing, his eyes wide with shock, legs buckling beneath him as he crouched on the ground, unable to rise for a long time.

However handsome Jiang Han was, however wealthy — all of it was simply the weight of the original sin he carried.